Roster For James Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad' Will Include King Shark, Polka-Dot Man, Ratcatcher, and Peacekeeper

If there's one thing director James Gunn prides himself on, its taking a rag-tag group of characters and getting audiences to care about them. Like he did with the Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel, Gunn has reportedly assembled some very obscure and random characters for his own take on The Suicide Squad. While we do know the characters of Deadshot (Now played by Idris Elba) and Harley Quinn are set to return in some capacity, the rest of the roster seems to be a freshly clean slate for Gunn to do what he wants with. 

According to Collider's Jeff Sneider, the team that Gunn is assembling will include the villains King Shark, Polka-Dot Man, Ratcatcher, and Peacekeeper. A lot of these characters funnily enough seem to be serving as stand-ins for some of the members of the group who were used in David Ayer's 2016 Suicide Squad. King Shark is probably the biggest name here, who is a humanoid shark who was rumored to have been included in the first movie at some point. The character can be serving as a replacement for Killer Croc as the scarier large member of the team, although he'll likely be CGI as opposed to the make up that was used for Croc. The character will also be familiar to fans of The Flash TV show on CW, as he made his first appearance on screen there. 
The rest of the roster includes some pretty ridiculous characters including Ratcatcher, who will be a female in this movie unlike in the comics. She can control armies of rats, and is best known as a Batman villain who was formerly an exterminator in Gotham. Polka-Dot Man is a member of the Batman rogues gallery who throws the colored dots on his body that turn into fireballs. Lastly there's Peacekeeper, a man who is sworn to pacifism so much that he'd ironically kill for peace. 
Polka-Dot Man, Peacemaker, and Ratcatcher
The group manages to "out-weird" both the Guardians and original roster from the 2016 movie, but I guess we shouldn't have expected anything less from Gunn. His style of humor is sure to play well with these characters in a way that makes fun of themselves and gives them some great banter. Gunn also reportedly wants Dave Bautista for the role of Peacekeeper, as the actor had previously teased he'd follow the director to his next project. Bautista has been open about with his disagreement over Disney's exiling of Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so crossing over to DC is very likely possibility. 
So how do you feel about the roster for the new Suicide Squad? Are there any other character you think would fit in with this group? Let us know below!

Idris Elba Top Choice To Replace Will Smith As Deadshot In James Gunn's 'Suicide Squad' Sequel

Whether you liked 2016's Suicide Squad or not, few can argue that the movie wasn't a hit thats still memorable to movie goers. While its best known now for bringing us Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, a huge aspect of its success can be credited to the casting of Will Smith as Deadshot. The combination of blockbuster star and a comic book movie was a match made in heaven for both parties involved. But a lot has changed since 2016, especially at Warner Bros. and DC. With James Gunn coming over from Marvel to direct the Suicide Squad sequel, Will Smith apparently won't be returning and the director already has a replacement in mind.

According to THR, Idris Elba is the director's first and only choice to replace Smith as Deadshot. Last week it had been reported that Smith would not be returning for the sequel due to scheduling conflicts, but speculation has recently hinted the actor may just have not wanted to return to the role. Issues such as the controversy that originally had Gunn removed from Guardians of the Galaxy 3, as well as the overall unclear vision at DC right now are rumored to have played a factor. Its worth mentioning that new recently broke Smith will be starring in a biopic called King Richard about the father of Venus and Serena Williams, so this may also be the project standing in the way of him returning as Deadshot.
With Elba possibly now taking over the role, its becoming more and more apparent DC has no problem recasting their lead characters. With Ben Affleck announcing he will be replaced by a younger Batman, and rumors that Henry Cavill may not be returning as Superman, its no surprise Deadshot is fair game. We do know however that the studio does want Margot Robbie to return as Harley Quinn, which seems more likely given she's already starring in their Birds of Prey movie next year. 
Its hard to tell what exact roster Gunn will be going with for this movie, as it was originally believed this would be more of a reboot than anything else. The return of Deadshot and Harley Quinn made sense given the marketable and the actors behind the role, but it seems Gunn's still really keen on including the character regardless of Smith's departure. While Idris Elba doesn't exactly have the huge level of stardom Smith has, he's certainly made a name for himself on the big screen. With roles as Heimdall in the Thor series, Pacific Rim, Star Trek Beyond, and the upcoming Hobbs and Shaw, another big budget action movie seems right up his ally.
So how do you feel about Idris Elba playing Deadshot? Are you disappointed Will Smith won't be reprising the role? Let us know below!

