Month: July 2020

It is extremely easy for rivalries to feel forced. That’s particularly true in Major League Soccer, which is frequently adding teams and rivalries become borne out of proximity instead of the kind of deep-seeded resentment that can only come when bad blood is given a chance to fester over years and years.

But every now and then, MLS manages to catch lightning in a bottle, turning a new, regional showdown into a rivalry that feels authentic. No better example of this is El Tráfico, which pits arguably the league’s most visible side, Los Angeles Galaxy, against relative newcomers LAFC. While the Galaxy had the leg up early on in the rivalry, picking up a pair of wins and seeing out three draws in the first five games, LAFC have been dominant lately, winning a postseason thriller last year and running their rivals off the pitch in their most recent matchup, a 6-2 drubbing on Saturday evening in Orlando.

Mark-Anthony Kaye has been part of this rivalry from day one. Kaye, a Toronto native who joined LAFC ahead of their inaugural campaign in 2018 from USL side Louisville City, has been a staple of the team’s midfield since day one, and has played in five of the seven tilts against the Galaxy, which included captaining the side over the weekend. He, like the rest of his team, is posted up in the Disney bubble that is hosting the MLS Is Back tournament, where LAFC is the favorite to win the entire thing — and, as you can guess, there’s a “positive feeling” among the squad following their most recent win.

Uproxx Sports caught up with Kaye ahead of their final group stage game — which took place on Thursday night against the Portland Timbers — to talk the bubble, the rivalry, and what it was like to play such a hotly-contested game under such unique circumstances.

How were things going on now that you’ve been down to the bubble for a month or so?

Yeah, it’s been great. I think it’s been a process for everyone. There’s a lot of anticipation leading up to what it would feel like once we got here. And I think the staff, they’ve done a good job to keep the players in a good mental space. I think that’s the most important thing, especially whenever you’re in a hotel for so long, away from your family, we feel cooped up.

But yeah, once the game started, it starts to get a little bit easier to deal with, I think. We’re here to play soccer and whenever you have an opportunity to do that, it’s like euphoria, you forget about everything else that you have to deal with in that moment. So yeah, the guys have been doing really well dealing with the situation and we’re just trying to do our job here and then the quicker we do that, the quicker we’re out.

How long did it take to get used to being down there? Is that something where, you mentioned the process, is it still a process for all of you because you just can’t get used to a situation this unique?

I think so. I don’t think many people here have really adapted yet. Whether it’s the time change, or the training times, or the temperature, or the weather. I think that everyone is trying to find the best way to manage it. I know that I haven’t. I think it’s a process for me. Some days I wake up and it’s good and some days I wake up and I’m exhausted, mentally drained and I haven’t done anything.

So yeah, it’s definitely a battle of the strong-willed right now. And like I said, I think the best thing about it is the fact that you’re around your team and you can play the sport you love. I think once we get out to training, everyone’s in a good mood and then you get a game, everyone’s excited. But for the rest of the, say, I don’t know, eight to 12 to 16 hours of the day, there’s a lot of ups and downs.

Can you just quickly bring me through a day in the life of Mark-Anthony Kaye while he’s hanging out down at Disney and in the bubble?

So we’re pretty fortunate with having a late breakfast time. So I’ll probably wake up, go downstairs, get some breakfast. I try to keep growing the relationship I have with my girlfriend, even though we’re far away from each other right now. So we’ll actually do Peloton, yoga sessions together on FaceTime just to keep that engagement high and just have some sort of social interaction outside the bubble.

And then there’s a lot of downtime, so either there’s Premier League games on, or there’s MLS games on, and then I’ve been pretty big into some self help books and just reading, trying to calm my mind down. So usually consists of yoga, watching some Premier League games, and then reading a little bit. And then by that time, the day has rolled on and you’re getting ready for training, and then that’s when all the excitement comes in.

Reading anything particularly good, or anything that’s been really helpful for you, while you’re down there?

What I’m reading right now is How to Win Friends and Influence People. A lot of people have recommended the book to me and I had started it maybe two months ago, but now being in a situation where I’m called on to be one of the leaders in the group, I think it’s important to find ways to communicate with your teammates in a stressful time like this, so this book has helped me to understand how to see people’s views and go about trying to get them to see the greater picture that we’re trying to achieve right here. So it’s been good and it gives me a sense of calmness before you go in, you engage with new players. And it’s always good to learn stuff, I’m always open to that.

