The universe of Matt Reeves’ The Batman is expanding exponentially. Separate from the DCU involving the other DC heroes, Reeves’ world is hyper gritty, and focused solely on the world of Gotham City. And the first project of this new The Batman-verse is a Max (formerly HBO Max) series focusing on Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin.

Thanks to Max’s 2024 preview video, we have our first look at its action at the 1:20 mark. In it, Colin Farrell’s Penguin notes that “the world ain’t built for guys like us” as he tosses someone into the trunk of a car. We see his face and hear him say “you ain’t seen what I can do.” We have not, sir, but we are ready to see it when The Penguin hits Max in 2024.

According to Variety, Max’s The Batman spinoff will resume production shortly after Thanksgiving. Hopefully, that means we’ll be learning more about the show soon enough. For now, we have that short clip as well as this look at the upcoming series, courtesy of Empire.

Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming The Penguin series centered on the so-called criminal King of Gotham, once again played by Colin Farrell.

Title

The title of the series is simply The Penguin.

The Penguin‘s Plot

Based on early statements, it seems the plot of the series focuses on Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot as he rises in the ranks of Gotham’s underworld, and becomes a power player. It will take place in the aftermath of the flooding of Gotham City, as seen in the final act of The Batman. Here’s what producer Matt Reeves had to say about the show’s premise:

Colin exploded off the screen as the Penguin in The Batman. Having the chance to thoroughly explore the inner life of that character on HBO Max is an absolute thrill. Dylan and I are so excited to work with Lauren in continuing Oz’s story as he grabs violently for power in Gotham.

The series will have eight episodes.

Behind the Scenes

Lauren LeFranc will write the script for the series and serve as showrunner. The Batman director Matt Reeves and producer Dylan Clark will serve as executive producers, along with star Colin Farrell. Reeves won’t be directing, at least not early on. Directing an early episode is Craig Zobel.

The Penguin‘s Cast

In the title role is the returning Colin Farrell. Also in the cast is Cristin Milioti as the female lead of the show, Sofia Falcone.

In addition, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Zegen, James Madio, Scott Cohen, Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, David H. Holmes, and Theo Rossi will also appear.

Most recently, we learned that Clancy Brown has joined the cast as Salvatore Maroni. Worth noting, in the comics, Maroni was responsible for throwing acid at Harvey Dent. This, of course, led Dent to become Two-Face. This could be an interesting way to bring the iconic villain into The Batman‘s world.

The Penguin‘s Release Date

The Penguin will officially come to Max sometime in 2024.

Originally published November 9, 2022.

The post THE PENGUIN Series Shares New Footage in Max 2024 Preview appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon’s first season flew in with all the drama, shocking moments, and, of course, dragons that fans expect from this universe. Season one took us back many decades before Daenerys Targaryen’s birth to show us the events leading to the decline of the mighty House Targaryen. Now, we are fully locked into the fury that Rhaenyra will rain upon her former BFF Alicent and her supporters after Jace’s death. What does the future hold for these warring factions? We shall see what happens in this upcoming season.

One thing we know is that everyone looks super intense yet hella fly in these first-look photos for season two.

Click To View Gallery

Here’s everything we know about House of the Dragon season two so far. 

House of the Dragon Season Two’s Plot 

The show is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, so book fans have a general sense of where this show will go. Of course, there will be some creative liberties taken, but the obvious “Dance of the Dragons” between Team Rhaenyra (the Black Queen) and Team Alicent will happen. Rhaenyra and her uncle-husband Daemon will wage war against Aegon II, Alicent’s son and the newly crowned king.

House Velaryon stands with the “Blacks” along with their massive navy. On the other side is the “Greens” with Alicent, her father Otto Hightower, Ser Criston Cole, and her son Aemond, the rider of Vhagar, the largest dragon in the world. There is no longer a chance at mediation as Rhaenyra’s rage takes over. 

The battle between the Greens and Blacks is further set up with these gorgeous posters featuring Alicent and Rhaenyra.

George R.R. Martin himself has seen the first two episodes and said on his blog that they were “very dark.” Now, we all know you literally can’t see things sometimes on this show. But we are sure he means the tone and action are not pleasant. He also said the episodes are “powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending” and “may make you cry.” Let’s prepare out hearts for heartbreak.

Behind the Scenes 

House of the Dragon co-creator and executive producer Ryan Condal will continue on as a showrunner; however, his season one co-showunner Miguel Sapochnik will not return for season two. George R.R. Martin will continue his involvement as an executive producer. This time, fans will get eight episodes, which is two fewer than the first season.

House of the Dragon Season Two’s Cast

After many time jumps and casting changes in season one, House of the Dragon’s second season will stick with the faces we know now. And boy are there a lot of characters in this show. Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy will return as Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen. Olivia Cooke (Alicent), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon), Fabien Frankel (Ser Criston Cole), Ewan Mitchell (Aemond Targaryen), Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon Targaryen), Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria), Matthew Needham (Larys Strong) and Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower) are also set to round out the main cast. 

Simon Russell Beale, Freddie Fox, Gayle Rankin, and Abubakar Salim have joined the series as well, according to Deadline. Beale plays Ser Simon Strong, Castellan of Harrenhal. Fox is Ser Gwayne Hightower. Rankin is Alys Rivers, and Salim is Alyn of Hull.

The series revealed new cast members at CCXP 2023, including Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne.

House of the Dragon Season Two’s Release Date 

There is currently no release date for House of the Dragon season two. However, the series is slated to release in the summer of 2024.

Originally published on May 8, 2023.

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Season 2 Brings Intense Stares in First-Look Images 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.

Thankfully, Ali says things are still moving forward to some degree in a direction that he approves. “We’re working on it. That’s the best I could tell you,” he said in an Entertainment Weekly interview. “I’m really encouraged with the direction of the project. I think we’ll be back at it relatively soon.”

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 will direct the film via The Playlist podcast. However, Tariq has since left the project.

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

Now Lovecraft Country‘s Yann Demange has come aboard as Blade‘s new director. In addition, Michael Starrbury wrote a new script for the vampiric movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto has recently joined the project to work off of Starrbury’s script.

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. Meanwhile, Delroy Lindo is joining Ali in film. While we don’t formally know who Lindo is playing, we think he could be Jamal Afari, who in the comics raised Blade and taught him all about vampire slaying. As we saw (or rather, heard) at the end of Eternals, Kit Harington will cross paths with Blade, reprising his role as Dane Whitman.

Krypton actor Aaron Pierre has joined the cast of Blade in another undisclosed character. Unlike Lindo, however, this role will seemingly have bigger implications on the Marvel Cinematic Universe than just this one film. And Deadline has also reported that X and Pearl star Mia Goth will join the cast in an unspecified role.

Blade‘s Release Date

The Blade Marvel movie will arrive in theaters on November 7, 2025.

Originally published on July 20, 2019.

The post Everything We Know About Marvel’s BLADE Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

The next few years are going to bring about many exciting Star Wars series to Disney+, including Ahsoka and further adventures for The Mandalorian and Andor. But one, in particular, announced in 2020, is The Acolyte. Here’s everything we know about this mysterious new live-action Star Wars series, set a century before the events of the Skywalker Saga. Here’s everything we know about The Acolyte.

Title

The official title for the upcoming Lucasfilm Star Wars series is The Acolyte. Its official title may or may not wind up as Star Wars: The Acolyte.

The Acolyte’s Plot

When Disney officially announced the series back in December 2020, we got this official synopsis:

The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated. 

Since that time, we’ve learned that the drama unfolds about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, during a time when the Sith were still in hiding, getting ready to make their move to take over the galaxy. Aside from canon novels, the High Republic is an era totally unexplored in any live-action or animated Star Wars projects.

Behind the Scenes

Leslye Headland is on board as writer and producer.

The Acolyte’s Cast

The Acolyte‘s cast is turning out better than we could have imagined. Playing the lead role in the show is Amandla Stenberg, recently seen in Bodies Bodies Bodies. Joining Stenberg are Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Margarita Levieva, and Joonas Suotamo. Suotamo is playing a Wookiee and Henderson will portray Vernestra Rwoh. This High Republic character was one of the youngest ever to become Jedi Knight. Of course, we’ll see her much older in this Star Wars series.

The Acolyte‘s Release Date

There is no release date yet for The Acolyte, but Disney+ has confirmed that the series will release in 2024.

Originally published on May 10, 2023.

The post Everything We Know About STAR WARS Series THE ACOLYTE appeared first on Nerdist.

Lucasfilm revealed a new live-action Star Wars television series at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in spring 2022. The show from MCU Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts and writer Chris Ford sounds like a Goonies-style adventure set in a galaxy far, far away. Here’s what we know about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Title

The title of the upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s Plot

We know a few details about the plot of Skeleton Crew. The story will take place in the New Republic era. That’s the same timeline as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. It centers on a group of children lost in space.

A synopsis for the series shares:

“Skeleton Crew” follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined. 

Behind the Scenes

Jon Watts directs Skeleton Crew and Chris Ford is writing on the series. The duo created the show. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau provide producing support. Skeleton Crew was production since at least September 2022, as the creatives shared an image from the set at D23 Expo during that time. The series is now done with production.

Directors include Watts, Ford, David Lowery, the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Lee Isaac Chung. 

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s Cast

The first cast member Lucasfilm confirmed for Skeleton Crew was Jude Law. Joining Law on the journey are Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Tunde Adebimpe, and Kerry Condon. 

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s Release Date

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew doesn’t have a release date yet. However, Disney+ has confirmed that this Star Wars series will arrive in 2024.

Originally published on September 22, 2022.

The post Everything We Know About STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW appeared first on Nerdist.

The Boys hit Prime Video back in 2019 and TV hasn’t been quite the same since. Over the past three seasons we’ve watched a band of morally corrupt supes maim, kill, and completely destroy lives without remorse. And, no matter how much the Boys try to mitigate the Seven’s impact, it seems that nothing can stop the worst of them all—Homelander—from becoming an increasing threat. So, what does the future hold for these characters? That remains to be fully seen next season. Here’s everything we know about The Boys season four so far. 

The Boys Season Four’s Plot 

Here’s a quick synopsis for The Boys season four:

In Season Four, the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.

We also have our first trailer and it is very on brand. Homelander has some new friends and they are as twisted as he is.

Showrunner Eric Kripke’s previously told Deadline that the Gen V college spinoff would affect the events of The Boys season four. Now that Gen V has come to an end—after featuring multiple cameos from the original show—we have a better idea how it might. Gen V featured the creation of a deadly supe-killing virus which Victoria Neuman now possesses. The Boys know about it, though, and Billy Butcher personally inspected The Woods, the experimental Vought lab facility beneath Godolkin University. Homelander also locked up some truly heroic young supes, who might now be ready to take on Vought if they can escape from the company.

There are also these fun posters with Butcher and Homelander being their glorious selves. Kripke also notes that this season is the craziest one yet. That’s intriguing and also terrifying.

Read more about the connections between both shows and what they mean for The Boys’ fourth season.

• What Gen V’s Season 1 Finale Means For The Boys
• Here’s How The Boys Characters Showed Up On Gen V’s First Season
• Every New Gen V Hero And Their Powers On The Boys’ Spinoff

In the meantime, we have the title of episode one for The Boys upcoming fourth season.

Behind the Scenes 

Eric Kripke will continue to be the showrunner for The Boys season four. The season began filming in August 2022.

The Boys Season Four’s Cast

The titular crew is coming back for another round with Karl Urban (Billy Butcher), Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell), Tomer Capone (Frenchie), Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Laz Alonso (Mother’s Milk), and Erin Moriarty (Starlight) reprising their roles. From the evil supes (and those who support them) side, Antony Starr (Homelander), Jessie T. Usher (A-Train), Chace Crawford (The Deep), Colby Minifie (Ashley Barrett), and Claudia Doumit (Victoria Neuman) will return. Giancarlo Esposito will also make his way back onto the show. It’s not clear if Dominique McElligott will return as Queen Maeve. But we do know that Black Noir actor Nathan Mitchell will return as a new person in that infamous suit. 

In August 2022, Variety revealed that Cameron Crovetti—who plays Ryan—will be upped to a series regular. Newcomers Valorie Curry and Susan Hayward will portray Firecracker and Sister Sage. They are not comic book characters, so fans will have to wait and see how they fit into the season’s puzzle. Jeffrey Dean Morgan will join the cast, too. We still don’t know anything about his character but he doesn’t seem to be a supe.

The Boys Season Four’s Release Date 

The Boys season four will hit Prime Video in 2024.

Originally published on October 10, 2022.

The post Everything We Know About THE BOYS Season 4 appeared first on Nerdist.

After a very long wait, Dune hit theaters in the fall of 2021 to both rave reviews and big box office. This was despite bowing on HBO Max at the same time as its theatrical debut. But Dune was really just Dune: Part One. The first film only covered the first half of Frank Herbert’s epic 1965 novel. Luckily, the rest of the story is on the way. Dune: Part Two was officially announced on October 26, 2021. Recently revealed posters show off the sequel’s characters.

Click To View Gallery

Here’s everything else we know so far about Dune: Part Two.

Title

The official name of the movie is Dune: Part Two.

Dune: Part Two‘s Plot

The official plot synopsis from Warner Bros. and Legendary for Dune: Part Two reads as follows:

This follow-up film will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

If you’re a fan of Frank Herbert’s Dune, this all sounds like a pretty faithful adaptation of the second half of his novel. And unlike David Lynch’s 1984 version of Dune, this packed second half will now have time to breathe. And who knows? Maybe we’ll see elements of the later Dune novels pop up a wee bit early.

For now, we can enjoy Dune: Part Two‘s first trailer, which highlight a crucial book scene: Paul riding on a sandworm.

The second trailer for the film shows more of Paul and Chani and the Fremen’s fight.

The chief takeaway is that Dune: Part Two is both a love story and a war movie, and we can expect both parts to shine.

Dune: Part Two‘s Cast

Almost the entire original cast from Dune is back for Dune: Part Two. At least if their character survived, that is. This includes Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, the “Kwisatz Haderach,” and Zendaya as his Fremen paramour Chani. Javier Bardem also returns as Chani’s father, Fremen leader Stilgar. Paul’s very pregnant mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) also returns for Dune: Part Two. Josh Brolin is back as Paul’s mentor Gurney Halleck, as is Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat, the loyal Mentat to House Atreides.

Stellan Skarsgård reprises his role as the sadistic Baron Harkonnen, as does Dave Bautista as the Baron’s loyal lackey and nephew Glossu Rabban. Charlotte Rampling’s character, the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, is also slated to return. New cast members include Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan) Austin Butler (Feyd Rautha), and Christopher Walken (Emperor Shadddam IV). They are joined by Léa Seydoux (Lady Margot) and Souheila Yacoub as the Fremen warrior Shishakli.

Of course, certain major characters died in the first film, and are not scheduled to appear in Dune: Part Two. These include Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho and Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides. But there could be surprise flashbacks. So don’t count them all out just yet. We may yet see them on the sands of Arrakis. Most recently, Deadline reported Tim Blake Nelson joined the cast in an unknown role.

Behind the Scenes

Just as he was for Dune, director Denis Villeneuve is back behind the camera for Dune: Part Two. Jon Spaihts wrote the script for the second chapter of the story. Hans Zimmer also returned to score the sequel.

Dune: Part Two‘s Release Date

Dune: Part Two hits theaters on March 1, 2024. It will release in IMAX 70 mm as well as in IMAX and normal theatrical formats.

Originally published on August 1, 2022.

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

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Sixty years after its TV debut, Doctor Who is still going strong and heading into yet another era. The show’s Christmas 2023 special will be the first adventure for Ncuti Gatwa, who will portray the Fifteenth Doctor. Then, he will take over the TARDIS with Russell T Davies leading the way once again as a showrunner in the near future.  This era doesn’t have an official name yet—we are calling it the Bad Wolf era for now—but Davies is setting it apart from the modern era’s 13 seasons by dubbing it season one. (It will not reboot nor ignore previous events.) What can we expect from this fresh slate of stories across time and space? Here’s what we know about Doctor Who season one, which is not season 14 after all.

Doctor Who Season One’s Plot 

Doctor Who always teeters between a season-long arc and weekly adventures. Who knows what will happen in Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Doctor?! We know there will be lots of villains, time-traveling, and tough decisions made by The Doctor. This season will have eight episodes and, for now, the titles are unknown. Right now, the main focus is on the 60th anniversary specials with Fourteen and Donna Noble. 

We do know that the Christmas special—which technically counts as a part of season one—is called “The Church on Ruby Road.” And we do have some new information about it! Here’s what Doctor Who‘s website had to say:

The episode sees the Doctor come face-to-face with the mythical and mysterious goblins as his life collides with Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson.

Little is known about Ruby Sunday as she was abandoned on Christmas Eve as a baby. Now living with her mum, Carla and grandmother, Cherry her world is about to be turned upside when she encounters the Doctor and the two set off on their first adventure together…

Davies himself said in an SFX interview that this special will reset the series, which isn’t shocking. “It’s completely a reinvention. Reinvention of the show, brand new, but not a reboot, it’s the same old show, everything starts again, everything’s seen through the eyes of Ruby Sunday and it’s that lovely feeling of here we go, a new era beginning,” said Davies. We wonder what new territory the show will traverse.

It seems that the show is in its cute villain era. We just got Beep the (Homicidal) Meep and now we are getting a goblin creature. Check out his photo along with a few others from the episode.

Click To View Gallery

We haven’t see substantial footage yet but we should be getting it soon.

Behind the Scenes

As previously stated, Russell T Davies is back as the showrunner for Doctor Who. The list of directors include Dylan Holmes Williams, Mark Tonderai, Julie Anne Robinson, Ben Chessell, and Jamie Donoghue. Composer Murray Gold also returns to the show as a composer. Bad Wolf Studios (named after the Rose/Nine story arc) is now a co-producer of the series. Doctor Who season one wrapped filming in July 2023 and is already working on season two.

