Someone give Chris Pine’s agent a raise!

The actor who's still best known for his incredible looks and playing James Kirk in the “Star Trek” movies (yes, in that order) is suddenly showing he has serious acting talents, and we couldn’t be more happier about it.

Things started to look good for Pine in 2015 when he stared in Craig Zobel’s gritty indie “Z for Zachariah” alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Margot Robbie. He also got high marks in early 2016 as a hero Coast Guard crewman in “The Finest Hours.” But Pine’s talents really shined through that summer when the acclaimed heist movie “Hell or High Water” opened and went on to become one of the highest-grossing indie films of the year.

Playing a divorced father who teams with his ex-con brother (Ben Foster) to rip off a chain of banks to pay off the family ranch, Pine delivers a somber performance with fits of rage that are shocking to see coming from the guy most people know as the young captain of the Enterprise. And then there’s the final scene, a showdown his character has with a Texas Ranger (Jeff Bridges) who's been on his tail. The back and forth between Pine and Bridges, with dialogue from screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, is incredibly powerful.

Now, as love interest Steve Trevor in the highly anticipated “Wonder Woman” (out Friday), Pine proves that regardless of the size of the film, if the material is right he can be stellar.

And I’ll be the first to admit, when he was in that black-and-white photo with Wonder Woman that appears in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” I thought, “Chris Pine? WTF!” But we’ve come a long way since.

In “Wonder Woman," Trevor is a World War I spy who, in the midst of trying to bring vital information back to the allies about a poison the Germans are developing, crashes on the mysterious island of Themyscira. There he meets princess Diana, aka Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). The two join forces and set out to win the war and in the process fall in love.

There’s an endearing quality that Pine brings to the Trevor role that’s a mix of suave early-2oth century style (A+ costume design — I want all the clothes he wears in the movie) and self-deprecating humor. It’s rare for the love interest in these superhero movies to get the screen time to establish a well-rounded role, but director Patty Jenkins and screenwriter Allan Heinberg obviously realized the importance of what Trevor meant to the movie and to Diana.

Honestly, the movie wouldn’t be as funny or emotional if an actor of Chris Pine’s ability wasn’t in it. And, yes, I’m shocked I just wrote that.

But the truth is Chris Pine is having an incredible moment in his career right now and we feel it's time to celebrate it.

SEE ALSO: "Wonder Woman" is one of the best superhero movies ever made

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Warner Bros. could have a historic weekend at the box office. 

The studio finally has a universally acclaimed movie for its still young DC Comics Extended Universe ("Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,""Suicide Squad") with "Wonder Woman," which opens on Friday. 

The movie, with its 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating (as of this writing), has already pulled in $11 million in Thursday night preview screenings domestically, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The studio projects a $95 million opening weekend, but others in the industry think it can surpass the $100 million mark domestically. 

With the movie playing on over 4,000 screens, it definitely seems Warner Bros. is going for the gold.

Anticipation for the first female-focused superhero movie to hit the multiplex in years (and we're still trying to forget past efforts like "Elektra" and "Catwoman") may be enough for the movie, starring Gal Gadot as the iconic DC Comics superhero, to soar past projections.

And the movie is coming out at the perfect time as its only competition this weekend is fellow new release "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie," which is catering to the kids audience, alongside holdovers like "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Baywatch," which didn't impress anyone when they opened to low numbers over Memorial Day weekend.

In that landscape, "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins could take over the title of biggest all-time three-day domestic opening for a female director if she can pass Sam Taylor-Johnson's $85.1 million opening for 2015's "Fifty Shades of Grey."

But looking even bigger, if "Wonder Woman" can go past $116.6 million, it would become the biggest opening ever for a superhero movie in June, passing 2013's "Man of Steel." That would also give the film the third-biggest opening ever in June.

SEE ALSO: Why it took so long for Hollywood to make a great female-led superhero movie

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Guys have Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Aquaman. The list is seemingly endless. But the few women superheroes have always been limited in their exposure. Even Wonder Woman, until now.

Female superheroes usually take a backseat to the male ones in movies, or their stories are only told on the small screen. Yes, we had the pink Power Ranger and the yellow Power Ranger. We had Storm, Catwoman, Supergirl, and Batgirl. But they weren’t at the forefront enough for many girls to even know of their existence, for anyone besides dedicated fans to know the female Power Rangers beyond their colors, and most of them were never given the chance to represent women in the way we want to see ourselves on the big screen.

Female superheroes from comic books that make it into films are usually reduced to cliches and/or sex objects, with little effort made to humanize them and give them as much depth as their male counterparts. In the Halle Berry "Catwoman," the cat has more substance than she does. In "Batman & Robin," the nipples on George Clooney’s batsuit have more depth than Alicia Silverstone's Batgirl. Even in "The Avengers," Black Widow doesn't get much screen time compared to some of her male costars. 

Yes, 2017 — which kicked off with the Women's March — is the perfect year for a “Wonder Woman” movie, and it matters to women and to the film industry as a whole because it's a big change. But a Wonder Woman movie after 76 years, and a summer blockbuster directed by a woman to boot, is only the first step in a long, tumultuous journey. It has come decades after it should have. 

