A surprising amount of prominent, classic movies are unavailable on disc or streaming, including classics like Dawn of the Dead, The Beach and Strange Days.

Recently, I wrote an article about how Ron Howard’s Cocoon was hard to find in any format. It came out on DVD many years ago but went out of print and has never been issued on Blu-ray. You also can’t find it digitally on any platform. This is a perfect example of why you should always hang on to your physical media, as I’m lucky enough to own the now out-of-print DVD of that movie, and while it’s far from an ideal copy, it’s something. 

But that got me thinking. What other movies are hard to find? I opened up the forum on Twitter, and I was shocked by how many prominent films aren’t available digitally and have gone out of print on disc, making them all the more precious for collectors. At the same time, there are some happy endings, such as Martin Campbell’s No Escape, which got a beautiful Blu-ray recently; too many of these films are caught up in legal limbo (or studio antipathy). 

Here are 10:

The Beach:

Danny Boyle’s adaptation of the classic Alex Garland novel has always been controversial. The casting of this movie led to a long-term rift with Ewan McGregor (who was supposed to play the lead) which was only healed when they re-teamed to do T2: Trainspotting. Leonardo DiCaprio wound up playing the role, and the film received mixed reviews when it came out. It’s actually quite a good movie, with it sporting Boyle’s classic, frenzied energy and a killer soundtrack of 2000-era electronica gems. It also led to Boyle and Garland collaborating on 28 Days Later; the rest is history. However, The Beach has never been out in North America on Blu-ray, although unlike some movies on this list, it’s easy to find digitally. You can buy a copy in HD on most digital retailers, and it’s streaming on Disney Plus in Canada and Hulu in the U.S. Still, a physical media release would be nice. 

Cocoon: 

The one that started it all. How does a movie that won Don Ameche an Oscar and revitalized the careers of Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and the great Wilford Brimley go out of print? This is the movie that made Ron Howard an A-list director, and it was enough of a smash hit that it spawned a (pretty crappy) sequel, which, ironically, is very easy to find. What’s going on here? Disney may be working on a significant restoration, but it’s been gone for a long time.

Strange Days: 

Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days was a major flop when it came out in 1995 but has since been reevaluated as a classic. As it stars Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Lewis and Angela Bassett and is widely considered one of the greatest films of the nineties, some significant release – possibly through a company like Criterion would seem like a no-brainer. However, Disney has been sitting on this one for a while now, with the likely culprit being that James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment owns the movie. Presumably, any redux has to be cleared by him. With The Abyss, True Lies and Aliens all getting 4K re-releases, Strange Days may be coming. This one is streaming on Max but in the wrong aspect ratio. The existing DVD is non-anamorphic, meaning it gets window-boxed on your TV unless you stretch it out.

Showtime: 

This minor Eddie Murphy/ Robert De Niro comedy made a decent amount of coin when it came out, but it wasn’t a blockbuster. Yet, it’s a decent little action comedy, with a funny performance by William Shatner as himself. While it came out on DVD in an excellent anamorphic transfer, and you can buy it digitally in HD, it’s never been issued on Blu-ray.

Dawn of the Dead: 

This one comes with a caveat. George A. Romero’s zombie classic has been released on a beautiful 4K disc internationally and is region-free. Yet, it still needs to get a North American release on 4K and isn’t available digitally, which is a shame. Younger horror fans watch most of their stuff this way, and one hates to think they could be missing out on one of the genre’s best movies. Dawn of the Dead recently got a theatrical re-release for its 45th anniversary via Redband releasing. So, perhaps a North American 4K Blu-ray release isn’t far off.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar: 

This 1977 film helped establish Diane Keaton as a star and was a significant hit. It’s based on the true story of a teacher who was played the bar scene in the early seventies and was eventually murdered by a man she had a one-night stand with. It’s a haunting film with a disturbing ending, but very hard to find. It’s only ever been released on VHS and Laserdisc, with rights issues surrounding the film’s music, which is what’s kept this in limbo. It doesn’t help that Paramount Pictures is famously slow regarding releasing library titles. Again, this would be a great one for the Criterion Collection.

UPDATE: This is apparently streaming on Paramount Plus in Europe, but NOT North America.

