More from Richard Newby
It’s the End of DC As We Know It
The dawn of a new DC Universe is upon us, with James Gunn and Peter Safran planning a new slate of film, TV and gaming projects. But before we get there, we have nine months of what feels like the last gasps of the DCEU, which is coming to an end, almost poetically, a decade […]
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Marvel Seeks to Focus an Ever-Sprawling Universe with Phase 5
Marvel Studios is entering a rebuilding phase with the Feb. 17 launch of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. After Phase 4 laid the foundation for the multiverse post-Avengers: Endgame and expanded prolifically across film and television, Phase 5 is shaping up to be more narratively focused, and a little more patient with its rollout, as […]
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6 Burning Questions About DC Studios’ New Slate
Hope. That’s the feeling most fans were left with following the announcement of Warner Bros. Discovery’s slate for the DCU (DC Universe). Following a decade of inner turmoil over what to do with their largest property, creative conflicts, a revolving door of leadership, the studio finally has a clear path forward with James Gunn and […]
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‘M3GAN’ Is a Horror Film for the TikTok Generation
She’s an internet sensation and trend-setter. She’s a four-foot-tall killer with attitude. She’s M3GAN, and for producers James Wan and Jason Blum, she may very well be one of the most important additions to Universal’s library of monsters in recent years. Frankenstein’s monster for the iPad generation has been created, and if her social media […]
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The Best Horror Movies of 2022
This year has been frightfully good for horror. As the box office recovers, 2022 continued to make it clear that the thing audiences are guaranteed to show up for, outside of Marvel movies, is horror movies. Some of the year’s biggest success stories, hottest new directors, and studio overhauls emerged from the horror business. From […]
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Marvel Has Found an Answer to So-Called “Fatigue”
Marvel Studios is here to ring in another holiday with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. It marks the second of Marvel Studios’ newly minted “Marvel Special Presentation” line, following the release of Michael Giacchino’s Werewolf by Night in October. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, written and directed by James Gunn, once […]
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The Hidden Struggle of ‘Wakanda Forever’
[This story contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.] “The living are not done with you yet,” T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) tells Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) at the end of Captain America: Civil War (2016). While those words don’t belong to filmmaker Ryan Coogler or co-writer Joe Robert Cole, they seem to inform their thinking on the […]
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With ‘Black Adam,’ Dwayne Johnson Puts His “Franchise Viagra” Reputation to the Test
In 2015, the cast of Saturday Night Live crooned about Dwayne Johnson being “franchise Viagra” during the actor’s opening monologue. Seven years later, the $142.9 million global debut for Black Adam suggests that, in a time of transition for DC, Johnson is indeed the boost the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned comic brand needs. Even if Black […]
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Marvel’s ‘Werewolf by Night’ Sets Stage for a Horror-Style Avengers Crossover
The shadows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are pooling together, forming a new corner in this ever-expanding franchise. It’s populated not by brightly colored costumed heroes who can stand in the spotlight as Avengers, or villains who demand the world’s attention, but by monsters rendered in every shade of grey, forced to navigate a black […]
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When ‘Bros’ Bombed, Star Billy Eichner Put the Blame on the Audience
Most people don’t want to see movies perform poorly at the box office. And I’d argue that most people, despite the “go woke, go broke” social media rhetoric from a vocal minority, see the value in consuming and identifying with stories about people who may not look like them or share their lifestyle. So, it’s […]
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‘Wakanda Forever’ Leaves Door Open for a Classic Villain
“Only the most broken people can be great leaders,” Namor (Tenoch Huerta) intones in the latest trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While the first trailer for Ryan Coogler’s highly-anticipated sequel conveyed a message of grief as the central characters mourned the death of King T’Challa, reflecting audiences’ continued grief over the loss of Chadwick […]
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Marvel Disappointed the Rumor Mill at D23
As the dust settled on Marvel’s D23 presentation, fans had a number of reveals to chew on — from castings for the Thunderbolts and Captain America: New World Order, to trailers for Secret Invasion and Werewolf by Night. What they didn’t get? Henry Cavill and Jodie Comer in the MCU or complete castings for the […]
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