2018 was a phenomenally good twelve months for Black Panther considering the fact that he died about a third of the way through, with T’Challa’s solo debut ending December as the year’s highest-grossing film domestically and second-highest-grossing globally. But while a lot of Marvel movies have been big, and some have been even bigger than Ryan Coogler’s flick, Black Panther also managed to earn a level of acclaim and prestige previously unseen for an MCU feature, and the plaudits just keep coming its way.
It’s now been almost a month since the first trailer for Avengers: Endgame emerged online, and after pouring through the footage frame by frame, analyzing the IMAX version for its expanded screen ratio, and forming countless new theories on the events of the Avengers: Infinity War sequel, fans are feeling more than ready for some new official material from 2019’s biggest blockbuster.
In what’s surely one of the most morbid and controversy-baiting trends of 2019, Sharon Tate will be depicted in several upcoming films with release dates that fall close to the fiftieth anniversary of her murder at the hands of the Manson Family. While Margot Robbie assumes the part in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Kate Bosworth is set to play the actress in Tate, perhaps the most dubious of the three is The Haunting of Sharon Tate, which sees Hilary Duff in the title role.
Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the dark side isn’t always a particularly smooth or convincing transition in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, but thanks to the various comic book tie-in material that covers the early years of the Skywalker Saga, we’re starting to get a better understanding of the context behind the creation of Darth Vader. A passage from the new Star Wars: Age of Republic – Obi-Wan Kenobi, for example, suggests that Ewan McGregor’s characters may not have been as blameless as his reputation suggests.
Though the upcoming Avengers: Endgame is looking to pack more superheroes into the action than any MCU entry so far, it’s clear that the Phase 1 line-up of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will be getting more emphasis than most of their co-stars, with Captain America and Iron Man proving particularly prominent in the countless fan theories making the rounds. Just take this new Reddit post, which draws on what we know about Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., along with their fictional alter egos, to suggest the fates of each character.
Aquaman director James Wan has long shown an interest in blending the superhero genre with horror. This intention was evident in the Blade film he pitched to Marvel several years ago, along with the Batman horror flick that he briefly considered. The filmmaker even claims to have pitched Arthur Curry’s solo debut as “a horror monster movie,” but in the upcoming Swamp Thing series, we could be seeing Wan’s clearest attempt yet to blend the two genres.
When it comes to awards season potential, the new Aquaman movie isn’t exactly Black Panther, but it still came as a surprise to learn that the feature hadn’t made the Oscar shortlist for Best Visual Effects after an abundance of fans, critics, and industry insiders had offered kind words on the underwater spectacle of the DCEU’s latest release.
When the news broke in quick succession that Iron Fist and Luke Cage had been cancelled, the popular joke was that the two Netflix shows had fallen victim to the snap from Avengers: Infinity War, which saw the demise of half the universe’s population. And while the number of Defenders shows to get the axe has since turned out to be more than half, Mike Colter has drawn on the old metaphor while explaining that Luke will not be showing up in Avengers: Endgame.
As Aquaman continues its formidable run in cinemas, not only is Arthur Curry’s solo debut on the verge of being the highest-grossing entry of the DCEU, but is even doing pretty well for itself by the standards of MCU flicks.
