With all the talk this year of the lack of originality in Hollywood, it turns out that sequels and standalone movies within existing franchises fueled the domestic box office to breaking a record it set last year. 

Ticket sales have hit the $11 billion mark for the second consecutive year, according to ComScore (as reported by Variety), and before the year is out the domestic box office total will hit $11.3 million, besting last year's record of $11.1 billion.

Last year it was Universal that carried the heavy load, as blockbusters like "Jurassic World,""Furious 7," and "Minions" made the studio the top earner domestically of 2015. And, of course, Disney's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" gave the industry a year-end jolt of over $900 million domestically when it opened in mid-December.

In 2016, it was not just the assumed monster hits but overachievers that made for a record-breaking year. 

While "Finding Dory,""Captain America: Civil War,""Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," and "Suicide Squad" all performed as expected (despite sour reviews for the two latter titles), "Deadpool" ($363 million in the US) "Zootopia" ($341 million), "The Secret Life of Pets" ($368 million), and "The Jungle Book" ($364 million) all exceeded studio projections that kept the industry on pace when it went through a rocky summer (ticket sales were down 10% from last year).   

And a "Star Wars" movie will again be the anchor to the finish line in 2016. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" has made over $300 million domestically in just two weeks in theaters and is poised to beat out "Finding Dory" ($486 million) for the top domestic grosser before the year is out.

SEE ALSO: The 10 biggest box office bombs of 2016

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NOW WATCH: Sony and Marvel just dropped the first new 'Spider-Man' trailer and it looks amazing

The INSIDER Summary:

• Carrie Fisher has died at the age of 60.
• The actress was known for her iconic role in "Star Wars" as Princess Leia.
• She will be in "Star Wars: Episode VIII," which is in post-production.
• All of Fisher's scenes have been filmed before her death.

After suffering a heart attack, legendary actress Carrie Fisher died on Tuesday at age 60. 

With the return of "Star Wars" with last year's "The Force Awakens," Fisher, who first gained stardom following her iconic performance as Princess Leia, found herself back in the rebooted franchise. 

Luckily, Fisher's time on the big screen isn't over just yet. All of Fisher's scenes have already been shot for the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VIII." The film recently wrapped production and is currently in post-production. 

Leia, now a general, holds an important role in the current trilogy. She is the mother of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the villain and a major force behind the First Order. This past summer, while at "Star Wars" Celebration in London, Fisher dropped a major hint that they may have shot a scene of Han Solo's funeral. While it was unclear whether she meant that scene would be happening, or that event had happened off screen between episodes VII and VIII, it is clear that General Leia will still be a vital part of the next film. 

"Episode VIII" will be out on December 15, 2017. Whether Fisher will be involved in "Episode IX," slated for 2019, is currently unknown. 

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Warning: Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen "Rogue One."

As "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" continues to dominate the box office, more and more people are getting in on the conversation about one of the movie's characters.

Grand Moff Tarkin, the commander of the Death Star and one of the prominent villains in 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope," is brought back to the screen in "Rogue One," thanks to advances in motion capture.

The actor who played Tarkin in "A New Hope," Peter Cushing, died in 1994. But the CGI wizards at Industrial Light & Magic created a digital version of the legendary actor so Tarkin could be featured in the movie — and not just in a one-shot cameo, but as a main figure of the Empire brass who are making the Death Star operational.

"If he's not in the movie, we're going to have to explain why he's not in the movie," Kiri Hart, a Lucasfilm story development executive and "Rogue One" coproducer, told The New York Times. "This is kind of his thing."

Lucasfilm cast the English actor Guy Henry to play Tarkin during principal photography of "Rogue One." He wore motion-capture materials on his head so it could be replaced by a computer-generated version of Cushing's head in postproduction.

John Knoll, the chief creative officer of ILM and visual effects supervisor on "Rogue One," told The Times that the process was "a super high-tech and labor-intensive version of doing makeup."

This included paying attention to how Cushing was lit in "A New Hope," since the lighting was different than in "Rogue One." Adjustments had to be made so the CG Tarkin would fit in with the other characters. And the animators at ILM also had to pay attention to small details like how Cushing's lips would move when saying certain words. They would then mimic those movements for the character in "Rogue One."

According to Knoll, if the CG Tarkin didn't work while developing, the backup plan was to make the character a hologram for some scenes or transfer his dialogue to another character.

