In the Netherlands, they drop kids off in the middle of the night in the middle of the woods and make them find their way back to camp. For real. Sometimes the adults even blindfold the kids on the car ride to this adventure, or drive around in circles, to throw off the kids' sense
The post Only in the Netherlands: Why Parents Are Leaving Their Kids in the Woods Alone at Night appeared first on Let Grow.
Amazon clearly has a lot of confidence in its revival of The Expanse -- the internet giant has renewed the gritty sci-fi show for a fifth season months before season four's December 13th premiere. That's not completely surprising when the Prime Video...
On July 19, the "live-action" remake of The Lion King debuted in U.S. theaters. "Live-action" is in quotation marks, because really, it's still animated--only with photorealistic CGI instead of being drawn by hand like the original.
And one of the main criticisms about this remake is that the finely detailed, realistically-rendered characters have less emotional range than their rubbery, hand-drawn counterparts. And if that's true, then what purpose does the remake serve, other than to look pretty?
Despite the mixed reviews from critics, the movie did gangbusters at the box office, netting $185 million over the weekend. And this trend of remaking Disney's classic animated canon shall continue unabated. Lady and the Tramp (November 12 on Disney+) and Mulan (March 27, 2020) are next. Lilo and Stitch, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pinocchio, and more will follow suit.
How faithful is the new Lion King to the old one? We noticed the following 25 small changes. And if you liked this gallery, you might also enjoy our live-action Lion King review, and our gallery about the 20 differences between the live-action and animated Aladdin.
The opening "Circle of Life" sequence is a near shot-for-shot remake of the original. The only obvious difference is a shot near the end of the song. In the original, Rafiki breaks open a fruit and smears its juices across Simba's forehead. In the new version, there's a root instead of a fruit, and when Rafiki rips it apart, it emits a fine red powder, which he then spreads on Simba's brow.
In both the original and new films, Scar does not attend Simba's presentation ceremony. Mufasa goes to Scar's lair to confront him, and in the new film, we learn two interesting things. The first thing is that Scar apparently desired Sarabi, even though Mufasa was the one betrothed to her. "As you know, I have tremendous respect for the queen," Scar drawls. It's suggestive, but not concrete; later in the movie, we get our suspicions confirmed.
The second thing we learn, via Zazu, is that Scar should have been banished from the Pride Lands years ago. Apparently, he once challenged Mufasa's rule, but lost. Despite this, Mufasa could not bear to exile his brother, which is why Scar still lives in the kingdom, albeit at a distance. It gives Scar's self-deprecating line about Mufasa's superior "brute strength" some additional, interesting context.
In the original version, Simba is gawking at the Pride Lands and exclaims, "And this will all be mine?" and Mufasa responds, "Everything." In the new version, Mufasa is a little less arrogant; he corrects his son and says that the land does not belong to anyone. He frames the lions as protectors rather than owners of everything that the light touches.
When Scar uses reverse psychology to convince Simba to visit the elephant graveyard in the new film, he takes things one step further. He says that every grown lion has been there before, thus framing the elephant graveyard as a rite of passage from child to adult. This becomes one of the main reasons why Simba visits; he thinks that if he does, no one will treat him like a child anymore, since he will have completed the rite.
Depending on how much you value realism, you're either going to love or be disappointed in this movie. The "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" sequence has no vivid fantasy colors, and none of the signature animated bits you remember: the birds in the crocodile's mouths, the animals forming a massive pyramid, the cubs riding on the backs of ostriches.
The same is true for the other musical numbers; the photorealistic animals are constrained by real world limitations, which means they're singing while running on all fours. Animals that would walk on all fours in real life, like Rafiki (baboon) and Timon (meekrat), do so for the majority of the movie. Even during the iconic opening sequence, when Rafiki presents Simba to the kingdom, he's sitting on his haunches instead of standing on two legs.
The original film had a trio of "main" hyenas: Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. This new one positions Shenzi as the clear alpha female, which mirrors hyena clans in real life. Banzai and Ed have been replaced by Kamari and Azizi, who serve as Shenzi's second- and third-in-command, and are obviously her subordinates.
Much of the humor of the original hyenas--the wisecracking puns, the light jabs at Scar, the internal squabbling--has been largely eliminated. Rather than being slightly sympathetic villains in the original, who were banished from the Pride Lands to the Shadow Lands, the hyenas in the new movie consumed and destroyed their current home, and now want to consume the Pride Lands as well. They are a menacing, obviously destructive force.
When we first see the hyenas interact with Scar in the original, they treat him as a near-equal, and with a considerable degree of friendliness and humor. In the new one, they are constantly angry; they seem one snide remark away from eating Scar on sight.
The entire "Be Prepared" sequence has been gutted. There's no Nazi goosestepping hyenas (a homage to Triumph of the Will in the original film) and no massive sulfur explosions. All of the verses have been eliminated in favor of a single new verse, and the final refrain of the chorus. Below are the new lyrics, for your enjoyment (or disappointment):
"Mufasa is yesterday's message,
A clapped-out, distracted regime
Whose failings undoubtedly presage
The need for a different dream.
Yes, leonine times are a-changin'
Which means that hyenas must too.
My vision is clear and wide-ranging
And even encompasses you."
In the original film, Scar tricks Simba into the stampede gorge by saying that he planned a surprise for both him and Mufasa. In the new film, Scar invents another rite of passage: Simba must come to this gorge to "find his roar," like every young lion before him. Rather than saying that Mufasa will meet up with him, Scar says that he will return to the gorge to check on Simba later.
In the original, Zazu sees that Simba and Mufasa are in trouble, and says to Scar that he's going to get help. Scar backhands him against a rock, which knocks him out and prevents him from doing so. In the new movie, Scar encourages Zazu to get help from the rest of the pride; he manages to kill Mufasa and banish Simba before the reinforcements arrive.
The original hyenas know that Simba survives, but assume that he'll die out in the desert; they yell after him that if he ever comes back, they'll kill him. In the new version, the hyenas see Simba go over a cliff, not knowing that he simply fell onto a lower rock shelf. They assume he's dead from the fall, and they leave rather than checking for the body.
In the oasis where Pumbaa and Timon live, they are not the only outcast animals who thrive there. There's an entire ecosystem of other animals who also live there and are afraid of Simba's predator status.
Back in 1994, it was somewhat naughty for Pumbaa to say "farted" during "Hakuna Matata." The new movie has a meta joke about this; Pumbaa says the entire word instead of being interrupted, and when Timon doesn't cut him off or cover his mouth, Pumbaa is shocked that he's allowed to say it.
The movie spends a brief time interrogating the "Circle of Life" dogma that is central to both films. Timon states (correctly!) that the Circle of Life is the rationalization of an animal hierarchy, which places apex predators, like lions, at the very top. Timon instead claims that the animal kingdom is a straight line--everyone in the Pride Lands has to be concerned about being eaten except for Simba, who has the luxury of acting and doing as he pleases.
In the new movie, Scar directly propositions Sarabi to be his queen after Mufasa's death. And when Sarabi declines, Scar says that unless she says yes, the hyenas will get to eat before the lions. There was a similar, deleted plotline in the original film, in which Scar propositioned Nala. This would have explained why Nala was in the oasis; she had been banished for refusing her king's advances.
We get a new stealth sequence in the new movie, during which Nala sneaks away from the Pride Lands to get outside help. Zazu catches her out of bed, and after some initial protest, he helps create a distraction for Scar and the hyena guards while Nala gives them the slip.
There's a suggestive sequence in the original film, in which Simba is on top of Nala, and Nala gives Simba a pretty telling look (seen above). The movie cuts away once they start necking each other.
In the new movie, the "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" sequence takes place during the daytime. And Timon and Pumbaa are watching the two lions throughout, so the audience knows for certain that there's no hanky-panky going on.
In the original film, Simba's hair flies on the wind to Rafiki, which is how the baboon finds out that Simba is alive. In the new film, the hair goes on a much more involved, complex journey; at one point, it's eaten and then pooped out by a giraffe.
In the original film, Simba sees a vision of Mufasa as a big lion in the clouds, with a moving mouth and vivid colors. In the new film, the effect is much more subtle; you hear Mufasa's voice and don't actually see him. But when lightning strikes, it illuminates the clouds to look vaguely like Mufasa's face.
Beyoncé's new song, "Spirit," was originally going to be played during the end credits, but has instead been incorporated into the film. It appears during a montage sequence right before the resolution, when Simba is running back home to the Pride Lands to reclaim his throne.
In the original film, Timon and Pumbaa serve as bait for the hyena guards; Pumbaa sticks an apple in his mouth, and Timon wears a grass hula skirt and sings a song. In the new film, Timon sings the opening lyrics to "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast before running in terror.
In the original film, Simba forces Scar to confess to the lionesses that he murdered Mufasa.
In the new film, the lionesses figure it out on their own; earlier in the movie, Scar mourned that he couldn't get to the gorge in time to save Mufasa and Simba. This contradicted what he later said about seeing the fear in Mufasa's eyes.