Something Wicked This Way Comes: 

We recently covered this movie in our series Fantasizing About Fantasy Films, which was available on DVD/ Blu-ray for a while. Yet, Disney has vaulted this Ray Bradbury adaptation, and you can’t stream it or buy it digitally, either.

The Blood of Heroes (aka Salute of the Jugger):

This post-apocalyptic action movie comes from David Webb Peoples, the writer of Blade Runner, Unforgiven and Soldier. It was a rare directorial effort that reteamed him with Rutger Hauer, who stars opposite a young Joan Chen and Vincent D’Onofrio. Legal rights limbo has kept this one obscure in North America, with various cuts circulating in bad transfers. Hopefully, it gets some kind of restoration, and it’s a neat little sci-fi movie.

John Woo’s Hong Kong Films: 

Recently, John Woo mentioned that he would love to restore his Hong Kong classics with a company like Criterion, but that the rights to most of the movies are caught up in legal limbo. The Killer and Hard Boiled are streaming and on Blu-ray (albeit in interlaced transfers), but A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2 and Bullet in the Head are MIA.

The Heartbreak Kid:

Elaine May is a revered figure on film Twitter, but her biggest hit, The Heartbreak Kid, which got remade by the Farrelly Bros, is impossible to find. This is a shame as it’s one of star Charles Gordon’s best movies and features two Oscar-nominated performances by Jeannie Berlin (also May’s daughter) and Eddie Albert. 

What titles have we missed? Let us know in the comments!

The official trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man has arrived out of SDCC, trying to stand on its own outside of its predecessors + Interviews from SDCC!

Hellboy: The Crooked Man is inviting you to “witness the birth of all evil” as the official trailer for the upcoming adaptation of the comic book character has dropped. And yes, that includes a raccoon that buries itself in your mouth.

While we have already seen Jack Kesy in character as Big Red and even got a teaser release earlier this month, this full-length trailer gives a better idea of just what Kesy hopes to bring to Hellboy and more of what the plot entails. It, too, shows off the visual style that looks to be fittingly in line with the styling of the comic series – which comes from writer Mike Mignola and Dark Horse – while also bringing forth the horror elements. It, too, could serve as a tribute to late artist Richard Corben, who passed away in 2020.

The Crooked Man finds “Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia. There, they discover a small community haunted by witches, led by a local devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy’s past: the Crooked Man. In the comic, The Crooked Man was an eighteenth-century miser and war profiteer named Jeremiah Witkins who was hanged for his crimes yet returned from Hell as the region’s resident Devil.”

Fans are rightly skeptical of another Hellboy movie…at least if it’s not going to star Ron Perlman and be directed by Guillermo del Toro. Sure, we all want Hellboy 3 with that duo and most of us – David Harbour included – know just how bad the 2019 effort was, but visually The Crooked Man looks like it’s trying to stand on its own. That it has a budget of just $25 million – which is half of the previous movie – might put some people off, but hopefully it is stretched creatively.

But wait – there’s more! We also interviewed the cast members, Jack Kesy, Jefferson White (Yellowstone), Adeline Rudolph, director Brian Taylor (Crank) and the creator of the character himself, Mike Mignola! Check out the interviews below directly from Comic Con!

What do you think of the official trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man? Are you more excited than you were after the teaser? Chime in in the comments section below.

Season 2 of the Netflix animated series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory unveils a teaser trailer, has an October premiere date

The animated series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, set in the world of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies, ran for five seasons and a total of forty-nine episodes (plus one special) on the Netflix streaming service. It wrapped up back in 2022 – and just a couple of months ago, the first season of the follow-up series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory arrived on Netflix. Viewers who enjoyed that batch of episodes don’t have long to wait to see what happens next, as Netflix has just unveiled a teaser trailer for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory season 2, which is set to premiere on October 17th! You can watch the teaser trailer in the embed above.

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous told the story of dinosaur fanatic Darius Bowman, who was given the opportunity to visit Camp Cretaceous, an exclusive adventure dinosaur camp on Isla Nublar. Once there, Darius met five other teenagers—Ben, Yaz, Brooklynn, Kenji, and Sammy—who were also chosen for the once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, when the dinosaurs broke free from their habitats, the campers were stranded and forced to venture across the island without any help in the hopes of finding a way out alive. Picking up six years later, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory takes place after the park has closed, after the kingdom has fallen, and a new era of chaos begins… Members of “The Nublar Six” are struggling to find their footing off the islands, navigating a world now filled with dinosaurs and people who want to hurt them. Reunited in the wake of a tragedy, the group comes together only to find themselves on the run and catapulted into a global adventure to unravel a conspiracy that threatens dinosaur and humankind alike and finally learn the truth about what happened to one of their own.

