Anthon Mackie Captain America Chris Hemsworth Thor
Anthony Mackie as Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier courtesy of Disney+

We reveal our new cover, starring Aubrey Plaza; Chris Evans wants to make it very clear that he is not Captain America, but Anthony Mackie is; Chris Hemsworth’s younger brother Liam Hemsworth came very close to being cast as Thor; Thank God Judy Dench didn’t listen to that one naysaying director. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.

But First: Here is our new summer cover, featuring a lengthy interview with Aubrey Plaza, by yours truly. We talked about her past as a class clown, the week that changed her entire life, and her lead role in Emily the Criminal — and you can read it very soon. But for now, check out this cover, on newsstands soon and coming to MovieMaker subscribers within days.

Aubrey Plaza MovieMaker cover

Remembering Tony Sirico: Sopranos creator David Chase and stars Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti), Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante), Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi), and Jamie Lynn Sigler (Meadow Soprano) remembered their beloved castmate Tony Sirico (Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri) on Friday after his death at the age of 79. You can read their tributes here.

Chris Evans Sets the Record Straight: About who is going to play Captain America in Captain America 4.The Hollywood Reporter tweeted on Friday:” “It is unclear if Chris Evans would reprise his role as the first #CaptainAmerica (though if the question of who is entitled to carry the shield continues, all bets are off).” To which Evans responded: “Sam Wilson is Captain America.”

Background/Spoilers for Non-Nerds: Anthony Mackie plays Sam Wilson in the Marvel cinematic universe, and Sam Wilson was originally the flying hero known as the Falcon. Captain America passed him the shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but Wilson rejected it in Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, before finally realizing it was meant to be after a lot of stuff happened. So it’s not news that Mackie is Captain America — here he is talking about the moment he found out he would be the new Captain America on the Today show a year ago. The  news is Evans again making clear that he has no designs on returning as his Captain America, whatever THR may have imagined.

Thor Hemsworth: In case you forgot, Chris Hemsworth’s younger brother Liam Hemsworth almost got cast as Thor instead of him. That was previously discussed in an interview with Wired last month, in which Chris Hemsworth explained that he got the role in part because his younger brother had come extremely close but lost it because casting directors believed he was too young. “My manager then said, well he does have an older brother,” Chris Hemsworth said — and the rest is history.

More Hemsworth: Now, in a new interview with MensXP, the elder Hemsworth said that if the new Thor: Love and Thunder movie explored the multiverse — which it doesn’t — he would want Liam Hemsworth to play a Thor variant in an alternate universe. “My little brother almost got cast as Thor. He was one of the first people who got right down to the wire on getting the part so I don’t know, I could cross paths with him. That will be fun,” Chris Hemsworth said with a laugh.

Speaking of Thor: Thor: Love and Thunder earned $143 million at the box office this weekend, according to Variety. That’s $20 million more than Thor: Ragnarok‘s opening weekend, and it gave Thor: Love and Thunder the third-biggest opening weekend of the year behind Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, which earned $185 million, and Jurassic World Dominion, which earned $145 million.

Hooray for Dame Judy Dench: An interview she did with The Times UK is trending on Twitter today, specifically for an anecdote she told about a director at an audition in the 1960s who told her she would never make a movie because she had “the wrong face.” She said “That’s fine, I don’t like film anyway. I want to go back to the theatre.” Thankfully she later did try films again, and thank God she didn’t listen to that guy.

Anthony Mackie as Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier courtesy of Disney+

 

Mentioned This Article: