Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.

Berserk by Dejan Delic

Big Trouble In Little China by John Dunn

Elektra by Grobi Grafik

Joker: Folie à Deux by ChunHann Ho

Kill Bill Vol. 1 by Alex G.

A Nightmare on Elm Street by Nerd Designre 1

Seven Samurai by Joseph K. Roman

Squid Game 2 by John Scarratt

Three Amigos by Graham Corcoran

Ultraman by Rick Forgus

The post Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net: Elektra, Joker, Kill Bill, Seven Samurai, Squid Game appeared first on JoBlo.

Samuel L. Jackson gave audiences their first hint that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was going to be more significant than they imagined. The actor first appeared as Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man, telling Tony Stark that he’d become part of a bigger universe. This was the first of Jackson’s nine-picture deal with Marvel Studios. The actor told GQ that not only was he shocked by the deal, but that he stayed alive long enough to see them all get made.

“I knew I had a nine-picture deal,” Jackson said. “[Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] said that: ‘We’re going to offer you a nine-picture deal.’ How long do you have to stay alive to make nine movies? It’s not the quickest process in the world. I didn’t know they were going to make nine movies in like two and a half years. That’s kind of crazy! Oh shit, I’m using up my contracts. It worked out.“

Jackson reached the end of that initial nine-picture deal with Captain Marvel but has returned for more Marvel movies, including Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Marvels. He also took center stage in the Secret Invasion series on Disney+.

That’s a lot of Marvel movies, but Jackson told The LA Times in 2022 that he’d rather focus on doing what makes him happy rather than chasing awards. “I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor,” Jackson said. “My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies. You know [whispers]: ‘If you do this movie, you’ll win an Oscar.’ No, thanks. I’d rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand.“

Jackson continued, “As jaded as I wanted to be about it, you know thinking, ‘Well, I should have won an Oscar for this or should have won for that and it didn’t happen,’ once I got over it many years ago, it wasn’t a big deal for me. I always have fun going to the Oscars. I always look forward to getting a gift basket for being a presenter. [Laughs] I give stuff to my relatives; my daughter and my wife would take stuff out. It’s cool.”

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Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.

Beetlejuice by Matt Ryan Tobin

Darth Vader by Don Child

Death Proof by Forsaken Folklore Peter Harper

Drive by Huan Do

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off by Alex Fellows

The Justice League by Jerry Gaylord

No Country For Old Men by Şahin Düzgün

Spirited Away by Salvador Pombo

They Live by David Müller

X-Men by Bill Walko

The post Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net: Beetlejuice, Drive, No Country For Old Men, X-Men appeared first on JoBlo.

Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.

Akira by Ruben Martinez

The Bride of Frankenstein by Loopydave

Harry Potter by Bijit Barat

Hellboy by Christopher Higginson

Hellraiser by Victor Shidlovskiy

Jurassic Park by Grievity

The Matrix by Sahin Düzgün

Spider-Man by Dave Bullock

Star Trek x Doctor Who by Dusty Abell

The Star Wars by Laemeur

The post Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net: Akira, Harry Potter, Hellboy, Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, Star Wars appeared first on JoBlo.

THR reports that Todd Stashwick is set to reunite with Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas on Marvel’s upcoming Vision series.

The follow-up to WandaVision will once again star Paul Bettany as the android, and it was announced last month that James Spader will reprise his role as Ultron. Beyond brief mentions in other Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, we haven’t seen Ultron since his introduction in Avengers: Age of Ultron close to ten years ago. As for who Stashwick will play in the Vision series, THR’s sources say he will play “an assassin who is on the trail of the android and the technology he possesses.” The series is aiming to look in England in early 2025.

Stashwick played Captain Liam Shaw in the third season of Star Trek: Picard. The character butted heads with Jean-Luc Picard but quickly grew into a fan-favourite. In addition to Picard, Stashwick also featured in 12 Monkeys, Terry Matalas’ TV series adaptation of the movie of the same name directed by Terry Gilliam.