Season 2 has the following synopsis: With the Nublar Five stowed away on a dinosaur-filled cargo ship headed to parts unknown, their mission to find who is after them sets them on a collision course with the mysterious Broker. Unaware that Brooklynn is alive, the discovery of her whereabouts will call into question everything they thought they knew about each other.

Scott Kreamer, a showrunner on both Jurassic World series, executive produces Chaos Theory with fellow showrunner Aaron Hammersley, as well as Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow, and Frank Marshall. DreamWorks Animation is the animation studio. The series is produced by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment.

What did you think of the teaser trailer for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory season 2? Will you be watching these new episodes on Netflix in October? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

As the excitement of Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine‘s box office-breaking launch begins to simmer down, how the bloody buddy comedy affects the film industry has come to light. In addition to reinvigorating the Marvel Cinematic Universe for some fans, the Anne Fletcher-directed romantic comedy The Proposal, starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, is rising in popularity. The 2009 comedy, with its 45% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, quickly moved up the Hulu streaming charts to #15 in the U.S. following the release of Marvel’s latest blockbuster. Why? Well, that’s spoiler territory, my friends. If you want the details, read on. If not, see Deadpool & Wolverine in theaters, and then come back and read this article. We know you’re dying to learn the connection. How could you not?

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds’s Wade Wilson meets a Deadpool variant named Nicepool, played by his alter ego, Gordon Reynolds. With his silky hair, hypnotic smile, and knack for always seeing a silver lining in any situation, Nicepool tries to join Deadpool in the fourth-wall-breaking fun by addressing the audience and naming a movie outside the context of Deadpool & Wolverine. In the scene, Nicepool looks directly into the camera and, with a knowing grin, says, “The Proposal.”

With those two magical words, The Proposal is given new life on Hulu, thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine!

In The Proposal, Sandra Bullock plays Margaret, a New York editor in danger of being deported back to Canada. In a moment of panic, she convinces her assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), to marry her in return for a promotion. The quid pro quo goes awry when the fake couple visits Andrew’s hometown in Alaska, ultimately changing their relationship unpredictably. Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, and Betty White star in the laugh-out-loud comedy alongside Reynolds and Bullock.

It’s impressive to see what the mere mention of a film can do when Ryan Reynolds is doing the promotion. Audiences can’t help but crumble at the sight of Reynold’s boyish good looks, playful demeanor, and whip-smart sense of humor. Could you imagine if he were a cult leader? We’d all be drinking the Kool-Aid. Oh yeah!

Do you plan to watch The Proposal on Hulu after watching Deadpool & Wolverine? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Despite being Chuck Russell’s return to the genre, Witchboard is a generic, CGI-laden film that feels like a shallow copy of better films.

PLOT: Emily and her friends find a Witchboard in the woods. Using it results in deadly consequences. They have to stop it before it’s too late.

REVIEW: Few films in the horror genre are more entertaining than The Blob and A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. They bring a great mix of over-the-top violence with humor. So I was ecstatic to see writer/director Chuck Russell make his return to the genre for the first time in nearly 25 years. Setting his sights on updating the 1986 film Witchboard, which itself was a play on the popular Ouija board, this seems prime for the modern era. So, it’s upsetting for me to say that 2024’s Witchboard is a bit of a mess.

If you’re hoping for some kind of update to the 1986 story, you’re in for disappointment because we’re instead given a story about a girl finding the board and becoming possessed. Okay, that actually makes it sound more like the original, but add in a whole subplot of opening up a restaurant and a mysterious benefactor. There were times when I had to check and make sure I wasn’t watching a Blumhouse title. From the bland characters to a very stereotypical story, everything about Witchboard feels generic.

