The Marvel Cinematic Universe has made its implementation of comedy a trademark, but Adam DeVine suggests they have ruined the genre.

Outside of its CGI battles, stacked casts and casual disregard that not every series within the franchise needs its own franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be best known for its implementation of comedy. Certainly the MCU has some legitimately hilarious moments, with some movies landing the laughs better than others (Thor: Ragnarok and the Guardians movies tend to get the most praise here). But according to actor Adam DeVine, who is no stranger to the comedy game, Marvel has outright ruined the genre.

Speaking on the This Past Weekend podcast (per Variety), DeVine said, “You watch comedies nowadays and you’re like, this is not a f*cking comedy…Where are the jokes? Where are the bits? There’s still good [comedy] shows, but movie comedy…it’s hard. My theory: I think Marvel ruined it.” That feels like a bold statement, but DeVine defended it as such: “I feel like superhero movies ruined comedies because you go to the theater and you expect to watch something that cost $200 million to make, and comedy movies aren’t that. So you’re like, ‘Why would I spend the same amount of money to go watch a little comedy in the theater if I can spend that and watch something that is worth $200 million?’ And they still make those movies kind of funny, like, ‘Oh my god, is that raccoon talking? This is hilarious!’ Which it is, but it’s not a real comedy.”

You can see what DeVine is trying to say, but the actor – who currently stars in The Out-Laws (which, based on reviews, seems to be less of a comedy than intended…) – does almost seem to suggest that a movie can’t neatly fall into two separate categories: if something is made to be a comedy it can’t have a big budget; if something costs hundreds of millions of dollars to make, it can’t be labeled a comedy. As far as the “real comedy” statement, it wouldn’t be outlandish for a Marvel fan to place Ragnarok, the Guardians trilogy or Ant-Man in that realm.

Do you agree or disagree with Adam DeVine’s statement that Marvel has killed comedy? What is the funniest Marvel movie? Give us your take in the comments section below!

A Disturbance in the Force takes a look behind the scenes of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978.

PLOT: Behind the scenes of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.

REVIEW: Young people today have no idea how hard it was to see the Star Wars Holiday Special in the days before the internet. I remember only being aware of the Holiday Special in the mid-nineties thanks to the occasional mention in Starlog or Sci-Fi Universe. In about 1996, some friends and I attended a Star Wars Convention in Montreal, and the big attraction was that they would be screening the Holiday Special in full on someone’s bootleg tape. My pals and I were so excited, but after all the years of reading about it and dreaming of what it could be like, we walked out after ten minutes. Nine minutes of unsubtitled Wookie was enough to turn us off, and to this day, I don’t think I’ve ever actually sat through the whole thing.

The fact that it was made at all makes it an intriguing pop culture footnote, and the new doc, A Disturbance in the Force, does a great job explaining just how the whole thing came together. While a variety show centred around the Star Wars universe probably sounds like coked-up nonsense, it wasn’t that unusual for the seventies. At the time, these types of shows were riding high. The format was so popular they even made The Brady Bunch Hour (an all-singing, all-dancing Brady Bunch reunion) and some shows, like Donny & Marie, were enormous. Watching them, now shows like Wayne Newton at Sea World (with special guest Shamu) seem ridiculous, but hey, this was the era of the leisure suit and bell bottoms.

As the movie does a good job illustrating, the Star Wars Holiday Special is bad, but it’s not even close to the worst variety show from the era. Heck, it’s not even the worst Star Wars variety show, with them unearthing the now infamous Donny & Marie Star Wars Special that featured Kris Kristofferson as Han Solo and R2-D2 singing (via his beeps and boops). If you’ve never seen it – well, here you go:

While the makes of A Disturbance in the Force (Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak) weren’t able to nab Mark Hamill or Harrison Ford for an interview, there’s enough vintage footage of them discussing the special floating around to make due (including a funny bit by the late Carrie Fisher) as people have been asking them about it for years. As far as new interviews go, probably the biggest coup is they got Donny Osmond to talk about his own special’s take off on Star Wars, and he seems pretty good-humoured and self-deprecating about the whole thing. They also got Bruce Villanch, one of the show’s writers, and many other people involved. Most seem to blame the involvement of Ken and Mitzi Welch, writers of the Carol Burnett Show who knew nothing about Star Wars but A LOT about old-timers like Harvey Korman and Bea Arthur, which is why they showed up here.