Though Lucasfilm got the approval of Cushing's estate before creating him in CGI form, critics and "Star Wars" die-hards have flooded the internet questioning the ethics of bringing Cushing back.

Knoll said he was aware of the "slippery slope argument."

"It is extremely labor-intensive and expensive to do. I don't imagine anybody engaging in this kind of thing in a casual manner," he said. "We're not planning on doing this digital re-creation extensively from now on. It just made sense for this particular movie."

SEE ALSO: How this scene-stealing character from "Rogue One" was created

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The INSIDER Summary:

• Actress Carrie Fisher passed away December 27 at age 60. 
• She had recently suffered a heart attack.
• Fans will remember her work on screen —but also her unique use of the social network Twitter. 

The string of crushing celebrity deaths has continued into the final week os 2016: "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher has died at age 60 after suffering a heart attack.

Fisher was best known for playing Princess Leia Organa in the original "Star Wars" films. And in 2015's "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens," a new generation of fans got to meet her as the older and wiser General Organa.

She wasn't just adored because she played an iconic character, though — fans couldn't get enough of Fisher's real-life candor and humor. She wasn't known for mincing words when speaking with journalists, and frequently brought her adorable dog Gary along on her press junkets. 

But Fisher was also beloved by her 1.15 million followers on Twitter. In a world where so many celebrities present overly polished personas on social media, Fisher was famous for being unfiltered. And for devotees, the fact that Fisher composed her tweets using dizzying strings of emoji substituted for letters wasn't annoying — it was endearing. 

Last month, for example, she "promoted"her latest book, writing, "I'm supposed to tell you to buy my new book, but I'm not really like that."

Of course, fans bought it in droves. "Thank you guys for helping make my book a best seller," she wrote a few days later. "Without you I would just be a wierd [sic] chick in a hat." (When someone replied to ask if she was hiding under a table in the attached photo, she fired back a matter-of-fact response: "I'm under a chair at the airport, of course.")

She frequently shared photos of herself and Gary on their worldwide travels. 

And every once in a while she spouted off a 140-character musing on the nature of time. "Is everybody decaying and death marching ever closer?," she wrote. "Are the sands of time so cruel they should be arrested?"

She used her Twitter platform to gush over her daughter, actress Billie Lourd:

But most of all, she gave fans a window into her life as she really lived it, withholding neither her strong opinions nor her silly, imperfect selfies. Snapshots like this are why users of the social network fell in love with Fisher. 

Talk shows and movies won't be the same without her offbeat brand of humor. Many followers agree that Twitter won't be the same either. 

Join the conversation about this story »

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The INSIDER Summary:

• Princess Leia's golden bikini in one "Star Wars" movie is still controversial.
• Some people think it's sexist and overly sexualized.
• Carrie Fisher thought that was stupid.
• She had a great argument for what parents should tell their children about the outfit.

The "Star Wars" movies generally aren't very controversial, but there's one part of "Episode VI – Return of the Jedi" that still raises eyebrows. It regards Princess Leia and Carrie Fisher, the actress who played her and who died on Tuesday morning at 60.

During the first chunk of the movie, Princess Leia is captured by Jabba the Hutt, a giant, slug-like alien who's also a kind of gangster lord. Jaba imprisons Leia and makes her wear a now-iconic golden bikini.

The golden bikini has become somewhat controversial over time. Some people think it's a way to sexualize Fisher for the male fan base of the "Star Wars" series.

Fisher was not always fond of it, either. In Newsweek in 1999, she said, "I remember that iron bikini I wore in 'Episode VI': what supermodels will eventually wear in the seventh ring of Hell." She's also said that her favorite moment in the "Star Wars" films was killing Jabba the Hutt.

"I had a lot of fun killing Jabba the Hutt. They asked me on the day if I wanted to have a stunt double kill Jabba. No! That's the best time I ever had as an actor,"Fisher told The Guardian. "And the only reason to go into acting is if you can kill a giant monster."

But she later softened up to the outfit a bit. In 2015, Fox News ran a story about parents who were skittish about a toy that depicted Princess Leia in the bikini.

"They're like 'dad why does this doll have a chain around its neck?,'" One parent said. "I don't have any answers. I was just blown away looking at it."

Fisher thought that line of thinking was ridiculous, and she said so in a fantastic interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2015, before the release of "The Force Awakens." Here's the exchange:

WSJ: There’s been some debate recently about whether there should be no more merchandise with you in the “Return of the Jedi” bikini.

