Dark Phoenix Is Being Rebranded For Its Home Release

Dark Phoenix took a page from Logan's book and just went with its own standalone title for release in theaters. But that's pretty much where the Logan similarities end. When Dark Phoenix arrives on digital and disc this September, it will make its status as an X-Men film much more clear.

Dark Phoenix is back to X-Men: Dark Phoenix for its September 3 digital release and September 17 arrival on Blu-ray and DVD. The words X-Men are prominent in the packaging, in case the X-factor wasn't clear. Also, presumably, the rebranding aims to entice more people to pick up the film -- collect the whole set, now that the X-Men film franchise as we know it is over.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is the sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse (which was always called that, never just Apocalypse, which would've made it sound like a generic disaster movie). It's also the 12th movie in the X-Men series that started with X-Men back in 2000. Along the way, only five movies removed X-Men from the title -- The Wolverinein 2013, Deadpool in 2016, Logan in 2017, Deadpool 2 in 2018, and now Dark Phoenix in 2019.

It may seem like a minor thing to rebrand the movie for the home release, but this could be X-Men: Dark Phoenix's last chance to pick up some money. With just over $250 million in global box office receipts, that's not expected to cover the full cost of both making the film and releasing/marketing it around the world. Dark Phoenixwas even a bigger box office bomb than Fox's ill-fated Fantastic Four movie.

All in all, it was not the most impressive way to end the X-Men film franchise as we know it, and not the best way to walk through the Disney door. But fans are hopeful for the Marvel Comics characters themselves. What will the future hold for them in the MCU? We shall see. We won't see anytime soon, though.

In case you're curious, here are Fox's listed special features for X-Men: Dark Phoenixon 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital HD:

Dark Phoenix may have struggled at the box office in part because fans didn't feel compelled to rush out and see it at the theater. But will they watch it at home through the digital release or on disc? What's your take? Have you already seen the movie in theaters? Will you check out X-Men: Dark Phoenix's home release or not?

Read more »

Could Thanos Return To The MCU? Markus And McFeely Weigh In

Following six years of build-up, Thanos made quite an impression on Marvel fans when he finally got his time in the spotlight across both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Not only is the character simply visually impressive – brought to life with some of the most incredible visual effects ever featured in a blockbuster – but he is also both a compelling psychological foe, and a dangerously violent one.

Now, however, it seems as though his time on the big screen might be done. The Mad Titan was killed not just once, but twice in Avengers: Endgame, and given that the second time was because of the Infinity Stones it doesn’t seem like there is a wide-open door for him to return. This may be seen as sad news by a significant segment of the movie-going populace, but in the minds of screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, it’s probably for the best that he doesn’t come back.

The subject of Thanos’ potential return was one that CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell brought up with the filmmakers this week during an interview at San Diego Comic-Con, and while the writing pair can understand why some people might want to see the big bad make a comeback, it’s not something they are exactly dying to see happen. Stephen McFeely noted that there are certainly ways that it could be done, particularly because there is an infinite multiverse that exists in canon, but he doesn’t love the idea of what that move would potentially mean for the stories that already exist, or the how non-diehard fans may react:

Of course, this is a conflict with which Marvel Studios is super familiar, as there are past examples of characters coming back from the dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise (in fact, there are many, many, many of them in Avengers: Endgame). Each time it happens, though, it does have an impact on the stakes of the storytelling, as it’s hard to feel the full impact of a hero or villains’ death in the moment if you’re simultaneously aware of the fact that the franchise might eventually bring them back to life.

It’s not a card that can be overplayed, so when it comes to Thanos, it may be best to keep him in the dust state in which he currently exists.

All that being said, Stephen McFeely did throw a caveat into the mix – which is the fact that he has unending faith in the mind an maneuvers of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. While he is personally unsure if bringing Thanos back would be a good idea, he is also of the mind that if Feige has a way to get it done, it will work. Said the screenwriter,

Christopher Markus added in a good point as well. After noting that you could potentially bring Thanos back in a “very weird esoteric way” given the fact that he is “an existential, philosophical character,” he added that the juice may not necessarily be worth the squeeze. After all, the pages of Marvel Comics are filled with hundreds if not thousands of villains who have yet to make their debuts in live-action, and it might just be in Marvel Studios’ best interest to explore new avenues rather than resurrecting dead characters just because they are popular. In Markus’ own words,You can watch Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely discuss the potential return of Thanos, as well as much more about the making of Avengers: Endgame, by clicking play on the full interview below!

