With 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse, Fox attempted to deliver a Marvel Studios-style blockbuster, and the results…weren’t great. The movie was a critical bomb and underperformed at the box office, and the studio later decided to put the franchise in the hands of Simon Kinberg, a disastrous decision which resulted in the worst-reviewed X-Men movie ever released: Dark Phoenix. 

During a recent interview with Slash Film, The New Mutants director Josh Boone explained why the reaction to X-Men: Apocalypse led to his movie undergoing some major changes. 

As well as deciding it should be standalone in nature, Fox also wanted to move away from the past. 

“They really did want it to be different than other stuff,” Boone explains. “They really pushed us to keep it separate from X-Men stuff, even though it’s set in the X-Men universe. We had early drafts that were supposed to be in the same timeline as [X-Men:] Apocalypse, so it was originally going to be set in the ’80s. Originally, Professor X and Storm were in it, and Storm very much played the Alice Braga role.”

“Over the course of months, a new studio head came in, they said they didn’t want any X-Men movies to take place in the past anymore, as if that was the reason that Apocalypse was bad. [laughs] So we were put in the position where we kind of rewrote it to be set now in a nebulous [point in time], because nobody knew how the movies had turned out. Dark Phoenix wasn’t out yet. Yeah, it’s there – they talk about Professor X and those things, but it doesn’t have cameos from anyone or anything like that.”

That confirms references to the wider X-Men Universe (which is no more), but also that we can forget about any familiar faces showing up. It’s interesting that Storm was going to take the place of Alice Braga’s Dr. Cecilia Reyes, as it’s widely believed that character is The New Mutants‘ lead villain. 

It’s also strange that Fox wanted to move away from certain time periods, as Dark Phoenix took place in the 1990s; however, given how it barely referenced that decade, it too was somewhat “in a nebulous [point in time].”

The New Mutants is now a standalone movie, though it is hard not to wonder what an earlier version of the movie – set in the 1980s – would have looked like. 

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The 2020 Emmy nominations have just been announced, and Star Wars fans will be very happy to hear that Disney+’s The Mandalorian has picked up a nom for Outstanding Drama Series.

The first season of the live-action Star Wars show was a big hit with fans and critics, but it’s still somewhat surprising that it’s been recognized by The Emmys – especially in such a major category. Giancarlo Esposito, who played Moff Gideon in the season finale, was also nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

In addition, HBO’s Watchmen picked up some big nominations, with Regina King, Jean Smart, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Irons, Jovan Adepo, and Louis Gossett Jr. all scoring acting noms in their respective categories. The show was also nominated for Outstanding Limited Series, and actually received the most nods altogether with 26.

You can watch Saturday Night Live’s Leslie Jones announce the nominees in the video below, or keep scrolling for the full rundown.

Outstanding Drama Series

Better Call Saul

The Crown

The Handmaid’s Tale

Killing Eve

The Mandalorian

Ozark

Stranger Things

Succession

Outstanding Comedy Series

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Dead to Me

Insecure

Schitt’s Creek

The Good Place

The Kominsky Method

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

What We Do in the Shadows

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate, Dead to Me

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me

Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek

Issa Rae, Insecure

Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish

Outstanding Lead Steroids confirmed to help severely ill coronavirus patients primobolan buy uk aurobindo pharma introduces covid-19 drug molnupiravir in india Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson, black-ish

Don Cheadle, Black Monday

Ted Danson, The Good Place

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek

Ramy Youssef, Ramy Outstanding

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show

Olivia Colman, The Crown

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve

Laura Linney, Ozark

Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Zendaya, Euphoria

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Batemna, Ozark

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Steve Carell, The Morning Show

