Ken

It's funny that for all of DC's shortcomings: Man of Steel, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Shazam, and even Joker and The Batman were all successful enough to get follow-ups. That's better than what a lot of other blockbuster hopefuls in the last decade got.

Looking back a year later: so many bombs/flops, and only ONE title that didn't make it this year. Three more to go, and then: Dune Mickey 17 Godzilla x Kong Furiosa The Watchers Horizon 1&2 Trap Beetlejuice Joker Alto Knights The Lord of the Rings anime

This already has more pages than the Wakanda Forever thread from last year?! This is why I'm too scared to talk to you...

I never understood why Star Wars discussion threads always devolve into a heated argument about Tommy Lee Jones.

Even in the 21st century, people still heed the warning of "Don't touch that dial!"

This thread reminds me of The Itchy & Scratchy Movie episode.

What is really needed is another Prince of Persia/John Carter/Lone Ranger/Tomorrowland/Wrinkle in Time/Artemis Fowl-type film to get made and actually be a success.

We're only halfway through the year now, and I've already got wishes/predictions for next year: -I strongly feel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the one big movie scheduled this year that could benefit the most from a delay to 2024. -Ghostbusters 4 and other titles currently in production could be ready for 2024, but they shouldn't be rushed. -Dirty Dancing 2 and The Karate Kid will be removed from the calendar since they haven't started production yet. (Neither has Sonic 3 and Thunderbolts, which may be too close a deadline). -Deadpool shouldn't be May, Beyond the Spider-Verse shouldn't be 2024 at all. -The Memorial Day weekend has too many scheduled right now, at least 2 of them should move. -Mission Impossible DR Pt 2 needs more time. -At least one of the major streaming services will shutter or merge with another.

Speaking of Disney, it's so funny that in the same year as three Marvel films, an Indiana Jones revival, a remake of The Little Mermaid, all the hoopla about the company's centennial, and general talk about Iger's plans for more film/TV/theme park IP and strengthening Disney+: they're also releasing a new Yorgos Lanthimos film.

This film's development was (fittingly?) a wild ride. When Disney landed the rights to Indy, I remember a person or two on the internet advocating continuing the franchise with an animated series. Then there was chatter about a complete reboot starring someone younger like Bradley Cooper or Chris Pratt. Ultimately, I think they decided to go with a fifth film because a) Ford came off a very warm reception from TFA, b) Spielberg came off of Oscar-winning Bridge of Spies, and c) they still badly wanted redemption from Crystal Skull even though everyone had gotten over it after eight years. Interestingly, this was announced while they were working on Solo, a prequel starring a younger guy in the title role. Then the date shifted from 2019 to 2020 (as their first post-sequel trilogy production) to 2021 (when Jon Kasdan wrote a draft) to 2022 (when Mangold replaced Spielberg), and after they finally shot the film: it was delayed again to 2023. And if the movie does indeed tank after all that? Well, at least they have a shiny new non-Marvel, non-Star Wars film to pad out Disney+, I suppose.

Want to know why I think Universal is pretty much dumping this film? I have a theory that the American studios that greenlight animated family films tend to avoid okaying those with high school teenagers as the lead, fearing it would alienate the 5 to 12-year-old demographic. That's pretty ironic, considering there are far more of these films with fully-grown adults at the center which have been pretty successful. Just to be clear: I'm not one of those "animation's just for kids" people, I'm speaking strictly from a studio perspective: especially with how costly and time-consuming these productions get.

No time for love.

Most of them never wanted this film to exist in the first place, primarily due to Ford's age. The fact it got finished after so many years of development, and the reception so far being more-or-less the same as Crystal Skull is what's making them question why Lucasfilm went through the trouble. (But we can't say definitely if it was worth it until the numbers actually come through!)

I was merely 10 years old when the last movie came out, and despite it already being an old property, I remember it being aggressively marketed at my demographic with lots of toys and video games and I think food tie-ins. (I'm no Lucas worshipper, but the man was all about that "capturing the youth" type of marketing). This film feels like it's aimed exclusively towards older crowds and anyone already into the franchise (the ones that regularly attend the Disney theme park attractions). Doesn't even have that "generational" hype of The Force Awakens or even last year's Avatar.

Also of note: other long-talked-about-but-stalled Spielberg-involved sequels from the past include Goonies 2, Gremlins 3, Roger Rabbit 2, Tintin 2, Ready Player Two, and the bizarre script for ET 2. I have no idea if Jaws 5 or BTTF 4 were ever seriously discussed.

A historical footnote: this is the first time since 2016's The BFG to reunite the ol' producing trio of Spielberg, Kennedy, and Marshall. This may not happen again (Twisters could have been next, but I doubt KK's involved).