Fisher: I think that’s stupid.

WSJ: To stop making the merchandise?

Fisher: The father who flipped out about it, "What am I going to tell my kid about why she’s in that outfit?" Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage.

So there you have it. If you're not sure how to explain Princess Leia's golden bikini to your kids, tell them a giant slug captured her and forced her to wear it, and then she killed him.

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There will be many things to miss about Carrie Fisher, who died on Tuesday at the age of 60. She was a talented novelist, memoirist, screenwriter, and actor who brought happiness to millions of people. One of the things she'll be most remembered for is her incredible wit.

One of the greatest pleasures of the return of "Star Wars" with "The Force Awakens" in 2015 was having Carrie Fisher hit the interview circuit. She could parry with Colbert and knew how to shut down an interview with the perfect quote. She had a highly individualistic, impish worldview, as she showed on her Twitter account. And in her three memoirs and hundreds of interviews, she was an advocate for people with mental illnesses. Her insight and wit made her work a script doctor in high demand. She was a national treasure.

Here are 15 of Fisher's most biting, sarcastic, funny, and just plain powerful quotes from her writings and from her interviews.

"I'll go hang out with a bunch of robots for a few months and then return to my life and try to figure out what I want to do when I grow up."

In her memoir "Shockaholic," Fisher talked about how she didn't expect "Star Wars" to be the global phenomenon it was when she signed on for the role of Princess Leia. She was 19 years old at the time.

"I am truly a product of Hollywood in-breeding. When two celebrities mate, someone like me is the result."

Fisher grew up privileged, as she happily noted in her memoir "Wishful Drinking." Her parents were actors Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.

“I am Princess Leia, no matter what. If I were trying to get a good table, I wouldn’t say I wrote Postcards. Or, if I’m trying to get someone to take my check and I don’t have ID, I wouldn’t say, ‘Have you seen Harry Met Sally?’ Princess Leia will be on my tombstone.”

Fisher's career spans dozens of movies, but Princess Leia Organa in the "Star Wars" series is by far the one she's best known by. Instead of trying to escape her greatest success, Fisher was happy to embrace it.

Source: Us Weekly

With 2017 right around the corner, it’s time to check out what’s coming to your favorite streaming service.

There’s the thriller “The Girl on the Train” on iTunes, you can watch Carrie Fisher try to destroy John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in “The Blues Brothers" on HBO Go, or watch all the “Lethal Weapon” movies on Hulu.

Below are all the titles that will be available, and we've gone ahead and highlighted some in bold we think you should definitely check out.

SEE ALSO: Here are the 10 most pirated TV shows in 2016

iTunes

Available January 3

“The Girl on the Train”
“Operation Avalanche” 
“Kevin Hart: What Now?” 
“Max Steel” 
“Bob the Builder: Building Fun at the Zoo”
“Tower”

Available January 6
 
“Arsenal” (same day as theaters) 
“Between Us” (same day as theaters) 

Available January 10

“Christine” 
“Pinocchio” 
“Queen of Katwe” 
“Barney Playground” 
“I’m Not Ashamed” 
“An Act of Love” 
“Ouija: Origin of Evil”

Available January 13
 
“Alone in Berlin” (same day as theaters) 

Available January 17

“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” 
“Roger Corman's Death Race 2050”

Available January 20
 
“Detour” (same day as theaters) 

Available January 24

“American Pastoral”  
“Loving” 
“Almost Christmas” 
“Desierto”
“The Handmaiden” 
“The Light Between Oceans” 
“Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance”  
“The Hangman: Shepherds and Butchers”

Available January 27
 
“I Am Michael” (same day as theaters) 

Available January 31

“Arrival” 
“Bleed for This”
“The Edge of Seventeen”  
“Priceless” 
“Miss Hokusai” 
“Tyler Perry's Boo Madea Halloween” 

Amazon Prime

Available January 1

“Blood Diamond” 
“13 Hours: Secret soldiers of Benghazi”                                                             
“Across the Universe” 
“Happy Feet”  
“Rent”
“Hellboy”
“Radio”
“Stardust 2007”
“American History X”  
“Norm of the North” 
“Are We There Yet” 
“Are We Done Yet” 
“Maid in Manhattan”

Available January 3

“The Girl on the Train”
“She’s All That”