The documentary acknowledges the weird place the Holiday Special has in the current Star Wars canon as Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, who are fans, worked a bunch of references into The Mandalorian, including a “Life Day” mention. Most folks involved, even those who profess to hate the show, like the late, great Gibert Gottfried, have some lingering affection for it. The documentary also takes time to praise “The Story of the Faithful Wookie,” which introduced Boba Fett and is the only part of the special you can currently find on Disney Plus. One thing’s for sure – the fact that Lucasfilm never put it out officially only enhanced its cult status, and as long as there’s any media, but the internet or even video tapes, it’ll always exist.

8

David Ayer explains in greater detail about his feelings on the Suicide Squad experience and what Gunn had told him.

Piggy-backing onto a short exchange happening yesterday on Twitter, where Suicide Squad writer and director, David Ayer, debunked a reported rumor that his proposed Ayer Cut of the 2016 film was being planned for release by James Gunn before the start of his new DCU next year that will be jump-started by his Superman: Legacy film. A Twitter account with the name “The Ayer Cut” reached out to Gunn citing several articles that were reporting on that rumor and Ayer was quicker to respond with the reply, “Silly rumor. Not true.” And followed by a facepalm emoji. Now, David Ayer is expounding on what he and Gunn have discussed about what the future can hold for the Ayer Cut, according to Deadline.

Ayer would post on his social media to address his followers and the DC fandom after as the legion campaigning for the release of the Ayer Cut were in need of a status update and clarification. The Nerd Rage Podcast responded to a seemingly new Jared Leto Joker picture with the tweet, “Not to call out David by saying this, but you do know this was released back in 2016, right?” with a slightly lower quality version of the picture. Ayer would respond, “What’s your advice on how to navigate this situation with grace? There’s a genuine curiosity and interest from a lot of people. And I’m aware of there is another group of people that have fun mocking the film. Your comment is a perfect example of how many are magnetically drawn discussion to the 2016 film in a negative way. Have you ever had an experience in life that didn’t until the way you wanted, that dragged you, that made you rethink everything? I have.”

Ayer adds, “All I know is my unseen film plays much better than the studio release. The interest in my cut being show[n] seems real and organic. And Gunn told me it would have it’s [sic] time to be shared. He absolutely deserves to launch his DC universe without more drama about old projects. In a way I’m chained to this thing. I’m riding a tiger here and navigating this situation the best I can. Life is a very strange journey.”

Deadline reminds readers that back in 2020, Ayer would bluntly say that his film was “ripped to pieces” when responding to a tweet that said over 40 minutes where cut out.

The giant in the sci-fi genre was not able to follow up on both additions to his two cinematic classics, but he felt he chose poorly.

Ridley Scott is responsible for many film classics that will be recognized in the zeitgeist for years to come. Two of his most celebrated works come from the sci-fi genre, with the films Alien from 1979 and Blade Runner from 1982. Although, of the two, Alien was the one that became an instant classic, while Blade Runner was initially a flop that had acquired its following over time and it is now recognized as one of the greatest films in science fiction with its profound themes, stellar effects that still hold up, and a fully realized noir-ish world.

As franchises and the re-visiting of intellectual properties dominate the modern film world, both of Scott’s signature works have been given sequels/prequels in recent years. Alien: Covenant would be Scott’s follow-up to the Alien prequel, Prometheus, and Blade Runner 2049 would be the direct sequel to Scott’s cult hit that starred Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, which both released in 2017. According to Variety, Scott recently told Empire that he now regrets selecting Alien: Covenant as the project he directed instead of Blade Runner 2049, which was helmed by Dune and Dune Part 2 director Denis Villeneuve.

Scott states in the interview, “I shouldn’t have had to make that decision. But I had to. I should have done Blade Runner 2.” Although Villeneuve was in the director’s chair, Scott would still be involved as an executive producer on the movie. Additionally, he will also be involved with Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming limited series Blade Runner 2099, which he revealed was being developed back in 2021. “I’m one of the producers. It’s all set years on. To me, it circles the idea of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.”

Vernon Sanders, head of global television for Amazon Studios, says of the series, “The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce Blade Runner 2099 to our global Prime Video customers. We are honored to be able to present this continuation of the Blade Runner franchise, and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley, Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, and the remarkably talented Silka Luisa, Blade Runner 2099 will uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors.”