The Star Wars timeline has not advanced for over five years now, with the franchise instead exploring the nooks and crannies of its existing stories. This has been pretty successful, deepening some characters and answering some longstanding mysteries in the process in shows like Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi and movies like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. If this trend is to continue, there are some more questions the franchise should definitely tackle.

The Skywalker Saga is about 70 years long, and so far all of the movies and most of the TV shows are set during this period. Outside of the episodic Skywalker Saga, Rogue One really set the template for standalone movies. It answered fans’ longstanding curiosity about how the Rebels got the blueprints for the Death Star, building on the dramatic implications from Star Wars: A New Hope.

If the franchise is going to continue fleshing out its timeline rather than deciding what comes next, it will need to explore more cul de sacs in the story like this one. Fortunately, there are plenty of those to choose from. Read on for three of our top choices.

Luke’s Lightsaber

There are a lot of mysteries about Luke Skywalker’s behavior in the sequel trilogy, but there’s one in particular that seems like it would make for a satisfying movie or TV show: the fate of Luke’s first lightsaber. Luke lost the weapon at the end of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and we didn’t see it again until Star Wars: The Force Awakens when it ended up in the possession of the “pirate queen” Maz Kanata. There’s surely a story about how it got there, and the lives it touched along the way.

Keep in mind that this wasn’t just Luke’s lightsaber — it originally belonged to Anakin. In fact, Anakin was still using this lightsaber when he first turned to the dark side, earning it some grim nicknames from fans online. In Empire, it fell into the depths of Cloud City along with Luke’s severed hand, and he escaped without it on the Millennium Falcon. The next time we see it, Maz is offering it to Finn and Rey.

[RELATED: Skeleton Crew Further Proves Star Wars Is Better Under Disney]

There is one other canonical off-screen mention of the lightsaber — a 2020 comic book shows Luke returning to Bespin shortly after his duel with Darth Vader, searching for his lightsaber in Cloud City below. Ultimately, he is called away by other responsibilities before he can find it, and he eventually determines that it’s not worth it to go hunting after the past. Cloud City remained under imperial control of Cloud City for several more years after that, so it would be interesting to see who found this lightsaber and how it got into friendlier hands.

The Mysteries of Yoda’s Species

Fans would love more details on Yoda’s mysterious species at any point in the timeline, but with the popularity of The Mandalorian and Grogu, it seems likely that we’ll learn more within the setting we’re most familiar with. Yoda’s homeworld and species have been left intentionally vague from the beginning, though it is becoming clearer that they are all naturally Force-sensitive. So far, we’ve only met three members of this race: Master Yoda, Master Yaddle, and Grogu.

We know for sure that this species is very ancient and rare, and that its members have a naturally long lifespan of at least several centuries. It’s also hinted that they are born with a naturally high Midi-chlorian count, giving them a natural affinity for the Force. We don’t know where this species comes from, but it seems likely that we’ll learn more about Grogu’s past, at least, in the upcoming movie The Mandalorian & Grogu, which hits theaters on May 22, 2026. The question is whether that will include more general tidbits about his species or not.

Palpatine’s Return

Finally, Star Wars will have to address the mystery of Palpatine’s return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker eventually. The Sith lord was defeated in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi — thrown from the Death Star by his own apprentice — and he himself confirmed that he died in this incident. We see that he returned from the dead with some help from cloning technology, but we don’t learn anything else about how.

Rise of Skywalker was infuriatingly vague about this plot point. At times, it almost seemed uninterested in this question and dismissive of fans’ curiosity, like with Poe Dameron’s hasty line, “Somehow, Palpatine has returned.” When asked how he did it, Palpatine himself simply reiterated a line from an earlier movie verbatim, “The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many powers some consider to be unnatural.”

There are plenty of explanations for this comeback that could be consistent and satisfying — perhaps Palpatine had prepared a cloning apparatus in advance to trigger if he died. Perhaps he had other agents as loyal as Darth Vader who helped him get to Exegol. Palpatine already mentioned that his own master, Darth Plagueis, had developed a means of overcoming death through the Force, so it makes sense that he’d be trying to advance that project himself. However he did it, seeing how Palpatine returned from the dead would go a long way in redeeming Rise of Skywalker for many fans.

You can stream all 11 Star Wars movies now on Disney+, along with most of the TV shows and specials as well. The latest title in the franchise is Skeleton Crew, which airs its season finale on Tuesday, January 14th on Disney+.

The post 3 Major Star Wars Questions That Still Need to Be Answered appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Actor Julia Garner has starred in a variety of thrilling movies, with one of her first roles being in the cannibalistic remake of We Are What We Are, while 2023’s The Royal Hotel wasn’t jam-packed with outright terror, but explored a highly tense vacation that went wrong at a variety of levels. Her latest movie, Wolf Man, manages to incorporate some psychological anxiety into an experience that harkens back to seminal components of the genre, as she faces off against a character undergoing a monstrous transformation. Additionally, her character undergoes some emotional tension in her life before ever encountering a beastly presence. Wolf Man is set to hit theaters on January 17th.

In the film, Garner plays Charlotte, a woman who has been focusing on her career, which puts strain on her marriage to Blake (Christopher Abbott). The specifics of the relationship mean the actors were tasked with conveying both emotional distance and intimacy.

