Critical approval and positive audience reaction, reflected in consistent 80% scores for the latest DC Extended Universe installment Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, officially known as Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), don't seem to be helping the film's box office numbers, after its $33 million opening weekend landed it in the company of some of the worst financial performers in the history of DC's cinematic endeavors.
In superheroics, taxes are apparently optional, because the only two things that are truly certain are death and rebirth. To that end specifically, X-Men founder Charles Xavier has assembled a team of five mutants, imaginatively christened The Five, to put the resurrectional studies of Moira MacTaggert into action following the establishment of the sovereign island nation of Krakoa. The team of Fabio "Goldballs" Medina, Kevin "Proteus" MacTaggert, Joshua "Elixir" Foley, Eva "Tempus" Bell, and the first new mutant born after M-Day, Hope Summers, have perfected a process by which they were able to reproduce the bodies, powers, minds, and memories of their fallen brethren, thereby taking the insignificance of "comic book death" to an entirely new level.
Like Alexander Hamilton by way of Lin Manuel-Miranda, Han Solo just couldn't seem to die in the Original Trilogy, despite actor Harrison Ford's insistence that the character should have been killed off in Return of the Jedi in order to give Episode IV some emotional gravity to offset those toyetic Ewoks. "Three is enough for me," he said at the time. "I was glad to see that costume for the last time."
For a full decade, Thanos served as the biggest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's bads throughout the Infinity Saga, finally stepping out of the cosmic shadows to reveal himself as the puppeteer pulling the strings of villains like Loki of Jotunheim and Ronan the Accuser before ultimately meeting his end at the hands of the Avengers, and holding the distinction of being the only adversary killed by them twice.
Ever since breaking away from its roots as a series of popcorn flicks about illegal street racing, Universal Pictures' Fast Saga has been stacking its roster with increasingly big-name actors. In a recent interview with MTV International while promoting the franchise's latest installment, F9, perennial wheelman Vin Diesel indicated that the marquee actor he dreams of adding to the Saga's credits for the next outing, Fast & Furious 10, is Academy Award winner Dame Judi Dench.
James Gunn may not be the first director to cross the fan-drawn battle-lines between Marvel and DC comic properties – Avengers and Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon recently crossed over to complete Zack Snyder's ambitious DC team-up Justice League – but he may turn out to be the most successful, as Whedon's additions to the aforementioned pic were criticized for contradicting Snyder's tone and vision.
JD Dillard, director of Sleight and true Korean War story Devotion, has expressed interest in doing a sequel to The Rocketeer, which is now moving forward.