Available January 4

“Bones” (Season 12)

Available January 5

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 12)

Available January 7

“Sleepy Hollow” (Season 4)

Available January 9

“The Infiltrator 2016”
“We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” (Season 1)

Available January 10

“Ouija: Origin of Evil”
“Deepwater Horizon”   
“The Accountant”

Available January 13

“Sneaky Pete” (AMAZON ORIGINAL, Season 1) 
“Just Add Magic” (AMAZON ORIGINAL, Season 2)

Available January 15

“Young Pope” (Season 1 premiere)

Available January 17

“Red Rock” (Season 2)
“The A-Word” (Season 1)

Available January 22

“Where to Invade Next”

Available January 23

“The Choice”

Available January 24

“Inferno”

Available January 26

“America Divided” (Season 1)

Available January 27

“Z: The Beginning of Everything” (AMAZON ORIGINAL, Season 1)
“Dirty Grandpa”

Available January 29

“Mercy Street” (Season 2)
“Black Sails” (Season 4)

Available January 30

“Swiss Army Man”

HBO Go/Now

Available January 1

“Above the Law”
“Baby Mama”
“Beautiful Creatures”
“The Big Lebowski”
“The Blues Brothers”
“Blues Brothers 2000”
“Bringing out the Dead”
“The Cell”
“Cloud Atlas”
“Cold Mountain”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“Dr. Suess’ Horton Hears a Who!”
“Evil Dead 2”
“Fool’s Gold”
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
“Friday”
“The Happening”
“Innerspace”
“Lady in the Water”
“Lost & Found”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“My Cousin Vinny”
“Risky Business”
“The Road Warrior”
“The Sixth Sense”
“Steel”
“Unbreakable”
“The Village”

Available January 7

“Demolition”


Available January 8

“Genius”


Available January 13

“The Visit”


Available January 14

“Now You See Me 2”

Available January 15

“The Young Pope” (Series Premiere)


Available January 21

“The Boss” (Extended Cut)
“Real Time with Bill Maher” (2017 premiere)

Available January 23

“Beware the Slenderman”


Available January 28

“The Nice Guys”

Available January 30

“Becoming Warren Buffett”

Since the release of the "Star Wars" standalone movie, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," we have begun to realize how much tinkering was done to the movie not just in the reshoot phase but throughout principal photography. 

The most recent example is an interview with actor Ben Mendelsohn, who plays Orson Krennic in the movie, in which he hinted at the amount of alternative footage there is for the movie. So much that he believes an "enormously different" version of it could be released (if Lucasfilm/Disney ever wanted to do such a thing).

"We did have multiple, multiple ways of going at any given scenario, we had multiple readings of it," Mendelsohn told Collider. "So should they ever decided to, there would be a wealth of ways of approaching these different things. And I know from having seen sort of the crucial kind of scenes throughout it, I know there’s vastly different readings of at least four of those scenes… enormous differences within I would’ve said 20 or 30 of the scenes. There really would be. There would be enormously different renderings."

Comparing the footage in the movie to what was teased in the trailers proves that there were many different options, especially for the ending, which underwent major reshoots. But Mendelsohn's comments will feed fans' interest in seeing alternate versions of this movie.

Disney is always up for making more money. There have been numerous versions of "The Force Awakens," all featuring deleted scenes, but whether the studio would ever allow "Rogue One" director Gareth Edwards to go in and do a directors' cut or some kind of "extended version" of the movie is the big unknown.

It certainly would be a major seller (I'd love to see how Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO ended back on the beach after getting the plans for the Death Star and where they were headed) and you would think Disney would want to control that aspect instead of releasing deleted scenes that someone on the web can cut into a pirate alternate fan version. 

SEE ALSO: RANKED: Every character in "Rogue One" from best to worst

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Hulu and Disney have struck a partnership that will see the subscription video on demand (SVOD) site gain about 50 Disney movies, Engadget reports. The deal is important for a handful of reasons:

