Spiderman is Back...with Sony

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The Spider-man relationship with Marvel and Sony is like a bad custody hearing. Marvel wants to split custody, and Sony is an unreasonable monster who won’t even grant visitation after learning Spider-man is a genius child. Okay, maybe an odd take, but Sony taking full control of their Spider-man property is quite interesting.

The Deal & Downfall

Originally, the Sony-Marvel deal was made in 2015 with Sony putting up 100% of the production costs. The film was essentially a Sony film with a Marvel coat of paint. Disney was receiving 5% “first-dollar” gross and 5% ticket sales, along with merchandising rights.

With this deal, Sony would get most of the box-office profits.

Then, Marvel wanted to renegotiate.

Marvel wanted to move the profit split closer to 50/50 and receive more from the property, which I believe was the real strain that made Sony take back Spider-man. However, Sony did outline their reasons with a full statement on Twitter.

If you want to read the full statement without the three-part breaks in Twitter:

Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film. We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him—including all their newly added Marvel properties—do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own. Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue.

It is entirely possible that an agreement between Marvel and Sony can be made later to keep Spider-man in the MCU, but sadly this looks like Sony won’t be sharing anytime soon.

What’s Next?

Well, for Sony, they have a lot of options. They can continue the story created in “Far from Home” without other MCU characters, they can add Spider-man in a Vemon movie, and they can reboot Spider-man for the 100th time like they always seem to enjoy. Outside of bringing back Tobey Maguire, I don’t know if any of these options are great.

Putting Spider-man in a Venom movie could be a fun, comic book style adventure, but having Spider-man share the screen with Venom might be a tough task. Venom would have to be reverted to Bad Guy status at a time where his anti-hero status is just taking shape. That being said, it is there best move.

Any other decision would be difficult to entice fans to come and see it, especially at the billion-dollar levels Spider-man had just reached. Spider-man is a fan favorite regardless of MCU branding, but Spider-man definitely grew faster and was arguably more beloved under Marvel’s direction.

Another point to be made is the lack of information on returning cast and director. Jon Watts, director of the last two Spider-man films, is not confirmed to return for the next Spider-man movie. Only Tom Holland is confirmed to return, but even that might be suspect if they don’t start production soon.

The 3rd Spider-man film is in the works with early writing work, but a lot can happen from now until pre-production and production rolls around. I can’t foresee what will happen next for the Spider-man franchise, but I hope Sony learned from their time working with Kevin Feige and Marvel on how to create compelling, character-driven narratives that keeps Spider-man’s universe fresh and full of life.

Website Update:

I recently noticed my website was down due to some email issues. I have since fixed it and it should be working well. I will also need to fix my Twitter account a bit as well, so please leave comments below for any questions.

-J.J.

Avengers: Infinity War - The BIGGEST Movie Of The Year

Marvel is going all out for this movie and it will be the biggest movie of the year. Not much of a statement if you are a fan of the Marvel movies or have been semi-conscious in the comic book world. The movie was literally the biggest when they first announced the cast.

CAST:

If anyone remembers those Expendable movie trailers where they just list action star after action star, it's like that, except triple the size. All of the characters from the last 10 years are returning from Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man to Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther. Along with the returning characters will get to see new heroes and villains as well (I won't say who in case you'll like surprises). Knowing there is these many actors in one movie, many of them award winners, it's bound to be cameo bonanza. 

If you are interested in a list of the cast, you can click the button below.

So, the cast size is massive. But, what about the run-time?

RUN-TIME:

The movie currently clocks in at a Lord of the Rings level TWO HOURS AND 40 MINUTES! Yes, I yelled when I heard about it. Why? Because it's the longest Marvel movie in the collective Marvel Universe and if the Russo Brothers are telling the truth, Avengers 4 will be even longer.

To give it a bit more perspective, here are a few movies that can claim to be that long:

1. Watchmen (2hrs 43min)
2. Troy (2hrs 43min)
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2hrs 41min)
4. Avatar (2hrs 40min)
5. Dark Knight Rises (2hrs 45min)
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2hrs 41min)
7. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2hrs 32min)

*NOTE: The Lord of Rings and Hobbit movies are all longer.