Finn Wolfhard and Carrie Coon Will Lead The Cast of Jason Reitman's 'Ghostbusters 3'

Just a few weeks ago, Ghostbusters fans were met with a pleasant surprise when an official teaser trailer was released for a secret third installment of the franchise set to be released July 10th of next year. Fans of the original series weren't pleased with director Paul Feig's 2016 reboot, which had little to do with the 80s films aside from their shared name. The new installment however is in the hands of director Jason Reitman (Juno), whose father Ivan directed the original two movies. While we still don't know whether the original cast are returning, the film not only has a plot and release date, but also now has two of its leads. 

Strangers Things' star Finn Wolfhard and Avengers: Infinity War's Carrie Coon have reportedly been cast as a son and mother which the movie will center around. The first announcement for Reitman's Ghostbusters 3 revealed the movie would in fact be focusing on a new young generation of teenage Ghostbusters, which unsurprisingly drew comparisons to Stranger Things. Apparently Reitman didn't want to cast any of the actors from the latter show, but was blown away by Wolfhard's audition. The young actor has already made an impressive leap to the big screen in 2017's IT, and could be potentially be playing grandson of one of the original Ghostbusters.
In a very Spielberg-esque plot, Coon will apparently be playing the single mother of Wolfhard at the center of the film. Coon has put together an impressive resume with her work on TV shows such as The Leftovers and Fargo, as well as in the film dramas Widows and Gone Girl. The report claims that the film won't in fact be focusing on a team of teenage Ghostbuster as had been previously been reported, but will instead focus on this family. The original rumor did in fact mention a plot involving a family moving back to their old small town only to learn more about its past and secrets. It also stated the team of four teens would be around 12-13 (Which Wolfhard is still not too old to pull off), with two girls and two boys.
With its two leads cast, I'm sure we can expect to hear some more casting announcements in the coming weeks. Whether any of the original casts returns will be announced or saved as surprises for the movie has yet to be seen. The movie itself has apparently been in the pipeline for quite some time at Sony under the code name Rust City, but they were waiting to make the official announcement of Reitman's involvement and the July 10, 2020 release date with the online teaser. Following the failure of Feig's reboot in 2016, the studio apparently felt it'd be best to return to continue the story of the originals. 
So what do you think of these two cast additions? Would you rather the movie focus on a family or group of teenage Ghostbusters? Let us know below!

'Goodfellas' Star Ray Liotta Joins The Cast Of Sopranos Prequel 'The Many Saints of Newark'

Two mafia movies have made their way on top many movie goers most anticipated list this year, and those two are The Irishman and The Many Saints of Newark. While the former film is being directed by Marty Scorcese himself and has put together a cast of big names stars familiar with the genre including Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci, the other film's cast isn't exactly who you would expect to see headlining a Sopranos prequel. Well sure enough, Ray Liotta who one would expect would've gotten the call from Scorcese to join The Irishman, is instead coming on board for David Chase's Sopranos prequel.