Madison Iseman has come and gone from the genre over the years, and she works well as lead, Emily. I’m curious how others will react to her as she essentially is why her friends are roped into this. I always struggle to care about that kind of character. Her complete ignorance of the situation is very frustrating. The Witchboard is clearly influencing her but it also makes it hard to root for her since she comes across as kind of stupid. And the inclusion of her former drug dealer didn’t make things any better. Again, really hard to root for. But Iseman herself does a great job. Aaron Dominguez is our real lead, and he’s decent enough. His love for Emily comes through, even if I’m often going, “What on earth does he see in this girl?” His character is very one-dimensional.

The real standout is Jamie Campbell Bower as Alexander Babtiste. As proven by his performance as Vecna in Stranger Things, Bowers has a voice that can pierce your soul. His role is very stereotypical, but he gives it so much life. He’s sadly underutilized, especially in the film’s finale. He can feel a bit one-dimensionally evil, but it worked for me. While he’s only briefly in the film, Ozark‘s own Charlie Tahan appears as the most relatable character in the film. The only person who, the moment he sees the Witchboard, is immediately against it and wants it as far away as possible. If only they’d listened to the poor guy.

Instead of using a simple ouija board, I liked the inclusion of a newly designed board. While it wouldn’t surprise me if, like the original, it was done for copyright reasons, it has a cool design. New Orleans serves as the setting for this version of Witchboard, giving it a properly witchy aesthetic. The city has a long history of witchcraft so it makes sense to set the film there.

The CGI blood can get a tad out of hand, and I became increasingly frustrated the more it was used. There are even simple moments when something physical could be used, yet they go the digital route, which is a bit disappointing. That’s not to say everything is CGI, as there’s a great throat slash and other moments. They also combine elements to great effect. The film certainly isn’t afraid to get wet. But I was often flabbergasted at the sheer amount of CGI violence. Is it really that difficult to mix some Karo Syrup and red food coloring? And the kills are often very uninspired; they just happen for shock value and without much thought. I was hoping for some Rube Goldberg-style kills but came out sorely disappointed.

Witchboard is very silly and clearly meant to be seen with a crowd. It’s more formulaic than I was expecting, but Russell delivers some great Final Destination-y kills. There aren’t any characters to attach to as they’re busy making bad decisions but the villain is eclectic and fun. I’m sure with another viewing, and rooting against these kids, could have a better return on time investment. But boasting this level of talent and getting this result, means this film is better off on the shelf.

WITCHBOARD IS CURRENTLY PLAYING AT FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL.

5

–

Viewer Ratings (0 reviews)

Abbie Cornish and Laz Alonso star in the upcoming thriller Detained. A trailer and a pair of clips have been released to promote the film

Quiver Distribution is set to give the thriller Detained a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 2nd, and will also be giving the film a digital and VOD release that same day. With the release date just a few days away, we have the trailer for Detained embedded above, and a pair of clips from the film can be found at the bottom of this article, along with a poster.

Abbie Cornish of Sucker Punch, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the RoboCop remake, Geostorm, and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan stars in Detained, which is coming our way from director Felipe Mucci, who was previously at the helm of the 2020 thriller Two Deaths of Henry Baker. Scripted by Mucci and Jeremy Palmer, Detained has the following synopsis: In the dead of night, Rebecca wakes in a decrepit precinct, accused of a hit-and-run. But a deadly scuffle reveals a sinister plot. With nowhere to turn, she must uncover the truth before it consumes her. But Rebecca harbors secrets darker than they know.

Cornish is joined in the cast by Laz Alonso (best known as Marvin T. Milk / Mother’s Milk / M.M. from The Boys), Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation), John Patrick Amedori (Dear White People), Justin H. Min (Beef), Breeda Wool (Mr. Mercedes), Silas Weir Mitchell (Prison Break), Josefine Lindegaard (Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire), Bernardo De Paula (Shameless), Eduardo Roman (Adam Ruins Everything), Alexandra Blake (Love at the Christmas Contest), Jeremiah OC Jahi (One Life to Live), and newcomers Larry Stenseth and Esther Brown. Sadly, Brown passed away earlier this year at the age of just 26.

Ryan Scaringe produced Detained, with Cornish and Alonso serving as executive producers alongside Monica Sufar.

The movie seems intriguing enough to me and I have been an Abbie Cornish fan since the days of Somersault and Candy (and those days were somehow twenty years ago), so I will probably be watching Detained.