• Diversifying Hulu's catalog into the world of cinema. Hulu does have films on its platform, but it’s strategy has been directed at securing licenses to major TV shows. The Disney deal suggests that Hulu has a renewed focus on film. The deal will see Hulu gain about 50 new movies, most of which are family movies, but with dramas and thrillers interlaced too.
• Planting seeds for a deeper Disney-Hulu relationship. Disney already provides Hulu with children’s programming, and this new deal could signal the start of an expanded partnership. Disney is a major shareholder in Hulu, co-owning 30% of the SVOD service alongside alongside NBCUniversal (30%), Fox (30%), and Turner (10%).
• More Disney content is a big boost to Hulu’s service. Disney's films have performed spectacularly in 2016. It became the first studio to ever pass $7 billion in global box office sales in a single year, and is expected to account for over half of box office profits this year, according to media analyst Doug Creutz cited in Vanity Fair.
• Differentiation is a must in an increasingly saturated market. Hulu faces pressure from incumbents like Netflix and Amazon Video, which are focused on original content, and from recent entrants like AT&T’s DirecTV Now and expected new arrivals like Google’s digital TV product, Unplugged, which aim to bring the live cable-TV experience over-the-top.
• The partnership also gives insight into Disney’s OTT strategy. Part of Disney's digital strategy is focused on partnerships with digital TV providers, such as Hulu, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, and the recent agreement with Snapchat. At the same time, the company also plans to launch various direct-to-consumer streaming services, like DisneyLife in the UK.

Growth of subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) services in the US has slowed considerably over the last year as competition in the online video streaming space intensifies. Heavy hitters like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime are increasingly squeezed by new competitors with exclusive content and niche video offerings.  

International markets, and specifically, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will be paramount for both established SVOD players and new entrants looking to establish themselves in the successful video space.

The SVOD market in the APAC region is poised for explosive growth over the next five years due to increased mobile adoption, amplified broadband expansion, and enhanced purchasing power.

Dylan Mortensen, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on subscription video on-demand that explores how slowing SVOD growth in the US will lead to a surge in the APAC region.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• While SVOD services are increasingly rooted among US households, growth is beginning slow. Growth in North American SVOD subscriptions is set to fall from 30% in 2014 to 4% by 2018.
• The best opportunity for continued growth lies in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The region had nearly 42 million SVOD subscribers in 2015, but could have up to 158 million by 2021.
• The increasing adoption of smartphones and mobile data is propelling growth in mobile video viewing across APAC, which is poised to outpace the rest of the world.
• Rising purchasing power in APAC underlines the opportunity for online video services. China and emerging Asian economies represent nearly two-thirds (63%) of global economic growth.
• Content creators and marketers stand to gain from SVOD’s push into the APAC region. Content creators can benefit from the surge in short-form video, while marketers can capitalize on advanced product placements.

In full, the report: 

• Forecasts SVOD subscribers in the APAC region.
• Explores the factors behind SVOD’s slowing growth in the US.
• Breaks down reasons why APAC is ripe for massive online video growth.
• Discusses who will benefit from SVOD growth in APAC.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

1. Subscribe to an All-Accesspass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. » START A MEMBERSHIP
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The movie industry had another banner year as it took in over $11.1 billion in global ticket sales, surpassing last year's record figure. Some reasons for that included Marvel, a guy in red tights, and animated movies.

Disney was the biggest contributor to the record-breaking year, taking in over $7 billion at the worldwide box office thanks to titles like "Captain America: Civil War,""Finding Dory," and "Zootopia," which all earned over $1 billion in worldwide earnings.

Five of the top 10 worldwide box-office earners of 2016 are Disney titles (domestically it gets six out of the top 10).  

Outside of the house that Walt built, 20th Century Fox's "Deadpool" was the biggest shock, taking in huge coin. And though they had lousy reviews, Warner Bros.' DC Comics movies "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Suicide Squad" still took in impressive figures. 

Below are the 10 biggest worldwide box-office earners of 2016, and why "Rogue One" will climb up this list daily through the new year.

Note: All figures are from Box Office Mojo. 

SEE ALSO: The 10 biggest box office bombs of 2016

10. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"— $675 million worldwide (estimate)*

*"Rogue One" is still a new release in theaters and will climb higher even by the end of the year.

US domestic: $400 million (by end of weekend)

With over $635 million worldwide at the time of this writing, we had to pull out the crystal ball for this one, since the latest "Star Wars" movie is rising up the box-office charts on a daily basis.

Though "Doctor Strange" is currently in 10th place with a $656.4 million worldwide take, "Rogue One" will surpass that within the next day.

As with "The Force Awakens" last year, Disney has masterfully made the last few weeks of the year its time to dominate the movie business with a "Star Wars" release. It should be just under first place at the domestic box office by the time the new year hits.  

