In The Acolyte‘s sixth episode, Osha found herself on Qimir’s secret hideaway. That place was first seen in the series’ premiere when Mae’s Master appeared atop a rock along crashing ocean waves. Unlike every other world on the series, though, the Star Wars series didn’t give Qimir’s world a name. The Acolyte labeled it only as an “Unknown Planet.” But it was impossible for Star Wars fans not to wonder if we already know what it’s actually called, Ahch-To. The Acolyte‘s Unknown Planet looked nearly identical to the planet of Ahch-To from the sequel trilogy. But though showrunner Leslye Headland has now confirmed that the “Unknown Planet” is not Ahch-To, the similarities still ring loudly. Qimir living on a planet that reminds us of Ahch-to creates immediate parallels between the tale of the very dark side user who will put the Jedi on a path to near ruin a century later and the story of how a reclusive Luke Skywalker trained Rey.

What Is The Acolyte‘s Unknown Planet? Here’s Why It Reminded Fans of Star Wars‘ Ahch-To

The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” and the Star Wars planet Ahch-To share all the same physical properties. They’re both mostly covered in water dotted with lush, green rocky islands. Each is also home to adorable little bird-like creatures, though the new Disney+ show’s animals are not porgs. Simply put, they look identical in every way.

Those similarities are only part of the reason why it was impossible not to think Osha found herself on Ahch-To on The Acolyte. The Acolyte also framed many shots in ways that clearly hearken back to The Last Jedi. The camera watched from behind as she walked out of a tunnel to look out at the ocean. We saw similar shots of Rey and Luke framed just like that. Osha then followed Qimir around the Unknown Planet just as Rey followed Luke on Ahch-To. The Acolyte intentionally referenced shots and sequences from Ahch-To on a place that was indistinguishable from it.

Does Qimir Actually Live on the Planet of Ahch-To on The Acolyte?

So, is that actually where Qimir lives? Did the Jedi Killer make the very planet where the Jedi Order was founded thousands of years before as his base of operations? It turns out the answer is, no. The “Unknown Planet” is not Ahch-To. Instead, Qimir resides on a planet where it is possible to mine the rare Star Wars metal, cortosis.

Headland shares in response to whether Qimir’s Unknown Planet is actually Ahch-To on The Acolyte:

It’s not Ahch-To. I know it’s similar, and it was intentionally supposed to be similar in terms of terrain and feeling isolated and surrounded by water and less lush green and more rocky. But the idea is that cortosis is mined on this planet, so I don’t think that’s the case with Ahch-To. Part of the reason this is his home base is that cortosis is a very rare metal. I don’t think we say it explicitly in the show, but that’s a reason it’s not Ahch-To.

But though Qimir’s planet is not the famous Star Wars setting, the fact his world looks so much like Ahch-To is what matters.

The Unkown Planet’s Resemblance to Ahch-To Is Important for The Acolyte Even If It’s a Different Planet

Of course, had The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” ultimately been revealed to be Ahch-To the significance would have been obvious. The very dark lord—a former Jedi Padawan and possible Sith—who put the Order on a path of destruction would have used the Jedi’s own home to bring them down.

We still wonder if there are other secrets on the island, though. Had it been Ahch-To, we might have speculated that Qimir used Sacred Jedi Texts and ancient Jedi knowledge found on Ahch-To to better understand his enemy on The Acolyte. This could have explained why he’s able to tap into the Force with as much power as he can.

(But perhaps other knowledge from the Unknown Planet will help explain why the Jedi couldn’t sense his real identity initially. And that would also help explain why they won’t sense Palpatine’s more than a century later.)

But though Qimir’s planet is not Ahch-To on a cloudy day and is instead a totally different world, The Acolyte clearly wanted us to make that Star Wars connection. There’s obvious meaning in making us think about Ahch-To. It’s Star Wars “rhyming” like poetry, just as George Lucas said it should.

Osha becoming Qimir’s apprentice on The Acolyte on an island much like Ahch-To means another place exists where a powerful Force user trains a student who will go on to lead their order, just as occurs when Rey arrives at Ahch-To to find Luke Skywalker. Only the roles will flip now, with Qimir’s student reluctant to learn and Rey’s Master reluctant to teach.

In the galaxy far, far away there are two identical worlds, neither inherently good or bad. How those who call them home use those planets will determine which side they fall on, just as the Force is neither inherently good or bad. We’ll remember one planet for light, the other for dark. They, fittingly, balance each other.

Is The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” really Ahch-To? No. But the fact we had to ask is meaningful enough on its own.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and Manny Jacinto superfan. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Nicolas Cage has played many roles in his storied career, including some famous horror roles. He’s been a guy who thinks he is a vampire (Vampire’s Kiss), to someone who definitely did not like bees (The Wicker Man). And, more recently, he starred in the cult film Mandy. Now, he’s finally playing a serial killer, in the upcoming film Longlegs. The upcoming film is from director Osgood Perkins, who comes from quite the horror pedigree himself. His father was Anthony Perkins, the iconic Norman Bates in the Psycho franchise. You can check out the trailers for the upcoming serial killer horror film from NEON Films right here.

The movie centers on Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) a fledgling FBI agent, who is attempting to crack a long-unsolved case of a serial killer. Eventually, the investigation becomes more complex, when they uncover some occult evidence. We glimpse a book about the Nine Circles of Hell in the trailer. Eventually, Harker discovers that he has a personal link to the killer (Nicolas Cage), and has to race against the clock in order to prevent another murder from happening.

Longlegs also stars Alicia Witt (The Walking Dead, Twin Peaks) and Dear White People’s Blair Underwood. Nicolas Cage is producing via his company Saturn Films.

Despite suggesting a horror film that connects to spiders, the tagline for the film says in a very cryptic way “You’ve got the teeth of the Hydra upon you.” So it looks like we’re seeing some Hydra ancient mythology that connects to this particular mystery.

We’re a sucker for a good cult-themed horror story like True Detective: Night Country. A story that has ties to some kind of mythological being.

The poster art for Longlegs says “The Man Downstairs is Coming.” It appears this mysterious man will arrive in theaters on July 12.

Originally published on February 5, 2024.

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When James Gunn’s Superman hits theaters next year, it might for a moment feel like you’re seeing more than one Man of Steel up on the screen. That’s because, as reported by Variety, the son of the late Christopher Reeve, Will Reeve, shot a cameo scene for the Superman film this week in Cleveland, Ohio. Will Reeve, the youngest of the late Superman star’s three children, is the spitting image of his dad. So it’s sure to be a touching moment when he and David Corenswet share the screen in the DCU movie. Will Reeve is actually a journalist and ABC News correspondent, so his Superman cameo will fittingly be that of a TV reporter who meets the Last Son of Krypton.

Locals caught the filming of many scenes from the Superman movie, including Will Reeve’s appearance on set. In the past week, we’ve seen David Corenswet in costume on set, not only as Superman but also as Clark Kent. This version of Clark has a curly mop of hair and thick glasses. The Clark Kent disguise actually makes us believe that people would believe that Superman and Clark are two different people. Also spotted on set is Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hault as Lex Luthor. We’ve also seen Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), wearing his comics-accurate costume. But seeing Christopher Reeve’s son appear in the Superman production is definitely a very fun surprise.

Aside from the upcoming James Gunn film, Will Reeve will appear, along with his two siblings, in the documentary Super/Man. This new film chronicles their late father Christopher Reeve’s rise to fame as Superman, which led to three sequels. His acting career came mostly to a halt after a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995. The incident left him paralyzed from the neck down. Christopher Reeve would become an advocate and spokesperson for those suffering from similar injuries until his death in 2004. It’s safe to say his son’s appearance in Superman will be a more fitting tribute to Christopher Reeve than his CGI recreation in The Flash. Super/Man releases later this year, and Superman hits theaters in July 11, 2025.

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Light spoilers ahead for MaXXXine.

MaXXXine is the climactic—or should I say anticlimactic—end to Ti West’s trilogy. Rather than a crescendo with a peak, it struggles to even race beside the previous two. Gore and violence are sparse with a plot that lacks focus. It’s more of a pick-your-poison “choose your own adventure” film. With Maxine Minx in Hollywood attempting to transition from porn star to movie star, her past rears up and puts an unnecessary kink in her plans. While audiences won’t walk away hating MaXXXine, it’s a lackluster film that drifts from the mind after viewing.

Directed and written by Ti West, MaXXXine marks the final chapter in the trilogy. Maxine, played by Mia Goth (Suspiria, Infinity Pool), is so close to breaking into Hollywood from the porn industry. But with a snoopy P.I. John Labat (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Leave the World Behind) in the mix, deaths adding up around her, and cops sniffing at her heels, her career might be dead on arrival. However, Maxine is not someone anyone should cross. She still possesses her self-preservation edge. With all the promise built from the other films with Mia Goth’s star performance, it’s a wonder this final film falters so much. 

MaXXXine Takes Audiences From Say Something to Say Nothing

X was astounding because of its gore and how it subverts traditional horror. Rather than the stereotypical “pure” final girl, they have a woman who is literally shooting a porn film to survive. Religion and the restrictions women face play out underneath. There is plenty to draw from rewatching X.

The second film, Pearl, was a prequel focused on gender constraints through a warped Wizard of Oz tale. There’s also the nature versus nurture question of whether Pearl was always prone to violent outbursts or if her mother’s restrictive rearing led her down that path. By its climax, Dorothy does not ever leave Kansas. She remains trapped, building up her bitterness and resentment for a life never lived. 

Then there is MaXXXine, a less refined version of the two. MaXXXine lacks cohesion. It has too much happening, and few parts meld together. There are ideas that the movie wanted to explore, including gender and religion, the entertainment industry, and the thin line between entertainment and reality. However, it fails to nail any of them. 

Pointless Parts in MaXXXine Taint the Whole Picture

A familiar refrain will haunt viewers, and it’s one word; “why.” Unfortunately, too much feels unnecessary or designed for laughs. The in-universe film director, Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), feels jammed in without a purpose. Maxine has brief mental struggles with what happened at the farmhouse, but it never amounts to anything. So much hinders the film, like the inclusion of the ’80s real-life serial killer, the Nightstalker. 

At first, it seems as though the infamous murderer is stalking the streets and explicitly targeting those close to Maxine. But it takes little effort to realize who may resent Maxine and her “life of sin.” The movie tries to tease the threat, only showing the individual’s gloved hands, but it does not even take three guesses to identify her foe. So, while it tries to go the mystery route, it fails miserably. MaXXXine‘s uncertainty with what it wants to be. Is it a callout to the industry? Or is the film perhaps a mystery, Giallo horror, etc.? It is unclear.

Mia Goth Still Rocks as Maxine, But There’s Too Much Camp

In MaXXXine, religious zealotry and moments of bright, violent girl power run throughout its narrative. Mia still delivers a forceful and deadly performance. From nutcracker to face-keying, whenever Maxine unleashes her violence on the men around her, it’s always fun and deserved. Still, because of the breadth of what the film takes on, even Mia Goth feels underutilized in the final film. Too much attention goes to flat jokes and exaggerated religious zeal. You nearly forget that Maxine is trying to make a movie. 

Detective Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Detective Torres (Bobby Cannavale) are excess baggage in an already bogged down film. Their whole schtick is Torres being an obnoxious man, talking down to Maxine, then Williams steps in, and Maxine leaves. Rinse and repeat. Many attempts at comedic moments with these two do not land. It’s more obnoxious and will likely leave audiences bewildered. They are not even essential to the final fight.

That Death Was Certainly a Choice

Another strike for MaXXXine, tying in with the gore, is how one death is handled. A Black person has one of the only gruesome deaths that takes place onscreen. Sure, it’s set in the ’80s, and few Black characters in predominantly white films survived. However, if we were going by the checklist of the time, Maxine herself would not have made it out of X intact. 

An argument can be made regarding the fact that the most gruesome deaths are men—although only one is her friend. But there was not enough done to cement that aspect. It’s ruddered in crudely. (If you’re a fan of Cardi B, you can insert her “what was the reason” GIF here.) Because choosing to have one of the most gruesome deaths be a Black person is a jarring disappointment.

MaXXXine had all the promise and goodwill engendered by the two preceding films. Unfortunately, it does not earn much beyond a shrug and “That’s it?” It would be fine if it weren’t part of a trilogy that rose beyond gore and violence while still delivering both. But the final act is “Yikes” in cinema form. MaXXXine forfeits it all, devolving into a messy puddle of obscurity, where whatever themes viewers say the movie explores is more of a wish than reality. The further you get from the theater, the less you’ll like or want to remember this film. 

MaXXXine ⭐ (2 of 5)

The film hits theaters on July 5.

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The Michelle Yeohaissance continues. Just days after going to the White House to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she’s got another big time gig lined up. A new report says our beloved Michelle Yeoh—an Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar-winner—is joining Prime Video’s limited series Blade Runner 2099. But in true franchise fashion, we have no idea if she’ll be playing a human or a replicant.

Michelle Yeoh Joins Blade Runner 2099 Series

Deadline reports Yeoh has signed on to Prime Video’s upcoming series, which is currently filming in Prague. The show is a sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s 2017 film Blade Runner 2049, which itself was a sequel to Ridley Scott’s iconic 1982 film. (Which was itself an adaptation of author Philip K. Dick’s classic story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.) Scott is an executive producer on the series alongside showrunner Silka Luisa (Shining Girls). And Shogun‘s Jonathan van Tulleken will also serve as an executive producer and direct the first two episodes.

Yeoh’s exact role on the show is the latest unknown about the series. Prime Video has yet to release any plot details about the story. Its title does reveal it will take place half a century after Blade Runner 2049. A lot can change in five decades on a dying planet full of humans and replicants alike, and yet we know that even with a lot of time a lot of things in the world of Blade Runner always remain the same.

Other Cast Announced for the Blade Runner Series

Joining Yeoh are a slew of other actors. Hunter Schafer is also set to star. Additionally, Deadline reports that Dimitri Abold (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), Lewis Gribben (Somewhere Boy), Katelyn Rose Downey (The Nun II), and Daniel Rigby (Renegade Nell) join Blade Runner 2099 as series regulars. Meanwhile, Johnny Harris (A Gentleman in Moscow”), Amy Lennox (Only Child), Sheila Atim (The Woman King) and Matthew Needham (House of the Dragon) will be recurring guest stars.

When Will Blade Runner 2099 Release on Prime Video?

The series was considered a priority for Amazon in 2022. It was “fast tracking scripts and eyeing potential production dates.” However, Hollywood studios unnecessary delay in giving the writing and acting unions fair contracts delayed work on the show. Now it’s in full swing with an Oscar winner in the cast.

And whether Michelle Yeoh is playing a real person or a copy of one, we know she’ll be good.

Originally published on May 7, 2024.

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L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz got turned on its head with Gregory Maguire’s Wicked. The 1995 book put the spotlight on Elphaba and her life, often one full of hardship, until Dorothy kills her. Wicked became a Broadway musical in 2003 and has since become the fourth longest-running Broadway series. And this journey through Oz doesn’t stop with a musical: we’re getting a two-part film adaptation from director Jon M. Chu. The first Wicked trailer is here, showing off a beautifully cinematic version of Oz and the beginning of Elphaba and Glinda’s fateful and witchy friendship.