What did you think of the trailer for Detained? Does this look like a movie you’d want to watch next month? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and take a look at the clips while you’re scrolling down:

Jennifer Garner and her team got stuck in an elevator at San Diego Comic-Con for over an hour before firefighters arrived.

A fire at The Penguin Iceberg Loung activation wasn’t the only emergency at San Diego Comic-Con over the busy weekend. It turns out that Jennifer Garner got stuck in an elevator for over an hour during her first time attending the annual deluge of entertainment, news, and surprises. Garner shared a video about the distressing incident to her Instagram during the show, saying she could use a Deadpool (or a Wolverine) to help facilitate a timely escape from the immovable metal box. There are better ways to spend your first year at Comic-Con than getting stuck in an elevator, though it’s nice to see Garner have a good sense of humor about the incident.

“I could use a Wolverine, I could use a Deadpool. I could use someone. Yeah, we’re looking for stairs,” Garner said from inside the elevator.

Thirty-five minutes passed inside the metal box of death before Garner and the other occupants decided to sit down. “I think I heard on an episode of ‘The Office’ or ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ or something that you’re supposed to sit, so we’re sitting.” One hour and eleven minutes later, firefighters arrived to pry the doors open, allowing Garner and her team to exit the location where plenty of horror movies take a wicked turn. As someone who is mildly claustrophobic, I say f**k that.

Thankfully, Garner and her team exited the elevator to attend Saturday night’s Deadpool & Wolverine panel, where Garner was a special guest. Garner reprises the role of Elektra from 2000’s Daredevil and 2005’s Elektra in Marvel’s latest money-printing blockbuster. She’s one of the film’s most significant cameos, with her participation in the movie less than a well-kept secret thanks to leakers and blurry set photos.

Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now, breaking records and delighting MCU fans worldwide. Deadpool & Wolverine is, in many ways, a love letter to Fox’s X-Men era, with countless nods to the series of superhero films and everything it helped build throughout the years. Love it or hate it, Fox’s X-Men films helped catapult several of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars into the stratosphere, including Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. We’re thrilled to hear Jennifer Garner and her team escaped the elevator without incident, and she could enjoy the rest of the con.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

The Fantastic Four are called Marvel’s First Family because, well, they actually are. Back in 1961, the company formerly known as Timely Comics transitioned into Marvel Comics. They kept some of their titles, such as Journey Into Mystery, but began a new approach to superhero comics with The Fantastic Four. These new titles would show the internal drama between the characters and not just their superheroics. After these characters became a big hit, the company created other heroes such as The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, and Iron Man. Fox would end up with the movie rights to bring these characters to the big screen but ultimately would produce content that really didn’t live up to what the comics promised. After four attempts (ironic), the rights have finally reverted back to Marvel Studios through Disney’s purchase of Twentieth Century Studios. Now that the MCU is around, fans are interested in seeing how the family will fit into the complex web of continuity that has become a bigger problem for Marvel. The MCU’s attempt at bringing the Fantastic Four to the screen is going by the title The Fantastic Four: First Steps (as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2024), and here’s everything we know about it:

Who Are The Fantastic Four?

While there have been some replacement characters throughout the years, the main cast of the FF (as they are often referred to in comics) are the primary family members. Sometimes, when rights become sticky, you’ll get a H.E.R.B.I.E. robot that was created for the 1978 animated series. Or, in the comics, a storyline will come up that will require Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, and Ghost Rider to take over the mantle of the team when they go missing. Even sometimes Marvel will decide not to use the name Fantastic Four since Fox had the movie rights, and they wanted to lessen the popularity of the brand. Corporations can be shady.

Mister Fantastic Reed Richards

When the team went on a space mission and was bombarded with cosmic rays, the family patriarch, Reed Richards, gained the ability to stretch his body like a rubber band. His intellect is second to none, and he is considered the most intelligent person in the entire Marvel Universe. This has gotten him and the family in plenty of trouble on numerous occasions. He’s usually considered dull by a lot of his peers, as his absent-mindedness causes issues between his friends and family. His single focus on science has caused more than one Earth-shattering problem.

He was played by Ioan Gruffudd in the early 2000s and by Miles Teller in the last iteration. Lots of speculation was attached to the role as the internet fandom had attached John Krasinki to the role before. It gained enough of a groundswell that he would end up playing the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. With the family getting their own title now in the MCU, some even thought Adam Driver might be a front-runner for the role. In the end, it would go to someone who is well-known for jumping into well-known properties.

