Following the spectacular box-office failure of “Madame Web,” a film that was a punchline twice at the Oscars last night, Sony’s Spider-Man universe continues to be ridiculed in the media outside the Marvel-produced films with Tom Holland and the successful ‘Spider-Verse’ movies. “Morbius,” starring Jared Leto, was another dud at the box office.

Continue reading Michael Keaton Says Even Sony Couldn’t Explain The Vulture Cameo In ‘Morbius’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Jonathan Levine Talks Walking Away From ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ & Is “Jealous” Of Directors That Can Do Superhero Films Right at The Playlist.

The rumors were true! A “Fantastic Four” reboot is now officially in active development at Marvel Studios. Kevin Feige has announced that “Spider-Man: Homecoming” director Jon Watts will be the one to helm Marvel’s first family in a brand new reboot set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

READ MORE: John Krasinski Would “Love” To Star In ‘Fantastic Four’ Reboot But He Has “No Idea” What Marvel Is Planning

Watts is the helmer of the ‘Spider-Man’ series so far and is currently shooting “Spider-Man” 3 in Atlanta.

Continue reading ‘Fantastic Four’: ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Director Jon Watts Hired For Marvel’s First Family at The Playlist.

With the onslaught of dozens of Marvel and DC movies in the last decade, you can’t blame someone for having a little superhero fatigue. Even if that someone has appeared more than five superhero movies herself. That’s right, Gwyneth Paltrow, aka Pepper Potts, we’re looking at you.

As evidenced by his wildly uncomfortable interview with “Joker” star Joaquin Phoenix, Jimmy Kimmel is not one to let a deliciously awkward moment pass him by.

Continue reading Gwyneth Paltrow Still Hasn’t Seen ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Even After Being Shamed By Jon Favreau at The Playlist.

Marvel fans’ worst fear has seemingly come to fruition. Sony has decided to take its ‘Spider-Man’ film franchise and move on without the involvement of Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios, and Disney. And just like that, the entirety of the ‘Spider-Man’ universe is completely in flux.

Deadline is reporting that a deal that was being worked on with Disney and Sony has completely fallen apart with the latter deciding that it doesn’t need Feige’s involvement any longer in the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise.

Continue reading Avenger No More? Marvel Studios & Kevin Feige Won’t Be Producing Any More ‘Spider-Man’ Films As Sony Walks Away From Deal at The Playlist.

It isn’t a stretch to call Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow the matriarch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She’s been a franchise mainstay since 2008’s MCU-launching “Iron Man.” It’s for that reason that we may have to give her the benefit of the doubt for the confusion she shows in a hilarious clip going viral this weekend, in which “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau reminds her of a brief role she clearly forgot she had in 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

In the amusing clip from the Favreau-co-hosted “The Chef Show,” the two are preparing a dish when the actor-director discusses the show’s origins, saying they brought a crew along while the two shot “Homecoming” in Atlanta.

Continue reading Gwyneth Paltrow Had No Clue She Appeared In ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ at The Playlist.

For many film fans, the idea of being a director that actively turns down Marvel Studios seems a bit nuts. Why would anyone turn down the option of making a film that will earn them a large chunk of change, probably some good reviews, and the ability to write your own ticket moving forward? Well, “Long Shot” director Jonathan Levine is one of those people. Someone who interviewed for Marvel Studios but chose to walk away.

Continue reading ‘Long Shot’ Director Jonathan Levine Explains Why He Walked Away From ‘Spider-Man’ Discussions With Marvel Studios at The Playlist.

Kevin Feige should get the cast of “Avengers: Infinity War” T-shirts that read, “loose lips sink ships.” First you had Mark Ruffalo spoiling the Thanos massacre months early (fortunately for Marvel no one noticed), and then you had the MCU’s Spider-Man, Tom Holland, tell an audience that had yet to see ‘Infinity War,’ that his character was dead.

He’s done it again. Sort of. In a nod to his mistakes, Holland has released a kind of mock clip on Instagram talking about the upcoming sequel to “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” revealing that the screenplay is done.

Continue reading Tom Holland Has Revealed The Title Of The ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Sequel at The Playlist.

It looks like Marvel Studios is bringing back a fan-favorite villain for another shot at Spider-Man.