The run-time of this movie is setting Avengers: Infinity War up to become a true epic. Now we have a large cast size and a long run-time. Outside of those visible factors, what makes this movie the biggest movie of the year? One word: Anticipation

The press tours, the trailers, the overall hype of seeing every after-credit sequence finally coming together is mind boggling. To think, 10 years ago, there was going to be this expanded universe that would get to this boiling point of epic action is incredible. 

The only other movie franchise that can garner this amount of attention is probably Star Wars and Star Wars took arguably longer to reach the same heights as Marvel is at today. This movie has the potential to create what movie theaters have been desperately lacking to bring people in as well. Marvel is making this movie not just a movie, but an event. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to create enough anticipation for fans and non-fans to be interested in anything. However, the level of anticipation built up over the years will make this movie a grand event for fans and catapult the film to the prestigious status of biggest movie of the year. Some early positive reactions, like here and here, also help too!

I for one can't wait for Friday to see a both a conclusion of one timeline and the beginning of a new era of superheroes. Movie drops on April 27th, but you should already know that.

-- J.J.

P.S.  Venom trailer just dropped yesterday as well, so check it out below: 

Avengers: Infinity War is Coming!!!

Get hyped because the Avengers are coming to town! Although made pretty clear in their latest trailer, Avengers: Infinity War is coming a little bit early. Premiering April 27 and it's already tracking to be the best selling MCU movie of all time.

I am beyond excited for this film to drop. It feels like this is the movie every fan has been waiting for. A sort of semi conclusion to the old MCU and an opening to the new universe. The event that brings everyone together to fend off the "spiritual journey" of Thanos. 

However, this film is actually quite a bit different than the comic book, The Infinity Wars. 

The Comic

The Infinity Wars comic book is a six-part series made back in 1992 about Adam Warlock and what happens after he is deemed "unworthy" of using and controlling the Infinity Gauntlet. It's a complicated story, but I will try to simplify it.

Magus, the evil incarnation of Adam, was created from the use of the gauntlet and now Magus wants revenge against Adam. Probably blames Adam for keeping him locked up emotionally. For Magus to defeat Adam, he needs help. Magus sets out on a universal conquest to find 5 cosmic cubes in order to create an army of evil superhero doppelgangers and conquer the universe.

Pretty crazy right! I'd say more, but I don't want to ruin it. The story has a fair share of twists and turns. The film is different.

The Film

I stumbled upon a "logline" for the film in an article by Anthony Breznican at Entertainment Weekly: 

"It's the story of a humble rock collector, traveling from afar to fulfill his lifelong dream, only to run afoul of mask-wearing troublemakers."

Pure gold! Humble rock collector gets me every time I read it. He's right though. It's a story about Thanos and his unquenchable thirst for domination and power, which can be achieved through the collection of the infinity stones. 

The Difference

The big difference between the comic book series and the movie are pretty apparent. Thanos in the film is a combination of comic book Thanos and comic book Magus. In the comic, Adam Warlock is an important character. In the film, we are hinted at creation of Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. From my understanding, the Adam Warlock in MCU movie series will more likely follow the Earth X series with Kismet. Although, I don't know if we'll see a Mar-Vell reincarnation. 

There are quite a few more differences, but I feel those would be moving in on spoiler territory, so I won't mention them. You're welcome!

Anyways, I'm excited to see this story unfold on the big screen and bring some closure to lingering questions in the collective series of Marvel films. We'll also get more questions, but that is a discussion for after the film's release. 

Next week, I hope to blog a bit about the Ready Player One movie coming out on March 29th. If not, it means I'm too busy living in a virtual world controlled by Grandmaster and ants with oversized spectacles. Sounds like an Ant-Man meets Guardians of the Galaxy movie that I would totally watch!

- J.J.

How Black Panther Can Change The World

It's pretty hard not to know about Black Panther coming to theaters this week. There have been numerous articles about Black Panther and its timely inclusion into the Marvel movie series from both a cultural and political perspective. There have been numerous articles in the news talking about its importance, like this one, and this one, oh and this one. 