Pedro Pascal will be Reed Richards for the upcoming film. Being a big part of Star Wars, The Last Of Us, Game of Thrones, and the last Wonder Woman film just wasn’t enough for him. He truly is the Thanos of collecting massive fandom roles. How his Reed will differ from the others remains to be seen, but he has shown he can lead a family, even if it takes him a while to get there. Just ask Grogu and Ellie.

The Invisible Woman Sue Storm

Sue is considered one of the most powerful female superheroes in the Marvel Universe. During the group’s trip to outer space, Sue would gain invisibility. She can turn herself invisible and generate invisible force fields. This can sort of act as a form of telekinesis. Invisible barriers can push people apart or even trap them. She is married to Reed, and they have a couple of children in Franklin and Valeria.

When it comes to the family, Sue is thought of as the one who keeps the group together. With Reed’s aforementioned obsession with making new scientific discoveries, her hot-headed brother (literally), and her friendship with Ben Grimm, she is able to keep everyone from fracturing. Although when she has become the interest of Namor, whom we met in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever film, it has proven that the family will put their differences aside to save her.

Jessica Alba and Kate Mara have both played her, but Vanessa Kirby will be portraying her in the upcoming film. This is fitting as renowned comic book artist Jack Kirby (no relation) was responsible for a lot of the early Fantastic Four comics. It should be interesting to see if Marvel has any ideas for setting her apart from previous character adaptations.

The Human Torch Johnny Storm

Sue’s younger brother was part of the team and found he had the ability to set himself ablaze when he returned home from the group’s mission. He would take on the moniker of The Human Torch, but he is actually not the first Marvel hero to use it. Back when the company was still known as Timely Comics, a character was already known as The Human Torch. This was an android named Jim Hammond. A scientist created him, and he could catch fire. The character was retired in the 50s, and Stan Lee reused the name and power set for the new characters he had come up with.

Johnny is usually shown as a brash character who sometimes acts before he thinks. This causes all sorts of issues and can cause tension on the team from Ben Grimm. His recklessness has made him form a friendship with Spider-Man, and the characters constantly try to outperform each other. This competition has made the duo a fan-favorite buddy team whenever they appear in a comic together.

Chris Evans previously played Johnny Storm in the early 2000s films. For the 2015 film, Michael B. Jordan was cast as Sue’s adopted brother. Maybe we can get all the Johnny Storms together in Avengers: Secret Wars? For the upcoming film, we’ll see Stranger Things Joseph Quinn takes on the role. His popularity on the show should bring a lot of fans in to see what he brings to the character.

The Thing Ben Grimm

The most sympathetic of the group, Ben Grimm, transforms into the living rock formation The Thing. You would think they would name him something else since he is very sensitive about his appearance. He would often be portrayed as the group member who suffered the most from their newfound powers. While he is now strong enough to go toe-to-toe with The Hulk on numerous occasions, they show that this is a burden rather than a gift for him.

Even with his new body affliction, he would find love numerous times in the comics, even if it usually was never meant to be. His rivalry with Johnny usually plays a lot of the comic relief in the comics. Their banter back and forth is hilarious and some of the best parts of the books. Seeing a good version of this on screen would be a great addition to the MCU.

Michael Chiklis and Jamie Bell played the character before. This time out, we’ll see Ebon Moss-Bachrach from The Bear take on the role. From the numerous roles he has been known for, this version of the character should be interesting. Rather than trying to find an actor with a larger frame to play the role, they are going with someone who seems to have a large personality. He has confirmed that he will use motion capture to play The Thing. How it looks on screen will determine how successful the character is.

What’s It About?

That’s the big question. With all the Earth-threatening situations we have already seen in the MCU, it has been made clear that the Fantastic Four are not present in the MCU at this moment. The excuse they used with Eternals of them being told not to interfere with human problems wouldn’t cut it this time around. Let’s be honest, it didn’t really work the last time around. From the teaser art that Marvel put out on Instagram when they announced the main cast, fans started assuming that the film will take place in the 1960s. The retro feel of the decor in the picture and the clothing the characters are wearing seemed to indicate it. Marvel’s Kevin Feige and director Matt Shakman have since confirmed that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in the ’60s – but it’s not the ’60s as we knew them, or the way other characters from the MCU would know them. This is set in a different universe that allows Shakman to take the heroes back to the comic book roots while also giving the film a retro-futuristic look and vibe.

