Marvel Studios Reveals Next Two Years' Film and Streaming Slate

Marvel Studios Reveals Plans for Phase Four at San Diego-Comic-Con

Saturday, July 20, 2019, in Hall H at Comic-Con International in San Diego, Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige officially announced the lineup of feature films for the next two years and shared exciting new information on the brand-new Marvel Studios’ series created exclusively for Disney+, Disney’s upcoming streaming service launching in the U.S. on November 12, 2019.

The Eternals—in theaters on November 6, 2020

Chloé Zhao directs the feature, which introduces an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Eternals stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh and Don Lee.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier—coming to Disney+ in fall 2020

Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) most popular heroes—Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon, and Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier—embark on a series of action-filled adventures as they fight together against evil after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Anthony Mackie (The Falcon) and Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier) reprise their roles in the new series.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings—in theaters on February 12, 2021

Kevin Feige announced the confirmed casting of Simu Liu in the title role of Shang-Chi. Destin Daniel Cretton directs, and the film also stars celebrated Chinese actor Tony Leung as the real Mandarin, and Awkwafina in a yet-to-be-disclosed role.

WandaVision—coming to Disney+ in spring 2021

Paul Bettany reprises the role of Vision and Elizabeth Olsen returns to her role of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. They will be joined by MCU newcomer Teyonah Parris, who will be playing the grown-up version of Monica Rambeau, who was introduced to audiences in Captain Marvel.

Loki—coming to Disney+ in spring 2021

Tom Hiddleston returns to his role of the mercurial Loki, the God of Mischief and fan-favorite villain.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness—in theaters on May 7, 2021

The second film in the Doctor Strange franchise will reunite director Scott Derrickson with Benedict Cumberbatch, who returns for the new installment. Elizabeth Olsen will also star, and WandaVision—the Disney+ series that’s also centered around Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch—will connect directly to the feature-film storyline.

What If…?—coming to Disney+ in summer 2021

What If…? marks the first animated series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and features stories that present alternate realities in the Marvel universe. Many actors from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe will reprise their roles, as voice talent; and Jeffrey Wright lends his voice to the popular character The Watcher in the new series.

Hawkeye—coming to Disney+ in fall 2021

In Hall H, Jeremy Renner revealed the previously undisclosed title of the Disney+ original series. Hawkeye will introduce fans to Kate Bishop, a character well-known in the Marvel comics, who will be an integral part of the new series.

Thor: Love and Thunder—in theaters November 5, 2021

In the fourth feature film in the Thor franchise, Jane Foster, played by Natlie Portman, will become the Mighty Thor, the Goddess of Thunder. Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Portman star, with Taika Waititi set to direct.

Black Widow—in theaters May 1, 2020

The first film of Phase Four stars Scarlett Johansson, who reprises her role of Natasha Romanoff, as well as MCU newcomers David Harbour, who plays Alexei aka The Red Guardian; Florence Pugh as Yelena; O-T Fagbenie as Mason and Rachel Weisz as Melina. Cate Shortland directs.

To conclude the presentation, Feige also surprised the enthusiastic Hall H crowd with the announcement that two-time Academy Award® winner Mahershala Ali will star in the new Marvel Studios feature film Blade.

--------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 24th to 28th, 2019 - Update #41

Support Leroy on Patreon:

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  AMC is developing a second spinoff of "The Walking Dead."

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Will Smith is leaving "Suicide Squad 2," reportedly due to scheduling conflicts.  Writer-director James Gunn is hoping to start production on the film this fall for a August 2021 release.

----------
TELEVISION - From TVFanatic:  Fox's revival of its 1999-2000 series, "Beverly Hill, 90210," is scheduled to debut this coming summer in a six-episode first season.  Most of the original cast will return.

----------
ANIMATION - From Variety:  The next installment of the "Hotel Transylvania" animated film franchise, "Hotel Transylvania 4," will hit theaters December 2021.

----------
STREAMING - From Deadline:  Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick are set for the original animated comedy, "Human Discoveries" for "Facebook Watch," Facebook's video-on-demand streaming service.

---------
SCIENCE - From NPR:  The world's largest bee, the Wallace's giant bee — Megachile pluto, has been spotted for the first time since 1981.

----------
MOVIES - From BleedingCool:   Yahya Abdoul-Mateen II, who played the villain Black Manta in "Aquaman," will be Candyman in Jordan Peele's reboot of the "Candyman" film.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Newsarama:  New "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" trailer is supposed to arrive Wednesday, February 27th.

----------
SCANDAL - From YahooEntertainment:  R. Kelly pleaded not guilty Monday (Feb. 25th) to charges that he sexually abused four people dating back to 1998, including three underage girls.  Kelly's attorney said the R&B star was still trying to pay the bail ($100,000) on a one million dollar bond that would allow him to go free while awaiting trial.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 2/22 to 2/24/2019 weekend box office is "How to Train Your Dragon 3" with an estimated take of 55.5 million dollars.

----------
OSCARS - From Vice:  Spike Lee's Oscar Speech Was A Lesson In Black History

From THR: Oscars: Read Spike Lee's Powerful Political Acceptance Speech

From YahooEntertainment:  Regina King almost turned down a role in "If Beale Street Could Talk."  It was a first film role in 10 years and it ultimately won her an Oscar for best supporting actress.

From Deadline:  President Trump tweets criticism at Spike Lee for Spike's acceptance speech after winning the best adapted screen play Oscar.

From Deadline:  2019 Oscar ratings better than 2018 Oscar ratings.

----------
GREEN BOOK - From ShadowandAct: " How 'Green Book' And The Hollywood Machine Swallowed Donald Shirley Whole"

From TheAtlantic: The Documentary Highlighting the Real "Green Book."

From LATimes:  Oscars 2019: ‘Green Book’ is the worst best picture winner since ‘Crash’

----------
OSCARS - From THR:  The winners at the 91st Academy Awards have been announced. "Green Book" was named "Best Motion Picture of the Year."

2019 / 91st Academy Award winners (for film achievements in 2018):

Best motion picture of the year:
“Green Book” Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Producers

Achievement in directing:
“Roma” Alfonso Cuarón

Performance by an actress in a leading role:
Olivia Colman in “The Favourite”

Performance by an actor in a leading role:
Rami Malek in “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role:
Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:
Mahershala Ali in “Green Book”

Best animated feature film of the year:
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score):
“Black Panther” Ludwig Goransson

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song):
“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born”
Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt

Adapted screenplay:
“BlacKkKlansman” Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee

Original screenplay:
“Green Book” Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly

Best live action short film:
“Skin” Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman

Achievement in visual effects:
“First Man” Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm

Best animated short film:
“Bao” Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb

 Best documentary short subject:
“Period. End of Sentence.” Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton

Achievement in film editing:
“Bohemian Rhapsody” John Ottman

Best foreign language film of the year:
“Roma” Mexico

Achievement in sound mixing:
“Bohemian Rhapsody” Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali

Achievement in sound editing:
“Bohemian Rhapsody” John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone

Achievement in cinematography:
“Roma” Alfonso Cuarón

Achievement in production design:
“Black Panther” Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart

Achievement in costume design:
“Black Panther” Ruth Carter

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling:
“Vice” Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney

Best documentary feature:
“Free Solo” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill

----------
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  Alfred Uhry reflects on the controversial 1989 best picture Oscar winner, "Driving Miss Daisy."  Uhry wrote the play upon which the film is based and won a Pulitzer Prize and Obie Award for the play.  He also won an Oscar for adapting his play into a screenplay.

----------
OBIT:

From Deadline:  The German-born, American conductor, composer, and pianist, Andre Previn has died at the age of 89, Thursday, February 28, 2019.  Previn was four Oscars for his film music and 10 Grammy Awards for his musical recordings.

----------
ROBERT KRAFT:

SCANDAL-SPORTS - From CNBC:  Robert Kraft, the owner of the NFL's New England Patriots, has been charged with prostitution in Jupiter, Florida, following a sting operation of the "Orchids of Asia Day Spa" massage palor.

From TMZ:  Graphic video from inside of "Orchids of Asia Day Spa," include ejaculation and subsequent cleanup.

From TCPalm:  "Orchids of Day Spa," which serviced NFL owner, Robert Kraft, may be involved in sex trafficking, with some women reportedly being "sex slaves."

From CNN:  How Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and accused of soliciting prostitution, became a billionaire.

From FoxNews:  New England Patriots' Robert Kraft was not the only rich guy caught in police sting operation of sex trafficking ring.

