Movies

“Ant-Man 3” Almost Had Lucas Grant Play The Wasp’s Son

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Warning: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania spoilers ahead.

Ant-Man 3 is already a smash hit at the box office. It is exceeding expectations in numbers. However, the story could have gone in an entirely new direction. Evangeline Lilly‘s character, Hope van Dyne, originally had a son in early stages of the project’s production. The mother of Lucas Grant (Five Nights at Freddy’s) posted some on-set photos on his official Instagram account. She also shared that his role was removed from the film’s final cut.

In the post, Grant shoots some scenes with Lilly and a second child. Lilly and the two kids are wearing civilian clothes in the middle of what would become a CGI location. Lilly also has long hair with highlights, different from Lilly’s dark pixie cut that we see in the film. From this, we can infer that Lilly’s character, Hope, was meant to have these children at some point in the film. Grant’s post did not mention who his character’s father was or who the second child in the photos is.

Lucas Grant In “Ant-Man 3”

Grant’s appearance in the film could have played out in a number of different ways. Hope van Dyne could have split up with Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) prior to Quantumania, with her character starting a new family. It also could have been a flashback to a hidden past of Lilly’s character. Additionally, the film’s ending could have been different, with Hope and Scott remaining trapped in the Quantum Realm after missing out on their chance to leave so they could defeat Kang the Conquerer. If that was the case, these kids could be Hope and Scott’s kids from their time in the Quantum Realm. That would explain the need for the CGI blue room. It would also explain the length of Hope’s hair, but not why the color changed.

The answer could have also been less complex. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Hope van Dyne and Scott Lang as they fight Kang the Conquerer, the newest big bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s able to manipulate time and space. As a method of convincing the Lilly and Rudd’s characters to stop their fight, Kang could have shown and promised them an alternate, peaceful timeline where they were always together. It would explain the little girl in the photos. She could possibly be a young Cassie. These, obviously, are all speculations. It’s near-impossible to know the truth of Grant’s role in the film. Maybe we’ll find out eventually, but until then, Quantumania is available to watch in theaters.

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Disney Global Box Office Hits $1 Billion In 2023

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It’s only February 2023, but Disney is already dominating the box office for the year. Just six weeks into the year and they have already earned $1 billion in global box office sales. To date, the specific number is actually $1.283 billion. Historically, it has taken other studios up to a full year to reach those numbers. These impressive numbers are all thanks to the combined box office numbers of Avatar: The Way of Water and Marvel’s introduction to phase 5 of the MCU, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Additionally, the re-release of Titanic for the film’s 25th anniversary gave an additional $383 million domestically and $900 million internationally.

The long and impressive Avatar sequel by James Cameron is the primary reason for Disney’s impressive gross. Over the weekend, Avatar: The Way of Water reached a total earning of $2.2433 billion worldwide. This means that the film has officially surpassed Titanic ($2.2428 billion) as the third-highest-grossing movie of all time. In the same weekend, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opened in theaters worldwide and performed above expectations. The film earned an impressive $225 million in its first weekend alone.

Disney’s Box-Office Sensation

Disney Store on Oxford Street on 6th January 2023 in London, United Kingdom. The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Walt Disney or simply Disney, is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Reportedly, this is only the first of the many billions that Disney is expected to make in 2023. With movies like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5), The Little Mermaid remake (May 26), Elemental (June 16), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30), and The Marvels (November 10), media sources have high expectations for the studio at hand. However, the box office has not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Before COVID-19, Disney broke records, generating $7 billion in 2016 and 2018. Then, in 2019, it broke its own record with $11.12 billion. That’s the biggest collective box office gross of any studio in history.

Disney ended 2022 with a $4.9 billion gross at the box office, which includes domestic and international sales. Of that, Avatar: The Way of Water was the only pandemic-era release to hit a billion in gross box office sales. Shawn Robins, chief analyst at BoxOfficePro had something to say about this. He explained, “Disney was coming off such a historic run of box office years that even without the pandemic or streaming-intense strategies, it would have been a challenge to duplicate. Nevertheless, this is an encouraging start to 2023. It will still take some time, but this may be the beginning of an important turnaround for the biggest studio in the world.”