At the new film's climax, there is a violent confrontation between Shenzi and Nala, who are positioned as rivals. It ends when Nala tosses her opponent over the cliff. Shenzi survives and later gives her clan the order to kill and eat Scar.
In the new film, Simba wrestles and swipes Scar until he falls off the cliff. This is completely different from the original film, in which Scar pounces towards Simba, and Simba redirects his motion and judo throws him off the side.
Typically, the classic Disney films diffuse the hero's culpability as much as possible. In Tarzan, for example, Clayton inadvertently kills himself by hanging. The new Lion King film places more responsibility for Scar's death on Simba's shoulders--even though in both film versions, it's the hyenas who deliver the killing blow.
A new feature from The Hollywood Reporter shines a light on the massive paydays that some Hollywood A-listers get. Sources told the site that Leonardo DiCaprio was paid a jaw-dropping $15 million USD for his starring role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
That's a huge sum of money, but it is reportedly $5 million USD below the veteran and in-demand actor's normal $20 million USD pay per movie. DiCaprio took less for the new Tarantino movie reportedly to help the movie get off the ground.
He appears to have agreed to less money up front in exchange for a share of the backend, which is the Hollywood industry term for a share of the box office profits. THR states that if Once Upon a Time in Hollywood only meets expectations, he could end up making $45 million or more off the film. Presumably if the film exceeds expectations, DiCaprio could take home even more.
This sounds similar to the unique deal that Robert Downey Jr. reportedly struck with Marvel for the Avengers movies. He was reportedly paid less up front, but took home a share of the box office profits, which turned out to be immensely lucrative for Downey Jr.
The report claims that DiCaprio's deal for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is "structured in a way that certain territories yield higher percentages than others."
The entire story at THR provides a fascinating and in-depth look at DiCaprio's history in the movie-making business. Among many other things, a source from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood told the website that some crewmembers were told to not make eye contact with DiCaprio. Additionally, producer Shannon McIntosh said there is a singing and dancing scene in the film, and DiCaprio was initially concerned about being able to pull it off. But in only a week, DiCaprio returned "absolutely fearless" and performed the scene which is said to be outside of his comfort zone.
Read the full DiCaprio story here at THR.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premieres in theatres in August. DiCaprio stars as ageing movie star Rick Dalton, while Brad Pitt plays his stunt double, Cliff Booth. The movie is set in Hollywood in 1969, and the Tate murders will be one of the storylines. Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate, while Damon Herriman plays Charles Manson. The movie features a long list of huge names in other roles, including Timothy Olyphant, Bruce Dern, Al Pacino, Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch, and Kurt Russell. Luke Perry appears in the movie in his final role following his death.
Worlds may live and worlds may die in the Arrowverse’s upcoming crossover, but at least someone will be there to tell the story.
EW has exclusively learned that Elizabeth Tulloch will reprise her role as Lois Lane in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which will also feature Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman. Not only that, but we’ll also meet Clark and Lois’ child in the five-hour, multiverse-threatening event. (Fingers crossed the Arrowverse follows DC Comics canon and it’s a boy named Jon!)
Tulloch made her debut as the iconic Daily Planet reporter in last year’s “Elseworlds” crossover, appearing in The Flash and Supergirl hours. At the end of the topsy-turvy three-parter, Clark and Lois moved to Argo City, the last remnant of Krypton, because Lois was pregnant and they wanted her to give birth there, away from Earth’s yellow sun.
Overall, “Crisis” is shaping up to be pretty super event. In addition to Hoechlin and Tulloch’s returns, current Legends of Tomorrow cast member/former Superman Returns star Brandon Routh will suit up as a version of Superman, wearing a suit based on Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come design, and Supergirl’s Jon Cryer will return as Lex Luthor.
Other “Crisis” casting news out of San Diego Comic-Con included: The Flash’s Tom Cavanagh will play Pariah, a pivotal character from the game-changing DC Comics event upon which the crossover is based, and the Monitor actor LaMonica Garrett will appear as the crossover’s big bad, the Anti-Monitor.
Supergirl returns Sunday, Oct. 6, at 9 p.m. ET on the CW. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” — which includes Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman — will air in the winter over two months.
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Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home brought the studio’s Phase 3 to a close, with several beloved characters taking a bow and departing the franchise. (R.I.P., Tony, Cap, and Nat.) But the MCU is showing no signs of slowing down, and during Marvel Studios’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con this year, president Kevin Feige unveiled a massive upcoming slate, stretching to 2021 (and perhaps further).
Marvel’s Phase 4 includes both brand-new theatrical films and spin-off TV series on the upcoming streaming service Disney+ — with a mix of familiar faces and new characters alike. There are a few straightforward sequels in the works for heroes like Thor and Doctor Strange, while other characters (such as Loki, Black Widow, and Hawkeye) are finally stepping into the spotlight with their own solo projects. There’s no big group team-up movie to anchor the franchise, the way the Avengers films did in the past, and instead Phase 4 looks to be a collection of individual stories, all interconnecting.
It also looks to be a deeply weird and ambitious phase. As the MCU has grown, Marvel has started to venture into stranger, trippier territory, and Phase 4 promises magic, multiverses, and general interstellar adventure. (Just look at the film title Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — that’s pure comic book craziness, and I, for one, am here for it.) This is a franchise that started with a story about a man building a high-tech suit of armor, and it’s since evolved into a galaxy-spanning macrocosm that includes time travel, Infinity Stones, and talking raccoons. Phase 4 looks to explore that universe even further, while also venturing into some previously unexplored corners.
Below, we round up everything we know about Marvel’s future plans.
Black Widow may have met her end in Endgame, but Scarlett Johansson is reprising her role as the morally complicated spy in a solo movie. The character has appeared in multiple Marvel films over the last decade, beginning with Iron Man 2, but Black Widow (directed by Cate Shortland) puts her front and center.
“Where we find Natasha in her life at this point is very specific,” Johansson told EW at Comic-Con. “She really is in a dark place where she’s got no one to call and nowhere to go. She’s really grappling with her own self. When something huge explodes and all the pieces are landing, you have that moment of stillness where you don’t know what to do next — that’s the moment that she’s in. In that moment, you actually have to face yourself.”
Joining Johansson are Florence Pugh as a fellow assassin named Yelena Belova and Rachel Weisz as a woman named Malena, who has also been through the grueling Black Widow training program multiple times. The Handmaid’s Tale star O-T Fagbenle also appears as a fixer named Mason, who he says has a long history with Natasha. Also in the cast is Stranger Things’ David Harbour, who plays Alexei Shostakov, a.k.a. the Red Guardian, a costumed hero created by the Russians as a communist counterpart to Captain America.
So who will Black Widow be facing off against? Footage shown at Comic-Con revealed that the film’s primary villain is Taskmaster, a notorious mercenary and villain who, in the comics, can perfectly replicate any fight move he sees. Is one of the known cast members hiding under Taskmaster’s mask, or is it an actor we haven’t met yet? We’ll have to wait to find out.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe will soon be coming to the small screen. The Mouse House is launching its Disney+ streaming service in November 2019, featuring both archival content and new shows and movies. Marvel is hard at work on several new miniseries, starting with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Scheduled to debut in fall 2020, the series will follow Mackie’s Sam Wilson (now carrying Captain America’s shield) and Stan’s Bucky Barnes, as they team up against Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo. We last saw Brühl’s baddie in Captain America: Civil War, and in a pretaped video message shown at Comic-Con, the actor revealed that Zemo is alive and well — and he wanted to “say hello to some old friends.” (The footage shown at Comic-Con also included a flash of Zemo in his familiar purple mask from the comics.)
There may be no new Avengers films on the schedule, but the MCU is introducing a new superhero squad. The Rider’s Chloe Zhao is directing The Eternals, about a group of ancient immortal beings watching over the Earth. Comics legend Jack Kirby created them in the ’70s, when he returned to Marvel after a brief time at DC Comics, and the 2020 film will follow the group’s clash against their longtime nemeses, the Deviants.
The cast includes Angelina Jolie as Thena, Richard Madden as Icarus, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, and Don Lee as the big bad Gilgamesh.
“It’s about this group of incredible immortals,” Zhao teased at Comic-Con, “but through their journey, we really get to explore what it means to be human and humanity on our time on this planet.”
In 2021, Marvel will release its first film about a superhero of Asian descent. Meet Shang-Chi, a martial arts master played by Simu Liu. Liu is best known for his role on the Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience, and he’ll be starring in The Legend of the Ten Rings with Awkwafina and Tony Leung. Awkwafina’s role has yet to be announced, but Yeung will be playing the notorious Marvel supervillain the Mandarin. (Not the fake Mandarin we met in Iron Man 3 — the real one.)
Paul Bettany’s Vision may have died in Avengers: Infinity War, but he’ll still be appearing with Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch in the new Disney+ series WandaVision. It remains to be seen what the series will actually be about, but Olsen has promised that “it’s going to get weird.”
The show will also find Wanda Maximoff and Vision teaming up with Monica Rambeau. The character made her debut as a child in Captain Marvel, but in WandaVision, she’ll be all grown up and played by Teyonah Parris.
