Animation has always been a big part of the Scooby-Doo legacy. While there have been a couple of live-action takes, it will always be known for being a great cartoon series from Hanna-Barbera. And it is time for Scooby and the gang to come back to the big screen in a very big way. Scoob! is Warner Bros. Animation’s newest computer-animated feature that explores how Scooby and Shaggy became a mystery-solving duo who just can’t stop snacking.

Check out the newest trailer here below.

Joker
Director: Todd Phillips
Writer: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Rated R | Minutes: 122
Release Date: October 4, 2019

One of the worse things that a writer and director can do in a comic book film adaptation is misinterpret the source material. It is one thing to re-envision it in order to suit a vision of the story that you want to tell, but it is something else when you go far off the edge just to prove you can be the bleakest of the lot. That is what Todd Phillip‘s Joker does. Using Gotham City as a canvas, the film is painted with the colors of Martin Scorsese inspiration and the complexities of heavy themes of mental illness and social inequality, with a slight touch of DC, all of which makes Joker a dark, depressing, and gritty hardboiled crime drama that also happens to be the origins story for the clown prince of crime. The story delves into the mind of the lonely title character, played brilliantly by Joaquin Phoenix, who has been dumped on by society. But as fascinating as the lead performance is, everything else about it lacks complexities and nuance, and only further stigmatizes those who do suffer from mental illness.

My full review here below.

Arkham Asylum has been fixture within the Batman lore. It serves as the one jail exclusive to Batman villains. And though fans haven’t seen much of it in any of the recent DCEU films, it would have served as the main setting for Ben Affleck‘s standalone Batman film: you know, the one DCEU film that he was supposed to direct that never came to be. Well now, Affleck’s Live by Night cinematographer Robert Richardson is talking about how the film was supposed to be. Check out what he had to say here below.

In an interview with HappySadConfused podcast (via The Playlist), Richardson spoke about the defunct film’s setting.

James Wan will be coming back to the genre that he is very familiar with and successful in: horror. After taking a break from the genre that launched his career to enter the action-blockbuster realm with 2018’s Aquaman, Wan will reportedly be returning with a new and original horror effort. More on the report below.

Ever since the Annabelle doll first appeared in James Wan‘s The Conjuring, she has been on a wave of terror that has spread across multiple spinoffs in the Conjuring universe. And now, she is ready to come back to where it all started in Annabelle Comes Home. For after spending her creepy life scaring the living daylights out of two families, she finds herself back encased in a glass box at the lovely home of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). You know, the paranormal investigation couple who we saw in the first Conjuring. Well, all three are back for an all-new haunting that will see Ed and Lorraine protect their daughter (Mckenna Grace) from the nightmarish doll that will forever haunt our memories.

Check out the new trailer here below.

Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, who has been leading the studio since 2013, and helped launched the DCEU and the Fantastic Beasts film franchises, will be stepping down as of today in the wake of a new sex scandal, according to THR. The decision comes after a number of explicit texts between him and actress Charlotte Kirk was leaked to the public that revealed that the CEO would offer acting roles to the actress in exchange for sex. More on the report below.

There’s nothing like good old-fashioned hype to build anticipation. Jessica Chastain says that It: Chapter 2 will have one of the bloodiest horror sequences in horror movie history. There’s no telling if this is true or not, but based on how horrifying and successful Andy Muschietti‘s It (or It: Chapter 1) was, we should take the actress at her world.

Chastain, who appears in the upcoming sequel as an older Beverly Marsh, made the claim while on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. While I don’t take these nightly talk shows too seriously, they have been known to give us small nuggets worth of information; for instance, Ben Affleck confirming that he’s done with Batman. Sure, we’ve known that was coming, but still. And we’ve also seen trailers debut on these shows. So, there may be some truth to what Chastain said. Check out the video of her recent late night talk show appearance here below.

Things for Warner Bros.’ DCEU are looking a lot brighter. Following the successes of films like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, the studio is looking to release more character-driven films rather than episodic pieces that lead up to a larger ensemble effort. It’s an approach they likely should have taken right from the start instead of trying to mimic Marvel’s highly successfully cinematic universe. As such, WB will continue forward with these standalone efforts.

Warner Bros. chief executive Kevin Tsujihara confirmed that this will be the studios’ approach to DCEU films for the foreseeable future. More on the report here below.

An Edge Of Tomorrow sequel (or is it a prequel) is something that has been in the works for quite some time. And it seems fitting that we would be experiencing deja vu for a film that centered on that idea. Every time news on it comes up, it seems to be the same thing. But in this latest bit of news, it seems like Warner Bros. is preparing the project to take the next step.

According to new reports, the follow-up is heading towards active development, and stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are expected to reprise their respective roles with director Doug Liman returning to the helm. More on the report here below.

Aquaman
Director: James Wan
Writers: David Leslie, Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated PG-13 | 143 Minutes
Release Date: December 21, 2018

Aquaman may be one of the most iconic superheroes in the DC lineup, but the character himself has a reputation for being one of the silliest superheroes. Furthermore, his introduction in Zach Snyder’s Justice League did not do him any favors. That being said, Jason Momoa‘s portrayal was a radical change for the one-dimensional pasty white hero. Instead, we got something that truly represented the character’s struggle of living in two worlds while acknowledging his overall cheesiness.

This helped lay the foundation for his own standalone film. Directed by James Wan, Aquaman sees the return of Momoa playing the aquatic eponymous hero in a globe-trotting superhero epic. By embracing many of the title character’s foibles and cheesiness, the film turns out to be one of the best DCEU entries to date. And while that is an easy bar to cross over, its world-building and willingness to have fun expands the cinematic universe and opens the door for the DCEU to explore bold and new possibilities. Check out my review of Aquaman here below.