Speaking of Picard, it was Matalas’ work on that series which brought him to the attention of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. “That’s how I got to know him,” Feige told Inverse earlier this year. “It was from his amazing [work on Picard Season 3. I said: This is incredible. I don’t know how this exists. Let me find the person who made this.” Given the popularity of Picard‘s third season, fans were eager for a continuation, and Matalas was certainly game, even laying out the groundwork for something he called Star Trek: Legacy. “It does feel like something new, with Captain Seven and her crew,” Matalas said. “It feels like a new mix. I don’t know how much everyone would be involved, but it definitely feels like a mix and match of old legacy and new. But again, there’s nothing in development, currently. It’s just a pie-in-the-sky sort of fan wish at the moment.” Unfortunately, Paramount didn’t jump on the idea, and Marvel’s gain became their loss. There has been talk of a Star Trek: Picard movie, but we haven’t heard much about it since the beginning of the year.

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A week before the premiere of X-Men ’97, Marvel shockingly fired creator Beau DeMayo. At the time, it wasn’t entirely clear why DeMayo was fired from the series, but subsequent months have seen tensions rise between Marvel and the former showrunner. Marvel later claimed that DeMayo was fired following an internal investigation that turned up findings of an “egregious nature,” but DeMayo is fighting back.

Per Deadline, DeMayo claims the “allegations of egregious misconduct are false” before bashing Marvel for fostering a “toxic environment” and “near criminal working conditions” that “turns individuals against one another, stokes paranoia to ensure compliance.” DeMayo acknowledges that “personality conflicts happen” and that he wasn’t “everyone’s cup of team,” but claims that the real issue Marvel has was him “being gay, Black and open about it at Marvel Studios.“

“The rumors being spread around me online are lies, and they are offensive, but more concerning is that they’re a smear campaign designed to discredit my credibility in order to cover up the egregious prejudicial misconduct stretching from select crew members on X-Men ’97, all the way all the way to the top at Marvel Studios,” DeMayo said. “In the end, the offenses Marvel and others have leaked are designed to distract you from what really offended them. Someone like me dared to speak truth to people like them. They wanted me to be the Black stamp of approval on this project, I declined. They wanted to erase aspects of my personality that clashed or proved inconvenient with the misguided narratives they wanted to establish. I declined. They tried to intimidate me with both explicit and implied threats. I was not intimidated. Everything they have done since then has been designed not just to silence me and smear me, but to crush me and to remind me to know my role.“

He’s also going to court to have an “illegal non-disparagement provision” removed from his exit package documents and to keep his “bonus and writing credits.” Attorney Bryan Freedman said, “There are only two possible explanations for why Marvel and Disney had Beau sign an NDA that so obviously violated basic California law. Either incredulously Marvel and Disney’s hundreds of lawyers who advise over 250,000 employees all just happened to make a mistake or Marvel knowingly and intentionally attempted to silence Beau so they could have total control as to why he was no longer at Marvel, why he had his credits removed on season 2 and why he was uninvited to attend the very award show that nominated his hard work for an Emmy.“

DeMayo also claims he has “the receipts and the eyewitnesses so long as you stop coercing them to lie, you can keep attacking me with lies and misinformation, but we can become the ugliest, most annoying version of that of that … or you can start acting like a studio that is worthy of a show like X Men ‘97.” Now, I’m no big city country lawyer, but I have a feeling we haven’t heard the last of this.

The post Fired X-Men ’97 creator Beau DeMayo blasts Marvel, alleging “near criminal working conditions” appeared first on JoBlo.

For several years, Channing Tatum was trying to get a film based on the Marvel Comics character Gambit off the ground at Fox. The project passed through the hands of directors Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski, but never made it into production. Then Fox was bought out by Disney, the home of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the Gambit plans were set aside. Tatum said he was traumatized when the project was scrapped: “Once Gambit went away, I was so traumatized… I shut off my Marvel machine. I haven’t been able to see any of the movies. I loved that character. It was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him.” So it was nice that Tatum’s friend Ryan Reynolds gave him the chance to finally bring his version of the character to life on screen in Deadpool & Wolverine – and today, Reynolds shared a clip that was shot for the film that leaves the door (or the “Marvel Sparkle Circle” portal) open for Tatum’s Gambit to return in the MCU. You can check it out in the embed above.

Even if you saw Deadpool & Wolverine on the big screen, there’s a chance you didn’t catch this moment, but Reynolds assures us that it is in the movie: “A version of this sequence is in the film, playing on one of the monitors in deep background of the TVA.“

Tatum has been open about the fact that he hopes his appearance as Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine will allow him to continue playing the character in the MCU. When Variety asked him if it was possible, he said, “I sure hope so. From your mouth to God’s ears. Write it into existence, my friend. Please.” He had also told Marvel that he still wants to make the Gambit movie. “I’ve course I’ve said it. I’ve been saying I want it for the last 10 years. It’s in Bob Iger and Kevin Feige’s hands. I pray to God.“

Directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay that was crafted by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Reynolds, Zeb Wells, and Levy himself, Deadpool & Wolverine has the following synopsis: Marvel Studios presents their most significant mistake to date – Deadpool & Wolverine. A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life. His days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. When his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit-up again with an even more reluctantlier… reluctanter? Reluctantest? He must convince a reluctant Wolverine to – F–k. Synopses are so f–king stupid. Well, the movie has made over a billion dollars at the box office, so you probably know what it’s about.

Are you glad to see that Channing Tatum’s Gambit survived the events of Deadpool & Wolverine, and would you like to see Tatum continue playing the character in the MCU? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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In the age we live in now, comic book movies are mostly big, bloated, blockbusters with big budget bullshit, and while there are some exceptions to that statement these days, back in the late 90s- you’d bever find a comic book film with a budget in the hundreds of millions. These kinds of films were dark horses in Hollywood with unproven success to secure studio backing. Bloated, bullshit, blockbusters…were not an option. Now, there’s probably no need for me to explain the early days of Marvel movies and the constant state of financial decay that the company was in prior to the inception of the MCU. But suffice it to say that Marvel, the juggernaut movie studio who now owns their own corner of the industry, was once so broke that they sold off the rights to some of their characters and IP to stay afloat. This is how we got things like the Spider-Man films from Sony, the Punisher movie from Artisan, and of course the X-Men saga from Fox. Included in that offload of IP was Blade, which was sold to New Line Cinema. A movie that many did not know was even tied to the otherwise colorful and bright Marvel brand. And that, in the 90s, was actually to the film’s benefit.

Blade is a half-human and half-vampire hybrid whose mother was attacked by a vampire during childbirth. This gives Blade the unique cocktail of DNA which gives him all the strengths of these blood-sucking cultists, but none of the weaknesses. It’s called being a “daywalker” in this movie. So, Blade’s mission in life is to use his curse in order to hunt and destroy any creature he can find. He achieves this with the help of his trusty mentor, Whistler (played by Kris Kristofferson) who adopted Blade as a teenager and trained him in combat. Whistler is Blade’s “guy in the chair” who provides technical savvy, companionship, and a special serum that Blade injects to keep him from craving blood. Remember, he is a vampire after all, folks.

Now, seeing as this movie is almost 30 years old, and this IS a revisited video- it’s safe to assume that you’ve already seen this movie. And personally, I’m not interested in recapping the entire plot and calling it a day. Instead, let’s just get to the good stuff. How does this movie hold up? And what it makes it great after all these years? Oh, and also- we’re definitely gonna spoil some Deadpool & Wolverine somewhere in this video so… I’ll warn you when we get to it. Let’s go!

First off, let’s talk about this movie’s legendary opening sequence. The movie opens on what appears to be an incredibly stylized late 90s rave- complete with shiny leather, edgy music, sexiness, debauchery, and… oh yeah, BLOOD RAINING FROM THE CEILING SPRINKLERS! That’s right dudes, this opening scene is a mass killing in a vampire rave. This is so 90s but in the smoothest and most satisfying way. The blue tones of the lighting and color grading really pop against the deep, thick red of the corn syrup being sprayed all over the dance floor and folks, I’m so here for it.