9. "Suicide Squad"— $745.6 million

Domestic: $363 million

Despite bad reviews, this DC title from Warner Bros. continued to plug away at the box office. After having the biggest opening weekend of all time for an August release and then sales dropping almost 67.5% in its second weekend domestically, the movie found its groove. And it certainly helped that it took in over $400 million internationally. 

8. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"— $746.1 million

Domestic: $217.3 million *Still in theaters

Though the "Harry Potter" spin-off movie isn't making the enormous figures that Warner Bros. saw with the "Potter" franchise, it still came in as the studio's third-highest earner of the year domestically. 

Ryan Gosling is going from the city of stars to the stars themselves.

The actor has closed a deal to reteam with his "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle for "First Man," Universal Pictures’ biopic centering on Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who became the first man to set foot on the moon.

Gosling has been orbiting the project since late 2015 but it’s only in December that a deal was reached.

The project adapts the book "First Man: A Life of Neil A. Armstrong" by James Hansen and has a script by Josh Singer, the Oscar-winning co-writer of "Spotlight."

Armstrong was a hotshot Navy bombing pilot during World War II then a test pilot in the 1950 and 1960s. The movie will aim to tell the story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, specifically the years 1961 to 1969, according to studio sources. The goal is to explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, whose credits include the "Twilight" and "Maze Runner" franchises as well as "The Fault In Our Stars," are producing the drama via their Temple Hill Entertainment.

Isaac Klausner will exec produce. Hansen is attached to co-produce. Universal’s vp of production Sara Scott will oversee the project for the studio.  

Chazelle’s "La La Land" has emerged as one of the top movies this awards season. The movie scored seven Golden Globe nominations, including one for Chazelle, for directing, and Gosling, for acting. Gosling also nabbed a SAG nomination.

The actor recently wrapped production on "Blade Runner 2049" with Harrison Ford. "First Man" is eyeing a shoot next year.

Gosling is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content, LBI Entertainment and law firm Sloane Offer.

SEE ALSO: The A-List: The 20 most powerful stars in Hollywood right now

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It turns out the Merc with a Mouth will not be making a cameo in the new Wolverine movie, “Logan.”

On Wednesday, TheWrap reported that “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds threw on the red tights recently to shoot a scene that was to appear in “Logan” (likely a post-credits scene). The footage was directed by “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch, according to the story. (Business Insider contacted Leitch’s reps for comment, but did not get a response.)

However, after the story went live Reynolds, “Logan” star Hugh Jackman, and the film’s director James Mangold all tweeted that Deadpool would not be showing up in “Logan.”

Here are their tweets:

Then on Thursday, Reynolds doubled down that Deadpool isn’t in the movie when replying to a tweet from a Hollywood Reporter staffer.

“Logan,” which once again stars Jackman as Wolverine, is certainly much darker in tone than “Deadpool.” Set in the future where the number of mutants is dwindling, an aging Wolverine and Professor X (Patrick Stewart) come across a young girl who has powers similar to Wolverine’s. The movie is extremely violent compared to the other X-Men movies (Business Insider has seen the first 40 minutes of the movie and all we’ll say is it’s definitely getting an R rating).

20th Century Fox, the studio behind both “Deadpool” and “Logan,” declined to comment for this story. However, a source close to the movie told Business Insider that Deadpool does not appear in “Logan.”

“Logan” opens in theaters on March 3, 2017.

SEE ALSO: The 10 highest-grossing movies of 2016, ranked

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2016 had so much promise until it basically turned into a horror movie thanks to our favorite celebrities passing away and the nation suffering a bitter presidential election. 

YouTube user Friend Dog Studios decided to collect all of the disappointments of the year and use them as the basis of a fake trailer for a horror movie titled "2016: The Movie." 

It starts out innocently with a couple ringing in the new year in a new house. But then things you never would expect start happening everywhere — the deaths of legends like Muhammad Ali and David Bowie (as well as a gorilla named Hambre), phones exploding, England leaving EU, and unprecedented election nastiness.

Sometimes laughter is the best medicine, so check out the hilarious "2016: The Movie" below and let's hope there isn't a sequel.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 10 best TV shows of 2016

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Since it was released in 2004, "Mean Girls" has become a modern high-school comedy classic thanks to its spot-on performances by Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams along with the Tina Fey script, which captured what it's really like to survive your teenage years.

