Month: July 2022

There are a ton of do-gooders in the ever-expanding MCU. Meanwhile, over at its DC counterpart, things are a little gloomier. There’s the Suicide Squad and its revolving door cast of expendable antiheroes. Even Batman and Superman have their dark sides. And this fall there will be Black Adam, the reluctantly powerful super-being played by Dwayne Johnson, whose new trailer stresses that he could go either way.

The latest sneak peek bowed at this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, and it provides the first extensive look at Johnson’s hulking antihero. Black Adam was first referenced (and briefly seen) in Shazam!, but now we see he’s pretty much the exact opposite of Zachary Levi’s goofball alter ego.

“My powers are not a gift, but a curse,” Johnson’s character broods in the trailer, filled with the requisite fights, explosions, and Earth-ending threats. Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate is there to try to coax him to save the world, not destroy it. “The world needed a hero. Instead it got me.”

Johnson himself was there at Comic-Con, and he made quite an entrance in Hall H, emerging from a massive screen of electric bolts to suddenly appear in the flesh.

Black Adam hits theaters on October 21. You can watch the latest sneak peek in the video above.

It was subtitled Endgame, but that doesn’t mean it was the end. The last Avengers movie closed things out with a bang, and in turn became the second highest grossing ever made (not adjusted for inflation). Since then, the MCU has gotten ever more complicated, with new characters, the addition of TV shows, and that dang multiverse. But Kevin Feige and company haven’t forgotten about bringing the team together.

At this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios announced two new Avengers movies, which will be released about six months apart in 2025. They already have titles, too: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (set for May 2, 2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars (November 7 of the same year). The pair will close out Phase 6 of the MCU. (For reference, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will bring to an end Phase 4.)

Who or what is Kang? It’s the time-traveling baddie Jonathan Majors plays in the forthcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which isn’t due in theaters till February. A version of the character was also mentioned in Loki. Secret Wars, meanwhile, almost certainly involves writer Jonathan Hickman’s comics run of the same name from 2015 through the following year, which involved lots of multiverse madness (and which was in fact directly referenced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness).

Endgame brought an end to the runs of numerous Avengers. By the time Kang Dynasty arrives, some new ones will have joined the gang, including Blade, the Thunderbolts, and the latest attempt to give the Fantastic Four a proper movie, which has not always been easy.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

The first day of Rolling Loud’s 2022 Miami Festival was a bit rocky for a couple of reasons. First, Kanye West, who was supposed to headline the first day but canceled at the last second, still appeared at the show as a guest during Lil Durk’s set. Elsewhere, Kid Cudi made an early exit from his headlining slot after fans refused to stop throwing objects at him. Day two proved to be a bit better, and the highlight of the day came when Future brought out Travis Scott to perform some songs during his headlining slot.

The two kicked things off with a performance of “Hold That Heat,” a record by producer Southside that both Future and Travis guest featured on. Elsewhere, Travis also performed “Goosebumps,” and he seemed extremely happy to be back performing on the big stage during it. Travis even lent some vocals to Future as he performed “March Madness.”

Travis’ surprise Rolling Loud appearance comes after the festival denied that he was banned from the Miami show. Furthermore, a spokesperson for Rolling Loud said that the festival even tried to have Travis headline the show, but it proved to be too difficult to do with too little time. “We reached out to Travis to headline Rolling Loud, but it couldn’t work in such a short time,” the spokesperson said. “This had nothing to do with any restrictions from the hosting venue Hard Rock Stadium.”

You can watch videos from Travis’ surprise appearance above.

How do you continue a franchise without its star? How do you carry on after an unexpected death? These are the questions hanging over Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the sequel to the game-changing Marvel smash, perhaps the MCU’s most acclaimed entry. It was made after the passing of Chadwick Boseman, and it required some dramatic reworking since its titular hero was no longer with us (and, of course, would not be recast). Judging from its first teaser, it will in no way ignore the loss.

The trailer dropped at San Diego Comic-Con, and it’s a bittersweet affair, anchored in grief. We see returning faces — Angela Bassett’s Queen Mother Ramonda, Letitia Wright’s Shuri, Danai Gurira’s Okoye, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia — but they’re reflective, staring weightily at something off-screen, bathed in gorgeous, natural light. Eventually we see him: T’Challa’s face on a mural. And we know that he’s gone but not forgotten.

But they can’t mourn forever. There’s a new threat: an underwater people led by Namor (Tenoch Huerta), who force them to rise to battle. Action gradually takes over the teaser, even as the characters are steeped in mourning. It’s a beautiful tribute to the late star, and even at two minutes it might be the most visually ravishing thing the MCU has yet produced.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11. You can watch the teaser in the video above.

A prevailing narrative, that has often been proven true, is that good music will successfully “un-cancel” an artist. Anyone can make a problematic statement or do something off-putting, but as long as the hits keep rolling in, they can continue on a somewhat normal path to stardom. DaBaby learned in 2021 that that may not be the case in his situation. The rapper was set to debut his own Burger King meal collaboration but revealed in a recent trip to Full Send Podcast that the fast food powerhouse halted the effort after his homophobic comments at Rolling Loud Miami 2021.

In a clip posted to Twitter, the “Suge” artist shares that the “Jonathan Kirk Meal,” titled after his real name to push forward the authenticity of Burger King’s ingredients, was well underway. “I shot a commercial for it and everything,” he told the Kyle Forgeard Full Send co-hosts. However, the planning for it occurred right around the controversial Rolling Loud set that turned many against him and Burger King pulled the plug.

Though the rapper appeared to have come to terms with it, speaking on the matter a year later, there was an air of dismissiveness in his tone that matches the many defenses he made for his actions following the festival. For those curious about the meal itself, DaBaby shared that he insisted the burger had no mayonnaise to which a few of the Full Send co-hosts enthusiastically added their disdain for the condiment.

Check out the clip of DaBaby’s Full Send Podcast interview above.

DaBaby was deemed charismatic and personable at the onset of his mainstream consciousness. His fun rap songs matched his silly demeanor and southern drawl. Most of all, he simply didn’t say anything off-putting that would offend a large community of people. That changed last year at Rolling Loud 2021, when he made multiple homophobic comments and surprised attendees by bringing out Tory Lanez, who has been all but blackballed after his ongoing legal battle with Megan Thee Stallion. DaBaby’s reputation continually soured as he double down on both actions and his recent comments about Donald Trump in his July 22 appearance on Full Send Podcast may not help his case.

The show’s host Kyle Forgeard asked the “Rockstar” rapper how he feels about the former United States President, to which DaBaby emphatically replied “Do I f*** with Trump? Now, hell yeah.” Forgeard followed up by asking “What made you f*** with him?” and the North Carolina artist answered with “Trump is a gangsta. N**** let Kodak out,” in reference to Trump pardoning Florida rapper Kodak Black on his final day in office.

Forgeard and his co-host added how Trump also pardoned Lil Wayne, to which DaBaby expressed relief. He pivoted his commentary to the media, saying “Media make an ant look like a f***** dinosaur.” The Full Send hosts then asked if he saw their interview with Donald Trump on the show which was deleted just 12 hours after its release.

Image repair doesn’t seem to be on DaBaby’s agenda, so time will tell what these comments add to his currently negative perception.

Check out the clip of DaBaby’s interview with Full Send Podcast above.

Trae Young and John Collins are the latest NBA players to make an appearance at the Drew League. While their future as NBA teammates is in flux due to Collins’ name seeming to come up in trade rumors all the time, the pair joined forces for a run in the legendary southern California summer pro-am for Black Pearl Elite’s game against the Citi Team Blazers.

Young and Collins are one of the best lob combinations in the NBA, with Young serving as one of the league’s most creative passer and Collins holding the distinction of one of basketball’s most explosive big men. From early on in the evening, we got to see the pair tap into this, as Young got out ahead of the the play after a turnover, went off the glass, and set up Collins for an easy two points.

Collins even had some impressive moments below the rim, including this cheeky layup through contact.