Doctor Who Season One’s Cast 

Millie Gibson will co-star alongside Gatwa’s Doctor as Ruby Sunday. It will be exciting to see their relationship unfold because they make quite the stylish pair. The Christmas special cast includes Davina McCall, a popular British TV personality who will be playing herself. Michelle Greenidge will play Ruby’s mother Carla, Angela Wynter is Ruby’s grandmother Cherry, and Anita Dobson portrays Mrs. Flood.

Now, for the remainder of the season. Bonnie Langford will reprise her role as Sixth/Seventh Doctor companion Mel Bush and Jemma Redgrave is coming back as UNIT boss Kate Stewart. There are quite a few new faces coming to Doctor Who, including Lenny Rush as Morris, Aneurin Barnard as Roger ap Gwilliam, and Indira Varma as the Duchess. Jonathan Groff and Jinx Monsoon are also joining the cast in roles that have yet to be fully defined. Monsoon will portray “the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet,” while Groff will appear in a historical episode. 

Doctor Who Season One’s Release Date

Doctor Who season one will hit BBC and Disney+ sometime in 2024. The Christmas special will air on Christmas Day 2023.

Originally published November 28, 2023.

The post Everything We Know About DOCTOR WHO Season 1 (No, It’s Not Season 14) appeared first on Nerdist.

For decades now, we’ve heard rumors about a sequel to Beetlejuice, Tim Burton’s 1988 hit, which cemented his signature style. The story of a young goth girl (Winona Ryder) who tries to help two ghosts in her haunted home scare her parents away. The ghost they hire is a “Bio-exorcist” named Beetlejuice to do the deed. A cult classic to this day, plans for a sequel have always been rumored. During the ’90s, they even floated “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian” to Kevin Smith.

But now, some 35 years after the original hit theaters, a sequel to the adventures of the “Bio Exorcist” is finally on the way. Original star Michael Keaton, director Tim Burton, and Scream and Wednesday star Jenna Ortega have all signed on.

Earlier this year, the movie paused production in accordance with the Hollywood strikes with only a little bit left to shoot. And happily, Beetlejuice 2 has now concluded filming, keeping it on good track to meet is current release date of September 6, 2024. Director Tim Burton shared the exciting news on his Instagram and offered us a sneak peek at one of the sets from the sequel movie.

So, let’s bust out that Handbook for the Recently Deceased; here is everything we know about the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel.

Title

We have no idea what the Beetlejuice sequel will be titled. At least not yet. It might just be a very basic Beetlejuice 2. But we’re hoping for Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! That way, if they ever make it a trilogy, they can call the third one Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! and Michael Keaton will magically appear when summoned, just by saying the title.

The Beetlejuice Sequel’s Plot

We don’t know much about the plot either, aside from it centering on the daughter of Lydia Deetz from the first film. And somehow, the previously unknown wife of Beetlejuice will play a part as well. We think it’s safe to say that both ghosts and the afterlife will play a rather large role.

The Beetlejuice Sequel Cast

The cast for the Beetlejuice sequel is shaping up to have a combination of stars from the original, and other actors Tim Burton has recently worked with. Michael Keaton will return as the titular character, joined by Jenna Ortega, who recently worked with Burton on Wednesday, as the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz character from the first film. Winona Ryder is returning as well, as so is Catherine O’Hara as her stepmother. Other original cast members, like Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, are likely not returning.

New to the cast is Willem Dafoe, who is playing a law enforcement officer in the afterlife. Another new face is Justin Theroux, in an as-yet undisclosed role. Also new to the world of the afterlife is Monica Bellucci, who will play the previously unknown wife of Beetlejuice. This will be the first time working on a Tim Burton project for all three actors.

Behind the Scenes

Returning behind the camera is original filmmaker Tim Burton. Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of the hit Netflix Burton/Ortega collaboration Wednesday, wrote the screenplay for the sequel. Tim Burton’s longtime friend and collaborator Danny Elfman is returning to compose the score. It just wouldn’t feel like Beetlejuice without an Elfman score, would it?

Beetlejuice Sequel Release Date.

The long-awaited sequel to the Tim Burton horror/comedy classic Beetlejuice hits theaters on September 6, 2024.

Originally published on May 15, 2023.

The post BEETLEJUICE 2 Is Done Filming, Looks to Be On Track for Fall Release appeared first on Nerdist.

“In space no can hear you scream,” but in a packed theater everyone can. Alien movies have made audiences do just that since Ridley Scott first brought a Xenomorph to the big screen in 1979. Now the iconic monster is set to return to theaters once again. While Noah Hawley is developing an Alien TV show, a new installment in the film franchise will premiere in 2024. Who will direct space’s most fearsome creature next? And how does this entry fit into series?

Recently, star Cailee Spaeny revealed more about where exactly Alien: Romulus sits in the franchise’s timeline. She noted to Variety, “It’s supposed to slot in between the first movie and the second movie… They brought the same team from ‘Aliens,’ the James Cameron film. The same people who built those xenomorphs actually came on and built ours. So getting to see the original design with the original people who have been working on these films for 45-plus years and has been so much of their life has been really incredible.”

This means that Romulus occurs between 1979’s Ridley Scott-directed Alien and James Cameron’s 1986 movie Aliens. There’s no word, however, how closely this movie will interact with elements of either one of the existing movies. Still, it seems like a great place to set a new Alien film. This placement leaves room for Alien: Romulus to reference events that already happened on the franchise’s timeline and to allude to things that viewers know are to come. We also love hearing that plenty of xenomorph fun is on the way.

Here’s everything we know about Alien: Romulus so far.

Title

The ninth movie in the franchise is currently called Alien: Romulus. It’s unknown if that working title will ultimately be the film’s final one.

Alien: Romulus‘ Plot

The film does not have an official plot yet, but it’s described as an “original stand-alone” entry unconnected to previous films. It will feature “a group of young people on a distant world” who “find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” Most recently we learned that Romulus is set between Alien and Aliens on the franchise’s timeline.

When the movie was originally intended to debut on Hulu, it was compared in scope to the original film in the franchise. For those trying to decipher any meaning from the film’s title, Romulus was the legendary founder of Rome and its first king.

Behind the Scenes

Director Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe, 2013’s Evil Dead) co-wrote the script with Rodo Sayagues. Ridley Scott is an executive producer on the film. Álvarez told Scott about his idea for the spinoff movie years prior, and Scott eventually reached out and asked Álvarez if he wanted to make it.

In early July 2023 the director announced on Instrgram the end of filming after nearly four months of shooting primarily in Budapest. His celebratory post would have made Red Auerbach proud.

Alien: Romulus‘ Cast

Alien: Romulus stars Cailee Spaeny (Mare of Easttown). Joining her in the young cast are David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu.

Alien: Romulus‘ Release Date

Alien: Romulus will arrive in theaters on August 16, 2024.

The thin, warm summer air will help anyone in space hear audiences scream.

Originally published on August 9, 2023.

The post ALIEN: ROMULUS’ Place on the ALIEN Timeline Has Been Revealed appeared first on Nerdist.

Rick Riordan released the first book in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians fantasy series in 2005. The five-book fantasy novel series focuses on Percy Jackson, a young demigod. He learns about his special history and then gets thrown into stopping the Titans from destroying everything. We did get movie adaptations of the first two books in 2010, but they were not well received. (Rick Riordan himself wasn’t a big fan). But now, Percy Jackson gets another chance at an on-screen adaptation, this time on Disney+.

This time, it seems like the adherence to the source material will be at an all-time high. For one thing, the titles of the Percy Jackson Disney+ series come right from the book version of the story. Episode one’s title, “I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher,” for instance, is also the first chapter of Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ The Lightening Thief. And “The Prophecy Comes True” is the book’s final chapter as well as the title of the last episode of the Disney+ series. Other chapters are not one-to-one in numbering, but all of them come from the novel. We love this touch.

Here’s everything we know about the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series.

Title

This adaptation of Rick Riordan’s book is called Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This matches the title of Riordan’s overall book series centered on Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian‘s Plot

Percy Jackson and the Olympians‘ teaser trailer gives us our first real taste of the series. The gods are gathering and everything in Percy’s life is about to change.

In a release, Disney+ shared that Percy Jackson and the Olympians…

…tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.

So, first season is focusing on the first book, The Lightning Thief. In the book, Percy discovers the truth about himself and his background: he’s a demigod. He goes to Camp Half-Blood for the first time and meets others like him. Then, he goes on a quest with his closest friends Annabeth and Grover. Percy must find a thief who stole Zeus’ master bolt, all while reckoning with the identity of his father (I’m not sharing who, because spoilers) and his new life.

Behind the Scenes

Rick Riordan and Jon Steinberg wrote the pilot for Percy Jackson and the Olympians. James Bobin is directing the pilot. Steinberg will oversee the series with his producing partner Dan Shotz. Steinberg and Shotz serve as executive producers alongside Bobin, Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe and Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, and D.J. Goldberg.

Season one of Percy Jackson and the Olympians will have eight episodes.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian‘s Cast

The cast for the Percy Jackson series is age appropriate for the series, which is a good start. Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) plays Percy Jackson. Aryan Simhadri plays Grover Underwood and Leah Sava Jeffries plays Annabeth Chase.

We also have:

• Virginia Kull as Sally
• Glynn Turman as Mr. Brunner, a.k.a. Chiron
• Jason Mantzoukas as Mr D.
• Megan Mullally as Mrs. Dodds
• Timm Sharp as Gabe
• Adam Copeland as Ares
• Suzanne Cryer as Echidna
• Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa
• Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes
• Jay Duplass as Hades
• Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus
• Lance Reddick as Zeus
• Toby Stephens as Poseidon

Riordan noted that these are all the main characters who will appear in season one.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian‘s Release Date

The Percy Jackson series will officially release on December 20, 2023. It will debut with a two-episode premiere and new episodes will follow weekly.

Originally published on August 3, 2022.

The post PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS’ Episode Titles Come Right From the Book appeared first on Nerdist.

In WandaVision, it was Agatha all along. And now it really will be all about Agatha Harkness. Kathryn Hahn’s MCU witch will soon star in her own Disney+ Marvel series, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. While we don’t have too many details yet about what this series will entail, we can already tell it will serve up some delightfully magical fun.

Although it’ll likely still be a while before we see too much from the show, we officially have our first looks and footage from the Agatha-centric series. Set to be released on the WandaVision Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD editions, a special “Agatha Bonus Clip” takes us behind-the-scenes of Darkhold Diaries.

In the featurette, we can see Agatha and her coven of witches come together for the first time. Among other teases, the footage reveals Agatha Harkness donning several new outfits and our first glimpses of Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Ali Ahn, Sasheer Zamata, and Debra Jo Rupp in Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. Agatha, the first-look clips promise, is still as dangerous and delightful as ever.

Here’s everything we know about Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.

Title

Although the first title we heard for Agatha’s MCU series was Agatha: House of Harkness, and the second was Agatha: Coven of Chaos, the series will actually be called Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries‘ Plot

Marvel Studios has kept plot details for Agatha: Darkhold Diaries under wraps. But the last time we got to see Agatha, the witch lost in a fight to Wanda Maximoff. And then Agatha ended up trapped in her Agnes persona.

We imagine the show will reveal to us how Agatha breaks out of the spell she’s under and then follow her along on some exciting shenanigans. And it seems like we’ll get to meet a number of witches from the pages of Marvel Comics. And we do love a witch.

Whatever helps happens, we hope that Agatha gets yet another catchy jingle to her name. “Agatha All Along” needs a successor.

Behind the Scenes

WandaVison‘s Jac Schaeffer returns as executive producer and head writer on Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. Additionally, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Schaeffer, alongside Wednesday‘s Gandja Monteiro and Resident Evil‘s Rachel Goldberg, will direct different episodes of the show.

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries‘ Cast

We’ve learned about quite a number of potential coven members cast so far. Of course, Kathryn Hahn returns to play the titular MCU witch Agatha Harkness. Joining her is Emma Caulfield Ford, who will reprise her role as Dottie for the Disney+ show. Dottie was one of the women Wanda trapped in her Westview fantasies. Could Dottie be another secret witch? Only time will tell. Variety also reports Heartstopper‘s Joe Locke has joined the cast in an undisclosed role. However, many fans speculate Locke will play the role of  Billy Kaplan, a.k.a. Wiccan, the son of Scarlet Witch and Vision. Mashable further notes that Miles Gutierrez-Riley will play “Billy’s boyfriend, Hulkling.”

Aubrey Plaza will also star in the series, potentially as a more villainous character on the Agatha show. Ali Ahn and Maria Dizzia have reportedly joined the cast as well, as has Patti LuPone. LuPone revealed she will play the role of Marvel Comics’ Lilia Calderu. Debra Jo Rupp is reportedly in the cast, too, presumably reprising her role of Mrs. Hart from WandaVision. Sasheer Zamata, meanwhile, is confirmed to play the role of sorceress Jennifer Kale.

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries‘ Release Date

For now, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries will be a part of the MCU’s Phase Five. According to Mashable, it will be nine episodes long, a bit longer than the typical Disney+ Marvel show. Agatha: Darkhold Diaries will release on Disney+ in 2024.

Originally published on November 4, 2022.

The post Watch First-Look Footage From AGATHA: DARKHOLD DIARIES appeared first on Nerdist.

Soon the world will meet a new Clark Kent in Superman: Legacy. DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting the most famous superhero in the world as they transition the franchise from the DCEU to the DCU. Who will play the Man of Steel on the big screen this time around? What kind of story will we see him in? And who will bring it to life? We’re keeping track of all these answers and more.

The latest news: Nicholas Hoult, who was a possibility to play Superman, is in talks to play Lex Luthor. If Hoult truly has been cast as Lex Luthor, this casting will give Lex Luthor a truly fitting narrative in Superman: Legacy.

Additionally, per James Gunn’s confirmation, Sara Sampaio has been cast as Eve Teschmacher. Eve Teschmacher is Lex Luthor’s assistant who became his love interest/partner in crime. It’ll be interesting to see what role Eve will play in Superman: Legacy. Further, Gunn confirmed that The Righteous Gemstone‘s Skyler Gisondo has also joined the movie’s cast as Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy Olsen, of course, is a photographer from The Daily Planet who works with Lois Lane and Clark Kent. The casting is widely lauded.

Here’s everything we know about Superman: Legacy.

Title

The DCU’s first official movie (though not its first official release) is titled Superman: Legacy. That will kick off the film side of what James Gunn has called the franchise’s first chapter, “Gods and Monsters.” He has also called Superman: Legacy “the true beginning” of the DCU.

Superman: Legacy‘s Plot

While the film still has no official synopsis, Warner Bros. did provide a description of what we can expect from the story, which James Gunn says is not an origin tale.

Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.

Gunn announced the film with art from the cover of All-Star Superman by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely. Whether or not that means the story is influenced, inspired by, or adapted from the 12-issue comic series in any way is unclear. What Gunn has said is the movie will focus on “an earlier part of Superman’s life,” where he is still old enough to already be working for the Daily Planet.

Superman: Legacy‘s Cast

David Corenswet will play Superman, while Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane.

In addition, four more actors have joined the cast of Superman: Legacy. Isabela Merced will play Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi will play Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion will play Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Anthony Carrigan will play Metamorpho. María Gabriela de Faría will play the villain The Engineer in the movie. Also known as Angela Spica, the character has nanotechnology built into her body. Additionally, Sara Sampaio will play Eve Teschmacher. And Skyler Gisondo will play Jimmy Olsen.

The Hollywood Reporter states Nicholas Hoult is in talks to play Lex Luthor.

Behind the Scenes 

James Gunn wrote the (definitely completed) script and is directing.

Superman: Legacy‘s Release Date

Superman: Legacy will soar into theaters faster than a speeding bullet on July 11, 2025.

Originally published on April 11, 2023.

The post SUPERMAN: LEGACY May Have Found Its Lex Luthor and More appeared first on Nerdist.

When Venom 3 was briefly teased at Cinema Con 2022, fans of Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff movie were excited and relieved. But since then, we’ve only gotten a few brief teases of what Venom 3 will hold. Of course, the last time we saw Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his trusty companion Venom, the pair went on adventures through the multiverse. Sony’s Venom leads ended up in the MCU, but not for long. At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Eddie Brock returns to his own universe. And we assume that’s where we’ll find him (and most of Venom) in Venom 3.

On the heels of the SAG-AFTRA strike’s positive resolution, Venom 3 is back in production. Tom Hardy shared an on-set image celebrating the movie’s return to filming on his Instagram. It looks like he’s embodying the spirit of Venom, without a doubt. Poor director Kelly Marcel is also pictured, but she doesn’t look like she’s enjoying the antics as much. It feels like the perfect movie will come out of these shenanigans.

Here’s everything we know about Venom 3.

Title

Right now, the only title we have for the third Venom movie is Venom 3. But since Venom 2 eventually got a fuller title, we suspect there might be a longer title in the future.

Venom 3‘s Plot

At this time, we don’t know anything specific about Venom 3‘s plot. We only know that Eddie Brock is back in his own universe after his MCU visit. We assume Venom has also traveled back with him, despite the little gob of Venom goo left behind in the MCU. While we do not doubt that the new MCU Venom bud will seek to cause Tom Holland’s Peter Parker a lot of trouble in a potential Spider-Man 4, that likely won’t factor too much into Venom 3.

Tom Hardy did tease a behind-the-scenes image of Venom 3, which involves Eddie yelling at a wolf. Whether this will prove meaningful, we’ll have to wait and see. Whatever awaits us in Venom 3, we can bet it will involve more of Eddie Brock and Venom snarking at one another and a great mix of comedy and tragedy.

Venom 3‘s Cast

Thankfully, Tom Hardy will return as Eddie Brock for Venom 3. Alongside him, Ted Lasso’s Juno Temple has joined the movie, as will Chiwetel Ejiofor. We don’t know details on either of their roles yet.

Regarding returning actors, there has been no news yet of any actors other than Tom Hardy reprising their Venom or Venom: Let There Be Carnage roles.

Behind the Scenes 

Kelly Marcel, a writer and producer on Venom‘s first two movies, will direct Venom 3. Marcel also serves as the writer of Venom 3, penning the script based on a story she and Tom Hardy created. Marcel and Hardy will act as producers on the movie alongside Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, and Hutch Parker.

Venom 3‘s Release Date

Venom 3 will release on November 8, 2024.

