‘Avengers’ Directors Say Marvel’s Recent Problems Aren’t Due to Superhero Fatigue but a ‘Big Generational Divide About How You Consume Media’

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Victoria Justice, who headlined Nickelodeon’s popular series “Victorious” for four seasons and 57 episodes between 2010 and 2013, said in a new interview with Marie Claire that she feels like series creator Dan Schneider owes her an apology as she was “treated unfairly” at times on the show. Schneider also created the series “Zoey 101,” which Justice appeared on prior to “Victorious.” Schnieder has come under fire this year in the wake of the Investigation Discovery series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which included many misconduct allegations against him from his tenure at Nickelodeon.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “House of the Dragon” stars Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy have started the promotional train for Season 2 of the “Game of Thrones” spinoff by gracing the cover of Entertainment Weekly’s latest digital issue, but they’re still somewhat haunted by one insanely viral moment from their Season 1 press tour. That would be the Negroni Spagliato meme. It all started when Cookie and D’Arcy were flown from San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022 to San Francisco to shoot promos for “House of the Dragon.” HBO tasked the two actors with asking each other questions on video.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Chris Hemsworth expressed frustration in an interview with The Times of London over Marvel criticisms made by some directors he considers to be personal heroes such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Hemsworth is one of the original Avengers in the MCU as Thor, debuting in a 2011 standalone movie before headlining three sequels and starring in several “Avengers” movies through 2022. “It felt harsh, and it bothers me, especially from heroes.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director With his “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel movie “Furiosa” gearing up for both its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and its theatrical release later this month, director George Miller recently spoke to The Telegraph and reflected on the notorious feud that broke out between stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron during the grueling “Fury Road” production. Miller said at the center of the feud was the simple fact that “they were just two very different performers.” “Tom has a damage to him but also a brilliance that comes with it, and whatever was going on with him at the time, he had to be coaxed out of his trailer,” Miller said, more or less confirming reports that Hardy’s tardiness drew a wedge between him and his-costar.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Whoopi Goldberg was the latest guest on “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” on Max and was asked about what it’s been like co-hosting ABC’s “The View” for the last 17 years. The EGOT winner joined the daytime franchise in 2007. Asked by Wallace if she still likes hosting the program, Goldberg acknowledged that it was a better gig back in the day when people did not automatically weaponize every thing you said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Joel Edgerton revealed on The Playlist’s “Bingeworthy” podcast that he failed his audition for Star Lord in “Guardians of the Galaxy” because he just couldn’t nail down the tone writer-director James Gunn was looking for. Chris Pratt ended up getting the career-defining role, which he’d reprise in two “Guardians of the Galaxy” sequels and various other Marvel movies, including “Avengers: Infinity War.” “Star-Lord’s a good one, actually, because I, unlike Chris [Pratt], didn’t quite sort of understand the tone of it the way he did and the way that those guys did,” Edgerton said on the podcast. “And I wasn’t really sure how I could be a part of that tone.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Nicholas Galitzine recently told British GQ that he felt somewhat guilty when deciding whether or not to play a gay character as a straight man because he does not want to take up anyone else’s space or opportunities. Galitzine starred opposite Taylor Zakhar Perez last year in Prime Video’s popular gay romance film “Red White and Royal Blue,” and he’s currently a co-lead opposite Julianne Moore in the Starz drama “George & Mary.” Galitzine’s character in the series is queer. “I identify as a straight man, but I have been a part of some incredible queer stories,” Galitzine told the publication.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kristen Stewart recently graced the cover of Porter magazine and called out “phony” Hollywood for how it often self-congratulates itself for doing away with the patriarchy when in reality, Hollywood has just prioritized a select group of women to operate in the studio world. While progress is being made, Stewart rang the alarm by saying changes for women in Hollywood are not as broad as Hollywood might like to make it out to be. “[There’s a] thinking that we can check these little boxes, and then do away with the patriarchy, and how we’re all made of it,” Stewart said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Elisabeth Moss recently appeared on Kelly Ripa’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast while promoting her new FX series “The Veil” and reflected on the “intimidating” but exhilarating set of James Mangold’s 1999 drama “Girl, Interrupted.” Moss was around 15 years old when she shot the movie and starred as Polly “Torch” Clark, a burn victim who suffers from schizophrenia. The cast was headlined by Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, the latter of whom won an Oscar for her performance. Because of the tension that exists between their two characters, Moss said the film set became naturally divided into two camps.