Speaking of Scarlet Witch, Olsen will also be starring opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in 2021’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Original Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson is returning for that one, and he promises that it’ll be “the first scary MCU film,” pitting Cumberbatch’s egotistical physician against all sorts of cosmic horrors.
Cumberbatch has said that although Strange was largely an authoritative, confident figure in Infinity War and Endgame, Multiverse of Madness will disarm the character and present him with some unexpected challenges. And according to Feige, the events of WandaVision will directly tie into the film.
Throughout the MCU, Tom Hiddleston’s mischievous Loki has served as both universe-threatening antagonist and reluctant ally, but now he’s getting a story of his own. The Loki we all know and love died at the hands of Thanos in Infinity War, but the new Disney+ series follows the Loki who nicked the Tesseract and disappeared after the Avengers went back in time in Endgame.
“The question I get asked more than any other question in Endgame was, where did Loki go, and what happened to Loki?” Feige said at Comic-Con. “This series will answer where he went.”
According to Hiddleston, this Loki hasn’t yet become the sympathetic figure in Thor: Ragnarok; he’s still the narcissist and bad guy we met in 2012’s The Avengers. “There’s a lot of psychological evolution that is still yet to happen,” Hiddleston said.
The MCU is getting animated. Marvel Comics has a long history of exploring alternate realities through its What If…? comics line, and now the MCU is doing the same through a new Disney+ series.
The show will explore ideas like “What if Peggy Carter picked up Steve’s shield to become Captain America?” and it’ll include the voices of returning Marvel stars like Michael B. Jordan, Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson, Hayley Atwell, Chadwick Boseman, Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Neal McDonough, Dominic Cooper, Sean Gunn, and Natalie Portman.
Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright is also lending his voice as the Watcher, an alien being who observes different story lines throughout the multiverse.
Jeremy Renner is once again picking up Hawkeye’s quiver for a new Disney+ series. The show will follow Clint Barton as he trains a young Kate Bishop as his sharpshooting protegé, and based on the artwork Marvel teased at Comic-Con, it may be inspired by Matt Fraction and David Aja’s acclaimed solo comics run of the same name.
Now, fingers crossed that the show includes an appearance by Lucky the Pizza Dog.
Crank up the Led Zeppelin: Thor: Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi is returning to direct a new adventure with the Asgardian god of thunder. The aptly named Love and Thunder will hit theaters in 2021 and feature the return of both Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. Plus, as Thompson revealed at Comic-Con, the film will confirm Valkyrie’s status as the first openly LGBTQ superhero in the MCU.
Also joining the cast is Natalie Portman, who will be returning as Jane Foster. This time, however, she’ll be wielding Thor’s hammer Mjölnir herself. Waititi has said the story will be inspired by Jason Aaron’s comic book series, which followed Jane as she took on the Asgardian god’s powers and transformed into the Mighty Thor.
With all the news that Marvel dropped during its 2019 Comic-Con panel, perhaps the most unexpected and exciting was the announcement that Mahershala Ali will be playing a new version of Blade. According to Feige, Ali called Marvel after he won his second Oscar (for Green Book) and told them he’d be interested in tackling the iconic vampire hunter. Luckily for all of us, the studio immediately said yes.
The film does not yet have a director or release date.
Also in the works is a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel. A release date and director have yet to be announced, but Brie Larson will presumably be returning as the Air Force-pilot-turned-interstellar-superhero. Hopefully, a sequel means we’ll also see the return of Carol Danvers’ cat flerken, Goose.
Ryan Coogler is also returning to write and direct a sequel to 2018’s Black Panther, which is expected to start shooting in late 2019 or early 2020. There’s no release date yet, but the film will return to Wakanda and once again follow Chadwick Boseman’s righteous warrior-king T’Challa.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is also back on track. Original writer-director James Gunn was fired after old, offensive tweets resurfaced, but after he apologized and cast members rallied to his defense, Disney reinstated him in March.
The new Guardians isn’t on the Marvel release schedule yet, but Gunn is expected to go into production on the film after he wraps Warner Bros. and DC’s Suicide Squad sequel.
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A Nintendo Switch console is the perfect way to pass the time on a plane ride, especially now there’s a new model with additional battery life that’ll you to explore Hyrule for the majority of a transatlantic flight.
So you can imagine the joy among Southwest Airlines passengers when an entire flight unexpectedly received a free Nintendo Switch console with a copy of Super Mario Maker 2 when they boarded?
So what gives? Is Southwest going to start dishing out Switch love to everyone who steps aboard in the future? Alas, no. The airline partnered with Nintendo of America for what appears to be a one-off giveaway for folks heading to Comic Con, which is currently taking place in San Diego, California.
Representatives adorned with Switch t-shrts were on hand on the jetway to hand out the goody bags to all of the lucky passengers boarding in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday. The news came from a Comic Con host who posted news of the giveaway to Twitter (via Techspot).
EVERYONE ON THIS FLIGHT JUST GOT A NINTENDO SWITCH!!! @NintendoAmerica @SouthwestAir #SouthwestxNintendo pic.twitter.com/mUlryf4Kkv
— Lauren
hosting @ Comic-Con (@LaurMoor) July 17, 2019
It’s real
#southwestxnintendo #nintendo #supermariomaker2 pic.twitter.com/16BsSMbIWJ
— Lauren
Personally, we’re super jealous of the giveaway and can only imagine the joy among the passengers, many of whom will have been heading to San Diego for the annual Comic Con extravaganza, where Nintendo is presenting this weekend. It’s currently unclear whether Southwest returned the favour on other US flights.
Related: Best Nintendo Switch games 2019
Attendees over the weekend will be able to play The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Super Mario Maker 2.
We would be interested to know whether those gamers received the brand new Switch models, which have the improved battery life, or Nintendo’s shifting a little of the old inventory. Either way, what a score.
That new model promises up to nine hours of battery life, up significantly on the 6.5 hours promised by the original model. If you’re playing The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild you’ll get 5.5 hours of gaming, compared to three hours on the original.
The consoles are distinguished by their model numbers. The original is HAC-001 with serial numbers starting with XAW. The upgrade is HAC-001(-01) with serial numbers beginning with XKW.
The post A free Nintendo Switch sure beats stale pretzels as an in-flight gift appeared first on Trusted Reviews.
Disney's latest remake, The Lion King, charged into theatres this weekend and it broke a lot of box office records. The movie, which features photorealistic animals voiced by entertainment A-listers like Donald Glover and Beyonce, made around $185 million in North America for its first three days. Adding international numbers, The Lion King has now made $531 million thus far. This includes $97 million from China, where it opened a week earlier.
Billboard has a breakdown of all the records that The Lion King has broken.
With $185 million in the US and Canada, The Lion King surpasses Beauty and the Beast ($174.7 million) to become the biggest opening of all time for a Disney remake in North America. Additionally, The Lion King now holds the record for biggest North American release for a live-action or animated PG-rated film from any studio; The Incredibles 2 ($182.7 million) held the record before.
The new Lion King also beat out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 ($169.2 million) for the record of highest July opening in North America. Additionally, The Lion King is now Disney's biggest opening ever in North America outside of Marvel or Lucasfilm movies.
All of these records for the new Lion King share the caveat that they are not adjusted for inflation.
The Lion King is directed by Jon Favreau. Glover voices Simba, while Beyonce plays Nala. James Earl Jones reprises his role from the 1994 animated classic as Mufasa, while Chiwetel Ejiofor voices Scar. Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner play Pumbaa and Timon, respectively.
In other news about Disney movies making a lot of money, Avengers: Endgame has now surpassed Avatar to become the highest-grossing movie in history. As it happens, Avatar is now a Disney property following Disney's acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets.
The Russian government has been linked to a number of high-profile hacks, but it just became a target -- and the data that was stolen says a lot about its apparent goals. A hacking group nicknaming itself 0v1ru$ infiltrated the servers of SyTech, a c...
The end is nigh for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
EW has confirmed that the long-running ABC series will conclude with its forthcoming seventh season, which is due in 2020. Deadline was the first to report the news.
Marvel Television’s first series, the MCU-set drama premiered in 2013 and was initially centered on Special Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who died in Marvel’s Avengers but was eventually resurrected and set about forming a team to tackle super-powered threats. Over the course of the run, the titular spies have combatted H.Y.D.R.A. and the Kree aliens, traveled through time and space, and crossed paths with familiar Marvel Comics characters like Ghost Rider and Lady Sif. In the early seasons, the show tried to include some tie-in with the MCU movies (for example: The H.Y.D.R.A. twist in Captain America: Winter Soldier had a massive impact on the show’s first season), but it stopped doing in the past few seasons.
The series is currently in its sixth season, which takes place a year after Coulson died (again) and follows the remaining members of the team — New S.H.I.E.L.D. director Mack (Henry Simmons), Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), Daisy/Quake (Chloe Bennet), Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), the speedster Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley), and Deke (Jeff Ward) — as they defend the planet from a new extra-terrestrial threat. In the most recent episode, the agents defeated Coulson’s mysterious doppelgänger Sarge (Gregg, yet again), who planned on destroying to the planet to stop an alien invasion.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Fridays 8 p.m. on ABC.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. recap: A spaceship, an airplane, and an armed truck walk into a tower… Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. recap: You say goodbye, I say hello Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. recap: Who needs couples therapy when you share an alien mind-prison?Ted Danson is going from the Bad Place to an even scarier place: L.A. politics.