Originally published on August 1, 2023.

The post VENOM 3 Has Resumed Filming appeared first on Nerdist.

The Thunderbolts have been a long-awaited MCU team. The quasi-villainous anti-hero/misfit gang is a staple of the Marvel Comics world, and many heroes have been a part of it at some time or another. As the MCU slowly gathered the right members, fans speculated harder and harder that the Thunderbolts were coming. And finally, in 2022, Marvel Studios made the big announcement—the MCU’s Thunderbolts movie was finally on the way.

We’ve known for a little while that Steven Yeun would be featured in the Thunderbolts movie. But now an unlikely source seems to have revealed his role. So look away if you don’t want to know. In a conversation with David Finch, The Walking Dead and Invincible creator Robert Kirkman seemingly reveals who Yeun is playing. According to Kirkman, Steven Yeun will be playing the MCU Sentry. Kirkman noted, “My good friend Steven Yeun is playing the Sentry in a movie.” He goes onto say, “Yeah, he called me, and he said, ‘I just came back from a costume fitting for the Sentry. I guess I only do superheroes that are yellow and blue.’ He said he was at the costume fitting and was like, ‘Aww, crap. I forgot Invincible was yellow and blue.'”

Kirkman notes that he hopes what he revealed isn’t a spoiler, but it turns out, it kind of is, oops! Of course, it’s entirely possible that Kirkman’s wires are crossed and Yeun is playing someone else. But it feels fairly unlikely at this point. We guess we’ll have to wait for an official announcement.

As for Sentry, the Marvel superhero does indeed wear yellow and blue. Marvel’s official description of the character notes, “A shining sentinel, the Sentry is one of the most powerful heroes in the world, but his darker half proves to be an unstoppable destructive force at every turn.” Named Robert Reynolds, Sentry unknowingly steals an experimental rendition of the Super-Soldier Serum and drinks it. The serum grants him solar-powered superhero abilities as well as the usual superpowered strength, intelligence, speed, and the rest. Unfortunately, the serum also creates a villainous entity inside of him known as The Void. We can see how he might fit right in with the rest of the MCU’s Thunderbolts.

Here’s everything we know so far about Thunderbolts.

Title

For now, the movie about the Thunderbolts is simply called Thunderbolts.

Thunderbolts‘ Plot

We don’t know anything about the plot of Thunderbolts. However, we know who will be part of the MCU Thunderbolts. The Thunderbolts will comprise of Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, Ghost, Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes (a.k.a Winter Soldier), US Agent, and Taskmaster.

Thunderbolts‘ Cast

Accordingly to the MCU Thunderbolts line-up, here is the projected main cast of the movie so far, pending any surprise recastings:

Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. Hannah John-Kamen will play Ghost. David Harbour remains as Red Guardian. Florence Pugh will reprise her role Yelena Belova. Sebastian Stan will again take on the role of Bucky Barnes (a.k.a Winter Soldier). Wyatt Russell will appear as US Agent. And Olga Kurylenko will appear as Taskmaster.

Reportedly joining them is The Bear star Ayo Edebiri in an unknown role. And most recently, reports from Deadline indicated that we’ll see The Walking Dead, Nope, and Minari star Steven Yeun join the cast in a big way.

Behind the Scenes

Eric Pearson will write Thunderbolt‘s script, and Jake Schreier will direct the movie. Beef‘s creator and showrunner Lee Sung Jin has also come aboard as a writer of the movie. Kevin Feige is, of course, producing this Marvel Studios’ production.

Thunderbolt‘s Release Date

Thunderbolts is scheduled to release on July 25, 2025.

Originally published on January 27, 2023.

The post Steven Yeun’s THUNDERBOLTS Role Confirmed by THE WALKING DEAD’s Creator appeared first on Nerdist.

Steve Rogers is either dead or a very old man, but the world still needs Captain America. Fortunately for Earth, someone just as worthy of that title as Steve took on the job. No, not John Walker. (Definitely not John Walker.) On The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson finally accepted the mantle his friend tried to give him at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Now Anthony Mackie is ready to lead the superhero franchise into the future with the MCU’s fourth standalone Captain America film. Here’s everything we know about Captain America: Brave New World.

Title

Marvel first announced Captain America 4‘s official title as part of its Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. It was originally called Captain America: New World Order. But in June 2023, Marvel changed the movie’s name. It is now called Captain America: Brave New World.

Captain America: Brave New World‘s Plot

Marvel has yet to reveal many details about the film. Thus far, the title is our best clue about the film’s plot. It echoes both the main conflict of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Aldous Huxley’s dystopian classic. Marvel executives have shared some tasty breadcrumbs, though.

That began with Nate Moore, VP of Production & Development at Marvel Studios, talking about how Harrison Ford will replace the late William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in Brave New World. In an interview, Moore said:

Well, look, Sam Wilson’s Captain America, he is going to bring his own team to play. It’s no secret that Samuel Sterns is making his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is fantastic because Tim Blake Nelson’s the best. Harrison Ford is taking on the role of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, and to see Sam Wilson and Thunderbolt Ross, which if you remember actually threw him in prison at the end of Civil War because he violated the Sokovia Accords. There’s going to be some natural sparks there, which I think are going to be really fun.

Behind the Scenes

Malcolm Spellman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) and Dalan Musson are co-writing the film. Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox) is set to direct.

Captain America: Brave New World‘s Cast

In addition to Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier‘s Carl Lumbly will return as Isaiah Bradley. As will Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres.

Additionally, Brave New World will bring back Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) from The Incredible Hulk. Sterns, of course, is also known as The Leader. He will likely act as the film’s villain. Shira Haas will join the film as Sabra. Xosha Roquemore has joined the movie in an unknown role, and WWE wrestler Seth Rollins was spotted in costume on set.

Another original MCU star will also return after a long absence, too. Liv Tyler will reprise her role as Betty Ross. She originated the role in The Incredible Hulk.

Captain America: Brave New World‘s Release Date

Captain America: Brave New World will fly into theaters on February 14, 2025.

Originally published on February 14, 2023.

The post Everything We Know About CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD appeared first on Nerdist.

After all these years, we still know who to call when there’s something strange in the neighborhood. Ghostbusters: Afterlife showed that’s true whether you live in New York or Oklahoma, as a new generation of specter seekers proved bustin’ feels good at any age. But which members of the group, both old and new, will show up in the franchise’s next installment? Where will this sequel take us next? Here’s everything we know about Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire…so far.

Title

The title for the next Ghostbusters film is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will be a direct sequel to the 2021 movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It will also be the franchise’s fifth film overall and the fourth installment in the primary series.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire‘s Plot

Recently, we got a lot of information about Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Sony Pictures revealed the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel’s name, trailer, and synopsis. Take a look.

The synopsis for the movie further shares:

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Hang on tight, everyone, it’s about to be a frosty ride.

Behind-the-Scenes

Jason Reitman will not return to the director’s chair for Frozen Empire. His co-writer on the first film, Gil Kenan, will instead take over. Reitman and Kenan once again penned the script for the movie together.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire‘s Cast

Paul Rudd, Mckenna Grace, Carrie Coon, and Finn Wolfhard will all once again star in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Celeste O’Connor will return to the film for more spooky fun. Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, and Logan Kim have also joined the franchise.

Original Ghostbusters stars Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts will, too, reprise their roles as the franchise returns to New York City.

Rumors indicate we’ll see at least a few surprising reprisals in among the rest.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire‘s Release Date

Columbia Pictures has pushed back the film’s release date from December 20, 2023 to March 29, 2024.

The post Everything We Know About GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE appeared first on Nerdist.

At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Marvel’ head honcho’s Kevin Feige announced the MCU’s wild Phase Five lineup and even a little bit of Phase Six. The slate will introduce all new characters and stories, but it will also revisits some of the characters we know and love too—characters like Carol Danvers. Brie Larson will reprise the role of the hero in the Captain Marvel sequel, officially known as The Marvels, and she’ll be joined by Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau.

But there will also be other surprise guests in the movie. In previous The Marvels trailers, we got hints that a Thor character may cameo in the film. The iconic Asgardian bifrost appeared in one tease, and Captain Marvel noted, “I called a friend.” Now, thanks to the latest The Marvels trailer, we know that friend is none other than Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. Valkyrie appears at the 1:37 mark to give Carol Danvers some advice. “You can stand tall, without standing alone.” She offers. And we truly do love to see it.

Fans have longed hoped there might be a spark beyond friendship between Valkyrie and Captain Marvel. And although we most likely won’t get a romance between the two in The Marvels, it will be nice to see Valkyrie cameo in the film.

This latest trailer for The Marvels also harkens back to the MCU’s past and Avengers Endgame, showing clips of Iron Man and Captain America—even giving Thanos a new line. In a voiceover, he warns, “My work is inevitable; there will always be more to finish it.” And then we cut to our latest MCU villain, The Marvels‘ Dar-Benn. The MCU heroes and foes of yore will probably live only in flashback, at least for now, but they do serve to set the scene and scope of the movie. The trills of the Avengers theme play very effectively.

Here’s everything we know about The Marvels.

Title

The Captain Marvel sequel is titled The Marvels.

The Marvels’ Plot

We don’t quite know what Brie Larson’s intergalactic warrior will be dealing with in her next venture. She became a full-fledged Avenger after the Snap, but she’s served more as a cosmic independent contractor than as one of Earth’s regular protectors. She was busy keeping the entire universe safe, only returning to Earth to help defeat Thanos. But a synopsis for The Marvels, along with its latest trailer, reveals more about what we can expect from the movie. It shares:

In Marvel Studios’ “The Marvels,” Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as “The Marvels.” 

Additionally, we know that, unlike the first Captain Marvel film, the sequel takes place in the present.

Behind the Scenes

Candyman‘s Nia DaCosta will direct The Marvels. This is a change from the first film; Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck directed that one. In January 2023, Marvel revealed the film’s slate of writers including DaCosta, Megan McDonnell (WandaVision), Zeb Wells (Amazing Spider-Man comic series), and Elissa Karasik (Loki). All of these people are obviously well-versed in the Marvel universe, so we can expect this film to fall in line with our MCU norms.

The Marvels‘ Cast

Brie Larson will return. But who’s joining her? Iman Vellani, who played Ms. Marvel in a Disney+ TV series, will appear in The Marvels. Teyonah Parris, who plays a grown-up Monica Rambeau in WandaVision, will reprise her role for the sequel. Nick Fury will return too.

According to Deadline, Velvet Buzzsaw actress Zawe Ashton will play the villain in the film. We don’t yet know which character she’ll play. Park Seo-joon has also joined The Marvels‘ cast.

The Marvels‘ Release Date

The Marvels is scheduled for release on November 10, 2023.

Originally published on January 23, 2021.

The post THE MARVELS Trailer Reveals a THOR Character Cameo appeared first on Nerdist.

Doctor Who sprinted back onto television in 2005 after a lengthy hiatus. Since then, the show has been running full steam ahead with several Doctors and companions traversing time and space for mind-blowing adventures. This year, fans will celebrate sixty years of Doctor Who with a slate of anniversary specials that end with us meeting the show’s Fifteenth Doctor. Ncuti Gatwa is set to helm the greatest sci-fi series of all-time and it is going to be a blast. Doctor Who series 14 will reset the series once again with another “clean slate,” bringing in fresh faces and familiar creatives to kick off a new era.

We’ll get our first adventure with Gatwa on Christmas Day of 2023. Doctor Who‘s holiday special will air on December 25, 2023. In the United States, it will stream on Disney+. And recently, the streamer revealed the name of Ncuti Gatwa’s first Christmas special in a release sharing its holiday line-up. Disney+ shared that the Doctor Who Holiday Special will be called “The Church on Ruby Road.” Sounds like it this festive episode will feature the Doctor’s new companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson. We’re excited to see how the two finally get to meet.

Here’s everything we know about Doctor Who series 14 so far. 

Doctor Who Series 14’s Plot 

Doctor Who? Plot? What does that mean? I am kidding. We can only assume that this season of Doctor Who will function like the others with a mix of episodic plots, two-parters, a few ongoing threads as the TARDIS team gels together, and some sort of seasonal arc. Based on a few outfits we have seen so far, we know that the Fourteenth Doctor will travel to several time periods in the past. This season will be short, however, with just eight episode and a Christmas special. 

Behind the Scenes 

Russell T Davies is returning as Doctor Who’s showrunner and a writer in season 14. He was previously the showrunner during the show’s early revival years from 2005-2010. Mark Tonderai, who directed Rosa, will return to direct a couple of episodes, too. Other directors include Dylan Holmes Williams, Julie Anne Robinson, Ben Chessell, and Jamie Donoughue. This is the first season that the show will be produced by Bad Wolf, Ltd. Filming for the series concluded in July 2023. 

Doctor Who Series 14’s Cast 

Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson will lead the series as the Fourteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday, respectively. And, as always with Doctor Who, there will be a lot of guest stars. Bonnie Langford will reprise her role as the Classic era companion Mel Bush. Jemma Redgrave will return as UNIT leader Kate Stewart. Drag Race star Jinx Monsoon will portray the Doctor’s “most powerful enemy yet,” Lenny Rush will play a character named Morris, Jonathan Groff will also take on a key role in the season.

India Varma (Torchwood) is taking on a new role as the Duchess. Of course, there are other actors like Anita Dobson and Michelle Greenridge are taking on undisclosed roles. Hopefully we will know more about them as the season nears. 

Doctor Who Series 14’s Release Date 

Doctor Who season 14 will hit the BBC and Disney+ sometime in 2024, following Ncuti Gatwa’s first full episode in a Christmas 2023 special which will air on Christmas Day. 

Originally published on July 20, 2023.

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The second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise isn’t the only new entry into Dune‘s world coming our way.  Warner Media, together with Legendary Television, is creating a Dune tie-in series titled Dune: The Sisterhood. The show will serve as a prequel to the films and focus on the Harkonnen Sisters as they create the mysterious order of the Bene Gesserit. Villeneuve will even serve as an executive producer.

Dune: The Sisterhood may be transforming a bit, though, when it comes to its title. According to IGN, the series has been renamed Dune: Prophecy and is expected to arrive in fall 2024. We’ll be excited to soon hear more about the show if this is true.

Here’s everything we know about Dune: The Sisterhood so far.

Title

The title for this Dune series is Dune: The Sisterhood.

Dune: The Sisterhood‘s Plot

We do not have specifics about Dune: The Sisterhood‘s plot. But, as mentioned, we do know it will serve as a prequel to the story taking place in Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two. A logline for the show reveals more about what we can expect:

Set within the mystical world of Dune, created by acclaimed author Frank Herbert, and 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: The Sisterhood follows the Harkonnen Sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit.

Behind the Scenes

To help cement the connection between the series and movies, Denis Villeneuve will serve as an executive producer on Dune: The Sisterhood. Meanwhile, Alison Schapker will be the showrunner and an executive producer of the series. Schapker previously worked as an executive producer on Westworld. She also had a hand in Netflix’s Altered Carbon and other series like Fringe, Lost, and Almost Human. Additionally, Warner Media shares that “Diane Ademu-John serves as creator, writer, and executive producer.”

According to a release:

Academy Award-nominated writer Jon Spaihts, Scott Z. Burns, Mark Friedman and Matthew King will executive produce with Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert for the Frank Herbert estate. Kevin J. Anderson will co-produce. The series is co-produced by HBO Max and Legendary Television with Legendary also producing the film franchise that released its first installment to critical acclaim in October 2021 and garnered six Academy Awards, including Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Dune: The Sisterhood‘s Cast

So far, we’ve seen quite a few exciting casting announcements for Dune: The Sisterhood.

Emily Watson will act as the lead of the show. Watson will play the role of Valya Harkonnen. Shirley Henderson was slated to play Tula Harkonnen but has exited the series. Other cast members include:

• Indira Varma as Empress Natalya, a formidable royal who united thousands of worlds in her marriage to Emperor Corrino
• Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Princess Ynez, an independent young princess dealing with the pressures of her responsibility as heir to the Golden Lion Throne
• Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela, a strong-willed Fremen woman who serves the royal family while longing for a home planet she’s never known
• Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen, a fierce, unpredictable acolyte in training at the Sisterhood School who rarely reveals her emotional core
• Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline, a zealous acolyte descended from a long line of martyrs, who carries fervent religion to her training at the Sisterhood
• Chloe Lea as Lila, the youngest acolyte at the Sisterhood School with a deep empathy beyond her years
• Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, a charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past, who seeks to gain the Emperor’s trust at the expense of the Sisterhood
• Mark Strong as Javicco Corrino, a man from a great line of war-time Emperors, who is called upon to govern the Imperium and manage a fragile peace
• Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia, a talented and ambitious acolyte at the Sisterhood who harbors a dangerous secret about her past
• Chris Mason as Keiran Atreides, a Swordmaster to a Great House whose ambition to live up to his family name is disrupted when he forms an unexpected connection to a member of the royal family
• Josh Heuston as Constantine, the illegitimate son of the Emperor (Strong). His character is described as being ‘torn between seeking his father’s approval and his own happiness
• Edward Davis as Harrow Harkonnen, a rising politician from a once-great family, who harbors a strong desire to elevate his House to its former glory

Dune: The Sisterhood‘s Release Date

Dune: The Sisterhood does not yet have a release date.

Originally published in 2021.

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

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When the Netflix Marvel shows moved to Disney+, fans hoped they might see some familiar faces incorporated into the MCU’s world. Although there were many good iterations of Marvel characters in the Netflix shows, one hero that fans particularly hoped would return for a solo show or movie was Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. Happily, Marvel Studios didn’t make us wait very long. At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, the studio announced that Daredevil would receive a new MCU series on Disney+, Daredevil: Born Again. Since that announcement, the series had some ups and downs, including an overhaul of its creative team. Here’s everything we know about Daredevil: Born Again.

Title

The title of the MCU Daredevil series will be Daredevil: Born Again. This is also the title of one of Daredevil‘s famous comic arcs.