The thing that matters most about “Wonder Woman” is the portrayal of Wonder Woman/Diana Prince herself. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is a fully realized character. She’s emotional, confident, yet also insecure. She has hope and she has fear. She can love and lust and she can feel sadness and joy. She’s not just a beautiful face or hot body kicking ass. She does have a beautiful face and hot body and she does kick ass, but that’s not the focus, as it has been for so many female superheroes before her.

With a female director (Patty Jenkins) behind the lens, Wonder Woman finally gets a story that women are proud of, and see themselves in. And this is how women want men to see them, too. The same connection a boy has to Batman or Superman (or one of the many others) is the same connection girls and women have seen in a character like Wonder Woman, but it’s never been shown on such a massive scale until now. Marvel has tried this in Black Widow and Scarlet Witch in “The Avengers” movies, but they barely have enough presence to scratch the surface.

In “Wonder Woman,” the typical female/male roles are reversed. Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor is a romantic interest but also a sidekick who needs some saving. It’s meaningful for women (and young girls) to see a woman capable of taking care of herself, and saving others. The romantic element between Diana and Steve doesn’t drive the story — it’s certainly not the only thing that drives Diana — and as opposed to what Black Widow gets in "Age of Ultron," the romance is not the only thing she does in the movie.

 “Wonder Woman” has started to make a slight impact on the industry, even just as it opens. It’s started (or restarted) an important conversation about women in film that’s been brewing for decades. But now it’s really in front of us, thanks to vocal director Patty Jenkins and actress Gal Gadot. And others, like Jessica Chastain, who recently called the portrayal of women in films at the Cannes festival “disturbing.”

“Wonder Woman” isn’t the only movie to make the conversation happen. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” made a choice to have a female lead. So did “Rogue One.” We need more female leads like this, more female screenwriters and more female directors, but that’s not where to start. The film industry needs more women in positions of power: more female producers and executives, like Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy, who will have themselves represented the way they want to be seen. More women with the power to choose who tells those stories is the next step to providing half of the world’s population more Diana Princes, more Reys, and more Jyn Ersos. "Wonder Woman" is a great start, but it's just the beginning. 

SEE ALSO: 'Wonder Woman' is one of the best superhero movies ever made

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The highly anticipated "Wonder Woman" hits theaters this weekend, and the superhero's first standalone feature film (which took 76 years to become a thing) is already getting great reviews, despite recent critical flops from the DC Extended Universe.

By now you may have heard of Patty Jenkins, the director of "Wonder Woman," who happens to be a woman, which, even in 2017, is pretty rare for a blockbuster.

"Wonder Woman" is Jenkins' first feature since 2003's Oscar-winning "Monster." In between she was on board to direct "Thor: The Dark World" but dropped out. She's directed TV shows including "Arrested Development" and "The Killing."

If "Wonder Woman" is as successful as it's shaping up to be, this definitely won't be the last time you hear about Patty Jenkins, who's out to prove that more women should be directing movies. 

Here's everything you need to know about "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins:

SEE ALSO: Why movie critics are in love with 'Wonder Woman'

Patty Jenkins was born in 1971 in Victorville, California.

Source: Biography

But Jenkins spent the majority of her childhood moving from place to place because her dad was an Air Force captain. She lived in Thailand, Kansas, and Germany.

"To be a director, you need to be reliable, on time, confident, calm, all of those things you see demonstrated in the military," she told The Hollywood Reporter.

Jenkins attended Cooper Union in New York City, where she studied painting. There, she took a course in experimental filmmaking.

After she graduated from Cooper Union, she spent nine years in New York learning filmmaking by working on commercials and music videos. Then she moved to L.A. and enrolled at AFI for directing.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Gal Gadot plays a superhero on the big screen in "Wonder Woman," but in some ways she was a real-life one while making the movie.

It turns out Gadot was pregnant through much of the filming of the box-office hit. In fact, when Gadot had to come back to do reshoots last November for the movie, some CGI magic had to be done to keep Gadot's baby bump off the screen.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Gadot was five months pregnant when she returned to London's Leavesden Studios to film an additional scene, and the costume department had to cut a section out of the front of her costume and replace it with green cloth so her figure could be altered in postproduction.

"On close-up I looked very much like Wonder Woman," Gadot said. "On wide shots I looked very funny, like Wonder Woman pregnant with Kermit the Frog."

According to reports, "Wonder Woman" did not have many reshoot days, but there was one scene in particular in which director Patty Jenkins wanted something extra for after seeing a cut of the movie.

In a scene in which Diana Prince (Gadot) and Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) walk to the frontlines of World War I and have a serious talk about the horrors of war, Jenkins wanted to add something visually to the chat.

"That scene was just a slightly tense scene of them walking. I was like 'I need her to see some brutality,'" Jenkins told The Hollywood Reporter. "So we added her seeing the horses being whipped. It was actually something that had been in the script originally."

Jenkins told EW about Gadot being pregnant during shooting: "Now, at least, we will be able to tell her [new] daughter Maya that she's in her mom's stomach right then, in the middle of that battle scene."

SEE ALSO: A "Wonder Woman" sequel is coming and the director already has an idea for it

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"Wonder Woman" is getting a lot of praise after its opening weekend, and it deserves it. It's given a much-needed boost to the DC Extended Universe, with reviews that are much better than those for 2016's disappointing "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Suicide Squad."

But it also performed well compared to other superhero films outside of the DC Universe. While the opening weekend domestic box office  numbers (according to Box Office Mojo) didn't surpass massive hits like "The Avengers" (2012), "The Dark Knight" (2008), or "Deadpool" (2016), the movie's gross did beat "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011), "Iron Man" (2008), both "Thor" movies, and even "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014).