The star of The Good Place will headline an upcoming NBC comedy created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. The series centers on a rich businessman who runs for mayor of Los Angeles for non-altruistic reasons. After he wins unexpectedly, he is faced with the reality of governing, and has to “figure out what he stands for, gain the respect of his staff, and connect with his teenage daughter, all while controlling the coyote population,” according the show’s logline
“We are thrilled to be back home at NBC and writing for one of the network’s greatest stars of all time, Mary Steenburgen’s husband, Ted,” Fey and Carlock, who created 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, said in a statement.
NBC has given the show a straight-to-series order.
The Good Place enters its final season this fall. Danson — who starred in such shows as Cheers, Becker, and Damages — is nominated for his second Emmy as reforming Bad Place architect Michael. It’s his 13th nod as Outstanding Lead Actor, a category in which he’s won twice.
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James Olsen is saying goodbye to National City.
Supergirl star Mehcad Brooks, who has played Superman’s pal since the show debuted, is leaving the CW superhero drama in the first half of season 5, EW has learned exclusively. The actor-musician is departing on his own accord in order to focus on feature films and develop a cable series in which he would star. He’s also currently writing a book.
Although there aren’t any details on how the character will be written off the show, the door is always open for him to return.
“We love Mehcad and we’re sad to see him leave the show as a series regular, but we’re excited for both Mehcad and James Olsen’s future,” said showrunners Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller in a statement. “He’ll always be a part of our Supergirl family and we look forward to James returning to National City at some point to visit his sister and his super friends.”
This has been a big week for Supergirl cast news. Former series regular Jeremy Jordan is returning for three episodes in the back half of the season, and TVLine reports that Andrea Brooks, who plays Eve Teschmacher, has been promoted to series regular.
Supergirl returns Sunday, Oct. 6 at 9 p.m. on The CW.
For more on how the Arrowverse saved the TV superhero, pick up the August issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands July 25-26. You can buy all five covers, or purchase your individual favorites featuring Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, White Canary, and Batwoman. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.
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Supergirl star Melissa Benoist teases ‘fight for Lena’s soul’ in season 5 How Arrow saved the TV superhero — and why it had to end Brandon Routh on his second chance as Superman in the Arrowverse crossoverRose Leslie is hanging up her gloves on The Good Fight.
The actress, who played lawyer Maia Rindell on the CBS All Access courtroom drama, is calling it quits after appearing in the first three seasons of the series.
The show’s creators Robert and Michelle King confirmed that she will not be returning as a series regular for a fourth season while speaking to TVLine at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday. Robert and Michelle told the outlet that the previous season’s final episode was her “sendoff.”
Leslie’s departure will not be a major surprise for fans of the show. When we last saw her character on The Good Fight in the season 3 finale, she was moving to Washington, DC to start a new firm with Roland Blum, played by Michael Sheen.
Her fellow original castmates Justin Bartha and Erica Tazel are also departing the show, while Audra McDonald, Michael Boatman, and Nyambi Nyambi will be coming aboard next season.
Leslie is married to Game of Thrones star Kit Harington, who played her one-time love interest/knower of nothing, Jon Snow on the now-wrapped HBO fantasy series. The couple hinted at their joint unemployment during Harington’s opening monologue as Saturday Night Live host back in early April. When Leslie jokingly wondered how they would support themselves with neither working, Harington quipped, “I’ll make my jewelry. And you… have your little songs.”
The Good Fight‘s fourth season will premiere sometime next year.
Seth MacFarlane has announced that The Orville will be moving from Fox to Hulu for its third season, with new episodes expected to be released at the end of 2020.
As reported by Variety, MacFarlane made the announcement at The Orville's San Diego Comic-Con panel and, according to a source, "MacFarlane’s current workload and the length of time it takes to finish work on the show’s numerous special effects sequences would have meant that Season 3 would not have been ready for a midseason debut."
“The Orville’ has been a labor of love for me, and there are two companies which have supported that vision in a big way: 20th Century Fox Television, where I’ve had a deal since the start of my career, and Fox Broadcasting Company, now Fox Entertainment, which has been my broadcast home for over 20 years,” MacFarlane said in a statement. “My friends at the network understood what I was trying to do with this series, and they’ve done a spectacular job of marketing, launching and programming it for these past two seasons. But as the show has evolved and become more ambitious production-wise, I determined that I would not be able to deliver episodes until 2020, which would be challenging for the network. So we began to discuss how best to support the third season in a way that worked for the show. It’s exactly this kind of willingness to accommodate a show’s creative needs that’s made me want to stick around for so long. I am hugely indebted to Charlie Collier and Fox Entertainment for their generosity and look forward to developing future projects there. And to my new friends at Hulu, I look forward to our new partnership exploring the galaxy together.”
There were almost too many earth-shattering announcements from Marvel’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con, but one in particular rocked all nine realms. Love and Thunder, the fourth movie worthy of the title of Thor, is not only bringing back Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and director Taika Waititi, but also Natalie Portman. And this time, she’ll be wielding the title and hammer of the Mighty Thor.
When Waititi introduced Portman and she took the stage, he mentioned the comic book storyline he’d been reading while Thor: Ragnarok was in production: the Jason Aaron run of Thor. Comic fans familiar with Jane Foster knew immediately what that meant for Portman’s character, but do you? Here’s the rundown on who Jane Foster is in the comics, why she takes up the hammer, what happened to Thor, and what else we might see in Thor: Love and Thunder.
One of San Diego Comic-Con's biggest panels is dedicated to Star Trek: Picard, an upcoming CBS All Access series that focuses on the beloved Starfleet officer decades after the events of The Next Generation. And, as announced during the panel, familiar faces from his past will return and they were shown briefly in the first Star Trek: Picard trailer, which premiered at SDCC.
Alongside Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, a number of other Star Trek alum will be making appearances in the series. This includes Brent Spiner, who played Data; Jonathan Frakes, who is known for playing Captain Riker; Jeri Ryan, who portrayed the Borg Seven of Nine; and Marina Sirtis, who was Counselor Deanna Troi.
During the panel, Stewart explained why he decided to reprise his role once again for Picard: “I decided over a year ago [to do it]. For a long time I had been saying, ‘Thank you but no.' But as the subject matter of this series became clearer and clearer to me, and I met this writing team, I knew that something unusual was going to happen and I wanted to be a part of it. So here I am. And very, very happy to be here.”
Alex Kurtzman, one of the creators of Star Trek: Discovery and producer of many of the new Star Trek projects said Picard is entirely different [than Discovery]. It all started with Patrick. He didn't want to repeat what he had already done. He really challenged us. It forced us to think outside the box. What is it about this great captain that everybody loves so much? All of us sat down and we asked lots of questions about what Star Trek meant to each of us and to Patrick. Then these storylines began to emerge about Picard.
"Picard is not just a philosopher but a human being. The choices he makes are not made in a vacuum. He’s the leader we all want. Picard and Patrick are one in many ways. TNG reflected a more innocent time, it was always telling great stories, complicated stories, but we live in a much more complicated time now. Picard, in the best way, is still standing up for what matters. He’s still standing up for the ideals we believe in. Age has not changed his resolve.
"We’re not seeking to reinvent TNG. But Picard has to soul search. You need a darkness to make the world lighter and brighter. He doesn’t have the same resources. He needs to dig deeper into himself. In the darkest of times, the best part of ourselves will emerge."
Producer Kirsten Byer also added that "the great thing about taking this part of Picard's story forward [is] it’s an extraordinary opportunity to see the most unknown, inexperienced part of his journey." Another producer, Heather Kadin, said, "Patrick has lived it from the inside out. Not only did he not want to do what he had done on TNG, we didn’t want to do what we did on Discovery. This is its whole own lyrical, dramatic, and grounded piece."
Showrunner Michael Chabon discussed the process of writing Picard, which involved "having to write so much so frequently in a way that is so collaborative, [with] not just our writers but with our cast [and Patrick too].
"Patrick came and helped us critique and review and share the story," Chabon continued. "It’s an ongoing collaboration. I’ve learned to trust Patrick’s judgment of the character on a daily basis. We knew we had to have a cast that was worthy of and could stand next to an actor as incredible as Patrick."
Other cast members also provided insight into their characters. Allison Phil plays a researcher but didn't get into details much beyond that. "I get to play somebody who is deeply confused of her place in the world, treading water for a long time waiting for it. Everybody here is pretty broken in different ways. There’s a lot of lonely sad sacks." Michelle Hurd takes on the character of Rafi, a "delicious character to bring to life," thanks to a struggle with demons.
Isa Briones plays Dodge, a young woman looking for Picard for answers and help, while Santiago Cabrera is Chris Rios, an ex-Starfleet member that is helping Picard, albeit reluctantly.