Review: "Moonlight" Shines as Groundbreaking American Cinema

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

Moonlight (2016)
Running time:  151 minutes
MPAA – R for some sexuality, drug use, brief violence, and language throughout
DIRECTOR:  Barry Jenkins
WRITERS:  Barry Jenkins; from a story by Tarell Alvin McCraney
PRODUCERS:  Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Adele Romanski
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  James Laxton
EDITORS:  Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders
COMPOSER: Nicholas Britell
Academy Award winner including “Best Picture”

DRAMA/LGBTQ

Starring:  Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome, Andre Holland, and Janelle Monae

Moonlight is a 2016 coming-of-age drama from director Barry Jenkins.  This won the “Best Picture of the Year” Oscar at the 89th Academy Awards (February 2017).  It was the first film with an all-Black/African-American cast and also the first LGBT film to win the best picture Oscar.  Moonlight looks at the difficulties of identity and sexuality faced by the main character, an African-American male, by examining three stages of his life:  childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.

His name is Chiron (Alex Hibbert), but some call him by the nicknames, “Little” and “Black.”  In Liberty City, Miami, Juan (Mahershala Ali), a drug dealer originally form Cuba, finds Little in an abandoned crack house, hiding from a pack of bullies.  Juan and his girlfriend, Teresa (Janelle Monae), befriend Little, and Juan becomes a mentor, of sorts.  However, Little finds himself dealing with the word, “faggot,” and with the fact that his mother, Paula (Naomie Harris), is a customer of Juan's.

Later, teen Chiron (Ashton Sanders) is a high school student.  His mother's addiction is worse, and a bully named Terrel is constantly harassing him.  Chiron befriends another teenager, Kevin (Jharrel Jerome), who likes to call Chiron by the nickname “Black,” but their friendship will be complicated by high school politics.

Later, adult Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) deals drugs in Atlanta.  He tries to reconcile with his mother.  Also, after receiving a phone call from him, Chiron travels to Miami to reunite with an adult Kevin (André Holland) to explore what could have been.

In the moonlight, black Black boys look blue (or purple, as some people say).  I think what immediately makes Moonlight stand out is what a beautiful Black boy Alex Hibbert, who plays young Chiron, is.  His subtle and fiercely quiet performance gives life-blood to the early chapters of Moonlight.  Just his demeanor humanizes all young Black boys, putting them in a positive light, similar to the way other films make young White boys cute and precocious.  In this film, gay is a journey to discovery, and while that journey is difficult, it does not yield tragedy (as in Brokeback Mountain).  So Hibbert is the first leg of the relay race that carries Moonlight to Oscar gold.

When Mahershala Ali won the best supporting actor Oscar for his performance as Juan, he became the first Muslim to win an Oscar.  Although the role is small, Juan is a giant, and Ali establishes him with richness and grace.  In a way, Ali is the pillar that supports this film, and he turns Juan into the rocket that launches the story of the stages in the life of Chiron.

Naomie Harris is electric as Paula, in a role that some African-American actresses are reluctant to play.  A Black female crack addict as a fictional character is just as likely to be a melodramatic trope as it is likely to be multi-layered character.  The crack-head can be a treacherous role, but Harris picks her spots; in each scene in which Paula appears, Harris gives her another layer.  Thus, she creates a character that can engage us, rather than a caricature that annoys the audience.

In fact, all of the performances here are good and the actors have excellent characters, via the story and screenplay, with which to work.  Tarell Alvin McCraney's story is rich source material, and Barry Jenkins turns it into a screenplay for the ages, simply because it is like nothing else before it.  Moonlight is achingly and beautifully human.  Here, the Black person – straight, gay, addict, bully, etc. –  is a life, a precious life – a life that matters.  The focus is not on tragedy but on love, connectivity, and reconciliation.  This makes Moonlight the best American LGBT or gay-theme film to date.

10 of 10

Tuesday, August 15, 2017


NOTES:
2017 Academy Awards, USA:  3 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Adele Romanski – Dede Gardner became the first woman to win Best Picture twice.), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Mahershala Ali), and “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Barry Jenkins-screenplay and Tarell Alvin McCraney-story); 5 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Naomie Harris), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Barry Jenkins), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (James Laxton), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders – Joi McMillon became the first African American female to be nominated for Best Film Editing.), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)” (Nicholas Britell)

2017 Golden Globes, USA 2017:  1 win: “Best Motion Picture – Drama;” 5 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Mahershala Ali), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Naomie Harris), “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Barry Jenkins), “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Barry Jenkins), and “Best Original Score - Motion Picture: (Nicholas Britell)

2017 BAFTA Awards:  4 nominations: “Best Film” (Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Adele Romanski), “Best Supporting Actor” (Mahershala Ali), “Best Supporting Actress” (Naomie Harris), and “Best Screenplay (Original)” (Barry Jenkins)


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-------------------------