In the case of most franchises, especially superhero movies, sequels perform better at the box office than the first installments. "Wonder Woman's" opening weekend has definitely proven that a sequel could be another hit for the female-led franchise. "Wonder Woman" also broke the record for the most successful opening weekend for a movie directed by a woman. Director Patty Jenkins took the record from Sam Taylor-Johnson for 2015's "Fifty Shades of Grey."

See how "Wonder Woman" compares to your favorite superhero movies at the box office:

SEE ALSO: Why 'Wonder Woman' matters to women — and is already changing the movies we watch

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When you left the theater after watching "Wonder Woman" and got over the thrills of the movie, you might have been asking yourself, "What was that Professor M teaser all about?"

In many markets, a 22-second teaser showed before "Wonder Woman" with the text "Ever Wonder?" appearing on the screen and dialogue like this: "Why don't you write it under your real name?""I created her, she's a smash success because of me..." And "I wonder if you're the one with the secret identity."

We then got an image of a woman who looks to be in a Wonder Woman costume holding a lasso while a man stands looking in the background. The teaser then ends.

What the heck does all this mean?

It's actually some very clever marketing for the latest movie from Annapurna Pictures (behind movies like "Her,""Zero Dark Thirty," and "Sausage Party"), "Professor Marston & the Wonder Women," which looks at the creation of the Wonder Woman comic in 1941. 

Luke Evans ("Beauty and the Beast") plays Dr. William Marston (get it, Professor M), an American psychologist who along with being responsible for inventing the lie detector also penned the Wonder Woman comic with his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and their mutual lover, Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote).

Through the pen name Charles Moulton, Marston combined his and Elizabeth and Olive's feminist ideals to create a superhero character that young girls could look up to.

The movie, directed by Angela Robinson ("D.E.B.S.,""The L Word"), will focus on the creation and success of the comic-book character and how the three dealt with it. 

Head over to the movie's site for a look at the main characters in comic-book form.

The movie currently doesn't have a release date, but with the box-office success of "Wonder Woman" over the weekend, expect that to change soon.

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“Wonder Woman” hit theaters last weekend and has been a massive critical and box-office success. It’s a comic book/superhero movie, but it also happens to be a historical movie taking place in Europe during World War I.

So while this movie's main character is a badass woman made of clay (she can also fly) who fights bad guys with a magical lasso, there are some things that are actually very real about who she's fighting. 

General Ludendorff, played by Danny Huston, is a general in the Imperial German Army. He’s ruthless, ambitious, and will do whatever it takes to win the war for Germany, including using chemical weapons. 

General Eric Ludendorff was a real German general in World War I. According to Uproxx, he was an advocate for “total war." And from 1916 to 1918, he was the leader of Germany’s war efforts.

The real Ludendorff has been credited for coining the “stab in the back” myth. After World War I, right-wing Germans believed that the Germans didn’t lose the war on the battlefield, but instead that they lost the war because other Germans betrayed them on the homefront. Ludendorff blamed the Berlin government and German civilians for failing to support him. In the 1920s, he became a prominent right-wing leader in Germany, serving in Parliament for the National Socialist Party. He also had associations with Adolf Hitler and other Nazis.

Ludendorff stood for war, and Wonder Woman stands for peace, so it makes sense that director Patty Jenkins and screenwriter Allan Heinberg turned to Ludendorff for their villain.

SEE ALSO: Why 'Wonder Woman' matters to women — and is already changing the movies we watch

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It turns out Warner Bros. made a major error while making "Wonder Woman," and the studio is likely to pay for it.

Though Warner Bros. is overjoyed by the box-office success and acclaim of its latest DC Comics Extended Universe release, according to reports, it didn't sign on the movie's director, Patty Jenkins, for a sequel. Now the studio is under fire from fans who want to see Jenkins return to continue telling the adventures of Diana Prince (played by Gal Gadot).

It looks as if the studio undershooting how well "Wonder Woman" would perform, along with its making plans to develop "Justice League Dark" and a Batgirl movie, led to its lack of attention to a "Wonder Woman" sequel.

One sign of the studio's surprise at the overwhelmingly positive reaction to "Wonder Woman" was its decision to move up the review embargo. For most movies, especially blockbusters, studios give critics a date and time when they can go live with reviews. After early press screenings of the movie, Warner Bros. shifted that date to a few days earlier, making it clear it was confident in how the movie would be received.

"Wonder Woman" has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and had the biggest US box-office opening ever for a female director.

Warner Bros. would have better footing in its sequel negotiations had it locked down Jenkins before the release of "Wonder Woman," but now the leverage is clearly on Jenkins' side.

And Jenkins is certainly up for another movie. She told Business Insider during a Facebook Live interview: "I would love to, and we're all definitely excited about it."

Warner Bros. did not immediately reply to Business Insider's request for comment.

Watch our entire interview with Jenkins:

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I recently attended a showing of "Wonder Woman" exclusively for women and women-identifying viewers at the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn, New York. When the Alamo Drafthouse announced its female-only screenings in May, the theater got backlash from men who were offended about the exclusion, as if they forgot that the 19th Amendment wasn't ratified until 1920, among other things like the wage gap.

