If you’ve seen Madame Web this weekend, you might be wondering why not all of the Spider-Women were given origin stories. Yes, we get to see how Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) becomes Madame Web, but other than glimpses of their future, we don’t get to see who Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) and Ayna Corazon (Isabela Merced) get their arachnid inspired alter-egos. Well, according to the film’s director, S.J. Clarkson, this was completely intentional. “Well, I thought it would be a bit greedy to do four origin stories. That’s not really fair, is it? I’ve got to share it. Come on. I mean, first and foremost, it’s Madame Web, right? But I hope the exciting thing about it is, this is a tease. And I think the origin story of the girls, we’re given, hopefully, a hint of the spirit of who they are. We’ve tried to stick to the spirit from the comic books and draw from that and find out who they are and get a little bit of their sass and a little bit of their character coming through. But that’s a lot of stories to tell, I think, in one [movie]. And I think it wouldn’t do any of them justice to try and sort of crowbar or cram it all into one movie. So, I think it’s Madame Web’s, and here’s kind of the development of something else underneath it.” Clarkson thinks fans will want other storytellers to get their turn to share the origins of these other characters. 

The Ninth Jedi is an animated episode in the first volume of Star Wars: Visions, an anthology series released on Disney+. Created by Kenji Kamiyama and produced by the Japanese animation studio Production I.G, it premiered in September 2021. The story is set in an alternate Star Wars timeline where the Jedi Order has long been extinct, and the Sith are actively working to prevent its revival. The story follows Lah Kara, the daughter of a lightsaber-smith, who becomes a key figure in the effort to rebuild the Jedi Order. Her journey intertwines with Margrave Juro, a ruler seeking to unite Jedi hopefuls and forge new lightsabers using kyber crystals. It was announced at the Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo that The Ninth Jedi will be expanded into a long-form series, set to debut in 2026. This series will continue Kara's story and delve deeper into the mythology introduced in the short. 

Sinners actor Delroy Lindo shared his thoughts on Marvel's long-delayed Blade reboot, describing it as a project that "just went off the rails." He mentioned that Marvel initially seemed very interested in his input, and the early discussions were exciting and inclusive. Lindo was set to play a character inspired by Marcus Garvey, leading a Black community, which he found conceptually thrilling. However, despite the promising start, the project faced numerous challenges, including creative differences, and ultimately stalled. The film was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. Marvel Studios revealed that Mahershala Ali would take on the role of the iconic vampire hunter, marking his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The reboot has faced several delays due to a combination of factors including multiple changes in its creative team, including the departure of directors like Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, as well as several screenwriters and the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent industry strikes in Hollywood significantly disrupted the production timeline. Despite these setbacks, Marvel Studios has expressed its commitment to the project and to Ali's portrayal of Blade. 

With the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps, Pedro Pascal is talking about the physicality of playing Mr. Fantastic and comparing Reed Richards to Din Djarin who he plays on The Mandalorian. “You know, with Din Djarin, there’s so much physical authorship that is a collective effort, with my work, Brendan Wayne’s work, Latif Crowder’s work, other bodies that have stepped into the armor, but primarily, those two guys and myself. With Reed, that, for me, was a brand new kind of experience to author something that is very, very familiar to the world, has previous authorship, a very specific understanding of the pages of the comics, and different evolutions and stuff like that. And then something that is so independent in its identity as far as our version is concerned. To me, you know, his body may stretch, but this is a brain character, and it’s really his mind that was the most important to me.” Following up on that and how he got into the movement for the character, Pascal said, “I guess I’ll just give it completely away. I thought of the brilliance of an octopus. Not in any literal physical translated way, but I put it into my subconscious. Yeah. That’s the biggest character secret reveal that I’ve given to you.” Fantastic Four: First Steps his theaters July 25th. 

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds are good friends, but that didn’t keep the man who has played Wolverine for over two decades from sharing the one gripe he had about his most recent turn as the yellow clad mutant. Famously known as a song-and-dance-man, Jackman found it odd that the one scene in Deadpool & Wolverine that involved dancing didn’t involve him. Jackman told the live audience at Radio City Music Hall: “Don’t tell Ryan… I don’t need to be in every scene in the movie. But Ryan is a writer. And when I see the script, I see that the scene that I’m not in is the opening sequence which is a dance number to an NSYNC song by Ryan. I’m like, the one scene I’m not in has dance. Now Ryan, he’s very talented, but dancing?” This was part of his musical review show, From New York, With Love, and got a good laugh from the audience. Jackman then performed the dance that got away alongside his trainer and former dancer Beth Lewis. 

At Star Wars Celebration in Japan this week, fans were treated to some exciting updates about Ahsoka Season 2: Rory McCann has been cast as Baylan Skoll, taking over the role after the passing of Ray Stevenson. McCann's portrayal is expected to honor the character's legacy. Hayden Christensen is officially returning as Anakin Skywalker. While details about his role remain under wraps, his involvement has fans buzzing. Admiral Ackbar will make an appearance, facing off against Grand Admiral Thrawn. Filming for the new season is set to begin in just a few days, with eight episodes planned. Ahsoka stars Rosario Dawson, David Tennant, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ivanna Sakhno. 

It’s Superman Day in addition to Good Friday today and Warner Bros’ DC Studios has just dropped a special behind-the-scenes look.