Wicked‘s New Release Date

Wicked was slated to be released on November 27, but it will now release a little earlier on November 22.

Watch the Wicked Movie’s Trailer

Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba and Ariana Grande plays Glinda. They meet as students at Shiz University and become close friends. Elphaba and Glinda could not have more different backgrounds. Those backgrounds definitely put a thorn in the side of the friendship. As Wicked‘s synopsis explains:

The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

We’re glad to see the Wicked movie trailer embrace its roots and even tease the movie’s version of the many iconic musical songs. We can’t wait to hear them in full.

You Can Also Check Out the Wicked Trailer in LEGO Form

In case the real version of Wicked‘s movie trailer left you wanting more, you can also check out a LEGO version. Who doesn’t love LEGO Oz?

Wicked Movie Featurette and First-Looks

Wicked is an epic and long story. Is it a story that needs two movies? Only time will tell. Happily, it does seem like the cast and crew of the movie are very passionate about it.

In addition to Erivo and Grande, the cast for Wicked includes: Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible; Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero; Ethan Slater as Boq; Marissa Bode as Nessarose; and Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz. Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, and Keala Settle also star. Most recently we learned that Peter Dinklage would Dr. Dillamond, a goat with the ability to speak. You can see more first-looks from the movie, below.

Here Are Some New Looks at Wicked‘s Cast

Wicked arrives in theaters on November 22, 2024. Wicked Part Two will follow on November 26, 2025.

Originally published on February 12, 2024.

Featured Image: Universal

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Mike Mignola’s Hellboy and its myriad spinoffs are up there as my favorite comics of all time. The mix of Gothic, cosmic, and monster horror with a helping of gallows humor works for me so, so much. Guillermo del Toro famously made a couple of Hellboy movies with Ron Perlman. While good in their own GDT way, neither of them (especially the second one) truly felt like a proper adaptation of the source material. The 2019 Neil Marshall Hellboy movie with David Harbour adapted the source material directly, but the movie itself was very, very bad. Now we get Hellboy: The Crooked Man and…well, just take a look. Then we’ll talk.

First some context. The Crooked Man was a three-issue arc from Mignola and artist Richard Corben from 2008. It detailed one of Hellboy’s earlier missions for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. In 1958 Appalachia, Hellboy encounters some witches and witch-adjacent people and eventually cross paths with the titular Crooked Man, a hanged war profiteer from the 18th Century who has returned from Hell to act as the region’s resident Devil. He’s pretty terrifying, especially as Corben illustrates him.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man looks to be a very faithful (and small) adaptation of that particular story. On its face this is a good thing. One of the major issues with the 2019 movie is that it adapted way, way, way too many stories, not least of which The Wild Hunt, the longest and most epic story in the Mignola canon. Focusing on a one-off adventure and maximizing the horror is a pretty good idea.

However, just looking at it, you can see the very low budget. You may have noticed the movie comes our way from Ketchup Entertainment. KETCHUP ENTERTAINMENT. Brian Taylor (of Crank franchise fame) is directing, with himself, Mignola, and Mignola’s Baltimore collaborator Christopher Golden on screenplay duties. Jack Kesy (who very briefly played Black Tom Cassidy in Deadpool 2) portrays Hellboy and he just kind of looks unfinished. If Harbour was TOO made up, Kesy looks like a decent amateur cosplay attempt.

So who knows! It may be good. It certainly seems focused more on the actual horror. Which is the proper direction to go following the dark fantasy mishmash of the last movie. But I’m not convinced after this wack first look. I would love it if one day any live-action outing properly snags the tone of the comics. Whether Hellboy: The Crooked Man can do that will have to wait until it comes out later this year.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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This past spring, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures launched not one but two movies. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two premiered March 1 and is currently the second highest grossing movie of 2024. Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hit theaters March 25 and currently occupies the number three slot for the year. So, yeah, makes sense they’d want to do it again. According to Deadline, the two studios have set release dates for the next Monsterverse movie and the next Villeneuve movie.

The Villeneuve movie in question officially has a working title of “Untitled Denis Villeneuve Event Film.” This may in fact be Dune: Messiah, the proposed third film in the Dune franchises, based on the second Frank Herbert book. But it also may be an unrelated Villeneuve movie. In either case, this movie is on the books for December 2026.

As for the next Monsterverse movie, we know it will be directed by Grant Sputore. Now we also know it has a release date of March 26, 2027. Effectively exactly three years after the release of GxK. So get ready for those!

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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There’s something special about ‘90s heartthrobs and dream girls. Maybe you loved She’s All That because Freddie Prinze, Jr. and/or Rachael Leigh Cook were indeed all that. (Some of us were absolutely interested in both, hehe.) I totally hear you and had plenty of crushes of my own, like the Fresh Prince himself. Another guy I love is Josh Hartnett, whom I first saw in scary films like Halloween H20 and The Faculty. Of course, he was far from the villain in those films and many others as he became a teen idol and kept building his career. So, imagine my distress when I watched the trailer for Trap, a horror movie where Josh Hartnett is a serial killer at a pop concert.

The film, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is about Cooper, a dad taking his teen daughter Riley (played by Ariel Donoghue) to see her favorite singer. That sounds touching and totally normal, right? Well, if you know anything about Shyamalan, then you knew the Trap trailer was gonna go left field.

We see Cooper marveling at his daughter’s pure joy over seeing her music queen live. He tells her that he’s going to the restroom and that’s when your heart starts to pound. Is someone going to kidnap her? Is there some supernatural or demonic foolery afoot? Not quite. Cooper notices an unsettling amount of security on his way to the restroom and questions someone who works there.

The guy reluctantly tells him that they’re setting a trap for “the Butcher,” a serial killer who lives up to his name. The worker says there’s no way to leave, and Cooper retreats to the bathroom to check his home security. And guess what? He has someone chained and screaming in his basement! What. The. Hell. Cooper starts seeing red and wondering how he’s going to get out of there without being caught and really, really ruining Riley’s day. Yikes. A movie from the killer’s POV is inspired, indeed.

The world of Trap feels even more real with the release of a whole music video by Riley’s pop idol.

What Is the Release Date for M. Night Shyamalan and Josh Hartnett’s Horror Movie Trap? 

The trailer doesn’t offer up any brutality but we do get brooding stares from Hartnett that make me feel very conflicted. I want to talk about it but not in public. Anyway, Trap will now hit theaters a week earlier than planned, on August 2, and I cannot wait to see what happens to Cooper and Riley. Oh, and the man in the basement, too.

Originally published April 18, 2024.

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After more than two decades, the thought of Ridley Scott making a Gladiator sequel still seems hard to believe. It’s not like the Best Picture winner set itself up for a sequel. Plus, you know, its titular character DIED at the end. That’s not exactly the type of movie you imagine getting a second installment. But Gladiator II is definitely happening. We know for sure because Vanity Fair has released the first images from the film. The Gladiator 2 first-look photos feature stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, and Connie Nielsen fighting to save a decaying Rome from its worst leaders.

They look so good that we’re truly excited to see what happened after Maximus gave his life to give Rome back to the people.

Get your best sword and sandals out, because it’s time to return to the Colosseum. Paramount Pictures’ long-developing sequel is officially ready to enter the arena.

But be warned if you love Joseph Quinn with dark hair. The Stranger Things alum is blonde now.

Anti-warning: Denzel Washington is already the coolest ancient Roman ever.

Hopefully these photos indicate a full Gladiator 2 trailer is on the horizon. It’s not as though we have to wait much longer for the movie anyway.

What Is the Release Date for Gladiator 2?

Gladiator 2 takes a chariot into theaters this fall on November 22, 2024.

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In the pages of Marvel Comics, Victor Creed, a.k.a. Sabretooth, is Wolverine’s biggest rival. The Joker to his Batman, if you will. He’s the worst-case scenario version of Logan—an animal-like mutant, who is almost impossible to kill, a true psychopath with no redeeming qualities. Despite this, he’s worked for and against Wolverine and the X-Men over the years. Thanks to appearances on X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution, and in the live-action films, Sabretooth has become iconic. Now, Sabretooth returns for one more bloody tussle with Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine. Here’s everything you need to know about Wolverine’s most hated enemy.

What Are Sabretooth’s Mutant Powers?

Sabretooth has very similar powers to his main rival, Wolverine. He has razor-sharp claws, regenerative capabilities, including an extensive healing factor, and animal-like senses. He has enhanced agility, speed, stamina, and strength. Similar to Wolverine, Creed’s healing factor allows him to age very slowly. Although his true age remains a mystery, many believe him to be well over 150 years old. As a side effect of Creed’s powers, he suffers from an unquenchable bloodlust.

Over the years, he’s asked various psychic mutants to help alleviate his murderous tendencies with a telepathic soothing balm he calls “the glow.” But even that hasn’t ever fully stripped him of his murderous nature. Eventually, Creed would get an adamantium skeleton of his own like Logan’s, although it would come and go. Even without his powers, Creed remains one of the most skilled hunters and trackers in the Marvel universe, undergoing training by organizations such as Hydra, SHIELD, Weapon X, the CIA, and many others.

Sabretooth’s Marvel Comics History and Relationship with Wolverine

Sabretooth didn’t first appear in X-Men comics, however. He first appeared in the pages of Iron First in 1977, as the martial artist’s intended primary antagonist. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, Claremont shifted Sabretooth over to the pages of Uncanny X-Men, where he developed a long-standing rivalry with the similarly-powered Wolverine. This began in earnest when Mister Sinister recruited him into his Marauders, and he helped slaughter several Morlocks during the Mutant Massacre. From that point forward, they presented Sabretooth as Logan’s primary nemesis.

The source of the Logan/Creed animosity is still a question. Some believe Sabretooth simply hates that there is someone out there with a similar skill set. Others have suggested that their animosity stems from incidents that happened to them while part of the government’s Weapon X project, and several murders of Wolverine’s loved ones he committed. However, some of those incidents are thought to be implanted memories now. The prevailing belief is that Creed simply hates that Logan won’t unleash his feral nature. He disdains Logan’s moral compass, something Sabretooth totally lacks.

Sabretooth Is X-Men Enemy and a Member of the X-Men

Despite his truly amoral nature, over the years Sabretooth has been part of several teams. Aside from Sinister’s Marauders, he’s been a part of the terrorist Brotherhood. There, he worked under his former lover Mystique. The pair have a child together, the human-supremacist leader Graydon Creed. Sabretooth has also been part of the X-Men, during a time when Professor X thought he might cure Sabretooth of his sadistic tendencies. They also forced Creed to work with the government-sanctioned X-Factor for a time, before breaking free of their control. In the recent Krakoan era of X-Men, one of the few mutants who did not agree to the “no killing humans” rule was Creed. So for a time, the X-Men imprisoned him within the island itself.

Sabretooth in the 20th Century Fox X-Men Movies

There are two contradicting versions of Sabretooth in the Fox X-Men films. The first was played by wrestler Tyler Mane. He worked for Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants in the original 2000 X-Men film. He tussles several times with Wolverine, although there is no indication that he knows Logan from a previous life at all in this film. The two fight atop the Statue of Liberty, a battle where Wolverine soundly defeats him. In the first X-Men, he barely has any lines. His personality is blank outside of a few mean snarls.

2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine introduced us to a totally different version of Sabretooth, played by actor Liev Schreiber. This version was Logan’s half-brother, who fought by his side for years. Eventually, they have a falling out, becoming bitter enemies. Although Marvel writers once toyed with Sabretooth and Wolverine as relatives, it never happened. So this is a complete Hollywood invention. Not only does this Victor Creed not visually match the one in the comics, but he also seems totally foreign to the one in the original X-Men film. Very little ties these two characters together visually. Perhaps the first glaring notion that there was no real continuity at work in the Fox X-Men universe.

Which Sabretooth Appears in the MCU and Who Plays Him?

We now have confirmation that Sabretooth will appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, and have a rematch with Logan (Hugh Jackman). We see the two prepare to fight in the wasteland we believe to be the Void from Loki in a recent trailer. The version in the film is clearly Tyler Mane, the original version from the first X-Men film, from nearly 25 years ago. There are rumors that Liev Schreiber’s version of Victor Creed from X-Men: Origins will also appear, so maybe we will get an answer as to which version is the “real” Sabretooth at last. We’ll know for certain when Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26.

The post Sabretooth, Logan’s Feral Enemy in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

The Deadpool & Wolverine movie is coming our way in July and we can’t wait to see what these two best bubs are gonna do. In the meantime, the main way to celebrate their awesomeness is collecting all the cool paraphernalia that comes with a big MCU release. We still can’t get over that very-inappropriate popcorn bucket, tbh. Funko is getting into the mix with new Deadpool, Wolverine, and Dogpool Pop! figures that deserve a spot on your shelf. 

These figures are currently available to order. And, if you’re attending San Diego Comic-Con, then you’re in luck. You will be able to do Funko’s Pop! Yourself experience and create your own cosplay character modeled after either Deadpool or Wolverine. It comes with an exclusive box, character body, and two additional accessories. 

Click To View Gallery

Those who don’t attend SDCC will be able to purchase a limited edition “attach pack” beginning on July 24 to cosplay their Funko figure as either Deadpool or Wolverine alongside the usual Pop! Yourself collectible. 

We must admit, Dogpool is both strange and adorable. What a fun way to celebrate this highly-anticipated film!

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The LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Disney+ special brought Darth Jar Jar to life. Fans could not have expected to see this most cherished theory about Jar Jar being a secret dark side agent evolve in such a way. But now Darth Jar Jar is taking on a whole new part of the galaxy, LEGO. Yes, Darth Jar Jar will arrive in LEGO Minifigure form, alongside some of his very favorite friends, Beach Luke, Jedi Vader, and more, in the latest Star Wars LEGO set, The Dark Falcon.

Here’s what we know about the LEGO Star Wars‘ Dark Falcon set.

LEGO Star Wars The Dark Falcon Set Brings an Evil Millennium Falcon to Life

Fans love to ask, what if? And courtesy of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, we get to see what if the Millenium Falcon went dark side. A release from LEGO shares more about the Star Wars set, revealing:

Turn the LEGO® Star Wars™ universe upside down with The Dark Falcon buildable toy vehicle set for kids (75389), which features a dark version of the Millennium Falcon, as seen in the LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Disney+ special. A thrilling birthday gift for boys, girls and any fans aged 10 and up, this LEGO Star Wars brick-built starship toy has flip-up panels for easy access to the detailed interior, including Darth Jar Jar’s throne, the command center, hyperdrive, entertainment area and jail cell. Spring-loaded shooters, rotating cannons and a removable gunner post add to the action-play possibilities.

