Michael B. Jordan recreated his iconic “Hey, Auntie” Black Panther moment with Angela Bassett at the Oscars

One of the absolute best moments.

Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors took to the stage Sunday night to present the Oscar for Best Cinematography. As they strode to the microphone, Jordan — who starred with Angela Bassett in both Black Panther and the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — looked to his co-star and hit her with one of his iconic quotes.

“Hey, Auntie.”

Majors followed it with a, “We love you,” to the iconic actress as she sat in the front row in a stunning purple dress. Bassett was one of the favorites to take home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but Everything Everywhere All At Once‘s Jamie Lee Curtis heard her name called instead.

I’m sure she appreciated the love from two wonderful actors.

Jonathan Majors is the most fascinating man in Hollywood (and it’s not close)

Majors has stormed onto the scene, and that’s good news for everyone.

Jonathan Majors is no longer having a moment. He is the moment.

Majors, whose slow-burn rise in Hollywood first spiked with his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Loki (2021), already had an impressive portfolio with critically acclaimed roles in The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), Da 5 Bloods (2020) and HBO’s Lovecraft Country (2020) and the incredibly underrated 2022 film, Devotion.

But it wasn’t until 2023 that Majors’ simmering stardom boiled over into full-blown celebrity with highly praised roles as Killian Maddox in the Sundance hit, Magazine Dreams; Kang The Conquerer in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Dame Anderson in his latest box-office success, Creed III.

And it’s only March.

It’s not exaggeration to say Majors is everywhere right now, regularly breaking the internet with a new photo shoot or interview.

Even the United States Army got him.

But it’s not just because of his recent critical and commercial success. Majors is easily most fascinating man (and published poet!) in Hollywood right now and certainly among the most thoughtful when it comes to…just about everything. He’s not afraid to get deep in interviews or explain the thought process behind how he approaches his characters.

“The beautiful thing about what [Majors] does is we spent a lot of time talking about the heart, the feeling, what he’s after, the sort of subtext of his goals … all of those things,” Devotion director J.D. Dillard said of Majors’ process to embody Ensign Jesse Brown, the first Black aviator to complete the Navy’s basic flight training program.

When it came to playing Creed III‘s Dame Anderson, a man seeking a fresh start in the boxing ring after getting out of prison, Majors channeled personal experience. Growing up, Majors ran into his own trouble with shoplifting, school suspensions and even living in his car after getting kicked out of the house.

“I know Dame,” Majors told For the Win. “I could have been Dame, a highly emotional, highly intelligent youth that had some problems.” That familiarity with the character was also built into the physical depiction, showing Anderson as hunched over and covering himself, head on a swivel (as a boxer would).

He’s certainly not the first actor to make for an interesting interview, but in an industry where introspection and emotional intelligence often seem as performative as the movies themselves, it adds to Majors’ allure as someone who doesn’t seem nearly as impressed with himself as the rest of the world is right now. He’s not on social media and won’t watch his own movies, but he’s surprisingly open about what makes him tick, recently telling The Cut he cries often, falls in love daily and has uncomfortably specific tips for executing a flawless breakup.

Perhaps this is why every new detail we learn about Majors makes us want to know more, like the fact that he always carries around a mug after being told by his mother to protect himself growing up. “Now it means mind your cup,” Majors explained on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “You’re a vessel. Nobody can fill you up. Nobody can pour you out. You do that yourself.”

He always walks around with a portable speaker, a move that inspired Michael B. Jordan to use two Nipsey Hussle songs as his character’s walk-in music in Creed III.

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One thing’s for sure: Majors isn’t going anywhere. He’s already locked in for at least two more Marvel movies as Kang and is slated to play Dennis Rodman in an upcoming film about the notorious NBA star.

He’s going to be a star for a very long time. And the world will be watching.

Creed III sets record for biggest-ever box office opening for a sports movie

Creed III set a box office record for sports movies this weekend.

Creed III punched its way into record books this weekend at the box office.

With an estimated $58.6 million box office tally, the Michael B. Jordan-directed sequel notched the biggest-ever opening weekend for a sports movie in film history.

It’s a massive win for the box office and for Creed III, which earned stellar reviews and also gave the Rocky/Creed franchise its best-ever weekend at the multiplex.

Even without longtime franchise star Sylvester Stallone appearing in this latest installment, Creed III is setting itself up to be one of the real financial successes of 2023 so far. It’s clearly going the distance in theaters right now.

What’s also fascinating is that Creed III co-star Jonathan Majors is making bank with his Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania leading the box office the past two weeks ahead of the latest Creed film.

Majors is having quite a moment.

For those who haven’t hopped into the ring with Creed III yet, our Caroline Darney says the film is “a worthy entry into the series.”

Creed III is playing nationwide in theaters now.