Daredevil: Born Again‘s Plot

We don’t yet know much about the exact plot of Daredevil: Born Again. But in the comics, Born Again is a very dark tale for Daredevil. In it, the man without fear faces down Kingpin, who manipulates Matt Murdock’s feelings for a struggling Karen Page in his attempts to destroy the hero. Whether this storyline will find its way into the MCU, we can’t say for sure. What we do know is that Daredevil: Born Again will have eighteen episodes, leaving a lot of room to explore the MCU version of the hero.

According to a report by Variety, Marvel is planning to overhaul the direction of Daredevil: Born Again. The publication shares that “Marvel Studios has recently parted ways with head writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman and is currently seeking new writers to revamp the show. Ord and Corman will still be credited as executive producers.” Additionally, Marvel has released the directors for the series episodes that have not yet already been filmed. Variety reveals that less than half of Daredevil‘s 18 episodes were filmed before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. And that “Some elements of the already shot material will be used going forward, but Marvel is looking to take the show in a new creative direction.”

Behind the Scenes

Originally Daredevil: Born Again was written and executive produced by Matt Corman and Chris Ord. According to Deadline, Clark Johnson was meant to direct two episodes. However, Variety recently reported that Corman and Ord were released from the show and Marvel is seeking new writers and directors for the series.

The Hollywood Reporter shared the superhero crime series has added Dario Scardapane as its showrunner. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will direct the rest of the episodes for the first season. Scardapane has experience with The Punisher, while Benson and Moorhead directed episodes of Loki season two.

While Marvel will apparently retain some episodes and other material that was already filmed, Scardapane will add new episodes and new scenes. It’s unknown how many episodes season one will have.

Daredevil: Born Again‘s Cast

So far, Charlie Cox, who, of course, returns as Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio, who will play Kingpin, have signed onto the new series. In addition, reports indicate that Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as Punisher in the MCU series. No other actors from the original Daredevil show have been confirmed to return.

Also joining Cox and D’Onofrio are Nikki M. James, Michael Gandolfini, Margarita Levieva, and Sandrine Holt. Their roles remain unknown. In addition, the publication recently cited Carnival Row‘s Arty Froushan as part of the cast. Clark Johnson, in addition to directing, reportedly has a recurring role in the series.

Daredevil: Born Again‘s Release Date

Daredevil: Born Again does not yet have a release date.

Originally published January 5, 2023.

The post Everything We Know About DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN appeared first on Nerdist.

In 2018, James Wan did the unexpected in delivering an all-around delightful Aquaman. In addition to subverting expectations, Aquaman also delivered at the box office, earning over $1 billion and a place as the top-grossing DC Comics film to date. So it’s no surprise whatsoever that DC Comics and Warner Bros. greenlit a sequel. Here’s everything we know about the DCEU’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Warner Bros.

Title

The title for the Aquaman sequel is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s Plot

For a while, plot details for this Aquaman sequel were scarce, but we had some thoughts about where Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom could pick up after the very fun first film. In an interview with Total Film, Wan revealed that the story will be largely inspired by the 1960s cult horror film Planet of the Vampires. He also hints at leaning into his horror DNA with the new film.

An official synopsis for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom reveals more. It notes:

Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all. This time Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force. To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction.

Behind the Scenes

James Wan is returning to direct; he’ll also produce alongside Peter Safran. David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who co-wrote the first film, is also back and will be writing the sequel’s script.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s Cast

Naturally, Jason Momoa will reprise his role as Aquaman/Arthur Curry in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Other cast members returning include Amber Heard as Mera, and Patrick Wilson as Arthur’s half-brother Orm Marius. Yahya Abdul-Matteen II has also confirmed he’s appearing in the sequel as David Kane/Black Manta. In the mid-credit scene, Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park) rescued Kane, confirming his survival and teasing his return. Additionally, Nicole Kidman returns as Atlanna, “a fierce leader and mother with the heart of a warrior.” And Dolph Lundgren will reprise his role as King Nereus.

Jani Zhao, Indya Moore, and Vincent Regan have also joined the cast. Zhao will be playing a character named Stingray, whose background is unknown. Stingray is an original character created for the movie. Moore, meanwhile, is set to appear as Karshon. This character comes from the DC comics. According to the report, Karshon first appeared as a villain in 1963’s Green Lantern #24. Karshon began life as a shark but gained intelligence and powers after an encounter with radiation. Finally, Regan will appear as Atlan. Atlan was the ruler who caused Atlantis to sink into the ocean. Aquaman searched for Atlan’s trident in the first film.

Meanwhile, Game of Thrones alum Pilou Asbæk has reportedly joined the cast in a currently unknown role.

On July 28, 2022, Jason Momoa revealed that Ben Affleck would also appear in the film, reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman from the previous DCEU films. Affleck, of course, took part in the upcoming Flash movie. Evidently, the intention was to keep it a secret but, of all things, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour happened to catch both actors coming out of the soundstage. Awhoops. Ultimately, though, according to The Hollywood Reporter, although Affleck, as well as fellow Batman Michael Keaton, were meant to appear in the movie at different points, no Batman will appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s Release Date

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom releases on December 20, 2023.

Originally published on April 27, 2021.

The post Everything We Know About AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM appeared first on Nerdist.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One took a motorcycle jump off a cliff into theaters in July 2023. The film brought back Ethan Hunt for his first adventure since 2018’s Fallout. The seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible installments were filmed back-to-back and after many delays, Part One finally made it to theaters. The follow-up will pick up the story and see Hunt and his team attempt to stop the Entity.

It looks like we’ll have to wait quite a bit longer than we planned for to watch this Mission: Impossible movie. Mission: Impossible 8 was slated to release on June 28, 2024. But according to Variety, Paramount Pictures has moved its release date to May 23, 2025, nearly a year later. Given the ongoing strikes in Hollywood, it is unsurprising that movies are beginning to see delays in release dates. We hope that the studios offer a fair deal to the SAG-AFTRA actors soon so that productions can resume.

Here’s everything we know about Mission: Impossible 8.

Title

The next Mission: Impossible movie is a sequel and for now we will call it Mission: Impossible 8.

Mission: Impossible 8’s Plot

We don’t have a plot synopsis for Mission: Impossible 8 yet, but when we left Ethan, the search for the Entity was on. He learned the name Sevastopol from Paris. That’s the Russian submarine housing the source code for the Entity. It’s the only place Ethan can stop the AI once and for all. He and his team just have to find it and access it. That’s not an easy task since the submarine is at the bottom of the ocean. We expect Ethan will grapple with Gabriel again, too. Maybe we’ll learn more about their tangled past.

Behind the Scenes

Christopher McQuarrie wrote and directed this eighth installment. The movie was filmed back-to-back with Dead Reckoning Part One.

Mission Impossible 8’s Cast

Tom Cruise will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt. Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Hayley Atwell will be back, too. Though the others from Part One aren’t confirmed, we wouldn’t be surprised to see anyone who didn’t die return for this film. That could include Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust. Rolf Saxon’s William Donloe will come back, too.

Newcomers include Hannah Waddingham, Nick Offerman, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, and Lucy Tulugarjuk.

Mission Impossible 8′s Release Date

According to Variety, Mission: Impossible 8 will arrive in theaters on May 23, 2025.

Originally published on August 1, 2023.

The post MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 Sees Major Release Date Delay appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s been a while since we stepped into the world of The Hunger Games. But now we have a chance to see the origins of the treacherous world we’ve come to know. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes takes us back in time to the 10th Hunger Games and introduces us to a young Coriolanus Snow, who has not yet stepped into his full evil. For context, the first The Hunger Games movie takes place during the 74th Hunger Games. The Hunger Games prequel movie takes place 64 years before.

A new featurette takes us into this world and how it came together.

Here’s everything we know about The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Title

The title of The Hunger Games prequel movie is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. This is the title of the prequel novel on which the film is based and alludes, of course, to the deep machinations of predator and prey we’ll see in the movie. The songbird refers to Lucy Gray Baird’s singing abilities. But the movie also poses a larger question, asking us to think about who the snakes and songbirds really are in the story.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes‘ Plot

Since The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is based on a novel by Suzanne Collins, many details of its plot are available. But here is what the official synopsis reveals about the movie.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.

Additionally, we now have the first full trailer for the movie. It gives us a glimpse of the twists and turns of the tale we’ll soon see play out.

Behind the Scenes

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will be directed by Francis Lawrence; Lawrence previously directed The Hunger Games’ Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One, and Mockingjay Part Two.” Additionally, according to a release “it will be shepherded by franchise producer Nina Jacobson and her producing partner Brad Simpson, along with Francis Lawrence.” Suzanne Collins, the author of the series, will serve as executive producer. Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt wrote the screenplay.

It seems this film will dive a bit deeper into the book’s violence. Like its predecessors, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will have a PG-13 rating. However, this rating says their will be “disturbing material” in this film. It won’t get too brutal but things will be intense.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes‘ Cast

In addition to many other talents, Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés  Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis star in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes‘ Release Date

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will release on November 17.

The post Everything We Know About THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES appeared first on Nerdist.

The Wheel of Time only recently wrapped season two. The exciting finale took fans further into Robert Jordan’s fantasy book series of the same name. And the story will continue in season three, which Prime Video greenlit in summer 2022. While we don’t know a ton about what’s ahead, The Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins has teased some information. Here’s everything we know about season three of The Wheel of Time so far.

The Wheel of Time Season 3’s Plot

The Wheel of Time season three will pull mostly from The Shadow Rising, book four of the series. Judkins appeared at New York Comic Con in October 2023 mentioning that and also that the season will bring in elements from book five, The Fires of Heaven, too. Judkins noted the season will have more Forsaken and an exploration of Dreamwalking, which we saw a little of in season two. Additionally, the next season will focus more on Rand or Perrin.

Judkins said, “Every season, we sit down in the writers room and one of the things that we do at the very beginning is pick out a couple of the stories that we have to carve out a space to make a whole episode for. We think it’s worth it because those stories will really stand out to an audience, especially that didn’t read the books. They’re given that time, and it’s carved out, so they can really follow that character on that journey.”

Season three will return to the Two Rivers, visit the Aiel Waste and Rhuidean, and go to Tanchicho and bring in the Sea Folk.

Behind the Scenes

Prime Video hasn’t officially shared a director list or anything for season three of The Wheel of Time. We know the season has been filming for months. Executive producer Marigo Kehoe told The Hollywood Reporter they had scripts in place before they began filming, so the WGA strike didn’t cause delays. The cast is on Equity contracts rather than SAG-AFTRA, so that strike hasn’t pushed production either.

It sounds like season three will have eight episodes, following seasons one and two.

The Wheel of Time Season 3’s Cast

The cast for The Wheel of Time season three hasn’t been confirmed yet. We expect to see all existing characters return, obviously. Even if someone has died in the series, you shouldn’t count them out. We expect to see some new faces from the books, too, including Elaida, an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah. Judkins has also said we’ll see more members of the Forsaken. He said, “I can confirm that we have cast and put on set a Forsaken you have not seen in the show as of yet.”

The Wheel of Time Season 3’s Release Date

The Wheel of Time season three doesn’t have a release date yet.

The post Everything We Know About THE WHEEL OF TIME Season 3 appeared first on Nerdist.

In 2020, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced that Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart, would spring to life from comic pages in her own original series starring Dominique Thorne. Ironheart will be part of Phase Five. While details about the series are still pretty scarce, Riri Williams’ comic history will provide its foundation. We finally met Riri “Ironheart” Williams in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, an appearance that set the stage for diving into her story. Here’s everything you need to know about Ironheart. 

Title

The series title is Marvel Studios’ Ironheart. 

Ironheart‘s Plot

Ironheart will focus on Riri Williams, a brilliant Black girl inventor who creates a high-tech metal suit like Iron Man’s. As we discover in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri is a 19-year-old MIT student who is “running” a homework business. Oh, and she also builds a vibranium detection machine that puts her in the path of Namor, the leader of a underwater nation who is willing to kill her to protect his people. Of course, she’s alive and well at the end of the film and heading back to Massachusetts… for now. Right now, there are no solid details about the show. But it is possible that the show will bounce between her native Chicago and MIT, where MJ and Ned also happen to be.

Behind the Scenes 

Playwright, poet, and Snowpiercer writer Chinaka Hodge will lead the show’s writing team as a head writer. According to Deadline, Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes will direct the series. In addition, Proximity, Ryan Coogler’s production company, will serve as one of the show’s producers. Coogler is also onboard the series as an executive producer alongside Kevin Feige. Ironheart finished filming in November 2022.

Ironheart‘s Cast

Dominique Thorne will take on the leading role of Riri “Ironheart” Williams in the MCU. She will be joined by Anthony Ramos of Hamilton and In the Heights fame, who will play The Hood. This Is Us mainstay Lyric Ross will portray Riri’s best friend. In the comics, Riri’s BFF Natalie died way before she became an iron hero but lived on through N.A.T.A.L.I.E. This AI program takes her friend’s form and they work together much like Stark and J.A.R.V.I.S. did. It remains to be seen if this friend will be alive, appear in flashbacks, or operate as AI in the series. Or, perhaps it is not Natalie at all but rather a new character.

Other cast members include Manny Montana, Alden Ehrenreich, Zoe Terakes, Shakira Barrera, Jim Rash, Shea Couleé, Regan Aliyah, Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola, Sonia Denis, Paul Calderón, and Cree Summer.

A new Marvel filing with the U.S. Copyright Office Public Records System also reveals that Sacha Baron Cohen will appear in Ironheart as “Mystery Man.” Very mysterious indeed.

Ironheart‘s Release Date

The Disney+ series doesn’t have a release date yet.

Originally published on March 1, 2022. 

The post Everything We Know About Marvel’s IRONHEART Disney+ Series appeared first on Nerdist.

The unexpected comic book movie blockbuster of 2019 was Todd Phillips’ Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the title role of Batman’s #1 nemesis. The movie earned a billion dollars at the box office and won Phoenix an Academy Award for his role as Arthur Fleck. No one saw all that coming for the relatively smaller budget and very adult-skewing R-rated film. But when you make that much money, a sequel is inevitable.

Here’s everything we know about the Joker sequel.

Title

Isn’t it beautiful?

Todd Phillips reminding us to rewatch Joker and get ready for #JokerFolieADeux pic.twitter.com/loJjviyiLI

— DC (@DCOfficial) October 3, 2023

The official title for Todd Phillips’ sequel to his 2019 blockbuster hit is officially Joker: Folie à Deux. Which means, in French, “Joker: Shared Madness.”

Joker: Folie à Deux‘s Plot

Right now, we know little of the plot for the Joker follow-up. Other than the fact that it will feature the Joker and Harley Quinn together. Considering how loosely the first film played with DC Comics’ mythos, don’t expect this one to be any different. They explored the origin of the Joker/Harley relationship in the classic Batman: The Animated Series episode “Mad Love,” and then translated (more or less faithfully) in the first Suicide Squad movie. We expect something a little more out of the box this time for Joker and Harley.

For those concerned, Peter Safran and James Gunn have assured fans the movie will remain in the DC Universe, though it will carry an Elseworlds project tag. That means it will live on, but it won’t work into the main timeline of the DC Universe.

Joker: Folie à Deux‘s Cast

Aside from the returning Joaquin Phoenix as Joker/Arthur Fleck, and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, only a handful of other actors have been confirmed thus far. Brendan Gleeson has also joined the cast, as has Catherine Keener in a “major” but still unknown role. Jacob Lofland has also joined up, as someone associated with Arkham Asylum.Also officially joining the cast is Industry‘s Harry Lawtey.

Behind the Scenes

Director Todd Phillips is reuniting with his original Joker co-writer Scott Silver for this new continuation.

Joker: Folie à Deux‘s Release Date

The Joker sequel is set to premiere on October 4, 2024.

Originally published on December 12, 2022.

The post Everything We Know About JOKER: FOLIE à DEUX appeared first on Nerdist.

The first season of Loki on Disney+ brought back Tom Hiddleston as the seemingly unkillable Asgardian God of Mischief. It was a huge success. The series introduced MCU fans to the Time Variance Authority, or TVA, who watch over the timeline of the known universe. Loki also formally introduced the concept of the Marvel Multiverse. We also got a perfect foil for Loki in the form of his variant Sylvie. Perhaps most importantly, it’s the only MCU series to get a second season (so far). But what wild adventures through the spacetime continuum will Loki’s second round include?

Here’s everything we know about Loki season two.

Loki Season Two’s Plot

The first season of Loki ended with Sylvie killing He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), thereby erupting the Sacred Timeline and unleashing the Multiverse in full. When Loki returned to the TVA, it was altered in the timeline, and no one remembered him. Not to mention, statues of He Who Remains (or one of his variants more likely) stood tall in the TVA’s halls.

The synopsis for Loki season two says:

Loki Season 2 picks up in the aftermath of the shocking season finale when Loki finds himself in a battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority. Along with Mobius, Hunter B-15 and a team of new and returning characters, Loki navigates an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous multiverse in search of Sylvie, Judge Renslayer, Miss Minutes and the truth of what it means to possess free will and glorious purpose.

We can see what will go down in Loki season two in this Disney+ trailer.

Behind the Scenes

Season one writers Michael Waldron and Eric Martin are coming back, with Martin now the head writer instead of Waldron, and Waldron serving as executive producer. One of the creatives from season one not returning is showrunner Kate Herron, according to a report from Deadline. Co-directing several episodes in season two, also according to Deadline, are Moon Knight’s Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Natalie Holt is also back as the series composer.

Loki Season Two’s Cast

Tom Hiddleston returns, of course, as the titular Loki. Also returning is Owen Wilson as Mobius, Sophia DiMartino as Sylvie, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer. Eugene Cordero as ever-present TVA employee Casey (he’ll play a series regular in season two), and Tara Strong as the voice of Miss Minutes will also come back. No word yet on Jonathan Majors as one of the Kang variants, although the giant statue of him at the end of season one suggests we will see him again.

Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) is in season two of Loki, but we don’t know details about his role yet. Additionally, Deadline reports that Game of Thrones‘ Kate Dickie will likely play the villain in Loki‘s second season.

Loki Season 2 Release Date

Loki season two will release on October 5, 2023 and 6:00 PM PT/9:00 PM ET.

Originally published on August 24, 2022.