Darth Jar Jar’s LEGO throne, you say? Sold. Not to mention—spring-loaded shooters for maximum action. Good thing we’re aged 10 and up. This Star Wars LEGO The Dark Falcon set seems like one of those sets that is the perfect blend of complex, but cool, and not too difficult to put together. Sold!

How Many Pieces Does the LEGO Star Wars The Dark Falcon? And What Are Its Measurements

Just how big is LEGO’s The Dark Falcon set? Well, this Star Wars set contains 1,579 pieces. It measures over 5 in. (12 cm) high, 17 in. (43 cm) long and 12.5 in. (32 cm) wide. That means you won’t have too move too many things around to find a good place for it.

LEGO Star Wars The Dark Falcon Features 6 Minifigures

The Star Wars Minifigures for this LEGO set are pretty exciting ones. They feature fun reimaginings of your favorite characters. The Dark Falcon LEGO set comes with six Minifigures. These are Darth Jar Jar, Bounty Hunter C-3PO, Darth Dev, Darth Rey, Beach Luke, and Jedi Vader. These Minifigures will let you have fun, but confusing, space adventures not only with The Dark Falcon LEGO set, but with many other Star Wars LEGO sets as well.

When Does LEGO Star Wars The Dark Falcon Set Release and How Much Does it Cost?

The LEGO Star Wars The Dark Falcon set is now available for pre-order. It will ship on August 1, 2024. The LEGO Star Wars The Dark Falcon set costs $179.99.

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Deadpool & Wolverine‘s latest trailer brought back another familiar X-Men face: Sabretooth. Yes, the most recent trailer from the Deadpool movie offers us our first-look at Sabretooth’s return. And it’s a pretty hefty one. This trailer is all about Wolverine and his past. Things haven’t gone right for this version of Wolverine, whatever universe he’s from. But Sabretooth is still a big facet of his past. “Ready to die?” Sabretooth demands. But we can’t watch this fight yet because as Deadpool notes, folks have waited decades for this Wolverine and Sabretooth fight. To see Wolverine take on Sabretooth in an epic X-Men clash between hero and villain, you’ll need to head to theaters for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Here is Sabretooth in all his glory. We glimpsed Sabretooth in an earlier Deadpool & Wolverine trailer, but it wasn’t a very clear image. In fact, we couldn’t tell who would play Sabretooth in Deadpool & Wolverine at that point. But now we can confirm that, yes, the MCU’s Sabretooth will be played by Tyler Mane. Tyler Mane first played Sabretooth in the original 20th Century Fox movie from 2000, X-Men. Fans will remember Sabretooth menacingly growling at Storm, “You owe me a scream.” Tyler Mane’s version of Sabretooth did not appear again in any X-Men movies until now. Sabretooth appeared in X-Men: Origins but he was played by Liev Schreiber.

Although Wolverine is unlikely to follow Deadpool’s detailed advice on how to take on Sabretooth, we bet their fight will be one for the books.

Deadpool & Wolverine is bringing back a bunch of deep-cut X-Men characters and their actors for the MCU. And if we’re seeing Sabretooth in the trailer for the film, we bet there are a ton more surprise cameos in store.

We’ll be able to see them all when Deadpool & Wolverine premieres on July 26. Tickets are available now.

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Like any good long-running fictional universe worth its name, the MCU has a metric ton of iconic objects throughout its 16 years of films and TV series. Of course, there are obvious things everyone knows, like Cap’s shield, or the Tesseract. But the MCU has many other objects we all want on our shelves too. Even if they are smaller versions. Thanks to the folks at Fanhome and their new subscription service, we can now turn your home into something of a Marvel Cinematic Universe Museum.

Fanhome specializes in subscription-based collections and models, and is bringing a collection of iconic replica items from the MCU to fans and collectors with the launch of the Marvel Movie Replicas collection. Among these items are Doctor Stange’s Eye of Agamotto, plus helmets for Loki, Iron Man, Cap, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Star-Lord, and Spider-Man. There’s an Infinity Nano Gauntlet, and even Thor’s mystic hammer Mjölnir. You can check out images of the first Marvel Movie Replicas in the collection in our gallery below:

Click To View Gallery

Produced from the Marvel Studios Movie archives, the’ve recreated the replicas in this collection with incredible detail. Each one is based on original production materials and constructed from metal and ABS plastic components. Throughout the subscription, collectors and MCU fans will deepen their knowledge about all these artifacts with an informative magazine that comes with each month’s shipment. You’ll be able to go behind the scenes with Marvel creators like Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca, and Brian Michael Bendis.

At various stages throughout the subscription, collectors also will receive exclusive gifts from Fanhome. Among these are three full-color frame-worthy posters from Marvel (60x80cm / 23×31 inches), a ceramic mug with the Marvel logo, a light-up miniature of Tony Stark’s ARC Reactor, and a miniature metal replica of Thor’s hammer (15cm / 6 inches). Fans that upgrade to the Marvel Movie Museum Premium Subscription will receive several exclusive Iron Man helmets as well. And we all know that Tony had a lot of variant Iron Man helmets. For more information and sign-up details, click here.

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Godzilla x Kong comes to streaming. A Furiosa transformation. Eric Kripke talks about The Boys‘ comic twist the series will skip. Netflix launches its open popcorn line (and malls?). Marvel will kill Deadpool (in the comics). Here are all these news odds & ends, and more.

Godzilla x Kong

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will release on July 4. The monster movie will stream on Max.

We’re also very excited to share that a version of the movie with American Sign Language (ASL) will also stream exclusively on Max the same day. Max shares, “This ASL version of the film was produced exclusively for Max, with ASL performer Otis Jones (Deaf West Theatre) providing interpretation. Jones was coached by Leila Hanaumi, who delivered a highly praised performance in Barbie with ASL last December, Max’s first ASL film interpretation. GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE in ASL will be displayed as a unique title on the Max app, identifiable by its key art featuring the sign language symbol.” We absolutely applaud Max for these efforts to be as inclusive as possible with their programming!

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

If you’re a fan of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, you can check out Anya Taylor-Joy’s epic transformation into Furiosa below.

The Boys

The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke promises that unlike in the comics, Black Noir will not end up being a Homelander clone.

He tells Variety:

No, and I don’t mind saying it. In the comics he’s a clone of Homelander this entire time and is actually the one doing all these horrific things. And again, it’s a hell of a twist. But it’s like, well wait, the villain I’ve been following isn’t really the villain. And mileage varies, and I’m sure fans are mad I’m not going that way, but that felt not as satisfying to me. I’m like, if I’m going to follow this villain, I want this guy to be the villain. So I was never really into the clone idea.

Plus, cloning feels like too — I’m going to sound silly — but cloning feels too magical for the show. We try to say that superheroes are the only slippery banana, and that everything else we try to make as grounded as possible.

Netflix

Netflix is creating its own line of popcorn… and its own malls.

Netflix shares:

Today, we’re excited to announce that Netflix and Popcorn Indiana are teaming up to bring Now Popping, an all-new ready-to-eat popcorn line! With flavors like Cult Classic Cheddar Kettle Corn and Swoonworthy Cinnamon Kettle Corn, this partnership promises a snack experience tailored to every viewer’s taste. Discover your favorite flavor, nationwide at Walmart, today. 

The popcorn retails for $4.49, but no word on how much it is if you want to share a pack.

Additionally, the streamer has revealed it will be opening two entertainment, dining, and shopping complexes, a.k.a. malls. Per Variety, “They’re not exactly theme parks, but the new Netflix Houses — to open next year in King of Prussia, Pa., and Dallas — will feature a wide array of shopping outlets, eateries and experiential activities tied to the streamer’s major franchises like Bridgerton, Stranger Things and Squid Game.“

Marian Lee, Netflix’s chief marketing officer, shares “At Netflix House, you can enjoy regularly updated immersive experiences, indulge in retail therapy, and get a taste — literally — of your favorite Netflix series and films through unique food and drink offerings. We’ve launched more than 50 experiences in 25 cities, and Netflix House represents the next generation of our distinctive offerings. The venues will bring our beloved stories to life in new, ever-changing and unexpected ways.”

Netflix invites you to imagine, “waltzing with your partner to an orchestral cover of a Taylor Swift song on a replica of the ‘Bridgerton’ set –– and then walking around the corner to compete in the Glass Bridge challenge from ‘Squid Game.’” After that, you can enjoy “food inspired by Netflix shows from around the world” or buy “that Hellfire Club T-shirt you’ve always wanted from Stranger Things.”

Deadpool

Marvel is all set to kill Deadpool in Deadpool #6 by Cody Ziglar and Rogê Antônio. Marvel shared of the issue:

Wade Wilson triumphed against Death Grip! This is the first issue of a new arc and killing Deadpool NOW would be an INSANE thing to do. Which is exactly why we’re doing it.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

Originally published on June 20, 2024.

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A Quiet Place: Day One is a haunting human look at mortality, connections, and little moments that make living worthwhile. Thanks to its premise, audiences experience most of the film sans dialogue. Yet it is such a profound, moving experience where terror and sorrow resonate in equal measure alongside exquisite compassionate moments plus comedic relief. While some directorial decisions raise a quizzical brow, A Quiet Place: Day One might be my favorite of the franchise’s trio, thanks to a phenomenal cast that delivers emotional peaks and valleys without speaking. And yes, that includes the wide-eyed, side-eyeing cat, Frodo, who is the MVP. 

Directed by Michael Sarnoski and written by Sarnoski, John Krasinski, and Bryan Woods, the film follows withdrawn Samira, played by Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, Us), as she shares her poetry that relays how much she hates everything to her fellow hospice members. Lupita gets tricked into attending a marionette show with the promise of pizza. Not just any pizza—but Patsy’s in Harlem. Before long, nixing any possibility of exquisite pizza, the creatures appear, falling from the sky, causing chaos, fires, accidents, and intentional soul-snatching from the ultra-hearing sensitivity of the monsters.

In A Quiet Place: Day One, the name of the game is survival, but for Samira, it’s more. Her life consists of a countdown of moments, regardless of the ill-timed arrival of monsters from the sky. 

Action Takes Twists That Channel Other Cinematic Gems

Of course, the emotional maelstrom has destructive, deadly chaos at its center. A Quiet Place: Day One builds tension as survivors quickly realize that silence is golden. But staying silent in a city with debris and shattered glass is challenging. Not to mention, the mental and psychological toll of knowing your world is entirely upended. So, naturally, people’s first response is to scream for help, look for loved ones, etc. As such, the body count is biblical. 

But Samira is also quick-thinking, anticipating problems before they arise, such as the mass exodus toward the ferries. Or, she really wants Patsy’s pizza, which is a fixation of hers throughout the movie. Some scenes similar to the 28 Days Later films, and there’s even one that screams Aliens. Besides similarities to other films, other aspects ground A Quiet Place: Day One in reality. Patsy’s in Harlem is real, as is Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn, a story about an alien invasion, that Samira finds. 

A Quiet Place: Day One Explores Humanity with Horror Beats

Where the first movie felt like a horror film with emotional beats, A Quiet Place: Day One is the reverse. It’s a touching production with horror beats—albeit unrelenting horror beats. However, the pain, terror, and sorrow are all visceral. As is the heartwarming emotional moments between Samira and Eric, played by Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things). Eric’s a kind human stray her cat brings to her. Those brief moments to grasp normalcy and unity elevate A Quiet Place: Day One above its previous films in the series. 

In a sense, Eric’s successful magic trick mirrors the surprise and sense of fulfillment he brings to Samira. Human connection is a type of magic that too many forget the wonder of. His kindness and soulful eyes showed her that it was okay to care, reminding Samira of the wonder of living. Her existence has value, and her magical cat agrees.  

There Are Spellbinding Performances From the Cast—Cat Included

Lupita Nyong’o already demonstrated via Us that she is a genius at relaying emotions through facial expressions. But here, she uses her entire body to convey exhaustion, stress, pain, frustration, and joy. Her raw performance leaves audiences catching their breath, especially with her precious cat in tow. Speaking of, the cat, Frodo, is another one who is acting with a capital “A.” Its divine intervention is what brings Eric and Samira together. 

She finds a perfect counterpoint with Joseph Quinn, who possesses that same talent of delivering a performance through his eyes. He stole hearts in Stranger Things. He, like Lupita, understood the assignment. The casting in A Quiet Place: Day One is top-notch.

A Quiet Place: Day One Has Some Pointless Additions and Baffling Decisions

It’s not all smooth sailing, as the film makes a couple of debatable choices. While Djimon Hounsou is an exceptional actor and deserves lead roles in films, his appearance feels pointless in the film as it lacks a thematic essentialness. The only possible parallel is how he deals with a man panicking on the rooftop compared to how Samira handles Eric’s panic attack. However, the former felt like an outburst based on circumstances, while Eric’s seemed like a condition. So it feels flimsy, even inconsequential. 

The other is the final scene. While the shot is stunning and impactful, the movie does not set up Eric’s panic attacks enough. Nor does A Quiet Place: Day One adequately set up or justify Samira’s choice. It’s as though the end shot was a concrete choice, and they forced a path that did not feel authentic to the character’s development, their relationship, or the plot. The climactic end lacks a logical course. 

A Quiet Place: Day One is an outstanding movie that emotionally guts you as much as it makes you jump in fright. It delivers a film that leaves audiences awash in a myriad of feelings, from terror to shock to laughter. Once it unleashes its torrent, the film swells and crests like a storm with little lulls of relief, but the feelings never cease. The monsters’ inescapable onslaught mirrors that; it’s irrepressible and unstoppable.

A Quiet Place: Day One is one of the best horror films—inarguably one of the best films—of 2024 so far. And Frodo is a wise savior who led bae to Samira! Wanna find a partner? Get yourself a Frodo!

A Quiet Place: Day One ⭐ (4.5 of 5)

A Quiet Place: Day One hits theaters on June 27.

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There’s a phrase that will make any superhero movie fan’s soul sparkle like an Infinity Stone: “Marvel Studios, San Diego Comic-Con, Hall H.” Any time Marvel heads to the hallowed hall of pop culture’s biggest event it means fireworks. And those fireworks are going to return this year. Deadline reports Marvel Studios is heading back to Hall H next month.

The same weekend Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters, Marvel Studios is hitting San Diego Comic-Con. The premier industry gathering will take place from July 25-July 28. Now we know the MCU will be there (likely Saturday night) with its own panel.

What news will Marvel announce? Which stars will be in attendance? And how will this Marvel Hall H showing reshape our expectations for the future of the franchise? We’ll have to wait to find out. For now our superhero-loving hearts can just enjoy the possibilities.

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When Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, lo those many years ago, that immediately meant all the X-Men characters could appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also meant Fox’s other (and let’s face it, far less successful) Marvel property, the Fantastic Four, was joining the fray. However, aside from a Reed Richards cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Fantastic Four have been MIA. But, hope is on the horizon! The Fantastic Four will be part of the MCU’s Phase Six.

Speaking to The Official Marvel podcast, Kevin Feige confirmed exactly when The Fantastic Four movie would begin to film. He revealed, “We start shooting at the end of July… The day after [San Diego] Comic-Con is the first day of filming on Fantastic Four.” That means The Fantastic Four begins filming on July 29. He also confirmed that the movie would be a period piece set in the 1960s.