While there was a man in attendance who began to ruin the experience for me and those around me, the hurt feelings got lost once the movie started. We were in this together, and we all united over our shared excitement for this amazing female-led and -directed superhero movie that means so much to us for so many reasons.

I could feel the camaraderie throughout the entire film, and have never felt more connected to dozens of strangers before. Not even when I saw "The Fate of the Furious" in 4DX, during which I made memories that will last lifetimes. 

Here's what it was like to watch a women-only screening of "Wonder Woman":

Warning: Mild spoilers for "Wonder Woman" below.

SEE ALSO: Why 'Wonder Woman' matters to women — and is already changing the movies we watch

The Alamo Drafthouse had entirely female staff work the screening.

I didn't see anyone dressed up, but there was a "Nasty Woman" T-shirt, and I saw a woman with a Wonder Woman koozie.

Since this screening was on a weeknight and more than a few days after the film's release, the hype to get dressed up for it wasn't there. 

We had a host who led chants of “I am Wonder Woman!" and "We are Wonder Women!"

The host also asked the audience if we were excited for “Justice League,” which got a faint applause followed by a much louder laugh. 

UPDATE: Sources told BuzzFeed Tuesday Gal Gadot was paid "at least" as much for "Wonder Woman" as Henry Cavill was paid for "Man of Steel" and Cavill would not have been paid "anywhere close" to $14 million.

ORIGINAL: Gal Gadot may be the face of the biggest superhero movie on the planet right now, but she didn't get paid like it.

According to The Daily Dot, the star of "Wonder Woman" was paid $300,000. Gadot is currently in the second film of a three-picture deal in which she's being paid that figure for each project ("Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,""Wonder Woman," and "Justice League").

Because of the success of "Wonder Woman," Gadot is likely to be eligible for any bonuses in her contract.

It's a surprisingly low number in the superhero-movie world, given the hundreds of millions of dollars paid to make and promote the films. But it's not the first time an actor has gotten that kind of paycheck — Chris Evans also got a base pay of $300,000 for "Captain America: The First Avenger."

However, most actors in the first "Avengers" movie earned between $2 million and $6 million after bonuses, while Robert Downey Jr. took in $50 million. 

With "Wonder Woman" having earned over $570 million worldwide to date, Gadot can expect a raise when the sequel is announced.

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As “Wonder Woman” continues to be a box-office juggernaut, more people are celebrating the moments that stand out from the movie, and one favorite is the “No Man’s Land” scene.

It’s the moment when Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) reveals herself as Wonder Woman. Pinned down in the frontlines of World War I, she climbs out of a trench to single-handedly take on an entire platoon of German soldiers. Standing in the middle of “No Man’s Land,” a battlefield given the name because no man has been able to cross it before, Wonder Woman takes on all the enemy firepower, allowing Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and the other allied forces to sneak across the terrain and take out the German forces.

As we said at the time of the movie’s release: “If you aren't sucked into the movie by this point, you should really check to make sure you have a pulse.”

While in a piece for the LA Times, Meredith Woerner echoed the sentiments of a number of viewers when she said she cried while watching the scene:

“It felt like I was discovering something I didn’t even know I had always wanted... witnessing a woman hold the field, and the camera, for that long blew open an arguably monotonous genre. We didn’t need a computer-generated tree or a sassy raccoon to change the superhero game; what we needed was a woman.”

Director Patty Jenkins has not just made a movie that is a powerful addition to the superhero craze, but with the “No Man’s Land” scene — which she had to fight to get in the movie— she’s created a moment in cinematic history that young girls can use for inspiration to be strong-willed and driven in the real world.

But a lot of those goosebumps (and tears) you got from watching the scene are also courtesy of the movie’s cinematographer, Matthew Jensen. 

Jensen is no stranger to lensing CGI-fueled projects, having shot “Game of Thrones” and “Fantastic Four” (2015). He could tell when he got to London in September of 2015 to start his 12 weeks of prep work before shooting began that there was a lot riding on the “No Man’s Land” scene.

“I remember the first week we were sitting down and taking a look at the really early previsuals of the sequence and trying to make sense of it,” Jensen recently told Business Insider. “Every week of prep we made suggestions and changes because we knew it would be such an enormous undertaking.”

Jensen said it was exciting to be in a room with Jenkins and visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer and get into how they would reveal Wonder Woman. This entailed talking about how other superheros have been revealed in past movies and how they could do it differently. This led to the idea of having Wonder Woman climb a ladder out of the trench to reveal her full costume. They felt the shot would be “emotionally impactful,” as Jensen put it, if done right.

The anxiety going into shooting any big scene, according to Jensen, is: Can you pull off what was talked about in prep?

“You’re with a whole bunch of people throwing out ideas, so you’re getting a rush from that, but it’s always tempered by this palpable sense of dread,” Jensen said. “I think, ‘Oh my God, how am I going to pull this off?’”

Added to Jensen’s trepidation was the fact that he couldn’t use his regular crew because the production was in London. So he had to work with a local crew. Shooting began in November of 2015, but luckily the “No Man’s Land” scene wasn’t going to be shot until February, so he had some time for everyone to get acclimated with one another.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to tackle that scene early in production,” Jensen said.

The “No Man’s Land” scene was shot over two weeks on an outdoor set in London that was 300 yards in size and extremely muddy. This led to a change of the major shot in the scene.