Executive producer Akiva Goldsman also offered his take on the show. “We pointedly did not want to make a sequel to Next Generation. Tonally, it’s a little bit of a hybrid. It takes on hope for a future that is, in many ways, better than the world we live in today. Star Trek is aspirational. In serialized storytelling, the characters can evolve. It’s a different kind of Star Trek show made up of lot of the old Star Trek shows.”
As the panel went on, Jonathan Del Arco, Brent Spiner, and Jeri Ryan appeared to talk about their characters. Jeri Ryan began by saying one of the creators of Picard, after four glasses of champagne, pitched the idea to her. She kept hearing about it but never thought it was going to happen. "But here we are," she said, "It's pretty surreal."
Joking, Spiner said he heard about the Picard series and called the producers to ask if they had anyone in mind for the role of Picard and they hung up on him. "But then I spoke to Patrick, and he said, 'There's a possibility, would you think about coming on the show in some way?' and then joined up. He said being on the set again was something he couldn't turn down.
"To think that this was going to happen and there was a possibility that I might be there, there was no way I was going to miss," he explained.
"We have more fun than should be allowed in a very expensive series," Stewart chimed in. "What's extraordinary about this experience ... I am astonished and grateful for the speed at which this has become a team. We still have about three episodes to go and we are already cemented as a team."
While details on the story of Star Trek: Picard remain thin, it has been revealed that, after his time aboard Enterprise, Picard was promoted to Admiral rank and went on to lead a rescue armada on a mission shrouded in mystery. Following the mission, Picard left Starfleet and retired to a run a vineyard. Star Trek: Picard is set roughly 20 years after the events of The Next Generation and it is believed that the mysterious rescue mission contributed to his departure. This will no doubt be explored in the series.
On July 12, a Star Trek: Picard poster was released on Twitter by Patrick Stewart. It reveals that Picard's new No.1 is an adorable dog, who is called Deniro. Picard is expected to air on CBS All Access at the end of this year under the direction of showrunner and acclaimed novelist Michael Chabon.
There was plenty of other Star Trek news during SDCC 2019. Along with the Star Trek: Picard panel, there was time dedicated to Star Trek: Discovery, where new cast members that will appear in Season 3 were revealed. An update on Short Treks--a series of short films coming ahead of Season 3-- was also provided, along with details on Lower Decks, a new animated Star Trek show from a Rick & Morty writer.
Disclosure: CBS is GameSpot's parent company.
The Thor movies have become one of the most beloved parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks in large part to the Taika Waititi-directed Thor: Ragnarok, which injected the series with some much-needed quirk and humor, while still capturing the essence of the god of thunder. The series seems perched to continue in that vein, judging by the new details revealed at Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con 2019 panel.
During the Marvel panel, the studio confirmed Thor 4's full, official title: Thor: Love and Thunder. Disney also confirmed Thor: Love and Thunder's release date: November 5, 2021. And lastly, the panel confirmed that Natalie Portman's character Jane Foster, last seen in any significant capacity in Thor: The Dark World, will return in this movie.
During the SDCC 2019 panel, Thor 4 director Taika Waititi took the stage with stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who will both return to their respective roles as Thor and Valkyrie in the upcoming film.
"There's nothing more powerful in the world than love and thunder," Waititi said, giving the newly revealed title a little bit of context.
In addition, the panel's big surprise came when Natalie Portman arrived onstage, taking hold of the hammer Mjolnir as she emerged.
"This feels pretty good," the actress laughed. "I've always had a little hammer envy."
During the panel, Waititi specifically brought up Jason Aaron's "Jane Thor" run of the comics, in which the character Jane Foster took up the mantle of the god of thunder--giving Portman fans something to look forward to in Love and Thunder.
"When we were shooting Ragnarok, I was reading Jason Aaron's Mighty Thor, and it introduces female Thor [Jane Foster]," the director said. "So, there's only one person who can do that."
What about Thor himself? Hemsworth didn't have much to share, although he did make some references back to Thor's Lebowski-like behavior in Avengers: Endgame.
"He's headed to 7/11, he got a Netflix subscription," Hemsworth laughed. "But I think Taika's got something planned."
"Who knows? Only me because only I have read the script!" Waititi replied.
As for Valkyrie, who Thor named King of Asgard during Endgame's conclusion, Thompson shared some details. "As new king, she needs to find her queen," the actress said of Valkyrie's role in Love and Thunder. "She has some ideas. She'll keep you posted."
Finally, Waititi didn't forget about Thor: Ragnarok's other most important additions to the MCU: Korg and Miek.
"Will we see Korg and Miek again?" Waititi speculated. "Is there an ongoing relationship between Thor and Korg? Who knows?" That sounds like a yes to us.
Waititi was confirmed as Thor 4's director in a report from earlier during Comic-Con week--a report that also suggested the director's live-action adaptation of the Akira manga has been delayed by what's being called "development concerns." However, that wasn't the only Taika Waititi news out of Comic-Con, as the actor and director was also confirmed to be guest-starring in an episode of Rick and Morty Season 4.
During Marvel's Comic-Con panel, the studio also discussed a ridiculously large number of other movies and shows, including Marvel's Eternals, the Black Widow movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Kate Bishop Hawkeye Disney+ show, Marvel's "What If...?" animated series, Loki's Disney+ show, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Vision and Scarlett Witch Disney+ series WandaVision, the Falcon and Winter Soldier Disney+ show, a new freaking Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali, and more.
We just got a big bang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During its panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Marvel Studios laid out several new movies coming in Phase 4, starting with Black Widow on May 1, 2020, and including several other movies and TV series to build fan's hype.
Panel-goers got a close look at Black Widow, the first standalone film for the Avengers character played by Scarlett Johansson. That movie is a prequel, filling in the backstory of the former Agent of SHIELD and Russian spy. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige filled fans in on the movie's cast, and there was even a trailer that ran during the panel. Fans also heard about other movies coming in 2020, including The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and new information about previously announced series Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki.
We've got all the big announcements below to bring you up to speed instantly. You should also check out our Comic-Con hub for a rundown of all the news to come out of this year's convention, including from Marvel, and beyond.
Here's everything that's coming in 2020 and 2021 in the MCU, including movies and series, and when you can expect to see them.
The Avenger's standalone film is a prequel that digs into her pre-SHIELD Agent past, and Marvel finally revealed when it'll hit theaters.
Marvel Studios boss confirmed Eternals is really, truly coming in Phase Four, and it'll be "full Jack Kirby."
Marvel is digging up elements it introduced in the Iron Man movies, including terrorist organization Ten Rings and the Mandarin, the "real" version of the supervillain.
Doctor Strange is coming back, with the MCU multiverse opening up a whole lot more mystical stuff for him to deal with.
Marvel revealed the title of Thor 4, which is helmed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi and will see the return of Natalie Portman's character, Jane Foster.
Yup, Blade is happening--and it'll star Mahershala Ali as the half-vampire superhero.
Here's what's going on when Captain America's best friends team up in the upcoming Disney+ show.
Wanda and Vision are bringing some romance to the MCU with their Disney+ series.
Marvel explained a little about the mischief and mayhem Loki is liable to get up to, now that he's free in the universe post-Endgame.
Marvel is exploiting the multiverse with What If...?, an animated series that sees heroes and villains thrown into strange situations.
We finally learned a bit about the upcoming series starring the sharpshooting Avenger.
Marvel also hinted that the Fantastic Four and mutants would make their way into the MCU, thanks to Disney's purchase of Fox's movie wing.
Marvel's big San Diego Comic-Con panel outlined lots of new plans for Phase 4, but a few notable omissions raised eyebrows. Specifically the panel didn't make any major announcements surrounding Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Black Panther 2, or Captain Marvel 2.
But fear not, true-believers; all of them are still on the way. MCU boss Kevin Feige offhandedly joked near the end of the panel that they just didn't have time to fit all their plans in, alongside a brief mention of the X-Men and Fantastic Four. None of those got a spotlight at this particular event, which largely focused on new franchises and surprise announcements.
The panel announced the Black Widow and Eternals movies in 2020, followed by Shang-Chi, Dr. Strange 2, and Thor 4 featuring Natalie Portman reprising her role as Jane Foster, who in this movie will become the Goddess of Thunder. The panel's big surprise came at the very end, with the announcement of Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali as the title character in a new Blade movie.
All of these announcements came alongside more details for the MCU TV series that will be offered through the Disney+ service. Falcon and Winter Soldier will premiere in fall 2020, and then WandaVision and Loki in spring 2021. A "What If?" animated series is coming in summer 2021, and then a Hawkeye series in the fall.
It's not clear if Guardians 3, Black Panther 2, or Captain Marvel 2 could fit around these plans, or if those films have been pushed into Phase 5.
After decades of speculation and nearly endless teasing, Chevrolet has unveiled the long-awaited mid-engined Corvette. Scheduled to begin production later this year, the 2020 Stingray brings the "fastest 0-60 time of any entry Corvette ever" -- with...
Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of the series premiere of Batwoman. The episode was screened at Comic-Con and will premiere on The CW on October 6. For more from San Diego Comic-Con 2019, check out our spoiler-free review of DC and Epix's Batman prequel series Pennyworth.
The Arrowverse is entering a major transition phase as 2019 winds down. Arrow is wrapping up after one final, shortened eighth season, and the upcoming "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover promises to deliver sweeping changes to this shared superhero universe. In the midst of these changes comes Batwoman, the first new live-action Arrrowverse series in several years, and the first to star an LGBT hero. But while the new series will have little trouble filling the void left by Arrow next year, it may face a more difficult battle when it comes to establishing its own identity.
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will end after its seventh season, which is set to air in 2020, reports Deadline. This news comes just ahead of an Agents of SHIELD panel at San Diego Comic-Con scheduled for July 18 at 3:30 PM PT.
The small-screen spin-off from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently in its sixth season, airing over the summer. It follows the SHIELD team under the direction of their new leader Mack (Henry Simmons) as they fend off alien threats, after the death of former leader Phil Coulson.
Coulson has died before in the MCU, and a large plot element of the first season was explaining his mysterious return. Since then the series has sometimes riffed on the big plot moves of the MCU, while other times forging its own path. The big twist in Captain America: Winter Soldier revealing that SHIELD had been infiltrated by the evil HYDRA organization had a large impact on the show, but it's been just as keen to set its own stakes with cameos from characters like Ghost Rider.
This is the latest in a series of Marvel spin-offs that have come to a close recently. Netflix had five shows--Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher--which all interconnected and briefly joined up for a single-season Defenders series. Those cancellations were announced one-by-one, seemingly as Disney prepared to launch new Marvel shows on its own streaming service, Disney+.
We know some of those shows will feature Falcon and Winter Soldier and Loki, along with shows based around its Star Wars properties as well. That service is set to launch on November 12 for $7 per month, but many of its Marvel offerings will come post-launch.
Check out more Marvel panels at Comic-Con to keep up with all the latest.
Stephen Amell is dreading the eighth and final season of Arrow, though you wouldn’t know it on this hot, sunny July day in Los Angeles. Wearing Green Arrow’s new suit, the CW star seems perfectly at ease as he strikes heroic pose after heroic pose on a dimly lit stage. But once he’s traded heavy verdant leather for a T-shirt, jeans, and baseball cap, his guard drops and the vulnerability starts to creep in as he contemplates Arrow’s last 10 episodes, which was set to begin production in Vancouver a week after the EW photoshoot took place and premieres Oct. 15.
“I’m very emotional and melancholy, but it’s time,” Amell — who is featured on the new cover of Entertainment Weekly — says as he takes a sip from a pint of Guinness. “I’m 38 years old, and I got this job when I was 30. I’d never had a job for more than a year. The fact that I’ve done this for the better part of a decade, and I’m not going to do it anymore, is a little frightening.”
Developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg, Arrow debuted in the fall of 2012. The DC Comics series follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Amell), who, after years away, returned to now–Star City with one goal: to save his home-town as the hooded bow-and-arrow vigilante who would become known as Green Arrow (it would take him four seasons to assume the moniker). What began as a solo crusade eventually grew to include former soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey), quirky computer genius Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), lawyer-turned-hero Laurel Lance/Black Canary (Katie Cassidy Rodgers), and the rest of Team Arrow. Together they’ve defended their city from a host of threats — dark archers, megalomaniacal magicians, and the occasional metahuman — while Lost-like flashbacks revealed what Oliver endured in the five years he was away, first shipwrecked and then honing his skills around the world to become someone else, something else.
The premiere gave The CW its most-watched series debut since 2009’s The Vampire Diaries. But before they launched Arrow, Berlanti and Guggenheim had to suffer through a failure: 2011’s Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds. The duo co-wrote the script but lost creative control of the film, which flopped. So when Warner Bros. Television president Peter Roth approached them in late 2011 about developing a Green Arrow show, they were wary. After much deliberation, Berlanti and Guggenheim agreed, on the condition that they maintain control. Says Guggenheim, “As long as we succeed or fail on our own work, and not someone else’s work then maybe this is worth a shot.”
Their take on the Emerald Archer — who made his DC Comics debut in 1941 — was noteworthy from the beginning. Taking cues from films like The Dark Knight and The Bourne Identity and series like Homeland, the writers imagined a dark, gritty, and grounded show centered on a traumatized protagonist. “As we were breaking the story, we made very specific commitments to certain tonal things, such as ‘At the end of act 1, he has his hands around his mother’s throat.’ And, ‘At the end of act 2, he kills a man in cold blood to protect his secret,’ ” says Guggenheim.
A hero committing murder? That was practically unheard of then. Having Oliver suit up in a veritable superhero costume by the pilot’s climax was radical too. Sure, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was deep into Phase One when the producers were developing Arrow, but TV was traditionally more apprehensive about comic books. Smallville famously had a “no tights, no flights” rule and only introduced superhero costumes in the last years of its 10-season run, and there weren’t any masked avengers running around NBC’s Heroes or ABC’s No Ordinary Family, the latter produced by Berlanti (Let’s not even mention NBC’s The Cape, which was essentially dead on arrival and never did get its six seasons and a movie). But Arrow not only fully committed to the idea of someone dressing up like Robin Hood to fight crime with a bow and arrow, it introduced a second costumed rogue, the Huntress (Jessica De Gouw), in episode 7.
“It’s just comic book to the extreme and the fans seem to really love it,” says Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, a former writer on Smallville. “They still maintain it very grounded, but it’s very different with everyone in costumes. The appetite for superheroes has changed in my mind in terms of like they just want the literal superhero .”
Not that the team wasn’t meticulous about creating Green Arrow’s cowl. “We had to have so many conversations to get it approved, but that’s why we got Colleen Atwood at the time to the suit,” says Berlanti. “We were determined to show we could do on TV what they were doing in the movies every six months.”
“It’s really easy to make a guy with a bow and arrow look silly. We sweated every detail,” says Guggenheim, who also recalls how much effort it took to perfect Oliver’s signature growl. “I actually flew up to Vancouver. On a rooftop during reshoots on , Stephen and I went through a variety of different versions of, basically, ‘You have failed this city,’ with different amounts of how much growl he’s putting into his performance. recorded all that, back to Los Angeles, and then sat with the post guys playing around with all the different amounts of modulation.”
That process took eons compared to the unbelievably easy time the team had casting Arrow’s title role. In fact, Amell was the first person to audition for the role. “It was Stephen’s intensity. He just made you believe he was that character,” says Guggenheim, recalling Amell’s audition. “We had crafted Oliver to be this mystery box character, and Stephen somehow managed to find this balance between being totally accessible in a way you would need a TV star to be, but he’s still an enigma.” After his first reading, Amell remembers being sent outside for a short time before being brought back into the room to read for a larger group: “I called , and I go, ‘I know this is not how it’s supposed to work, but I just got that job.’”
In the first season, the show’s chief concerns were maintaining both the “grounded and real” tone and the high quality of the stunts, and investing the audience in Oliver’s crusade. Beyond that, though, there wasn’t much of an over-arching plan, which allowed the show to naturally evolve — from introducing more DC characters, such as Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) and Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), sooner than they initially intended (the shot of Deathstroke’s mask in the pilot was meant as a harmless Easter egg), to promoting Emily Bett Rickards’ Felicity from a one-off character in the show’s third episode to a series regular in season 2 and eventually Oliver’s wife. Even the whole idea of a Team Arrow — which, over time, added Oliver’s sister Thea (Willa Holland), Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez) and Dinah Drake/Black Canary (Juliana Harkavy) — was the result of the writers allowing the best ideas to guide the story. “Greg used to say all the time, ‘You have a hit TV show until you don’t, so don’t save s—,’ ” says Amell.
Also not planned: Arrow spawning an entire shared universe. “We went on record a lot of times during the premiere of the pilot saying, ‘No superpowers, no time travel.’ But midway through season 1, Greg started to harbor a notion of doing the Flash,” says Guggenheim. “I’m a very big believer that it’s great to have a plan, but I think when it comes to creating a universe, the pitfall is that people try to run before they can walk. The key is, you build it show by show.” And so they did. First, they introduced The Flash star Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen in the two-part midseason finale of Arrow’s second season. From there, Supergirl took flight in 2015, then DC’s Legends of Tomorrow in 2016, and Batwoman is due this fall. “It’s like the hacking of the machete in the woods and then you look back and you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s a path,” says executive producer and Berlanti Productions president Sarah Schechter. But even though Arrow is the universe’s namesake, Amell doesn’t concern himself with the sibling series outside of the now-annual crossovers. “I never think about any of the other shows,” he says. “I want all of them to do great, but they’re not my responsibility. My responsibility is Arrow, and to make sure everyone from the cast to the crew are good.” His sentiments are seconded by Flash’s Gustin: “I don’t understand how he does it — his schedule that he maintains with working out, the conventions he goes to, the passion he has for it, and the love he shows towards fans. He’s always prepared. He cares more about that show being high quality than anybody else on the set.”