I don't know how many people are going to notice this post. I was planning on putting this on The Flash weekend thread, hoping to spread just a little bit of sentimental positivity, but I knew it'd be completely buried, so I'll leave it up here instead. As someone who grew up fascinated by Hollywood movie culture: ever since the start of the 2010s, I regularly read movie blogs and discussion forums. I found out about this place probably around the beginning of 2013, and I'd routinely come back here time and time again, as I found this place to be the most entertaining way to find out about what movies were being made. I was reluctant to join myself, because I was only a high school freshman and I didn't feel like I'd fit in. From 2013-15, the name of the game was cinematic universes and even more franchise remakes/reboots than ever before. The Avengers would bide their time until the day came when they'd finally battle Thanos. Fox and Sony were trying to booster the Marvel properties they had the rights to (ensuring they'd never join the MCU). Man of Steel, despite the reception, would open the door to BVS:DOJ & JL & the whole DCEU being the epicest things ever that would put all of Marvel to shame. And it wasn't just comic book stuff. Star Wars was coming back with not only the sequel trilogy (that would certainly make everyone forget about the prequels) but a new movie every year. Harry Potter (everyone's favorite franchise) would have its own prequel trilogy following The Hobbit. Hunger Games was the face of a generation, and Jennifer Lawrence would be the world's biggest female star. There'd be the returns of Robocop, Godzilla, Jurassic Park, Terminator, Independence Day. Huge plans for GDT's Pacific Rim. Big universes for Star Trek, Universal monsters, Lego, Ghostbusters, Power Rangers, TMNT, Smurfs, Transformers and other Hasbro properties, maybe even a video game movie. There were even still comedies every month. And we would at least get one Avatar sequel before the decade was over. By 2016, I was completely out of high school and navigating my way through adulthood/community college, but the forum never lost its spirit. It was a little fun to see the lamer blockbusters fail, the more unique titles that rose to the top, 3D being less relevant, and most surprising of all: the Netflix effect. By 2019, it already felt like a change was in the air. And of course, that change came when the new decade kicked off with the worst year Hollywood had to endure. I was thankfully finishing up college when that happened, but now there wasn't a lot to talk about at the moment. Once 2021 started, I made a big choice: I didn't visit the forums once for an entire year. I still looked at movie news, but I didn't read any of your reactions. It was a good move then, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it all. For 2022, I went back once The Batman opened, and I kept coming here from time to time to entertain myself while having lots of down time at my job. But now that we were entering a brand new, less certain territory: it felt less exciting and now a lot more moody...like the posters all hated themselves now. It was enough to make me want to walk away from the forum for good: but before I did, I decided I would do the thing I probably should have done long ago: leave a post or two. Just to show some support and levity. I ended up posting way more than I thought I ever would. Sure, I've often failed to open up a new conversation, or I've made a joke that didn't land, or I've felt like I've tried too embarrassingly hard to fit in (I'm not really proud of using Blackhat as my profile pic but I couldn't think of anything better). And yeah, I'm not sure how much longer I want to keep doing this, but you know what? Anytime I get any kind of reaction, it always feels thrilling and makes my day just a little bit better. To anyone who still feels discouraged about the current state of things: Don't feel too bad, and don't stir up conflicts and drama, because your opinions and jokes and concerns and support can mean a lot to somebody out there.

I had a dream recently where the trailer for this movie came out, and Sony actually duped everyone at CinemaCon, and it turned out this film was actually a Sacha Baron Cohen-style comedy where ATJ puts on an over-the-top European accent and has hijinks and spouts loud catchphrases. I'm still not sure if I'd prefer that to the movie we're actually getting.

All throughout this thread, there's been a new conflict every other hour. It's like I'm reading a movie script.

*Notices certain usernames* Uh.....

Does anyone else remember that bizarre video where Vin Diesel danced to Katy Perry to celebrate Universal congratulating him on Riddick topping DVD sales, and said they asked for another one? If you don't, here it is.

I remember reading the concern back in October 2021 over whether Legendary could justify greenlighting Dune's second part. Was the international gross and high critical acclaim enough to pass?

I was thinking how many non-animated Universal films released in the 2010's got theatrical sequels/franchises going, and here they all are: -Snow White and the Huntsman -Ted -Pitch Perfect -The Purge -Ride Along -Neighbors -Ouija -Fifty Shades of Grey -Unfriended -Split, technically -A Dog's Purpose -Happy Death Day If they really are serious about extending the finale, in addition to releasing a sequel to Twister of all things (even with the Florida attraction not being around anymore), it's not hard to see why.

The general consensus:

Wow! Even though is the most packed year for movies in a long time, these CinemaCon discussions were almost as quiet as the ones from 2021. I guess it was due to the lack of any real surprise reveals, reactions, and moments. Oh, well... Here's hoping for a real cinematic year, everyone!