Is there anything about being down there that’s really surprised you?

No, not really. I think we all had this idea in our head that it was going to be a miserable, miserable time. And I’m not saying it’s the best time, but it’s definitely not what our imagination was perceiving it to be. The resort is nice. There is a lot of things you could do with your free time, if you want to be out in the muggy heat all day. But it is what it is, I don’t think a lot of us are used to being in hotels for this long. The food is hotel food, and you can get fed up with it eventually. But other than that, it’s a nice resort, it’s just the situation where you can’t go anywhere. I think that’s the part that weighs on people a lot.

I am going to guess though, you can correct me if I’m wrong, the fact that they’ve been doing testing and it seems like after that initial rough patch with a few teams, they haven’t found any positive cases, that’s something that’s brought you guys a bit of calmness.

Yeah, no, 100 percent. Coming in, I really appreciated that we came in late. We came in later, so I think they shored up on all their protocols and made them much more efficient after Dallas and Nashville. So there was a sense of calmness now that it’s like, “Okay, there’s no cases in the hotel. You can breathe a little bit now.” Because safety is a big thing, right? And I think the safety is the big stressor in this situation, and the fact that we’ve done a good enough job to make the bubble pretty safe right now, I think players are now enjoying their time a little bit more because they don’t have to worry about that health concern. So, yes, you’re right.

So let’s talk about the Galaxy a bit. In sports, rivalries can feel pretty forced and inauthentic, but in the two years or so this has gone on, this truly feels like a rivalry in every sense of the word. As someone who’s been in it since day one, why do you think that’s the case?

Well, there’s two things. One of them is the fact that LA Galaxy is such a historic club within MLS. Winning five championships, I think they kind of set the tone for what MLS wanted to be and bringing over some high-profile players like David Beckham. So I think there’s a lot of pride around MLS on how LA Galaxy has been perceived in the world, right? And then you also have the aspect of L.A., a city of big culture whether it’s the film industry, music industry, sporting industry, it just always garnishes a lot of attention. So the fact that a young club like ours comes into a city where it’s like make or break, you got to do something you’re in the limelight right away.

And the fact that there’s the club that has been doing really well, but is not necessarily injected into the city as much as they would like to, I think right away there’s that little hatred that comes in, because the Galaxy has been doing so well for so long, now LAFC is here it’s like, all right, there’s a real rivalry. And I don’t think it has to be forced or anything.

The perfect example is Manchester United and Man City in England. Manchester United is a historic club, winning the Premier League left, right, and center. And you look at Man City now, the new guys on the block, and they come in and they’ve taken over, right? People still respect Manchester United, but when it comes to comparing the two teams, they’re on different levels. And I think that’s where it’s at in between us and LA Galaxy. Because yes, LA Galaxy has done a lot for the league. We all appreciate that, especially young kids growing up and seeing what they’ve done. But now it’s a new wave of football and LAFC is there and no one wants to be forgotten. So I think that’s what helps create this intense rivalry.

That actually leads up pretty nicely into the next question, which is that there is just so much hype around this, and then you get in there and those first five matches don’t go your way. What does that do when you’re in the locker room when, in the way you’re describing it, everyone is on the same page where you want to do whatever it takes to make L.A. your town?

Obviously winning rivalry games are important. And out of the season, maybe it’s six or nine points on the table for you. At the same time we’re a club who’s trying to continue to create a real football identity, that plays enjoyable football that people like to watch. And we can’t always get caught up in the idea of trying to beat the Galaxy, because if we focused on what we can control and continue to grow as a club and a team, we will have games where we will beat them.

So at the beginning yeah, it was a little frustrating. But we also understood how much the Galaxy needed certain wins against us to keep them afloat, you know what I mean? To keep them relevant. And I’m not saying that we were okay with losing, but we understood that there was something bigger at play and that we wanted to be a championship team.

So yeah, the first games didn’t go our way. But you look at even last year, the way we dominated the league, that’s something we’re proud of. Yes, we want to beat the Galaxy, but we’re more proud of how we’re perceived amongst the entire league and perceived amongst the world, you know? So yeah, it was a difficult time, but now I think times are changing.

The thing that helps is that from day one, it seems like the fans on both sides of this have brought that little extra something every time you’ve played. What does that do for your squad, whether you’re in your building or you’re feeding off of the more negative energy that the fans have in their building?

