This article appears in the new issue of DEN OF GEEK magazine. You can read all of our magazine stories here. When Hostel director Eli Roth was cast as the Bear Jew in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009), fans were skeptical that he would be up to the task, considering his relative inexperience in front of the camera.  “At the time, people were saying, ‘Why is Tarantino casting Eli? He’s not an actor,’” Roth tells Den of Geek magazine. “And Tarantino is going, ‘Yes, he is. Wait until the movie comes out.’ Fifteen years later, the Bear Jew is a classic character. The…

This article appears in the new issue of DEN OF GEEK magazine. You can read all of our magazine stories here. During the earliest production stages of an animated movie, it is common to begin the process with a series of exploratory paintings. “They are abstract and loose and just delicious paintings,” says Chris Sanders, the director of films such as Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Croods. But something special happened during the production of Sanders’ latest film, The Wild Robot, while he was sitting in a meeting and being shown some of these conceptual paintings. “Someone pushed…

This article is nothing but non-stop Deadpool & Wolverine spoilers! A key appeal to Marvel movies remains their cameos, as anyone who recognizes Stan Lee’s million-dollar smile will tell you. But Deadpool & Wolverine takes it to another level, as one would expect for Wade Wilson’s first entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper. Deadpool doesn’t just drag Wolverine into the fray with him for this one. No, he is bringing the whole Fox X-Men universe along for the ride, or at least as many of the B-listers and off-shoots from thereabouts that only the most hardcore of nerds or…

When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem opened a year ago, it hit like a mutagen bomb. Despite our fab four characters of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael being around for decades—this year marks their 40th(!) anniversary—never before had anyone really thought about treating them like… teenagers. In the dizzyingly animated film, the characters were played by real adolescents like Nicolas Cantu (Leo), Micah Abbey (Donnie), Shamon Brown Jr. (Mikey), and Brady Noon (Raph). None of whom were old enough to vote when first stepping into the recording booth—a place where they recorded entirely together and in a style apropos…

This article contains Deadpool & Wolverine Spoilers. It’s something fans have waited 20 years for when it comes to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, even if they didn’t know it. No, not the costume. We always knew we wanted to see Jackman in that little yellow and blue number. And when the mask came on during the third act of Deadpool & Wolverine, the roof of my particular theater strained from the high-decibel cheers. As beautiful as that costume was while watching Wolverine go on a Madonna-scored berserker rage, we have seen Jackman’s most beloved onscreen character up to his knees in…

This post contains massive spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine. We all know how post-credit scenes work, right? Nick Fury shows up and recruits Tony Stark into the Avengers. Thanos grabs the Infinity Gauntlet and promises to do the dirty work himself. The Beast tends to the wounds of Monica Rambeau. These scenes are among the purest translations from the comics that inspired the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Comic books often feature interludes in which a shadowy figure appears in the background and laughs malevolently about their future plans, promising more exciting stories in the future. Even the dumbest post-credit scenes, such…

When Variety recently reported that Michael Bay and Adam Goodman are pursuing the development of TV and film projects based on Skibidi Toilet, you could practically hear the voices of everyone above the age of 25 or so cry out into the night “What is Skibidi Toilet and why is Michael Bay trying to make a movie about it?” It’s a valid question that has often been asked in slightly different forms by parents everywhere as they debate the long-term consequences of letting their kids roam the internet freely vs. the short-term benefits of having a little quiet time to…

This article appears in the new issue of DEN OF GEEK magazine. You can read all of our magazine stories here. Before he ever settled on a pitch to 20th Century Studios, Fede Alvarez invited close friends and colleagues, cinephiles, and horror connoisseurs, into his home. At this point in his career, the Uruguayan director had once already pulled off a magic trick by becoming the first person not named Sam Raimi to helm an Evil Dead movie. Miraculously, he was celebrated for that walk across cinematic holy ground. Now, Alvarez wanted to workshop an even more death-defying stunt. He was going to share…

This article is part of Collector’s Digest, an editorial series powered by: From out of the shadows of indie comic books to the bright lights of Hollywood, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one of the unlikeliest success stories in modern popular culture. Centered around juvenile ninjutsu masters Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello, plus their many friends and enemies, TMNT has outlived most other franchises from the 1980s. Its cultural dominance of 40 years is asserted across comics, cartoons, big-budget movies, and, of course, collectors’ shelves.  What has given the Ninja Turtles their lasting legs, aside from their intense training, is…

Alien: Romulus stalks the cover of Den of Geek magazine, bundled with a special edition packed with exclusives on Netflix’s Terminator Zero and the streamer’s animation slate Den of Geek to host invite-only parties, including a SpongeBob 25th anniversary bash in Bikini Bottom, a celebrity interview studio, fan meetups, and a live charity auction on eBay Live NEW YORK – JULY 24, 2024 – Den of Geek, the leading entertainment media company for pop culture enthusiasts, returns to San Diego Comic-Con with its biggest slate ever: four full days of parties, events, and activations, a special double issue of its…

