Marvel

Elizabeth Olsen has been real honest about her time with Marvel -- namely, feeling like she invested far too many years working for them -- and now ... she's hitting that point home.

The actress -- famous for playing Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch throughout the 'Avengers' movies -- got candid yet again this weekend in a sit-down interview with Meghann Fahy, as part of Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series. One quote of hers is getting a double-take online.

Fahy asks Olsen if she stays up at night missing Wanda -- or playing her, presumably -- and EO's reaction is telling. She says she doesn't ... but you gotta watch *how* she says it.

There's a little bit of sass and saltiness in her response, and you can tell she truly means it. As she goes on to explain, she's played that character for the better part of 10 years, and she's more than ready to put Wanda's stories on the bookshelf ... at least for now.

Olsen adds that she's proud of the work she did with Kevin Feige and co. ... and feels content with letting those projects speak for themselves -- including "WandaVision," which was a huge Disney+ hit that focused solely on her role, with a full-fledged backstory.

So, her take here seems to be two-fold -- yes, she's over it and has no desire to link up again anytime soon ... but also, she's grateful for the opportunity to have been a superhero.

BTW, her response here about missing Wanda is very much in line with other comments she's made of late about Marvel. She's been on the record over the past year or so -- via several outlets -- saying that she wishes she would've only given the Mouse House one year of her services as opposed to several ... as there were times she was frustrated.

She's said she felt, at times, like she missed out on other interesting opportunities -- remember, she comes from an indie film background -- that she might've liked to have pursued. But, because she was under contract with Marvel, she had to pass on 'em.

The new 'Spider-Man' movie went gangbusters at the box office this weekend -- hauling in a bundle ... and proving that having 2 studio parents for this IP might actually be best.

Of course, we're talking about "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" ... which took the top spot by a mile over the past three days -- with a final tally of about $120.5 million in ticket sales domestically. That's the 2nd best box office of 2023 ... behind 'Super Mario Bros.'

It's easily the money-maker of the summer thus far ... and the good news is that it exceeded expectations by a ton. 'Across the Spider-Verse' was projected to bring in just $80M-$90M ... but it blew well past that, and lands as one of the best-performing 'Spider-Man' flicks ever.

Not just that, but the reviews are off the charts ... with many calling it the best 'Spider-Man' installment and 'Spider-Man' story told in modern times. So, what do we make of all this???

There's a couple takeaways -- which Twitter seems to somewhat agree with -- and the first is ... Sony holding on to some of the 'Spider-Man' rights over the years has, perhaps, turned out to be for the best. Clearly, they partner with Marvel for all things Spidey ... but many say they've kept the character/IP grounded, despite Disney's overly-grand CBM aspirations.

The other fascinating element here is that Sony/Disney has been able to achieve true diversity in a character that has long been considered a typical white male in Peter Parker.

With the Miles Morales character -- who's Black/Puerto Rican -- there's a new face to Spider-Man (not to mention all the other Spider-Men in the movie) ... and there was little to no outrage over it. Of course, a lot of that might have to do with the fact that Miles and co. are comic canon ... so shout out to the writers who created these characters a long time ago!

It's interesting ... there've been a number of actors who've played Spider-Man (both live-action and animated) over the years -- but Tom Holland says Shameik Moore's Morales might, in fact, be the best out of all of them. He said as much anyway in a recent interview.

Ezra Miller may actually be back as The Flash soon enough, 'cause there's already a script for a would-be sequel ... which will presumably be activated based on how the 1st one does.

Variety reports that 'The Flash 2' is signed, sealed and delivered -- and on standby -- courtesy of "Aquaman" screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick ... noting Warner is inclined to use it if a sequel is greenlit, which we won't know until after "The Flash" debuts.

The outlet also goes on to say that Johnson-McGoldrick's script features continued cameos from Michael Keaton's Batman and Sasha Calle's Supergirl ... who are both in the upcoming flick. The word of mouth for 'Flash,' which is coming out in a couple weeks, is at peak levels right now ... with many hyping it as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time.