Brian Cox, Succession

Billy Porter, Pose

Jeremy Strong, Succession

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Jeremy Irons, Watchmen

Hugh Jackman, Bad Education

Paul Mescal, Normal People

Jeremy Pope, Hollywood

Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America

Shira Haas, Unorthodox

Regina King, Watchmen

Octavia Spencer, Self Made

Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul

Nicholas Braun, Succession

Kieran Culkin, Succession

Matthew Macfadyen, Succession

Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Mark Duplass, The Morning Show

Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Laure Dern, Big Little Lies

Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies

Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve

Julia Garner, Ozark

Sarah Snook, Succession

Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown

Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale

Thandie Newton, Westworld

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Mahershala Ali, Ramy

Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live

Daniel Levy, Schitt’s Creek

William Jackson Harper, The Good Place

Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method

Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Betty Gilpin, GLOW

Yvonne Orji, Insecure

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live

Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek

D’Arcy Carden, The Good Place

Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Dylan McDermott, Hollywood

Jim Parsons, Hollywood

Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen

Jovan Adepo, Watchmen

Louis Gossett Jr., Watchmen

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Holland Taylor, Hollywood

Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America

Margo Martindale, Mrs. America

Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America

Toni Collette, Unbelievable

Jean Smart, Watchmen

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Andrew Scott, Black Mirror

James Cromwell, Succession

Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian

Martin Short, The Morning Show

Jason Bateman, The Outsider

Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away With Murder

Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black

Cherry Jones, Succession

Harriet Walter, Succession

Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale

Phylicia Rashad, This Is Us

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Fred Willard, Modern Family

Dev Patel, Modern Love

Brad Pitt, Saturday Night Live

Adam Driver, Saturday Night Live

Eddie Murphy, Saturday Night Live

Luke Kirby, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Angela Bassett, A Black Lady Sketch Show

Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Saturday Night Live

Maya Rudolph, The Good Place

Wanda Sykes, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Bette Midler, The Politician

Outstanding Limited Series

Little Fires Everywhere

Mrs. America

Unbelievable

Unorthodox

Watchmen

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There have been conflicting reports about whether Hailee Steinfeld will star in Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye TV series, but The Illuminerdi is reporting that the actress is officially locked in. Now, until the trades report on the deal, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt, but the site has a solid track record with casting.

It was previously reported that Steinfeld’s deal with Apple TV+ would be problematic for her signing up for a Disney+ TV series, but the hope was always that something might be worked out behind the scenes. Now, it appears as if that is indeed the case, and seeing as she’s been Kevin Feige’s top choice since day one, he’s bound to be happy right now.

In related news, the site also reports that production on Hawkeye is expected to begin this October, so Marvel Studios is clearly hoping to be back at work on these shows sooner rather than later (which hopefully bodes well for the recently delayed The Falcon and The Winter Soldier). 

Hawkeye is currently scheduled for a tentative 2021 debut, so between the news about Steinfeld signing up to star and that production start date, things are definitely looking good for the six-part series, which reportedly revolves around Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton passing the Hawkeye mantle to Kate Bishop. 

Are you excited to potentially see the Bumblebee star as the MCU’s new Hawkeye?

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In order to help promote Twitch’s interactive scripted sci-fi series Artificial: Remote Intelligence, we have been speaking exclusively with every member of the cast. We’ve shared our chats with actors such as Tohoru Masamune (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Dante Basco (Hook), Alejandra Reynoso (Castlevania), and more.

Now, we at Comic Book Movie are excited  to bring you our chat with The Last of Us Part II star Stephen A. Chang (Shameless). Chang is known for providing not only the voice, but also the motion capture performance for the character of Jesse in Naughty Dog’s most recent video game.

When we talked with Stephen we asked about what it’s like to do motion capture work for a well-known video game franchise, and we learned some pretty interesting things! In addition, Chang also shared his hopes to one day join the cast of a Marvel Cinematic Universe film. He feels a connection with the Hulk, and would love to play the Asian version: Amadeus Cho!