Obviously it’s huge for our supporters to be able to passionately support a club they believe in against a club that they don’t believe in. So I think the fan part of it, the supporters part, of it is huge. It adds a massive factor to the rivalry. And when we’re in our stadium, no matter who we’re playing, it’s amazing. And when we play the Galaxy, they raise it to another level which is unbelievable. I give them credit all the time for what they’re able to achieve and really bring to our stadium because that’s what really puts us on the map in the world. You look at the most successful football teams, they’re the ones with the passionate fans and the environments that are crazy. So we’ve done a good job to assert ourselves into that category early on in our history.

But even going to Galaxy and playing against them, it’s almost you play to disappoint the opposition supporters, you know what I mean? You want to go into someone’s home and take three points from them because that feels so good because you have so many people who are rooting against you, and everyone loves to be the underdog in a situation and come up on top.

So yeah, the supporters are massive in this rivalry and I think it’s going to continue to grow more and more. And I hope that it grows in a safe way because I feel like the hate is real amongst them but it’s important for the growth of football.

Obviously that leads into Saturday night. What’s it like playing what is the match in MLS right now — one that is defined by, in large part, the supporters on both sides — but doing it in that environment where it’s just you and the other guys.

Yeah. It’s definitely a challenge, you know what I mean? Obviously we want to win every game, and I think that’s something that we really hold firm too. I think we never look into a game different than another one. Maybe tactics change a little bit, but we want to win every game. There’s no way that the group of players that I’m with here are going to be like, “You know what, this game we’re going to actually give 120 percent.” Every game we want to win.

And I think that’s what divides us from the Galaxy in that sense, because you can see that their energy changes when they play us. But then it’s like, I always say, “If you guys have the energy for…” because they don’t have a bad team, but if they have that energy all the time, they would get more results.

So I think we’ve established how we want to play, how we want to be as a club. And whenever we have opportunities to play the Galaxy, we’re excited because we get to test our football up against a team that is just trying to stop us from doing anything. They’ll do whatever it takes. So in a game on Saturday where there’s no supporters, it’s a challenge to mentally get yourself prepared for this battle.

And if you look into the first 30 minutes first half, we didn’t do very well. And you could see the Galaxy were a step quicker than us and winning loose balls and stuff like that. But at halftime, you go in 2-2, it’s discouraging to them to work that hard and to only be tied to half. And we know we trust in our football ability, so we know that as the game goes on they’re not going to have belief in their system.

So like you said, it’s a big game nonetheless and we’re always excited to be on that platform. I think the guys are starting to become more experienced with it and calm in those situations and not feel the pressure to always have to play out of their minds. So no, it’s good. And like I said, we’re always excited to play the Galaxy.

Was it helpful getting a sense of what that environment was like with the game against Houston before? Or was it you knew that when you were stepping on to the pitch with the Galaxy and you hear there’s just nothing around it, that’s not something that you could really prepare for.

Yeah, I think from playing without fans, it’s tough when you’ve been doing that for so long. So I think, yeah, the Houston game definitely helps. Playing a game in that environment and seeing how you have to rely on your teammates to motivate you through certain situations in game. So yeah, I think it was important that we had a game under our belts already. Either way it is a little bit harder without fans. It shows how much appreciation they should get towards the game and for growing the game. But yeah, I think that Houston game definitely helped get us on the right page to understand what we needed to bring in this tournament.

With the game, fell behind early, drew level, fell behind again and then you guys pour it on, [LAFC forward] Diego [Rossi] has the game of his life, all this stuff. What were you guys doing that led to things eventually getting so one-sided?

I think it’s just sticking to our ideas, you know what I mean? Sometimes things aren’t going to go your way in a game, but it’s 90 minutes and you can score a goal in 30 seconds or less. I think it was just understanding that, yeah, you know what, we didn’t win the first half, but we need to win the second half. And I think going into a game with that mentality, knowing that you’re not going to let anything slip in the second half, it puts everyone on this edge, this killer edge. And getting that first goal early on in the second half, I think really took the wind out of them and gave us a real push.

So like I said, we’re a team that will always believe in ideas and we don’t change much. Even if things aren’t working, we’re still going to stick to what we’re doing and figure out a way. That’s how we have to learn as a group. So in the second half, it was a great performance, especially from the subs who had come into the game. They really took it up another level. And that’s the show of a great team, a bunch of players that whether you’re starting or you’re coming off the bench, you’re going to do your best and help your team win.