Here’s everything we know about the MCU’s The Fantastic Four movie.

Title

All the initial branding from Marvel indicated the movie’s title would be Fantastic Four. Of the three previous Fantastic Four movies, two of them were just called Fantastic Four—despite the ill-fated 2015 movie’s logo making people call it “Fant-4-stic.”

Now we know that to slightly stand out, the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie will be called The Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four‘s Plot

Zero idea currently what the plot of the movie will be. Not a sausage. Bugger-all.

Behind the Scenes

The Fantastic Four is possibly the most in-flux title in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe slate. Marvel Studios president and primary producer Kevin Feige announced the movie at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. Marvel then named Jon Watts, who directed the three Tom Holland Spider-Man films for Sony and Marvel, in December 2020. Watts then stepped away from the project in April 2022, stating he was taking a break from superhero movies.

Then, in August 2022, Marvel named Matt Shakman—who had directed WandaVision for Disney+—as Watts’ successor. Feige confirmed this at the D23 Expo in September of that same year.

Later in September, Marvel said Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were writing the script for The Fantastic Four. By March 2023, Terminator franchise and Avatar: The Way of Water screenwriter Josh Friedman was at work rewriting the script. In October 2023, Cameron Squires’ name was added as co-writer.

The movie has a scheduled start of production for early 2024.

The Fantastic Four‘s Cast

The MCU’s Fantastic Four team has officially set its cast. Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic. Vanessa Kirby will play Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman. Ebon Moss-Bachrach will play The Thing. Finally, Joseph Quinn will play Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch.

Julia Garner (Ozark, Inventing Anna) will play the Shalla-Bal version of Silver Surfer. In the comics, Shalla-Bal appeared as Norrin Radd’s partner, but at one point, she received the same powers as the Silver Surfer and they were both Galactus’ heralds.

Paul Walter Hauser has also joined the cast, as have John Malkovich and Natasha Lyonne. We don’t know who these actors are playing. We do know Ralph Ineson will be playing Galactus.

The Fantastic Four‘s Release Date

The Fantastic Four will release on July 25, 2025.

Originally published on December 22, 2023.

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Have you ever imagined what the world was like in your city/town or even in the very spot you’re in right now thousands of years ago? It’s pretty cool to think about the dinosaurs and animals that once ran through your backyard. Or, if you’re in an older house or apartment, you might think about the many lives that once called your space “home.” Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis does exactly this with Here, a film that interestingly reunites Tom Hanks and Robin Wright and shows us the evolution of one small space through the eyes of several generations. (Don’t you just love to see these two together and hugging again?!) The trailer for Here is a strange trip through time, from the Jurassic era to modern-day. 

There’s a lot going on here. Zemeckis de-ages Tom Hanks and Robin Wright to show their earlier courtship days and it sure is something. He spoke to Variety recently, revealing that the entire 104 minute movie is in one spot and the camera never moves. That means it will seem much more like watching a play. We see dinosaurs in the Here trailer; however, the film seems to focus on a century timespan and revolve mostly around Richard and Margaret, the main couple. At least, that’s what we gather from the synopsis: 

From the reunited director, writer, and stars of Forrest Gump, Here is an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the human experience in its purest form. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, screenplay by Eric Roth & Zemeckis and told much in the style of the acclaimed graphic novel by Richard McGuire on which it is based, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright star in a tale of love, loss, laughter and life, all of which happen right Here.

What Is the Release Date for Tom Hanks and Robin Wright’s Here Movie? 

Here will hit theaters on November 15.

The post HERE Trailer Reunites Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for a Decades-Long Love Story appeared first on Nerdist.

There was much speculation about whether the MCU’s The Fantastic Four movie would be a period piece after its first piece of artwork was revealed. The poster certainly did evoke a certain ’60s sensibility. However, Marvel Studios did not comment further about whether the movie would be set in a previous era at the time. Now, though, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has confirmed on The Official Marvel Podcast that The Fantastic Four will indeed be a period piece set in the 1960s. You can take a look at the poster that kicked off all the speculation below and then see what Feige has to say exactly about The Fantastic Four and its setting.

When asked directly if The Fantastic Four would be set in the ’60s, as hinted, Feige said, “Yes, yes, very much so. It is a period.” However, we don’t yet know which version of the 1960s exactly we’ll see on screen. Feige teased that while The Fantastic Four might be a period piece, it won’t necessarily be set in the 1960s as it takes place on Earth in the main MCU timeline.

Feige notes, “There was another piece of art we released with Johnny Storm flying in the air, making a four symbol. There was a cityscape in the corner of that image and there was a lot of smart people who noticed that cityscape didn’t look exactly like the New York that we know and the New York that existed in the ’60s in our world. And those are smart observations, I’ll say.”

It sounds like Feige is hinting that though we can expect a period piece, the MCU will certainly turn the setting of The Fantastic Four on its head. That could mean more than a few different things, including alternate dimensions, time travel shenanigans, or other generalized multiversal mayhem. We’ll have to stay tuned to find out.

Feige also noted that The Fantastic Four will begin production on July 29, 2024, just after San Diego Comic-Con. The Marvel boss reveals his excitement for the film, sharing: “I’m extremely excited by it because I think those characters are mainstays, are legendary pillars of the Marvel universe that we’ve never got to play with or explore in any significant way, apart from Multiverse of Madness and a few fun teases before. In the way that we’re doing it in that film.”

The Fantastic Four will release on July 25, 2025. It will star Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch. We can’t wait to see what kind of period piece The Fantastic Four brings to life.

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Most sequels to good films don’t live up to their predecessor’s legacy. The hit rate for the third installments in a franchise is even lower. And yet, the latest trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One has us thinking it could be one of the rare part three’s that actually end up being the best entry in the entire series. This intense, horrifying promo shows a swarm of alien invaders turning New York City into a silent, isolated wasteland. But that’s just the start of their fight for suvival.

Every war starts somewhere, and in this latest look at A Quiet Place: Day One that place is in the Big Apple. The prequel will take viewers back to when mankind’s desperate to stay alive began. The film opens with the monstrous beings who hunt by sound crash landing into The City That Never Sleeps. But as the trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One reveals, it’s not just the killer aliens New Yorkers will have to overcome.

The good citizens of NYC (and Frodo the cat!) are left stranded with seemingly no way out of the city, as the government opts to pin both humans and extraterrestrials alike inside the island. The effect is a story that looks like The War of the Worlds set inside the fantastic flashbacks from I Am Legend. That’s a movie we very much want to see.

A Quiet Place: Day One comes from writer-director Michael Sarnoski. He developed the story with franchise creator John Krasinski. It also stars some big-time horror film luminaries. The cast is led by Lupita Nyong’o (Us), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), and Alex Wolff (Hereditary). And A Quiet Place Part II star Djimon Hounsou is also back for more silent terror. Frodo the cat is played by true stars Nico and Schnitze.)

The prequel comes to theaters this summer on June 28, 2024. Tickets are now on sale. Try not to scream when you see it, though, even if it does end up being the best A Quiet Place movie yet. With these aliens, it’s best to keep it down.

Originally published on May 9, 2024.

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Deadpool & Wolverine is almost here, and the fandom couldn’t be more excited to see “Marvel Jesus” and his adamantium-boned buddy team up at last. While we still don’t know many things about the film, the trailers have given us some rather large clues as to the plot. And we think those clues hint strongly that Deadpool & Wolverine will lead directly into Avengers: Secret Wars, the final chapter of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. What we do know is that Logan and Wade are trapped together in Void, the repository of dead timelines first seen in Loki. We also know that they’re fighting X-Men villain Cassandra Nova.

In that Mad Max-esque Void, there are several known mutants from the X-Men films, like Pyro and Sabretooth. This is the first MCU project that officially canonized the Fox X-Men films as part of the larger cosmology, much as Spider-Man: No Way Home did for the pre-Tom Holland Spidey films. So we think it’s all leading up to a classic X-Men reunion, probably fighting the Avengers in Secret Wars. One thing we feel confident in saying about any of these Multiversal mutants coming our way is that the Wolverine from Logan definitely won’t be resurrected.

Deadpool & Wolverine to Feature Zombie Logan? Probably Not

Marvel Studios is leaning hard into the Multiverse right now. Therefore, we know that Jackman’s arrival means they are not going to undo Wolverine’s death in Logan. As it stands, that movie felt disconnected and in its own universe, even from the original X-Men films. After all, the events of Logan don’t really line up with the restored future we saw at the end of Days of Future Past. So with the Multiverse Saga in play now, we think that Logan can remain its own thing. Whatever version of Wolverine we see in Deadpool & Wolverine definitely won’t be the same one who died in Logan. They won’t dig him up and Frankenstein him back to life, so to speak. We think the integrity of James Mangold’s film is safe.

A Deadpool and Wolverine Road Trip?!

In the past, Ryan Reynolds has said that his original plans for Deadpool & Wolverine involved a “Rashomon-style road trip with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.” We feel that is probably still the case, only with a Multiversal bent this time. One particular scene in the trailer of Logan and Wade jumping through a mystical portal, very similar to that of Doctor Strange’s portal, suggests it is. To us, that indicates they’ll be reality-hopping together, at least part of the time. We honestly believe that with Hugh Jackman coming back for Deadpool & Wolverine, he’ll stick around for one more outing afterward, and it’ll be Avengers: Secret Wars. And maybe he will bring some of his fellow X-Men with him.

Deadpool & Wolverine Will Lead to an X-Men Reunion

Problematic director aside, the original X-Men films still matter. Their success paved the way for Spider-Man and eventually the entire MCU. And Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige himself has a bit of a sentimental soft spot for the first X-Men movies. They were his first on-screen credits in a Marvel film after all. That’s why he included Patrick Stewart in Multiverse of Madness, and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast in The Marvels. Those films started him on the path that led him to become head of Marvel Studios. So before the inevitable reboot of Marvel’s mutants, which is on the horizon, he might want to pay homage to the ones who started it all. It’s just a question of which X-Men make the cut. We know several confirmed secondary mutants already. If they’re in this, some of the main team must be coming our way, too.

Is Deadpool & Wolverine a Prelude to Avengers: Secret Wars?

If the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars follows the comics in even the smallest way, it will see the introduction of Battleworld. In the comics, that was a patchwork planet made out of the remains of several realities. But each of those realities became slightly different (or sometimes very different) when merging into Battleworld. So one of those realities could be a version of the Fox X-Men universe. It doesn’t even have to follow the continuity (such as it is) of the Fox X-Men films, because they have recreated it as something new. As we stated, we know that a good chunk of the film takes place in the Void from Loki, the repository world of dead realities. Could the Void simply become Battleworld in Secret Wars?

Given all that, we could still get the original actors back in their roles. Meaning we could get a proper send-off for not only Hugh Jackman, but also Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, and Patrick Stewart. He recently hinted broadly as to his return. We think he knows something he’s not sharing with the rest of the class (of Xavier’s School).

Could We See Costumed X-Men at Long Last?

Kevin Feige was one of the few true Marvel Comics fans on the set of X-Men, according to Hugh Jackman. In fact, Jackman has said in interviews that Feige snuck him Wolverine comics to his trailer, on the sly, as comic books were forbidden on set. And he also fixed Logan’s hair to be more comics-accurate. Now that he’s in charge of the whole enchilada, we knew he couldn’t resist finally putting Jackman in a comics-accurate costume. So if any of the other original X-Men show up, we think this holds true for them as well. Imagine if we see the 2000s cast, flying into action as the X-Men: The Animated Series theme plays? We’re losing our minds over it already.

Now, maybe Jackman’s return to play Wolverine really is “one last time.” But given his comments in the past about how fun it would be to be part of the MCU someday, we have a feeling that Deadpool & Wolverine is almost certainly not the end quite yet. And the X-Men might stand next to the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in battle before it’s all said and done.

Originally published on September 28, 2022.

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Six Flags intends to bring the scares and screams in an extreme way this year with the biggest Fright Fest in history. Starting in September, you can experience “Fright Fest Extreme” and join the world’s largest regional theme park company as it celebrates Halloween in style. The biggest horror franchises ever are converging upon Six Flags, and they’re taking the shape of new haunts inspired by everything from Stranger Things to Saw. Let’s dive into everything you can experience at Six Flags Fright Fest Extreme.

What Extremely Eerie Attractions Can You Expect at Six Flags’ Fright Fest Extreme?

But what exactly can you look forward to at Six Flags’ Fright Fest Extreme? The theme park has revealed some more details about its diabolical fun. From an experience putting you in the middle of a Jigsaw trap from Saw to an undead battle celebrating Army of the Dead to a twisted “candy trail nightmare” in honor of the legendary Trick ‘r Treat, and more, here are the horror-inspired mazes that Six Flags has in store for Fright Fest:

• The SAW Franchise – Celebrate the 20^th anniversary of SAW with an all-new experience honoring the franchise’s legacy of terror by plunging guests into the depths of Jigsaw’s twisted mind. Guests will endure torturous trials and come face to face with some of John Kramer’s most diabolical contraptions before time runs out.

• The Conjuring Universe – Strap in for a tour of the Warrens’ most hair-raising and gruesome cases including those that inspired The Conjuring, Annabelle and The Nun. In each realm, encounters with cursed artifacts make you the target of the conjuring.

• Stranger Things – The students of the Hawkins School District decide to team up to create a little innocent Halloween fun for their community – but things quickly flip upside down and morph into something far darker.

• Army of the Dead – The City of Las Vegas is under lockdown following a recent viral outbreakand survivors must look for an escape while battling the undead.

• Trick ‘r Treat – Enter a dark and twisted candy trail nightmare on a jack-o-lantern-lit path of supernatural encounters which tap into your deepest fears. With Sam, the infamous Spirit of Halloween, as your guide, learn the rules of the spooky holiday before entering a world where tricks dominate treats.

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)– Guests are “cast” as visitors to Harlow on the heels of the influencers set on revitalizing the town – but their arrival leads to a stunning and deadly secret being revealed.

• DCeased – Based on the #1 best-selling comic series, fans enter through the Hall of Justice to find that the DC Universe has succumbed to Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation! See the Justice League like never before, as they fight to save the Earth or end it themselves. Will you be one of the few to survive these new scares of the DC Universe?

In Which Six Flags Parks Will Fright Fest Take Place?

But where will you be able to enjoy the Fright Fest fun? A release from Six Flags shares:

This year, Fright Fest returns with a vengeance and goes EXTREME. Visitors to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles will step into a world where nightmarish creatures inspired by legendary horror brands come to life with Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures’ SAW franchise, Netflix’s Stranger Things and Army of the Dead, Warner Bros. Discovery’s The Conjuring, Annabelle and The Nun, and Legendary Entertainment’s Trick ‘r Treat. Guests at Six Flags Great Adventure will also be treated to a new experience from Netflix and Legendary Entertainment’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) while visitors to Six Flags Mexico will have access to a special exclusive maze based on the bestselling comic series from DC Comics.