I have no doubt this movie will be great, not just from an entertainment perspective, but as game changer in creating films and stories in general. Before I dive in, I want to give you some quick comic book history on Black Panther.

Black Panther: Quick Facts

• Black Panther was originally created in July, 1966 (Fantastic Four #52).
• It wasn't until 1973 that Black Panther was finally featured as the main hero (Jungle Action #5).
• The title of Black Panther is not only a hereditary title of the ruling chief of Wakanda, but also one that must be earned through trials. 
• Black Panther was created before the Black Panther Party (no relation from my understanding).
• Wakanda is a technologically advanced, but fictional African nation...or is it?

To learn more about the history of Black Panther, click that giant button below:

The Game Changer:

Black Panther has an enormous opportunity to do something quite unique. It can change the way we look at films from both a means of representation in film, and how we craft stories that engage audiences. Representation has been an often talked about issue in the film industry. From women behind the camera and directing to proper representation of culture in movies about history, people seem to want more accurate representation. Even in fiction, not every character is a white hero brandishing oversized weapons in an effort to save the world, while a "minority" character is merely a sidekick that clings to the coattails of the hero's successes. 

While oversimplified, that is changing in the US. Not just in films, but stories in general. Books like, "The Hate U Give,"  and "Pachinko" show different perspectives and cultural views of the world. Sure, neither of these books have the above action as mentioned, but shows how the world view of story is diverse and increasingly less singularized. Black Panther is going to be a story that will also touch on difficult situations that draw similarities to issues the United States has been dealing with for a long time. What this story could do is not only improve dialogue among people across cultures, ideas, and identities, but create new stories in the process. 

Sharing ideas, combining them to create stories (fictional or otherwise) that engage people in the world is something I hope grows and continues. I like seeing different stories and it seems like this may be a unique story I may not have heard before. Even reading the synopsis of past Black Panther stories really show how much I still need to learn about Black Panther and his adventures. 

Black Panther could be a really great movie, not just because of its iconic character(s) or its historical first for a major blockbuster film celebrating African culture, but for its ability to potentially cross borders and bridge an understanding between people in way, that I believe, sometimes only stories can do.

Don't Forget: Black History Month

It may be halfway through the month, but never to late to learn! I can't educate people on Black history or its importance in our society as well as others. There are so many people more knowledgeable than me. But, I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't provide at least a few options for people to learn on their own. The first link is from History.com page that has a few resources, but definitely less than I thought there would be. I also found another website hosted by the Library of Congress. If you want to learn even more, seek out the information. There are probably plenty resources in your own local community as well.

Please let me know what you think of this article in the comments or on Twitter. I am somewhat concerned that you can't actually comment while I was looking through past blog posts, so please let me know on Twitter or email. Also, no spoliers on Black Panther. I can't make it out to theaters until probably Monday. 

-J.J.

Disney BOUGHT Fox - What It Means For Comic Book Movies

As of today, Disney has officially bought Fox Studios for over 50 billion dollars. Well, $52.4 billion in assets, assuming $13.7 billion in debt, but that's what mergers are for. You get the good with the bad. 

Anyways, many people are freaking out (again both good and bad) about the future of MCU, X-Men, and other titles from Fox. There is quite a bit that will be happening. 

The Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe 

With Disney buying Fox, they acquire many comic book properties, most notability the X-Men franchise. Of all the franchises Fox owns, this particular franchise has been quite successful over the decades it has been around. The acquisition of the franchise will shift the initial direction of the overall franchise, probably in the form of a franchise reboot, that may (or may not) be combined with the new generation of Marvel heroes like Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Spiderman, and Captain Marvel. 

Either way, X-Men is a franchise that could be easily transitioned alongside other Marvel story lines, creating a consistent Marvel brand. The same could also be said of the Fantastic Four franchise as well!

The Marvel universe will also have the option to explore these newly acquired franchises in the streaming world along with Star Wars. For fans of the Marvel, this is a huge win in some respects, bringing more stories with less limitations in terms of character options and story directions. 