And I’m going to guess that both in the past two games that you’ve played and then going forward, that inherent trust that you have in one another, in [manager] Bob [Bradley] and all this is something that you think gives you guys a trump card in a way, is that fair to say?

Yeah, because we know who we are, and I think it’s a struggle for, I don’t want to talk about other clubs, but for us, we know who we are. We know what kind of football we want to play. We have ideas we work on all the time. So that trust is there. We trust in our system and in our identity. So yeah, when we go into games, sometimes things don’t work, but we got to figure out a way with the ways we’ve been training to find a solution. And I think that’s why some teams have success more than others because they stick to what they’re working on. Because I think if you change up too often, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

It becomes confusing and then people don’t believe in it and stuff like that. So we’ve done a really good job to stay true to who we are.

So I’m pretty sure I can guess the answer to these next two — goals for the rest of this tournament?

Goals for the rest of the tournament is to win the whole tournament. That is always a goal of LAFC, is to win and to have hardware to bring home. So that is definitely a goal.

And then wild guess, the next time you guys play the Galaxy you want it to be in your building with your people behind you, is that right?

Yeah, that’d be great. I think games at our stadium are just more electric. It’s just a better venue and I’m sure the Galaxy players love playing at our stadium and we love playing there too. So yeah, it would make for a great game.

Though the day began in ominous fashion when Washington Nationals star Juan Soto tested positive for COVID-19, the 2020 MLB season kicked off with a nationally televised battle between the Nationals and the New York Yankees. Much of the attention centered on the debut of Gerrit Cole in a Yankees uniform but, in the top of the first inning, Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton stole the spotlight with a towering home run against Nationals ace Max Scherzer.

Adam Eaton would answer swiftly in the bottom half of the first, with a solo shot to right, as the first game of the season got off to a fast start for the offenses.

Stanton’s home run is not only the first of the 2020 season, but also the first home run ever by a designated hitter in a National League ballpark. In part due to COVID-19 rule tweaks, the universal DH is now in place across baseball and, in short order, that paid dividends for the Yankees.

As for Stanton, this is undoubtedly an encouraging sign, as the highly paid masher appeared in only 18 games during the 2019 campaign. Though the Yankees were able to weather his absence to the tune of 103 wins and a division title, New York’s lineup is even more terrifying with a full-strength Stanton in the middle of the action.

It was just one swing, but Stanton announced his presence with authority and made a bit of history in the process. In a season that will be one-of-a-kind for myriad reasons, things began in encouraging fashion for the Yankees, as they aim to vindicate their status as the betting favorite to represent the American League in the 2020 World Series.

Ever since its first show was personally greenlit by Desilu Productions head Lucille Ball over 50 years ago, Star Trek has never not been around. And now, thanks to our ravenous streaming future, we have more Trek than ever before. Along with Discovery and Picard, CBS All Access also promises that the teen-driven Prodigy, the early days-centered Strange New Worlds, and a spin-off about Michelle Yeoh’s Discovery character Philippa Georgiou are en route. And of course, there’s Star Trek: Lower Decks, an animated series from Rick and Morty writer and producer (as well as Solar Opposites co-creator) Mike McMahan.

The latter is due in a couple weeks, on August 6, and during its requisite panel at this year’s at-home Virtual Comic Con, they were confident enough in its abilities to show the opening scene.

If you saw the trailer from a couple weeks back, not all of it is new. They open the same way, with Jack Quaid’s Brad recording what seems like a traditional Captain’s Log only to reveal he’s merely an ensign low down on the food chain. They don’t do first contact, he says, but “second contact,” which he claims is “still pretty important: we get all the paperwork signed, make sure we’re spelling the name of the planet right, get to know all the good places to eat.”

What is new is what happens next: He’s mocked and attacked by Tawny Newsome’s fellow ensign Beckett Mariner. Drunk on illegal Romulan wine, she starts wielding a sharp Klingon weapon, and, well, let’s just say it’s here that the presence of a Rick and Morty writer can be most felt.

You can watch the full Star Trek: Lower Decks panel below and watch the show itself starting on August 6 on CBS All Access.