“We had quite a bit of rehearsal and, with the rehearsal, it was a lot of talking about the relationship and what it used to be and how it got to that place where it is in the film, at the moment. We just discussed it a lot, we had quite a bit of rehearsal,” the actor shared with ComicBook.

In regards to how the monster movie compares to her previous genre efforts, she added, “This project, to me, is actually different than any other project that I’ve done, even in the past, because there’s much more action. And then it is very tense, but there’s a lot of action in this movie. There’s a lot of running. It’s a little scarier because it’s actually happening, but yeah, it was super fun.”

[RELATED – Wolf Man Star Christopher Abbott Talks Becoming a Creature of the Night]

Wolf Man is described, “What if someone you loved became something else? From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man. Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

“But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without. The film co-stars Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid’s Tale), Ben Prendergast (The Sojourn Audio Drama), and Benedict Hardie (The Invisible Man).”

Complicating the filming process further is that, while the movie unfolded under a short period of time, it was shot out of sequence. This meant Garner and the rest of the cast had to quickly be able to get into the mindset of their characters at disparate points of their journey with short notice.

“Well, shooting out of sequence is always hard, and that’s why you always have to almost, like, memorize a script, just so that you can know it in your bones,” the actor detailed. “I read the script fully, multiple times, but then I also read it almost every night, just different pages every night, too, when I get home. And also ten pages before what we have to shoot the next day.”

Wolf Man lands in theaters on January 17th.

Are you looking forward to the movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

The post Wolf Man Star Julia Garner Opens Up About the Freaky New Film appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Harry Potter has launched a surprising new crossover with a famous anime and manga franchise, Detective Conan. The Harry Potter franchise is now in the works on multiple projects hoping to recapture the magic that the original books and movies were able to tap into many years ago, and part of that effort has led to some awesome team ups with other franchises. One of these new team ups has recently hit Japan as Harry Potter is now uniting forces with one of the longest (and one of the most popular) anime and manga franchises currently still running with new entries today.

The official social accounts for Harry Potter and Gosho Aoyama’s Detective Conan (as spotted by Oricon News) have officially announced that they are kicking off a new collaboration between the two franchises. While the details of what this new collaboration will entail are still largely being kept a mystery as of the time of this publication, this new crossover has kicked off with a special new poster that sees both crews of their respective series ready to take on the world. Check out the first look at the new Harry Potter and Detective Conan crossover below.

Why Is Detective Conan Teaming Up With Harry Potter?

As for why the two franchises are teaming up, there are a few different reasons why it could be the case. The first is that both stars at the center of their respective series are notable for their distinct glasses (which is something fans of both immediately noticed when the crossover was first announced), and secondly is the fact that both of these franchises have some kind of presence at Universal Studios Japan. But it’s yet to be revealed what exactly this new team up between the two will actually result in.

While Detective Conan isn’t as huge of a franchise in the United States (as most fans in the West might more recognize it under its English language licensed title, Case Closed), it’s actually huge in its native japan. Series creator Gosho Aoyama first launched the original Detective Conan manga in the pages of Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday back in 1994, and has been running with new chapters ever since. Each anime release that has hit theaters in Japan has gone on to dominate the box office too, so it’s even more successful than Harry Potter in the region.

RELATED: Naruto & Burger King Are Teaming Up for Tasty New Collab

What’s Next for Detective Conan?

Detective Conan does so well in theaters overseas, in fact, that it has a new feature film currently slated to release later this Spring. Titled Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback, the next film is actually the 28th in the long running and successful franchise. Debuting in theaters across Japan beginning on April 18th, there has yet to be any international release plans announced for the new film as of the time of this publication. But given that it’s just not as popular in the West, there might be quite a wait before fans outside of Japan get to see this one.

As for what to expect from the new movie, Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback is teased as such, “The son of a world-famous mystery writer, Shinichi Kudo, has achieved his own notoriety by assisting the local police as a student detective. He has always been able to solve the most difficult of criminal cases using his wits and power of reason.” With this new collaboration with Harry Potter also in the works, we’re likely to see some forward momentum on it soon enough.

HT – Oricon News

The post Harry Potter Launches Surprise Anime Crossover appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Suzanne Collin will release a second Hunger Games prequel book series in March, with a movie adaptation in 2026, and there exist a myriad of possible similar projects to come after. Sunrise on the Reaping will follow a teenage Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games. The upcoming title follows the Coriolanus Snow prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which was released as a novel in 2020 and a Francis Lawrence-directed film in 2023. Fans of the Hunger Games books and movies want to see many more characters’ backstories highlighted both on the pages and on the big screen. Should Collins pen more prequels in the future, these five characters would be the best subjects to build a story around.

Finnick Odair

Fan-favorite Hunger Games character Finnick Odair was portrayed on screen by Sam Claflin in 2013’s Catching Fire and Mockingjay parts 1 and 2. The native of District 4 survived the Third Quarter Quell and later joined District 13’s fight against the Capitol. A hypothetical prequel focused on Finnick could tell the story of his victory in the 65th Games, which he won when he was only 14. Moreover, the background of Finnick’s romance with Annie Cresta was only lightly touched on in the novels and movies, so there is plenty of material to further explore in a future project.

Johanna Mason

District 7’s Johanna Mason won the 71st Games and, like Finnick, became one of the victors selected to compete in Catching Fire‘s 75th Games. Jena Malone’s character was captured by the Capitol at the end of the second book. Emaciated and injured as a result of torture before being rescued, Johanna resided in District 13 during Mockingjay‘s storyline; unfortunately, most of the arc involving her time spent recovering and training with Katniss was cut from the movies, so a prequel centered around her first stint in the Hunger Games could somewhat remedy that shortcoming.