Chang had a small role in last year’s Captain Marvel, a movie set firmly in the MCU. Plus, Amadeus Cho was technically credited as being played by Martin Starr in 2008’s Incredible Hulk, but Kevin Feige later ret-conned this when suggesting that the character went on to be Peter Parker’s teacher and field trip guardian during Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s also worth mentioning that Chang’s character from Captain Marvel was so insignificant he didn’t have a name, so it would go unnoticed if he was to be re-cast.

If you’re interested in hearing what Chang had to say about his work on The Last of Us Part II and his hopes for a future MCU role, click the podcast link below and skip ahead to 09:45!

Literary Joe: You provided the motion capture and voice for Jesse in Last of Us Part II.  Can you tell me a little bit about that experience and what it’s like to work with mo-cap?

Stephen A. Chang: Yeah, man. I mean, it’s just unreal — the technology that they have. You know, there’s one of those spandex suits with the balls all over you, and I don’t know if all games do it, but they even had a helmet that’s capturing your facial movements and everything.

And it’s unreal that you’re in this room that’s kind of empty, a set that just has boxes here and there. And they say “this is gonna be the farm, and this is gonna be a different set over here,” and it’s like “what are you talking about?”

But then, you look on this screen above you and the whole world is around you, so it was remarkable. It was one of the craziest and most fun acting experiences I’ve ever had. It was fun.

Literary Joe: Do you feel like the character of Jesse is similar to you at all?

Stephen A. Chang: Yeah, I would definitely say so. I think that the Naughty Dog team allowed me to bring a lot of myself to the character, so I definitely feel connected to him.

All of the different screaming and things I do, that’s me screaming, so it doesn’t get more real than that.

Literary Joe: I saw that there was quite a bit of backlash on the web about your character’s fate in the game. What’s your take on Jesse’s outcome?

Stephen A. Chang: Well hey, man, I’m an actor. I’d love to be back for Last of Us III, but what are you gonna do? (Laughs)

Literary Joe: Dunkey made an 8-minute video talking about how mad he was that you died.

Stephen A. Chang: (Laughs) Hey, man, I love it. Maybe I’ll come back as an infected or something. I don’t know if they’ll let me play my corpse. But you definitely get attached to it, I feel like.

It makes me happy that people resonated enough with the character that they felt bad for him to die. I’m glad people aren’t like, “well, that guy’s dead, you know?” (Laughs)

Literary Joe: Is there anything about any of your projects you’d like me to include for our audience?

Stephen A. Chang: I wish I could say there’s some big Marvel movie coming out, but unfortunately there’s nothing else, man.

Literary Joe: If you could play a character in a Marvel film, do you have a specific hero or villain you’d like to play?

Stephen A. Chang: You know, what’s funny, I mean it’s already taken but I feel like the character that I relate most to is the Hulk. Because I get angry a lot, and I would love to smash things but it’s not appropriate, so…

Literary Joe: Well, they haven’t cast Amadeus Cho yet, and he’s the Asian Hulk, so you could probably pull that off!

Stephen A Chang: Oh, really? Okay! I’ll get my agent on it right away, man. (Laughs)

*This interview has been edited for clarity.*

What do you guys think of Chang’s cpmments? Could you see him playing Amadeus Cho in the MCU, or do you have another pick for the Totally Awesome Hulk? Let us know your thoughts in the usual spot; meanwhile, be sure to check out the trailer’s for Chang’s most recent projects, Artificial and The Last of Us Part II.

After a vicious and violent event disrupts the relative peace that Ellie has found in Jackson, she sets out to bring justice to those responsible. As she hunts them down one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions.

The groundbreaking Twitch series Artificial returns with Artificial: Remote Intelligence. This season takes a huge step forward with a bold new sci-fi vision and ground-breaking interactive methods, including an audience-controlled musical score and revolutionary new interactive Worldbuilding episodes. Viewers will be able to dictate aspects of the production including casting of new characters, story, and set design.

The Last of Us Part II is now available for the Playstation 4. Artificial airs live on Twitch every Thursday at 5:00 pm EST.

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