There are few more cursed movies than The New Mutants, the YA-centered X-Men spin-off that began filming over three years ago, suffered through re-shoots, survived a corporate takeover, and was set to finally be released…only for the globe to be stricken with a once-in-a-century pandemic. It’s still holding to a late August release date (for now), and its cast, who saw it earlier this year, swear the final product is good. But even if it never, ever gets released, at least we have the opening scene, which bowed at this year’s at-home Comic Con.

The scene opens with the 20th Century Studios logo — a reminder that the company, and its backwards-looking name, were devoured last year by Disney. It centers on Blu Hunt’s Danielle, aka Mirage whose power is she force people to see illusions based on their fears and desires. She’s awoken in the middle of the night by her father, who races her out of their home as it’s beset upon by some kind of attack. She watches her father die, only to awaken in a secret facility for mutant teens, handcuffed to a bed.

The scene lasts about three minutes, and tacked onto the end is a montage introducing other characters and cast members, including Maisie Williams’ Wolfsbane, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Magik, and Charlie Heaton’s Cannonball. When will you able to see the rest of it? Who knows! But whenever you do, the young cast will look even younger than they do now in 2020.

You can watch the full panel in the video below. The New Mutants may or may not hit theaters on Aug. 28.

Executive producer Seth Rogen previously promised that Amazon Prime’s The Boys would be even more outrageous for a sophomore season. Anyone who watched last year’s batch of episodes will realize that’s a pretty hefty promise to fulfill. Will showrunner Eric Kripke meet the high bar that he was instrumental in setting? The season’s first trailer revealed that the Supes are definitely onto the vigilante group, and now, this first look clip (from Comic Con) leans into the gore in a big way.

One way to go bigger and better? By leaving the dolphin spectacle in the dust and including a water chase scene between Billy Butcher’s crew and sharks. The Deep’s there, of course, and acting like a giant whale will intimidate his foes, but he couldn’t be more wrong. The Boys are feeling pressured enough while they’re technically on the run from the law, so bye bye, whale, and watch out, Chace Crawford. Gossip Girl, this ain’t.

Meanwhile, Butcher is still contending with his newfound knowledge from last season’s finale, as Hughie’s still desperate to keep his grip on things with assists from Mother’s Milk, Frenchie, and Kimiko. An incoming Supe member, Stormfront (Aya Cash), looks to shake up both sides of the rivalry, and — officially — there’s gonna be a supervillain threat. Can’t wait to see that one.

Amazon’s The Boys returns on September 4.

Utopia, the American remake of the darkly comic British cult hit of the same name, hasn’t had a utopian history. Half a decade ago, it was supposed to reunite the Gone Girl team of director David Fincher and writer Gillian Flynn over at HBO, with Rooney Mara to star. After that fell through, Fincher and Mara stepped away, leaving Flynn to shop it around. The project eventually wound up at Amazon, and now there’s a teaser to prove it all worked out.

The British original ran over two series from 2013 through 2014, and it made comic book nerds the heroes, of sorts, when fans of a comic, also called Utopia, realize that the events depicted therein actually predict the future. To make things even crazier, the comic’s hero, Jessica Hyde, mysteriously appears in the real world. Sasha Lane plays Hyde in the remake, which also features Rainn Wilson, Dan Byrd, and John Cusack.

The teaser bowed at this year’s Comic-Con, during a panel in which Flynn reflected on the show’s long journey to the small screen. “Even though I started this project almost seven years ago, trying to get it made, it never felt more resonant than now,” Flynn told the virtual crowd. “We’re all seeking answers, doubting answers, asking questions — not sure up and down — and also that feeling that we are on the edge of something very dark. Wanting to be saved, wanting people to come in and find the answers and do something.”

You can watch the full panel below. Utopia’s premiere date has yet to be announced.

Over a dozen years ago, fans of Philip Pullman’s three-part His Dark Materials series were met with great disappointment, when the blockbuster movie adaptation that was supposed to launch a franchise — The Golden Compass, featuring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig — never made it past book one. That left fans, as well the film’s child hero Lyra, hanging. Second time’s the charm, though: Pullman’s books proved a better fit as prestige television, and the trailer for its second season shows HBO doing what a traditional Hollywood studio did not.

The HDM trailer was one of many to debut at this year’s at-home Comic-Con, and it shows Lyra, the boarding school-raised adventurer played by Logan’s Dafne Keen, and her weasel daemon as they step foot in Cittàgazze, a mysterious abandoned city where she befriends a boy, Amir Wilson’s Will, who’s also left his home world. We see some old faces, among them baddie Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson) and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s balloonist Lee Scoresby.