That said, the universe’s expansion precipitated what is widely considered to be Arrow’s best season, the fifth one. After focusing on magic in season 4, the show returned to its street-crime roots as part of “a concerted effort to play not just to our strengths but what made the shows unique,” Guggenheim says of balancing their four super-series in 2016. “Because Arrow was the longest-running Arrowverse show, we were able to do something that none of the other shows could do, which is have a villain who was basically born out of the events of season 1,” he explains of introducing Adrian Chase/Prometheus (Josh Segarra), whose criminal father was killed by Oliver. “That gave the season a resonance.”
It was midway through season 6 when Amell realized he was ready to hang up Oliver Queen’s hood. “It was just time to move on,” the actor says of pitching that Oliver leave the series at the end of season 7. “My daughter is turning six in October, and she goes to school in L.A., and my wife and I want to raise her .” Berlanti persuaded him to return for one final season, which the producers collectively decided would be the end. “We all felt in our gut it was the right time,” says Berlanti. Adds Schechter, “It’s such a privilege to be able to say when something’s ending as opposed to having something just ripped away.”
But there’s one integral cast member who won’t be around to see Arrow through its final season. This spring, fans were devastated to learn Rickards had filmed her final episode—bringing an end to Olicity. “They’re such opposites. I think that’s what draws everyone in a little bit,” showrunner Beth Schwartz says of Oliver and Felicity’s relationship. “You don’t see the super intelligent woman and the sort of hunky, athletic man very often. She’s obviously a gorgeous woman but what he really loves is her brain.” For his part, Amell believes the success of both Felicity and Olicity lies completely with Rickards’ performance. “She’s supremely talented and awesome and carved out a space that no one anticipated. I don’t know that show works if we don’t randomly find her,” says Amell, adding that continuing the series without Team Arrow’s heart is “not great. Arrow, as you know it, has effectively ended. It’s a different show in season 8.” And he’s not exaggerating.
The final season finds Oliver working for the all-seeing extra-terrestrial the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) and trying to save the entire multiverse from a cataclysmic event. “ taking the show on the road, really getting away from Star City. Oliver is going to be traveling the world, and we’re going to go to a lot of different places,” says Guggenheim. “Every time I see Oliver and the Monitor, it’s like, ‘Okay, we are very far from where we started.’ But again, that means the show has grown and evolved.” Adds Schwartz, “This is sort of his final test because it’s greater than Star City.” Along the way, he will head down memory lane, with actor Colin Donnell, who played Oliver’s best friend Tommy Merlyn in season 1, and Segarra’s Adrian Chase making appearances. “Episode 1 is an ode to season 1, and episode 2 is an ode to season 3,” teases Amell. “We’re playing our greatest hits.”
But season 8 is not just about building toward a satisfying series finale. “Everything relates to what’s going to happen in our crossover episode, which we’ve never done before,” says Schwartz. Spanning five hours and airing this winter, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will be the biggest crossover yet and may see Oliver perish trying to save the multiverse from destruction, if the Monitor’s prophecy is to be believed. “Oliver he’s going to die, so each episode in the run-up to ‘Crisis’ has Oliver dealing with the various stages of grief that come with that discovery,” says Guggenheim. “So the theme really is coming to terms, acceptance.”
If there’s one person who has made his peace with Oliver’s fate, it’s Amell. “Because he’s a superhero with no superpowers, I always felt he should die — but he may also not die,” says Amell, who actually found out what the show’s final scene would be at EW’s cover shoot. “I cried as was telling me. There are a lot of hurdles to get over to make that final scene.” Get this man some more Guinness!
Arrow premieres Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 9 p.m. on The CW.
For more on how the Arrowverse saved the TV superhero, pick up the August issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands July 25-26. You can buy all five covers, or purchase your individual favorites featuring Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, White Canary, and Batwoman. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.
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San Diego Comic-Con is packed with enticing previews, covering all manner of exciting pop culture on the way in the next year. Below, EW has picked out the top 10 things we’re most excited about at this year’s con. From a star-studded horror anthology to a superhero prequel to the return of not one but two franchise icons to their signature roles, there’s bound to be something you’re hyped for included herein. Onward!
Tim Miller knows moviegoers are skeptical of a sixth entry in the Terminator franchise, but the director is urging fans to tap their feelings about the 1984 original and 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. “It’s really a sequel to those first two stories,” says Miller, who adds that the previous sequels will have no bearing on Dark Fate, out Nov. 1. In a series that often explores the future, the filmmakers looked to the past. “I never saw this coming,” admits Linda Hamilton, who stars as heroine Sarah Connor for the first time in 28 years. “I wanted to see how events have changed her and sent her forward.” —Derek Lawrence
What kind of life prepares you to be Batman’s butler? Epix’s Pennyworth, debuting July 28, aims to reveal to viewers how young Alfred (Jack Bannon) built a life for himself with the help of Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge). “Thomas is very much a guy behind a desk who doesn’t want to get his hands dirty, and Alfred can do that,” Bannon says. “Alfred needs money to get his business off the ground, and Thomas has that, but Alfred realizes Thomas has his own agenda.” —Christian Holub
Dragon Ball Z, one of the all-time most popular anime shows among American audiences, is an epic saga about using martial arts to save the world from aliens and monsters. In their new DBZ-inspired comic, No One Left to Fight (which debuted July 3), co-creators Aubrey Sitterson and Fico Ossio ask: So, what happens after you’ve saved the world? For the series’ protagonist Vale, one of the first steps is coming to terms with his own popularity. “He’s a guy whose life has been consumed by training and fighting,” Sitterson says. “He saved the world, and then he went off on a walkabout, and meanwhile life has gone on. All these people remember him, and he is taken aback by this crowd of people just wanting to see him and touch him.” —Christian Holub
All aboard! TBS’ Snowpiercer, due spring 2020, is set in a near-future world that has frozen over as the result of a disastrous attempt to solve climate change. The only survivors are living on the titular globe-circumnavigating train, a few thousand folks segregated by social class. “Some are ticketed billionaires, some are the medics and police,” says director James Hawes (Black Mirror), who oversaw three of the first season’s 10 episodes. “Others are those who boarded by force.” Jennifer Connelly plays Melanie Cavill, the head of hospitality who lives at the front of the train, while Daveed Diggs is Andre Layton, a low-class “Tailie” who is recruited by the vehicle’s rulers to find a serial killer.
The TV show version of Snowpiercer is based on a series of French graphic novels and on director Bong Joon-Ho’s much-loved 2014 big-screen adaptation, which starred Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer, and Tilda Swinton. While none of the characters from the movie are exactly replicated on the TV series, there are Easter egg echoes of them. These include the north-of-England accent adopted by Alison Wright (The Americans) to play hospitality department employee Ruth. “My character has some of the qualities of the character that Tilda Swinton played,” says the actress. “ was a fun little nod to what Tilda did in the film.” —Clark Collis
Inspired by director George A. Romero’s beloved Stephen King-written 1982 film, Shudder’s horror anthology — arriving later this year — boasts an eclectic cast, including David Arquette, Kid Cudi, and Lucifer’s Tricia Helfer. “She plays a strong executive in this supernatural situation she can’t control,” showrunner Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead) says of the latter. —Clark Collis
Has it really been almost 17 years? Patrick Stewart is returning to Star Trek to reprise his role as the beloved Jean-Luc Picard — his first appearance as the character since the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Picard, out later this year, focuses on the former Starfleet captain nearly 15 years after he led a doomed rescue mission to the planet Romulus. “There are many things that haunt Picard, but you will not see a version that betrays the man we loved from Next Generation,” executive producer Alex Kurtzman assures. Producers add that Stewart brings a new level of intensity to his iconic role. “The quality of Patrick’s acting has gotten even better,” showrunner Michael Chabon says. “He can hold you riveted even when he’s just sitting and listening.” —James Hibberd
Westworld 3.0, due in 2020, is the most radical series upgrade yet to HBO’s robo-rebellion drama. With the hosts, led by Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), having secretly invaded the real world, the dusty Wild West theme park is largely left behind and replaced by a near-future Los Angeles, as new cast members (like Aaron Paul) join. “I love shows that find a groove and hang with it for 100 episodes — that was never this show,” co-showrunner Jonathan Nolan says. The hosts will experience culture shock as they discover that the outside world isn’t quite what they expect…particularly for Dolores when she meets Paul’s Caleb, a regular-guy construction worker, “an honest-to-goodness regular ol’ human being,” Nolan says. —James Hibberd
It may be a fantasy starring Orlando Bloom, but Tolkien, it ain’t: Amazon’s Carnival Row (premiering Aug. 30) is set in a steampunky Victorian London-esque city where mythical creatures live as refugees, having fled their war-torn homeland — to the displeasure of the human inhabitants. “It’s a fantasy story, but with the social awareness of a sci-fi story,” co-creator Travis Beacham says. There’s also a murder mystery, political intrigue, and smoldering faerie-human romance between Cara Delevingne and Bloom (no pointy ears for the erstwhile Legolas on this one). —Tyler Aquilina
Netflix has your post–Game of Thrones epic adult fantasy fix: The Witcher (due in late 2019) is another sprawling, exotic world based on a best-selling series of books about an ensemble of morally ambiguous characters. Except, well, actual monsters play the most pivotal roles in the story. “The monster and horror aspect has been done occasionally on fantasy shows, but it takes a back seat a lot of the time,” says showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (Daredevil). “People are going to be surprised by how many monsters we were able to do, and how integral they are to the story.” —James Hibberd
Us. The Terror. Hereditary. We live in a golden age of horror stories in movies and on TV, and author Joe Hill (NOS4A2) wants to get comics in on the action. He describes Hill House Comics, his new DC pop-up line launching this fall, as “Blumhouse for comics,” with tales about talking heads decapitated by a magical ax (Hill’s Basketful of Heads), and a mysterious plague that eats memories (Carmen Maria Machado’s The Low, Low Woods). “In terms of trying to scare people, the unique format of comic books erases the distance between the reader and the story,” says Hill, 47, who fell in love with horror comics as a kid reading his dad Stephen King’s hardcover collections of Tales From the Crypt. “Comics play out more like dreams than any other form of storytelling.” —Christian Holub
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A sliver of daylight cuts across Liv’s (Rose McIver) face through the window pane as rain falls steadily outside. Soft, smooth jazz plays in the background as she mulls over the latest whodunnit, the scene bathed in muted blacks and whites. Is the femme fatale to blame for the murder, or is she just another victim? As Liv ponders, she pulls her trench coat tighter as a terse, dramatic voiceover narrates the scene.