Young was fully in his bag while playing in the Drew, showing off the combination of deep range, tight handles, and sensational passing that has turned him into the centerpiece of what the Hawks are building in Atlanta.

His gravity as a scorer set up a trip to the free throw line for Collins, too.

Getting fouled was hardly a unique thing for Collins on the evening.

But despite this, Young, Collins, and BPE were unable to pick up a win, as the Blazers led wire-to-wire for a 103-100 victory.

These days, bold predictions and music releases go hand in hand. Bold predictions about music the world has yet to receive also go hand in hand, and heighten the excitement and anticipation for what has not yet been released. Now, is the prediction really that bold if it has to do with Beyonce? Well, take that up with Nathan Hubbard, the former Ticketmaster CEO, who is planting his “album of the year” flag firmly on the forthcoming Renaissance for 2022.

In a tweet yesterday, Hubbard said “I’ve heard enough. Album of the year:” and listed his choices in order. The Lemonade artist’s upcoming album coming July 29 was deemed the winner, followed by Kendrick Lamar for May’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, The 1975 for their forthcoming October album Being Funny In A Foreign Language and Brent Faiyaz for his July release Wasteland.

In a follow-up tweet, he listed the number five but instead of offering a name or album, Hubbard simply said “Yes *she* is releasing something.” It is unclear who the mystery woman is, but clearly her project is good enough for Nathan Hubbard to also stamp her release as top five among a strong slate of music in 2022, both what has already been released or is set to come out.

As if anticipation isn’t already high enough for Queen Bee and The 1975, now, those who take Hubbard’s word at face value, will have a guessing game to play for another potentially groundbreaking 2022 album.

Check out Nathan Hubbard’s 2022 album rankings tweet above.

Kendrick Lamar has provided multiple headline-worthy moments over the last few weeks since embarking on The Big Steppers Tour. Whether it was his crown of thorns and advocacy for women’s rights at Glastonbury Festival 2022 or vaudeville at a more recent concert, he has left the people with plenty to talk about beyond the music. This past weekend, the Compton rapper showed just how emotional his music can make the listeners as a show attendee film a security guard crying during a Lamar set.

The TikTok, posted to Twitter, shows the security guard standing to the side of the stage Lamar is performing atop. As the video zooms, the guard can be seen wiping tears from his eyes and joining the “Silent Hill” artist in singing the line “I’m like a exit away” from “Love” featuring Zacari. The song, one of the more endearing records from the Pulitzer Prize-winning album Damn from 2017, understandably has that effect on those who hear it but the conviction in which the security guard sang it shows there may have been a deeper effect on him than most.

Music is beautiful, after all, and no one should run from the emotions it evokes. Obviously, the security guard was on the job and could not run, but the sentiment remains the same.

Check out the video of the security guard crying during Kendrick Lamar’s performance above.

Hailee Steinfeld keeps herself pretty busy, whether it is on the film, television or music side. However, some fans have been patiently–or not so patiently–awaiting more music and it appears their prayers may be answered in a major way. Yesterday (July 22), the 25-year-old announced her next single “Coast” will arrive next Friday (July 29) and features Anderson .Paak.

The pop singer shared the information in a multi-photo Instagram post showing her in a car’s rearview mirror, a man’s tattooed arm, and a necklace reading the song’s title. The caption read “If you’ve been with me for a while you know this has been a long time coming. If you’re new here…I’m about to release my first song in over a year (COAST • 7/29) with one of my favorite artists/someone I’m lucky to call a friend. He’s so sick!! And so is the song!! Bet!!!!”

Steinfeld then opened up the floor for her followers to guess, and today (July 23) they got their answer. Steinfeld took to Instagram once again to share the song’s cover art and feature, none other than Anderson .Paak. The moment is now even more exciting as the actress’s first solo release since the 2020 EP Half Written Story will feature one of the most highly coveted artists and instrumentalists who has been on quite a run himself since forming Silk Sonic with Bruno Mars.

Check out Hailee Steinfeld’s announcements for “Coast” above.

“Coast” is out 7/29 via Republic Records. Pre-order it here.