Beyond the Screen #21 – Comic Con News, Nope, Marvel Phases 5 & 6, Emmys, The Rings of Power, John Wick Chapter 4 and Venice Film Festival

With Sandiego Comic Con underway, we take a look back at news of note in the world of film.

Audiences Say Yes to Nope

Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror Nope grossed $44 million in its opening weekend, a total which represents the highest earning original IP box office debut since Peele’s previous film Us in 2019. Thor: Love and Thunder dropped 52% going into its third week of release, bringing in $22 million over the weekend, compared to Minions: The Rise of Gru’s $18 million, not far behind in its fourth week. Where the Crawdads Sing, adapted from the bestselling smash hit novel, managed a $10.3 million second weekend, while Top Gun: Maverick continues to pull in excellent numbers in its ninth weekend, dropping only 17% to $10.2 million, nearing a $1.3 billion total worldwide gross.

Marvel Phases 5 & 6 Unveiled at Comic Con

Phase 4 will conclude with the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever later this year, and we now know (most of) the layout for phases 5 and 6 of the MCU, along with vague release dates for each title. Phase 5 includes: Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania (17 Feb 2023), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (5 May 2023), The Marvels (28 July 2023), Blade (3 Nov 2023), UNTITLED (16 Feb 2024), Captain America: New World Order (3 May 2024) and Thunderbolts (26 July 2024). Phase 6 has raised the most excitement, featuring the much-anticipated MCU debut of the Fantastic Four (8 November 2024), and two Avengers films within 6 months of each other: The Kang Dynasty (2 May 2025) and Secret Wars (7 November 2025), with UNTITLED projects before each Avengers film (14 Feb 2025 and 25 July 2025, respectively).

Emmy Nominations Announced

HBO led nominations, thanks in no small part to Succession”s mammoth 25 nominations, followed by another of their projects: The White Lotus, with 20. Next up is Hacks with 17 noms, tying with Only Murders in the Building, then Euphoria’s 16 and a split sixth place shared amongst Barry, Dopesick, Severance and Squid Game, each with 14 nominations.

Venice Film Festival Begins Unveiling Lineup

Noah Baumbach’s latest project for Netflix, White Noise starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, will open the 79th Venice Film Festival. Based on the novel by Don DeLillo, the film is a great draw for Festival Chief Alberto Barbera, who announced its selection on July 25th: “It is a great honour to open the 79th Venice Film Festival with White Noise. It was worth waiting for the certainty that the film was finished to have the pleasure to make this announcement. Adapted from the great Don DeLillo novel, Baumbach has made an original, ambitious and compelling piece of art which plays with measure on multiple registers: dramatic, ironic, satirical. The result is a film that examines our obsessions, doubts, and fears as captured in the 1980s, yet with very clear references to contemporary reality.” Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Don’t Worry Darling will have its worldwide premiere at the festival, out of competition. The fest is set to run from August 31st through September 10th.

The Rings of Power Debuts Second Trailer

San Diego Comic Con saw the release of Amazon’s second trailer for their unbelievably expensive Lord of the Rings series The Rings of Power. Apart from the inclusion of a new-look proto-Sauron and a cameo by the Balrog, this trailer has a generally cleaner VFX-job than the poorly received original teaser. Still, the comments on the YouTube upload of the trailer have been swamped with criticism and spammed passages of disapproval.

Margot Robbie to Return for Neighbours Finale

Robbie essentially got her start on Australian TV soap opera Neighbours, before leapfrogging to Hollywood after leaving the show in 2011. Margot has always paid respect to her roots on the series, but she now has a chance to give its fans a final ‘thank you’. The actress will be returning for the show’s anticipated finale, alongside Jesse Spencer, Delta Goodrem, Kym Valentine, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and Carla Bonner, capping off a 37-year run.

Intimacy Coordinators to Join SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher announced the union’s move to open a path for Intimacy Coordinators to be granted membership. “The role of intimacy coordinators greatly improves safety and well-being on sets and in productions requiring intimate scenes. Their value is immeasurable and the National Board is committed to bringing intimacy coordinators into the SAG-AFTRA family and ensuring they have the kind of benefits and protections other members already enjoy.” The statement comes a month after SAG-AFTRA published a registry of Intimacy Coordinators for use as an index by producers.

John Wick Chapter 4 Teaser

Comic Con delivered not only the expected comic book IP, but a sneak peek at the hotly anticipated fourth installment in the John Wick series; a teaser and accompanying poster. Keanu Reeves’ retired (and yet very much keeping busy) assassin is seen laying a beating on a healthy collection of baddies, including with a promising pair of nunchucks. Wick is told off in the trailer: “No one, not even you, can kill everyone.” We’ll just see about that.

First Oppenheimer Poster

The film’s first bit of promotional material, outside of a spattering of cast photos, features star Cillian Murphy (in his leading role as J. Robert Oppenheimer) shrouded in the voluminous clouds of an apparent test of the atom bomb, plastered with the film’s title and tagline: The World Forever Changes. This poster release came with exactly one year on the clock till the film’s U.S. release date on the 21st of July 2023. A week later, an unexpected teaser trailer was uploaded, featuring the vaguest of lines and visuals.

Dune: Part Two Begins Filming

The official Dune Twitter account tweeted a photo of the production’s first slate. “We’re rolling. Production on Dune: Part Two has begun.” If all goes according to plan, we’ll be returning to Arrakis in November of next year. As of yet, the synopsis reads: This follow-up film will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. “Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”

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