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“The Marvels” Gets A New Release Date

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is making fans wait extra time to go “Higher. Further. Faster. Together” in The Marvels. The film’s original release date was July 28, 2023. Marvel Studios released a film poster with Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel. Additionally, the company announced that the film will now instead be in theaters on November 10, 2023. Nia DaCosta will direct. Disney will now release Haunted Mansion starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Owen Wilson, and Winona Ryder on The Marvels‘ previous premiere date. The film’s previous air date was August 11, 2023.

The November 2023 film will be a direct sequel to Captain Marvel from 2019. The film focused on Larson’s Carol Danvers and earned an impressive $1.1 billion at the box office. Megan McDonnell (WandaVision) wrote the script for the newest DaCosta film. Furthermore, the film will expand the CM universe within the MCU by following Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan’s stories. CM introduced Monica Rambeau as a child and she earned superpowers in WandaVision. Kamala Khan is a CM Superman from the 2022 Ms. Marvel series.

New Release Date

The first sneak peeks of the movie debuted exclusively at the D23 Expo last September. The footage confirmed that the post-credits scene for Ms. Marvel prepares fans for the events of this new offering. In the scene, Larson makes an appearance. Kamala’s mysterious bangle begins to glow, and she is teleported away. Replacing her is none other than Larson’s signature character. She looks around the bedroom, which is covered in posters of herself. She has no idea how she got there.

In a Tuesday interview with EW, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige praised the film. He compared moments from the movie to scenes from the first Avengers. He said, “There’s something immensely powerful about seeing Monica (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala (Iman Vellani) and Carol (Brie Larson) together in a frame. To me, it’s only akin to the first Avengers movie and seeing the six of them together in a frame. It’s chill-inducing.” Let us know what you think of this upcoming film, in the comments below.

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Liam Neeson Reveals Why “Star Wars” Has Lost Its Allure

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One of the most common interview questions asked of Liam Neeson is if he would ever return to his role as Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn. Fans are used to his response of “no.” This trend continued when Neeson joined the likes of Paul Rudd on the February 16 episode of Watch What Happens Live! However, in the episode, Neeson elaborated on why he feels the way that he does. He said that the Star Wars franchise is hurting the magic that it holds. When asked if he was returning, Neeson said, “No, I’m not. There’s so many spinoffs of ‘Star Wars.’ It’s diluting it to me, and it’s taken away the mystery and the magic in a weird way.”

Liam Neeson did make a brief appearance in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series on Disney+. However, he only had roughly two lines of dialogue. He made his debut in the Star Wars universe in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1999. However, his character died, and his time in Star Wars ended. While Neeson would not return for a spin-off, he told ComicBook.com last year that he would reprise the character under one condition: his returning appearance would need to be in a movie, not a television show.

Neeson On “Watch What Happens Live!”

Back then, he said about a Star Wars return: “Oh, I think so, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so…if it was a film. Yeah, I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to TV, I must admit. I just like the big screen, you know? Qui-Gon, I can’t believe it’s 24 years since we made The Phantom Menace, I just cannot believe where the time has gone. It was a terrific experience, shooting that film in London.”

Neeson’s statement about Star Wars spin-off quantity is accurate. As far as movies go, Lucasfilm has released Rogue One and Solo outside of its main Skywalker storyline. Furthermore, Star Wars has continued to expand its universe on Disney+ with television shows. The network has premiered The Mandalorian, The Book of Bobo Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the past. In continuation, upcoming series releases include season 3 of The Mandalorian, which launches on March 1, 2023. Plus, Ashoka and The Acolyte are premiering on the network

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Eminem Almost Had Mark Wahlberg’s Role In “The Fighter”

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Producers originally asked Eminem to play Mark Wahlberg’s role in the Oscar-nominated movie, The Fighter. David O. Russell directed the 2010 film. Also, it starred Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The Oscars heavily praised the film, giving it nominations like Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and two nominations for Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Screenplay under its belt. The Fighter producer, Todd Leiberman, spoke on Eminem’s potential casting on the Hollywood Gold podcast.

Lieberman said, “The first person that we thought would star in this film was Eminem. Eminem was going to be Micky Ward. That was a moment in time where he had come off of 8 Mile, and he was interested in making movies, and he wanted to do a boxing movie.” Also, he continued, “So that was something we pursued for a minute. And there was real life in that for a minute.”

Eminem’s Acting Hopes

Inductee Eminem performs on stage during the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Microsoft Theater on November 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Additionally, in a 2009 DJ Whoo Kid interviewed Wahlberg, who also produced The Fighter. In the interview, Wahlberg revealed he was considering Eminem to co-star. He told DJ Whoo Kid, “[Matt Damon and I] were supposed to do this boxing movie together. We were going to play brothers and I don’t think he’s really feeling up to it so maybe we’ll get Eminem to play the part … We want it to kinda feel authentic as opposed to getting some soft Hollywood act.”