One character you won’t see again is James McAvoy’s villainous Lord Asriel, who was responsible for Lyra entering Cittàgazze in the first place. For that you can blame the coronavirus: As per Deadline, McAvoy was scheduled to appear in a single standalone episode centered on his character, in a story that does not feature in the book it’s based on, The Subtle Knife. Alas, they were one day into shooting when the United Kingdom officially went into lockdown.

Fortunately, everything the show needed for the rest of the season was in the bag, though that does mean Season 2 will be seven episodes and not eight, as planned. On the plus side, the next season introduces explorer and good guy John Parry, played by Andrew Scott, and Fleabag‘s “Hot Priest” is always welcome.

You can watch the full panel below, and though no premiere date has yet been made, it’s believed Season 2 will bow in the fall.

(Via Deadline)

Anti-maskers have been passing around a bogus letter they claim is from the Centers for Disease Control that says the organization “does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirator mask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including coronavirus (COVID-19).”

The document also claims that N95 masks are “designed and approved for sterile environments” and that they clog “quickly” rendering them “useless.”

It also says that if you come in contact with the virus the mask “traps it” and you “become a walking virus dispenser.”

The letter looks official because it’s printed on what appears to be CDC letterhead.

However, it is hard to read and littered with typographical errors.

via Facebook

Dr. Jason McKnight with the Texas A&M School of Medicine told KTBX why the documents is obviously fake and how to identify other misinformation campaigns online.

“One, there are very vague terms. Another thing is, if you look and actually read the context or the content, there are a lot of grammar issues and a lot of misspelled words,” said McKnight.

He also said the letter was filled with falsehoods.

“As far as the surgical masks go, there’s a big falsehood in this document. It says they’re useless after 20 to 30 minutes and they’re only meant to be used in a sterile environment. That’s not exactly true either. They do serve some purpose outside of an operating room and they can be used for way longer than 20 to 30 minutes,” said McKnight.

The CDC has also spoken out about the letter.

“CDC typically does not issue guidance or recommendations to the public in such a format,” an agency spokesperson told The Daily Beast. It also noted that the letter being shared on social media is a printed notice, something the CDC doesn’t do.

“CDC’s guidance and recommendations are distributed on the agency’s website, officials social media accounts, and through news media,” a spokesperson added.

The CDC’s website recommends that people should wear masks and that they are safe and effective.

“To reduce the spread of COVID-19, CDC recommends that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings when around people outside of their household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain,” the site reads.

At a time when there is a deadly virus running rampant, hoaxes like the fake CDC letter can kill people. Those that believe the letter and stop wearing a mask can either die of COVID-19 or unknowingly spread it to someone who does.

That’s why it’s so important for people to call out fake documents and conspiracies. The more people that fall for fake information the more will get sick and the longer we’ll have to live on lock down.

So if you see something fake being posted online, tell the poster to take it down or report them to content moderators so the misinformation doesn’t spread like the virus we’re trying to contain.

Disney just waved a white flag of surrender as the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down.

After several delays, Mulan has been officially pulled from Disney’s release schedule, which means the remake of the animated classic will not be testing the waters as the first major blockbuster to open in August. The move is not entirely unexpected, considering it arrives just a few days after Warner Bros. blinked and postponed the release of Tenet without providing a future date. Like Mulan, the Christopher Nolan film was also set to premiere in August. Via Deadline:

“Over the last few months, it’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it comes to how we release films during this global health crisis, and today that means pausing our release plans for ‘Mulan’ as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world,” a Disney spokesperson said.

Additionally, Disney also pushed back the release date for all of its upcoming Star Wars and Avatar films. Each installment in those franchises have been pushed back exactly one year, which makes the current Avatar release schedule as follows:

December 6, 2022 – Avatar 2
December 22, 2023 – Untitled Star Wars: Part 1
December 20, 2024 – Avatar 3
December 19, 2025 – Untitled Star Wars: Part 2
December 18, 2026 – Avatar 4
December 17, 2027 – Untitled Star Wars: Part 3
December 22, 2028 – Avatar 5

In the meantime, Disney has notably not altered the release dates for its upcoming Marvel films Black Widow and The Eternals. Presently, Black Widow is set to debut in November after abandoning its April release date, but should that film be delayed again, it would almost certainly push The Eternals further into 2021.