Deadline reports that Liotta has joined the already impressive cast which includes the likes of Jon Bernthal, Michael Gandolfini, Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, Billy Magnussen, and Corey Stoll. When asked about the project, Liotta expressed his excitement stating, "David [Chase's] talent is unmatched and the directing of Alan Taylor makes this even more exciting." Chase is of course the brains behind The Sopranos, while Taylor directed some note worthy episodes of the show and has gone on work on Game of Thrones in recent years. 
As fans of The Sopranos know, David Chase didn't really cast any big name stars in the role. Instead most of the main actors had come from smaller parts in the background of mafia movies, and this was their first time getting to play a lead. With a bigger budget and cemented reputation to back him up now, it seems Chase is using this opportunity to bring on a big name like Liotta known for his work in the genre. Many of The Sopranos main cast members including Michael Imperioli and Lorraine Bracco all starred in Goodfellas, so it only seems right for Henry Hill himself to finally have a part in The Sopranos universe.
Liotta's career has faltered in recent years, but perhaps a role like this can really help get his career back on track. Like every other cast member who has joined this cast, we still have no idea who any of these actors will be playing aside from Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltasanti and Michael Gandolfini as young Tony Soprano. We know Tony's father, mother, and Uncle Junior will all have roles in the movie as it portrays the origins of their crime family amongst the backdrop of the Newark riots of the 1960s. Its unlikely Liotta will be playing any of these roles given his age, but he could be playing an older mentor role to the family. 
So what do you think of Ray Liotta joining the cast of The Saints of Newark? Would you have liked to have seen him in The Irishman? Let us know below!

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Solo Movie May Be Converted Into A TV Series For Streaming Service Disney Plus

Despite the gripes fans have with the prequel trilogy of Star Wars George Lucas developed in the early 2000s, most of them will agree Ewan McGregor made a pretty damn good Obi-Wan Kenobi. Disney has apparently taken notice of the desire from audiences to see more of this younger version of the character, and an explanation of what he was up to between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Its a part of Star Wars mythology that has been up in the air for years, and with Boba Fett and Han Solo movies in developed it looked like it was right around the corner. Sure enough, the failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story halted the breaks on any future spin-offs.

But apparently the Obi-Wan Kenobi story may still have some life to it according to Star Wars News Net, only this time as a series on the new Disney streaming service Disney Plus. The company has already shown their willingness to tell big budget stories on this platform, with a Jon Favreau helmed Star Wars series called The Mandalorian set as one of its main features. With a strong Star Wars presence already on Disney Plus, it wouldn't be surprising to see it become the home of more of their properties. Its certainly much more low risk than releasing another full spin-off film and having it flop, something that already proved costly for the studio with Solo. 
The studio is apparently waiting to see how well The Mandalorian does before green lighting the project. Currently The Mandalorian has some great buzz around it with other talented directors like Taika Waititi and Bryce Dallas Howard involved alongside Favreau, as well as big name stars like Pedro Pascal (Narcos) and Gina Carona (Deadpool). Where as The Mandalorian is based on completely new characters, an Obi-Wan series would obviously be focusing on one of the most beloved and famous characters from both trilogies. Add into that the likely hood that Ewan McGregor, now a much bigger name than he was in the early 2000s, returning to reprise his role and you have a big draw for fans to join the subscription service and watch the show.
This just adds to the already exciting programming Disney Plus will have to offer, with Marvel Studios already announcing they will have several series focusing on their smaller characters like Loki and Vision and Scarlett Witch. There's also been rumors that all the recently canceled Netflix Marvel shows such as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Punisher could find new life on the platform. With so much already in the works for Disney Plus, it'll likely be a while before things move any further on an Obi-Wan series. But there's no doubt the studio would bring on the talent and provide the budget to do the character the justice a movie would, given the effort they're already putting into their other projects. 
So what do you think of the idea of an Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney Plus? Would you rather see his story on the big screen? Let us know below!

Will Smith's Blue Genie Finally Makes His Debut In New TV Spot For Disney's Live-Action 'Aladdin'

Well here it is. When it was first announced Will Smith would be playing the iconic role of the Genie in Disney's live-action remake of Aladdin, fans weren't exactly thrilled with the idea of the late Robin Williams in the role. As such an iconic part of my generation's childhood, it was going to be just about impossible for anyone to fill in his shoes. Funny enough, we ended up getting an actor who's also a nostalgic and charismatic figure of the 1990s, the Fresh Prince himself. We hadn't actually seen any of Smith's Genie in the first trailer for the movie, but now we finally have a look at him in his big blue form. 