Jensen and his crew set up wire rigs above the muddy set to hold the camera still and also give it smooth movement. In the frigid winter weather, Gadot went up the ladder for her Wonder Woman reveal numerous times as Jensen tried to get the shot right. Gadot would then go back down into the trench and be covered with coats and blankets as the camera and wire rig would take 15 minutes to reset.

“It was daunting trying to get that right,” Jensen said.

Gadot did the ladder shot close to 15 times before they finally wrapped on it. Looking back, Jensen said the wire rig wasn’t “precise enough” for what they wanted to accomplish.

So they ended up shooting Gadot on a green screen for her head-to-toe reveal as Wonder Woman as she got to the top of the ladder.

“It didn’t have the emotional impact we wanted,” Jensen said of the shots from the set. “The terrain was so tricky and getting off the ladder was tricky. It didn’t have the power we wanted it to have.”

Jensen admits that he prefers to do as much as he can in-camera, without digital effects, but in this case he has no regrets about going the CGI route.

“It was 100 percent the way to go and I’m very happy with the results we got,” Jensen said. “Sometimes it’s better to bend reality.”

In November 2016, he saw Jenkins' cut, and though the CGI and color correction weren't finished, he got goosebumps watching the scene, especially the buildup of Wonder Woman’s climb up the ladder, for which he included insert shots of her shield, boots, and lasso. But he was still nervous going into the world premiere of the movie.

“I was sitting next to my wife and I nearly squeezed the blood out of her hand throughout the whole premiere,” Jensen said. “Only in the last couple of weeks have I come to terms that people like it.”

But it's still hard for Jensen to fathom how much the “No Man’s Land” scene has affected audiences. Particularly the idea that fans and fellow DPs will be closely examining his work for years to come.

“It’s just dawning on me as you’re saying it right now,” Jensen said. “To think my work will be studied, I’ve never thought that. I thought at best I would be making movies that would be critically well-received but nobody would see them. It’s extraordinary.”

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It looks like our wish has come true, or mostly: A "Wonder Woman" sequel is in the works and its director, Patty Jenkins, is involved.

But there's a catch: She's not officially the director yet.

In a profile on Warner Bros. head Toby Emmerich for Variety, the studio chief confirmed that Jenkins is already working on a sequel to the studio's smash hit.

According to the story, the sequel is planned to take place in the past but not during World War I, which was the period for the first movie. 

Keeping things close to the vest, Emmerich coyly said in the story, "It will take place somewhere between 1917 and 2017." 

Variety also spoke to DC Films heads Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, and Johns chimed in about the sequel plans.

"Patty and I are writing the treatment right now," Johns said. "The goal is to make another great 'Wonder Woman' film. I had a blast making it with Patty the first time. We've got a cool idea for the second one."

But neither story says that Jenkins is signed on as the director. At the moment she's involved only with writing the treatment. A source told Business Insider that it is still to be determined if Jenkins will direct the sequel.

"Wonder Woman" has grossed over $570 million worldwide to date. 

Warner Bros. had no comment for this story. 

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The Marvel movie ends, and the credits start to roll. You see some people in your row start to gather their things and leave. Amateurs.

But not you. You stay in your seat, just like you have since you first saw "Iron Man" in 2008 and heard whispers of an extra scene after the credits. It seemed unlikely — why would anyone want to stay that long once the film is over? But you waited, and your patience was rewarded. Now you know not to leave the theater until every last name has scrolled past and employees are starting to sweep up popcorn. 

Now 16 movies deep, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is famous for its post-credits scenes. Some are used to tease new characters and plotlines, while others are there to give a wink to hardcore comics fans.

Viewers of Marvel's latest, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," are treated to two more. They're worthy additions to Marvel's already extensive collection.

Here is the definitive ranking of Marvel's post-credits scenes:

Note: This list contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

SEE ALSO: The inside story of how 'Spider-Man' star Tom Holland went undercover in a NYC high school to prepare to be Peter Parker

28. "Thor: The Dark World"— The kiss

Look, I'll be honest, I haven't seen "Thor: The Dark World." It's the only Marvel movie that I've missed, and at this point I haven't heard anything that makes me want to go back and watch it. 

That said, I'm confident that this is the worst post-credits scene that Marvel has put out. It doesn't tease a future plotline or character, and it's not remotely funny. I'm glad I didn't sit through the credits to watch this. 

Watch it here.

27. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"— The twins

A generally underwhelming scene is buoyed somewhat by the appearance of two new characters: Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. 

Watch it here.

26. "Doctor Strange"— "Too many sorcerers"

Doctor Strange was a niche, unfamiliar property for many moviegoers. Perhaps a post-credits scene focusing on the creation of a niche, unfamiliar villain was not the best way to go. Unlike most Marvel post-credits scenes, this one did not leave me wanting to see what was going to happen next. 

Watch it here.

"Super Mario Bros." is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. Little Super Mario sits alongside Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald as one of the modern world's most recognizable characters.

And yet, even with something as popular and straightforward as "Super Mario Bros.", the Hollywood movie industry adapted it into something hilariously bad.

This is the norm for video game adaptations taken on by Hollywood, whether it's a TV show or a film — few expect their favorite game to get turned into a good movie or show.

The recently released "Castlevania" on Netflix, an animated show centered on the "Castlevania" video game series, is an incredible exception. It's smart, funny, and manages to turn a largely uninteresting game series (story-wise) into a compelling narrative.