The post Everything We Know About LOKI Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

In The Boys universe, Compound V babies are growing up and going to college in their own live-action spinoff, Gen V. How will the series connect to the original show? What can we expect from a Vought-led school of hero higher learning? Well, we can’t say for sure yet.

Here’s everything we know about Gen V so far.

Title

The title of this The Boys spinoff is Gen V.

Gen V‘s Plot

Here’s the initial Gen V synopsis from Prime Video and Sony:

Set at America’s only college exclusively for young-adult superheroes (run by Vought International), Gen V is an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. It’s part college show, part Hunger Games—with all the heart, satire, and raunch of The Boys.

Gen V will take place at Godolkin University (and within its “School of Crimefighting”), an exclusive university of higher supe learning. The series will borrow from The Boys comic, specifically from the “We Gotta Go Now” arc.

This Gen V trailer reveals that Victoria Neuman, Ashely, and Adam Bourke will appear alongside these new characters. And Marie, whom we previously saw a photo of on The Boys in a Red River Institute file (more on that later), is the main character. Love that for her… or maybe not.

And, yes, there will be puppets.

We also know what The Boys‘ spinoff’s college student union and dorm rooms will look like. Gen V‘s setting is looking pretty clean… for now.

We also have quite a few new photos of all the characters we will see in Gen V. They are also remarkably clean for now. Well, except poor Andre.

Click To View Gallery

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, speaking with Empire, promise there are some shocking scenes to come. Rogen notes, “Gen V has some really crazy shit in it. The fact that they’re in college, they’re a little younger, makes it more shocking, maybe.”

And more widely, Rogen offers this insight into creating The Boys‘ worlds. “In general, if you’re making an R-rated thing, they let you do whatever the fuck you want, unless there’s some real legal thing that they think you might be bumping against… With The Boys, maybe it requires one extra five-minutes phone call, where they’re like, ‘Really?’, and you’re like, ‘Really.’ There are other things you’re on hours of phone calls about that are so much less interesting than that.”

Gen V‘s Connections Within The Boys Universe

The Boys Presents: Diabolical‘s second episode introduced the Red River Institute. It’s a group home for abandoned and parentless super-powered children. But the animated series (with the exception of the final episode) is not canon. The Boys season three made Red River canon when Hughie discovered that congresswoman Victoria Neuman was a secret Supe named Nadia. She grew up at the not-so-great Red River Institute after accidentally killing her parents.

Some children at Red River—whose ages range from 3-17 years old—ended up there for similar reasons. But others had been left/abandoned to Vought’s care when their parents decided they either couldn’t or wouldn’t raise their super-abled child. The case files Hughie stole from the group home included a photo of Gen V‘s main character Marie Moreau.

The Boys‘ showrunner Eric Kripke has said Gen V will react and continue building on events introduced during the original show’s third season. Here’s what Kripke told Deadline:

There’s definitely crossover, and we’re doing our best to design a universe that sees some of the issues and storylines in Season 3 hand off to the first season in Varsity (the previous working title of the show). Like there’s a presidential campaign happening in the background of that season, and there’s certain things that are happening at that school that are both in reaction to Season 3 of The Boys. There’s Soldier Boy, etcetera, but also some new storylines that are happening in that season of the spinoff that we have to pick up and take into Season 4 of the show.

Gen V‘s Cast

Jaz Sinclair (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) will star as Gen V‘s lead Marie Moreau, an 18-year-old Godolkin freshman who can control and weaponize her blood. She wants to be the first Black woman in the Seven. Sinclair will star opposite fellow co-ed Emma, a supe called Little Cricket played by Lizze Broadway, and Chance Perdomo’s Andre Anderson, the son of the famous supe Polarity, played by Sean Patrick Thomas. London Thor and Derek Luh both play the college supe Jordan Li, who can change between man and woman forms. Patrick Schwarzenegger is Luke Riordan a.k.a. Golden Boy, a Godolkin senior set to be in the Seven.

Maddie Phillips portrays Luke’s girlfriend Cate Dunlap, a junior who can encourage people to do as she wishes with the touch of her hands. Clancy Brown is Professor Rich “Brink” Brinkerhoff, the professor of crimefighting who trained several members of the Seven. Asa Germann is Sam, a troubled and very powerful supe and Shelley Conn is Indira Shetty, the dean of Godolkin University who surprisingly doesn’t have any powers. Marco Pigossi is Dr. Edison Cardosa, a doctor with ties to Godolkin University. Alexander Calvert and Jason Ritter will also appear in recurring roles. For more info about Gen V‘s characters, check out our character guide.

One interesting addition is Derek Wilson, who will portray Tek Knight. This is shocking to a few fans who assumed that Jeffrey Dean Morgan would portray the character in The Boys season four. The plot thickens, indeed.

Speaking of The Boys, actors Jessie T. Usher and Colby Minifie will make appearances as A-Train and Ashely Barrett, respectively. And P.J. Byrne’s Adam Bourke will also show up on campus to make the next great Vought movie. Propaganda really, but whatever. We will also see Victoria Neuman, played by Claudia Doumit, in some capacity.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Chace Crawford will reprise his role as the Deep on Gen V. We don’t yet know how this aquatic Supe will figure into the Gen V world, but we do know that we’re excited and a little terrified to see him.

Additionally, Jensen Ackles, who played Soldier Boy on The Boys, teased a cameo in Gen V at a fan convention. Entertainment Weekly reports that Ackles shared the following:

Soldier Boy pops up for a brief moment in this new spin-off of The Boys. In fact, there’s a few cameos from the mothership that come into this spin-off. My little bit there was heavily [improvised].

Behind the Scenes

Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters will serve as Gen V’s showrunners. They will also executive produce alongside Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Ori Marmur, Pavun Shetty, Ken Levin, Jason Netter, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Craig Rosenberg, Zak Schwartz, Erica Rosbe, and Michaela Starr. (That’s all?!) Brant Engelstein also joins the show as co-executive producer.

As with The Boys, Sony Pictures Television Studios will produce Gen V alongside Amazon Studios.

Gen V‘s Release Date

Gen V will release its first three episodes on September 29, with weekly releases to follow.

Early access tickets for a screening of the first two episodes of Gen V are now available. These screenings of The Boys spinoff will take place in a number of theaters and will occur on 9/27, two days before Gen V releases on streaming. If you want to try your luck at getting tickets, head to this page now.

Finally, Little Cricket on the BIG screen🍿

Prime members have the chance to receive early access to watch the first two episodes free in select cities! Use code GENV to secure your tickets at https://t.co/MKLujTryJm pic.twitter.com/bcFI6io62l

— GEN V (@genv) September 19, 2023

Originally published on September 9, 2022.

The post Everything We Know About THE BOYS SPINOFF GEN V appeared first on Nerdist.

Long before Marvel and DC movies were the rage, independent pioneers Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz gave us a 98-pound weakling who transformed into the first superhero from New Jersey! The Toxic Avenger stormed onto the scene in 1984 and brought with it Troma’s trademark combination of over-the-top violence and gore and slapstick comedy, thus creating an empire. A big studio remake was bandied about for years, and in 2018, Legendary Entertainment officially set forth with a new take on the unlikely hero, with Kaufman and Herz producing.

Here’s everything we know about the project.

Title

For now, the movie is known as The Toxic Avenger.

The Toxic Avenger‘s Plot

Who (or What) Exactly Is the Toxic Avenger?

The Toxic Avenger tells the story of Melvin, a janitor who works at a health club and gets picked on incessantly by the beefy, attractive, but completely mean-spirited patrons. Until one day, he’s pranked exceptionally hard and falls into a vat of toxic waste. The ensuing mutation turns him into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength, affectionately known as Toxie. He travels around Tromaville, NJ, cleaning up criminals and corrupt politicians in particularly unpleasant ways. But he’s a lovable hulking monster, at least.

A Toxic Legacy

Since its debut nearly 35 years ago, The Toxic Avenger has been one of the most successful cult franchises in history, spawning three sequels, a children’s cartoon in the ’90s, and even a live stage musical. Troma Entertainment has cultivated a very specific brand of movie, a mix of horror, action, and raunchy comedy that has a fervent fan following. It’ll be interesting to see what a studio version of The Toxic Avenger would look like, and presuming it retains its edge, how much gore and gross-out humor it’ll be able to get away with and still receive an R-rating.

Behind the Scenes

In one of the more exciting and confounding turns of events in recent movie news, Legendary’s upcoming big-screen reboot of Troma Films’ tentpole The Toxic Avenger has signed on a writer-director with some serious dark indie cred. As first reported by Variety, Macon Blair, the writer-director of I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore. and a frequent actor and collaborator with Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room, Hold the Dark) will pen the script and direct The Toxic Avenger.

The Toxic Avenger‘s Cast

Peter Dinklage is playing Toxie himself, Winston Gooze. Acting opposite Dinklage as the film’s female lead, we have Taylour Paige, costar of Zola and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Jacob Tremblay will also star. But perhaps most excitingly is the casting of the film’s villain. Kevin Bacon, star of the screen and unlikely focus of every film nerd’s favorite way to pass the time on a bus, will play the heavy. Elijah Wood and comedic actress Julia Davis are also part of the cast.

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Recently, Entertainment Weekly shared new images from The Toxic Avenger reboot. These images gave us some of our first glimpses of the new cast in action. We were especially excited to finally learn more about Elijah Wood’s role in the movie. According to the publication, Wood “plays a villain named Fritz Garbinger with blackened teeth, panda eyes, and long tendrils of hair sprouting from his mostly bald pate.” This character is “sort of Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Danny DeVito Penguin mixed together.” That’s quite a combination.

We also see Kevin Bacon appear in these new images. Bacon plays “corporate overlord Bob Garbinger… a character the director describes as in ‘the mold of Lex Luthor, where they have all this money and resources at their disposal, but he’s just kind of a disaster.'” Bacon and Wood play brothers in the movie. Whereas Bacon’s The Toxic Avenger villain is the golden boy, Wood’s character is “the runt of the family.”

Taylour Paige, meanwhile, appears as a “part investigative reporter, part vigilante detective.” And “she’s working to accumulate evidence against this corrupt company.” Jacob Tremblay also stars, he plays Winston (Peter Dinklage)’s stepson Wade.

The Toxic Avenger‘s Release Date

The Toxic Avenger premiered as the opening film of Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023.

Originally published in December 2018.

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

The post Everything We Know About THE TOXIC AVENGER Reboot appeared first on Nerdist.

After meeting Echo—a skilled fighter and former member of the Tracksuit Mafia—in Hawkeye, fans wanted to see more of her. The MCU is telling a wider array of stories from different backgrounds in its latest offering. And that will continue with this character, who is Deaf and Native American. Now it’s time to focus on Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo’s, story in Echo, a series heading to Disney+.

Here’s everything we know about Echo so far. 

Title 

The title of this series is Echo (more formally Marvel’s Echo.) 

Echo’s Plot 

We don’t know a lot about the plot right now. But Marvel’s synopsis does give us a bit to work with: 

…the origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown. She must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward.

Behind the Scenes 

Several of the show’s creatives are Native American, including directors Sydney Freeland (Navajo tribe) and Catriona McKenzie (Gunaikurnai tribe). Executive producers include Kevin Feige (obviously), Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Stephen Broussard, Richie Palmer, Marion Dayre, and Jason Gavin (Blackfeet tribe). Echo’s co-executive producers are Amy Rardin, Sydney Freeland, Christina King (Seminole tribe), and Jennifer Booth.

Echo’s Cast 

Alaqua Cox will return as Maya Lopez/Echo. The Echo TV show also stars Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Cody Lightning, and Graham Greene in roles that aren’t clear yet. Zahn McClarnon will portray William Lopez, Echo’s father. And, we are getting some familiar MCU faces in the form of Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin respectively. 

Echo’s Release Date 

The Echo series received an official release date of November 29, 2023, but reportedly it will now release in January 2024. And, in an unusual move for the platform, all episodes of Echo will drop at one time. That means we can view the season all at once, which of course, we enjoy doing. Some series are better suited to this format. We just hope that’s the case for Echo and the reason behind this choice.

Originally published in 2021.

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The Wheel continues to turn at Prime Video with the second season of The Wheel of Time. Greenlit months before season one premiered, season two of the fantasy series has already filmed and wrapped (with season three in the works). The sprawling tale adapts Robert Jordan’s 14-book fantasy book epic of the same name. Key word there? Adapts. Season one brought many changes to the order of events in the books. For example, it left out characters and locations. But the heart of the story comes through, as do the characterizations of the primary ensemble—most of whom will return for more of the story.

Here’s everything we know about The Wheel of Time season two so far.

The Wheel of Time Season Two’s Plot

The first season of The Wheel of Time largely followed book one of Robert Jordan’s series, The Eye of the World. However, it did pull in elements from books two and three as well. And the TV series is different enough from the books that we should only look at the source material as a loose guide. All that said, most of season two will focus on book two, The Great Hunt.

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Padan Fain took the Horn of Valere from Fal Dara, and surely our heroes will chase him to reacquire it. The artifact is too important to leave with a Darkfriend. And of course, the Seanchan made their first appearance at the very end of the season one finale. Their forces and invasion play a huge role in the books and introduce a truly nightmarish use of the One Power.

At New York Comic Con 2022, showrunner Rafe Judkins confirmed the Seanchan have a large role to play in the season ahead. He also noted that season two will take us through the end of book three, The Dragon Reborn. Judkins said those initial three books are kind of the first section of the series and set up the ensemble cast on their various paths. A continuing theme throughout the season will be characters dealing with loneliness. The trailer underscores that.

The official season two synopsis says:

In Season Two, threats new and very old seek out the young friends from the Two Rivers, now scattered over the world. The woman who found and guided them is now powerless to help, and so they must find other sources of strength. In each other, or themselves. In the Light … or the Dark

Behind the Scenes

Rafe Judkins continues as showrunner. We know the first episode is called “A Taste of Solitude.” Amanda Kate Shuman wrote it. Interestingly, the episode name pulls its title from a chapter in book six of the series, Lord of Chaos. Judkins also recently shared that The Wheel of Time season two would have eight episodes, like season one. He also noted that The Wheel of Time season two’s episodes would be longer.

The Wheel of Time Season Two’s Cast

The primary cast from season one is mostly sticking around as far as we know. Basically, if the character is still alive, the actor is back—except for Mat Cauthon. Barney Harris portrayed the character in season one, but Dónal Finn will pick up the role in season two. Amazon has not shared the reason behind recasting.

New cast members include:

• Ceara Coveney as Elayne Trakand, the daughter-heir of Andor
• Natasha O’Keeffe in an unknown role
• Meera Syal as Verin Mathwin
• Ayoola Smart as Aviendha, an Aiel Maiden of the Spear
• Maja Simonsen as Chiad, a Maiden of the Spear
• Ragga Ragnars as Bain, a Maiden of the Spear
• Jay Duffy as Dain Bornhald, a Whitecloak
• Rima Te Wiata as Sheriam Bayanar, Master of Novices at the White Tower

New recurring cast members include:

• Guy Roberts as Uno Nomesta
• Arnas Fedaravicius as Masema
• Gregg Chillingirian as Ingtar Shinowa

The Wheel of Time Season Two’s Release Date

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Season two of The Wheel of Time will premiere its first three episodes on September 1, 2023.

Originally published on December 28, 2021.

The post Everything We Know About THE WHEEL OF TIME Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

Season two of The Mandalorian introduced a live-action Ahsoka Tano. First introduced in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (voiced by Ashley Eckstein), the character is beloved by many Star Wars fans. And Ahsoka’s appearance in The Mandalorian was just the beginning. Ahsoka Tano got her very own live-action series. Ahsoka is coming to Disney+.

Here is everything we know about Ahsoka so far.

Title

The title of the series is Star Wars: Ahsoka, or simply Ahsoka.

Ahsoka‘s Plot

When Ahsoka turned up in “The Jedi” episode of The Mandalorian, she revealed she’s searching for the missing Grand Admiral Thrawn. Who, as Star Wars Rebels fans know, disappeared into the Unknown Regions with Ezra Bridger at the end of that series. The epilogue of Rebels sees Ahsoka and Sabine Wren take off together to search for their missing Jedi friend and the genius Imperial leader. Ahsoka is likely to pick up those story threads. The synopsis says:

Set after the fall of the Empire, “Star Wars: Ahsoka” follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.

The Ahsoka trailer plainly shows lots of the World Between Worlds:

Director Dave Filoni told Vanity Fair the following about the series:

Ahsoka is a continuous story. It is definitely driving toward a goal, in my mind, as opposed to being little singular adventures. That’s what I want the character to be doing, and I think that’s what fans want now. They have such a relationship with her. I’ve only recently started to understand that all those kids that watched Clone Wars are now a lot older—they’re very excited about all the things they grew up with, as they should be.

We will also see quite a few familiar faces, including Star Wars Rebels legend Hera. We cannot get over how cool this character looks in this photo. There will even be a mysterious Inquisitor in play.

Ahsoka‘s Cast

Rosario Dawson will star as the title character, reprising her introduction on The Mandalorian. Joining Ahsoka is her Rebels cohort, Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren. In live-action, she’ll be played by Australian actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. According to a release, Diana Lee Inosanto will play Morgan Elsbeth. Meanwhile, Ukrainian actor Ivanna Sakhno has also joined the cast as Shin Hati and Ray Stevenson will appear as Baylan Skoll. Shin Hati and Baylan Skoll appear to be villains in the series and wield orange-colored lightsabers. Eman Esfandi will play Ezra. We can’t wait to see Ahsoka and Sabine search for their lost friend.

Meanwhile, Birds of Prey star Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Hera Syndulla on Ahsoka. Additionally, Lars Mikkelsen will reprise his Rebels role in live-action and play Grand Admiral Thrawn. David Tennant is also part of the cast; he will play the droid character Huyang, whom he previously voiced.

Additionally, Deadline reports that The Expanse and Hunger Games star Wes Chatham will also be a part of Ahsoka. Chatham will apparently play “the right-hand man to Lars Mikkelsen’s Admiral Thrawn.”