In addition to the New Jersey, Los Angeles, and Mexico locations, “A mix of the above mazes will also be available at additional Six Flags parks, building upon the legacy of the event’s renowned reputation as the ultimate Halloween destination across the United States and Mexico.” So stay tuned for more information about where Six Flags Fright Fest is heading.

When Is Fright Fest Extreme, and How Can You Experience the Scary Fun?

At Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles, Fright Fest Extreme will run from September 7 to November 3, the longest Fright Fest ever with 32 nights of fright. A release notes that Fright Fest Extreme will operate on selected Thursdays through Sundays.

In New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure, Fright Fest Extreme will also run for 32 terrifying nights from September 7 to November 3, but this time it will run on select Wednesdays through Sundays.

Anyone visiting other parks should check Fright Fest Extreme schedule and offerings on sixflags.com.

Additionally, tickets for Fright Fest Extreme are now on sale. According to a release they will be available for the lowest price of the season in June.

Those planning to visit Six Flags Magic Mountain or Great Adventure should note that the Fright Fest Extreme admission options in Los Angeles and New Jersey include:

• Single Day Admission – A separate admission event ticket will be required for Fright Fest Extreme admission with access to all haunted attractions, rides and entertainment. Guests can purchase an express upgrade for priority entry to all haunted houses.

• Pass Holder Admission – Fright Fest Extreme park admission will be included for all 2024 Gold, Platinum and Diamond Season Pass Holders, Six Plus Members and Legacy Members with a valid Pass. An additional fee for entry to haunted houses will still be required.

We wish you all a happily haunted time.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

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Here’s an idea that definitely makes sense: Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans co-starring in an action-comedy. No-brainer, really. Sign us up. Now here’s an idea that…uh…we’re not as sure about (to be polite): Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans co-starring in an action-comedy Christmas movie that looks like a fake Saturday Night Live sketch. Who would produce such a strange film about a manhunt for Santa Claus? Amazon MGM Studios. We know because they just released the first trailer for Red One.

Buff Santa Claus is missing and the North Pole needs help. As do we after seeing this trailer, which is really silly, really cheesy, and really unbelievable. No, seriously, we’re having a hard time believing it. We’re positive this isn’t a practical joke, right? The official press release we got would indicate it’s not. As would the movie’s official synopsis:

After Santa Claus – Code Name: RED ONE – is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.

Directed by Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) the script comes from longtime Fast & Furious scribe Chris Morgan. The film also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, and J.K. Simmons as Old Swole Nick.

We pretty much like everyone involved in this film, so we’re not dismissing it out of hand. It could prove to be the good kind of silly. But hoo boy some of the “jokes” in this trailer are truly painful. If saying so gets us put on the naughty list so be it. Or at least that’s what we would say if we weren’t so scared of buff Santa and his giant head of security.

Red One comes to theaters just in time for the holiday season, on November 15, 2024.

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Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’ next film, Bugonia, now has a home at Focus Features. Focus will release the film with Universal Pictures distributing it internationally (excluding Korea). Bugonia, starring Emma Stone (hello Poor Things reunion!) and Jesse Plemons, is set to release on November 7, 2025. We also have a very short logline that’s intriguing: 

Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

Ahh, you gotta love when people kidnap someone and they aren’t human. At least they actually go into it thinking that she’s an otherworldly being. The kidnappers in Abigail had no clue that they were taking on a kid vampire.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia is based on a 2003 South Korean sci-fi comedy “Save the Green Planet.” So, if you are like me, you’ll want to check that out while waiting for this movie’s eventual arrival. One thing is for sure: Peter Kujawski, the Chairman of Focus Features, totally digs Bugonia’s storyline. Here’s what he had to say about this news:

Yorgos Lanthimos is a cinematic visionary with a singular style that has captivated audiences worldwide. We could not be more excited to partner with him, Emma and the incredible teams at Element, Square Peg and CJ ENM to reimagine this twisted and darkly funny story.

Emma Stone playing a weird character and Lanthimos’ direction go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Originally published on May 20, 2024.

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When I sit down to review a movie, there’s one thing I don’t have to worry about: figuring out whether I enjoyed it or not. That’s the easiest part of this job. When I walk out of a theater I tend to know, like most people, how I generally feel about what I just saw. Expressing why I feel that way specifically is where the actual work begins. But not today. Today is the exception, because I have no idea if I like Kinds of Kindness or if I actually hate it. This anthology-style film is a captivating mess filled with world-class performances in absolutely bizarre plots. It also intentionally, frustratingly keeps viewers on the outside rather than letting them fully enter this strange world of unusual people and supernatural phenomena. Kinds of Kindness is a movie that dares you to like it while not caring if you don’t.

And that seems to be exactly how director Yorgos Lanthimos’ wanted me to feel when I left my theater. His film is not interested in generating typical reactions, either emotional or academic. It’s only interested in doing what it wants to do at its own pace and in its own way.

It’s almost impossible to describe the three different plots of Kinds of Kindness without getting into major, movie-ruining spoilers. To even hint at what it is, we need Searchlight Pictures’ official synopsis. It’s technically correct in the same way you would be technically correct if you described Neil Armstrong’s Moon landing by saying, “A guy went out for a walk.” Yes, but no.

Kinds of Kindness is a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader

Those all sound like normal stories, but nothing about Kinds of Kindness qualifies as normal. This is an overtly weird film. At times, especially in the first segment, it feels like being weird is the only thing it wants to be. All three connected mini-movies are full of unusual people, possibly supernatural beings, bizarre relationships, sex cults, and uncomfortable power dynamics.

The three short films (which are all close to being feature length) have a through line. The meaning of that through line is so ambiguous the internet is going to provide 500 different “explainers” that all claim a different meaning. Some viewers will find that kind of ambiguity fascinating and worthy of deep exploration. Others will find it frustrating and so widely open-ended that it seems to be pointless. Only those who claim to know definitively what Lanthimos meant will be wrong. Kinds of Kindness doesn’t provide many answers (sometimes it provides zero), because the answer is not the point. This movie is less a movie and more an experience defined by ideas.

Even its ideas are up for debate. When the movie ended, I asked someone at my screening what they thought the major themes were. I didn’t totally disagree with anything they said, yet they hadn’t even considered my biggest takeaway which I think is clearly the biggest theme. Some people will love that kind of freedom to find their own meaning, the way some people love a painting that is open to countless interpretations. Others will find it pretentious and off-putting. I, somehow, feel both ways, which is a big reason why I have no idea if I like this movie or not. It’s interesting, yet infuriating. Mesmerizing, yet tedious. Alluring, yet inaccessible.

(Note: I’ve opted not to share what I believe the film’s major theme is because even putting that idea in your head will completely change your experience watching this movie. Kinds of Kindness is the rare case where telling you an “idea” is a much bigger spoiler than telling you a major plot point. That alone tells you a lot about the nature of this film and whether you might like it.)

For as strange as Kinds of Kindness is, it’s still a movie with basic elements that are easily assessed. Lanthimos (The Favourite, Poor Things) is a brilliant director who knows how to establish a sense of place and time. Here he creates a unique vibe that perfectly matches the off-kilter nature of his story/stories. Everything is working together in harmony, even when he’s constantly using discordant piano notes as his score.

Also not a surprise is how incredible the cast is. Having Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone as your leads and letting them play multiple characters is even better in practice than it sounds in theory. They both create three distinct, dynamic characters (sometimes as a lead, sometimes as a supporting character). This film is a testament to their immense talents and without their performances, I wouldn’t be struggling with my feelings for this movie. The same is true of the rest of the cast: Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, and Mamoudou Athie. They’re all great pulling triple duty. (Or in one case, quadruple duty.)

For as much as I loved the cast and aesthetics of Kinds of Kindness, the pacing often felt like torture. It has a lengthy two hours and 45 runtime that feels more like 17 hours. Thankfully the three stories get more engaging as they go on, so that helped… a little. The first installment is more of an interesting idea than an actual story and it really drags. (It’s also the least accessible/most mysterious.) The second feels like a short film with a familiar plot that goes on too long, but could easily have been its own feature with more focus. The third section is the closest to a typical narrative, and no surprise it’s easily the most emotionally fulfilling. That’s a much needed dynamic and anchor desperately missing from the rest of the film.

What doesn’t come too late is the comedy. Kinds of Kindness‘ closest genre is probably black comedy, and it realy works when it is. The first segment is only funny in a few spots, but the second is laugh out loud funny. Same with the third, which is hilarious even though it’s the most personal and human.

In the end, it feels like everything works together exactly as Yorgos Lanthimos wanted it to, including my unusual reaction it generated. I’m sure he hopes everyone loves this film, but he also doesn’t care if we hate it. Kinds of Kindness isn’t concerned with anything so basic. It’s operating on its own bizarre frequency and how you hear it, and what you make of it when you do, is entirely up for you. The result is a movie that is equally fascinating and frustrating.

Did I ultimately like it or hate it? Today I’m going to give it a positive star rating in large part because I can’t watch Plemons and Stone be this good in a movie and give it a negative one, yet my score doesn’t actually answer that question. Like Kinds of Kindness, I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

If you do figure that out please tell me. Knowing how I feel about a movie is usually the easiest part of this job.

Kinds of Kindness ⭐ (3 of 5)

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on  Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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After years of speculating, in 2022, Marvel Studios confirmed that Deadpool would officially join the MCU for a third installment of the R-rated comic book franchise at the start of Phase Six, Deadpool & Wolverine. This would mark the first official character of the Fox X-Men universe joining the MCU (although Patrick Stewart as a variant Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness kinda counts too, we suppose).

Deadpool movies also have one important rule, according to Ryan Reynolds, and that’s that only Deadpool can break the fourth wall. Reynolds reveals to Vanity Fair, “There are rules. Very specific rules. You would diminish stakes in the film if everyone—or even anyone else—was also aware of the fourth wall or any kind of meta aspect. Deadpool is the only character who has that ability to do that.”

Additionally, Reynolds explains, “If everyone [broke the fourth-wall], then you would no longer invest in that character as much. You really want to believe that the villain is a villain. You really want to believe that your costar’s character is true as well. Deadpool can undermine that—and does undermine that—because you don’t want the audience to take him as seriously.” Reynolds also reveals, “I always feel like an absolute dick when I’m trying to explain: I need people as invested as humanly possible in every other character while knowing that only Deadpool is the unreliable narrator.”

Co-star Jackman made the error of trying to suggest Wolverine break the fourth wall, but quickly realized it wasn’t the way. He offers, “I made the same mistake—day one. I made the suggestion and it was like, ‘Yeah…'” But Jackman adds, “Ryan beautifully describes Deadpool’s brain as a half-baked omelet. And so, whatever he’s doing—talking to a camera, to Wolverine—it’s just another layer of annoying crap that I’ve got to put up with. Who knows what the hell he is doing? But it’s just another excuse to punch him in the face.” Makes sense to us.

Here is everything we know so far about Deadpool & Wolverine.

Title

Thanks to a Super Bowl trailer (check it out below!), we know that this film, formerly called Deadpool 3, is actually Deadpool & Wolverine.

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Plot

The plot of Deadpool & Wolverine remains a mystery. All we know is that Hugh Jackman is returning as Wolverine, and that it takes place before the feral X-Man’s death in Logan. In fact, Jackman has confirmed that time travel will be involved in the threequel in a big way.

While originally, Deadpool & Wolverine was called Deadpool 3, director Shawn Levy wants to make sure fans understand that the title change is not just cosmetic. Levy notes to Screen Rant:

As far as crafting the Deadpool & Wolverine story, I just felt privileged every day because you’re talking about two massive movie stars in their most iconic roles. It also gave me an opportunity. It’s the third Deadpool movie, but it’s not Deadpool 3. It’s a different thing that’s very much Deadpool and Wolverine. And it’s not trying to copycat anything from the first two movies. They were awesome, but this is a two-hander character adventure.

As most folks know by now, Deadpool’s third solo film will reunite him with his X-Men Origins: Wolverine co-star. Deadpool and Wolverine will work together, although they have made it very clear that these two characters “hate each other.” It will not be a love-fest in this story. But the fact that Deadpool & Wolverine is smack in the middle of the Multiverse Saga should give us all a clue as to what’s going to go down, and probable multiversal shenanigans will ensue.

Dogpool, of course, will also star.

Make sure to follow him on Instagram.

We also now know what Deadpool & Wolverine‘s new official logo looks like thanks to a fun poster.

Deadpool & Wolverine will, of course, be the first R-rated movie in the MCU. And that means it’s not pulling any punches. In fact, its latest official synopsis drops two F-bombs. Let’s take a look:

Marvel Studios presents their most significant mistake to date—Deadpool & Wolverine. A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life. His days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. When his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit-up again with an even more reluctantlier… reluctanter? Reluctantest? He must convince a reluctant Wolverine to—Fuck. Synopses are so fucking stupid.

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Cast

We know Hugh Jackman will return, along with the very obvious Ryan Reynolds. Here’s who else we know about: Karan Soni, cab driver Dopinder, Leslie Uggams, Emma Corrin, and Matthew Macfadyen. In exciting news, Morena Baccarin and Stefan Kapicic are reprising their roles as Vanessa and Colossus in Deadpool & Wolverine. So are Rob Delaney’s Peter, Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), and Shioli Kutsuna (Yukio). Jennifer Garner’s Elektra from the 2003 Daredevil Marvel Fox movie is also reported to reprise her role in this MCU film.

Behind the Scenes

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s director for this third outing will be Shawn Levy, most recently known for his work on Stranger Things. This would be a reunion for Levy and Reynolds, as the pair previously worked together on the movie Free Guy. Levy is also known for the time travel movie The Adam Project.

On the writing side of things are Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin, writers for the popular animated series Bob’s Burgers. The writers for the first two Deadpool films, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, are also contributing to movie number three’s screenplay, as is Ryan Reynolds himself.

Deadpool & Wolverine Release Date

Deadpool & Wolverine will arrive on July 26, 2024.

Originally published on January 4, 2023.

The post Only Deadpool Can Break the Fourth Wall in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE appeared first on Nerdist.

We’ve known that a Blade movie is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2019. Who can forget with the film’s star—Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali—put on a hat that said “BLADE!” and caused an excited uproar in San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H?! Though there have been some ups and downs with this movie, hopefully, we’ll only see smooth sailing for our favorite vampire from here on out.

Although Blade recently lost another director and a good chunk of cast, it seems like Mia Goth is still involved with the movie. She recently spoke about her role in Blade, noting that Marvel “really care, they do. They want to make a great movie. That’s the sense that I get from them and that feels good.” Goth did not dispute that she would be making her MCU debut in Blade, implying that she is still attached to the movie.

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Blade movie.

Title

The title of this movie is simple: Blade.

Blade‘s Plot

Right now, we don’t have any plot details for Blade. But, we can imagine the film will borrow from the character’s comic origins. Blade debuted in the tenth issue of Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula comic back in 1973, from writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan. He quickly became a supremely popular character, a half-vampire killer of vampires and other occult baddies. Blade first made it to the big screen in 1998 starring Wesley Snipes. Two sequels followed—one of them good—but eventually, that franchise sort of fell by the wayside.

We do know that Blade will be rated R; the rating was recently confirmed by the movie’s director Yann Demange. Blade marks the second MCU movie to receive an R-rating, although we bet that it will be a very different R-rated experience than Deadpool 3. The rating opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the MCU movie and we can’t wait to see what how they will manifest.

Behind the Scenes

Playwright Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen) wrote an early draft of the script. In 2021, Bassam Tariq confirmed he would direct the film via The Playlist podcast. However, Tariq left the project in 2022.

The director offered a brief statement about his experience with Blade.

After Tariq’s departure, Lovecraft Country‘s Yann Demange came aboard as Blade‘s new director. However, Demange has also now left the project. In addition, Michael Starrbury wrote a new script for the vampiric movie at that point. According to The Hollywood Reporter, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto also joined the project to work off of Starrbury’s script as well. Additionally, Michael Green was involved with writing a Blade script in 2023.

Most recently, in the summer of 2024, Eric Pearson joined the MCU’s Blade film to write its latest script. Reportedly, Marvel’s latest plan is to write a new script over the summer and then try to find yet another new director. Hopefully, whoever comes aboard this time will actually be able to deliver a movie.

Blade‘s Cast

As mentioned above, two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali will play the daywalking half-vampire badass in the upcoming Blade movie.

Delroy Lindo was originally slated to join Ali in film. We never formally learned who Lindo was playing, but we thought he could be Jamal Afari, who in the comics raised Blade and taught him all about vampire slaying. Unfortunately, due to shifts in production, Lindo has since exited the movie. Actor Aaron Pierre left the cast as well.

As we saw (or rather, heard) at the end of Eternals, Kit Harington will cross paths with Blade, reprising his role as Dane Whitman. No word yet on the status of that crossover in the new Blade iterations. Deadline has also previously reported that X and Pearl star Mia Goth intended to join the cast in an unspecified role. Once again, there is no official word on whether this casting is still in play, however, Goth recently addressed her role in the movie, seeming to indicate she is still in the mix.

Blade‘s Release Date

The Blade Marvel movie was meant to arrive in theaters on November 7, 2025. However, with all the changes made to the movie over time, it seems like that release date will likely get pushed.

Originally published on July 20, 2019.

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Door-to-door evangelizing seems like a lot of hard work. You have to be out in the elements and spreading the word of your Lord and Savior, often to people who really don’t want to hear it. I’d imagine there are a ton of people who either ignore you, slam the door in your face, or curse you out. And, if you’re a woman, there’s always that extra risk of a guy doing or saying something to make you feel super uncomfortable. But I never thought that a missionary occupational hazard would be running into a lunatic who holds you hostage in their house for weird mental games. That’s what happens in Heretic, an A24 psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, Yellowjackets’ star Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East with a trailer that teases a house of horrors. 

In the clip, Thatcher and Chloe are two young missionaries trying to spread knowledge about Jesus Christ. Their somewhat meek demeanors mean they are dismissed by most people. Nevertheless, they continue to bike around town and try to save souls. They go to a random, secluded house (red flag #1) where Grant’s far-too-friendly Mr. Reed lives. He invites them inside (red flag #2) and insists that it’s okay because his wife is there (red flag #3).

Things soon go down a dark path when they realize they are locked in. Mr. Reed says they can go but they have to choose between two doorways: one for believers and one for those who do not believe. I’m pretty sure there are terrible things behind both doors. The Heretic trailer is a fun peek that doesn’t give away too much but gives us the gift of a diabolical Hugh Grant. We love when he plays a villain.

Here’s the synopsis for Heretic: 

Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

What Is the Release Date for A24’s Heretic Movie Starring Hugh Grant? 

Heretic will hit theaters on November 15, 2024.

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When you think of iconic horror movie actors, you think of names like Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee,, Jamie Lee Curtis….and Robert Englund. The man responsible for bringing slasher icon Freddy Krueger into our nightmares will now share an honor with those other horror legends. Englund has announced via Twitter that he’s receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at long last. The beloved actor will receive his star in a ceremony taking place sometime in 2025.

Robert Englund became a household name playing the dream stalker in Wes Craven’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street. A film that turns forty this year. Yet he has a long and storied career outside of Freddy. As he detailed in the documentary about his life, Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares, he was a working character actor for years. Long before his breakout role in the sci-fi mini-series V. A year after V, Craven cast him as deranged serial killer Fred Krueger. This was his career-defining role a part he would play in six sequels and the crossover Freddy vs. Jason. He also starred in films like Phantom of the Opera, Hatchet, and most recently, on season four of Stranger Things.

Will his Elm Street co-star Heather Langenkamp, who played Nancy Thompson, present him with the honor? We kind of hope she does. It would perhaps finally facilitate an on-screen legacy sequel reunion between the two. So many legacy sequels have come out for horror classics like Halloween, The Exorcist, and others over the past several years. Ever since, the fans have been clamoring for a “one more time” visit to Springwood for Robert Englund, especially after the less-than-beloved A Nightmare on Elm Street remake from 2009. In any event, we are just thrilled that Robert Englund is finally getting his flowers.

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Another day, another streaming price increase. This time, it’s Paramount+ that will raise the prices on most of its tiers. Starting in August, Paramount+ subscribers can expect to pay a little more (again) to keep their access to the platform alive. Here’s how the price increases breakdown for Paramount+ this summer.

First, the company’s merged offering, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, will see its price increase by $1. That means it will now cost $12.99 per month for existing and new customers. Meanwhile, the Paramount+ Essential plan will increase by $2 per month and will cost $7.99 per month overall. However, the price increase of this plan will only affect new subscribers. Existing customers who are subscribed to the Paramount+ Essential plan will retain their current price of $5.99. Paramount+’s Limited Commercial Plan, which is now a legacy plan on the platform, will also increase by $1 and will cost $7.99 per month.

Annual subscription plans to Paramount+ will not currently see an increase in price.

These Paramount+ price hikes will become effective on August 20 for all new Paramount+ customers. Meanwhile, existing customers will see changes take place on their next billing date on or after September 20.

Despite these increases in costs, it is worth noting that Paramount+ with SHOWTIME remains cheaper than most other streamers’ ad-free plans. And its ad-supported plans are comparably priced. However, as most streamers keep raising prices, that does not exactly say very much for Paramount+. Regardless of the cost of one streamer specifically, the endless stream of price increases and other streaming restrictions is probably unsustainable for Paramount+ and all other streamers. It seems that at one point, streamers were focused on providing a good user experience. However, since subscription numbers have become all but tapped out, the focus has turned to ads and price increases across the board, from Paramount+ to Max and beyond.

Ultimately, that begs the question, will users pay the price or simply opt out? Only time will tell.

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Freaky Friday 2 is officially happening, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan back for more body-swapping fun. The highly anticipated sequel movie certainly seemed like it was gaining traction, but there’s nothing we love more than an official announcement. In addition to Curtis and Lohan, Freaky Friday 2 has gained some excellent new cast members, and it has a slated release window of 2025. That’s some freakishly exciting stuff.

Freaky Friday 2‘s Plot

In a release, Disney describes the plot of Freaky Friday 2 as follows:

A sequel to the beloved 2003 film with a multigenerational twist, the film picks up years after Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) endured an identity crisis. Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might indeed strike twice.

More body swapping, ahoy!

Freaky Friday 2‘s Cast and Creators

Of course, Curtis and Lohan reprise their roles as Tess and Anna Coleman. But other Freaky Friday actors will be back for more fun. These returning original cast members include Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Lucille Soong, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rosalind Chao. But Freaky Friday 2 will also see some new faces, including Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Manny Jacinto, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. We are very excited to hear Manny Jacinto is Freaky Friday 2 official, especially after his excellent recent turn on The Acolyte.

Finally, Freaky Friday 2 will be directed by Nisha Ganatra.

Freaky Friday 2‘s Release Date

Production on the Freaky Friday sequel began in June 2024. We should expect Freaky Friday 2 to release in theaters nationwide in 2025.

While we wait for Freaky Friday 2 to release, you can catch the original movie streaming on Disney+.

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Nosferatu. That one word causes a shiver to go down horror fans’ spines. We all know the story of the famed vampire Count Orlok, who is unofficially based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula vampire. And, no matter how many times it gets retold, we want to see it over and over again. Gothic vampire horror narratives will always reign supreme, and the original Nosferatu movie is legendary. The trailer for Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu hits the perfect notes, giving away none of its plot and simply leaning into disturbing imagery. We learn one thing throughout its narrative: He is coming. 

I don’t know the name of the casting director who brought on Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok. I do know that they deserve every good thing in life. What a perfect choice. He’s opposite Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, the object of this vampire’s affections. The Nosferatu teaser trailer promises a dark and twisted tale centering on these two characters. 

Here’s a quick synopsis to bring things into focus: 

Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

The remainder of Nosferatu’s cast is as follows: 

What Is the Release Date for Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu Movie? 

Nosferatu will hit theaters on December 25, 2024. What a haunting Christmas present.

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Lucasfilm and Oreo came together to deliver us the perfect food item: Star Wars Oreos. I know what you’re thinking: these are basically just Oreos but with Star Wars packaging. But, it’s not so. Star Wars Oreos are honestly the best kind of Oreos I’ve ever had. And yes, there is a ton of fun to be had with colors, designs, and joining the dark or light side. But the Star Wars Oreos aren’t just more fun than other kinds of Oreos, they are actually more delicious. Strap in for our review of the Star Wars Oreos.

Star Wars Oreos Let You Join the Dark or Light Side

First, the Star Wars Oreos conceit is just a lot of fun. Depending on what your pack of cookies reveals about you, you can join the dark side or the light side. But you can’t know which side you’ll join until you unwrap your box.

If your Star Wars Oreos dictate that you’ll join the light side, then you’ll see bright blue creme, the traditional honorable Jedi color of choice. You’ll also get to chow down on 10 different Oreo designs featuring your favorite Star Wars heroes. You can bite into Luke, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Rey, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Mace Windu. When I opened up my Star Wars Oreos, I ended up being on the light side. (Which I’m fine with, I swear…)

Iconic “Side” reveal!!!!

Read all about it: https://t.co/uhniuL4Zyn @starwars @Oreo #Gifted #StarWars pic.twitter.com/G132eYmKhd

— Rotem Rusak (@Moondancer1626) May 30, 2024

If you happen to end up on the dark side of Star Wars Oreos, then your Oreos will have a Sith Lord red color to them. Inside, you’ll find 10 designs celebrating Star Wars‘ best villains in Oreo form. These Oreos feature Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, Boba Fett, Stormtrooper, Jabba the Hut, General Grievous, Count Dooku, and Scout Trooper. Potentially, dark side Star Wars Oreos have more fun.

The Packaging for These Star Wars Oreos Is Gorgeous

Who isn’t a sucker for fun packaging? Regardless of what side you’re on, your Star Wars Oreos will come decorated with art by Greg Hildebrandt, who has been a Star Wars poster artist since 1977! The art features all the dark and light Star Wars characters found on the Oreo designs facing off in an epic battle.

It’s also worth noting that the characters on the Oreos themselves are well-drawn. Good job, Oreo designers.

Do Star Wars Oreos Taste Good?

Regardless of the Star Wars fun, though, you should buy these Oreos for one very simple reason. The Star Wars Oreos honestly taste better than regular Oreos, and that’s because of their secret Force powers. Yes, the creme in Star Wars Oreos is not like other cremes; it’s actually studded with  “Kyber” inspired sugar crystals. And that rocks.

Star Wars Oreos Have Sugar Crystals in the Creme

We love the Star Wars Easter egg inherent in “Kyber” sugar crystals. But what we love even more is the critical texture component these sugar crystals add to the Oreos’ creme. And, just to confirm, these crystals aren’t pop rocks; they’re just small hints of sugar. I would describe the texture as something like a slightly crunchier take on funfetti icing. The sugar is a little bit crunchy but also fairly soft, so it’s really pleasing against the creaminess of the creme. The sugar also adds a hint of a slightly different sweetness against that of the creme, and it all works nicely together.

I like an Oreo, but I absolutely devoured these Star Wars Oreos.

How Can You Buy Star Wars Oreos

Happily, Star Wars Oreos are now available at grocery stores near you. Additionally, you can purchase them online. These galactic cookies will cost you $5.29 a pack. And they are worth it!

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After many false starts and canceled projects, Star Wars is finally ready to return to theaters. Lucasfilm announced three new upcoming standalone movies during the opening of Star Wars Celebration 2023. These new Star Wars movies include a story about the founding of the Jedi, a movie that will serve as the finale to this era of interconnected Disney+ shows, and the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey. Additionally, in January 2024, LucasFilm also announced a fourth new movie was heading to theaters, The Mandalorian & Grogu, a big-screen adventure starring our favorite Disney+ duo. Finally, the once canceled Rogue Squadron may rise to join the line-up (but nothing official has been reported.)

And with that, the galaxy far, far away is finally going back to the big screen. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Dave Filoni (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel, Saving Face) have all been tapped to direct these new Star Wars movies. Meanwhile, Jon Favreau will take on the Mando movie. Lastly, if what Patty Jenkins says is true, she will direct an upcoming Star Wars movie as well.

While Lucasfilm shared few official details about the films, the little they tell us says a lot. Here’s what we know about these new Star Wars movies so far.

Jump to: James Mangold’s Story of the Force // Dave Filoni’s Disney+ Series Team-Up // Rey Will Return in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Star Wars Movie // Jon Favreau Brings Us The Mandalorian & Grogu // Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron Is Back in Play

James Mangold’s New Star Wars Movie Tells the Story of the Force

James Mangold’s “will go back to the dawn of the Jedi,” a time set tens of thousands of years earlier than anything we’ve ever seen on screen before. That might mean we’ll meet the figure known as Prime Jedi. That’s the person who founded the Order on Ahch-To sometime around 25,000 years before the events of A New Hope. Fans already know Ahch-To well. They first saw it in The Last Jedi when it served as Luke Skywalker’s hideaway. A release additionally shares, “James Mangold will take audiences deep into the past, telling the tale of the first Jedi to wield the Force and harness it as a liberating power in an era of chaos and oppression.”

Mangold further noted to Empire that his new Star Wars movie “takes place 25,000 years before Episode IV, and it’s about the discovery of the Force.” He further shares, “I told Kathy [Kennedy, head of Lucasfilm] I wanted to make a kind of Bible movie, a kind of Ten Commandments of Star Wars – kind of a Cecil B DeMille film about the arrival of the Force, and that’s what I’ve been pecking away at between press events. That’s the idea.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, playwright and screenwriter Beau Willimon will co-write the script with Mangold. In addition to his playwriting career and his Emmy-nominated scripts for House of Cards, Willimon also wrote the prison three-parter in season one of Andor. Writing the best episodes of the best Star Wars show is some real bonafides.