Fans of the movie have been praying for a sequel for years (yes, there was a "Mean Girls 2," but it didn't include any of the leads from the original or Fey) and it turns out Lohan has been working to make that happen.

"I have been trying so hard to do a 'Mean Girls 2.' It is not in my hands," she said on a recent CNN Facebook Live chat. "I know that Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels and all of Paramount are very busy. But I will keep forcing it and pushing it on them until we do it."

Lohan has even taken a stab at writing the sequel herself, or at least a treatment — which gives an overview of a project idea — to start.

“I have already written a treatment for it. I just need a response. I know Mark Waters, the director; he’d happily come back,” said Lohan, who also mentioned that she'd like to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Jimmy Fallon in the movie.

However, Fey has been against a sequel.

"It's too late now,"she told Entertainment Weekly when the magazine did a reunion piece on the movie in 2014.

But that doesn't mean we'll never see the Plastics again.

It turns out Fey and her husband, composer Jeffrey Richmond, have been working on a "Mean Girls" musical. It will premiere in the fall of 2017 in Washington, DC.

Watch Lohan's complete Facebook Live interview below:

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With the start of a new year comes the narrowing of the Oscar field.

Since our last pass at predicting the people and films in the running for the 2017 Academy Awards, the pretenders have fallen off, and we've gotten a chance to catch all the most serious players. Now it's time to get serious.

With multiple Golden Globe nominations, "Hacksaw Ridge" may be more of an Oscar contender than once thought. But it will have strong competition from movies like "La La Land" and "Manchester by the Sea," which are still the big frontrunners.

Below is our latest look at the movies and talent that have a chance to take home Oscar gold next year. Check them out while you still have time.

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Best visual effects

In the running:

"Arrival"
"Doctor Strange"
"Captain America: Civil War"
"The Jungle Book"
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

If the Oscars were handed out today, the winner would be: When it comes to visual effects this year, there wasn't any movie in which the effects brought the movie to a higher level more than Marvel's "Doctor Strange." 

Best documentary

In the running:

"13th"
"The Eagle Huntress"
"Gleason"
"I Am Not Your Negro"
"Life, Animated"
"O.J.: Made In America"
"Weiner"

If the Oscars were handed out today, the winner would be: Ezra Edelman's "O.J.: Made in America" is a true treasure. Hopefully the Academy feels the same way.

Best cinematography

In the running:

Roger Deakins, "Hail, Caesar!"
Greig Fraser, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
Stephane Fontaine, "Jackie"
James Laxton, "Moonlight"
Rodrigo Prieto, "Silence"
Linus Sandgren, "La La Land"
Bradford Young, "Arrival"

If the Oscars were handed out today, the winner would be: You can honestly give the Oscar to anyone here. But with the beautiful coastal shots and intense scenes done with great skill, it has to go to Rodrigo Prieto for "Silence"— for now.

2016 was filled with great films, a few bombs, and a number of movies that demand a new look. 2017 is shaping up to be just as exciting for movie lovers.

Here are the films we're most looking forward to seeing in 2017, from big tentpole sequel films to adventurous indies. When available, we included a link to the trailer, too.

"The Lego Movie" gets a superhero-themed spinoff with "The Lego Batman Movie."

Release date: February 10

Watch the trailer here >>

Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele will try — and definitely succeed — to have a relationship again in "Fifty Shades Darker."

Release date: February 10

Watch the trailer here >>

"John Wick" was one of the biggest surprises of 2014, a low-budget, badass, and totally fun revenge thriller starring Keanu Reeves. "John Wick: Chapter 2" looks like it's going to be just as fun.

Release date: February 10

Watch the trailer here >>

As voted on by more than 200 critics participating in our annual Criticwire survey, here are the best films of the year.

SEE ALSO: Here are the must-see movies that are going to win Oscars in 2017

1) MOONLIGHT

10) JACKIE

32) KNIGHT OF CUPS

It's a whole new year, and with it comes a whole new set of comic book-inspired movies to get hyped about. Get ready for baby Groot, young Spider-Man, old man Wolverine, and many more to hit the big screen in the months ahead. Here's a quick look at what you can expect and when each film is set to release.

