Sam Raimi Wants To Direct Avengers: Secret Wars
In 2002, director Sam Raimi helped kick off the modern era for superhero movies with Spider-Man. That film, along with 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise, paved the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to begin with Iron Man in 2008. Raimi helmed Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 in 2004 and 2007, respectively, but he returned to Marvel in 2022 to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now, Raimi has an even more ambitious superhero film at the forefront of his mind: Avengers: Secret Wars, and he’s just waiting for Marvel to reach out.
“I love 90% of the Marvel heroes that I’ve read in the great Stan Lee Marvel Universe comic books,” said Raimi when Screen Geek asked him about the possibility of directing Secret Wars. “I would love to work with Marvel again. They haven’t reasonably asked me to. I hope they had a good experience with me. They haven’t asked me yet. I hope they do.”
Avengers: Secret Wars is presumably going to draw inspiration from both the 1985 Secret Wars comic and the 2015 Secret Wars event, which brought Marvel heroes from across the multiverse to Battleworld, the stronghold of Doctor Doom after he gained nearly limitless power. The Marvel movies have always taken some liberties with the source material, but that premise could be the perfect excuse to bring more characters from the 20th Century Fox and Sony Marvel films into the MCU.
Marvel has set Avengers: Secret Wars for May 7, 2027, and it will mark the final chapter in The Infinity Saga.
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Lego’s New Milky Way Galaxy Wall Art Set Looks Incredibly Cool
While most of us will never get to experience the majesty of space–unless you’ve got an absurd amount of cash gathering dust in your bank account–you can bring some of that magic to your home. Magic that you can spend an afternoon building with these lovely Lego sets. Lego Insiders can now purchase a wall art building kit of The Milky Way Galaxy and NASA’s Artemis Space Launch System, both of which feature over 3,000 pieces. Lego’s Insiders program is free to join, but if you’d rather wait, everyone else can start placing their orders on May 18.
Just keep in mind these two sets are exclusive to the Lego Store, so you won’t find them at major retailers. If you buy either of these sets before May 26, you’ll get a rather fitting freebie: the Alien Space Diner Lego set, which is a rather fitting bonus.
Lego The Milky Way Galaxy – 3,091 pieces
First up is this $200 artistic recreation of the Milky Way galaxy. We’re not talking about the chocolate here, but rather the collection of stars and planets orbiting a supermassive black hole that we call home in the universe. With over 3,000 pieces, you can bring the beauty of the universe to life with this stunning art project. Lego is aiming to make this a relaxing project to take part in, and you can scan a QR code to get a cool soundtrack to listen to while you build this piece. Lego’s wall art builds can feel more complicated than your average Lego set of this size, and the swirling design of the Milky Way looks like it could make this one particularly complex.
That said, it looks quite pretty and includes some neat flourishes: a tiny Gaia space telescope hidden in the portrait, the Crab Nebula floating amongst the interstellar remains of a star that went supernova, and a tiny plaque to show you where you are in the Milky Way galaxy. This will occupy a decently sized chunk of your wall once complete, as it has a width of 26 inches and a height of 16 inches.
Lego NASA Artemis Space Launch System – 3,601 pieces
Next on the list is the $260 NASA Artemis Space Launch System from the Lego Ideas line. There’s a certain magic to rocket launches, and this set is a replica of NASA’s ongoing Artemis campaign that serves as the next stage in human space exploration. A highly detailed set, there are 3,601 pieces here that come together to create a multi-stage rocket with two solid-fuel boosters, an Orion capsule, and a detailed mobile launch tower. You can also build the launch system, and this model will stand 28 inches tall once it has been fully assembled. The real-life rocket will generate a staggering 4 million KGs of thrust when it takes off.
If that’s not enough space-based fun for you, there are some other cool builds to check out, including Tales of the Space Age, which is on sale for over 30% off at Amazon.
Netflix Orders Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore 2
In 2022, Adam Sandler signaled that he was working a sequel to his 1996 comedy, Happy Gilmore. The film featured Sandler’s title character as he discovered that his hockey talents gave him an incredible edge on the golf course. With the help of his mentor, Derick “Chubbs” Peterson (Carl Weathers), Happy improved his golf game and quelled his violent temper. Now, Happy Gilmore is finally set to return in a new sequel from Netflix.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix announced Happy Gilmore 2 during its upfront presentation. The streamer subsequently shared the news online.
Sandler is writing the script with Tim Herlihy, but there’s no word about whether a director has already been attached to the film. It’s also unknown if any of the other actors from the previous movie will appear. Earlier this year, Christopher McDonald–who played Happy’s rival, Shooter McGavin–said that Sandler had shown him the first draft for the sequel. Sandler had previously told Variety that the sequel may pick up with Happy as a member of the PGA’s senior tour. Last month, Sandler appeared on The Dan Patrick Show and offered an update about where things stood.
“We’re working on it. Me and [Tim] Herlihy are diligently trying to make a good reason for everyone to come and watch and have a good time. Netflix is excited about it,” he said. “We’re working on it. We’ve got some good ideas. We have a million ideas already, we just have to make it a movie. We love Happy Gilmore. We don’t want to let anybody down. We’re gonna work hard and make sure it’s good.”
Sandler’s Happy Madison production company has had a multi-film deal in place with Netflix since 2016. Some of the projects that have emerged from that include The Ridiculous 6, Sandy Wexler, Murder Mystery and its sequel, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, and Spaceman. Sandler also made a standup comedy special for Netflix, Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh, with plans to make another one in the future.