Behind the Scenes 

The Mandalorian’s Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau are showrunning for Ahsoka. Filoni has confirmed that he wrote all the episodes of the season. Additionally, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Ramsey, co-director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, will direct at least one episode of the show. We still don’t know how many episodes Ahsoka will have.

Ahsoka‘s Release Date

Ahsoka arrives on Disney+ on August 22 at 6PM PT. The series will launch with two episodes on its premiere day. The Star Wars series will continue to air on Tuesdays at that hour throughout its run, a departure from previous Disney+ releases.

Originally published on December 22, 2021.

The post Everything We Know About the AHSOKA STAR WARS Series appeared first on Nerdist.

The death of Emperor Commodus didn’t result in Rome becoming a Republic again in either real life or in Ridley Scott’s fictional Rome. We know because his 2000 classic Gladiator is finally getting a long-discussed sequel that will find Rome is still an empire. What else will we find when we return to the ancient world? Here’s everything we know about Gladiator 2 so far.

Gladiator 2

The working title for the sequel to 2001’s Best Picture winner is Gladiator 2.

Gladiator 2‘s Plot

Paramount has not yet shared an official synopsis for the film, but it will prominently feature major characters from the original. The movie will follow Lucius, the young son of Lucilla whom Maximus saved in the 2000 historical drama.

Behind-the-Scenes

Various prequel and sequel ideas to Gladiator have been discussed, developed, and even written since the original film’s release. The most famous saw the Roman gods sending Maximus back to Earth as an immortal warrior tasked with fighting Christianity.

It seems unlikely the sequel that will finally arrive in theaters will have much to do with that story. It will still have the same director, however. Ridley Scott will once again bring Ancient Rome to life with a script from David Scarpa (All the Money in the World, Napoleon). Filming began in Morocco in early June 2023, with shooting also set to take place in Malta and the UK. An on-set fire during a stunt in Morocco injured six crew members early in the production.

Gladiator 2‘s Cast

While Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix’s characters both died in the original and will not return, Connie Nielsen will be back as Lucilla. Also back are both Djimon Hounsou’s freed Roman gladiator Juba and Derek Jakobi’s Senator Gracchus. Paul Mescal will take on the major role of Lucilla’s now adult son, Lucius, originally played by Spencer Treat Clark.

Some big names will also join them in the film. Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington have both signed on the movie, as has Stranger Things 4‘s Joseph Quinn. He’s reportedly playing Emperor Caracalla, which would indicate within this fictional version of Ancient Rome Maximus’s dying dream of restoring the Republic was not fulfilled. Fred Hechinger is also reported to be playing Caracalla’s younger brother and initially co-emperor Geta, whom Caracalla had murdered rather than co-rule with.

Gladiator 2 will also feature May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas. Barry Keoghan had been in discussions to join the film, but will not appear in the movie.

Gladiator 2‘s Release Date

Paramount set Gladiator 2‘s release date for November 22, 2024. It now seems certain the film will arrive in theaters at a much later date. The movie shut down while filming in Malta a month into production after SAG-AFTRA went on strike. (Filming was underway despite the WGA strike.) Until the AMPTP offers both unions a fair contract Gladiator 2 will not resume filming, leaving its release date up in the air.

The post Everything We Know About GLADIATOR 2 So Far appeared first on Nerdist.

Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man Universe is ever-expanding. Coming up very soon is Kraven the Hunter. Sony’s Kraven the Hunter film has been in the works for some time now, but it has finally turned a corner. With Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kraven, suiting up for his third different superhero project, we know we’re in for… something. Here’s everything we know about Sony’s Kraven the Hunter movie.

Title

The film is named Kraven the Hunter, after its central character.

Kraven the Hunter’s Plot

In the original Marvel Comics, Sergei Kravinoff is born into an aristocratic Russian family. He becomes a world-famous international big-game hunter, who tries to catch the ultimate and elusive prize: Spider-Man. The villain first shows up in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (1964). The Stan Lee/Steve Ditko creation is a founding member of the Sinister Six. Later stories show witch doctor Calypso giving Kravinoff an herbal potion, granting him enhanced speed and senses that match those of a wild jungle cat.

In Kraven the Hunter, it seems like we’ll get an origin story for the Spider-Man villain. Take a look at the movie’s official trailer below.

Unlike Venom, the character of Kraven has never had a shelf life outside of being a Spider-Man villain. So it’s hard to see how they are going to create a narrative around the character that doesn’t involve the wall-crawler in some form. There is no news of Tom Holland appearing in the movie so far.

Kraven the Hunter will unsurprisingly be Sony’s first R-rated Marvel movie. As Aaron Taylor-Johnson eloquently noted at Sony’s panel at CinemaCon 2023, “Will it be rated-R? F**k yes, it will be rated R.”

Behind the Scenes

A Most Violent Year’s J.C. Chandor is directing a script from Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Richard Wenk, with Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and David Householter producing.

Kraven the Hunter’s Cast

The upcoming film is anchored by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is playing Kraven the Hunter. Joining him are Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, and Alessandro Nivola. Crowe will play Kraven’s father. Meanwhile, Nivola will play classic Spider-Man villain Rhino, and Hechinger will act as Kraven’s brother, Chameleon. DeBose will play Calypso.

Additionally, Deadline reports that Christopher Abbott will join Kraven the Hunter. Although unconfirmed, the publication shares that Abbot will play the film’s main villain, the Foreigner. In the comics, Foreigner is a Spider-Man villain with the ability to induce hypnotic trances. Otherwise, it is his skills in martial arts and mastery of weaponry that makes him a threat. As we learn more about Kraven the Hunter‘s plot, we will see how this character comes to exist on the screen.

Kraven the Hunter’s Release Date

Kraven the Hunter will now arrive in theaters on August 30, 2024.

Originally published on May 26, 2021.

The post Everything We Know About the KRAVEN THE HUNTER Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

The two biggest and most popular Titans surely can’t stay dormant for long. Godzilla, the mighty lizard with atomic breath will clomp his way back to the movies soon. Along with him will be none other than Kong, the king of the hollow Earth. After 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong ended in something of a draw, a rematch of legendary proportions is very necessary. Luckily, a big screen follow-up is happening. Here’s everything we know about the Godzilla vs. Kong sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Title

The Godzilla vs. Kong sequel is called Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire‘s Plot

The official synopsis is as follows:

This latest entry follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new cinematic adventure, pitting the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own. The epic new film will delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

Behind the Scenes

Adam Wingard, who directed Godzilla vs. Kong, will return to direct this film. He’ll be the first director in Legendary’s Monsterverse series to helm a second film so far. He’s working from a script by Terry Rossio (Godzilla vs. Kong), Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight) and Simon Barrett (Wingard’s longtime collaborator on movies like You’re Next and The Guest). The film is being produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric Mcleod, Brian Rogers, Thomas Tull, and Jon Jashni, with executive producers Josh Grode, Adam Wingard, Jay Ashenfelter, Jen Conroy, Kenji Okuhira, and Yoshimitsu Banno.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire‘s Cast

Returning cast members to the series include Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kaylee Hottle. All three joined the franchise with Godzilla vs. Kong. New cast members include Dan Stevens, who starred in Wingard’s The Guest. Other new cast members including Fala Chen (Shang-Chi), Alex Ferns (The Batman), and Rachel House (Thor: Ragnarok).

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire‘s Release Date

The movie has an expected release date of March 15, 2024.

Originally published on August 26, 2022.

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

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Borderlands made a splash when Gearbox Software debuted it on multiple gaming platforms in 2009. The video game is an open-world action roleplaying first-shooter and features a plethora of fiercely violent madcap characters. The game follows a core group of four Vault Hunters who are traveling to the planet Pandora (not to be confused with Avatar‘s Pandora) to look for the Vault. This stash supposedly has riches, glory, and fancy alien tech that many factions want to get their hands on first. A movie based on this game has been in the works since 2015, and it will finally make its way to theaters. Here’s everything we know about the Borderlands movie so far.

Title

This video game movie adaptation will be called Borderlands.

Borderland’s Plot

Lionsgate shared an official plot synopsis on April 5, 2021:

Two-time Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett teams up with Kevin Hart in director Eli Roth’s Borderlands. Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas (Ramirez). Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team – Roland (Hart), a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis (Curtis), the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap (Black), a persistently wiseass robot.

These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on the game from Gearbox and 2K, one of the bestselling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands.

Behind the Scenes

Eli Roth, best known for his horror films, is set as the director. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) is writing. Mazin is also working on HBO’s The Last of Us TV series. Producers for the Borderlands movie include Avi and Ari Arad, and Erik Feig, with executive producers Randy Pitchford (who served as executive producer on the game) and Strauss Zelnick. Deadpool‘s Tim Miller handled reshoots.

Borderland‘s Cast

And now we’re to the most exciting news about the Borderlands movie: the star power. Cate Blanchett landed the role of Lilith, the film’s lead. Kevin Hart will play Roland, a soldier. Lilith and Roland are two of the game’s Vault Hunters. Edgar Ramirez will play Atlas, who is the most powerful man in the video game’s universe. (Naturally, that means he’s a businessman and arms manufacturer.)

Jamie Lee Curtis has signed on for the film too, playing Tannis, an archaeologist. And we also know Jack Black will voice Claptrap, the game’s recognizable sassy robot sidekick. IGN reported on April 6, 2021 that Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters will play Krom. Additionally, Ariana Greenblatt and Florian Munteanu will star as Tiny Tina and Krieg, respectively.

The rest of the cast includes Gina Gershon as Moxxi, Cheyenne Jackson as Jakobs, Charles Babalola as Hammerlock, Benjamin Byron Davis as Marcus, Steven Boyer as Scooter, and Ryann Redmond as Ellie. In addition, Bobby Lee is also joining the cast in the new role of Larry.

We have a look at the movie, courtesy of star Jamie Lee Curtis and Lionsgate. It’s only the silhouettes of characters, but still:

Borderland‘s Release Date

Borderlands will release in theaters on August 9, 2024.

Originally published on April 2, 2021.

The post Everything We Know About the BORDERLANDS Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

Come on, Barbie, let’s go party. Whether we want it to or not, that iconic Aqua song is pulsing through our veins as we anticipate the upcoming big-screen Barbie movie. She is no stranger to the screen, though. The iconic Mattel doll is, after all, the star of a whole animated cinematic universe. But now she’s getting the Hollywood treatment with a live-action film. Margot Robbie stars as the titular blonde girlboss, and she has a whole lot of star power with her—both in front of and behind the camera.

Of course, the universe will be full of Kens and Barbies. But one Ken we haven’t gotten a good look at yet is John Cena’s mermaid Ken or “Kenmaid” character from Barbie. Though we still don’t have a full look at Cena’s outfit, most importantly, his tale, we do like what we see so far. Flowing blonde locks, a shell necklace, and no shirt… What more could we ask for? We just hope this Ken’s tail is nice and glittery.

Here’s everything we know about Barbie, the movie.

Title

Warner Bros. and Mattel are keeping it simple with this one, calling the movie Barbie.

Barbie‘s Plot

So far, Warner Bros. and Mattel are keeping on the down low about Barbie‘s plot. But given the castings we know the ensemble film will include at least a few familiar figures from the Mattel world. In addition to the titular character, her on-again/off-again boyfriend Ken is a major figure. And there may even be more than one. Plus, this is a film from Greta Gerwig (and Noah Baumbach). So it wouldn’t be too surprising if they throw in a couple surprises. Will we see a wistful or melancholy Barbie in the movie, trying to move on from her himbo love? Or will we follow Barbie on a coming-of-age journey as she figures out what her dream job really is? With Gerwig at the helm and this stacked cast, we’re game for just about anything.

Barbie‘s first teaser offered us a lot to think about as well. You can watch below and check out our full breakdown of Barbie‘s trailer, including its 2001: A Space Odyssey references and recreations.

Barbie‘s second trailer, meanwhile, brought us something a little bit more conventional, but no less excellent. Although neither trailer included Aqua’s “Barbie Girl,” the track will be sampled in a song on the soundtrack in the Barbie movie’s soundtrack, phew!

Most recently, Barbie shared a slew of witty posters with us, teasing its full cast of Kens, Barbies, humans, and more. We definitely can’t wait to see how they come together in the movie. We have a feeling we will soon enter a fantastic world like no other.

pic.twitter.com/MFACUgHRr6

— Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) April 4, 2023

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— Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) April 4, 2023

Behind the Scenes

Greta Gerwig will write and direct the film, with real-life partner Noah Baumbach co-writing the script for the Barbie movie. Robbie and Tom Ackerley are also producing the film through their LuckyChap Entertainment production company. Mattel’s Robbie Brenner and David Heyman also produce.

Barbie‘s Cast

 As stated above, Margot Robbie, who is also producing the movie, is Barbie. Ryan Gosling is playing Ken. Joining them are Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, Jamie Demetriou, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, and Hari Nef. Dua Lipa has all come aboard. It is quite a cast, to say the least!

In addition, we now know that Will Ferrell will play “the CEO of Mattel.” According to the actor, the role is “that guy who’s just insensitive but weird.” At CinemaCon 2023, we also learned that John Cena would play the role of mermaid Ken. Sounds exciting.

Barbie’s Release Date

Barbie releases on July 21, 2023.

Originally published in 2023.

The post Here’s Our First Look at John Cena’s Mermaid Ken From the BARBIE Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse blew everyone away in 2018, introducing mainstream audiences to Spider-Man Miles Morales, as well as a host of multiversal variants of everyone’s favorite wall-crawler. The film was a hit at the box office, and won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. Now, after several delays, the first of two sequels has finally arrived in theaters, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. A third film, Beyond the Spider-Verse, arrives in 2024.

And for fans heading to theaters, the multiverse is that much more real. A few eagle-eyed viewers have spotted slight differences in scenes across theatrical viewings. And recently, Spider-Verse editor Andy Leviton confirmed that there are at least two versions of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swinging through our reality. Neat!

Although we don’t know with certainty how many differences or even versions exist, you can take a look at the above video for a rundown of the differences that exist.

Keep your eyes out for more! Here is everything we know about the first, long-awaited continuation of Miles Morales’ adventures across the multiverse.

Title

The title for the first sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s Plot

In this movie, Miles Morales will reunite with his friends Spider-Gwen and Peter B. Parker, and also team up with Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Punk, and the original Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew. Whatever multi-dimensional shenanigans the story entails will see multiple animation styles at play. The villain is an often mocked villain from the comics, called the Spot. But for the film, they have given the Spot a power upgrade. Now he has abilities that allow for him to create portals to other realms of the multiverse. Early toy reveals for also show that Ben Reilly, the so-called “Spider-Clone” from the ’90s, as well as a Cyborg Spider-Woman also feature in the plot.

Of course, we will also see many new Spider-Man variants in Across the Spider-Verse and per a recent article on Empire, five new worlds in total. According to the article, there’s Spider-Gwen’s Earth-65, which is done in watercolors. Additionally, we’ll visit Mumbattan, an India-inspired world, Nueva York where Spider-Man 2099 lives, and New London, the world of Spider-Punk. There’s one more universe besides all of those, but that’s a secret for now. Or is it the mysterious LEGO world?

Jake Johnson, who voices Peter B. Parker, added one more to the pile. He teased a LEGO universe would be a part of the movie. Johnson offered, “Everything in this movie, the animation is so wild. It’s pushing so many boundaries that at times I’m like, ‘what are they doing now?’ Like the Lego world was really neat, remember where it jumps into a LEGO universe for a little bit? And I’m like, ‘man, what is happening?'” Will this LEGO Spider-Verse location be central to the movie or just a passing place we’ll visit? Only time will tell.

At CinemaCon 2023, we learned that Across the Spider-Verse begins more than a year after Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It seems like Gwen and Miles have been apart for that time. And, according to Slash Film, Gwen has been involved in some multiversal adventures, having joined a society comprised of Spider-People. Reports indicate that the society works to prevent universes from collapsing.

Additionally, the main theme of the movie appears to be: “It’s how you wear the mask that really makes you a hero.”

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s Cast

Across the Spider-Verse will see many returning cast members from the first film, like Shameik Moore (Miles Morales), Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen Stacy), Jake Johnson (Peter B. Parker), Oscar Isaac (Spider-Man 2099), Brian Tyree Henry (Jefferson Davis), Luna Lauren Vélez (Rio Morales), Issa Rae (Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman), Jason Schwartzman (the Spot), and Daniel Kaluuya (Spider-Punk). Shea Whigham is also part of the cast, as police captain George Stacy, Gwen’s father. Jorma Taccone plays the Vulture, as a secondary villain. Additionally, according to the co-director of the movie, Joaquim Dos Santos, Scarlet Spider will appear and be voiced by a mysterious and notable celebrity. And it turns out, that celebrity is none other than Andy Samberg—an exciting reveal.

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— Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (@SpiderVerse) May 29, 2023

Recently, we learned that Deadpool franchise actor Karan Soni would join Across the Spider-Verse as Pavitr Prabhakar or Spider-Man India. This is an exciting addition to an already incredible cast.

There’s no official word yet if we’ll see cameos from some characters from Into the Spider-Verse not officially listed in the cast for the sequel. As far as the official cast listing, there’s no indication that variants like Peter Porker will appear again. But it would not surprise us to see some of them. It would also not shock us to see and hear animated versions of the live-action Spider-Mans like Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire, although none of them are confirmed.

A Spider-Man we won’t see returning, though is Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir. Here’s what Cage had to say about Spider-Man Noir’s presence in Across the Spider-Verse.

You’d have to ask Sony. I don’t know what’s going on with that… No one’s spoken to me about that. Ask them. I don’t know. I really don’t. I wish they would. I love Spider-Man Noir, too. I think that’s a great character. Spider-Man’s the coolest superhero. And then you combine that with [James] Cagney and [Humphrey] Bogart and Edward G. Robinson, come on, it’s a great character.

That’s one Spider-Man variant we’re sad to see go.

Behind the Scenes

Across the Spider-Verse is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, in their feature directorial debuts. The script comes from the original film’s writing team of Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham. Like the first film, this one is a Sony Pictures Animation production, and Marvel Studios had no involvement.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s Release Date

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2, 2023. 

Originally published in 2022.

The post There Are at Least Two Versions of ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE in Theaters appeared first on Nerdist.

The ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe has expanded all the way beyond cinema entirely. As of early 2021, Marvel Studios began its conquest of the small screen, beginning with projects like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The foray continues, enlisting MCU regulars (namely Loki and Hawkeye) and newcomers alike. And one such new direction will involve a beloved Marvel Comics miniseries: Secret Invasion.

Here’s everything we know about Secret Invasion so far.

Secret Invasion‘s Plot

The project will span six hour-long episodes (per Empire) and will air (presumably weekly) on Disney+. The synopsis for the TV series says:

In Marvel Studios’ new series “Secret Invasion,” set in the present day MCU, Nick Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.

At D23, Marvel released its first trailer for Secret Invasion. Take a look below.

A recent article from Vanity Fair gave us a few more details about the new heroes and villains we would meet in the show. Among other interesting notes about Secret Invasion, it shared thoughts from star Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson shares of his character Nick Fury, “He told the Skrulls they were trying to find them a place to live… He promised them they were going to find them a planet or somewhere they could be. And that’s not going so well.” And the article adds, “Now a group of Skrull extremists have arisen who are tired of asking, and tired of waiting.”

Jackson also adds, “Nick had a whole Skrull spy network because they could shape-shift and go places that people couldn’t go… They kept their word. They worked for him, but he hasn’t done what he said he was going to do. They want a home. They want to live. They want to live like they are. They want to live in their skin. They don’t want to live in ours.”

Of Nick Fury, he notes, “Even Nick Fury can be shaken, you know? He’s up there [in space] trying to process what the fuck happened, you know? And what his place in the world is…The death of Iron Man, the death of Black Widow, with that stuff going on, he just kind of checked out.

Sounds like a deep conflict is coming in the world of the MCU. We can see it all in the latest look at the series.

What Is Secret Invasion‘s Comic Event About?

Marvel Comics published the eight-issue miniseries Secret Invasion between April and December 2008. Brian Michael Bendis, who wrote the series, developed its story as a direct follow-up to the 2006 storyline “Annihilation.” Beyond its eight issues, the series tied into numerous other concurrent Marvel Comics series, espousing a preemptive “The Infiltration” banner. Members of superhero teams including Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Young Avengers, Fantastic Four, Secret Warriors, among others, were included in the story.

Bendis’ comic event tells the story of the Skrulls’ attempted invasion and conquest of the planet Earth. Using shapeshifting abilities, Skrulls take the form and identity of innumerous Earthlings, including top dollar Marvel figures. Skrull Empress-elect Veranke adopts the likeness of Spider-Woman, for instance, and sidles up to her superhero colleagues; over time, the Skrulls permeate additional groups like S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Fantastic Four.

That’s just the gist of the rising action. You can read a more in-depth discussion of Secret Invasion here.

Behind the Scenes

Kyle Bradstreet, writer and producer for Mr. Robot, is handling Secret Invasion‘s script. Thomas Bezucha (Let Him Go) and Ali Selim (The Looming Tower) will direct according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Secret Invasion‘s Cast

Samuel L. Jackson will bring Fury to life onscreen for Secret Invasion. Incidentally, this will mark the twelfth MCU project in which he’s played the character (not counting video games). Ben Mendelsohn, who played Talos in Captain Marvel and (briefly) in Spider-Man: Far from Home, will return as the surprisingly kindly Skrull. Cobie Smulders is also reprising her role as Maria Hill once more, per Deadline. Of course, we can’t have Nick Fury without Maria Hill at his side.

Right on the heels of Once Night in Miami’s Oscar nomination, Variety reported that the film’s star Kingsley Ben-Adir would join the Secret Invasion cast. He will play Gravik, the leader of the radicalized Skrull resistance. Carmen Ejogo has also joined the cast. Meanwhile, another Oscar winner is joining the fray. Olivia Colman will play, per Vanity Fair, “a more antagonistic presence in Secret Invasion…an MI6 agent…who’s ostensibly motivated to protect England’s national security interests during the crisis.”

Game of Thrones alum Emilia Clarke and Dublin Murders star Killian Scott have also been cast. Clarke is set to play G’iah, the Skrull daughter of Talos who is part of the Skrull resistance. Christopher McDonald has also joined the show, though we don’t know the role.

Finally, Martin Freeman confirmed to RadioTimes that he would also be reprising his MCU role as Everett K. Ross in Secret Invasion.

Secret Invasion‘s Release Date

Secret Invasion will release on June 21, 2023.

Originally published March 15, 2021.

The post You Can Trust Only Two Characters in the SECRET INVASION TV Series appeared first on Nerdist.

After delivering the biggest box office grosses yet for a Mission: Impossible movie with its last installment, Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie are returning for two more. McQuarrie will write and direct Mission Impossible 7 & 8, which are being shot back-to-back.

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Mission: Impossible films.

Title

Mission Impossible 7‘s official title has been revealed to be Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.

Mission: Impossible 7 and 8‘s Plot

We don’t yet know too much about the plot of the upcoming Mission Impossible movies. But judging by the franchise’s history, they’ll like involve a lot of action, many stunts, and at least one daring escape.

Most recently, we got a special look at Mission: Impossible 7. This Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One featurette revealed what is said to be “the biggest stunt in cinema history.” Cruise even recently revealed the stunt was done on day one in case it killed him. He noted, “Well, we know either we will continue with the film, or we’re not. Let’s know day one! Let us know day one what is going to happen: Do we all continue, or is it a major rewrite?” Fair enough.

Take a look at the antics below.

He’ll also be fighting atop a train.

In addition, we got a new look at the movie and its stars with a fresh set of images courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.

McQuarrie teases Pom Klementieff’s character, sharing, “She is somebody who, at the start of our story, is partnered with Esai and represents this malevolent force that Ethan is opposed to.” Meanwhile, speaking about Hayley Atwell, he notes, “She was somebody we were interested in for Rogue Nation. It took us a while to find just the right character, just the right opportunity, for Hayley to really play to her strengths.”

Behind the Scenes

Christopher McQuarrie is returning to write and direct both Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8. He previously who previously wrote and directed Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible — Fallout. Like the franchise’s fifth and sixth installments, the next two are filming back-to-back.

Mission: Impossible 7 and 8‘s Cast

Naturally, Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt, as is the other franchise staple Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell. Also reprising their characters in the upcoming films are Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett and Frederick Schmidt. One major returning figure is Henry Czerny’s Eugene Kittridge, who hasn’t appeared in the franchise since the first installment in 1996. Kittridge was the IMF director hunting Ethan, under the impression he was the agency’s mole. McQuarrie confirmed Czerny’s return on Instagram.

Among new faces joining the franchise, which McQuarrie also announced on Instagram, are Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Charles Parnell, Indra Varma, Mark Gatiss, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, Shea Whigham, and Lucy Tulugarjuk. Morales will play Ethan Hunt’s next foe, replacing Nicholas Hoult, who departed due to scheduling conflicts.

In August, we learned that Nick Offerman and Janet McTeer would join Mission Impossible 8. We don’t know details about their roles yet. Hannah Waddingham is also joining Mission Impossible 8 (via Variety) in an unspecified role. Additionally, Mariela Garriga will come aboard both films as well.

Recently, Christopher McQuarrie revealed a character from the first Mission: Impossible movie, released in 1996, would also return to the franchise. Yes, Rolf Saxon will return to the Mission: Impossible franchise as William Donloe.

For those who need a refresher Rolf Saxon’s William Donloe was the CIA Analyst from whom Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt stole the Non-Official Cover list of the Impossible Missions agents, which revealed their locations around the world, their real names, and their code names. As punishment, Donloe was exiled to work at a desolate station in Alaska. So we guess he probably doesn’t feel to happy about that. Could Rolf Saxon bring William Donloe back as one of Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part Two‘s villains? It feels likely.

Mission: Impossible 7 and 8‘s Release Date

The upcoming pair of Mission: Impossible films are caught up in yet another wave of pandemic-related delays. Mission: Impossible 7 will debut on July 12, 2023. Mission: Impossible 8 will now open on June 28, 2024. 

The Franchise’s Future Beyond the Next Two Installments

No official word yet if these two films will serve as the “series finale” for the franchise. But Variety is indicating that this is, indeed, the end for Ethan Hunt and his comrades. A report from the trade suggests that Mission: Impossible 8 will wrap up the long-running franchise. Paramount Pictures has not commented on the news but Nerdist has reached out for confirmation.

If it is the end for the franchise it’s quite a feat—one that lasted eight films and nearly 30 years. Tom Cruise will be over sixty by the time Mission: Impossible 8 hits theaters, so its the perfect time to hang up his Ethan Hunt coat, and hopefully go out on a high note. And we mean a literal high note, as he’ll probably be going out while hanging off the side of a mountain or a skyscraper one last time.

Originally published on January 14, 2019.

The post Everything We Know About MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE DEAD RECKONING PART ONE appeared first on Nerdist.

Cassandra Webb— better known as Madame Web—is finally weaving her own web of adventure in an upcoming solo movie. The Spider-Man ally is a fave among comic fans, even though she historically hasn’t gotten a lot of action in her own right. The details about this addition to Sony’s growing Spider-Man universe have been mostly mum, but surely more will unfold in the near future. Here’s everything you need to know about the Madame Web movie. 

Title 

The title for this film is simply Madame Web. 

Madame Web’s Plot

The film’s creatives are keeping a lot of plot details under wraps at the moment. However, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura promises that there will be a new Madame Web origin story. “It’s really the story of Madame Web,” said di Bonaventura in a Comicbook.com interview. “So, in that respect, if you’re a Spider-Man fan, you’re gonna love the character because you know it from the comic books, which she doesn’t really have that big a character in the comic books, we’re doing the origin story of Madame Web. And so you meet her before she’s actually the person that you know in the comic book and you come to understand how she becomes that person. So, I think that’ll be a really fresh new terrain for the fans.”

Behind the Scenes 

S.J. Clarkson will direct Madame Web with Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama penning the script. In addition to di Bonaventura, Palak Patel and Eric Howsam will also produce this film. It was shot in several locations throughout Massachusetts (including Boston) and NYC, with initial filming wrapping in early 2023. 

Madame Web’s Cast 

Dakota Johnson will star as Cassandra Webb/Madame Web alongside Sydney Sweeney as Julia Carpenter/Spider-Woman. Celeste O’Connor, Zosia Mamet, Emma Roberts, Isabela Merced, Mike Epps, Tahar Rahim, and Adam Scott are all a part of this film in undisclosed roles. 

Madame Web’s Release Date 

Madame Web will release on February 14, 2024.

The post Everything We Know About MADAME WEB appeared first on Nerdist.

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when a new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie was announced. Yes, we’re getting a cinematic outing that will continue the story of all our favorite characters from the original series. The Gaang, a.k.a Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Toph, and company, will grace our screens again in a brand new movie coming in 2025. Here’s everything we know about the new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie.

Title

The upcoming movie doesn’t have a title yet. So, for now, we’re simply referring to it as the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie.

The Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie‘s Plot

Not much has been revealed about the plot of the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. However, a glimpse at artwork from the film revealed at CinemaCon 2023 showed us all our favorite characters looking a little older than we left them. Possibly the group is somewhere in their late 20s. That will certainly be an interesting age to explore the dynamics between them all.

We assume the movie will reveal to us Aang, Zuko, and pals’ continued quest to bring peace to the four nations after the intense upheaval Fire Lord Ozai wreaked upon the world. A lot still needs fixed, after all. We hope this movie can continue the series’ legacy of delivering exactly the right story to its fans.

Additionally, we know that this movie is one of three animated Avatar movies that Nickelodeon’s Avatar Studios will create. Avatar Studios is “a newly formed division designed to create original content spanning animated series and movies based on the beloved world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.” We don’t know, however, if the movies will serve as sequels to one another or each will be a stand-alone.

The Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie‘s Cast

We don’t have any word yet on who will voice our heroes in the movie, but we hope to see some of our original favorites reprise their roles. Dante Basco is Zuko, after all.

Recently, Toph’s original voice actress Michaela Jae Murphy, also knowns as Jessie Flower, noted she didn’t believe the original cast would return. However, there’s not yet an official confirmation of this statement. Hopefully, our original actors will have a role to play yet.

Behind the Scenes 

Lauren Montgomery will direct the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. Additionally, series co-creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino will produce the film alongside Eric Coleman.

The Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie‘s Release Date

One thing we do know is when we can expect the new Avatar: The Last Airbender animated movie. The movie will release on October 10, 2025.

Originally published on May 2, 2023.

The post Everything We Know About the AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER Animated Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 arrived a cool six years after the second installment. So it’s certainly been a while since their last solo journey and a lot has happened. The Blip was still just a looming threat… remember those pre-Infinity War days? Neither do I. When we reunite with the crew—post Infinity War and Endgame—there will be plenty to unpack. Among the highlights: Gamora’s death, most of the team vanished for five years in the Blip, a younger version of Gamora is also rolling with the crew, and they’re finally back together. So there’s plenty to speculate about.

Here’s everything we know about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Title

The third installment in the beloved series is simply Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s Plot

We don’t know much about the film’s plot yet, beyond that it takes place after the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Additionally, James Gunn did confirm that this is the final act for this particular rendition of the Guardians. Gunn told Deadline‘s Hero Nation podcast, “This is the end for us, the last time people will see this team of Guardians.” So we can only imagine this iteration of Guardians will go out with quite a bang.

You can see the latest trailer for the movie below:

One thing we do know, though, is that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is going to spend a lot of time with Rocket. Recently, James Gunn spoke to EW and shared just how much the grumpy raccoon plays into the third GOTG movie.

According to Gunn, one of the reasons he came back for Vol. 3 included needing to tell Rocket’s story and feeling very connected to the character. He says, “I feel like nobody would be able to tell his full story if it wasn’t me.”

Additionally, Gunn offers:

To me, Rocket has always been the secret protagonist of the Guardians movies… From the beginning, it has been rooted in who he is as a character. I think he exemplifies a lot of the traits of all the Guardians. They’ve had all these traumas, and it brings them together. I just think that his is more extreme than others… He was just fine being an animal, and he was transformed into something else he didn’t want to be. I think that transformation itself was extremely painful, but I also think it made him feel incredibly alienated from everyone else. In Vol. 3, we learn a lot about his past — where he came from, who he is, and what he’s been through. It’s been a difficult road for the little animal.

We can’t wait to get the Rocket backstory we all want and deserve.

For now, we have our first clips from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In the latest clip released, we get hit with a powerful punch of emotions. This look at the movie features a taste of Rocket’s backstory, and it’s very sad. The High Evolutionary, we assume, has been experimenting on animals, and the result is a whole gaggle of cute, sentient beings in a lot of pain. We have Rocket, of course, who gets his name in the below clip. In addition, we meet his best friends, Lylla the otter (voiced by Linda Cardellini), Floor the rabbit (voiced by Mikaela Hoover), and Teefs the walrus (voiced by Asim Chaudhry). Cardellini and Hoover both return for their second MCU role.

Ultimately, these creatures just want to see the great big sky together in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. We hope their friendship lasts and that they all get happy endings. Although we must say, things are not looking good for Rocket.

Additional clips revealed more aspects of the movie. In the first, Quill and Nebula butt heads spectacularly over a rather annoying door. There’s even a bleep involved. But that bleep will actually become the MCU’s first-ever F-Bomb.

According to James Gunn, this bleep will not be censored in the movie proper.

We also love the second released clip from Vol 3. It brings us right into the world of the Guardians. Everything hits the right note of humor—but below the surface, there’s more than a little pain and drama.

Finally, the latest Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 clip gives us our best look yet at Adam Warlock. This powerful hero clashes with Nebula, and the two are off to a rocky start. We’ll have to see what becomes of this hero, but one thing is for sure. He does not lack power.

Behind the Scenes

After a long, tumultuous road, James Gunn is back in the director’s chair for the final installment. He’s also, once again, writing the script. Frequent Gunn collaborator Fred Raskin is back as editing, alongside Craig Wood. The Suicide Squad‘s composer John Murphy is scoring the film.

Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s Cast

As this is a GOTG film, it sees all our usual suspects returning for more—with a slight caveat. As such, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, and Sean Gunn are back. However, Saldaña’s playing an earlier version of Gamora, as the one we’ve met over the course of the franchise died at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. However, in Avengers: Endgame the younger version of the character traveled to present-day MCU and is now part of the crew. Additionally, Michael Rosenbaum has revealed that he will return as Martinex, the crystal Ravager

New additions include Sylvester Stallone, who will play Stakar Ogord and Will Poulter as Adam Warlock. Peacemaker‘s Chukwudi Iwuji is also reuniting with Gunn for the project. San Diego Comic-Con 2022 confirmed Iwuji will play the film’s villain, the High Evolutionary. The Suicide Squad star Daniela Melchior and The Bubble‘s Maria Bakalova will also appear, with Gunn confirming both actors’ appearances. Crazy Rich Asians and Superstore actor Nico Santos has also been cast. Their roles are still under wraps.

James Gunn also revealed that returning MCU vet Linda Cardellini will play Lylla the otter. A second returning MCU actor will voice Floor the rabbit. And Asim Chaudhry will play Teefs the walrus. All these sentient animals feature in Rocket’s past. In flashbacks, young Rocket will be voiced by Sean Gunn for the first time; the actor does the motion capture work for Rocket.

James Gunn also gave us a look at Nathan Fillion’s character from the movie, Master Karja. This new MCU character is donning an orgosentry uniform, which Gunn shares is “in the film, an organic suit genetically designed.” We can’t wait to see it in action.

Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s Release Date

The film is slated for a May 5, 2023 release.

We’ll keep you posted on any new details—and potential mixtape bangers—as we learn them.

The post Everything We Know About GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 appeared first on Nerdist.

A cinematic feature film for DC Comics’ The Flash was first announced way back in 2014. Since then, we’ve had several appearances of the Scarlet Speedster in movies like Justice League and Suicide Squad, as well as some TV cameos. Not to mention many seasons of a Flash TV series that gave us an enjoyable turn with the character. But ultimately, The Flash will arrive in theaters in 2023.

We guess we’ll have to wait and see The Flash before we think to hard about its sequel. Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming movie.