As for Ezra ... well, the director of "The Flash," Andy Muschietti, has already gone on the record to say he would recast them if a sequel was in the cards ... praising Ezra's work as Barry Allen as a one-of-a-kind performance that's made for them in any future installments.

The problem -- at least from some fans' POV -- is that Ezra is very problematic ... on account of all the crimes/misdeeds they've been alleged of carrying out over the past few years.

Just to name a few ... alleged assault, alleged grooming, alleged breaking and entering, alleged harassment ... among other things. Several of these incidents have resulted in arrests -- and wild police body cam footage too -- as well as a plea deal for at least one of these.

Of course, Ezra has also apologized for their erratic behavior ... and went on to cite mental health issues, as well as saying they'd seek the professional help they need to get better.

That ended up being good enough for Warner, which opted not to recast Ezra and move forward with the release of "The Flash" as is. Interestingly, Variety also reports that Ezra is going to skip all of the press ahead of the movie ... and will only make a brief appearance at the Los Angeles premiere the week of. Press for this movie, in general, has been virtually non-existent and it seems Warner will continue with that strategy ... opting instead for a bunch of ad buys and other promo, like screenings ... of which there's been several now.

Despite Ezra ducking their head and laying low ahead of "The Flash," the movie is projected to do pretty well at the box office -- at the moment, it's on track for a $75 mil opening.

Some are crying foul over Ezra getting this pass -- not to mention an almost guaranteed sequel -- and feel like they're being afforded an opportunity others who've been accused of wrongdoing, like Jonathan Majors, aren't enjoying. Granted, JM is with a different studio and hasn't lost his Marvel job just yet ... plus, his case is a bit different than Ezra's sitch.

Swae Lee's last journey through the Spider-Verse resulted in several diamond plaques -- a feat not lost on Metro Boomin, who just recruited the Rae Sremmurd rapper to lead the first soundtrack single of the new film "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse!!!"

On Wednesday, Metro lifted the veil off the animated visual for "Calling," a star-studded collab that also features Nav and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie.

Swae's melodic crooning kicks off the track as lead character Miles Morales doodles in his notebook ... and the vid later previews the latest version of popular character Gwen Stacy.

The film and soundtrack drop simultaneously on Friday ... and Metro has been slowly revealing the features on Instagram, just like he did with his chart-topping "Heroes & Villians" album last year.

So far, Metro has confirmed heavy hitters such as Lil Wayne, Future, Nas, 21 Savage, Coi Leray ... and the list goes on.

Post Malone thanked Swae for being the secret sauce behind their "Sunflower" collab from the last 'Spider-Verse' soundtrack when we last spoke to him.

Ray Stevenson, known for his work in 'Thor' and the "Star Wars" franchise, has died.

Ray's publicist confirms the news to TMZ, telling us he died Sunday -- they say they have no further details surrounding his death at this time.

Ray first broke into the world of acting in 1993, appearing in various episodes of TV before landing a role in the 1998 flick, "The Theory of Flight" ... where he played a gigolo tasked with helping Helena Bonham Carter's character lose her virginity.

He went on to appear in a bunch of projects like "The Book of Eli," "Rome," "The Other Guys," and "Kill the Irishman" -- all before landing the role of Volstagg in Marvel's "Thor" in 2011, returning to the series in 2 sequels as the years went on.

"Star Wars" fans remember Ray lending his voice to the character Gar Saxon -- appearing in "Rebels" & "The Clone Wars." He's also playing a separate character in the upcoming "Ahsoka" series, premiering later this year.

Apart from that, Ray's been featured in "Divergent," 9 episodes of "Dexter," "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," "Black Sails," and "Crossing Lines." He also played Scott Buxton in the recent Indian hit, "RRR."

Ray was 58.

Jonathan Majors is pretty clearly in a new relationship because he and Meagan Good were jetting off together ... looking affectionate.

Jonathan and Meagan were at LAX Saturday, arriving in the City of Angels after leaving NYC. They were holding hands and leaning in close as they walked to a white sedan on the tarmac.

