Marvel Phase 4  has been announced at San Diego Comic Con and we are ecstatic! The next phase of the latest set of Marvel films introduces us to five new series on Disney’s upcoming streaming service, Disney+, a new Blade, as Mahershalah Ali has been cast in the role of the half-vampire superhero, sequels to Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Doctor Stranger, Guardians of The Galaxy, and Thor, movies based on The Eternals, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and the Fantastic Four, and mutants finally joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

The blerd in us is screaming at the above mentioned news as even more superheroes are coming to the screen. The Disney+ shows will feature shows based on Hawkeye, Captain America & Falcon, Loki, The Scarlet Witch & Vision (WandaVision), and What If? The latter will be animated and is based off the line of Marvel Comics of the same name showing what would happen if certain heroes or villains made other decisions in events, instead of what we originally saw play out.

The news of Mahershalah’s casting as Blade is genius. He has the look, build, and acting chops to be the vampire bad ass we grew to know and love in the late nineties and early 2000s. His inclusion with Doctor Strange shows Marvel is definitely including the supernatural and more magic in their roster. This is not Mahershalah’s first bout in the MCU, however, as he portrayed the crime lord, Cottonmouth in Netflix’s Luke Cage during its first season. In other casting news for Marvel, Natalie Portman has been cast as the female Thor! As you may recall, a couple of years ago in the comics Thor became unworthy to wield Mjolnir and Jane Foster (Natalie’s character, and Thor’s original love interest) was worthy and became the new Thor! This should all play out in Thor: Love & Thunder! Perhaps there will be a love triangle between he, Valkyrie, and Jane–if the former is not cast completely as a lesbian, but bisexual instead.

We are not surprised to hear that Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Doctor Stranger, Guardians of The Galaxy, and Thor are getting sequels. Each of these characters are now headliners in the MCU, especially with the retirement of Captain America (Steve Rogers) and the demise of Iron Man and Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame. Black Widow’s standalone film will be a prequel and The Eternals is a new film altogether that may explain Thanos’ origins and introduce us to characters like Mentor (Thanos’ father), Eros (Thanos’ brother), and Sersi. The latter two are know Avengers in the comics.

Perhaps the most anticipated news of the new phase is the mention of the Fantastic Four being introduced, along with the introduction of mutants. Retconning the Fantastic Four’s origins and adding them to the MCU should be easy. The mutants, however, are a different thing. Even if mutants are just now being discovered, how do we explain older mutants like Wolverine, Magneto, and Professor X sitting out the cataclysms the Avengers have protected the world from? All in all, we are so excited about the future of the MCU! What do you guys think? Sound off in the comments section below.

Amazing, entertaining, breathtaking, and captivating were all the words used to describe Disney’s animated classic, The Lion King, and now they ring more true for its latest live action remake! Mufasa, Simba, Nala, Scar, Timon, and Pumbaa are all back and REAL. The story is still largely the same, but our characters have more depth and soul thanks their all too realistic hair and skin. Simba (Donald Glover/Childish Gambino), a young lion cub and the rightful king of The Pridelands must overcome the fear and demons of his past to save his kingdom and stop his treacherous uncle, Scar, from destroying the Circle of Life and his late father, Mufasa’s, legacy.

Disney has definitely been on it with its live action remakes, but The Lion King, in particular holds a special place in the hearts of so many. Remaking it only would prove challenging with bringing this animated world to life, while re-captivating the magic of the original animated film. The voice actors for the characters truly accomplished this by combining elements of the original film, the Broadway musical, and new layers to characters like Nala (Beyonce) and Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor),  and Shenzi; (Florence Kasumba) and expanded roles for Sarabi (Alfred Woodard) and Zazu. Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) are as hilarious as ever, in many ways reminding us of now grown fans of the film just how sarcastic we have become when it comes to the world. This is truly a film your entire family must see and bond over. Selfless duty, nobility, justice, and responsibillity are just a few life lessons The Lion King has to teach a new generation. Be the kings–and queens–we know you all are and support this film!

Grade: A-

What We Liked

-The computer generated characters are so realistic we felt as if we were watching a scene from National Geographic Explorer!

-The expounded roles of various characters. Learning why Scar hates Mufasa and wanted to be king, seeing how and why Nala bravely left to find help, and even Zazu proving to be a brace and loyal servant.

-The atmosphere and setting of the film truly bring the Motherland to life. You feel as though you are right there in the savanna, desert, and jungle with the characters.

-Meeting new characters in Timon & Pumbaa’s jungle. They were so cute and funny; and made those bugs look delicious. “Slimy, yet satisfying!”

–Beyonce is pretty good as a voice actress. She brought a sweetness coupled with sheer toughness to Nala’s expanded role.

What We Loved

Mufasa

-“Can You Feel The Love Tonight” is just as magical and romantic as it was when Elton John first wrote it. Beyonce and Donald Glover definitely did it justice.

-The exquisiteness of the detail in every scene and every movement of the characters. This is indeed breaking edge cinematic technology. There should definitely be a live action remake of The Lion King 2 with Kiara and Kovu’s story.

-Mufasa is still voiced by James Earl Jones. We could not imagine this iconic Disney character being voiced by anyone else.

-Scar’s design. He was ugly and looked like a scrawny, diseased ridden lion.

What We Hated

-“Be Prepared” and “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” are lackluster in this rendition. Here the original animated scenes fared far better.

Disney dropped some amazing news when the company announced, Halle Bailey, half of the R & B singing duo, discovered by Beyonce, Chloe x Halle, has been casted as “Ariel” in the live action The Little Mermaid remake. The reception to this news has been greatly positive with many stating as a fictional character, Ariel is not a real person, leaving the actress who would portray her open to interpretation. However, other fans of the original movie feel otherwise–becoming quite hateful with their rebukes of the live action reboot!

Check out a few of the tweets below:

pic.twitter.com/pv2mvaHBAE

— Kiwi (@nicolekevin4) July 3, 2019

Thanks for ruining Ariel pic.twitter.com/6URa3oYTGe

— △⃒⃘ Lee Rose △⃒⃘ (@KikeSalazar) July 3, 2019

And black trans for play Snow-White pic.twitter.com/oAkyDRxchX

— Senateur Mc Carthy (@_SlayerSJW) July 4, 2019

The mermaid is white period.

— manulazar (@manulazar) July 3, 2019

pic.twitter.com/jCw0LyErJv

— SASSSSSAS (@SzS1998SzS) July 4, 2019

Ariel is a ginger. Oh that doesn't matter now? OK.
Can't wait to see Tiana played by a blue-eyed, blonde actress.

This isn't a "re-imagining". It's a SHIT VERSION to appeal to SJWs. Well, good luck with that. 'cause I'm not spending my money on this shit, Disney. pic.twitter.com/2d7SPPYujB

— David Baptista da Silva (@DBaptistaSilva) July 3, 2019

As much hate as these racist comments and trolls gave, these was even more love from Black Twitter and many media outlets praising Disney for their diversity casting. Halle will star alongside Melissa McCarthy who has been tapped to play the sea witch, Ursula; and Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina to play Flounder and Scuttle, respectively. What do you guys think of Disney’s casting decision for The Little Mermaid. Are you down for our next trip “Under The Sea?”