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito admitted to Empire magazine that “it’s been a rough time” for the Marvel Cinematic Universe following a rocky 2023 that included box office flops “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels.” The latter title is the lowest-grossing MCU movie of all time with just $206 million worldwide. Marvel didn’t fare better on television, where series such as “Secret Invasion” were widely panned by critics. Despite these setbacks, D’Esposito is committed to seeing the glass half full.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director One of the most viral moments to emerge out of Tom Brady‘s Netflix roast was when the NFL icon got up from his seat and told off roaster Jeff Ross after the comedian made a massage joke about Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Brady was heard telling Ross: “Don’t say that shit again.” But according to Ross, Brady was not actually pissed off at him. “Come on, come on, no way, no way,” Ross said on “The Rich Eisen Show,” downplaying that Brady got angry at him for the Kraft massage joke.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Keanu Reeves is more than confident that he and Sandra Bullock could pull off a third “Speed” movie. Jan de Bont’s action thriller “Speed” became the fourth highest-grossing movie of 1994 with $350 million worldwide, largely in part to the sizzling chemistry between Reeves and Bullock. The film turned the two actors into one of the decade’s iconic screen duos, and they reunited onscreen in 2006 for the romance drama “The Lake House.” During a joint interview on the “50 MPH” podcast, Reeves had this to say about “Speed 3”: “I mean, you know — we’d freakin’ knock it out of the park.” “There’s no formula.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The new Superman suit has finally officially debuted. As filming on James Gunn‘s “Superman” (formerly “Superman: Legacy”) continues, the writer-director shared to his Threads account a first look at star David Corenswet in costume as the Man of Steel. The first thing fans might notice is the suit is quite dirty and weathered, which suggests Superman will be doing plenty of down and dirty fighting in the movie.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Emily Blunt got candid during a recent appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” (via People) about how she’s had to fake chemistry over the years with certain co-stars she just struggled to connect with on set. Blunt has acted opposite many high-profile leading men throughout her career, from Matt Damon (“The Adjustment Bureau”) to Tom Cruise (“Edge of Tomorrow”), Dwayne Johnson (“Jungle Cruise”), Ryan Gosling (“The Fall Guy”) and Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”). “Have you wanted to throw up?” Stern asked Blunt about kissing some of her male co-stars during filming.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Chris Hemsworth is quite happy about not playing the hero in George Miller’s upcoming “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel movie “Furiosa.” The action tentpole casts Hemsworth as the villainous Dementus, a sociopathic warlord who steals the title character from her home as a child. It’s a far cry from his Marvel superhero Thor, who Hemsworth has played in four standalone movies and several more “Avengers” films. That’s precisely why the actor was hungry for the part.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Francis Ford Coppola revealed in a preview of “Megalopolis” in Vanity Fair that he rewrote the script around 300 times before self-financing the passion project for $120 million by selling part of his winery estate in Northern California. The epic is set to world premiere in competition at the Cannes FIlm Festival in May. A first look photo from “Megalopolis” has debuted featuring Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in their leading roles.

Filmmakers, the Russo Brothers recently appeared at the Sands: International Film Festival in St Andrews, Scotland, and GamesRadar caught up with them about many aspects of their varied careers so far. They discussed topics such as the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, their time working on “Avengers: Endgame,” and the superhero fatigue that some moviegoers are experiencing.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Deadpool and Wolverine” is set to be one of the biggest films of the summer, and fan theories are already flying around the internet regarding what Marvel could have in store for what looks like a bonkers trip across a multiverse populated by characters previously owned by 20th Century Fox and now owned by Disney. Whatever goes down in the sequel, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, prior knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will not be a mandatory requirement in order to enjoy it. That’s according to the film’s director, Shawn Levy.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Robert Downey Jr. elated Marvel fans earlier this month when he told Esquire magazine that he would “happily” return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tony Stark/Iron Man following his Oscar win for best supporting actor in March.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jessica Lange spoke critically of present-day Hollywood during a recent interview with Vulture, saying “there should be a law against it” when the topic came up about Warner Bros. Discovery axing already-shot movies like “Batgirl” and “Coyote vs. Acme” for tax write-off purposes.