According to Variety, in their report about Jake Gyllenhaal being in talks to star as Mysterio, they said that none other than Michael Keaton would be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture. The report says that Mysterio will be “joining” Keaton’s Vulture in the sequel to last year’s hugely successful “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

READ MORE: ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Sequel To Begin “A Few Minutes” After ‘Avengers 4’ Ends

The news of Keaton’s return is exciting on multiple fronts.

Continue reading Michael Keaton Reportedly Returning To The MCU In ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Sequel at The Playlist.

Jake Gyllenhaal is about to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut soon! But maybe not in the way that fans were hoping.

According to a report by Deadline, the Academy Award-nominated actor is in talks to star as the villain Mysterio in the upcoming “Spider-Man: Homecoming” sequel (it can’t be called “Spider-Man: Prom,” right?). Not much is known about the sequel, as of yet, other than it’ll be the first MCU film to release post-‘Avengers 4’ and will launch the latest phase of Marvel Studios films.

Continue reading Jake Gyllenhaal In Talks To Play Mysterio In Upcoming ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Sequel at The Playlist.

It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago when people like Will Smith, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jim Carrey were among the swath of A-list movie stars demanding $20+ million per film. That was at a time when it didn’t matter what the film was about, or who was behind the camera. All that mattered was July 4th was coming soon and there was bound to be a new Will Smith movie in the multiplex.

Continue reading Leonardo DiCaprio Took A Massive Pay Cut To Work On Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ at The Playlist.

Matt Damon is an actor that is always brought up as a potential leading man in a superhero film. But for one reason or another, the actor just hasn’t found his fit in the world of tights and superpowers. Well, according to a recent report, he came very close to starring in an upcoming superhero film, but not in the way you might think.

In a recent episode of “Meet the Movie Press,” it is reported that Matt Damon was in talks to star in the upcoming “Spider-Man: Homecoming 2” (which is definitely going to be “Spider-Man: Prom,” right?

Continue reading Matt Damon Passed On The Villain Role In The Upcoming ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming 2’ at The Playlist.

2017 was something of a mixed bag for Hollywood at the box office. After last year’s record domestic receipts, $11.37 billion, it was likely that there would be a decrease in revenues and tickets sold overall.  But by the end of the year, returns should come close to 2015’s $11.12 billion take. Sure, the tickets sold won’t crack 1.3 billion and we’ll admit that’s slightly concerning.  However, many people forget that that was the norm in the ‘80s and early ‘90s – and it has already happened twice in this decade.

Continue reading Best & Worst Of The 2017 Box Office at The Playlist.

As much as we evidently love you, our glorious readers (why else would we toil so hard over such a breathtaking array of year-end features, for one thing), there is perhaps a group of people we love even more. And that is our contributors, who throughout the year give The Playlist its inimitable, sometimes cacophonous but always lively voice, and who help us to deliver the goods to you every day in the manner of a vigilant cat laying the eviscerated mouse of the day’s hot movie topics at your feet.

Continue reading The Most Underrated & Overrated Films Of 2017 at The Playlist.

Cinema is, quite literally, action, and while some of the snootier critics might look down on the action movie, there are few purer cinematic pleasures than looking at a great set-piece sequence, from “The General” to “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Technology might have made jaw-dropping spectacle easier than ever to pull off, but a summer where CGI behemoths were outshone by more modest, old-fashioned movies reminded us that thrills come from craft more than they come from blowing up a bajillion robots (though, when done right, the latter can be fun too).

Continue reading The Best Action Sequences Of 2017 at The Playlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 20 films that will be officially considered for this year’s Best Visual Effects Academy Award.  Many of the expected contenders made the cut including “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Okja,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Blade Runner: 2049,” “War for the Planet of the Apes” and “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.”

The only notable omissions were “It” (although horror rarely plays with this branch), “Downsizing” and “Mother!”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the preliminary shortlist.

Continue reading ‘Dunkirk,’ ‘Okja,’ ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Make First Cut In Oscar’s 2018 Visual Effects Race at The Playlist.

It’s been the worst box office summer in decades in 2017, and appropriately enough, it ends with a whimper. With no new major wide releases hitting cinemas, this was the worst Labor Day weekend at the movies in seventeen years, which led to some strange outcomes.