The romance comes in the swirl of controversy surrounding Majors, who is accused of physical abuse by his ex ... something he strongly denies.

Majors was arrested on assault and aggravated harassment charges. His lawyers have called the arrest a "witch hunt" ... pointing to a video they released showing the alleged victim partying in a club and seemingly unbothered ... just after the alleged incident.

Issa Rae is over the moon she's making her big Marvel debut in the world of animation ... because she tells us she's been a big comic book head since she was a lil' kid!

We got Issa Thursday at LAX, and we talked about her getting her spidey senses flowing for the upcoming flick "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" -- something she's stoked about for a couple of reasons.

For those unaware, Issa's playing Jessica Drew -- another variant of Spider-Woman ... and even though a majority of the film's plot is kept under wraps, one thing about her character is certain -- she's fighting crime with a bun in the oven!

Issa's all about representation, but she has a word of warning for any pregnant ladies out there ... don't be fightin'! Regardless, she's all for the bigger message -- that women's lives don't need to be put on hold just because they're having a baby.

As Jonathan Majors continues to fight his DV case, it appears the internet has already settled on a possible replacement in the MCU ... another bad guy in a new superhero movie.

We're talking about Chukwudi Iwuji -- who made a splash this weekend in the third 'Guardians of the Galaxy' flick as the big bad, the High Evolutionary ... and who left audiences and comic book fans more than impressed with his epic performance.

While HE meets his grisly demise in the end (spoiler) ... a lot of folks on the bird app are nominating Iwuji as the next would-be Kang the Conqueror if things go south for JM.

There's chatter about how Iwuji's take on his supervillain is how Kang should've been portrayed in the 'Ant-Man' film that recently featured him ... namely, over the top and downright ruthless -- which is certainly how Iwuji's High Evolutionary comes across.

As the comparisons continue to fly ... a good handful of Twitter users are also straight-up saying Iwuji should be considered to step in as Kang if Disney decides to ultimately drop Majors -- which they have not done yet, and which may be premature at this point.

This "what if" speculation seems to be a mix of praise for Iwuji and jumping the gun on Majors' MCU future. Frankly, ever since he was arrested -- a lot of names have been floated as possible stand-ins ... but now, it would seem Iwuji's at the front of the line in fans' eyes.

Again ... there's been no indication from Disney that they're considering cutting Majors loose just yet -- despite the fact that he's been dropped from other projects and organizations.

As we've reported ... his team has repeatedly denied he did anything wrong from the beginning and has even suggested he was the victim here -- while also claiming to have evidence that they say will exonerate him. We've seen surveillance footage of the woman in question out partying after the alleged incident ... and she appears to be fine/uninjured.

Of course, he'll have his day in court soon enough. The guy's scheduled to appear before a judge on Tuesday -- where his team will undoubtedly push for the charges to be dropped.

Like everyone else, we're sure Disney will be monitoring ... as Majors is a key figure in their Marvel plans, with scheduled appearances in several more films and TV shows as Kang.

Mario just joined an exclusive club that started forming in 2020, when the pandemic started -- one that includes 10 figures at the box office ... which is a rare feat in this day and age.

Indeed ... the "Super Mario Bros. Movie" crossed a major milestone over the weekend -- having now racked up over a billion dollars in ticket sales globally ... this after only 3 weeks and change since its release date earlier this month.

The official numbers, as of Sunday, are $490 million in North America ... and $532 million internationally. So, all in all -- Mario and co. are at about $1.02 billion. In terms of the other four flicks that have reached this coveted threshold in pandemic times ... it's at the bottom.

There are only 5 films that have hit the billion-dollar mark since the spring of 2020 -- including 'Mario Bros.,' "Jurassic World: Dominion," "Top Gun: Maverick," "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and "Avatar: The Way of Water" ... which is at the top, at about $2.3B

'Mario' is far and away the most successful movie of the year at this point ... and it serves as yet another piece of evidence about the recipe to big-time success post-pandemic.