The villain of the piece is a ruthless and reckless vampire with something to prove called Deacon Frost (played by Stephen Dorff). This guy is basically seeking to either capture Blade and use his hybrid blood to push the evolutionary scale of vampires to the next level- OR collab with him so that he doesn’t have to use force. Blade prefers using force, so we now have our main conflict. This movie’s performances are not only good, but I think it gets undersold just how IMPORTANT these actors and their commitment to the roles were to the ultimate success of this movie. It’s important to remember that while Marvel films are commonplace household movies today, Blade was made at a time when superhero films were deeply uncool, and thus, unprofitable. Director Stephen Norrington was already facing slim odds of a commercial success when taking on this project, but thanks to the cast and crew taking the project so seriously, and the actors truly committing the absurdity of it all, and delivering serious and grounded performances- is what makes this movie special.

Wesley Snipes as Blade is really one of those all time superhero castings that we put up there with Hugh Jackman as Wolvrine or RDJ as Iron Man. Snipes gives Blade a hip and cool edge by cracking the occasional joke, reacting with his extremely expressive orange eyes, and even throwing some signature one-liners into the mix from time-to-time.

While there are one or two moments of comic relief in the film, this movie ultimately plays it completely straight and takes what it’s doing seriously. Dorff as Deacon Frost is a great example of hamming it up while selling the stakes of the scene. He chews pretty much the entire set here, but it’s not wasted on big monologues and cheesy exposition. Instead, he lets his demeanor and expressions show you how evil and unpredictable he is, while always delivering lines as if he’s been up all-night practicing in the mirror and thinking of nothing other than his mission. And I mean all of this, as a compliment. Frost get’s a bad wrap due to the film’s dated CGI which was heavily relied on for the ending. Why does Frost take the hit? Well, he’s the guy who turns into a pixelated, rubbery disaster in the final act.

Admittedly, this does not look as polished as it would today- but putting that aside. Look at the incredible fight choreography and immaculate cinematography of the action in this movie.

While the action and carnage is fun, it’s also only part of this very delicious pie. The dynamic that Blade has with the supporting cast is also fun on the re-watch. Blade and Whistler have a father-son type relationship that adds a sweet layer to his character and leaves you gutted by his reaction to Whistler’s (almost) death scene. To add another layer to Blade’s character is his dynamic with Karen, a human that wants to help (and maybe bone) Blade. If Whistler makes Blade sweet, Karen makes him tough. Her involvement gives Blade a reason to stay sharp and be alert. See, while our hero has no problem going out at night to kick some vampire ass, he also feels the need to protect people. And with Karen being around, he’s contently looking out for her safety. It’s important to note that what makes Blade a great character goes beyond the obvious. Sure, the duster jacket, the ninja weapons (especially those katanas) and the shades and tattoos make him look cool. But his stoic attitude with small elements of humor, and most importantly humanity- that’s what makes Blade a GREAT character.

Behind the scenes, Norrington and Snipes would both eventually get sick of the franchise with Norrington passing the reigns for the next film to the modern master of macabre, Guillermo del Toro for a sequel that is just as much fun as this one. Snipes would appear in all three installments of the trilogy but reportedly would get more and more difficult to work with as the films went on. See, Snipes was so ingrained in the character of Blade that he would remain in character at all times making him seem unapproachable and unfriendly to everyone on set. This would lead to the films having diminishing returns and eventually fading out and being pruned to the void… UNTIL…

For those of you that loved this movie the way I do, you must have been just as stoked as I was to see Wesley Snipes enter the frame as Blade in Marvel’s latest multiverse outing- Deadpool & Wolverine. Seeing him whip out some blades and kick some asses was everything I needed to fill the Blade shaped hole in my heart- however, while I love that he was in the movie for a good chunk of it, and he did get plenty to do, I was disappointed by the re-hashed catchphrase and not-so-subtle wink at the camera and Mahershala Ali’s upcoming Blade film. It just didn’t feel like Blade in those moments.

But, regardless, this movie offers a bloody, violent, action-packed and well performed comic book story that is sure to scratch the vampire itch that you’re feeling right now.

Two previous episodes of Revisited can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals channel – and subscribe while you’re at it!

The post Blade (1998) Revisited – Horror Movie Review appeared first on JoBlo.

Everything old is new again as Marvel Studios announces James Spader’s return to the MCU as the malevolent automaton Ultron for the upcoming Vision series. Marvel’s Vision series is a follow-up to WandaVision, with Spader joining the project as Ultron’s voice. James Spader first played Ultron in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sequel to Marvel’s The Avengers.

Also returning for Marvel’s Vision series is MCU alum Paul Bettany, who plays the all-powerful android created in Avengers: Age of Ultron by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). Vision falls in love with Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in the film. As an unbreakable bond blossoms between the two characters, Vision taps into his humanity, educating him about the power of compassion and companionship. Sadly, Vision dies at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Endgame before being resurrected by magic and the power of grief in WandaVision. Rebuilt with an ethereal white coloring, Vision flees his new surroundings in search of answers to his burning questions. Vision’s fate (and Wanda’s, for that matter) are dangling threads in the MCU’s continuity, with no concrete answers as to what became of either character. I’m not counting articles or quotes about what might have happened.

Terry Matalas, the showrunner of Star Trek: Picard, is in charge of Marvel’s Vision series. Bringing James Spader back as Ultron is interesting after Marvel announced Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU at San Diego Comic-Con in July. While Downey’s role changes from Tony Stark to Victor Von Doom, Spader’s role as Ultron’s voice remains the same. Now, fans could question if Marvel is acting on bold, new ideas or if the studio is spinning its wheels by returning to well for what’s worked in the past. Avengers: Age of Ultron received mixed reviews at its release time, though fans have warmed to the super-powered sequel since. There’s no denying that James Spader’s Ultron is the highlight of that film, and the thought of him returning to cause more panic in the MCU is intriguing.

What do you think about James Spader reprising his role as Ultron for Marvel’s Vision series? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post James Spader to reprise his role as Ultron for Marvel’s Vision series starring Paul Bettany appeared first on JoBlo.

A Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of the Blade property has been making its way through development hell for the last five years, and if / when the script for that project is ever figured out and the new Blade can go into production, Mahershala Ali will be taking over the title role… but Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds thinks Marvel should go in a different direction with the character. After the spoiler veil was lifted and Reynolds could acknowledge that Wesley Snipes makes an appearance as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine, returning to the role for the first time since his trilogy of Blade films wrapped up twenty years ago, the actor took to social media to call for Marvel to give Snipes’ Blade “a Logan-like send-off.” And he’s not letting his request get brushed aside. Last night, Reynolds again took to social media to push for a new Blade movie starring Wesley Snipes.

This time, Reynolds wrote, “The reaction when Wesley Snipes enters the movie is the most intense thing l’ve heard in a theater. People screaming with uninhibited joy and love is also the sound of a legacy. More Blade please. #DayWalker.” He later went back and edited his post to add a P.S.: “A Logan-style send off, specifically.“

Reynolds is stirring up a lot of fan support for the idea of a Blade sequel starring Wesley Snipes… which leaves one to wonder, what does Mahershala Ali think about this campaign? It has been said that he’s getting increasingly frustrated that they can’t get his Blade movie into production, now fans are pushing for an entirely different Blade project that he wouldn’t have the lead role in.

Snipes himself has shown support for the Blade reboot. He recently told Entertainment Weekly, “I shouted (Ali) out, told him he’s got all my blessings and support. I even referenced the fact that some of the challenges they’re facing now with the project, it shouldn’t be accredited to him. It’s not the actor’s fault. There’s a lot more that goes on with pulling this Blade stuff off. You need a lot of secret sauce to do the Blade thing, man. Good luck. You’re my man, though.“

Would you like to see Marvel greenlight a Wesley Snipes Blade send-off in place of or in addition to the Mahershala Ali reboot? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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