“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” stayed at the top of the box office with a surprising 0.1% drop in attendance since last weekend, earning $10.2 million.

Continue reading ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ Leads Quiet Labor Day Weekend [Box Office] at The Playlist.

Spending on the Top10 films this wknd tumbled down to a pathetic $45M. Worst wknd #boxoffice in 16 yrs! Since period right after 9/11.

— Gitesh Pandya (@GiteshPandya) August 27, 2017

With $65M total for all films in release, Hollywood suffered its worst domestic weekend of 2017, in fact, its lowest grossing in many years.

— Exhibitor Relations Co. (@ERCboxoffice) August 27, 2017

OK, this sums it up well: it was a really shitty weekend at the movies and as noted by the above box office gurus, the entire top 10 combined only accounted for $65 million (a steep 45% drop from last weekend).

Continue reading ‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ Tops Worst Weekend In 16 Years [Box Office] at The Playlist.

With $472 million worldwide and counting, it’s safe to say that Marvel and Sony‘s teamup on “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a success. Now, of course, attention is turning to the sequel which is already penciled in for 2019, and they aren’t messing with a good thing.

READ MORE: ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Can’t Work Out All The Bugs [Review]

THR reports that director Jon Watts is in talks to return and sling his cinematic web behind the camera.

Continue reading ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Sequel Lands Director, Isn’t Messing With What Works at The Playlist.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” has finally hit theaters, so it’s about time for a deluge of obligatory MCU-film Easter egg roundups to clutter your preferred social media feed. You may have noticed that the term “Easter egg” is being used pretty fast and loose these days. One of Time’s “20 Easter Eggs You Probably Didn’t Notice in Spider-Man: Homecoming,” for instance, is literally just the fact that there is a running gag in the film involving Captain America starring in high-school PSAs.

Continue reading All The ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Easter Eggs, References & More at The Playlist.

When “Spider-Man: Homecoming” was first announced, there were many who groaned about a reboot coming just three years after Sony scrapped their Spidey plans following “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” However, a canny partnership with Marvel, and a lively take on the character by Tom Holland (first previewed to a winning reception in “Captain America: Civil War“) have added up to a new webslinger that audiences can’t resist.

Continue reading ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Takes A Big Swing Into Cinemas [Box Office] at The Playlist.

We hope Michael Giacchino spends the rest of July taking a nap, because the composer has been crazy busy. In the past few months he’s tuned up Colin Trevorrow‘s indie bomb “The Book Of Henry,” brought Peter Parker to life in this weekend’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” and in couple weeks we’ll hear his work again in “War For The Planet Of The Apes.” But if you want to treat your earbuds right away, the soundtracks for the latter two blockbusters are now streaming.

Continue reading Stream Michael Giacchino’s Full Scores For ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ & ‘War For The Planet Of The Apes’ at The Playlist.

Why did Marvel Studios want to work with Sony to bring Spider-Man to the big screen (again)? Because imagine a DC Films Universe without Superman or Batman. Spider-Man is Marvel’s flagship character and, to someone like Kevin Feige, having the webslinger in the universe was better than not having him in there at all (plus, it sure doesn’t hurt movies like ‘Civil War’ and ‘Infinity War’ to have the character swinging into the collective action).

Continue reading Ranking The Best ‘Spider-Man’ Movie Characters at The Playlist.

This week, Marvel and Sony are relaunching everyone’s favorite webslinger with “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” so you’d better buckle up. With a new trilogy of standalone films planned, plus appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’re going to be seeing a lot of Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker. Even more, because everything is connected these days, his story arc is going to be spanning five movies — at least.

Continue reading Kevin Feige Explains “Five-Movie Storyline” For ‘Spider-Man’ at The Playlist.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” arrives in cinemas this week, with the newest recruit to the Marvel family guided under the watchful eye of Tony Stark. However, before filming began, it wasn’t clear if Robert Downey Jr. — who is keeping an eye on Marvel’s exit door — would be returning. So, as always, there was a backup plan.

Director Jon Watts reveals to io9 that “mood reels” were created featuring Samuel L.

Continue reading ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Opening Scene Swings Online & More at The Playlist.