Author: Rory McNeill

The MCU’s exponentially growing collection of films has, since its first steps, been defined by ‘Avengers’ films. Each phase embarked upon by Marvel has been wrapped up by those iconic team up flicks; Phase 1 ended with The Avengers, Phase 2 with Avengers: Age of Ultron, and thus Phase 3 will end with Avengers: Infinity War. It is therefore no surprise that long standing players may be bowing out of the MCU following the events of Infinity War. After six stunning years in the MCU, it’s suspected that Chris Evans may be the first in this inevitable exodus from Marvel’s…

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver made their MCU debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron, though prior to that we were teased with a short sneak peek of their powers at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Sokovian twins, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olson) and Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) were warmly received by fans, and were a big step in moving the superhero-count of the MCU towards Infinity (…thank you). Naturally, there was a long period of research and exploration as to how the twins’ powers would appear on screen. You might be familiar with Scarlet Witch’s hex magic from…

The MCU is flourishing, the DCEU steadily on its way and the comic-book cinematic industry is one of the most successful within the film industry. Yet one thing remains to be an enormous imbalance across all ‘superhero cinematic universes’. There is a gaping lack of female heroes on the big screen at the moment. I refuse to stand by as an astonishingly extensive roster of female characters across both Marvel and DC be ignored by filmmakers, or only to be functional as a love interest. There are plenty of female heroes and there are no viable reasons to neglect them.…

The cinematic world of Marvel couldn’t be more confusing. It’s difficult enough to explain to (ordinary) people that no, DC films aren’t anything to do with Marvel films, but actually the X-Men are nothing to do with the Avengers, but they’re still Marvel… understand? No. And it’s just got worse. After Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures reached a ground-breaking agreement that would enable both parties to share the benefits of Spider-Man appearing on the big screen, the road ahead looked clear. But Sony still owns around 900 Marvel characters, and with them the rights to bring them to the big…

The Guardians of the Galaxy entered the Marvel Universe as some of the most unknown comic-book characters to be adapted, but they’re strutting into 2017 with eager eyes awaiting their return. Marvel ran a risk with the first film, one that paid off in every way, and it’s fair to say the sequel will bring around only more success. Post-production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is nearly packed up, and estimates are projecting a $160 million opening weekend. The film received a perfect audience score at early screenings, so Marvel could have nailed it once more. The prospect…

The X-Men franchise has had a rocky journey since its birth in 2000, one that has rocked up to the heights of Deadpool and X-Men First Class, and descended to lows of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Whilst it has picked up since the prequel/reboot trilogy that began with ‘X-Men: First Class’, fans feel that characters have not been well and consistently adapted across the board, and often Fox is restraining what the creative team intend to do. Still, Ryan Reynolds’ persistence in creating a faithful Deadpool movie seems to have paved the way for a higher standard of X-Men film, with…

Zack Snyder has become one of the most controversial and scrutinised directors of our cinematic age. With a distinct and unique style, visually, the filmmaker was able to bring loved comic book stories to the screen, being faithful to source material, producing films like Watchmen and 300. Zack Snyder’s success in both films ultimately led to DC/WB putting him at the helm of building a DC cinematic Universe to rival Marvel’s already established, and ever-growing one. An exciting prospect perhaps, but Snyder’s reboot of Superman Man of Steel received resentment from many fans regarding the film’s very different vision of…

If a new Iron Fist trailer dropping today wasn’t enough, there’s more excitement coming from the Marvel/Netflix world. As filming continues on the set of The Punisher, we’ve got more photos coming our way. Jon Bernthal is seen as Frank Castle on their New York set. Jon Bernthal first appeared as the Punisher in Daredevil series 2, and his portrayal of the character was utterly compelling – so much so that it pleases fans to their very core to see him with his own series. Bernthal will reprise the role alongside newcomers Ben Barnes as Billy Russo (otherwise known as…

Thus far, in the history of video game movie adaptations, none have found considerable success – but the studios aren’t ready to give up just yet. Tomb Raider is next up, with its second chance, after Angelina Jolie starred in two of the Warner Bros films in the early 2000s. Lara Croft will this time be played by Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.). The reboot began shooting recently, heading for a 2018 release and led by The Wave director Roar Uthaug. New cast members have since joined, but set photos have surfaced focusing on Vikander. The Daily…

In a dramatic build up of excitement and suspense over one weekend in July this year, we found out that Peter Capaldi’s successor as The Doctor is to be none other than Jodie Whittaker. It seems not so long ago now that we heard Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch), the writer set to take over from Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat, wants to wipe the slate clean when he comes to the show. Personally, this is music to my ears. Russel T. Davis’ departure from the show in 2010 was heartbreaking, and whilst Steven Moffat has by no means done a bad job,…