Over the weekend, The Times posted an article about the career of Matt Damon and how the idea of a “leading man” taking over the box office is dead. People love Matt Damon (well, until he offered up his story about using a gay slur…) and it’s true about how the box office isn’t nearly as reliant on a strong leading man. However, there was one comment in the piece that caused quite a stir on social media and led to James Gunn publicly offering up his opinion on the “bullshit” take.

Continue reading James Gunn Denies “Bullsh*t” Claim That Anyone Could Have Played Iron Man In The MCU: “I’ve Seen The Screen Tests” at The Playlist.

Last year, as people lamented not being able to go to the movie theater, they also started celebrating the cinematic moments that meant the most to them. A recurring pick for best moment in a cinema was the “On your Left” scene in “Avengers: Endgame,” where Anthony Mackie‘s Sam Wilson / Falcon signals the return of all those who had disappeared in the previous movie. As Mackie tells it, he could have played a very different character, James Rhodes / War Machine from “Iron Man.”

READ MORE: Anthony Mackie Teases Not Becoming Captain America In ‘Falcon’ Series: “We Don’t Know That Yet”

During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Mackie tells how he originally auditioned to appear in the first film in the MCU.

Continue reading Anthony Mackie Once Auditioned To Play Rhodey In ‘Iron Man’ at The Playlist.

The upcoming “She-Hulk” series directed by Kat Coiro had casting confirmations made by Kevin Feige tonight at the Disney Investors Day. Emmy-winning actress Tatiana Maslany will be playing Bruce Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk, in the Disney+ along returning MCU actors Mark Ruffalo and Tim Roth. The latter plays the villainous Abomination from Louis Lettier’s “The Incredible Hulk” that starred Ed Norton as Bruce Banner.

Continue reading Mark Ruffalo Confirmed For ‘She-Hulk,’ Don Cheadle Will Play War Machine In New ‘Armor Wars’ Series at The Playlist.

We are only a couple of weeks removed from the massive Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where ten new projects were officially announced as part of Phase 4. Of course, one of those projects is none other than “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” The film not only was announced, but we got casting info which includes Simu Liu as the title character, joined by Awkwafina and Tony Leung, who is playing The Mandarin.

Continue reading ‘Iron Man 3’ Writer Drew Pearce Has Talked To Marvel Folks & Isn’t Worried About The Mandarin In ‘Shang-Chi’: “In Marvel, We Trust” at The Playlist.

**HUGE SPOILERS for “Avengers: Endgame” below. You’ve been warned.**

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Okay, so you’ve probably seen the latest ‘Avengers’ film by now, as the box office totals are astronomical. And if you are like most people, you were bawling your eyes out during the end of the film, where it was shown that Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, gave his life to save the world, leading to the most star-studded funeral in history.

Continue reading ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Director Explains Reason For The Mystery Kid At The End Of The Film at The Playlist.

As Zhang Yimou’s “The Great Wall” nosedives at the American box office with an $18.1 million gross last weekend, its worldwide box-office intake has already almost doubled its budget. Why? Per a report on “The Today Show,” China is quickly becoming the de facto nation for box-office returns. While this trend is by no means new, it is becoming more apparent in the broad blockbusters that are being put in theaters today.

Continue reading ‘The Today Show’ Explores The Impact Of China’s Growing Movie Market On Hollywood at The Playlist.

Many moons ago, in our feature The Best & Worst Moments Of “Iron Man 3,” we were particularly disappointed that Rebecca Hall‘s Maya Hansen “does very little except have a one night stand with [Tony] Stark back in the day, and then inexplicably show up at his house.” Yep, that’s about it, but the actress revealed she actually had more to do in the movie….at least at first.