Shakman told Comic-Con attendees that the look of the film is inspired by the work of Syd Mead, the famed designer who helped bring Alien, Blade Runner, and more to life. Attendees also got to see a sizzle reel that gave an idea of what the ’60s retro-futuristic style is going to look like.

The setting explains why the Fantastic Four have never shown up in any previous MCU movie: they’re in a different universe. Presumably, this movie will explain how they finally cross over from that universe into the MCU – because it has already been confirmed that the Fantastic Four are going to be in the upcoming Avengers films Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Casting announcements have given away the fact that the villain Galactus, “a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force,” is part of the story. So, obviously, Galactus is going to be a serious threat to the world the Fantastic Four are living on. Perhaps he’ll be successful in devouring their world, forcing them to jump universes. Although Javier Bardem was up for the role at one point, Ralph Ineson of The Witch ended up landing the role of Galactus.

One thing that won’t be taking up a lot of the running time is a reiteration of the Fantastic Four origin story. Shakman told Entertainment Weekly, “We decided early on not to do an origin story. One of the ways we’re making it our own thing is we’re not telling the story of them going up and being changed, and starting our story [there]. There’s a lot of well-known narrative that leads into that moment, right? And then you’re making up your new story starting basically at the end of the first act, and we thought, ‘Well, let’s just start this thing off on a completely new foot.’ So we are beginning after that.”

How Do They Fit Into The MCU?

The Fantastic Four are likely to play a pivotal role in the MCU moving forward, especially since their nemesis Doctor Doom is going to be at the center of both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, where he’ll be played by Robert Downey Jr. (For now, we’re just left to wonder whether or not Downey’s Doom will make any kind of appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.) In the Secret Wars comic book event, Doom plays an essential role. The universe is destroyed, but Doom is granted almost God-like powers to reassemble it. He grabs parts of alternate worlds to piece them together. So, for our understanding, it would be like he would grab part of the Fox X-Men universe, part of the Sony Spider-Man Universe, and part of the MCU and slap them together.

With Doctor Doom being such a big part of that story, it only makes sense that The Fantastic Four would play a pivotal role in Secret Wars.

The Silver Surfer is female?

One of the most controversial aspects of the new Fantastic Four movie is that it will be introducing the Silver Surfer into the MCU. However, it will not be the male Norrin Radd character most associated with the comic. Rather, it will be a female variant, Shalla-Bal, to be played by Ozark star Julia Garner.

The cast also includes Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne, all in unspecified roles.

When Can We See It?

As of now, the plan is for it to be released on July 25th, 2025. Still a ways out, but as we’ve seen with numerous Marvel films (looking at you Blade), release dates can shift at any time.

The movie will be shot in IMAX format:

At Disney’s CinemaCon presentation, it was announced by MCU head-honcho Kevin Feige that two upcoming Marvel films will be shot in IMAX, one of which is going to be Fantastic Four.

Are you excited for a new Fantastic Four film? Let us know in the comments. And yes, I didn’t talk about the Roger Corman film because that deserves its own column.

Sam Claflin faces a mythological killer from his past to keep it from killing again in Lionsgate’s chilling Bagman trailer.

Boogiemen come in all shapes and sizes. They hide beneath your bed, lurk in shadows, and patiently wait to devour you from the depths of your closet. Children try to avoid them at all costs, but now and then, one is so determined to sink its pointed teeth into your tasty meats that it’ll ignore every ward and warning to claim its prize. Today’s Bagman trailer features a sinister ghoul who snatches children and stuffs them into a haunted bag, like Krampus’s kleptomaniac cousin.

Here’s the official synopsis for Bagman courtesy of Lionsgate:

In the dark horror film Bagman, a family finds themselves ensnared in a nightmare as they are hunted by a malevolent, mythical creature. For centuries and across cultures, parents have warned their children of the legendary Bagman, who snatches innocent children and stuffs them into his vile, rotting bag—never to be seen again. Patrick McKee (Sam Claflin) narrowly escaped such an encounter as a boy, which left him with lasting scars throughout his adulthood. Now, Patrick’s childhood tormentor has returned, threatening the safety of his wife Karina (Antonia Thomas) and son Jake (Caréll Rhoden).