We caught up with "Castlevania" showrunner Adi Shankar over the phone last week to ask how he and his team managed to pull off what so many others in Hollywood could not. Shankar said the reason so many video game adaptations are terrible is because of the approach taken by Hollywood: Rather than diving in on what makes the game's world interesting to the people who already love it, adaptations tend to broaden the scope too far in an attempt to draw in a larger audience.

"Let's say the game sold 5 million copies, right? [The studios] look at it as, 'Those are 5 million people who are gonna show up on opening weekend anyways. So let's get more people to show up,'" Shankar said. "But what they didn't get is no, no, no, no, no — that's like your marketing department. Those 5 million people? If you love something, you want everyone else to love it. You want to share that fandom with other people."

To Shankar, "Old Hollywood" is represented by that old approach: Take a property that people already love, and broaden it instead of appealing to its core. And it's "New Hollywood" that gave him the chance to make "Castlevania."

"I was done," Shankar said. He'd made a handful of successful but — by their very nature — unprofitable films on YouTube. He made what are essentially fan films that he dubbed his "Bootleg Universe": short films based on stuff like "Power Rangers" and "The Punisher." Since they're properties owned by major corporations, he was unable to profit from the films (lest he get sued). 

"After that came out, 'Old Hollywood' was kind of like, 'What is this guy smoking? What is wrong with this dude?'," Shankar said. "But then I guess 'New Hollywood' — the internet crowd — embraced me as one of their own at that point. Maker Studios gave me a three-picture deal. And there's a bunch of stuff that happened behind the scenes that wasn't even public knowledge. I was in kind of a weird spot because I wanted to leave, and I was like I'll try out this whole 'Hollywood Career version 2.0' for me." 

With one foot out the door, Hollywood pulled Shankar back in. 

"I shut down all the infrastructure I'd set up. I applied to graduate school. And then different brands just started hitting me up. It was kinda weird," he said. "Those same corporations that I was like 'Ugh, go away!' — they were calling me. There were rumors of maybe he'll direct this movie, maybe he'll produce that thing. And I'm like, 'What is going on? I'm literally out the door.'" 

It was around then that, through a chance encounter, Shankar learned of an opportunity to lead production on a show based on "Castlevania," a classic video game franchise close to Shankar's heart. He jumped at it, and the show we have now is the result of that chance encounter.

But Shankar sees his role in Hollywood as similar to that of Joss Whedon (who directed "The Avengers"), James Gunn (who directed "Guardians of the Galaxy") and Jon Favreau (who directed "Iron Man"), only with video games as the medium being adapted rather than comic books.

Here's Shankar:

"The way I see it is comic book adaptations were really bad for a very long time. And really what it took was a bunch of kids who loved comic books growing up, who were then pissed off at how bad the comic books movies were, to be like, 'I'm gonna change that.' Right? They went out and made 'Iron Man.' They went out and made 'The Avengers.' They went out and made all these now-great comic book adaptations."

And he's not wrong. Before comic book movies took over as the modern blockbuster, there were dozens of whiffs. Do yourself a favor and don't watch "Batman Forever," for instance. It took decades of misses before Hollywood figured out how to consistently make hit films out of comic books. And even then, it wasn't a measure of the film industry figuring out how to do it — they simply handed the keys to directors who grew up with comics, who love those comics. 

Shankar put it as such: "It's on our generation to fix this problem." His next project, unsurprisingly, is another video game adaptation: "Assassin's Creed." 

SEE ALSO: Netflix somehow managed to make a great TV show based on a video game

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"Deadpool 2" has added a new mutant to the team — Domino. 

The new mutant mercenary will be played by "Atlanta" actress Zazie Beetz, who will join Ryan Reynolds as he reprises his role as Deadpool.

Reynolds first shared a photo of the actress in full costume on his social media accounts. "Some people just know how to work a red carpet," he wrote.

Beetz then shared her own photo in costume. 

So who exactly is Domino?

Domino, real name Neena Thurman, is a best known as a mutant member of the X-Force. The group is closely associated to the X-Men, but are generally more aggressive. 

She was born as a result of Project Armageddon, a government operation that sought to create a living weapon that could destroy the entire world. She was one of the only subjects to survive and escaped with her mother's help. Domino was left with a Chicago priest, who would raise her.

She has been a member of numerous groups, but as of 2016, Domino has joined Deadpool's Mercs for Money team. In the newest incarnation, the team must save Negasonic Teenage Warhead (played by Brianna Hildebrand in the first "Deadpool" movie) from Umbral Dyanimcs, a mysterious organization. 

What are her powers?

Domino has the ability to shape the outcomes of events around her in her favor. Basically, she has the power to make herself lucky. So as long as she makes an effort to do something better than another person or tries to avoid something dangerous, she will be able to generate the luck she needs to accomplish her task.

It's a subconscious ability that manifests when she's stressed. Because it's all subconscious, she tends to move with perfect reflexes and reactions, which also makes her an amazing athlete, fighter, and skilled markswoman. She carries various firearms at all times. 

What else to know? 

She has worked closely with the mutant, Cable, since first meeting him as part of the mercenary team Six Pack. Domino and Cable have also shared an intimate relationship in the past. Cable will be played by Josh Brolin in "Deadpool 2." 

"Deadpool" stars Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, and Stefan Kapičić are all returning to the sequel, which is scheduled for a June 1, 2018 release.