Continue reading “I Was Meant To Be In The Movie Until The End”: Rebecca Hall Says Her Role Was Reduced In ‘Iron Man 3’ at The Playlist.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that “Iron Man 3” had a villain problem that went beyond merely hoodwinking the audience. Last month, director Shane Black revealed that early on, the baddie was actually a female character, but at the insistence of higher-ups, it was changed to a dude for the sake of toy sales. So then Black rolled with Mandarin, with Ben Kingsley‘s character presented as the force Tony Stark would have to reckon with….only for the rug to be pulled out, and have it revealed he was pretty much just a patsy, and that Guy Pearce‘s Killian was the real bad guy.

Continue reading Shane Black Says “We Did Our Job Too Well” With Mandarin In ‘Iron Man 3’ at The Playlist.

As the arrival of “X-Men: Apocalypse”(read our review) this week reminds us, superheroes are still the dominant story in the blockbuster world. Sure, “Jurassic World” and “Furious 7” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” might have outgrossed any superhero film last year, but if anyone thought that meant that the genre was on the way out, they’ve been proven wrong in 2016: ‘Apocalypse’ is the fourth superhero pic in as many months, and the three previous ones have taken over $2.5 billion between them.

Continue reading The 25 Best Superhero Movies Of All Time at The Playlist.

Yes, it’s kind of Shane Black week on The Playlist. We scored an interview with the “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” and ”Iron Man 3” writer/director, covered a couple great podcast conversations he was part of and for this piece, dove into a recent Q&A he did for The Writer’s Panel in Los Angeles. What can we say? The guy’s been everywhere with a lot of interesting things to say, and we’ve been listening.

Continue reading Shane Black Talks More ‘Predator’ Details, Defending Mel Gibson, ‘Lethal Weapon 5’ & More at The Playlist.

Watch: 'Deadpool' Director Tim Miller's CGI Advertorials For 'Iron Man'

Continue reading Watch: ‘Deadpool’ Director Tim Miller’s CGI Advertorials For ‘Iron Man’ at The Playlist.

Steven Spielberg Says He's "Hooked" On ‘Homeland,’ Enjoys Both Tim Burton & Christopher Nolan's Batman Films

Continue reading Steven Spielberg Says He’s “Hooked” On ‘Homeland,’ Enjoys Both Tim Burton & Christopher Nolan’s Batman Films at The Playlist.

Ranked: All The Characters Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Continue reading Ranked: All The Characters Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe at The Playlist.

Interview: Alejandro Jodorowsky Talks 'The Dance Of Reality,' His Belated Return To Cinema, 'Iron Man 3' & More

Continue reading Interview: Alejandro Jodorowsky Talks ‘The Dance Of Reality,’ His Belated Return To Cinema, ‘Iron Man 3’ & More at The Playlist.

25 Blockbuster Threequels: Did They Sink Or Save Their Franchises?

Continue reading 25 Blockbuster Threequels: Did They Sink Or Save Their Franchises? at The Playlist.

Robert Downey Jr.'s Career In 7 Films

Continue reading The Essentials: Robert Downey Jr.’s Best Performances at The Playlist.

Cobie Smulders Joins 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'; Ghostface Killah Says Marvel Suing Him Over Iron Man References

Continue reading Cobie Smulders Joins ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’; Ghostface Killah Says Marvel Suing Him Over Iron Man References at The Playlist.

Continue reading Marvel Wises Up And Reportedly Lets Shane Black Co-Write ‘Iron Man 3’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Drew Pearce Will Write Script For ‘Iron Man 3,’ Not Shane Black at The Playlist.

Continue reading Shane Black Talks ‘Iron Man 3’; Confirmed To Be Writing Script, Film Will Be A ‘Tom Clancy Thriller’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading ‘The King’s Speech’ Helmer Tom Hooper Turned Down ‘Iron Man 3,’ Now Circling ‘Les Miserables’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Shane Black Suits Up To Direct ‘Iron Man 3’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Shane Black In Talks To Direct ‘Iron Man 3’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Jon Favreau Explains Why He Left The ‘Iron Man’ Franchise at The Playlist.

Continue reading Confirmed: Jon Favreau Won’t Be Directing ‘Iron Man 3’ at The Playlist.