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Kang the Conqueror will save the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Jonathan Majors is undoubtedly the bright spot in the new Ant-Man movie. Can he carry the MCU forward?

This weekend, Marvel Studios kicked off the FIFTH phase of their ongoing cinematic universe with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. The box office results were perfectly fine. Audiences seemed to enjoy themselves. Critics were pretty unimpressed. Such has been the case for just about every film from Marvel Studios since they reached the pop cultural summit of Avengers: Endgame.

This MCU malaise has prompted countless discussions about what’s wrong with Marvel and what they can do to fix it, and as a devoted fan of this franchise I’ve participated in plenty of these discussions, on both sides of the issue. Am I still enjoying these movies? Sure! Do I also think they’ve lost their way? It’s hard to argue otherwise.

In the months leading up to Quantumania, however, a glimmer of hope has appeared, a beacon of light in the darkness that the MCU has been wandering through for the past three years. Marvel announced that Jonathan Majors, the unbelievably charismatic actor who burst onto the scene in 2020 with Da 5 Bloods and Lovecraft Country, would be playing the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror, the MCU’s next major villain. Perhaps this would give the MCU the urgency and the high stakes it’s been missing since the days of Thanos.

I saw Quantumania this weekend and while I like Paul Rudd as much as the next guy, I was really there to see Majors in his first major appearance as Kang (he showed up briefly in 2021’s Loki series). While the movie around him was mostly more of the same from the MCU, I think it’s clear that Majors is every bit the superstar Marvel was hoping he would be. He’s the kind of star that these movies have to be built around.

Ultimately, the MCU became the Goliath of Hollywood not through groundbreaking special effects or visual artistry, but through good old fashioned star power and great actors playing memorable characters. Quantumania gives us a glimpse not only at Majors’ menacing, verging-on-campy interpretation of Kang, but also a sneak peek at the enormous range he’s going to be allowed to explore with this character in the years to come.

Perhaps most interesting of all is what Kang represents as a villain. With Thanos, Marvel explored the idea of how terrifying someone can be when they believe they’re doing horrible things for a noble goal, an idea that I think resonated with a lot of Americans in the 2010s. Kang’s threat is very different and might sound pretty familiar to fans of Marvel and of pop culture in general. Kang’s goal is ultimately to remove any possibilities from the universe that don’t fit his preferred narrative. Ironically, this may remind you of Marvel Studios itself, declaring TV shows and movies fans once loved as “non-canon” and irrelevant now that they don’t fit neatly in to the MCU.

But the threat represented by Kang certainly applies more broadly to American culture as a whole right now. Don’t like a movie or TV show because it doesn’t specifically cater to you? Review-bomb it online or start a social campaign against it. Don’t agree with some of the books your kids are reading in school? Have them pulled from the library shelves. Silencing other viewpoints, particularly those that do not actively threaten harm against anyone, has become the tactic of choice for those whose ideas lose out, those who can’t control the narrative of the universe we happen to live in.

Will Kang finally give the MCU a unifying idea to build around again? That falls to Majors, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige and the team writing and directing the roughly eleventy-billion movies and TV shows coming out between now and Avengers: Kang Dynasty. I’m rooting for them.

Jonathan Majors keeps breaking the internet with photo shoots

Most Americans have two questions on their mind: who is Jonathan Majors and how can I look at him more? We got you.

With both Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania and Creed III hitting theaters over the next couple of weeks, many Americans have two questions on their minds: Who is Jonathan Majors and how can I look at him more?

You’re in luck, because in addition to being one of the most photogenic men in America, Majors is also one of the most photographed men in America as of late, posing for basically every major publication that still does photoshoots, including EBONY, Men’s Health and The Cut.

So whenever you see Majors trending on Twitter, don’t worry — he’s probably fine! All it means is there are new photos of him, a gift to the internet at large, and we have the privilege of seeing him again! But with different clothes and props and backdrops!

Anyway, enough talking. Here is Jonathan Majors.

‘Devotion’ is a stunning story about unwavering friendship

The true story of Jesse Brown hits theaters this Thanksgiving in a stunning tale of heroism, love and friendship.

The new film “Devotion”, now in theaters, covers a lot of ground in 140 minutes. It’s about the Korean War. It’s about naval aviation. It’s about love. Loss. A man fighting for his country when his country won’t fight for him.

But above all, “Devotion” is about unwavering friendship.

I understand that might sound cheesy, but stay with me. “Devotion” chronicles the true story of Ensign Jesse Brown, the United States’ first Black naval aviator. An adaptation of Adam Makos’ book, “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Brotherhood and Sacrifice”, the film follows Brown — played masterfully by the incredible Jonathan Majors — over his illustrious career as a pilot and the relationships he forged along the way.