“James (Gunn) didn’t know that Superman was in his future,” says DC Studios co-boss and Superman producer Peter Safran. “He wasn’t sure that was the one he should be doing,” continues Safran, “and then he called me one day and said ‘I have a way in. I know what I want to talk about.'”

Gunn emphasizes how he’d been trying to crack this noble superhero for years.

In this sizzle reel we see that the robots that saved Superman in the previous trailer — are actually robots, and not CGI as one of them is giving Gunn a high five!

Superman flies on July 11. (via Deadline)

Sizzle reel: https://youtu.be/Rq5LyXG8m2U

From the brilliant minds of writer Si Spurrier (Coda, X-Men), artist Vanesa Del Rey (Black Widow, The Creeping Below), colorist John Starr (X-Men), letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (You’ll Do Bad Things), and designer Emma Price, comes a spicy new Cajun crime miniseries set in the sweaty Southern swamps. Fargo meets Deliverance in this trippy fever-dream thriller, juxtaposing gorgeously pastel sunsets and vibrant hues of the wilderness with shadowy nightmares and dark deeds. Featuring stunning covers by Del Rey, Christian Ward, and Tula Lotay, the first of four extra-juicy issues hits shelves this July.


In The Voice Said Kill, alligator poachers prowl the mudbug mire. A park ranger, heavily pregnant, raises a hateful mug of moonshine with a criminal matriarch. And one deadly sonuvabitch, out of his mind on shrooms and retribution, loads his rifle for the Human Hunt and screams down the stars.

“I’ve waited years to make this book,” said Spurrier. “The story arrived in my brain fully formed—that never happens. This perfect, self-contained spiral of murder, moonshine and motherhood, steaming with Cajun chaos and swamp spice. What’s taken so long has been finding the right artist. In my view, the key power of the comic book medium lies in taking something outwardly familiar and infusing it with a sort of transcendent magic. In Vanesa, I’ve found the most exceptional expression of that transformative sorcery. What’s emerged is this visionary, impressionistic fever-dream, which elevates a hardboiled crime thriller into a psychedelic bayou epiphany, unlike anything I’ve ever written or read.”

“The Voice Said Kill asks the reader to step out of their comfort zone and into the darkness that lurks in the shadows of the Louisiana swamps and in the hearts of men,” added Del Rey. “I want this book to send you on a transcendental journey as if you were tripping on mushrooms in the real jungle. I can say that my own mind has been transformed, making this book possible. So please enjoy the trip, and don't forget to call your mother.”

The Voice Said Kill #1 (of 4) will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 23:

Cover A by Vanesa Del Rey - Lunar Code 0525IM281

Cover B (1:25 incentive) by Christian Ward - Lunar Code 0525IM282

Cover C (1:50 incentive) by Tula Lotay - Lunar Code 0525IM283

The Voice Said Kill will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Disney+ pulled back the curtain on the next chapter of Light & Magic, the docuseries chronicling the history and groundbreaking work of Lucasfilm’s storied visual effects house, Industrial Light & Magic.

The trailer and key art for season two were unveiled during a presentation Friday at the Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo, offering the legions of fans who had traveled to Japan for the event an early glimpse at the show’s deep dive into the studio’s most transformative era — the shift to digital filmmaking.

The three-part second season of the doc series went live on Disney+ as the Tokyo presentation got underway. The second season of Light & Magic is now streaming exclusively on Disney+. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Trailer: https://youtu.be/68YdtaKRO7M

Star Wars villain Darth Maul is getting his own series.

The popular character, who first appeared in 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, will headline Maul: Shadow Lord, a new animated series for Disney+, it was announced at Star Wars Celebration on Friday.

The series was revealed in the final minutes of a panel spotlighting the 20th anniversary of Lucasfilm Animation, with Lucasfilm CCO Dave Filoni, who rose through the ranks via the animation division, and vp, animation Athena Portillo discussing the company’s rich output. But while they were chatty about woking with George Lucas or the animation process or past hits, when it came to discussing a future project, it was show, don’t tell. They simply dropped a trailer onto an unsuspecting crowd.

And when it became clear that it was a show centered on Maul, fans were sent into a rapturous ecstasy.

The show, which will tell the story of Maul teaching an apprentice, will debut in 2026. Sam Witwer, who voiced the Maul character in previous animated series, will reprise the part. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Ryan Gosling has the high ground. Lucasfilm confirms that the star will lead a new “Star Wars” installment, titled “Star Wars: Starfighter,” with Shawn Levy directing. The film is eyeing a fall production start and Disney has set a theatrical release date of May 28, 2027.

After numerous reports on Gosling and Levy’s attachment to a “Star Wars” project, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and chief creative officer Dave Filoni officially unveiled plans for “Starfighter” on Friday morning at the banner’s annual Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo.

The standalone, which focuses on new characters in the “Star Wars” universe, is set roughly five years after the events of “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker,” which concluded the Skywalker saga and currently stands as the final feature chronologically on the “Star Wars” timeline. No other casting details were announced.

“Starfighter” will release just over a year after the next “Star Wars” theatrical feature, “The Mandalorian & Grogu.” That film, a theatrical expansion of the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” has already completed principal photography and will release to theaters on May 22, 2026. It will mark the first “Star Wars” feature since “The Rise of Skywalker” debuted in December 2019. (via Vareity)

Release video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1913040662628618670