Overall, this isn’t the first time Eminem has almost landed a role. Last year, Kirk Ewing revealed that Eminem almost appeared in the Grand Theft Auto movie after the release of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001. Ewing is a friend of the GTA creators, Sam and Dan Houser. He said the duo was offered $5 million for the rights to a movie starring Eminem. However, they turned the offer down. “[The agent] said: ‘Kirk, we’ve got Eminem to star, and it’s a Tony Scott film. $5 million on the nose. Are you interested?’ And I phoned up Sam and I said: ‘Listen to this. They want Eminem in the Grand Theft Auto movie and Tony Scott to direct.’ And he said: ‘Not interested.’”

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FKA Twigs & Shia LaBeouf’s Trial Facing Delays Due To Hectic Work Schedules

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Unfortunately for FKA Twigs, her love life has frequently become tabloid fodder over the years. She previously dated Twilight star Robert Pattinson. Their relationship, unfortunately, fell apart partially due to the racism she endured at the hands of the franchise’s fans. Aside from that, the time she spent romancing former child star Shia LaBeouf has also caught the public’s eye.

The pair first met in 2018 on the set of Honey Boy and found themselves falling for one another quickly. According to Femstella, the film’s creator “dramatically professed his love” just a week or two into dating. By October of that year, LaBeouf convinced Twigs to join him at his home in Los Angeles. This is when their union became abusive in nature.

Court documents allege that the Disney alumn would berate and verbally assault the English actress for hours at a time. He also reportedly trapped her in their bedroom for lengthy periods. At that time he was suffering from delusions that gang members would break into their home. LaBeouf apparently slept with a rifle by the couple’s bedside. He also forced Twigs to watch documentaries specifically focusing on murdered women.

By November 2018, the Caprisongs vocalist began her plan to escape, though in February 2019 she woke up to find her partner “violently squeezing her body and arms.” Around the same time, the 35-year-old was knowingly infected with an STD by the Holes actor, who admitted to being diagnosed a year earlier and attempting to hide his flare-ups from her. In the months after this, they finally went their separate ways, and by December 2020, Twigs filed a lawsuit.

FKA Twigs attends Simone Rocha at The Great Hall at Lincoln’s Inn during London Fashion Week February 2022 on February 20, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Neil Mockford/Getty Images)

The “killer” songstress is suing LaBeouf for sexual battery, battery assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and gross negligence. As Radar Online notes, their trial was due to begin on April 17th, though it’s now facing delays until much later this year. Most likely, we’ll see the former couple in court on November 1st or December 6th.

Lawyers for both parties provided an update to the court earlier this week. Twigs’ states that she lives out of the country and is currently “working on entertainment projects.” For her ex, the story is mostly the same as he’s been busy filming Francis Ford Coppola’s $100M epic, Megalopolis. The actor has been spotted in various feminine costumes as of late, including gold sky-high heels and sheer white dresses.

At this time, a judge has yet to sign off on the trial’s postponement, but because neither star has sat for a deposition, it’s likely the motion will be approved. While LaBeouf is hard at work on his potential industry comeback, Twigs is eagerly awaiting The Crow reboot, which finds her starring opposite Bill Skarsgård. Read all about the role she plays in that here, and check back later for more pop culture news updates.

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“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” Box Office Expectations Revealed

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Paul Rudd is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ant-Man in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The film is going to reignite things at the movie theater box office. Expectations are high for the third Ant-Man movie. The film has an estimate of $95 million to $100 million gross throughout the opening weekend in North America. Extending estimates to President’s Day on Monday brings the anticipated gross to $110 million. It will likely take the number one spot from Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Internationally, Quantumania estimates range from $130 million to $190 million, with an overall estimate of $160 million.

According to domestic box office estimates, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will likely gross lower than recent Marvel titles like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($185 million), Thor: Love and Thunder ($144 million) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($181 million). This isn’t uncommon for Ant-Man movies. However, Quantumania is getting a huge spike compared to the previous films centered around the micro-superhero. The original Ant-Man grossed at $57 Million. Its sequel, Ant-Man, and the Wasp, grossed $76 million domestically and $161 million on a global scale.

Quantumania Takes Off

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly attend the “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania” UK Gala Screening at BFI IMAX Waterloo on February 16, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

In the film, Ant-Man, his daughter, the Wasp, and others are sent to a mysterious Quantum Realm, which defies the laws of space and time. Evangeline Lilly, who plays the Wasp, has returned for Quantumania. Additionally, Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglass are coming back to the franchise. Jonathan Majors will star as Kang the Conqueror. Plus, Kathryn Newton will play Scott Lang’s daughter, and William Jackson Harper will play Quaz. The film is the 31st installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will kick off Phase Five and introduce the true nature of Kang the Conquerer.

Reviews vary for the film. According to Rolling Stone, “An ant can carry 10-15 times its body weight, yet as the designated kick-off film tasked with setting up the next two-phase, multi-movie/TV arc, ‘Quantumania’ is still being crushed by having to bear way too much of a franchise burden.” However, in Variety’s review, chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised the work of Jonathan Majors. He said, “With no motion-capture makeup to hide behind, Jonathan Majors holds you with the quiet force of his pensive scowl. You hang on his every word; he makes vengeance and genocide sound like the most hypnotically casual of propositions.” 

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Jonathan Majors “Walked Out” Of His First Marvel Meeting: Details

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Jonathan Majors will be starring as Kang the Conquerer, the new big bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His levels of evil will lead all the way through Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in 2025. However, Majors revealed to Vanity Fair that he decided to walk out of his first meeting with the studio. He told VF, “I hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass, but I walked out of my Marvel general [meeting]. This was a long time ago. I had just gotten out of drama school and I’m running around town and I’m sitting in the office. I grew up in a very particular way and I don’t want to waste nobody’s time. So I got in there and they’re just busy. And I was like, ‘I’m supposed to be here, right?’ It got long and I went, ‘I’m just going to go. It’s cool. I’ll just go.’”

Thankfully, though Jonathan Majors walked out of the meeting, he didn’t make it out of the building. He said, “I got to the door, but then they said [casting director] Sarah Finn was going to come. We got in the room and we chatted. We were having this great conversation. I think it was three years later that we had the Kang chat. And there’s no trepidation now, especially because of who Kang is. When I said yes, we got the whole picture, and what is being laid out is cohesive.”

Jonathan Majors

Jonathan Majors attends the European Premiere of Creed III at Cineworld Leicester Square on February 15, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)

Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige says that Jonathan Majors’ role in The Last Black Man in San Francisco is what caused them to reach out to him. Majors made his Marvel Debut as Kang in the series, Loki, on Disney+. However, he was playing a variant of Kang, not the version shown in Quantumania. His performance in the highly-anticipated Marvel film is receiving high amounts of praise. Apparently, love for Majors’ Kang was prevalent even during film testing. Feige said, “In the early days of ‘Quantumania’ [test screenings], Jonathan started to pop in a big way. He’s the highest-testing villain we’ve ever had in any of our friends and families [screenings]. That’s really saying something with a movie like this. Even early on without the effects, Jonathan is his own effect. He was working from the start.”

Feige continued, saying that “it’s always one of the fun rolls of the dice that we do at Marvel, which is to say: ‘Hey, we’re going to make multiple movies around this character, and we’re going to start before the audience has even had a chance to meet him.’ We really go all in on these ideas and this casting. It was a big relief when the season ender of ‘Loki’ season 1 happened. People really seem to be on board for Kang. People are chanting, ‘Kang!’ when Jonathan goes on talk shows, and they haven’t even seen him in the movie yet!” Said movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, opens in theaters Feb. 17 from Disney.

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Keanu Reeves Returns In “John Wick: Chapter 4” Trailer

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John Wick is back as Keanu Reeves returns to the role in the franchise’s fourth film, John Wick: Chapter 4. Lionsgate dropped the final trailer on Thursday during “Wick Week.” In John Wick: Chapter 4, Wick has retired from his assassin ways and travels the world. He has gone from New York to Paris to Japan to Berlin. In those locations, he fights against some of the most powerful individuals in the criminal underground. John Wick will fight with new enemies and reconnect with friends. He will discover that old pals have turned into enemies. In the end, he won’t stop until he is finally free, once again.

