It’s preview season galore, folks! As CinemaCon wraps up, we’ve managed to get a juicy first look at all the highly-anticipated films that are coming our way soon.
From the third instalment of the much-beloved “Avatar” franchise, to James Gunn’s “Superman”, here’s only a tip of the proverbial iceberg of what’s to come.
First Look At “Avatar: Fire And Ash”
We all know that real art takes time to make, and it’s a stressful endeavour, but the end result validates all that hard work. With all the time James Cameron has placed into creating the “Avatar” franchise, it is nothing short of a masterpiece – something a select few were able to bear witness to at CinemaCon recently.
At this exclusive event, Cameron showcased what is the first clip of the much-anticipated third instalment of the franchise. According to reports, the footage showcased the two new tribes of Pandora: the Ash People, a clan that has “forsaken” Eywa, the deity of the Na’vi, and the Wind Traders, a group of Na’vi who traverse Pandora through massive ships pulled by giant sails and flying turtle-like creatures.
Of course, we get to see some familiar faces, such as Jake Sully (played by Sam Washington) and Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldaña). The brief footage ends with the Ash People attacking Neytiri with a wave of flaming arrows. The assailants live up to their name as they are seen donning red headdresses with ash smudged across their faces. The scene culminates with Jake telling Neytiri that “We cannot live like this, baby. We cannot live with this hate,” before showcasing various scenes of the Sully family in danger.
In a brief video message from New Zealand, where he’s finishing up post-production, Cameron said that “this sucker is coming out like a freight train.” For those who haven’t kept up with the narrative of the film, the “Titanic” director envisioned the story as violent and emotionally devastating. He reasons that “Fire and Ash” is the most apt subtitle, as ashes are often the end result of wars and conflicts.
“It took a long time to come up with a title that I felt resonated with what’s in the film. I don’t think I could say too much about it until you actually see the film and you see what it means, but if you think of fire as hatred, anger, violence, that sort of thing, and ash is the aftermath. So what’s the aftermath? Grief, loss, right? And then what does that cause in the future? More violence, more anger, more hatred. It’s a vicious cycle.” — James Cameron
He went on to add in a later interview that he isn’t afraid to bring the narrative and its characters into far darker territory, as that’s also something that the people want. Furthermore, he elaborated that he is willing to push the characters past their breaking point, perhaps beyond their limits. However, the director reassured us that the possibility of it returning to a “glorious, grand adventure” is still within the realm of possibility.
If you’d like to watch the preview, you unfortunately have to wait a little longer, as the brief segment has yet to be shared anywhere else. Many speculate it will drop within a week, but there has been no basis for that claim as of yet. The best we can do is keep our eyes peeled for it and get pumped for the film’s full release later this December.
DC Shares Sneak Peek Of James Gunn’s “Superman”
Dog owners know how very affectionate man’s best friend truly are. Their form of play often comes about in the form of roughhousing, at times unintentionally hurting their owners. It’s that sort of playful innocence that many people fall in love with, something James Gunn perfectly captures in a quick preview of the upcoming “Superman”
Unlike the aforementioned “Avatar”, DC was kind enough to publicly share a small taste of what is to come in the highly-anticipated superhero reboot. In the sneak peek, we see the iconic visual that has been the main highlight of the upcoming film: Superman battered and crash-landed into the Arctic. After somewhat getting his bearings, Clark Kent spits out blood and whistles for his trusty dog Krypto. The hyperactive pup is in the mood to play, pouncing on (and inadvertently hurting) the man of steel. When he realises that his owner isn’t reciprocating his energy, Krypto quickly pauses and follows Superman’s request to bring him home.
As he is being drawn to the Arctic expanse, a massive pillar of ice emerges from the ground, giving us our first look into the Fortress of Solitude. There the two are greeted by the robot servants who stand guard, and who immediately bring in Superman for healing. We get to see how badly beaten our favourite Kryptonian really is and how a quick blast of yellow sunlight patches up his wounds (quite painfully, we might add). After that, the clip returns to the standard trailer that we’ve seen so far, with a notable difference being Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor saying “He’s back” with an earphone connected to his ear, suggesting that whatever roughed up Superman must be under his command.
We went into detail about the reasoning behind Krypto’s inclusion as well as his significance in this article. However, it has not been confirmed if Krypto will have more scenes in this film, or if he’ll have any more contribution to the plot. There is a possibility that he was simply added for this one scene, but we really wish that isn’t the case.
What we do know about the film is that the conflict will largely revolve around Luthor’s attempts at defeating Superman. David Corenswet, the actor for the Man of Steel, is said to be up against “robots and monster babies and giant kaiju” and more, according to Gunn. However, the director reassured us it will still feature a lot of grounded, real relationships, particularly the dynamic between Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane.
If we were to speculate on the central theme of the film, we believe it will focus on the personal relationships Superman has. Though he is virtually invincible, he can still be wounded and hurt, and it is his bonds that help him get through and overcome them. We believe that this key hint lies in the trailer, as rather than showcasing massive monster beatdowns like previous Superman movies before this, we see that the trailer highlights Kent’s bonds, particularly that with his adoptive father Johnathan Kent, girlfriend Lois Lane, pet Krypto, and friends such as Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, and Guy Gardner Green Lantern. We won’t know for sure though until the film’s release on 11th July.