Mila Kunis may just be tapped to play The Thing in the new "Fantastic 4" movie -- that is ... if you buy a rumor that's running rampant on Twitter this morning.

A movie insider named @MyTimeToShineH -- who's credited with getting scoops before trade publications, and generally being in the know on superhero news -- sent the bird app into a frenzy Friday when they claimed Mila was in talks to portray a female version of Ben Grimm.

Grimm is the name of the dude in the comics who becomes The Thing ... a giant orange rock figure who fights crime alongside Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Human Torch.

MTTSH writes, "They are looking at Jewish actors, both male AND female for The Thing in Fantastic Four. Mila Kunis is one of them." They added that the director of the upcoming 2025 flick, Matt Shakman, insisted Grimm be portrayed be a real-life Jewish actor ... as the character is explicitly depicted as Jewish in the comic books, albeit in later iterations.

Now, in case it went over your head -- The Thing is a male character ... and has always been portrayed as such. Whether it was Chuck McCann in the '90s cartoon, Michael Chiklis from the 2000s flick, or Jamie Bell from the 2010s version -- The Thing's known as a guy.

Now, however, based on this report -- or gossip, more like -- it sounds like Marvel's possibly looking to switch things up with a little gender swap ... or at the very least, considering it.

As you might imagine ... Twitter users, by and large, aren't reacting well to the news. The jokes are flying -- and the consensus seems to be, if Kevin Feige and co. go down this road, much of the fanbase will turn their backs on the studio ... as they view this as a step too far.

Of course, it wouldn't be the first time a woman replaced a role usually played by a man -- it notably happened in "Ghostbusters" ... and more recently, in 'Black Panther 2' and "She-Hulk." among other examples. Point is ... it's been done before, and sometimes with success.

As for Mila potentially being eyed for the job ... she wouldn't be half bad. Big star with name recognition and a good range of films under her belt, including action movies and comedies.

There appears to be a reason why Jonathan Majors is being cut from projects as his team jumps ship ... he reportedly has more alleged abuse victims waiting in the wings.

The alleged victims are coming forward and cooperating with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, according to Variety.

Majors' lawyer Priya Chaudhry tells TMZ ... "Jonathan Majors is innocent and has not abused anyone. We have provided irrefutable evidence to the District Attorney that the charges are false. We are confident that he will be fully exonerated."

As we reported, Majors was arrested last month in New York City for misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment after allegedly slapping his girlfriend in the back of a taxi cab.

Variety reports the alleged incident is just the tip of the iceberg ... which explains why honchos in the entertainment industry are distancing themselves from the "Creed III" star.

Remember ... in the wake of his arrest, Majors was dropped by his management team, and a major PR firm pulled the plug on working with him. He's also been uninvited from the upcoming Met Gala.

Majors' attorney claims the alleged victim from the NYC arrest texted the actor after he got busted to say ... "she was the one who used physical force against him."

As you know, Majors has been working nonstop in Hollywood lately ... he's set up to be the next big villain in the MCU after starring in the recent 'Ant-Man' movie.

But, with other alleged victims reportedly waiting in the wings ... it appears the hits could keep coming for Majors.

Jonathan Majors reportedly had the door closed behind him by his management team ... getting dropped after last month's arrest for allegedly assaulting a woman.

According to Deadline, Majors' talent management company Entertainment 360 gave him the boot -- and the PR firm The Lede Company also pulled the plug on working with the actor.

Italian luxury fashion house Valentino has also uninvited Majors as its guest at this year's Met Gala ... according to the report.

All this rejection's coming after the "Creed 3" star was arrested last month in NYC for misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment after allegedly slapping his GF in a taxi.

Majors' lawyer Priya Chaudhry told us the alleged victim texted the actor after he got arrested to say ... "she was the one who used physical force against him."

And as you know, Majors has been working in Hollywood nonstop recently ... and he's set up to be the next big villain in the MCU. Deadline reports there have been no talks within Marvel to strip him of the role at this time.

Jeremy Renner continues to make a miraculous recovery from his near-death snowplow accident -- he strolled into Jimmy Kimmel's studio, fully on his own power.