Often dubbed the “Forgotten War,” the Korean War is one of the least discussed or memorialized conflicts in U.S. history. The events of the movie are centered on the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir from late-November to mid-December 1950 and focus on Brown’s incredible story and the heroism shown by his wingman, Lt. Tom Hudner (Glen Powell), when the unthinkable happens.

[The following includes details (read: spoilers) about the movie and real-life events that inspired it.]

The two wingmen could not have come from more diverse backgrounds. Brown is the son of Mississippi sharecroppers and Hudner comes from country-club elites in Massachusetts. Both ended up with the Fighting 32s —a squadron of F4U Corsairs off the USS Leyte — and eventually flew missions in support of Marines on the ground in North Korea.

“Devotion” begins after both have already qualified as pilots and does a beautiful job of showing both the challenges Brown faces and the unexpected (for its time) support and camaraderie he shared with his white squadron mates.

Majors and Powell are phenomenal as Brown and Hudner. The duo is electric on screen, particularly as Brown learns to trust his wingman both personally and professionally.

This movie was a personal project for Powell, who was the driving force behind bringing this story to the big screen. Throw in outstanding supporting performances from Thomas Sadoski, Joe Jonas and Christina Jackson, plus up-and-coming director J.D. Dillard, and you’ve got a recipe for success.

Dillard grew up around aviation as the son of a naval flight officer. His father Bruce was only the second Black man to join the ranks of the prestigious Blue Angels. It was important to Dillard that this story be shared, and that it be done well.

“You always try and put some of yourself in the work that you’re making, but to be able to take so much of my past and my dad’s story and my mom’s story and pour that into this,” Dillard said. “There’s a difference between telling a story because you want to and feeling called to tell it, and ‘Devotion’ is the latter.”

Part of doing it well meant getting the aviation sequences right. They were able to track down six Corsairs — an impressive feat considering there are only about 11 or 12 working planes around the world — and pulled in Kevin LaRosa as the film’s aerial coordinator, a role he also filled in Top Gun: Maverick. 

The result is breathtaking.

As it usually goes with film adaptations of books like this, parts of the story had to be changed for brevity’s sake. One of my favorite stories shared in the book was when the stewards from the ship (who served officers meals in the wardroom) chipped in to get Brown a Rolex from the onboard store for his birthday. Upon presenting the $60 gift to Brown, the steward delivered one of my favorite quotes.

“Thank you for lifting us up,” the petty officer said to Jesse. “Now on this ship, when a Black man passes you in the hallway, you never know, he might be just a cook — or he might be a flyer.”

The story made it into the film — albeit changed slightly — but the quote did not.

On the flip side, Majors and the filmmakers were able to take powerful moments from the book and amplify them. Majors is well on his way to being an absolute superstar, and some of his best work comes when he’s acting across from himself in a mirror. In Makos’s book, he described a routine that 12-year-old Jesse Brown started: repeating all of the awful and racist words, slurs and comments said to him back at himself. He would do this until, “…his eyes remained steady, until he could shrug away the vilest insult without flinching.”

Majors was so powerful in that moment, and it’s nothing short of moving. More incredibly, it was one of the earliest scenes they shot.

Overall, “Devotion” is a stunning, emotionally challenging film. Jesse Brown’s story is one that everyone should know, and — even if you’re not tied to aviation or the Navy — is absolutely worth seeing in theaters. Just don’t forget your tissues.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige said clues point to Avengers’ next Thanos-level threat — here’s who is most likely

Who – or what – is up next for The Avengers after Thanos?

We’re officially closer to the end of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe than the beginning and if you still have a ton of questions, well, that may just be the point.

The transitionary period for the film franchise has seen us say goodbye to series stalwarts Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and a few other fan favorites—or at least variations of those favorites. As Phase 4 continues exploring the multiverse, we’ve gotten a glimpse at what life could’ve been like had events played out a little differently.

But Phase 4 hasn’t brought us that much closer to another Thanos-level threat that requires a franchise-spanning team-up. Or maybe it has.

MCU mastermind Kevin Feige recently told Total Film the studio is closing in on its next phase and viewers should begin seeing some common threads develop:

“As we’re nearing the end of Phase 4, I think people will start to see where this next saga is going. I think there have been many clues already, that are at least apparent to me, of where this whole saga is going. But we’ll be a little more direct about that in the coming months, to set a plan, so audiences who want to see the bigger picture can see a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap.”

Obviously the first thread is already out there: The Multiverse.

That might just be a means to the next Big Bad, however, and not the MacGuffin the Infinity Stones were. So we put on our best, non-descriptive baseball hats and put together (entirely fictional) odds for who—or what—will cause the Avengers to assemble next.

With six films left on the Phase 4 docket, including Thor: Love and Thunder here’s a look at who’s most likely to rival Thanos’ arrival in the MCU.

Note: This list veers into some of the newer MCU projects, so if you aren’t caught up, read with caution.