Title

Despite early reports that this film was to be called Flashpoint, based on the DC Comics event of the same name, it will simply be called The Flash. 

The Flash‘s Plot

Based on the DC FanDome 2021 trailer, it appears that The Flash is indeed loosely adapting the 2011 DC event series Flashpoint. In that story, Barry Allen uses his super-speed powers to run into the past, preventing his mother’s murder from taking place when he was a child. But when he returns to his present, he finds things are drastically changed. In the film version, it looks like Barry will somehow alter time and space and bring in Michael Keaton’s Batman from the classic Tim Burton films. Also, in this altered universe is a new version of Supergirl and at least one alternate Barry. Flash will also receive a new costume in the film, replacing the one he used in Justice League.

A poster reveals the Batman influence looming large in the world of The Flash. And the first trailer for the movie cemented that notion.

At a recent screening of The Flash, Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti discussed a possible sequel for the franchise and how it could fit in with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s newly restructured DC Universe. The director and producer had this say about the idea of The Flash 2:

We didn’t talk about it. I think that we’re all waiting to see how this movie does. Of course, there’s excitement about continuing the story, especially if this movie is successful. Of course, there’s an architecture in DC that is brewing and it’s being created. And the question is, will this new architecture absorb this story? The good thing about the multiverse is that it is possible. The multiverse allows all of these different worlds to coexist and interact, and so, hopefully, yes, I mean, we don’t know yet. That’s the truth.

Additionally, the creators noted of The Flash itself and its future, “We can’t predict the future; everything that we hear is gonna happen is very exciting. We don’t know much more than you do, honestly. But again, this is a movie about beginnings and not endings, and we certainly hope so.”

Behind the Scenes 

In the years since the film’s initial announcement, many directors have come and gone. However, It and It: Chapter two director Andy Muschietti helms The Flash. The film’s final screenplay is from Birds of Prey and Batgirl screenwriter Christina Hodson, with a story by Hodson, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein.

The Flash‘s Cast

Ezra Miller returns to his role as Barry Allen/Flash, alongside Kiersey Clemons (Iris West), Sasha Calle (Supergirl), Ron Livingston (Henry Allen), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Antje Traue (Faora), and two distinct Dark Knights—Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as their universes’ respective Batman. And given the multiversal aspect of this movie, we do expect some surprise cameos. Perhaps Grant Gustin might appear? Only time will tell.

The Flash’s Release Date

The Flash speeds into theaters on June 16, 2023.

Originally published on March 8, 2022.

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By day, he’s a mild-mannered archaeology professor with longstanding daddy issues. By night—and, actually, also plenty of daylight hours—he’s a jet-setting, whip-wielding adventurer with a yen for preservation. He, of course, is Henry Jones, Jr., a.k.a. Indiana (after the dog). And he’s gearing up for a fifth cinematic adventure, more than 40 years after his first.

Here’s everything we know about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Title

The title of Indiana Jones 5 is officially Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘s Plot

Happily, we finally know a little bit more about what will happen in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. According to Empire, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny “finds Indy in 1960s-era New York City.” And he’ll be taking on his most hated foes, the Nazis, once again.

Inspired by the film, the subscriber cover for Empire’s Indiana Jones 5 issue finds Indy in 1960s-era New York City, bathed in golden light, whip in hand. Illustrated exclusively for Empire by Sam Hadley.

READ MORE: https://t.co/LMIMWIF8CS pic.twitter.com/vdP0Y6HvxY

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) November 18, 2022

Mads Mikkelsen will, of course, play the villain in the movie, the nefarious Voller. Empire reveals that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny “finds our hero in 1969, living against the backdrop of the space race – but the American effort to beat the Russians to the moon brings with it some uncomfortable truths for Indy.”

Director James Mangold also shares of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as a whole:

It became really important to me to figure out how to make this a movie about a hero at sunset. The issues I brought up about Indy’s age were not things I thought were being addressed in the material being developed at the time. There were ‘old’ jokes, but the material itself wasn’t about it. To me, whatever you greatest liability, you should fly straight towards that. If you try to pretend it’s not there, you end up getting slings and arrows the whole way.

Joining Indy on his adventure will be his goddaughter, Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Waller-Bridge notes of Helena, “She’s a mystery and a wonder.” Meanwhile, director James Mangold offers that she’s a “slippery, charming, the girl next door, a grifter.” While Ford adds that Helena is “a pioneer in ethical accounting.” Well, all in all, that doesn’t really tell us much. But we’re excited to stay tuned for more.

When it comes to Indiana himself, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will feature a digitally de-aged Harrison Ford that harkens back to the Indiana Jones of the original trilogy. According to Empire, the opening sequence of the movie “dials the clock back to 1944, set in a castle swarming with Nazis. Through the miracle of de-ageing technology, we’re going back towards Raiders-era Indy.” And then, the clock will fly forward, and the audience and Indy will land in 1969.

The de-aged Indiana Jones will come to life thanks to archival footage of a younger Harrison Ford. This footage will then be matched with newly shot material. Apparently, the original Raiders jacket even came out of storage for the occasion. While de-aging can so often go wrong, the creators of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hope that fans will see this as a technological marvel and a chance to turn back the clock.

You can take a look at all these ideas in action in Indiana Jones‘ latest trailer.

Make sure to enjoy Indy while you can because Ford confirmed recently that this would indeed be his last outing as Indiana Jones. He told Total Film magazine (via GamesRadar), “This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time I’ll play the character. I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film.” He went on to add he won’t be involved in the possible Indiana Jones TV series “if it does come to fruition.”

Behind the Scenes

The prospect of a fifth Indiana Jones movie has been underway, formally or otherwise, since shortly after the fourth film. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull released in 2008; middling reception notwithstanding, Steven Spielberg maintained the intention to carry forth with another story.

Given Harrison Ford’s alleged skepticism about the project, early rumblings suggested the graduation of Shia LaBeouf to the starring role; LaBeouf had portrayed sidekick Mutt in Crystal Skull. For one reason or another—or both, or all, or every conceivable—that idea died out before long.

Further development stalled up through Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. Another three years passed before Kathleen Kennedy confirmed development on Indy 5, just shy of The Force Awakens’ release. (And overwhelming box office success.) Lucasfilm originally scheduled the movie for a 2019 release. However, further shakeups behind the scenes preempted that plan…

The first big switcheroo involved replacing original screenwriter David Koepp. Koepp was enlisted for the script after writing Crystal Skull. In 2018, Koepp left the project and the team brought in Jonathan Kasdan, son of Lawrence Kasdan and co-writer of that year’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. However, Kasdan’s draft was eschewed in favor of a new turn by Dan Fogelman.

Most fans expected that Spielberg, director of every Indy film so far, would return to helm the fifth installment; in fact, it seemed as though Spielberg was considering the job for some time. However, in 2020, the still-unproduced movie fell into the hands of a different director: James Mangold.

At this point, the screenplay saw yet another change of hands. Mangold took the reins in this department alongside screenwriting partners and brothers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. In a more harmonious fashion (in more ways than one), John Williams is returning to score the picture.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘s Cast

Early resistance notwithstanding, Harrison Ford ultimately signed on to revive the character of Indy proper. This time, he’s be joined by a slew of exciting costars. Topping the list: Fleabag creator and No Time to Die writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who costarred in the aforementioned Solo; and Mads Mikkelsen (per Deadline), ever the welcome entry in any anticipated project. Also on board (per The Hollywood Reporter): Narcos‘ Boyd Holbrook and the MCU’s Shaunette Renée Wilson and Thomas Kretschmann. (She played a Dora Milaje; he played Baron von Strucker.) The latest high-profile casting for the movie is Antonio Banderas, per Deadline.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘s Release Date

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is set to arrive in theaters on June 30, 2023.

Originally published on May 14, 2021.

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The Rings of Power season one swept onto our screens in the summer of 2022, and it made quite an impact. In fact, at Nerdist, we felt it was one of the best shows of the year. And although we are still thinking about season one of the show, things are already ramping up on season two of The Rings of Power. The Rings of Power didn’t exactly leave us on a cliffhanger, but we are still on the edge of our seats, ready to dive back into its world. Here’s everything we know so far about the next season of The Rings of Power.

The Rings of Power Season Two’s Plot

The Rings of Power concluded season one on a few very dramatic notes, setting the stage for season two. Of course, Halbrand revealed himself to be none other than Sauron in disguise. When we last saw the dark lord, he was simply walking into Mordor, no doubt on the way to mete out some vengeance on his wayward followers. Meanwhile, Galadriel, Elrond, and Celebrimbor proceeded to form the elven Rings of Power despite knowing the idea came from a source of evil. And we feel it’s likely the Dwarves might know about the rings sooner rather then later.

Behind the Scenes

Showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay return to helm season two of The Rings of Power. Also returning is director Charlotte Brändström. Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper will also join as directors on season two of The Rings of Power. They will each direct two episodes.

The Rings of Power Season Two’s Cast

The entire main cast of The Rings of Power which includes Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charlie Vickers, Robert Aramayo, and more, is expected to return for season two, with the exception of one major character.

Joseph Mawle will not return as the tragic but trecherous orc father, Adar, instead, the role has been recast. Sam Hazeldine will take on the role of Adar in the second season of The Rings of Power season two.

Joining Hazeldine are fourteen new actors. No new roles or characters have yet been revealed. The new cast of The Rings of Power season two includes: Gabriel Akuwudike, Yasen ‘Zates’ Atour, Ben Daniels, Amelia Kenworthy, Nia Towle, Nicholas Woodeson, Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Stuart Bowman, Gavi Singh Chera, William Chubb, Kevin Eldon, Will Keen, Selina Lo, and Calam Lynch.

The Rings of Power Season Two’s Release Date

The Rings of Power season two does not currently have a release date.

The post Everything We Know About THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order first introduced us to the playable world of Cal Kestis and his journey to become a Jedi in the face of many Imperial dangers. Now, Cal is back in the sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and he’s all grown up. The game promises even more intricate worlds and epic battles, so get your gaming fingers stretched and ready to go. It’s time to wield those lightsabers.

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Star Wars game.

Title

This sequel game to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is titled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor‘s Plot and Gameplay

Plot

Cal Kestis is back, and he has a beard to boot. The logline for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor actually tells us quite a bit about the game. Here’s what the synopsis shares.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor picks up five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order™, as Cal continues to grow as a Jedi and evade the Empire’s constant pursuit. With trusty companion BD-1 by his side, he joins forces with new and old allies to aid him on his quest, including the mercenary Bode Akuna (Noshir Dalal) and former crew member Cere Junda (Debra Wilson). With new traversal options such as an ascension cable to reach new heights and the ability to tame and ride creatures, Cal has many ways to navigate the perils he will face as he explores both familiar and new worlds across the galaxy. 

So it’s still hard times out there for a Jedi. But Star Wars Jedi: Survivor promises a more evolved and mature game, as Cal Kestis leaves behind the life of a Padawan to embrace his role as a full-blown Jedi Knight. The game promises many exciting new environments, skills, abilities, and, of course, enemies. You can get a taste of the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor fun with its full trailer.

As well as its story trailer, which delves further into the core of the game.

Most recently, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor revealed some of the enemies that Cal and the player will face via IGN. Mostly, these consist of Droids, but there are troopers and other elite enemies in the mix. Here’s how they break down:

B1 Droids: These are the weakest enemy you’ll face in the game. But they sound like they have hilarious dialogue.

B2 Droids: These Star Wars Jedi: Survivor droids are tough. They take damage well and deal it out with their blasters and missile launchers. But with experience, you can take them down.

BX Droids: These droids are speedy and they’ll give you the run-around. Their weapon of choice is said to be a vibro sword. But you’ll be fairly well-matched against them.

Droideka: These funny-looking droids appeared in the Star Wars prequels. This Star Wars Jedi: Survivor enemy like to roll and have a bubble shield, so have fun getting around that in a fight.

IG-100 Magna Guard: These fellas are General Grievous’ bodyguards. They’re described as a “superior elite” type of enemy and can fight offensively, defensively, and in weird rhythms.

Shield Trooper: Who doesn’t love having a built-in shield? These Star Wars Jedi: Survivor enemies certainly do. These enemies will make you get creative with your attacks. Use the Force, as they say.

DT Sentry Droid: This Star Wars Jedi: Survivor enemy does not look happy to see you. And you shouldn’t feel glad to see it either. This bruising droid comes equipped with a variety of different weapons. You never know what you’ll get, so watch out.

KX Security Droid Enforcer: You met this droid in Fallen Order, but now it has a stun baton. Watch out for this brawler type enemy.

Gameplay

As far as features and gameplay go, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is officially getting one feature that fans have requested for a while. In this Star Wars Jedi game, players will be able to “fast travel.” This means that they can automatically travel to a location without literally having to start from the beginning of a world to get somewhere they’d like to go. Players will also have rideable mounts that will allow them to more easily explore in between specific locations.

Additionally, the game will have several difficulty modes, which we saw via GameSpot: Story Mode, Jedi Padawan, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, and Jedi Grand Master. These escalate in difficulty, variables impacted include parry time, enemy aggressiveness, and enemy damage.

Other gameplay modifiers include “a camera option for auto-targeting, button mash options, hold/pull toggles, and navigation assist, including audio pings.” Additionally, the game will have a new feature called Slow Mode where players can choose to slow down parts of the game. There will also be an option to create shortcuts for different features.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor‘s Voice Cast

Most notably, Cameron Monaghan returns to voice Cal Kestis in the game. Debra Wilson will also return to voice Cere Junda.

Noshir Dalal will join the voice cast as the new character of Bode Akuna. Who, according to Monaghan, is ” a new ally to Cal, and they have a really great dynamic. They’re like brothers in arms who have similar trajectories in their life and have up to this point made some different decisions along the way, but I think they have a mutual respect and understanding for each other.” We’re excited to see the two working together.

Behind the Scenes

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor comes from developer Respawn Entertainment, it was also developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. Electronic Arts will publish the game.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor‘s Release Date and Cost

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was set to release in March. But now we’ll all have to wait a little longer to play.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will now release on April 28, 2023. It will be available to play on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC. The game will cost $69.99 for its standard edition. And $89.99 for its Deluxe version.

Originally published on March 20, 2023.

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Full of entertaining archetypes, action, and all manner of creatures and magic, Dungeons & Dragons feels made for the big screen. That said, previous live-action D&D movies haven’t been as amazing as one would hope. But Paramount Pictures is trying again with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The action-adventure movie focuses on a heist with a star-studded cast playing our band of heroes.

Here’s everything we know about Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Title

The D&D movie is testing the record for the longest movie title ever. It’s called Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ Plot

As a tabletop roleplaying game, D&D is all about the quests, and Honor Among Thieves has a quest at the heart of the story. The trailer teases our heroes’ missions and their foes. It comes with a healthy dose of humor and silliness, a tone that seems just right for this adaptation.

Honor Among Thieves‘ official synopsis is as follows:

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.

A new featurette for the movie reveals new glimpses at the characters and world of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

You can also get a closer look at our party with their individual posters below. We have to say this looks like an incredibly fun adventure.

Click To View Gallery

A recent clip from the Dungeons & Dragons movie teases that our hero team won’t be the only party around, though. As Chris Pine’s Edgin and co. prepare to enter a dangerous maze filled with some of D&D‘s most terrifying creatures; they realize they’re up against two other teams. And one of these teams is none other than the cast of characters from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, which aired in the 1980s. In the series, a group of friends from the real world get pulled into a fantasy world, and they must fight their way home.

We can’t say for certain whether we’ll actually meet these characters or they’ll just be fun Easter eggs. But it’s definitely a fun homage.

Behind the Scenes

The movie features a screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, and Michael Gilio. The story is from Gilio and McKay. Goldstein and Daley direct (the duo also directed Game Night).

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ Cast

This movie has an impressive cast of veteran actors and relative newcomers. Here’s who we know about so far:

• Chris Pine – Edgin, a bard
• Michelle Rodriguez – Holga, a barbarian
• Regé-Jean Page – Xenk, a paladin
• Justice Smith – Simon, a sorceror
• Sophia Lillis – Doric, a druid
• Hugh Grant – Forge Fitzwilliam, a rogue (and possibly the movie’s villain)

Chloe Coleman and Daisy Head also appear in the film, but we don’t have details about their roles yet.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ Release Date

Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves arrives in theaters on March 31, 2023.

Originally published December 2, 2022.

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Although it will not belong to the main on-screen DC Universe, we were very happy to hear that The Batman – Part II will continue on in DC’s new world order. Under James Gunn and Peter Safran, The Batman – Part II will belong to DC’s Elseworlds Projects. These projects will take place in TV, movie, or game form but will not factor into the main universe story. Still, they play a critical role in keeping the DC Universe varied and interesting. Here’s everything we know about The Batman – Part II.

Title

For now, the sequel to The Batman carries the descriptive title of The Batman – Part II.

The Batman – Part II‘s Plot

We don’t know much yet about The Batman – Part II‘s plot. But we do know that a cinematic universe is building for The Batman. Next up, we’ll see a Penguin series on HBO Max, and that will tie directly into the coming sequel.

One thing is clear about The Batman – Part II; its focus will stay on Batman, a.k.a Bruce Wayne. Reeves shares:

To me, the thing that I really feel is that I also believe that Rob [Pattinson] is so special in the role. My goal has always been to do these point-of-view stories that allow the character to always be the emotional center of the story. Because a lot of times what happens is, after you do the first one, then suddenly other Rogues Gallery characters come in, and they kind of take over, and then Batman takes a backseat sort of character-wise, or emotionally.

The Batman – Part II‘s Cast

For now, we know Robert Pattinson will return as our Bruce Wayne/Batman. It just wouldn’t be a The Batman movie without him. In addition, an article in GQ notes that Matt Reeves has confirmed Andy Serkis’ return as Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman – Part II.

Behind the Scenes

Matt Reeves is returning to write the sequel to The Batman. But this time, he will find a co-writer in Mattson Tomlin. We assume Reeves will also direct The Batman – Part II.

The Batman – Part II Release Date

The Batman – Part II will release on October 3, 2025.

Originally published on February 8, 2023.

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