Colm McCarthy (The Girl With All the Gifts, Outcast) directs Bagman from a script by John Hulme. Sharon D. Clarke, Steven Cree, William Hope, Adelle Leonce, Peter McDonald, Henry Pettigrew, and Will Davis also star.

In today’s Bagman trailer, Sam Claflin’s Patrick faces a nightmare from his past as a mythological figure used to keep children from misbehaving reemerges to finish what it started. As the kids disappear, the Bagman targets Patrick and his wife Karina’s son Jake, almost as if to taunt Patrick into coming after it. Sick and tired of living in fear, and with his son’s life on the line, Patrick attempts to solve the mystery of the Bagman and rid the world of its evil deeds before it can contort Jake into another trinket for his vile bag of tricks.

Did you encounter anything similar to the Bagman when you were a child? My grandfather used to tell us stories of a little boy he met at a funeral home who followed him home to stand outside his window at night. The child would tap on the glass of his bedroom, begging to come in and play. My grandfather delighted in scaring the daylights out of me and my cousins. He even told us he eventually killed the boy, and he buried the body in the basement of his house. The house we would visit for years. We never got much sleep in that house. I miss my grandfather. He was a riot.

What do you think of today’s Bagman trailer? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Freddie Prinze Jr. confirms that he’s in talks to return for the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel and wants to close the deal

Twenty-seven years after the release of the the slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer (watch it HERE) and twenty-six years after the follow-up I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (watch that one HERE), Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. might be reprising the roles of Julie James and Ray Bronson in a new sequel, which is set for a July 18, 2025 release date. When this project was first announced, Hewitt and Prinze were mentioned in the announcement like their involvement was a sure thing – but we’ve since found out that wasn’t the case, as they didn’t even start contract negotiations until long after that. Hewitt confirmed a couple of months ago that she was in talks to come back for the new film, and now Prinze has finally confirmed that he is as well, telling Us Weekly that he is “motivated” to close the deal.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) is attached to direct the film from a screenplay by Leah McKendrick (M.F.A.), and McKendrick told Collider a while back that the new sequel will reckon with “some big ideas about hero and villain, right and wrong, how your skeletons come back to haunt you. And in the age of the internet and the age where fame is such a revered concept, the creation of TikTok and social media, who is Julie James in a world where there are no secrets anymore?“ McKendrick also said that when she went in to pitch her take to Sony, the most important things they wanted to hear about were “the accident, the event that kicks it off, and who the killer is.“

I Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Jim Gillespie from a screenplay by Kevin Williamson that was inspired by a Lois Duncan novel. The film has the following synopsis: A year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, four friends reconvene when Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) receives a frightening letter telling her that their crime was seen. While pursuing who he thinks is responsible for the letter, Barry (Ryan Phillippe) is run over by a man with a meat hook. The bloodletting only increases from there, as the killer with the hook continues to stalk Julie, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.).

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Danny Cannon from a screenplay by Trey Callaway. The synopsis: A year after killing vengeful hit-and-run victim Ben Wills (Muse Watson), who gutted her friends with an iron hook, college student Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is still shaken by the experience. When her roommate, Karla (Brandy), wins a vacation for four to the Bahamas, she plans to bring along her boyfriend, Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer), attractive Will (Matthew Settle) and Julie. At the resort, Julie starts receiving threatening notes and realizes Ben is still alive.

Prinze told Us Weekly, “Nothing’s a lock until there’s ink on paper, until the contract’s signed, but I’m definitely talking to them. And if we can make everything work — and I know they wanna make everything work, I know I wanna make everything work — then we’ll try and make it work. But we gotta make sure everyone’s schedules fit. Everybody has to be happy with the script. I know Jen Robinson, the director, and I like Jen Robinson very much as a director and as a person. I think people like her are the future of this business. So there’s a lot of good things that make me want to do the movie. I’m motivated, I know they’re motivated. I know both sides are trying to make it work. And hopefully we do.“

While we wait for Hewitt and Prinze to close their deals, we know that Camila Mendes (Riverdale), Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Sarah Pidgeon (Tiny Beautiful Things), Tyriq Withers (Atlanta), and Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid) have signed on to star in the film.

Are you hoping to see Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel? Let us know by leaving a comment below.