‘Captain Marvel’ will be first Disney+ exclusive film

Marvel Studios

After Captain Marvel hits theatres next month, you won’t be able to re-watch it later on any other streaming service except for Disney’s upcoming Disney+ service. The company’s CEO Bob Iger announced at an investors call on February 5^th that Captain Marvel will be the first film to exclusively stream on its service. Disney also plans to drop its US$140 million licensing program so all its content will be made exclusive on its service. Iger is also saying that many of its sub-brands—which include Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm—are working on content specifically for Disney+. He even mentioned National Geographic, which Disney is in the process of acquiring as part of its purchase of 21^st Century Fox.

This move will not impact theatrical releases though, according to Iger. We also don’t have that many details about the service right now. But it’s expected to cost less than Netflix and come out sometime at the end of the year.

Source: Hypebeast

Is Marvel ready to make an R-rated ‘Black Widow’ film?

While Captain Marvel marks the first female-led movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, another longstanding member of the MCU might be making waves in her own way. Writer Charles Murphy from the comedy and music podcast The Hashtag Show tweeted that he once heard Marvel Studios thinking about making the Black Widow movie an R-rated film. But this could also stand for other Marvel films, too. He adds “I’m not saying it will be for sure (no way to know what they will settle on at this point), but they have recently said that R-rated MCU films ARE a possibility, so it is a possibility.”

The buzz around possibly having R-rated MCU films came when Disney announced its acquisition of 21^st Century Fox, and with the latter having already made more mature films for Marvel characters like Deadpool and Logan, it seems like something that could happen. We don’t know much about the Black Widow movie but it does currently have a female director in Cate Shortland, Scarlett Johansson will be reprising her role, and filming is expected to start this coming March. Release date is said to be 2020. It’s being rumoured that the film will be a prequel and will follow Natasha Romanoff (or Natalia Romanova) as she works as a spy for the KGB.

Source: Inquirer.net

CES 2019: Holoride looks to revolutionize in-car entertainment with VR

Trying to think about mixing virtual reality and real-life car rides seem like a recipe for disaster. Just thinking about it makes us slightly nauseous. But this is what Holoride and Audi (which has spun out the company from its operations) hope to change. The two offered an in-car VR experience at CES in partnership with Disney. Holoride and Audi let tech and motoring journalists try out a VR experience called Marvel’s Avengers: Rocket’s Rescue Run. The concept is to change in-car entertainment with the passengers inside an Audi e-tron strapped into a VR headset. The unique thing is the content replicates the movement of the car. So, if the car speeds up, so does the ship. If it turns, then the perspective shifts, too.

Holoride plans to release a software development kit so that developers and other automakers can create an experience of their own. The SDK will serve as the interface to the vehicle data and transfer those into virtual realities, allowing the developers to create games and movies that sync with the user’s motion in the car. According to Audi, even conventional movies, shows, or presentations can be viewed with less chance of motion sickness. The company aims to release VR entertainment on the market within the next three years using standard VR headsets for backseat passengers.

Source: Tech Crunch + VRFocus

Netflix teases 2nd season of ‘The Punisher,’ show said to be ‘coming soon’

And then there were two. And by this, we mean the last two Marvel TV shows on Netflix: Jessica Jones and The Punisher. While we don’t know the fate of the former, the latter is at least getting a second season. Netflix just teased the second season of The Punisher with a video of Castle burning the pardon he received at the end of the first season. This means he isn’t giving up his role as the Punisher. The streaming service didn’t say when it’s coming out and opted to just say “Coming Soon.” Will the show have a life on the service beyond the second season, we aren’t sure either. One by one, Netflix has been cancelling its Marvel shows, perhaps in response to Disney (Marvel’s parent company) putting up its own streaming service. We also don’t know if these shows will get a second life on Disney’s own service. Only time will tell at this point.

Source: The Verge