20th Century Fox made a public apology today over one of its billboards advertising X-Men: Apocalypse. The advert in question features the movie's tyrannical baddie Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) holding Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) by the throat, effectively choking her. It's not the first time this image was used for the marketing campaign; it's been the center of its promotional materials featuring in TV spots, teasers, and posters.
Immediately after this latest Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 rumor started to spiral out onto the web, the film's director quashed it. It's not uncommon for James Gunn to post set photos and scraps of intel from the production. A casting announcement here, an amusing anecdote there: it's all good, clean fun. But this morning's Facebook post sent the fanworld into a tizzy, as the helmer can be seen wielding Thor's iconic hammer, Mjolnir:
Suicide Squad opens in two months, meaning we're right in the thick of Warner Bros' marketing blitz. Trailers, TV spots and posters are the first stepping stone when it comes to audience awareness, but to really make an impression, you've got to grab people through different content channels. Seeing as Warner's supervillain team-up movie is based on a comic, this latest piece of promotion is served up.... as a mini-comic.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was highly-anticipated by a lot of people; DC fans, superhero aficionados, and the public in general. Two of the most iconic characters in comic book history, having a massive fight. What could go wrong? The answer to that question will differ depending on where you stand with regard to Zack Snyder's superhero brawler. Some folks dig it, others... not so much.
The X-Men franchise is getting a facelift. After X-Men: Apocalypse landed with a thud, bringing in a 'measly' $80 million at the US box office, the future of the series is at a crossroads. Director Bryan Singer is keen to move onto new pastures - so who knows when we'll be getting a new X-Men movie. As luck would have it, FX's Legion - based on the story of Professor X's troubled son David Haller - is entering production soon, and it plans to completely reimagine the superhero genre. That involves separating itself from the cinematic universe.
Before Marvel brokered a deal with Sony to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and before Sony delivered two lacklustre The Amazing Spider-Man movies, there was Sam Raimi's trilogy. Its first two entries are celebrated as some of the finest superhero outings of all time, faithfully recreating the excitement and wonder of the webhead's comic book adventures. Then came Spider-Man 3. Yeah, remember Tobey Maguire's emo Peter Parker? Needless to say, Sony opted to not pursue a fourth film from Raimi and co., for fear of another repeat.
If Sharknado has taught us anything - besides the power of social media - it's that people love to see monsters squaring off against actors you wouldn't expect. Despite that franchise's recent (or was it always there?) downgrade in quality, there's still ideas to be be mined from that general cinematic arena. One of those already in pre-production is Meg, a mega-shark movie that originally had Eli Roth at the helm, and now has Jon Turteltaub attached to direct.
In all of the Marvel hoopla this week we've been treated to a plethora of rumors and reports connected to, well, most of its future movies. But, let's not kid around, the movie anchoring all the excitement is Captain America: Civil War. It's already receiving terrific reviews, praising its ability to juggle tons of storylines, action sequences and characters. And on that note, there is one figure who's been curiously absent from all marketing materials - Baron Zemo.
Nicolas Winding Refn's next feature has sparked our curiosity right from its first announcement. Can you blame us? Described by the helmer as "a horror movie about vicious beauty", there was no way The Neon Demon wasn't going to remain on our radar. Over the years we've learned bits and pieces about Refn's plans, right up until the recent news that Amazon had snatched up the rights with plans for a theatrical release after its Cannes debut. And what better way to make a splash than by - finally - giving us a trailer!
When Guardians Of The Galaxy arrived in 2014, it knocked everyone's socks off; it was funny, action-packed and housed a team of loveable, wise-cracking characters. It not only snagged tons of critical acclaim but also a sizeable haul at the box office, which now means, we're only a year out from the sequel. If history repeats itself, then might we be in for a third chapter for this madcap bunch?