The X-Men are dead. Well, the first set of movie X-Men, anyway. After decades of thrilling readers with soapy, intricate stories in the pages of Marvel Comics, the X-Men finally made it to the big screen with 2000’s X-Men. Despite its clear limitations, including unconvincing CGI and black leather instead of comics’ accurate costumes, X-Men set off a long and profitable franchise, one that stretches over 13 movies and 20 years. That run (kind of) came to an end after Disney purchased 20th Century Fox in 2019. While the Mouse was obligated to release a handful of more mutant movies…

This article appears in the new issue of DEN OF GEEK magazine. You can read all of our magazine stories here. Everybody knows Optimus Prime and Megatron are arch nemeses, and Transformers One director Josh Cooley used this knowledge to his advantage when making the fully animated origin story. The film is set on Cybertron before the Autobot-Decepticon Civil War ravaged the planet, and Optimus and Megatron—young miners called Orion Pax and D-16, respectively—are the furthest thing from mortal enemies: they’re brothers in arms. “The audience knows that they’re going to become enemies, so I wanted them to start their arc as best…

While Ryan Reynolds has gone on the record as far back as 2021 to state that his dream vision for a third Deadpool movie always involved a road trip story with Wade and Logan, the path to making Deadpool & Wolverine a reality was anything but a smooth ride. In fact, Reynolds spent a good deal of time pitching Marvel Studios on a number of alternate, divergent ideas for Deadpool 3… including a low-budget concept sans any big set pieces. And when we spoke to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige last week, the MCU impresario confirmed that a “Sundance” version…

In Star Trek: TNG episode “Captain’s Holiday”, how does Riker embarrass Picard on 'pleasure planet' Risa?Gets him to buy a souvenir that advertises the Captain’s sexual availabilitySwaps his swimming trunks for a child’s sizeTeaches him a saucy phrase in the local dialectWrites “I Heart Riker” on his back in sun lotionWhat’s the name of the resort in where Jennifer Grey’s character and her family spend the summer in Dirty Dancing (1987)?Kellerman'sRed OaksSteiner Mountain ResortCamp KrustyWhich 16-year-old US actor provided the voice of Erin in 1996 The Simpsons episode “Summer of 4’2”, in which Lisa gets popular while the family are…

From the very first scene, Wade Wilson is squatting in the grave of Wolverine and the X-Men cinematic universe he helped build. This is not a metaphor. The film literally opens with Ryan Reynolds’ crimson-clad dynamo six feet deep in the hole Hugh Jackman’s superhero was buried beneath at the end of Logan, desperate to resurrect the past—or at least exhume the corpse of it for a gag. It is not a metaphor, and yet it happily invites one all the same while watching Deadpool & Wolverine, the third fourth-wall-knocking laugher starring Reynolds and an endless barrage of dick jokes.…

This article contains spoilers for Twisters. What a way to end a movie! After surviving multiple major storms, corporate overlords, and fresh bouts of trauma, YouTube sensation Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) says goodbye to ambitious meteorologist Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) in the closing moments of Twisters. The latter is going to New York City where she hopes to get some ethical funding for her research that might have found a way to thwart tornadoes. Before Tyler and Kate say goodbye though, the two former rivals embrace one another in a long, soft kiss. They don’t let go after the kiss…

Here’s the thing about Deadpool: he knows that he’s in a movie. So he’s probably aware that his long-awaited first MCU entry Deadpool & Wolverine has finally been screened to critics and that those critics are sharing their thoughts about the movie on social media. But is he reading the tweets and jumping in joy or blowing himself up a la Deadpool 2? The studio betting big on the character’s latest theatrical outing is definitely hoping it’s the former. After the relative box office and critical failures of Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine is…

In the modern age of superhero movie domination, comic book-accurate portrayals are a basic expectation. Nowadays fans even get upset when an actor doesn’t have the right hair color or nationality as the character that they’re portraying. Those expectations weren’t nearly as prominent back when X2: X-Men United was released in 2003. But that didn’t stop Aaron Stanford from doing his best to do justice to St. John Allerdyce, the Aussie mutant better known as Pyro in the comics. “The movie Chopper had just come out and I loved Chopper, so I approached them with my best Mark Brandon Read…

This article appears in the new issue of DEN OF GEEK magazine. You can read all of our magazine stories here. Transformers One sheds light on the earliest era of Cybertronian history fans have seen yet. Set billions of years prior to the films, on Cybertron before it was ravaged by the Autobot/Decepticon Civil War, the story follows young miners Orion Pax and D-16, two best friends who are destined to become the bitter rivals we now know as Optimus Prime and Megatron. Adopting an American accent that renders him virtually unrecognizable on first listen, Chris Hemsworth lends his voice to the movie…

“It’s okay, baby,” Harley Quinn tells an agitated Joker at the end of the newest trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux. “Let’s give the people what they want.” What people want, apparently, is Harley Quinn herself. First introduced in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, Harley has grown to become one of the most popular characters in the DC Universe. Through most of her history, Harley has been the quintessential battered girlfriend, a woman who lost her own identity under that of her abusive, controlling boyfriend. Harley Quinn began as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum tasked…