SEE ALSO: ABC released a new trailer for its next Marvel show at Comic-Con and fans reportedly laughed at it

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Romantic comedies have been a staple in the Hollywood machine for as long as movies have been around. But the 1980s and 1990s was the genre’s golden era, as the likes of Rob Reiner (“When Harry Met Sally…”), Garry Marshall (“Overboard,” “Pretty Woman”), and Nora Ephron (“Sleepless in Seattle,” “You’ve Got Mail”) elevated the movies into emotional tear-jerkers that were perfect for date nights.

For those decades, the titles were solid box office moneymakers for the studios, and went on to become cash cows on DVD and cable (where many still play to this day).

And though the early 2000s saw new classics come into the fold like "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Hitch," around 2010 romantic comedies at the studio level drastically slowed down. In recent years, they’ve all but stopped. Since 2010, rom-coms went from nine major studio wide releases (a high water mark for the genre in the 2000s) to zero released at the studio level in 2017.

The last rom-com to earn over $100 million domestically at the box office was 2015's "Trainwreck." 

What happened?

A big factor is the studios realized that comic book movies were where the money was (especially overseas, where rom-coms rarely ever make coin). The major studios only had three wide releases of comic book adaptations in 2010. Since then, there’s been a steady stream of six, sometimes eight (in 2014) comic book movies released by the studios yearly. By the end of 2017, five will have hit the multiplex.

But all the blame can’t be pointed at Iron Man and Wonder Woman. The studios also lost touch with how young people today connect romantically.

“Less people are getting married, or getting married young now than they were years ago, and the whole dating culture with the apps and online, there’s a subtle sea change in what that audience is looking at in terms of romantic comedy entertainment,” Billy Mernit, author of “Writing the Romantic Comedy” and story analyst at Universal, told Business Insider. “So you have the studios still making the same formulaic romantic comedy where it's a courtship story that leads to marriage, and it usually revolves around a young professional woman who gets a leg up by getting involved with an alpha male. The target audience, the twentysomethings and above, just no longer related to that kind of a movie and yet the studios seemed to be tone deaf to that change.”

But romantic comedies haven’t gone away completely. They’ve been modernized at the independent film level and have found success there.

Over the years movies like 2014's "Obvious Child" and 2015's "Sleeping with Other People" have proven that rom-coms can delve into some dramatic waters while still cracking jokes about the dating scene.

One of the most talked about movies of 2017 is Judd Apatow-produced “The Big Sick.” Though it's a romantic comedy, what stands out is its unique multicultural love story between a Pakistani man (Kumail Nanjiani) and white woman (Zoe Kazan). And it manages to find laughs even though it revolves around the guy caring for the girl who is in a coma.

The buzz about the movie going into this year's Sundance led to Amazon buying it for $12 million. Lionsgate is doing the theatrical release, and the movie has grossed over $35 million worldwide to date (it was made for $5 million). 

"There is slowly a shift in perception on what a romantic comedy is," Mernit said. "The smart romantic comedy writer of 2017 is writing a script that they aren't calling a romantic comedy. They have to have a fresh angle."

Or perhaps the smart rom-com writer is headed to TV. As movies find success now with raunchy R-rated comedies like "Bad Moms" and "Girls Trip," Mernit pointed out TV is where you can find the rom-coms, whether its "The Mindy Project" or "Catastrophe."

"The Catch 22 of the industry right now is the fact that tentpoles supersede all other types of filmmaking," Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, told Business Insider. "Truth is, the romantic comedy genre doesn’t seem to have too many maestros as it once did. The Nora Ephrons of the world have faded to black, and love and laughs seem to have gone the way of the sitcom, and into streaming content."

So even though occasionally we may see someone like Amy Schumer convince a studio to release a movie starring her in search for love, the rom-com of yesteryear is pretty much extinct.

"The golden era of a romantic comedy coming out every week, we're done with that," Mernit said. "But the romantic comedy genre will never die because whether it's lesbian lovers, a threesome, or a girlfriend in a coma, we are still interested in seeing those stories. I don't think that's ever going to go away."

SEE ALSO: Steven Soderbergh has a new plan to make Hollywood movies outside the control of big studios

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• Black Eyed Peas musician Will.i.am released an augmented reality app for his graphic novel "Masters of the Sun: The Zombie Chronicles'."
• The app lets fans go deeper into the storyline and characters.
• Stan Lee narrates the experience, and celebrities like Mary J Blige, Rosario Dawson, and Snoop Dog add voiceovers.

Your comic book-loving grandpa is about to get a shock.

On Friday, musician and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am released an augmented reality app that takes the pages of the graphic novel he published earlier this year and brings them to life. 

Hold the your phone over the book and the story's zombies are enlivened with animation; characters in the graphic novel get voiceovers from a laundry list of celebrities including Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Mary J Blige, Rosario Dawson, and Snoop Dog. 

The graphic novel, "Masters of the Sun: The Zombie Chronicles," targets hip-hop fans with its L.A. gang culture meets Egyptology and zombie plotline, and the AR app let readers dive deeper into the storyline and its characters with 90 minutes of content. 

"The story borrows from pop culture, and what’s happening in our own community, it's the first of its kind, will.i.am told Business Insider in an interview. 

The newness and creativity of the project helped attract the celebrity cast, he said. 

"Everyone wants to be part of something that moves the needle," said Will.

The experience is narrated by legendary former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee, and scored by  Academy-award-winning composer Hans Zimmer.

A virtual reality version is coming next

The graphic novel was released in August of 2017, but Will said that the plan from the beginning was to package the book with the AR app, and a virtual reality app that is currently in development with Oculus. 

"We did the book first for the traditionalists, and will expand upon it with augmented reality and then virtual reality," Will said.

This isn't his first foray into technology. In 2011, he was named  Director of Creative Innovation by Intel, and in 2012 founded i.am+, a consumer technology startup that recently raised $117 million for a voice-assistant for customer service. 

He said he became "hip" to AR while working at Intel, and has wanted to create something using the technology ever since. The app itself was developed with Trigger Global, a mixed-reality company that has developed content for clients like Google, Mattel, and Red Bull.

The app is set to be released on iOS and Android and will cost $1.99. Of course, to use the app, fans will also have to buy the novel. 

SEE ALSO: Here's how to use Facebook Local, the company's newly relaunched Events app

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a cash cow for Disney since it kicked off with "Iron Man" in 2008.

The franchise has made over $13.5 billion worldwide to date, and that number will rise drastically this weekend when "Black Panther" opens, as is projected to break some box office records.

Critics seem to love the MCU, but they especially are in love with "Black Panther." The movie currently has a 98% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes.

Check out where that ranks among the 18 movies in the MCU, according to critics on Rotten Tomatoes:

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18. "Thor: The Dark World" (2013)

Critic score: 66%

User score: 77%

What critics said:"The 'Crocodile Dundee II' of superhero films — in a good way!"— Slate

17. "The Incredible Hulk" (2008)

Critic score: 67%

User score: 71%

What critics said:"In close-up the Hulk is more cartoonish than scary, but when he's ripping armed vehicles to shreds? Kewl."— Houston Chronicle

16. "Iron Man 2" (2010)

Critic score: 73% (certified fresh)

User score: 72%

What critics said: "It's easy to talk about what 'Iron Man 2' doesn't do, but what it does do is so full of energy and genuine enthusiasm that it's hard to imagine anyone walking out unhappy."— CinemaBlend

There's no denying the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a success.

Its films are not only critically adored, but it is also the highest-grossing movie franchise ever, with nearly $15 billion globally.

"Black Panther" itself has already hit the $1 billion mark after a little over a month in theaters, and Marvel's next film, "Avengers: Infinity War," beat the Fandango record for fastest-selling advance tickets of any superhero movie.

But none of that would be possible without decades worth of comic book stories that inspire the MCU.

If you love the movies of the MCU, it's worth visiting your local comic book store and checking out what they have to offer. 

Many classic Marvel storylines act as blueprints for the MCU. The planet Thor travels to in "Thor: Ragnarok?" It made its debut in an acclaimed Hulk comic book. "Captain America: Civil War?" It's loosely based on a Marvel comic-event.

These storylines can be found collected into trade paperback (or hardcover) versions at any comic book store, or they can most likely be ordered for you if they don't have it — just ask.

Below are 12 essential Marvel comic books any fan of the MCU who is new to comics should read:

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"Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle" (1979)

Written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton

Art by John Romita, Jr., Bob Layton, and Carmine Infantino

You have to go back in time quite a bit for this important "Iron Man" story, but the Armored Avenger's solo films borrow heavily from it — albeit taking creative liberties.

The storyline not only introduces readers to Justin Hammer, a rival businessman to Tony Stark who is played by Sam Rockwell in "Iron Man 2," but also tackles Stark's alcoholism head-on.

While this aspect of Stark's comic book history is ignored in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is tweaked in a way. "Iron Man 3" basically subs in PTSD for Stark's alcoholism.

"The Infinity Gauntlet" (1991)

Written by Jim Starlin

Art by George Pérez

"The Infinity Gauntlet" is considered one of, if not the, best storylines in Marvel comic history — and it's coming to theaters in less than a month.

Okay, "Avengers: Infinity War" may not be a direct adaptation of this classic event-comic, but it's obviously heavily inspired by it. The story finds Earth's heroes going up against Thanos, who has acquired the Infinity Stones, which basically give him ultimate power and the ability to bend the universe to his desires.

In "Infinity War," the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy face a similar situation, as Thanos seeks the remaining stones he does not have. It's one of the most ambitious crossovers in movie history so lets hope it does "The Infinity Gauntlet" justice. 

"Ultimate Spider-Man" (2000)

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Art by Mark Bagley

In the late 1990s, Marvel had filed for bankruptcy, and its comics had hit a creative slump. As the company entered the 2000s, it was looking for ways to re-group.

Enter the "Ultimate Universe," a banner under Marvel Comics which aimed to re-introduce Marvel's characters for a new generation of fans. It included comics that co-existed alongside Marvel's regular comic line, but the storylines were set in a separate universe.

"Ultimate Spider-Man" was the Ultimate line's first book, and introduced readers to what this new direction was all about: telling fresh, modern takes on the origin stories of Marvel's best characters. Bendis and Bagley created over 100 consecutive issues together over the course of seven years (one of the longest runs of a creative team in comics history).

If you liked "Spider-Man: Homecoming," it's worth checking out Bendis and Bagley's original "Ultimate Spider-Man" run, as it basically set the precedent for what the MCU would do with the character — revamp him with a fresh, young, energetic spirit.