John Wick 4 Star Donnie Yen Getting His Own Spin-Off Movie
John Wick may be gone, but the world he lived in will continue. The first spin-off film, Ballerina, starring Ana De Armas, was recently pushed back to 2025. Now, there’s a second spin-off movie in the works that will feature Donnie Yen reprising his role as the blind assassin Caine from John Wick: Chapter 4.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, the movie will take place after the events of John Wick: Chapter 4, which left Caine free of any remaining obligations to the High Table. However, the post-credits scene featured Caine in Paris as Shimazu Akira (Rina Sawayama) prepared to attack him and avenge her father’s death at his hands. It’s unknown if the new film will address that cliffhanger.
Yen helped shape his depiction of Caine in Chapter 4, and director Chad Stahelski agreed to make the changes to Caine’s name and appearance at Yen’s request. Stahelski is also developing the Caine spin-off, which will be written by Robert Askins.
“Working on John Wick: Chapter 4 was an extraordinary experience,” said Yen in a statement. “The reason these films resonate so deeply is because, like myself, Chad, Basil, and Erica push themselves to create action, fights and stunts that are not only thrilling, inventive and artistic, but also expressive of character, story and emotion. Caine is an incredible character with a haunted past, and I am excited to return to the role.”
Stahelski has previously mentioned discussing the possibility of John Wick: Chapter 5 with Keanu Reeves despite John’s apparent death in Chapter 4. Additionally, Stahelski has said that Halle Berry also wants to return to the franchise, potentially in her own film as well. For the moment, there are no other movies in the works, but Lionsgate is developing another John Wick TV series after the success of The Continental on Peacock in 2023.
Danny DeVito Would Play Wario In The Next Mario Movie
Veteran actor Danny DeVito has said he would be interested in playing Wario in the next Mario animated movie. Speaking to The Movie Dweeb, DeVito joked that he would ask for a lot of money if the opportunity ever came up to play Wario.
After the interviewer joked that they would talk to Mario voice actor Chris Pratt about making it happen, DeVito said, “I’m gonna take them to the cleaners but [tell them] that I should be in the movie.”
Speaking generally about potential upcoming roles, DeVito said, “I’m ready to do a lot of things.” He said the future is uncertain and anything could happen down the road, though as of yet, there is no indication that Wario will be in the next Mario movie and nothing connecting DeVito to it.
This isn’t the first time fans have lobbied for DeVito to play a role popular in gaming circles. Years ago, the internet lobbied for DeVito to be the voice of Pikachu, but that never materialized.
2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned more than $1.3 billion at the box office to become the No. 2 highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo is making another Mario animated movie, and there is always a chance that Wario could appear, but it’s still early days and there is no word yet on the story for the sequel. Beyond that, Nintendo is making a live-action Zelda movie.
Pratt recently made headlines when he said he hopes there will be numerous other Mario movies to create something of a “Nintendo Cinematic Universe.”
DeVito’s latest project is Poolman, which is the directorial debut of actor Chris Pine. The movie received very bad reviews, and the blowback affected Pine.
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Variety), Pine said the initial reviews from the Toronto Film Festival in 2023 made him think he produced a “pile of sh**.” But he watched it again and said to himself, “I fucking love this film. I love this film so much.”
As for DeVito, he’s known for his starring role on the TV show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Some of his movie credits include Big Fish, Matilda (which he also directed), and Batman Returns. He won an Oscar for his producing work on the film Erin Brockovich.
Natasha Lyonne Joins Marvel’s Fantastic Four In Mystery Role – Report
Natasha Lyonne, known for her roles on Russian Doll and Orange is the New Black, is joining the cast for Marvel’s upcoming The Fantastic Four movie, according to Deadline. There is no word yet on who Lyonne will play in the film, however.
She joins a cast that already includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, Julia Garner as Silver Surfer, Ralph Ineson as Galactus. John Malkovich and Paul Walter-Hauser are also set to appear in the movie.
WandaVision’s Matt Shakman is directing The Fantastic Four. Production on the superhero movie is expected to start this summer. The Fantastic Four is slated for release on July 25, 2025.
While Marvel fans have to wait until 2025 for The Fantastic Four, the next big Marvel movie is Deadpool and Wolverine, which releases this July.
Lyonne recently starred on Rian Johnson’s Poker Face and earned an Emmy nomination for it. She also earned Emmy award nominations for Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll.
Dune: Prophecy Gets A Trailer And Release Window From Max
It’s taken almost five years for the Dune spin-off series to come to fruition, but now it’s just a few months away. Dune: The Sisterhood was put into development in 2019, two years before director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune hit theaters. Villeneuve was even going to direct the pilot episode of Dune: The Sisterhood before he had to pull back and focus on the films. Now, the show has a new title, Dune: Prophecy, and the first teaser trailer has been released.
As mentioned in the trailer, Dune: Prophecy takes place 10,000 years before Paul Atreides was born. And the sisterhood wasn’t even known as the Bene Gesserit yet. But the sisterhood successfully expanded their influence among thousands of planets. However, the growing power of the sisterhood eventually leads to divisions from within. According to Max’s synopsis for the series, the show will follow two sisters, Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams), who will “combat forces that threaten the future of humankind” while also establishing “the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.”
The rest of the cast includes Travis Fimmel, Johdi May, Mark Strong, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Josh Heuston, Chloe Lea, Jade Anouka, Faoileann Cunningham, Edward Davis, Aoife Hinds, Chris Mason, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Tabu, and Jihae.
Dune: Prophecy will have a six-episode run this fall on Max.