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It's no surprise that the "Star Wars" spin-off "Rogue One" is a bona fide box office hit. Earlier this week, it passed $600 million at the worldwide box office. The franchise is one of the most beloved in cinematic history, with all eight movies released so far earning a whopping $3.5 billion domestically and $7.3 billion worldwide. With all that being said, it's quite surprising to learn that one of the "Rogue One" stars, Wen Jiang, has never seen any "Star Wars" movie before.

The news comes from director Gareth Edwards, who revealed in this juicy bit of gossip in a lengthy conversation on Empire with the entire cast. The director says that Wen Jiang's character Baze Malbus, and his longtime friend Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) are inspired by characters from the Akira Kurosawa classic "The Hidden Fortress." Here's what the director had to say about these characters, before dropping the bombshell that Wen Jiang has never seen a "Star Wars" movie before.

"It was definitely a deliberate thing to have diverse characters. Because 'Star Wars' is so diverse — they have walking carpets and droids. It's about as diverse as it gets. But what happened is things evolved. Like, you know, you've got 'Star Wars' and you've got to make a film [set just] before it. So what do you do? One of the things you can do is look at the things that inspired George and go back to them and see if you can branch off in a different direction. One of the main things that inspired him was Kurosawa's 'The Hidden Fortress.' And there were two characters in particular that inspired C-3PO and R2D2, and they were these Japanese slave-servants who bickered all the time. And I was thinking, 'why don't we just do that but without making them robots?' So that started off being Baze and Chirrut. It feels right that there'd be Asian characters in 'Star Wars,' because it's got such Asian influences. And because it's 'Star Wars,' you can kind of go for anyone: 'Who are the best Asian actors in the world?' Though, what's funny is, Jiang Wen, who plays Baze, has never seen Star Wars in his life."

Gareth Edwards revealed that he didn't want Wen Jiang to watch "Star Wars" during the production, because he thought it'd be funny if he got to the world premiere and one of his stars had never seen a "Star Wars" movie before. As it turns out, there is a very good reason that Wen Jiang has never seen "Star Wars," since he grew up in a much different time in China. Here's what the actor had to say below, revealing he plans to fill his gap in "Star Wars" knowledge soon.

"I know nothing about them. Because when I grew up, there were no American movies in China. That was Cold War time, so no 'Star Wars.' Now there's no Cold War, we can have 'Star Wars.' So I will see it after I finish this movie, from beginning to end."

Given how "Rogue One" ends, it's possible we may never see Wen Jiang's Baze Malbus again, but it's also possible that he could return in future spin-offs set before the events of "Rogue One," or in the animated TV series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." We reported earlier this month that Forest Whitaker will return to provide the voice for his "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" character Saw Gerrera in an upcoming episode of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," which is set several years before the events of "Rogue One." Hopefully we'll find out more about whether or not Lucasfilm has plans to bring back Baze Malbus or any of the other "Rogue One" characters in the near future.

SEE ALSO: Here are the must-see movies likely to win Oscars in 2017

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Disney rang in the new year by putting an exclamation point on their incredible 2016 at the box office.

By the time the clock struck midnight on Saturday night the studio's latest "Star Wars" release, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," became the second-highest grossing movie of the year at the domestic box office with a $408.96 million total, according to Deadline. That beats out "Captain America: Civil War," which took in $408.084 million.

But "Rogue One" isn't through. Winning the weekend box office for a third consecutive week with an estimated $50 million ($64 million by the end of the New Year's holiday weekend), according to Variety, the first standalone "Star Wars" movie should pass 2016's top-grossing movie at the domestic box office, "Finding Dory" ($486.2 million), sometime during the first week of 2017.

Disney now has the top three box office earners of 2016.

Coming in second place is the latest animated movie by the creators of "Despicable Me,""Sing," which took in and estimated $41 million ($54 million for four-day). The movie has quietly been the go-to title for kids who are a little too young for the mature material in "Rogue One." Having brought in an estimated $170 million-plus total domestically, it proves that animated movies continues to be a draw for moviegoers both young and old.

Outside of "Rogue One," the other big box office story going into 2017 is the success of Oscar contender "La La Land."

The modern-day musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, which has already become the top-grossing limited release of the year with over $37 million (for movies shown in under 1,000 theaters, passing "Hell or High Water"), cracked the top ten this weekend as it's projected to make $12 million by Monday.

As it moves into a wider release, look for this one to continue to find audiences as we go deeper into awards season.

SEE ALSO: Here are the must-see movies that are going to win Oscars in 2017

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