James Mangold’s New Star Wars Movie Connects with Rey’s Next Appearance

Kennedy also recently shared that this movie will help inform the new Star Wars movie featuring the return of Rey. She noted to Total Film, “I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from,” she explains. “Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.” 

According to a new official Star Wars eras list revealed by LucasFilm, this movie will most likely take place in the “Dawn of the Jedi” era, but could even take place earlier than that.

Dave Filoni’s Film Will Bring Together Many Current Disney+ Series

The next new Star Wars movie will come from franchise veteran Dave Filoni. His film “will focus on the New Republic and close out the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and other Disney+ series.” That’s huge news for both the television and movie side of Lucasfilm. When we get a release date for Filoni’s film, we’ll know just how many more seasons of The Mandalorian we might see. Clearly, there’s already an end in sight to Din Djarin and Grogu’s story. Although, we suppose they could continue on beyond a culminating movie. A release further shares, “Dave Filoni will orchestrate the escalating war between the Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic.”

Rey Will Return in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars Movie

The third and final new Star Wars movie announced will focus on the future. Obaid-Chinoy’s movie will take place after The Rise of Skywalker. It will mark the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey. Set 15 years after the ultimate defeat of the Sith, she will be trying to build a new Jedi Order. Hopefully, that goes a lot better than her mentor Luke Skywalker’s attempts. According to the new list of Star Wars eras, it seems like this movie will take place in the “New Jedi Order” era.

The Plot of Rey’s Upcoming Star Wars Movie

Kathleen Kennedy shared more about the movie with Variety. She noted:

Well, we’re 15 years out from ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ so we’re post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray. There’s a lot of discussion around, ‘Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy?’ She’s attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that’s where we’re going.”

Speaking to Empire, Kennedy added, “The First Order has fallen, the Jedi are in chaos – there’s even a question of how many exist anymore – and Rey’s building the New Jedi Order, based on the text that she was given and that Luke imparted on her.” She also offers, “Rey has made a promise to Luke, and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be. And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter.” 

On the topic of a possible Luke Skywalker presence in the new Star Wars movie, Kennedy said: “I don’t know if we’ll spend a lot of time in flashbacks or [on] Force ghosts or things like that, but certainly, the spirit of what he represents to her is going to be significant.”

Ridley previously noted, “I know bits and bobs… I know there’s an introduction of new characters… I don’t know about previous characters.” But she also didn’t rule out anyone’s return. When asked about the popular idea of John Boyega’s Finn returning as a Jedi in the new Star Wars movie, Ridley responded, “That is above my pay grade. [Laughs] I would love to see that, but that is not a decision for me.” She also recently told The Hollywood Reporter that it feels like she and Boyega should reunite in the movie, noting, “Absolutely, of course…It feels like we should, yeah.”

But Ridley does have some information, according to Empire, “she knows the story beats for what the new film will be.” And, as of May 2024, she notes that she still hasn’t read a script “but it is imminently about to change.”

A Jedi Academy Is in Rey’s Future

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy further noted about the new Star Wars movie, “At the heart of it, for me, is Rey Skywalker, Daisy Ridley, and her story, and taking her on an adventure to a Jedi Academy and sort of creating a world that is a natural dovetail to the story that we’ve seen her go through in the last three episodes.”

Obaid-Chinoy additionally adds, “I’ve had conversations with JJ Abrams. I’ve had conversations with George Lucas and, of course, Dave Filoni, who is a big part of the Star Wars universe now. We speak very often, and Kathy Kennedy, Carrie Beck, and Simon Emanuel – I think the team is really taking time to make sure that we do justice to telling the story of Daisy.”

Rey’s Future in the New Star Wars Movie

But will Rey’s upcoming Star Wars movie continue the common franchise trend of introducing new characters that are somehow related to other characters in the world? Daisy Ridley doesn’t really think so. Speaking to Deadline, Ridley noted it seemed unlikely that Rey would have kids in the new Star Wars film. She shared, “I would say she probably doesn’t have children seeing she’s a Jedi.” Of course, we know hypothetically Rey still could have children, like Anakin before her, but it sounds like this won’t be the path of the movie.

Daisy Ridley also notes that Rey will take a different approach to teaching the next generation of Jedi than Luke Skywalker did. Speaking to Den of Geek, she says about Rey’s tactics diverging from Luke’s, “I would say, from what I understand, yes. Short answer.”

Daisy Ridley and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Give Updates on the New Film

Daisy Ridley noted to Collider, “I’m very excited. The story is really cool. I’m waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don’t have any other updates. It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited.” And additionally told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m genuinely really excited about the next one [Star Wars movie]. I haven’t read anything, but I know the story. It’s really worth telling, worth exploring, and I think people will be excited.”

Daisy Ridley on Returning as Rey

The actress also offered a bit of a further tease about the film to AlloCiné. She said of the upcoming Rey Star Wars movie, “Once I knew what the story was and everything, I knew that it was something I really wanted to do. I think it’s a really fantastic exploration of the Star Wars world. It’s a really cool way of taking the story on in a bit of a different direction.” In conclusion, as Ridley noted to Variety, the story of this Star Wars movie is “cool as sh*t.”

Ridley also recently shared that this time around, she feels more ready to be Rey. “I suppose I feel more like I’m owning it. I suppose I owned it the first time. Basically, I’m an adult now. I certainly did not feel like an adult at the time. Obviously, personally, things have changed, and professionally, I’ve had lots of other experiences, and so I definitely feel like it’s a different thing this time. There’s just a lot of joy with me and these films. Honestly, if I wasn’t excited, I wouldn’t have done it. It feels like a great thing to be a part of.” However, the actress also expressed reprising the role could be a strange experience, saying, “I honestly have had moments where I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I remember what I did [as Rey]… It’s really strange. I think the whole thing will feel so different anyway, with a totally different team. I’m in a very different place than I was. I’m probably going to be one of the adults, and initially, I was the youngest person on set, which is a weird feeling.”

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on Tackling a Star Wars Story

Meanwhile, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy noted to CNN, “I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something very special… We’re in 2024 now, and it’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape a story in a galaxy far, far away.

We couldn’t agree more. But something tells us it won’t be smooth sailing for Rey. The dark side of the Force has a way of always creating shadows over the galaxy far, far away, especially in theaters.

The director also added, “The story that interests me most is in Rey’s journey as a female Jedi. That’s how I can best bring my experiences to it.”

A Release Date for Rey’s New Star Wars Movie

There is now a reported filming date in play for Rey’s upcoming Star Wars fim. According to Productionlist.com, which tracks production updates for the Film & Television Industry Alliance, the Rey movie will start shooting on April 7, 2024 in London. Hopefully, that means we will get casting news soon.

Recent rumors speculated that the Rey movie might have been delayed indefinitely due to creative differences between Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and writer Steven Knight. However, according to Gizmodo, Lucasfilm has confirmed the movie is still moving forward without issue. According to the publication, a source at Lucasfilm noted, “Knight continues to write and be a part of the process. In fact, the company is waiting on his latest draft as you read this.”

Jon Favreau Takes Our Favorite Duo to the Big Screen in The Mandalorian & Grogu

In addition to joining Dave Filoni’s big group Star Wars movie, the Mandalorian and Grogu will also star in a new Star Wars movie of their own (aptly titled, The Mandalorian & Grogu). Few details are known about it for now, but it will go into production in 2024.

As previously noted, this movie is expected to start shooting in April 2024.

Patty Jenkins Returns to Direct the Once Canceled Star Wars Movie Rogue Squadron

In 2020, Lucasfilm announced Patty Jenkins would direct a new Star Wars movie, Rogue Squadron. But the movie was removed from the company’s lineup in 2022. Now, Jenkins has revealed she’s back to work on the film, and she’ll take on the roles of writer and director. You can see what she had to say in full, here.

Originally published on April 7, 2023.

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The tortured process of bringing a Blade reboot to life at Marvel Studios has been something to behold. Blade was first announced at Comic-Con in 2019, when Oscar winner Mahershala Ali stepped onto the stage to announce he would portray the Daywalker. Since then, it’s gone through multiple screenwriters, different production start dates, several release dates, and two directors. Yet Marvel has revealed very little about the film in all this time, aside from the basic info we already knew from comics and previous movies. Now, an article in The Hollywood Reporter has revealed a few key characters of the MCU Blade.

One of the main reveals is that the film would have featured two characters from the pages of Marvel Comics. The first was Blade’s daughter. We presume this is Bloodline, who first appeared last year in the comics. Named Brielle Brooks, she also has a thing for slaying the undead, just like dear old dad. Although a recent creation, the idea of Blade having a daughter goes back a few years. Marvel announced a series about Blade and his daughter in 2015, Back then, her name was Fallon Grey. That series never happened, and Bloodline came about seven years later instead.

Pearl and MaXXXine star Mia Goth was the other major comics character, the villain Lilith. In the comics, Lilith Drake is the daughter of Dracula, and has fought Marvel’s supernatural heroes many times. In the film, she would have wanted the blood of Blade’s daughter. Considering Blade began as a supporting character in Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula comics, it makes sense for him to fight someone related to the King of the Vampires in the MCU. In actual mythology, Lilith was the first wife of Adam, and the supposed source of many vampire mythology. Marvel Comics had their own take on the character, which likely inspired whatever Marvel Studios was working on.

It’s unknown if either of these characters will survive into the latest Blade draft from writer Eric Pearson. One of the first MCU Blade scripts took place in the 1920s, with the most recent one taking place in the modern day. Some characters from earlier scripts might not make the cut, if and when this movie goes before the cameras. Blade currently has no director attached, so it’s certainly not making its 2025 release date. In its article, The Hollywood Reporter notes, “The new plan [for Blade] calls for the script to be written over the summer and then go out to directors.” Hopefully, Marvel Studios can finally crack the code on Blade, and give us Mahershala Ali slicing and dicing the undead. This shouldn’t be the hardest movie in the world to get off the ground.

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M3GAN was the surprise horror hit of 2023, creating an instant icon in the dancing killer robot doll. So it came as no shock when they fast-tracked a sequel, M3GAN 2.0. Now, a spin-off of M3GAN is on its way as well, as Atomic Monster, Blumhouse, and Universal are developing SOULM8TE, a new film expanding on the M3GAN universe. SOULM8TE releases in theaters on January 2, 2026. Described as a throwback ’90s style erotic thriller with a technological twist, Kate Dolan will direct the film. The original script is by Rafael Jordan, with the story by James Wan, Ingrid Bisu, and Jordan. 

According to the official description for SOULM8TE, the story centers on a man who acquires an artificially intelligent android to cope with the loss of his recently deceased wife. In an attempt to create a truly sentient partner, he inadvertently turns a seemingly harmless robot into a deadly soulmate. In short, it sounds like it’s Fatal Attraction meets Short Circuit. And we’re totally here for that. We’re not entirely sure how much the world of this movie will actually connect to M3GAN, although we are hoping we see her pop up in some capacity. M3GAN 2.0 will arrive in theaters first, on June 27, 2025.

We hope that SOULM8TE is the kind of campy fun that M3GAN was, only with a more R-rated adult skew. Back in the ’80s, and especially the ’90s, the erotic thriller was one of the top genres at the worldwide box office. Movies like Basic Instinct enthralled audiences everywhere with their sexy suspense stories. Ok, so they were a little ridiculous too, which is why we still love them. Maybe for today’s audience, the only way to truly bring the genre back is to have an erotic killer robot. Universal Pictures’ SOULM8TE hits theaters on January 2, 2026.

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Iconic actor Donald Sutherland has died at the age of 88 after a long illness. The sad news arrives to us via Deadline. With over 200 film and television credits to his name, Sutherland became a household name in the ’70s. All thanks to films like The Dirty Dozen, M*A*S*H, Klute, and the suspense classic Don’t Look Now. The Canadian-born actor also starred in movies such as JFK, Backdraft, and Pride and Prejudice, to name a few. Donald Sutherland capped off a legendary career with a villainous turn as President Snow in The Hunger Games franchise. Of course, he’s also the father of another iconic actor in his own right, Kiefer Sutherland. We’re very sorry to hear about the death of this legend.

Donald Sutherland was born in 1935 in New Brunswick, Canada. At 20 years old, he departed Canada for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Not too long after excelling there, he began appearing in several horror films with the iconic Christopher Lee. His big break in film came in 1968, starring in the blockbuster war movie The Dirty Dozen. He soon became one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors. He starred in serious dramas like Ordinary People, and raunchy comedies like Animal House, proving his versatility. Sutherland also racked up an impressive list of sci-fi and horror roles, like the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Puppet Masters, and as Buffy Summers’ first Watcher in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Thanks to his outspoken views about his opposition to the Vietnam War, Donald Sutherland found himself on a CIA watchlist in the early ’70s, right as he became world famous. None of this hurt his career, though. Aside from his acting roles, in his later years, Sutherland became a blogger for The Huffington Post, chronicling the 2008 Presidential election. Despite his incredibly impressive resume, somehow, Donald Sutherland never received an Academy Award. However, the Academy granted him an honorary Oscar in 2017 for his lifetime of work. However, Sutherland won several Emmys and a pair of Golden Globes as well. Sutherland is survived by his wife, Canadian actress Francine Racette, and his five children. Although Sutherland’s death is sad news indeed, few are likely to forget his storied career.

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Back in 1998, R&B singer and actress Brandy famously fought with Monica over a boy in “The Boy Is Mine,” a song that still rules karaoke nights to this day. Now, in 2024, Brandy is telling an evil, racist mother-in-law that the house and the child are mine in The Front Room, an upcoming A24 horror film. That’s right, Brandy, who famously played Karla Wilson in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, is coming back to the genre! The first trailer for The Front Room shows Brandy battling against an old woman with a sinister agenda. 

Here’s a synopsis of The Front Room by A24: 

Everything goes to hell for newly-pregnant Belinda (Brandy) after her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) moves in. As the diabolical guest tries to get her claws on the child, Belinda must draw the line somewhere…

The trailer for The Front Room certainly shows Belinda’s mother-in-law trying to do some weird ritual and being a real pain in general. She needs to give it up. Brandy has had about enough. It’s not hard to see…

We don’t know how things will end but we do know that Max and Sam Eggers are the writers and directors of this vehicle. Let’s see what these brothers will bring to the screen with Brandy leading the way alongside Andrew Burnap.

What Is the Release Date for Brandy’s Horror Movie The Front Room?

The Front Room will hit theaters on September 6.

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The Exorcist: Believer fell well short of expectations in 2023. Then The Exorcist: Believer‘s planned sequel movie lost its release date and its director in early 2024. It seemed like the reboot of the famous franchise was in some trouble. But now, Mike Flanagan will direct the next Exorcist movie for Blumhouse and Universal pictures (at one point titled, The Exorcist: Deceiver). The new Exorcist movie will not, however, be a sequel to Believer. A release notes, “The film will tell an all-new story set in The Exorcist universe and is not a sequel to 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer.” Instead, Flanagan’s movie will be a “radical new take on The Exorcist.” Excitingly, the movie officially has a 2026 release date.