Read more »

Spider-Man: Far from Home Crushes Stuber & Crawl in 2nd Weekend with $45.3M

Toy Story 4 was able to remain at number two this weekend with $20.6 million. The sequel, which received positive reviews upon its release, has been a slow and steady earner and is currently sitting at $771 million. As for the number three position, that goes to the box office debut of Crawl. The disaster thriller, which focuses on a father and daughter being hunted by alligators during a hurricane, was only able to capture $12 million.

Spider-Man: Far from Home has won the box office for the second consecutive weekend after bringing in $45.3 million. As of this writing, the highly anticipated sequel sits at $847.1 million globally and is well on its way to become the first Spider-Man movie to cross the $1 billion milestone. Hopes were high for Far From Home and so far, it has been exceeding expectations. With that being said, the summer box office as a whole has been low, even with blockbusters making significant money.

Horror movie Midsommar took the eight spot from $3.5 million, while The Secret Life of Pets 2 fell to number nine after bringing in $3.1 million. Men in Black International finished off the top ten with $3.1 million. Avengers: Endgame is still trying to beat James Cameron's Avatar as the highest grossing movie of all time. After the re-release, the movie was able to reenter the top ten for two weeks, but has since fallen to number twelve with $1.6 million. As of this writing, Endgame is at $2.780 billion, while Avatar is at $2.787 billion, so there's still a little more to go. You can check out the rest of this weekend's numbers over at Box Office Mojo.

Related: MCU to Lose Spider-Man If Far from Home Doesn't Hit $1 Billion?

Disney's Aladdin remake was able to take the sixth spot at the box office this weekend after bringing in an additional $5.8 million. Initial reactions to the remake were not very good, but it has prevailed at the box office, having earned $960.1 million globally since its release at the end of May. At number seven is Annabelle Comes Home. The horror sequel was able to scare up $5.5 million over the weekend and has made $173.5 million globally thus far.

Newcomer Stuber took the fourth spot this weekend after earning $8 million. The action comedy stars Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani as an unlikely crime fighting duo and is the first R-rated title released by Disney since The Fifth Estate in 2013. At number five is Yesterday, which has been doing much better than expected. To date, the Danny Boyle-directed movie has earned $80.5 globally.

1	Spider-Man: Far from Home
2	Toy Story 4
3	Crawl
4	Stuber
5	Yesterday
6	Aladdin
7	Annabelle Comes Home
8	Midsommar
9	The Secret Life of Pets 2
10	Men In Black: International

Read more »

Deadly Knights of Ren Weapon Revealed in Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary

The Knights of Ren were first introduced to the big screen in J.J. Abrams (Star Trek: Into Darkness) 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens. When Rey (Daisy Ridley) touches Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) old light saber, she plunges into a vision. She sees a handful of men, black garb and weaponry, standing in the rain surrounded by slaughtered bodies. They appear to be led by Adam Driver's (BlacKkKlansman) Kylo Ren with his familiar red light saber. Other than a brief moment in the The Rise of Skywalker teaser, we haven't been given any more background on the mysterious knights, but that hasn't stopped us from speculating. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Luke told Rey, "The temple was burning. [Kylo Ren] had vanished with a handful of my students . . . and slaughtered the rest." Many assume this "handful of students" may have become The Knights of Ren.

In May, Vanity Fair released a series of promotional photos for Disney's upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the third installment to the most recent trilogy and the end to the Skywalker Saga. Now, thanks to the new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, fans have more insight into the enigmatic Knights of Ren.

The cover of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary features one member of the Knights. He wears a dark getup similar to Kylo himself. His outfit is dusty, rough and covers every bit of his skin while allowing for movement in a fight that Stormtrooper armor doesn't. His metal helmet is scratched and worn as it hides his face. His weapon of choice is a vibro-scythe blade that looks like he may have made it himself. J.J. Abrams has always preferred the practical effects of the original trilogy to the CGI-heavy prequels, and it shows.

The new Visual Dictionary adds detail to the beautiful promotional images featured in Vanity Fair in May. Some of the photos gave us a practical look at The Knights on set in a desert valley in Jordan. Men in ragged uniforms and weapons pieced together with scraps surround Abrams, and just like the scene from The Force Awakens, there are six Knights in total.

The differences in tone and story of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi was one of the most debated topics of any fandom in recent years. So as Abrams takes up the reins again, he's going to have a lot of threads to tie together. Not least of which is The Knights of Ren. Although the new images solidify LucasFilms' ability to make practical effects appear authentic, it doesn't answer our many questions. What are the Knights of Ren? Are they for or against Kylo now? Did they transform Ben Solo or vice versa? At least Abrams is aware of this. Saying to Vanity fair,

Read more »