Below is the new TV spot for Aladdin:
So chances are you have the same thing going through your mind that most of the internet did when they saw the trailer. Why does Will Smith's Genie look so bad? The initial photos the Entertainment Weekly released from the movie actually showed a non-blue regular sized human looking version of Smith's Genie in costume. This led to backlash from fans who thought this might just be the way he looked throughout the movie, but he assured fans that this was only how he looks in a portion of the movie. This of course got fans excited to see the final product for a version of the Genie closer to what we remember from the animated movie, but I think we all pictured it with some slightly better effects.
Something about the CGI of Smith's body and face as the Genie just seem very fake, and aren't up to standard with the effects audiences have been spoiled by these days. One can only hope this isn't the final product, and that the character will look much better on screen. Fans have argued that the character may have looked better with a more stylized cartoony look like in the animated movie, where the Genie was basically a caricature of Robin Williams. Instead this version of the character seems to just be a ballooned version of Smith's head on an awkwardly disproportionate body.
While Smith's Genie certainly stole the show in this trailer, there were some other standouts from the trailer. We get some great views of iconic sets recreated for live-action, as well as our first look at Naomi Scott's Jasmin, and Marwan Kenzari's Jafar. Kenzari's Jafar has also gotten some criticism from fans of the original movie for his much less menacing appearance and voice in the brief footage we see of him, but its hard to judge from such a scarce amount of lines. Aladdin is expected to set the tone for whats going to be a big year of Disney live-action movies including Lion King and Dumbo, so the studio can only hope it wins audiences over between now and its release.
So what do you think of the new Aladdin trailer? How do you feel about the look of Will Smith's Genie? Let us know below!

The Avengers Aren't Moving On After Thanos' Snap In The New 'Endgame' Super Bowl Spot

Fans weren't sure what to expect from Marvel during this Super Bowl's commercial breaks. While we pretty much all expected a Captain Marvel spot with the movie's release just around the corner, we weren't sure if we were getting any footage from Avengers: Endgame or Spider-Man: Far From Home. Both movies had relatively recent trailers that gave us a decent amount of footage, but thankfully we got a spot for at least one of them. The Russo Brother's tweeted for fans to turn on their TVs, and sure enough there was a 30 second spot of all new footage from Avengers: Endgame for all of us to freak out over and speculate about.

Below is the Super Bowl spot for Avengers: Endgame:
Now as Kevin Feige has pointed out, we apparently will only be seeing footage from the first half hour of Endgame in any promotional material leading up to its release. This is of course being done to keep the secrecy of the film's plot, as well as the mystery of what characters and locations will be showing up. The marketing approach is very different from the "money shots" and impressive CGI of all the Infinity War trailers. That's also clear in this TV spot, with many of the scenes simply just showing the characters looking somber in different locations.
The trailer shows us some of the ramifications of Thanos' snap and the disappearance of a huge chunk of the Earth's population. We see Captain America in what appears to be a support group, and a sign that is meant to convince people to move on from loved ones they lost. This also confirms that there will be a time jump at some point in the movie in order to show us how much has changed since the snap. We also see the Statue of Liberty surrounded by abandoned boats whose owners probably disappeared. Earth seems much more empty then one would expect in some of the shots of The Avengers walking around, so there may also be people in hiding out of fear of Thanos return. It looks like the Russos are going to give us a perspective of how this has affected the world before throwing us straight into the action.
We also get shots of both Thor and Rocket Raccoon on what could either be Wakanda or even Thanos' shack, so maybe the God of Thunder has secluded himself following the events of Infinity War. Then there is of course Iron Man and Nebula who are still stranded in space, and Tony Stark appears to be making some kind of new suit in a call back to the cave scene from the first Iron Man movie. Lastly we get a shot of the team that includes Ant-Man, War Machine, Captain America, Thor, Rocket Raccoon, and Black Widow. There's a space left that probably is meant for a new look CGI Hulk that the Russos are saving for a surprise reveal. Its also possible this could be Captain Marvel who was removed for the trailer in order to not give away the surprise. 
So what did you think of the Avengers: Endgame trailer? What are your theories about the plot given the footage we've seen so far? Let us know below!