After three weeks in theaters, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has made $363 million domestically, over $600 million worldwide, and it looks like it’s going to be Marvel’s second biggest hit of the year following “Doctor Strange & The Multiverse Of Madness.” The film is full of action, grief, and emotion and, of course, is highlighted by a classic Marvel character that fans have wanted to see onscreen for decades: Namor, The Submariner (played by Tenoch Huerta).

Continue reading Marvel Can’t Make A Namor Solo Movie & “Borrowed” The Character For ‘Wakanda Forever’ From Universal at The Playlist.

There’s no line in ‘Wakanda Forever,’ the sequel to Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” (2018), as bruising and seething as “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped from the ships because they knew death was better than bondage.” But emotionally, this somber ‘Black Panther’ sequel is just as visceral and lacerating and perhaps just as absolutist. And spiritually, there is great lineage to this bitter resignation about demise, pride, ancestries, the great depths below us, and the refusal to accept enslavement.

Continue reading ‘Wakanda Forever’ Review: ‘Black Panther’ Sequel Is Overstuffed & Yet Still Succeeds With Heart, Soul, Grief & Great Stakes at The Playlist.

Marvel’s first mutant, Namor, is finally making his live-action debut in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” next week. Played by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta, Namor’s inclusion comes after a long journey that includes failed attempts by Universal Pictures to make a solo film back in the 2000s before the character could join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it sounds like director Ryan Coogler had planned to use Namor long before the original film’s release and always planned on circling back to him for the sequel.

Continue reading Ryan Coogler Says Marvel Has Been Trying To Use Namor Before ‘Aquaman’ & Always Planned To Use Him For ‘Black Panther 2’ at The Playlist.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” wraps up MCU‘s Phase 4 on November 11, and advance word from the film’s world premiere two days ago is very, very strong. No surprise there, as Ryan Coogler cooked up one of Marvel‘s best films with 2018’s “Black Panther.” But the film sees Coogler and its cast and crew face the death of star Chadwick Boseman last year, a difficult thing to manage for any film.

Continue reading New ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Clips & Mini-Trailer: Wakanda Faces Off Against Namor On November 11 at The Playlist.

We’ve never really seen a superhero movie born from and built around grief narratively. But, because of the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020 from cancer, that’s exactly where “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has to start. Now Marvel has held the particulars back from audiences, but it’s clear from the first trailer and the images that Wakanda is in grief, mourning their King.

READ MORE: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’: Tenoch Huerta Confirms His Villain Namor Is A Mutant

Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler, the film not only looks like it explores grief, but a new geo-political threat as the world sees Wakanda on its knees and vulnerable without its king to protect its precious vibranium resources and advanced technology.

Continue reading ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Trailer: The Nation Mourns Its Fallen King While Namor Poses A New Threat at The Playlist.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is a landmark for several reasons: it’s the final film in MCU‘s Phase 4; it’s Ryan Coogler‘s first movie since the 2018 film; and this sequel doesn’t star Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in August 2020 when the movie was in development. But Coogler and the “Wakana Forever” cast vowed to make a movie that lives up to the late actor’s legacy.

Continue reading ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’: Tenoch Huerta Confirms His Villain Namor Is A Mutant at The Playlist.

The second round of original Amazon Prime Video films under the banner of “Welcome to the Blumhouse” share a common trait of elevated messaging. The mediocre first pair (“Bingo Hell” and “Black as Night”) highlighted poverty, addiction, gentrification, slavery, and racial inequity. The second pair (“Madres” and “The Manor”), premiering a week later, highlight ageism, elder abuse, racism, and gender inequity.

Continue reading ‘Madres’ & ‘The Manor’: Final ‘Welcome To The Blumhouse’ 2021 Pair Turn Quality Episodic Material Into Plodding Features [Review] at The Playlist.

You should know the drill by now, but here’s a reminder if you don’t know the routine. In something that may turn into an annual tradition, if the deal extends, that is, Blumhouse Productions is back with its anthology horror series, “Welcome To The Blumhouse,” a collaboration with Amazon Studios. Known for its modestly budgeted but often very successful horror movies, “Welcome To The Blumhouse” so far has given a lot of voice and opportunity to persons of color and female filmmakers.

Continue reading ‘Welcome To The Blumhouse’: Amazon Releases 4 New Trailers For Its Upcoming Horror Film Anthology at The Playlist.

Last year, Amazon Prime Video and Blumhouse Productions announced the horror collection “Welcome To The Blumhouse,” a series of unique, unsettling thrillers developed and produced with an eye towards original, diverse storytelling. Not quite an anthology, “Welcome To The Blumhouse” is just a series of films. Last year, the partnership announced eight genre movies produced by Amazon Studios and Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Television.

Continue reading ‘Welcome To The Blumhouse’ 2021 Trailer: Barbara Hershey, Tenoch Huerta, Adriana Barraza Lead Amazon’s New Horror Film Series at The Playlist.

There’s a great deal of power to financially successful franchise that can lower its own bar: look no further than the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movies and their squeakquels. Also, see the “Purge” series. Their charm in depicting the history of a national holiday where crime is legal for 12 hours has been fueled by cheap politics and easy commentary targets, flattening the tense air of a home invasion in the original movie to feature-length, monotonous free-for-alls.

Continue reading ‘The Forever Purge’: The Once Scary Inhumanity Of The Franchise Curdles Into Cheap, Exploitative Gruel [Review] at The Playlist.

In 2018, “The First Purge” showed audiences how The New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) first concocted its annual event where all crime becomes legal for 12 hours. Now, series creator James DeMonaco shows how the Purge continues even after its abolition in “The Forever Purge,” the fifth and final film in the dystopian franchise.

READ MORE: ‘The Forever Purge’ Will “Set The Record Straight” About The Themes Of The Franchise As It Comes To An End

Whereas “The First Purge” served as a prequel to the franchise’s three previous installments, “The Forever Purge” is a direct sequel to 2016’s “The Purge: Election Year.” In that movie, Senator Roan’s presidential victory leads to the Purge’s termination, a decision met with violent resistance by NFFA supporters.

Continue reading ‘The Forever Purge’ Trailer: The Dystopian Horror Franchise Comes To A Finale In July at The Playlist.

As a child, Mendel explored the nearby forests of Michoacán, a state in Mexico, with his older brother Vicente. The trees there are filled with massive, beautiful clusters of monarch butterflies. Their metamorphosis fascinated him throughout his life and, today, he studies the evolution of their wing design as a research scientist in New York City.  Finding a balance between the land of his birth and his promising future abroad is at the heart of Alexis Gambis’ dazzling new drama “Son of Monarchs,” which screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Continue reading ‘Son of Monarchs’: A Biologist Looks For Tranquillity In His Life Work [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.