The Dark Side of Disney-Fox Merger

The biggest danger with the merger of Disney and Fox, which if Twitter is any indication, has a lot of drawbacks. The biggest argument I see thrown around by creator's of movies and TV shows is the fear of losing original, creative storytelling. Companies like Netflix and Hulu offer a wide variety of content that isn't dependent on financial success in the same way Disney, Fox, or other movie companies are. Most large movie companies are publicly traded and rely on good box office revenue, DVD/digital sales, merchandise, etc. to keep the wheels going. Netflix and Hulu, although similar, rely on subscriptions and DVD rentals and are willing to amass more debt to deliver quality content. It's not that other companies aren't, but investors have more expectations with larger companies. Plus, Disney is more than just movies.

However, with this move, Disney will be taking up nearly 40% of the film market with their properties, which could lead to further saturation of the market, or worse,  less creative stories. The need to push out as many movies as possible with the new franchises could lead to cutting corners creatively, only focused on delivering the next adventure with Silver Surfer. 

This also leads to the next point...rating system. 

Disney is known universally and family friendly, two words Deadpool knows very little about. Movies like Deadpool and Logan may also be avoided entirely in the future. It looks unlikely that Deadpool would be messed with this late in the game with principal photography pretty much finished and post production under way, but stranger things have happened. The consensus is Disney would not mess with anything currently underway, but future stories with more mature subject matter will definitely be under scrutiny. 

There is probably a lot more to cover when it comes to the positives and negatives of Disney's merger, but for now, it really is a matter of waiting to see what will happen. My hope is it's all for the best of storytelling and the audience. 

Let me know your thoughts on the Disney-Fox merger. Is it a good idea? Bad idea? You have no idea and just want to be heard...err...read? Is that a thing? I don't know, but if you do, let me know in the comments! 

P.S. STAR WARS IS COMING TODAY/TOMORROW!!! 

-J.J.

Comic Con 2017 - What I am excited for and you should be too!

Comic Con 2017 is almost here! With preview night later today, I wanted to talk about two upcoming movies I am excited to hear more about. There is so much going on at Comic Con that I can't possibly cover it all, so I will only cover a little taste of it. So, let's just jump right in.

MOVIES:

Marvel movies are nearly the staple of Comic Con the last few years. This year may be the most hyped year yet. The biggest one, which was already shown at D23 this year, is Avengers: Infinity War. I am really hoping (more like expecting) to see a trailer released at some point in Hall H during Comic Con. If it is anything like the Infinity War comic book series, it is going to be a non-stop action thrill ride!

The other movie that I am excited to learn more about, which I think has been flying under the radar, is Ready Player One. In case you are not familiar, Ready Player One is a novel written by Ernest Cline about a young boy named Wade Watts who searches for an Easter egg inside a virtual game that contains the vast fortune of the game creator, James Halliday. It is an awesome book that I highly recommend if you are into video games and 80's nostalgia. Why I am excited for this movie? Ready Player One will be directed by the amazing director, Steven Spielberg. What makes it even better is the movie will also be written by the novelist Ernest Cline.

Fun Fact: Ernest Cline has written screenplays before, his most well-known work among some Star Wars nerds like myself was Fanboys.

Those are just the two that I am super excited for, but there is so much going on throughout the week and into the weekend. What are you most excited about for Comic Con 2017? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter! - J.J.

Movie Review - Logan

I just watched the new X-Men movie, "LOGAN," staring the same Hugh Jackman for the last 17 years (its like they tried to make him old). Anyways, I am going to jump into a bit of the background for the story based on the Old Man Logan comic books before jumping into the review. So, no spoilers yet. 

OLD MAN LOGAN: 

Mad Max meets Borderlands? It's not funny, but it is amazing!

The comic series, Old Man Logan, takes place 50 years after the destruction of all the heroes in the newly formed United States of Amerika. A wasteland ruled by Red Skull (Marvel property), Wolverine turns pacifist in order to take care of his wife and daughter on his own secluded piece of "paradise" (also known as Hulkland). It isn't until his home is no longer safe (meaning he owes rent) that Logan teams up with a blind Hawkeye (another Marvel property) to hit the road and deliver a secret package. The package turns out to be the super soldier serum, enough to create an army. Before they make the delivery, Hawkeye and Logan are attacked and killed. 