[RELATED – The Hunger Games Franchise, Ranked]

President Coin

The presence of District 13 President Alma Coin serves as a fascinating counterpart to President Snow in the Mockingjay book and movies. Julianne Moore’s character emerged victorious over Snow and the Capitol’s forces; however, a fatal arrow from Katniss Everdeen ensured that her reign would not continue. It’s only fitting that a Coin-centric origin story would succeed a President Snow prequel at some point down the line. There is much to be uncovered about Coin’s rise to power in District 13.

Cinna

A beloved character by readers and movie-watchers alike, Cinna remains one of the franchise’s most inspiring figures, and his death one of the saddest. Portrayed by Lenny Kravitz onscreen, Cinna served as Katniss’ stylist ahead of the 74th and 75th Games. His expertise in showcasing the spirit of District 12 and the clever addition of his own rebellious flair made him an endearing force. Cinna’s creation of Katniss’ flaming attire earned her the nickname “girl on fire,” and his heartbreaking death in Catching Fire intensified her resentment of the Capitol. A prequel based on Cinna’s life before meeting Katniss would take the Hunger Games series in a different direction by shining a light on the behind-the-scenes and fashion aspects of the competition. It would also be fascinating to learn what exactly turned Cinna against the Capitol, given that he was born and raised there.

Lucy Gray Baird

One final fantastic, if unlikely, candidate for a future Hunger Games prequel is Lucy Gray Baird. The courageous fighter and talented musician, played by Rachel Zegler in the film, won the 10th annual Hunger Games, yet disappeared into the woods beyond District 12 soon after, never to be seen again. Although she featured extensively in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lucy Gray was not the novel’s POV character. Thus, a sequel to the aforementioned title —which would still serve as a prequel to the main Hunger Games Trilogy — makes perfect sense. Lucy Gray’s ending was intentionally left vague, but a successive project revealing what happened to her after fleeing District 12 would be interesting, considering the possibility that she reached District 13. Plus, Zegler was so outstanding in the role that it seems like a crime to never bring her back to the franchise in some capacity.

The Hunger Games movies are streaming on Hulu and air on TNT and TBS.

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Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is getting up, up and away. Filming has begun on the next DC Studios film following summer’s Superman, which officially launches the DC Universe from James Gunn and Peter Safran. Milly Alcock (HBO’s House of the Dragon) is playing Kara Zor-El/Supergirl — the Krypton-born cousin of Kal-El/Superman (David Corenswet) — leading a cast that includes Eve Ridley (3 Body Problem) as the plain-raised alien girl Ruthye Marye Knoll, Matthias Schoenaerts (The Old Guard) as the Kingsagent Krem of the Yellow Hills, and Jason Momoa (Aquaman) as intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo.

The second DCU film is shooting at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the U.K., already home to Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon and future site of the main hub for DC Studios starting in 2027. (While the Atlanta-based Superman shot in the United States, Gunn has confirmed most future DC projects will film in London.)

RELATED: DC Movies and TV Shows to Watch After Creature Commandos

Productions shot on the state-of-the-art film and television studio’s soundstages include the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films, Barbie, and DC adaptations Wonder Woman (2017), Justice League (2017), Pennyworth (2019), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Sandman (2022), The Batman (2022), The Flash (2023), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). The Batman 2 and HBO’s Harry Potter TV series are also scheduled to shoot at WBSL this year.

Gunn and Safran are producing Supergirl, which is directed by I, Tonya and Cruella‘s Craig Gillespie. Ana Nogueira (The Vampire Diaries), who is also scripting the Teen Titans movie for DC Studios, wrote the screenplay based on the eight-issue Woman of Tomorrow comic book run by writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely.

The True Grit-inspired series sees the 21-year-old Supergirl — one of the last survivors of the planet Krypton — chaperone farm girl Ruthye on a galaxy-spanning journey for justice to track down her father’s killer: Krem of the Yellow Hills. And to avenge another of Krem’s victims, vulnerable and wounded while under a red sun: Superman’s beloved dog, Krypto. Over eight issues, Kara and Ruthye embark on a months-long quest as they battle bounty hunters, dinosaur-like alien beasts, and space dragons.

It’s a “much more hardcore” version of the F-bomb-dropping Supergirl, Gunn said when announcing the DCU Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters in 2023. “We see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he’s an infant, versus Supergirl, who was raised on a rock chip off of Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life.”

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is scheduled to open in theaters on June 26, 2026.

The post Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Movie Starts Filming appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One fan has taken it upon themselves to include Logan’s mask in his epic fight scene against Wade Wilson in Deadpool & Wolverine. There were many exciting moments in the third Deadpool movie that brought Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine, while also welcoming the duo into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One moment that stood out featured a fight between Deadpool and Wolverine, but in the movie Logan had yet to dawn his iconic mask. However, a creative fan took care of that by digitally inserting the mask on top of Jackman’s head as Adamantium claws slashed and swords stabbed away.

Taran Singh, a VFX supervisor and generalist, shared his fan-edited video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, “And here it is folks! DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE FIGHT MASK EDITION! This one was challenging but I’m glad how it turned out! #DeadpoolAndWolverine” To borrow a phrase from Deadpool, Singh gave the people what they wanted, as Wolverine’s mask is seamlessly integrated into the film. It had to take a lot of hours to make an edit like this, and Singh even shared a higher quality version on their YouTube account.

[RELATED: Ryan Reynolds Makes the Case for Deadpool & Wolverine Oscar Nominations]

Rob Liefeld comments on Cable being left out of Deadpool & Wolverine

Rob Liefeld, the comic book creator of Deadpool and Cable, had some choice words for Cable being left out of Deadpool & Wolverine. Josh Brolin portrayed Cable in Deadpool 2, and the assumption is Cable, along with Domino, would return for the sequel. However, with Wolverine taking center stage, it seems Marvel decided to keep the focus on the two leading men. Liefeld, ever outspoken, disagreed with that choice.

Famed fan artists Bosslogic shared concept art of Josh Brolin as the DC villain Darkseid. When one fan seemed intrigued by the prospect of the DCU snatching Brolin from the MCU, Rob Liefeld had this to say:

“Shouldn’t have blocked him from Deadpool & Wolverine. All time boner move.”

[RELATED: Marvel Reveals First Look at Deadpool and Wolverine’s Next Team-Up]

Even before the film’s release, Brolin jokingly(?) indicated that he felt some kind of way about being left out of Deadpool & Wolverine, explaining to Collider that it was, “Because Ryan [Reynolds] doesn’t like me? I don’t think that’s the reason. I don’t know. Maybe.”

In a different interview with Bingeworthy TV, Brolin said, “I so wanted to be in that movie,” when it came to Deadpool & Wolverine. Still, there are a lot of MCU fans who truly believe that Brolin’s Cable could (will?) show up again in event-level projects like Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, providing yet another crucial bridge between the old Fox X-Men Universe and whatever X-Men reboot Marvel Studios has in the works. Brolin’s Marvel movie opportunities are far from over.

Deadpool & Wolverine is now available to stream on Disney+.

The post Wolverine Sports Iconic Mask in Fan Edit of Epic Deadpool Fight appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Captain America: Brave New World is arriving in theaters with a very unexpected record to its name. The upcoming fourth installment of Marvel Studios’ Captain America franchise, Brave New World, also stands as the Captain America movie with the shortest run time. By comparison, its three predecessors carried more standard run times expected of modern superhero movies.

Per Discussing Film, Captain America: Brave New World carries a run time of one hour and 58 minutes, or 118 minutes. By comparison, 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger was released with a run time of 124 minutes, with its 2014 follow-up Captain America: The Winter Soldier having a run time of 136 minutes. Additionally, 2016’s Captain America: Civil War is the longest of the four Captain America films, with a run time of 147 minutes.

Anthony Mackie previously returned as Sam Wilson in the 2021 Disney + series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which continued Sam’s arc from the ending of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. That movie saw the now-elderly Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) formally step down as Captain America (after time-traveling with the Infinity Stones to live the full life he previously missed out on during his frozen stasis), with Steve passing his Vibranium shield onto his trusted ally Sam. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier acted as its own Captain America origin story for Sam, with Brave New World set to be his first full story as Captain America.

RELATED: Captain America: Brave New World – Who Is the Villain?

Brave New World will see Sam at odds with newly elected President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford). Ross formerly sought to bring the Avengers under more direct government control with the Sokovia Accords in Captain America: Civil War (Ross was then portrayed by the late William Hurt), and the trailers for Brave New World show President Ross wanting Sam to become a direct agent of the U.S. government. Like Steve Rogers before him, Sam Wilson rejects the idea of being a superhero under the government’s control, setting up the conflict of Brave New World.

The fact that Sam has already undergone a Captain America origin story in episodic form could account for why Brave New World is substantially shorter than the previous Captain America movies. With Sam having fully taken up the shield and mantle bequeathed to him by Steve, the aim might simply be to get the ball rolling on his next mission as quickly as possible. Indeed, Sam has quite a challenge ahead of him with President Ross becoming the Red Hulk.

With the MCU’s long-awaited debut of General-turned-President Ross as the Red Hulk, Brave New World promises to be a very action-heavy and to-the-point MCU adventure. While some superhero movies need longer run times to tell their stories, it seems that Marvel Studios and the makers of Brave New World feel that being just under two hours is all that’s needed for Sam’s first big-screen adventure as Captain America. Indeed, Sam’s first Captain America movie is only six minutes shorter than Steve’s, so the run time for Captain America: Brave New World isn’t necessarily a drastic comedown, but it is nonetheless a record in storytelling brevity for the Captain America franchise.

Captain America: Brave New World will be released in theaters on February 14th.

The post Captain America: Brave New World Already Sets a Record for the Franchise (And It’s Surprising) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a rollicking rollercoaster of cinema constantly delivering new characters people never thought they’d see headline major motion pictures (Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, etc.) all leading up to a pair of massive Avengers sequels. It was a collection of eleven movies that, in their own unique ways, paid off the storytelling Marvel Studios had been delivering since 2008. Along the way, countless actors stepped into this franchise to inhabit characters big and small across these motion pictures.

However, there were inevitably a bunch of actors rumored for roles in the Phase Three MCU movies that never came to be. A slew of factors, from scheduling conflicts to pay disputes to the producers opting to go in a different direction, led to these potential high-profile castings going up in smoke. Years later, they’re all now fascinating “What If…?” scenarios unto themselves. What would Phase Three have looked like if these actors had joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Morgan Freeman in Doctor Strange

Before the Ancient One was brought to live-action for the very first time in Doctor Strange, a slew of actors were considered for the role that would eventually go to Tilda Swinton. Among that initial trio was Morgan Freeman, who would’ve made this not only his MCU debut but also his umpteenth mentor role. Other rumored names like Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy indicate The Ancient One was once supposed to maintain his male gender (and even ethnicity) from the comics. Eventually, a radical new direction was taken with scoring Oscar-winner Swinton in the role, instead.

Matthew McConaughey in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

One of the leading finalists for the role of Ego the Living Planet in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was none other than Matthew McConaughey. The actor was so attached to the role that concept art was even drummed up imagining McConaughey as Ego, but Kurt Russell would eventually secure the part instead. As for why the casting fell apart, McConaughey apparently had to choose between Vol. 2 and The Dark Tower. Since the latter project wasn’t a sequel, McConaughey opted to anchor that Stephen King adaptation that turned into a box office flop.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Black Panther

For the role of M’Baku in Black Panther, director Ryan Coogler and company were apparently looking for a lesser-known face to inhabit this scene-stealing character. Before settling on Winston Duke, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was reportedly a major contender for this part. Though he missed out on this role, Abdul-Mateen II would later get menace Aquaman as Black Manta across two Aquaman installments, as well as heading the Marvel Studios TV show Wonder Man.

Asa Butterfield in Captain America: Civil War

The process of casting the MCU’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man for his debut appearance in Captain America: Civil War was a heavily contested one, with countless young men auditioning for the role. One of the finalists for the part was none other than Asa Butterfield. This young actor had cut his teeth on a slew of acclaimed 2010s movies like Hugo, which certainly made it seem like he had some prestige at his back compared to other candidates. Eventually, Butterfield and all the countless other casting options were passed over for Tom Holland’s eventually iconic Spider-Man performance.

[RELATED: 7 Directors Who Nearly Helmed Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies]

Rebecca Ferguson in Captain Marvel

Speaking of MCU roles that everyone was after, it felt like every woman of a certain age in the film industry was briefly buzzed about for the role of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel across 2015 and early 2016. Two months after she crushed it in her action-heavy Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation role, Rebecca Ferguson was rumored to be a top contender for playing Danvers and her superhero alter-ego. Eventually, of course, Brie Larson would secure the role while Ferguson would remain busy with further Mission: Impossible outings and the Dune saga.

David Cross in Avengers: Infinity War

After Anthony and Joe Russo snuck in props and characters from their sitcom directing days into their first two Marvel Cinematic Universe outings, all eyes were on who or what would show up in their third MCU feature, Avengers: Infinity War. Pre-release rumors that David Cross (from Arrested Development, a show the two directors helmed many episodes of) would show up didn’t quite come to pass. The Russo Brothers confirmed Cross couldn’t show up in the movie due to scheduling conflicts. However, a molded cast of his Tobias Funke character does briefly show up in the production.

Joaquin Phoenix in Doctor Strange

The world very nearly didn’t get to experience Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. Though now thought of as indispensable to this character’s live-action incarnation, Cumberbatch originally couldn’t anchor Doctor Strange due to scheduling conflicts. This led to director Scott Derrickson and company engaging in talks with Joaquin Phoenix to take on the role despite Cumberbatch being the first choice. Per Derrickson, Phoenix was the actor who came closest to replacing Cumberbatch, but it eventually became obvious that he just wouldn’t fit right into this particular franchise. Doctor Strange‘s release date getting delayed four months allowed for the Cumberbatch casting to come through after all.

All these Marvel movies are available to stream on Disney+.

The post You Won’t Believe These Actors Were Once Rumored For MCU Phase Three Movie Roles appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Alien: Romulus has been an absolute lightning rod for the ongoing Alien franchise. Director Fede Alvarez took things back to Ridley Scott’s horror roots with Romulus, resulting in more than $350 million at the global box office and heaps of praise from viewers. It feels like a sequel to Romulus is inevitable at this point, but the Alien franchise has a proud tradition of reinvention with its sequels, exploring new territory with each installment. With the inevitable follow-up to Romulus, Alvarez is hoping to follow suit.

During a recent interview with Empire, Alvarez said that he and co-writer Rodo Sayagues are currently trying to crack the code on an Alien: Romulus sequel. They have the challenge of wanting to incorporate elements and characters from Romulus that have more gas in the tank, while also figuring out how to navigate new territory.

“Rodo [Sayagues] and I are working on that right now,” he told Empire. “We’re excited about where it can go. We’ve almost checked all of the boxes of things that I want to see [in Romulus], and brought back a lot of the things I hadn’t seen in a while. Wherever we go now, we can go into uncharted waters.”

“I think it’ll be so exciting to go with characters you know from this movie, to a place in the Alien franchise that we’ve never been before, and to discover things that you’ve never seen before,” he added.

[RELATED: A VHS Collector Reviews Disney’s Alien: Romulus VHS Release]

Alvarez went on to say that, just because they are working through a story for an Alien: Romulus sequel, there’s no guarantee this movie actually happens. They’re trying to find a story that’s “worthy of the title” of the Alien franchise. If they can’t crack that code, it sounds like Alvarez is willing to move on without a second film.

“The mistake usually with sequels is to make them because you can, and because of the success of Romulus, we definitely can make a sequel,” he states. “But I wouldn’t do it unless we have a really good idea for it, something that’s worthy of the title.”

This is a sentiment that the filmmaker has shared on numerous occasions since Romulus first debuted.

“[It’s] not until we find something that we go ‘Ok, that is a movie worth making’ that we really embark on it,” he told io9 back in November. “So that’s the process we are in right now, trying to find a story that is worthy of everyone’s time and is worthy of the title. Otherwise, you never want to fall into the mistake of making [a sequel] just because the first one is a big hit.”

The post Alien: Romulus Director Teases How Sequel Will Head to “Uncharted” Territory for the Franchise appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Live-action anime adaptations are growing more popular, thanks in no small part to Netflix’s One Piece series hitting the ground floor running. While North America is getting in on the live-action anime train, Japan has been out of the station for years at this point. Properties such as Rurouni Kenshin, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, Tokyo Revengers, and Cells At Work have received their own feature-length films and a major vampire-centric anime was looking to do the same this year. Unfortunately, this project that would have brought Baban Baban Ban Vampire to life has had to be delayed due to “circumstances” beyond the team’s control.

Originally, the Baban Baban Ban Vampire live-action movie was slated to arrive on February 14th in Japan, Valentine’s Day, to unleash its supernatural adventure that was far more of a comedy than anything else. While it hasn’t been confirmed why the film has been delayed, recent news regarding the films lead, actor Ryo Yoshizawa, has surfaced that has many anime fans believing his recent altercation with a neighbor might be the cause. On December 30th, Yoshizawa allegedly entered his neighbor’s apartment while intoxicated instead of his own. Ryo has since apologized and moved out of the apartment.

[RELATED: Vampire Hunter D Celebrates 40th Anniversary With New Project]

A Vampire Delayed

In an official statement on Baban Baban Bang Vampire’s official website, the Film Production Committee shared the following message: “Regarding the film “Baban Baban Bang Vampire,” which was scheduled to be released on Friday, February 14, 2025, in light of various circumstances and after discussions with all parties concerned, we have decided to postpone the release date. We apologize for any inconvenience this postponement may cause to everyone who was looking forward to the release of the film, and we appreciate your understanding.”

The official statement continued, “The new release date will be announced on the film’s official website and official social media accounts as soon as it is decided. In addition, advance Mubichike tickets (cards or online) that you have already purchased can be used when the film is released after the postponement, so please keep them until the release date. We look forward to your continued support for the movie “Baban Baban Ban Vampire.”

Where To Catch This Vampire Anime

Baban Baban Ban Vampire’s anime adaptation is a Netflix exclusive, with the first episode kicking off the streaming service’s new year in the anime department. The official description for the supernatural anime series reads as such, “When 15-year-old Rihito falls in love, an ancient vampire who craves 18-year-old virgin blood must protect the teen’s virginity at all costs.”

The franchise first began as a manga from creator Hiromasa Okujima in 2021, releasing eight volumes of its printed story to date. As the story continues, it has yet to be seen just how popular the anime is but with an eventual live-action movie, perhaps it’s a safe bet that a season two is on the way.

Want to see what the future holds for this unique anime vampire? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Baban Baban Ban Vampire and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

Via ANN

The post Live-Action Vampire Anime Adaptation Postponed Due To Main Actor Controversy appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has been a real adventure. The coming-of-age story from series creators Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Christopher Ford (Chaos Walking) — which sees the enigmatic Force user Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) chaperone lost kids Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) on a spacefaring adventure seeking home and pirate’s treasure — finishes its eight-episode first season Tuesday on Disney+. Now fans are asking: Is Skeleton Crew renewed for season 2?

To quote Yoda: “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”

The Dec. 2 two-episode series premiere failed to enter the Nielsen top 10 — a first for a live-action Star Wars series — despite strong reviews. (At 95 percent approval from critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Skeleton Crew was better critically received than every live-action Star Wars show except for Andor.) To compare, the June series premiere of The Acolyte charted on Nielsen with 488 million minutes viewed from its two-episode premiere, only for that series to be canceled in August 2024.

RELATED: Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie, From The Mandalorian & Grogu to Star Wars Episode X

Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman told Vulture on Dec. 19 that Acolyte‘s performance “wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title,” which went over budget at a reported cost of $230 million. Meanwhile, Disney+ has “seen some growth” on Skeleton Crew and “the reviews have been excellent,” Bergman said, “so we’ll have to see how that all plays out as it moves forward.”

As Lucasfilm readies its return to theaters with the Jon Favreau-directed The Mandalorian & Grogu film in 2026 — the first Star Wars feature since The Rise of Skywalker capped off the nine-movie Skywalker Saga in 2019 — the studio will also continue to expand the Star Wars galaxy on Disney+. The second and final season of Andor, the prequel leading up to the events of Rogue One, arrives in April, and Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni is penning Ahsoka season 2 ahead of his forthcoming New Republic film set during the post-Return of the Jedi timeline of The Mandalorian.

Filoni’s as-yet-untitled film, which will close out the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, was one of three new Star Wars movies announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023. James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) is directing a film set at the dawn of the Jedi, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel, Saving Face) is helming a film set after the events of the Star Wars sequel trilogy that follows Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) as she builds a new Jedi Order.

So far, only The Mandalorian movie has a theatrical release date: May 22, 2026. A fourth season of the flagship Star Wars series about helmeted bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and the Force-trained Mandalorian Grogu is in development at Disney+, although Lucasfilm has yet to announce anything beyond Andor season 2 and Ahsoka season 2.

“We have Andor season two, which we’re really excited about. It is excellent. I’ve watched all the episodes, and it is a fantastic season. And then we have Ahsoka season two, which Dave Filoni is leading,” Bergman told Vulture. “And then we’re looking at a number of additional series that are in development. We’ll see what we decide to do.”

“They have to be great, and when we’re in the position where we think we have what we want, we’re going to move forward,” he continued. “In terms of the films, at this point we have Mandalorian, which is coming out Memorial Day of ‘26, and we’ve got a number of films that we are developing. When we’re ready, we’ll be making announcements as to what those are.”

Bergman went on to say that Disney is looking to make some streaming titles “as economical as possible” but that “the whole goal, in whatever we do, is quality.”

“It’s the most important thing, and we won’t do anything that we don’t think is quality,” he said. “So I think what you’re going to see is a mix of those series that have more visual effects and will certainly be more expensive. And then you’re going to see some titles that are less expensive because they have less visual effects. But what they’ll both have are great stories.”

The Star Wars: Skeleton Crew finale premieres Jan. 14 on Disney+.

The post What’s Next for Star Wars After the Skeleton Crew Finale appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou recently revealed that despite decades of acclaimed performances across prestige dramas and blockbuster franchises, he still struggles financially in Hollywood. The news is outrageous, to say the least, as Hounsou’s illustrious career has put him front and center of box office hits and critical darlings, which are only as good as they are due to the star’s intense and nuanced performances. Hounsou’s experience with persistent lowball offers and demeaning salary negotiations illuminates the entertainment industry’s systemic inequities.

So, the time is right to remember why the actor is a Hollywood powerhouse who should be paid accordingly. Here are five Djimon Hounsou performances that illustrate the depth and impact of his work.

Chief Mbonga in The Legend of Tarzan

Vengeance rarely wears a face as compelling as Hounsou’s Chief Mbonga. Where lesser actors might have surrendered to stereotype in this reimagined Tarzan tale, Hounsou excavates the wounded heart of a father mourning his murdered son. His commanding physical presence becomes merely the vessel for something far more intimate: a flaming grief pulsating beneath every scene featuring Hounsou.

Director David Yates’ The Legend of Tarzan failed to connect with critics and audiences. Still, Hounsou’s role in the jungle adventure is unanimously considered the movie’s highlight. That’s not a surprise, as Hounsou’s performance remains defiantly human, even if surrounded by CGI spectacle. While The Legend of Tarzan is far from being the best movie in Hounsou’s career, his take on Chief Mbonga is a reminder that a great actor can be mesmerizing despite the potential flaws in a movie’s script and direction.

Juba in Gladiator

In Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning epic, Hounsou transforms what could have been a disposable supporting role into one of Gladiator‘s most memorable characters. As Juba, a Numidian warrior forced into gladiatorial combat, Hounsou creates startling intimacy amid the film’s sweeping spectacle. For example, his nighttime conversations with Russell Crowe’s Maximus reveal an actor capable of finding profound humanity in the smallest moments.

Gladiator dominated the 2001 Academy Awards with five wins, including Best Picture, and critics particularly praised the film’s ability to balance intimate character moments with grand historical drama. Hounsou’s contribution to this balance proves essential, as his Juba provides spiritual guidance and warrior counsel to Russel Crowe’s protagonist. The final scene, where he buries Maximus’s family totems in the Colosseum sand, demonstrates how Hounsou can convey volumes without words, providing the emotional resolution this blood-soaked revenge tale desperately needs.

[RELATED: Djimon Hounsou Reveals How Rebel Moon Brought Friendship With Zack Snyder Full Circle]

Mateo in In America

Jim Sheridan’s semi-autobiographical drama earned three Oscar nominations, including Hounsou’s first for Best Supporting Actor. As Mateo, an artist dying of AIDS who befriends an immigrant Irish family, Hounsou shatters stereotypes about terminal illness through sheer force of nuance. His character enters as an angry shout through apartment walls but evolves into the emotional cornerstone of this intimate family portrait.

In America garnered universal acclaim for its delicate handling of grief and renewal, with critics particularly noting how Hounsou’s performance anchors the film’s exploration of healing. His scenes with Sarah (Samantha Morton) and Emma Bolger (Emma Bolger) achieve a rare authenticity, especially during a pivotal Halloween sequence where joy and mortality dance in unison. The role also marked a crucial departure from Hounsou’s more physically demanding characters, underlining his ability to command the screen through stillness and subtle emotion.

Solomon Vandy in Blood Diamond

Edward Zwick’s politically charged thriller uses Sierra Leone’s civil war as a backdrop for a story about conflict diamonds, earning five Academy Award nominations including Hounsou’s second for Best Supporting Actor. In the movie, Hounsou plays Solomon Vandy, a fisherman forced into diamond mining after being separated from his family.

While some critics found Blood Diamond‘s overall approach heavy-handed, Hounsou’s performance received universal acclaim. His interrogation scene following the discovery of a rare pink diamond stands as a masterclass in controlled escalation. Against Leonardo DiCaprio’s morally ambiguous Danny Archer, Hounsou’s Solomon emerges as the film’s conscience. Their opposing worldviews – Archer’s cynical opportunism versus Solomon’s desperate quest to reunite with his son – create the dramatic tension that drives the narrative forward.

Joseph Cinque in Amistad

Steven Spielberg’s historical drama about the 1839 slave ship rebellion thrust Hounsou into Hollywood’s spotlight with a performance that transcends mere acting. As Joseph Cinque, the Mende tribesman who led the revolt, Hounsou delivers one of cinema’s most powerful portrayals of the fight for human dignity. Despite earning a Golden Globe nomination, his shocking Oscar snub foreshadowed the industry’s persistent undervaluation of his talents.

Amistad received mixed reviews upon release, with some critics finding Spielberg’s approach too conventional for such powerful material. However, Hounsou’s portrayal garnered unanimous praise, particularly for his courthouse scenes delivered entirely in Mende. His testimony to John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) becomes the film’s defining moment, a monologue about ancestral strength that transcends language barriers through sheer emotional force. In capturing Cinque’s evolution from rebel to eloquent advocate for justice, Hounsou created an enduring portrait of resistance that resonates well beyond the film’s historical context.

The post 5 Djimon Hounsou Roles That Prove He’s a Hollywood Powerhouse appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The first entry in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy was released in theaters more than 23 years ago, and all three films continue to be wildly popular amongst fans to this day. The popularity of The Lord of the Rings has never waned. There are always new fans discovering J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth for the very first time, which also means that there are constantly new people asking questions that viewers have been asking for more than two decades. And one of the most common questions people continue to have about Lord of the Rings centers on the One Ring itself, and the potential plot hole that some believe it causes.

Essentially, the issue a lot of people have with Sauron’s “One ring to rule them all” is that it doesn’t seem to follow its own rules. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, we learn that wearing the ring for any amount of time signals the terrifying Nazgûl — also known as the Ringwraiths. They are drawn to it, no matter where it might be in Middle-earth, making it easy for them to track the ring down. These fallen kings of man use this ability to hunt Frodo throughout his journey to Mordor.

Where the problem exists for viewers is in the recent history of the ring prior to it being given to Frodo. Why did the Nazgûl never chase after Gollum or Bilbo when they were in possession of the ring? After all, the two of them were arguably much easier to catch, since neither were on a journey to destroy it (and at least Bilbo had little idea of the power the ring contained).

There is an answer to this question, don’t worry. The Lord of the Rings doesn’t hinge on a major plot hole. We’ve just got to unpack the situation a little bit.

Gollum had the ring for years and years while he was living under the Misty Mountains. And, Tolkien explains in The Hobbit, Gollum wore the ring a lot, often for extended periods of time. Then there’s Bilbo, who used the ring during the events of The Hobbit and would periodically use it over the course of the rest of his life in The Shire.

[RELATED: Lord of the Rings Fans Shocked by Legolas Discovery 20 Years Later]

Neither of those characters were ever disturbed by the Nazgûl in the decades they each had the ring. As soon as Frodo inherits it, though, they are coming for him. For a lot of viewers, it can seem like this is just an easy plot fix to create tension at the start of Frodo’s journey to Mordor. By introducing the Nazgûl, there’s an enormous sense of danger and urgency, and it keeps Frodo from simply hiding behind the safety of the ring’s invisibility throughout his quest.

So why didn’t the Nazgûl go after Bilbo or Gollum prior to the events of The Fellowship of the Ring? It may feel like this issue is just glossed over or ignored for the sake of the story, because the Nazgûl killing an unassuming hobbit in the Shire and giving Sauron his power back without a struggle wouldn’t make for a compelling tale.

The reason for all this comes back to Sauron himself, as well as the specific powers of the Nazgûl. From the time Sauron had the ring cut off his hand by Isildur, until the start of The Fellowship of the Ring, the Dark Lord was essentially in hiding, regaining his strength. This is addressed briefly at the beginning of Fellowship, as his sudden resurgence is really what kick-starts the entire story.

The Nazgûl’s powers are tied to that of Sauron, whom they became entirely connected to as their nine rings rotted them from the inside out. The once mighty kings of men essentially became slaves to the Dark Lord, forever harnessed to his power, and the power of his One Ring. So in the years Sauron didn’t have his power, the Nazgûl weren’t at their best either.

More importantly, Sauron wasn’t looking for the ring in all that time he was recovering. All of his efforts were put into gaining his power back and building his army. And tabs were kept on where the ring might have ended up, as evidenced by the capture and torture of Gollum (who tipped them off to the ring being in the Shire). But Sauron and his Nazgûl didn’t start actively searching for it until he was fully ready to return.

In the times when Gollum and Bilbo had the ring, nobody was trying to track it down. It isn’t like the Nazgûl had some magical alert system for the ring being used while they were dormant in Mordor. Once Sauron gave the order to find the ring and sent them out into Middle-earth (at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring), they began tracking when and where the ring slipped onto someone’s finger.

That someone just happened to be Frodo Baggins of The Shire.

The post Lord of the Rings Fans Are Still Confused by This One Ring Problem appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man landed in theaters back in 2020 and, only weeks later, theaters around the world were shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the months and years went by, the movie overcame those initial setbacks, earning lots of praise from audiences and critics alike. While star Elisabeth Moss has expressed her interest in a sequel, Whannell himself has cast doubt on a return. