New Brightburn Trailer Shows Off Terrifying Superpowers

New Brightburn Trailer Shows Off Terrifying Superpowers

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Superman became a force of evil instead of a superhero? While it’s doubtful Warner Bros and DC will ever tell such a cinematic tale, Brightburn is essentially working with that premise, as the boy who’s wreaking havoc in the upcoming movie shares many of the same abilities as the Man of Steel. You can see these superpowers at work to instill terror rather than hope in the new Brightburn trailer below.

The first Brightburn trailer dropped back in December, but this latest preview provides a more in-depth look at how the young boy, Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn), turns to darkness. His story unfold similarly to Kal-El’s at first. Found by a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Breyer (David Denman and Elizabeth Banks), after landing on Earth as a baby, Brandon is seemingly raised in a loving and warm environment. Unfortunately for him, kids can be cruel, and while Clark Kent managed to make it through his formative years without being a social pariah, Brandon’s classmates have labeled him as a ‘creep.’ Eventually he hits his breaking point when he’s pushed to the ground and breaks the hand of the girl who’s been instructed to help him back up.

This is the moment that Brandon starts to realize just how powerful he is, as demonstrated by him putting his hand through a wood chipper and breaking the machinery. (Didn’t this happen on Smallville, too?) With the evil inside of him growing, Brandon doesn’t waste any time using his powers against others, with his first target being the mother of the girl he harmed, as she wanted him thrown in prison. Super strength, super speed, flight, heat vision, this kid basically has the same power set as Superman, making it easy for him to bring down planes and destroy houses. Despite his actions, Brandon’s mother still believes there is good inside of him, but his father is less convinced.

If this were a DC movie and Superman or someone like him went rogue, it would be easy enough to throw either another superpowered individual or some kind of advanced technology in this threat’s way. For Brightburn, which fits more snugly in the horror genre than the superhero realm, it’s unclear now Brandon Breyer will be neutralized, if at all. As far as we know, there isn’t anyone else in this world anywhere near as powerful as him, and there’s no sign yet that he has a kryptonite-like weakness. For what it’s worth, Brandon tells his mother at the end of the trailer that he wants to “do good,” but with all the destruction he’s caused and no sign of that darkness inside of him diminishing, the chances of him turning back to the light don’t seem likely.

Directed by David Yarovesky, produced by Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn and written by Gunn’s brothers Mark and Brian, Brightburn hits theaters on May 24. If you’re interested in learning what other movies are coming out this year, look through our 2019 release schedule.

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Mark Hamill Defends Unexpectedly Controversial Star Wars Reunion Photo

Mark Hamill Defends Unexpectedly Controversial Star Wars Reunion Photo

Star Wars' Mark Hamill has not been quiet about wishing the new trilogy ending the Skywalker Saga included a reunion for his Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford's Han Solo, and Carrie Fisher's Princess/General Leia Organa. So it wasn't exactly surprising or controversial when he tweeted a fan-made image doctoring a shot from the first Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer, adding Han, Leia, and Luke next to Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian. Hamill tagged that reunion photo with #MissedOpportunities:

However, the first comment under his tweet had this message:

You know this image comes from one of the alt-right portion of the fan base, right? Bad look sir.

Mark Hamill returned to Twitter to share a new version of the reunion photo, this time adding his Joker. He explained and defended his original post, but lightened the mood with some of his trademark dad humor in honor of Avengers: Endgame weekend:

Billy Dee Williams appreciated the Luke/Leia/Han/Lando reunion photo, and replied to Mark Hamill's tweet with his own light humor:

You should be used to getting everyone’s knickers in a twist……part of your charm man!

Most of Mark Hamill's replies have been supportive, with fans saying there was no need for him to have to defend himself. They understood he was just re-expressing his sadness at the "missed opportunities" of the final trilogy never having a full OG reunion. However, some commenters argued the source of what you retweet does matter -- especially if you are as influential as Mark Hamill -- since it may come across as support for the account that made it. Many other famous names, especially political figures, have been called out for such things in the past.

Mark Hamill wasn't trying to endorse anything other than more wishful thinking for What Could Have Been. He's been on that track for a while, even if the Disney suits would probably rather he drop it. What if this is all a long con and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker does give us some kind of Luke/Leia/Han reunion after all? Based on his many posts on the subject, it doesn't seem like that's the case, but you never know.

Mark Hamill even revealed he pitched an idea to director J.J. Abrams for Episode VII: The Force Awakens, bringing Luke Skywalker back into the story a little bit earlier in the film so he could reunite with Leia and they could all be there for Han Solo's goodbye. Now the character of Han is gone, and Carrie Fisher is gone in real life. Leia is still returning through previously unused footage, but the original trilogy reunion ship seems to have sailed.

At least we have Lando back in the mix for Episode IX, and the trailer showed him having a blast back in the pilot's seat. Of course, we can't forget Chewbacca -- even if this fan image didn't add him to the reunion. Chewie didn't get Leia's hug in The Force Awakens and he didn't get a place in this reunion photo. The Wookiee deserves better.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters December 20. Here's what we know so far about the end of the saga.

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Marvel Asked For Loki To Be 'A Villain As Good As Magneto,' Thor Writer Reveals

Marvel Asked For Loki To Be 'A Villain As Good As Magneto,' Thor Writer Reveals

One of the strongest criticisms of the MCU for a long time was that it had a villain problem. Despite producing iconic heroes left and right, Marvel Studios could never quite create a memorable villain. During the early phases of the MCU, the notable exception was Loki, who would be labeled as Marvel's best villain before he finally got some competition. Apparently, Marvel knew early on that it had to nail Loki, and executives told Thor screenwriter Zack Stentz that his top priority was making Loki as good a villain as Magneto.

Way back in the early days of of the MCU, Marvel Studios knew that it was building up to The Avengers. As such, studio execs had the idea that Loki would the villain of that film, but they were also aware that they weren't super great with making good villains. Iron Monger, Whiplash, and the Abomination were forgotten as soon as people left the theater.

So, if Loki had to be their Big Bad of Phase One, they needed to get it right. Here's what the studio told Zack Stentz when he was writing the screenplay for Thor.

It's a complicated issue because we had a very clear mandate when we were writing Thor. They already knew that they were building towards The Avengers and they already had the notion that Loki was going to be the villain. They knew that their villains thus far in the MCU had been a bit underwhelming, and they said -- one of the executives literally said, 'Look, if you fail at everything else, give us a villain as good as Magneto in Loki.' We need someone at that level because that’s going to be our villain for The Avengers.

Back in 2011, The Dark Knight's Joker was the villain to beat, but before that film came along, Magneto was probably the best modern day comic book movie villain. He appeared in every X-Men movie, he had cool powers, and the audience could sympathize with his rationale because of his sad backstory.

Loki certainly has the audience's sympathy. Zack Stentz told The Fanboy Podcast that while writing the character, he knew that one of the most important things for making Loki a great villain is that he had to be relatable.

We always put a lot of effort into our villains, but in this case we really worked hard giving Loki an interesting story and making him sympathetic at the same time as he's doing these terrible things.

I would say that Zack Stentz and his fellow Thor writers certainly gave Marvel what they wanted. Loki went on to become a huge hit with fans, and even after all these years he's still in the Top Five of MCU villains. Of course, a lot of the credit also goes to Tom Hiddleston for his performance as the character.

Loki's movie future was made unclear by Avengers: Endgame, but the character will be the star of his very own mini-series on Disney+, which doesn't have a release date yet. Magneto, currently played by Michael Fassbender, will be seen on screen again soon in Dark Phoenix, which opens in theaters July 7.

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How The Child's Play Reboot is A 'Greek Tragedy' For Chucky

How The Child's Play Reboot is A 'Greek Tragedy' For Chucky

This summer, movie fans will be reunited with a beloved toy-based franchise: Childs' Play, which coincidentally comes out on the same day as Toy Story 4. The horror movie reboot will be changing a few key traits of the murderous Chucky, such as making him a twisted AI, but this brings some depth to the character, according to director Lars Klevberg. In fact, the director sees this reboot as a Greek tragedy for what Chucky goes through in the film.

If you are a fan of the original Child's Play movies, then you've likely noticed that the reboot has gone off script a bit. Rather than having Chucky be a serial killer who used voodoo to transfer his soul into the body of a doll, the reboot's version is an AI that goes bad.

It's certainly less complicated and maybe less fun, but this gave the reboot a chance to make a more sympathetic Chucky who changes over the course of the film. Director Lars Klevberg told Collider that in this way, the story becomes more tragic for Chucky.

When I read the script, one of the first things I recognized was that Chucky was a great character in terms of that he changed. He had his motivations, and it came through his interaction with humans. His way of becoming sympathetic – that was something I really wanted to look into. I viewed the story as a Greek tragedy [for] Chucky… So Chucky having different emotions in this film was important to me.

The jury is still out on whether the story is as tragic for the people that Chucky is definitely murdering.

However, despite the fact that Chucky will become close friends with a knife before the end of the movie, the character will go through numerous changes to reach that point. Whereas in the original films he was always crazy, the new Child's Play will show how the AI reaches its murderous conclusions.

[Chucky’s] motivation is understandable from his point of view but also to us. We can understand why he’s behaving like that. If you understand the antagonist and his motivations, then you can identify with him. That’s why Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is one of my key inspirations… [How Chucky questions] his purpose once he starts to understand from us human beings.

The Child's Play series has always undergone changes from movie to movie. The original was a straight-up horror film before later sequels become more comedy-driven. Making Chucky more sympathetic sounds like it could round him out as a villain and while the end result (him trying to murder everyone) is probably the same, it might make for a better ride.

The Child's Play reboot is all set to hit theaters on June 21. For everything else hitting theaters, check out our 2019 movie release guide.

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Avengers: Endgame Director Would Love To Work On Wolverine

Avengers: Endgame Director Would Love To Work On Wolverine

Right now, lovers of comic book movies are talking about nothing other than Avengers: Endgame. However, once the dust settles and the Marvel Cinematic Universe moves on to whatever it's going to be in the future, fans will certainly begin to wonder what the future has in store now that a host of new characters are potential fodder for MCU movies. Recently, Avengers: Endgame co-director Anthony Russo was asked which of the newly acquired heroes he would be most interested in telling a story with. Unsurprisingly, he's excited by the idea of Wolverine. According to Russo...

I mean, we've always been huge fans of Wolverine. We certainly haven't been thinking about if and when and how we would ever go there, but just off the top of my head, that's a character we've always been passionate about.

At this point, we have no idea what Marvel Studios has planned for the X-Men or the Fantastic Four, the characters who now have seen their film rights return to Marvel following the purchase of 20th Century Fox by Disney. We don't even know if Marvel even has a plan yet. However, if the Russo Brothers ever decide to make another Marvel movie, it seems the studio might be able to entice them by offering them a chance to tell a Wolverine story.

It's not too surprising to hear Anthony Russo tell Fandango that he and his brother love Wolverine. Who doesn't? The character is by far the most popular of the X-Men from the comics and after spending two decades with Hugh Jackman playing the role on the big screen, the character is that much more well known.

Of course, what the future holds for Wolverine is far from clear. Hugh Jackman has said that he's done with the role, and since his version of the character is dead, that seems pretty definitive. We can be sure we haven't seen the last of the character on screen. He's simply too popular to never see again, but exactly how soon we'll see him remains to be seen.

It's unlikely that we'll be getting these answers soon, Disney reportedly is still trying to decide what to do with Fox's in-development Gambit movie and while it's always possible that the project could move forward, only as an MCU movie, that's probably part of a much larger conversation about the future of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. At this point, we don't even know what's happening with the characters that we have in the next 12 months. While we know several of the Marvel films that are in development, none of them have release dates. This means we can't really know what the future has in store.

Whenever Wolverine does return to the big screen. marvel could certainly do worse than getting the Russo Brothers involved.

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The Special James Gunn Easter Egg You Can Find In Brightburn

The Special James Gunn Easter Egg You Can Find In Brightburn

James Gunn didn’t write or direct the new superhero horror feature Brightburn, but he did have a significant role in its creation. In addition to producing the film through his Troll Court Entertainment banner, he was a regular presence on set during shooting, and is a mentor of sorts to helmer David Yarovesky (who previously directed the “Guardians Of The Galaxy: Inferno” music video). His fingerprints are most definitely all over the work… and there’s even a special little Easter egg snuck in that ties back to one of his previous movies.

The movie in question is 2011’s Super – which James Gunn made just prior to venturing into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Guardians of the Galaxy. The independent comedy stars Rainn Wilson as Frank Darbo, a short order cook who becomes a low-rent costumed vigilante when his wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a local crime boss (Kevin Bacon). The plot of the film doesn’t really factor into Brightburn, but while watching the new release I couldn’t help but notice the name of the diner where a few of significant scenes take place: Darbo’s.

Does this mean that Super and Brightburn take place within the same continuity? I brought this question with me when I attended the Los Angeles press day for Brightburn this past weekend, and when I sat down with James Gunn and star Elizabeth Banks I got official confirmation:

Apparently at some point between the events of Super and Brightburn Frank Darbo moved to Kansas and graduated from being a short order cook to a restaurant owner with his name on the outside of the building. It may not be a full-on diner franchise, as James Gunn pointed out, but it does suggest a nice happy ending for the character beyond the events that unfold at the end of the 2011 film.

The connections between Brightburn and James Gunn’s past work may not stop there, however. Recognizing that Gunn and Elizabeth Banks previously collaborated on the writer/director’s first feature, Slither, I followed up my Super question by asking the duo about the possibility of a link between those two movies as well. It was an idea that Banks embraced, explaining,

Well, we don't know what planet Brandon is from or what else could be coming. We don't know! We don't know what else there might be... There's so much alien, you know... there's crap floating around out there and just lands here every once in a while.

Given their similar looks, this might mean that there is a link between Banks’ two characters – Slither’s Starla and Brightburn’s Tori – but that’s certainly not impossible. We never learned much about Starla’s family in the 2006 movie, so perhaps Tori is her cousin from Kansas… who just so happens has an extraterrestrial encounter of her own when she makes the decision to adopt a baby who crash lands on Earth in a spaceship.

Obviously this isn’t spoiler-y at all, but instead a fun Easter egg you can look out for when you go see Brightburn yourself. The new movie arrives in theaters nationwide this weekend, and we’ll have more from my interviews with the cast and filmmakers coming to CinemaBlend in the next few days – so stay tuned!

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That Time Paul Rudd Asked People To Punch Him In The Ant-Man Suit To Scratch An Itch

That Time Paul Rudd Asked People To Punch Him In The Ant-Man Suit To Scratch An Itch

Having an itch you can’t scratch is one of the great struggles of our species. It's a plight universally understood and maddeningly frustrating. Even superheroes, or at least the actors who play them, are not immune from this plague. In fact, their costumes can sometimes make matters worse. Such was the case for Ant-Man actor Paul Rudd, who had to get creative and ask people to punch him when suffering an itch on the Avengers: Endgame set. As he tells it:

One of the things I didn’t like about my costume is that the leather and everything else make it really hard if I have an itch on my back [laughs] and want to scratch it. I remember having to go around to people and have them punch me in the back really hard to get rid of an itch. With the kind of suit I had, I couldn’t do it. And it gets hot. We are sometimes shooting outside. The suit material doesn’t breathe very well.

Desperate itches call for desperate measures, and when it’s a choice between getting punched and enduring the misery of an itch you can’t scratch, Paul Rudd knows the choice is easy. As he told Inquirer, the leather of the Ant-Man costume made it impossible for him to scratch an itch. Whether that was because of how it limited his mobility, that the material was too thick for a scratch to get through or both, he knew he had to seek outside help.

So the actor asked people to punch him in the back in the hopes that the force of the punch would get through the leather Ant-Man suit and vanquish the itch that beset him. It sounds like he went to multiple people for help too, but unfortunately he didn't reveal which ones. No disrespect to anyone’s strength, but I expect getting punched in the back by Tom Holland isn’t quite the same as getting punched by Chris Hemsworth.

I like to think that this was a combined effort that, like defeating Thanos, required the might of all the Avengers to accomplish. If he really had the powers of Ant-Man, Paul Rudd could have just told one of the ants to take care of it, but alas, in lieu of functional Pym tech, he had to rely on more primitive methods.

Unscratchable itches are just one of the many trials and tribulations actors who play big screen superheroes face due to their costumes. The suits are often heavy and uncomfortable. Some restrict your movement and feel claustrophobic. We’ve heard complaints about superhero suits being very hot, a sentiment Paul Rudd echoes, and smelling bad. They’re also not the most accommodating when you have to go to the bathroom.

Sometimes the hardest choices require the strongest wills and we are all grateful that these actors choose to endure miserable suits and unscratchable itches to entertain us. Avengers: Endgame is set to reap the rewards of those sacrifices as it has already broken records for advance ticket sales.

Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26. It’s three hours long, so make sure you wear scratch-friendly clothing and stay frosty, because there are spoilers out there. Check out the biggest questions we still have about the movie and our 2019 Release Schedule for everything else headed your way this year.

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