The 'Avengers' star was using only a cane Monday in Hollywood, as he headed into the studio to shoot his appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

It's pretty incredible to see Jeremy using his legs like this ... remember he's only a little over 3 months removed from being completely crushed by a snowplow on New Year's Day at his Nevada home.

Jeremy's injuries included more than 30 broken bones, plus a collapsed lung and punctured lung ... just to name a few.

When he took his family to Six Flags on Good Friday, he needed a motorized scooter to get around the amusement park ... and we've previously seen him using an anti-gravity treadmill to strengthen his legs and get those muscles working again.

Jeremy's continuing his media blitz now that he's recovering at his L.A. home.

Before going on Kimmel, he described the enormity of his injuries and pain during a special interview with Diane Sawyer, which included a bone-chilling animation showing how he was hurt.

Jeremy Renner's incredible recovery has him in high spirits, but just after his horrific snowplow accident, he worried he would live his life as a shell of a human being.

Jeremy tells his emotional story of coming back from the edge of life to a point where he is mobile again ... with the help of a walker.

He worried in the days following the accident he would live the rest of his life as a brain and a spine, but not much else.

The "Avengers" star teared up as he spoke with Diane Sawyer about the pain he suffered and how he felt so sorry that his family was suffering as well. Jeremy was on the verge of tears as he told Diane he told his family he was sorry in sign language.

He looks amazing ... it defies what he went through. Jeremy is looking forward and says he refuses to be haunted by the accident that almost took his life.

He still has a ways to go, but all signs point to a return to normal life, which has gotta include acting.

Jeremy Renner says he was writing his final words to his loved ones after getting crushed by a snowplow earlier this year -- again confirming the guy thought he was going to die.

Jeremy got super emotional, telling Diane Sawyer dying alone would have been a horrendous way to leave this earth, and was incredibly thankful to his nephew for being there ... ironically, it was his nephew who Jeremy was trying to save that terrible day.

Then, he gets choked up ... saying that he was actually writing notes on his phone, which he intended to be his last sentiments to his family. Jeremy clearly believed he was at death's doorstep ... in fact, he was.

Fortunately, he survived ... getting airlifted to a hospital and undergoing extensive surgery. As you know, Jeremy suffered terrible injuries -- broken bones, ruptured organs ... the works.

ABC released an earlier clip, where Jeremy said he'd do it all over again, to save his beloved nephew..

His recovery has been miraculous ... and he almost looks like he's back to 100% -- a testament to his will and tenacity following a near-life-ending experience. Fact is, he still has a ways to go.

Bianca Belair could be the next John Cena, Rock or Dave Bautista -- at least, that's what wrestling legend X-Pac thinks ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports he sees the current WWE RAW Women's champ moving from the squared circle to the silver screen!!

We spoke with the 50-year-old great out at LAX this week ... and asked the two-time Hall of Fame inductee who he believes could transition into Hollywood post-wrestling career.

After going through of list of WWE stars in his head, Pac finally figured it out ... it's Bianca.

"She's great at everything," Pac told us. "She's a good talker ... she makes her own outfits, bro."

"She's great in the ring. I'm a huge fan. That's who I'm picking."

Of course, Pac (real name Sean Waltman) doesn't see the 33-year-old starting an acting career any time soon -- Belair just made her wrestling debut in 2016 and recently became the longest-reigning Black singles champion in WWE history.

"She's still on her run," Pac added. "When she's done with her run, I think that's available for her. If she wants to."

A WWE star turned actor/actress isn't far-fetched obviously ... The Rock -- who wrestled from 1996 to 2019 -- is one of the highest-paid actors in the nation and his films have grossed over $10.5 billion worldwide.

Cena -- who still wrestles in the WWE -- has been featured in several movies and TV shows, including "Peacemaker." He also won the Action Star of the Year award at CinemaCon.

As for Dave Bautista, he solidified his spot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his part in "Guardians of the Galaxy" ... and has since taken on some wide-ranging roles.