In only a few moments, iZombie hits so many tropes found in the classic noir genre. While The CW’s zombie rom-com drama has always had a bit of noir baked into the DNA as Liv helps the Seattle PD solve murders by eating the brains of dead victims, this week’s episode, “Night and the Zombie City,” is the first time creator and executive producer Rob Thomas is going full noir. But here’s the ironic part: the showrunner actually had nothing to do with this week’s episode. In fact, he actively fought against doing a noir episode for years.
Thomas has previously dipped his toes into the classic genre, both with the general idea of iZombie and his hit teen detective drama Veronica Mars (returning with a new season July 26 on Hulu). But while the showrunner loves the genre full of recognizable tropes first made famous back in the early 1920s, he didn’t think it would work on iZombie.
Below, Thomas talks with EW about why he resisted doing noir on this show for so long, how it snuck past him, and what fans can expect from the upcoming series finale (airing Aug. 1).
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I can’t imagine how much fun you were having making this episode. You finally got to go full noir!ROB THOMAS: That is true and not true. This particular episode was right in the heart of when I was spending about 90 percent of my time on Veronica Mars because we were shooting them at the same time. Episodes 7 through 11 on iZombie became to the point where I was just kind of reading outlines and giving notes. So I know it looks like it has my fingerprints on it because it’s noir but I really had very little to do with this one.
… wow. That feels incredibly ironic. It does a bit! John Enbom who I’ve been working with since season 1 of Veronica Mars, who was really the guiding force of Party Down and is a buddy of mine, he stepped in and ran the show essentially for the back half of the season until Diane and I came back and wrote the final two iZombie . It was a Veronica Mars writer running the room at that point and he had a lot of input on it but I essentially read the outline and went, “Sounds great!” So that was my big contribution to this particular episode.
You’re such a huge fan of the noir genre, so how did iZombie end up with a noir episode when you weren’t involved?The funny thing is … this gets even more ironic. The writer of the episode, Bob Dearden, has been pitching me this hardcore noir episode every season. And I’ve been saying, “Maybe someday.” And then the moment I leave the room, he gets it made! I don’t want to say it was over my objections, but it was one that I wasn’t sure I saw a clear path on for quite some time. The minute the cat’s away, Bob Dearden got his noir episode! Here’s the interesting thing about when the showrunner takes his eyes off the show – get to do all the things they’ve wanted to do that I’ve been hesitant about. They went very stylized with this episode, more than I would have, but when I saw it I was really tickled by it. If they had pitched it to me in the room, “We’re going to put Liv in a funny Sam Spade hat and overcoat,” I would have been like, “Ahhh, I don’t know … ” But because I wasn’t there to say no, they pulled it off! It’s a really fun episode. Tuan Le, the director of the episode, did a great job.
Why were you so hesitant about doing noir on iZombie when it’s such a huge part of your previous work?One of the reasons is, we did those episodes with Enrico Colantoni in which we were playing on that bad cop, hard-boiled persona. I wasn’t sure there was enough space between the two so I was concerned about that. And then part of the hesitation was that I had done noir for so long that I was afraid that I would feel like we were recycling material I had used in another show. It was actually probably pretty smart of them – they went, as we often do on iZombie, full ham on it. They sucked the marrow out of the noir theme. There was no cliché, no bit they were not going to enjoy exploiting on the show. They did it to such comic effect that it did not step on the toes of Veronica Mars.
When you were away working on Veronica Mars, how did you feel about finding out this episode was happening? My first reaction was, “You son of a bitch, you finally got that through!” It was never an idea that I hated. It was just an idea that got beaten out by something out because I had those reservations. Somewhere around season 3 we had this change in philosophy that was good for the show. The original philosophy was figuring out what Liv was doing in each episode and let’s find the right brain for this moment. Writers for episodes would get brains that they weren’t emotionally connected to or have insight on. Eventually, by season 3, we went, “Hey writers, what brain are you desperate to write? What do you love? What could you riff on forever?” At that point everyone got to do the brains they wanted and we made it work for Liv’s life. The brains got funnier and more specific after that. Bob Dearden, the writer of this one, loved old detective movies and so he finally got his way.
When did you finally realize that Dearden actually made noir work for this episode?I heard rumblings that it was looking good. We shared offices so it wasn’t like iZombie was somewhere on another planet; they were literally using the office next to me . I would hear bits and pieces. I knew they were going forward with this when I read the outline and I had some reservations but I was too swamped to fight it. It was like, “Okay, you really want to do this? Okay … go ahead, full throttle.” I got a thumbs up from the editors, like, “It’s coming together, it’s looking good.” And finally I got to see a cut and was tremendously relieved and pleased with it.
What trope of the noir genre did you love seeing included in the episode?The language, that really Sam Spade quintessential voiceover with the straight 1940s references. That all played funny to me.
Looking ahead, how would you describe the feeling the iZombie series finale leaves fans with by the very end?Here’s what I’ll say about the finale of iZombie and how it is much, much different than the original finale of Veronica Mars: with iZombie, we tie things up. Whether you’re happy about them or sad about them, the one thing you won’t say is it feels unresolved. iZombie will feel resolved. Things that we’ve been planning on that have been on our writers’ board for five seasons, we found a way to make those things happen. It was nice for the first time in my career to know that we had an endpoint and be able to write accordingly.
That must have been so much more enjoyable to actually plan for that instead of having to scramble last-minute.Or having to write a finale that could be the end of the show or might not be — that’s a really tricky thing to write.
iZombie airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
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The CW sets series finale date for iZombie iZombie sneak peek: Watch Rachel Bloom terrorize someone over the phoneMelissa Benoist‘s Supergirl is getting a long-awaited wardrobe upgrade in season 5.
On Monday, the Supergirl star revealed the Girl of Steel’s brand new season 5 super-suit. The biggest change? The skirt is no more and has been replaced by actual pants, which is something both Benoist and the showrunners have been wanting to do for a long time.
“We’ve been talking about pants since season 1,” Benoist tells EW. “Every time a writer from the show has come up, and it’s freezing cold in Vancouver, I’m like, ‘Guys, please can I not wear tights?'” I love . I haven’t changed it because it so works, and I think it is very Kara. I’ve always felt that — until recently, I’m like, ‘Something’s gotta give.'”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Melissa Benoist (@melissabenoist) on Jul 15, 2019 at 1:34pm PDT
Showrunners Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner echoed that sentiment as well. “A lot of us were passionate about getting Supergirl into pants and out of the short skirt, and we felt like that would be a powerful move, and Melissa is really excited about it,” says Queller. “So we just had to find the right moment to design the suit and in between seasons gave us a chance. But this is something we’ve been thinking about for a while.”
Benoist particularly loves her character’s new threads because she has more “range of motion” and it’s a visual way of showing how Kara has grown over the years. “I just think it’s more adult,” she says. “Part of my goal in this whole series for whenever the show ends, I just want there to be a very clear arc for this character that she evolved as a woman and found her femininity and her adulthood, just a self-discovery.”
Pants aren’t the only big development for Benoist in season 5. As EW revealed earlier today, Benoist will also make her directorial debut with the season’s 17th episode. “I’ve been wanting to direct since season 3, but couldn’t last year because of scheduling conflicts, so David Harewood did it first,” she told EW. “I just felt really drawn to it for a couple of seasons now, just because you know the show so well, and you get to know the character, and the world, and the tone of the show so well that you can’t help but envision certain scenes in a certain way. I want to play with that.”
Supergirl returns Sunday, Oct. 6 at 9 p.m on The CW.
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