Except, Logan can't die. Logan wakes up in Red Skull's trophy case of fallen heroes. Enraged, Logan breaks out, kills Red Skull's men, and decapitates Red Skull...with Captain America's shield! Logan returns home and finds his family murdered by the Hulk's family. 

Now the claws are out! Logan massacres the Hulk's family (including the Hulk), sparing only Bruce Banner Jr. Logan makes an oath to defeat all the world's supervillians and bring peace to the land with the help of Bruce Banner Jr. 

Crazy story right? Now, for the movie (Spoilers Incoming):

LOGAN: 

Mad Max meets True Grit + a mutant road trip with a crazy old man...

Before I start, make sure to go to the theater to watch the movie (if you are planning to watch it). There is a little surprise that I think you can only see at the theater. Anyways, on to the review.

Logan, staring Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart (Professor X), takes place in the year 2029 where all the heroes have been destroyed and Logan is now working as an aging limousine driver, trying to earn enough money to buy a boat.

The job also pays for Professor X's medical bills as he suffers from seizures and failing body. Helped by another mutant, Caliban, the trio are thrust into danger after a young Mexican woman and her daughter seek Logan's help to reach Eden (conveniently located in North Dakota). As many have gathered from the trailer, the "daughter" is actually Logan's clone, Laura Kinney (X-23 or Dafne Keen). 

Forced into a father role, Logan takes care of Laura (along with Charles) as they go cross country to get her to Eden. 

The movie becomes a western road trip movie with plenty of violence and language you would expect in a rated R Wolverine film. What I didn't expect was the amount of meta references and heart. This location, Eden, was literally stripped from the pages of an X-Men comic. The location of Eden (down to the map coordinates) was taken from the comic, which Logan dismisses as false, unrealistic writing. It turns out that Eden is in fact a place, at the correct coordinates, and in North Dakota. It played well into the story, but brought some much needed humor to fans of the comics and movies. 

For the heart of the film, you see how much each character struggles with their age-related problems, past demons, and even the occasionally language barrier. From Professor X's devastating death to Logan's own untimely demise, it was all a bit heart wrenching. It didn't help seeing kids cry either over Logan's death. More brutal than the violence.

The performances by all the characters were incredible. Patrick's senile old man with bouts of wisdom, Logan's dismal of happiness and family, to Laura's whole performance. Laura, played by Dafne Keen, was by far the best part about the movie. From her use of silence to her child-like admiration for Logan, she had a well-played role that would have been tough for anyone (especially an 11 year old). This movie could setup an X-23 movie that people might enjoy. 

Even the villains were rightfully evil and the tension that was built played well to the flawed, aging protagonists. I especially hated (and really liked) Donald Pierce, played by Boyd Holbrook (Narcos, Gone Girl). He made you want to punch him...and join his team. But, like Piggy in Lord of the Flies, everyone pays a price.

My only real qualm with the film was a trivial one...North Dakota. I've been to North Dakota and I can confidently say this: "They were not in North Dakota!" Too many mountains and trees, not enough open plains and wind farms. 

OVERALL: 

Logan lives up to the hype and it crushes the predisposed notion of what a comic book movie looks like. It was more than a fan service Wolverine movie. It was a really good movie. Period. 

COMIC BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

It's giveaway time! For the people who have been subscribed to the newsletter, they already had an idea a week ago.

Starting today and ending September 28th, anyone who posts a comment to my blog posts (about comic books) or subscribes to the newsletter will be entered for opportunity to receive 14 free comic books!

I picked a variety of random comic books ranging in publishers from Vertigo to DC to Marvel. The picture below shows all the comics, but a few are tucked away to add a bit of mystery.

If you can guess the comic book third from the right, I will throw in another comic book for the comic book giveaway winner! Post in the comments or @Jjlahr

Quick Writing Update: I recent received an honorable mention from Writer's Digest in their annual writing competition for my short story, Love Came Down. I will be entering it to a few more publishers to see if they are interested in publishing, but if not, I will be posting the full short story on my blog. I also have some additional projects in the works that I hope to have ready to share by November/December. Stay tuned and thanks for all your support!