Flanagan has an excellent reputation for his deft, atmospheric horror—so he could be just the ticket to set the franchise back on course.

While three new Exorcist movies were imagined in this reboot attempt, it’s unknown if Flanagan will direct one or two more movies. Since the movies will no longer function as a trilogy, the fate of the third movie is yet to be determined. But if anyone can turn a franchise around, it’s The Fall of the House of Usher creator.

One thing Flanagan’s new Exorcist movie won’t include is his trademark monologues. Per Slash Film, Flanagan “recalled saying, “I don’t think this is a monologue project.” Granted, as he pointed out, the exorcism ritual itself (a lengthy recital of scripture) is kind of a monologue. However, when it comes to philosophical speeches about religion, horror, and death, Flanagan said, ‘I already got it out of my system.'”

Instead, Flanagan’s Exorcist movie will “just be really scary” but with characters that are “real and emotional and relevant.” Additionally, it seems there might not be that many Easter eggs or references to the original The Exorcist film. Slash Film notes, “the storyteller explained that his movie probably won’t include all that many illusions to the 1973 horror classic that started it all. After all, Blumhouse and Universal are giving the film a theatrical release, and with younger audiences driving the box office, they’re unlikely to be impressed by allusions to a 50-year-old movie.”

When Will Mike Flanagan’s Excorcist Movie Release?

Mike Flanagan’s Exorcist movie will release on March 13, 2026. We’ll have to wait and see if it remains titled The Exorcist: Deceiver.

Originally published on May 29, 2024.

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Everything must have a sequel or reboot these days. And next in line is Spaceballs. The hilarious space opera that parodies other beloved space-based franchises such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and Alien will now get a sequel. We have a strong feeling the wonder of Spaceballs will not be easily recreated by Spaceballs 2, but we guess Hollywood has to try. Variety reports that Spaceballs 2 will star Josh Gad, who will also produce the sequel movie alongside Mel Brooks. Josh Greenbaum will direct while Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Gad serve as writers on the film. Spaceballs 2 is reportedly in development at Amazon MGM studios.

Will the galactic jokes land? We sure hope so… but in the meantime, we’ll just be watching the original Spaceballs movie, which you can stream now on Max.

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One of the best and most creative horror films in recent years is undoubtedly Smile. Everything from the film’s concepts to its characters and even its marketing blitz were pretty darn close to perfection. With Smile’s resounding success, it was inevitable that Paramount Pictures would order a sequel. The first teaser trailer for Smile 2 introduces us to a new set of characters and that familiar sinister smirking.

Ya know, I am not sure about this second venture. I will definitely check it out when it hits theaters. But I think that certain concepts are cooler when they aren’t stretched to their limits. I absolutely love Parker Finn’s Laura Hasn’t Slept and didn’t mind that concept getting stretched out to a full film with Smile. Now, it feels like it could be wearing the novelty thin, if you get what I mean. No shade to anyone involved because I totally hope this film rules. It’s good to see Parker Finn is writing and directing once again!

Here’s a synopsis for Smile 2 to bring the trailer into focus: 

About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control. 

The Smile 2 cast includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, Ray Nicholson.

What Is the Release Date for Smile 2?

Smile 2 will hit theaters just in time for Halloween on October 18.

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Jordan Peele is not only a master of horror but also a master of enigma. The horror director and producer caught many fans attention with Us, Get Out, and Nope. And, he still has us in his hooks with Him, a football-centric film he’s producing starring Marlon Wayans. That film is set to hit theaters in September 2025 but it seems there’s yet another Jordan Peele project on the rise. We know absolutely nothing about it except one thing: It’s coming just in time for Halloween 2026. Jordan Peele posted a message on X (forever Twitter in our hearts) with a photo that has nothing but the date October 23, 2026. Maybe it will be called Her…

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming 2026 Jordan Peele film is on Universal Pictures upcoming slate. There is no title nor any details but fans are speculating quite a bit already. Is it Candyman 2? Maybe. He’s known for promoting all things under Monkeypaw Production’s umbrella, whether he is directing it or not.

Maybe it’s a quirky Marvel film or The People Under the Stairs remake that is supposed to be in early stages of development. Who knows. We will have to wait a long time and see what Jordan Peele has coming our way with this mysterious 2026 movie.

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“Our new film Megalopolis is the best work I’ve ever had the privilege to preside over.” Considering he directed both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, that’s one hell of a statement for Francis Ford Coppola to make. But make it Coppola did, alongside the first trailer for Megalopolis. After four+ decades of frustration (and $120 million of his own money) trying to get it made, though, we don’t begrudge him his excitement. Especially when his long-awaited film looks as epic, weird, and fascinating as we’d hope. Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as a man struggling with his own sense of reality as he tries to save his dying city of opulence from itself. Happily, in addition to the trailer, Megalopolis has also officially set its US release date.

Whatever anyone expected from Megalopolis, it looks much weirder. It takes place in a kind of modern day Rome. Only in this giant city reality and fiction blend together in a whirlwind of style and depravity. What’s actually going on, though? Coppola provided more insight when he shared the film’s first clip.

The story follows Driver’s Caesar, a “dreamer” determined to “push back” against his city’s “unchecked greed, self-absorption, and political propaganda.” His fight will put Caesar in direct conflict with the man responsible for his home’s ruinous path, Giancarlo Esposito’s Mayor Franklyn Cicero.

In addition to its hero and villain, the film also features a slew of big-time Hollywood names. It also features Nathalie Emmanuel, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Dustin Hoffman, D. B. Sweeney, Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, and Grace VanderWaal.

What Is the Release Date for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis Movie?

Megalopolis did not have a formal release date when its first trailer release, but the end of the trailer revealed it will come “only” to theaters in 2024. It also says we can expect to see it in IMAX. But since then, we’ve learned when we can expect the movie in theaters. Megalopolis will release on September 27, 2024.

IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond recently echoed that sentiment about a Megalopolis IMAX release, noting, “The film is going to get an IMAX release. One of the things that we pride ourselves on is being filmmaker-friendly. So we’ve committed to Francis to do a global IMAX release.” Gelfond did specify, though, that, “It’ll probably be a limited release rather than on all the screens in the world.” He also cited that, “IMAX will probably wait to see who will distribute the film in the U.S. and when before dating its IMAX release.” Finally, Gelfond offered that IMAX viewers of Megalopolis might get a special treat, sharing, “We also are working on a live event with him; we’re trying to accomplish a live event before Megalopolis, so someone interviewing Francis.”

Happily, IMAX won’t have to wait too much longer. We now know that Lionsgate will distribute Coppola’s Megalopolis in the United States. And, as mentioned, the movie will release on September 27, 2024. A release shares, “Lionsgate Studios previously distributed many of the visionary filmmaker’s greatest masterpieces on home entertainment, including Apocalypse Now Final Cut, The Conversation, The Cotton Club Encore, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, and One From the Heart: Reprise. Lionsgate Studios will also handle the distribution of Megalopolis across all home entertainment platforms. Megalopolis will be released in domestic theaters and in IMAX on September 27, 2024.”

If it’s anywhere near as good as Francis Ford Coppola thinks, we’ll be seeing it there more than once.

Originally published on May 14, 2024.

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Over the past several years, it seems like they’ve remade almost every ’70s and ’80s horror classic. Probably some you’re not even aware of. (Someone remade John Carpenter’s The Fog, for reasons). Yet one cult horror film from that era has remained untouched by the remake craze, until now. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 1981’s Possession is getting the remake treatment soon, as Smile filmmaker Parker Finn and Robert Pattinson are joining forces to remake the supernatural thriller. Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski wrote and directed the original. Pattinson is on board as producer, and may also star in the film.

The original film wasn’t your typical ’80s horror movie. It wasn’t even a financial success in its day, only achieving cult hit status over time, thanks to home video. Possession took place in West Berlin, and featured future Jurassic Park star Sam Neill as a spy who returns home to his wife and son. This meditation of martial drama eventually spirals out, and before you know it, there are strange doppelgangers and a tentacled alien. So, not exactly Friday the 13th. The U.K. banned Possession, and an American release cut out a third of it to be less bizarre. We must say however, it does sound exactly like the kind of weird stuff producer Robert Pattinson would totally be into.

Parker Finn is riding high after his directorial debut Smile became the biggest horror hit of 2022. That film cost $17 million to produce, and made $217 million at the box office. It was originally intended for Paramount+. Yet wiser heads prevailed after positive tests screenings, and Smile made quite a return on investment for the studio. And now Finn is making the sequel. So it seems Finn is using his Smile clout to do his version of the relatively obscure cult film. It remains to be seen if the final film could possibly live up to the strangeness of the original, which was made in a completely different climate for horror films.

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If you were a teenager in the 2000s, then you surely remember the great Disney masterpiece Freaky Friday. Who can forget the hilariousness of a mom and daughter who end up switching bodies thanks to a fortune cookie? It has somehow been 20 years since we saw Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as Tess and Anna, but they are reportedly reprising those roles in a Freaky Friday sequel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, both stars are ready for more body-swapping adventures, with Elyse Hollander penning the script and Nisha Ganatra set to direct. 

Freaky Friday 2 Casting News

For now, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are expected to reprise their roles in Freaky Friday 2. Additionally, Variety reveals that Julia Butters has joined the Freaky Friday sequel in an unknown role. But given what we know about the movie so far, we might speculate she’ll play the daughter or future stepdaughter of Lohan’s Anna.

Additionally, Deadline reports that Manny Jacinto is is reportedly in talks to join the movie. We are 100% pro this casting.

More Updates on Freaky Friday 2

Lohan and Curtis seemed to confirm news of the movie with a celebratory Instagram post.

Additionally, Lohan herself confirmed during an Andy Cohen interview that the sequel is happening. She remained mum about any production timelines but said that both she and Curtis were excited about a Freaky Friday sequel.

What Will Freaky Friday 2 Be About?

So, what will this movie be about? Well, Jamie Lee Curtis wants her co-star to be a sexy grandma. In an interview with The View, which we learned about via Deadline, Curtis said, “Let me be the grandma, let me be the old grandma who switches places, so then Lindsay gets to be the sexy grandma who’s still happy with Mark Harmon in all the ways you would be happy with Mark Harmon… I would like to see Lindsay be the hot grandma, and I would like to see me try to deal with toddlers today. I want to be a helicopter parent in today’s world.” We’d love to see it.

Additionally, Entertainment Weekly reveals that newly minted director Nisha Ganatra shared a casting call on her social media for the movie. The casting call revealed that Anna Coleman (Lohan) now has a daughter and that she’s apparently getting married to a man who also has a daughter. Of course, Tess (Curtis) is still involved. Whatever swap is coming up for our favorite ladies, it seems like four people might be included this time.

Of course, there are no confirmed details about the Freaky Friday sequel at this time. But it isn’t shocking that this reunion is happening. During a retrospective interview, both Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan told The New York Times that they were open to a Freaky Friday sequel. And we have seen the actresses in very recent projects, too. Curtis came back as Laurie Strode once again in Halloween Ends while Lohan is back in the spotlight after Falling for Christmas, a very cute Netflix rom-com.

We’re still not ruling out Anna’s daughter swapping places with her while Tess tries to help them figure it all out. No matter what the plot is, we are totally down for a Freaky Friday sequel.

Originally published on May 11, 2023.

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Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars will soon return to make movie magic again. Practical Witch magic, to be specific. Warner Bros. Pictures has announced it’s finally making a (movie, not TV) sequel to its beloved 1998 film. And original stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman will reprise their roles as the Owens sisters.

Warner Bros. went to TikTok to announced its producing a long-awaited followup to its beloved witchy drama. Oscar-winner Akiva Goldsmith (A Beautiful Mind) will write the script for Practical Magic 2. More important is the possible involvement of two other Oscar winners. But happily, Kidman confirmed they will both return for Practical Magic 2.

Speaking to People, which we say via Deadline, Kidman noted, “Yes, I will be in it. And Sandy will be in it. And that’s that. There’s a lot more to tell, which is why we go, ‘OK, this is kind of interesting now to be able to do this.’ [We] found a way in.” That’s that!

Could Practical Magic 2 have been successful without them? Maybe, but it will be far more magical now that the duo will be back as the Owens sisters.

Originally published on June 10, 2024.

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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts set up a crossover movie between G.I. Joe and Transformers. And now, there’s some movement on that film. Chris Hemsworth is reportedly in talks to star in the G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover movie. We guess we could certainly have no trouble imagining Hemsworth as a G.I. Joe. And hey, there would be no capes involved this time around.

G.I. Joe and Transformers have met before in the world of comics, so there is precedent for their connection. But this would be their first encounter in live-action. At the end of Transformers: Rise of Beasts, G.I. Joe is revealed to be a kind of investigative organization in the Transformers world. This crossover movie, would, of course, help to grow the Hasbro cinematic universe. And hey, everyone needs a cinematic universe these days.

Additional news indicates that Jurassic World and Detective Pikachu writer Derek Connolly has come onboard for the movie.

It’s early days for the film. But if you want to read more about how G.I. Joe and Transformers go together, you can check out our piece here.

Originally published on May 30, 2024.

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In her big screen debut, Moana showed how far she’d go to help an ancient goddess. Now she’ll show how far she’ll go to unite all of her people. The first trailer for Walt Disney Animation’s Moana 2 brings back Auli‘i Cravalho’s young heroine for an all-new adventure on the sea, one that will bind her to her ancient ancestors even more. And once again she’ll have some help navigating both the waves and her enemies. Dwyane Johnson’s muscle-bound demigod Maui is coming back for another journey.

Disney’s teaser trailer for Moana 2 looks…uh…a lot like the first Moana. I haven’t seen the original in a couple of years, and if not for the fact Moana looks older here I wouldn’t know if the first 80% of this promo is simply reused footage from that movie. But like Maui, I know she didn’t bring a pig with her on the raft before, so we’re definitely getting a new tale this time around. What exactly is going on, though? Here’s the film’s official synopsis from Disney:

Moana 2 reunites Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.

Additionally, Moana 2‘s directors recently revealed, via Variety, “This story finds Moana and her crew in search of the lost island of Motufetu, which once connected the ocean, now hidden by a jealous God of Storms.” And added, “We begin our story with Moana, three years after the first film. She’s exploring the seas, searching for new islands, mapping the ocean, hoping to find other people. As the people of Motunui have not seen anyone for generations, Moana knows that the ocean connects us. But to whom? Where are they? She’s looking for proof that others are out there. She’s curious why she hasn’t found anyone.” Why, indeed.

Moana 2 also has some newcomers behind the scenes. The film comes from directors David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller. Meanwhile, the original movie’s Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i are back as songwriters and composers, but Lin-Manuel Miranda is not. Instead Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear will contribute songs to the movie.

Moana 2 will sail into theaters this fall on November 27, 2024, just in time for Thanksgiving. The live-action Moana will follow it onto big screens in 2026. That’s a long way to go for our favorite sea-faring voyager, but we know she’s up for it.

Originally published on May 29, 2024.

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