Given Disney waited just a few weeks before Mulan‘s release to move its premiere, it stands to reason that the studio is waiting to see if conditions improve before making a similar decision for Black Widow.

(Via Deadline)

We live in a world of hype. A world where whoever yells the loudest gets the most attention. This is especially true in the beer world. Whatever brands your social media is flooded with are likely the first beers you’ll go out and buy. Or it’ll be the brands you know. Maybe you’ve gone deeper and read our lists of “the best summer beers” and the “juiciest hazy beers” — but even those can’t account for the whole, sprawling craft beer industry.

When you’re reaching for a beer, it’s hard not to get lost in the aisle or caught in the hype machine. That’s why it’s so fun to turn the whole concept of buzz on its head and talk about under-hyped beers. And today, we’re going to kick that off by highlighting underrated IPAS.

“It seems that so many breweries make too many beers today,” says Jeremy Allen, beverage director of MiniBar Hollywood in Los Angeles, when asked what leads to a beer getting too much love. “Liking one beer from a brewery doesn’t mean you will like their others. Just because they make one good one doesn’t mean their others are any good.”

The key — according to Allen (and us) — is to broaden your beer sipping horizons. Always explore new or underrated brews. To help you do this, we asked some of our favorite bartenders to tell us the underrated and under-hyped beers they love most.

Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing

Alfredo Arroyo, bartender at Joe’s Café in Santa Barbara, California

The most underrated IPA in my opinion is Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing. It’s a great IPA taking the world by storm and it’s hazy, juicy, and refreshing.

Civil Society Juice

Melissa Reigle, beverage manager and head bartender at Byblos in Miami

Civil Society Brewing in the northernmost reaches of South Florida and the Treasure Coast kills it. They can a lot of IPA’s, but the most iconic is Juice. Loads of orange, tangerine, grapefruit, a bit mango and pineapple give this IPA a very South Florida feel. A little dank pine gives this IPA a nice, dank, resin note.

Round, cloudy, and medium-bodied, Juice embodies the best of a quintessential South Florida IPA.

Goose Island IPA

Reniel Garcia, bar director of Havana 1957 in Miami

Goose Island. Fruity hops are lively and playful, making for an interesting take on American IPA. A fun beer to drink. The flavors worked well together, and the beer was not overly bitter.

An overall great hoppy beer with a touch of malt that is well balanced with the hops flavor and moderate bitterness.

Funky Buddha Hop Gun IPA

Nestor Marchand, director of food and beverage at Plunge Beach Resort in Lauderdale, Florida

Okay, If I have to pick, Funky Buddha Hop Gun IPA is approachable and local to south Florida. Other than that, it’s well-hopped and full of bold, refreshing citrus.

3rd Planet Dank Side of the Moon

Shawn Brown, general manager of Wine World in Miramar Beach, Florida

3rd Planet’s Dank Side of the Moon. It’s a great name and great packaging on a New England-style IPA. As it gets greater distribution more people will enjoy the good value of this IPA.

Founders All Day IPA

Seamus Gleason, bartender at Hotel Jackson in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Founders All Day IPA. It’s not drowned in hops and has just the right amount of citrus to give it the grip an IPA needs. Plus, it’s low in alcohol and highly crushable.

Rockwell Velour Tracksuit

Kurt Bellon, general manager and beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis

Velour Tracksuit from Rockwell Beer in St. Louis is my go-to these days. Stylish and smooth like velvet (almost), it’s as definitely as comfy as its namesake.

2nd Shift Art of Neurosis

Tim Wiggins, co-owner and beverage director of Retreat Gastropub in St. Louis

2nd Shift Art of Neurosis is my favorite IPA. 2nd Shift in St. Louis makes some of the better IPA’s in the country and AON is one of my favorites of theirs. It is strong and piney without being thick and sweet and reeks of dank Simcoe hops.

Fremont Lush

Jeremy Allen, beverage director of MiniBar Hollywood in Los Angeles

Trust me, it is part of my job to drink bad beers. This is seemingly not so with Fremont Brewing, so far I have been pleasantly surprised to be on a streak with their IPAs. Current favorite is the Lush IPA and the Space Danger IPA.

Writer’s Pick:

Revolution Anti-Hero

This super hoppy IPA is full of the likes of Chinook, Warrior, Centennial, and Amarillo hops. Yet even with all of the floral hops included, it manages to be well-round, clean, crisp, and highly drinkable.