Chad Stahelski, the director of the film, has teased that the franchise’s fourth installment is its longest. Additionally, Stahelski shared that John Wick: Chapter 4 will delve deep into the mythology and history of the Continental Hotel. The Continental hotel is a refugee location for assassins John Wick. It is also a major focal point for the other three John Wick films. There are Continental Hotel locations across the world, from New York to Rome to Casablanca. The chain’s New York City location is owned by Winston, John Wick’s friend.

“John Wick: Chapter 4” Trailer

Alongside Reeves in the cast is Bill Skarsgård (It, Barbarian) as Marquis. Donnie Yen (Ip Man, Mulan) will play Canine and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Contagion) will play Bowery King. Lance Reddick (The Legend of Vox Machina, White House Down) will play Charon, Rina Sawayama (Turn Up Charlie) will play Akira, and Shamier Anderson (Race, Bruiser) will play Tracker. With them, Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, The Twilight Samurai) will play Shimazu, Scott Adkins (Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday, Boyka: Undisputed) will play Killa, and Ian McShane (Deadwood, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) will play Winston.

Since “John Wick: Chapter 3,” Reeves and Stahelski have announced they will reunite for the “Ballerina” spinoff starring Ana de Armas (Knives Out, Blonde) and Anjelica Huston (The Addams Family), as well as Reddick and McShane. With Ballerina in development, Lionsgate has announced that the John Wick universe will be expanding. There is a prequel series in the works, titled The Continental. The series will have three parts. It will explore the origin story of the Continental Hotel from the perspective of Winston. While McShane plays the character in the films, Colin Woodell (The Flight Attendant) will play the character in the prequel. The series will air on Peacock in 2023. John Wick: Chapter 4‘s theatrical release will take place on March 24, 2023.

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Michael B. Jordan Gets Emotional Recalling “Fruitvale Station” Standing Ovation At Cannes

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We’re in the thick of another season for Michael B. Jordan as the acclaimed actor’s latest film, Creed III, is on the horizon. This installment not only stars Jordan once again as the lead character, but he also helmed the director’s chair. Just yesterday, the final Creed III trailer was shared ahead of the film’s March 3 release, and Rolling Stone returned with a new interview with the filmmaker. Jordan told the outlet that the movie was “deeply personal.”

This was “a way for me to share a piece of myself with the world.” Jordan added, “I’m always willing to prove myself. When you come from where I come from, and everybody doesn’t get those opportunities and breaks — that luck, or whatever — you start to question why you’re getting the things that you get. Why am I successful in life? Or why did I go this way, and everybody went that way? That builds up on you after a while.”

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 15: Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson attend the “Creed III” European Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on February 15, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Read More: Michael B Jordan Thinks He Can Take Roy Jones Jr., & The Veteran Boxer Responds

Elsewhere, the actor speaks on his fears, admitting that “being forgotten” is “a big one.” He shared a story of a childhood best friend who passed away years ago. It was the friend’s birthday, and Jordan realized he had forgotten about it. “I didn’t call his family on that day, I didn’t take time during that whole day to remember that it was my best friend’s f*cking birthday. His birthday. To pass away, bro. And I felt like the biggest piece of sh*t ever. And I felt … f*ck. If I … like, if somebody I hold so dearly, I can forget when their birthday was … what the f*ck they gonna do about me?”

Jordan is failing to recognize the impact of his roles, at least in this instance. When questioned about his favorite role, Jordan shared a story about Fruitvale Station being shown at Cannes in France. He portrayed the real-life Oscar Grant III, a young man from the Bay Area who was killed by police. The controversy sparked a movement, and the Cannes audience’s reaction took Jordan by surprise. There were concerns that audiences in France wouldn’t connect with the film. Jordan teared up retelling his experience after the movie screening, and the crowd gave a 10-minute standing ovation.

Read More: Michael B Jordan & Ryan Coogler Talk The Importance Of Black Films

“Motherf*ckers standing up for 10 minutes,” said the actor. “I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. I was like, ‘Oh, sh*t. This is uncomfortable. Y’all could stop.’ Walking out into the hallway, they still clappin’, bro. I get chills thinking about it, it’s crazy.”

“Literally, from the time [the movie] ended, the applause didn’t stop until I got on the f*cking … back on the red carpet outside. Getting into the car, it was starting to rain. And people are still on the windows. As I’m calling Oscar’s mom on the phone, telling Wanda we just f*cking …” Jordan took a pause as he began to tear up. “Like, it’s something like …” He is without words for a moment. “I never thought a n*gga from North Jersey’d be able to have that impact.”

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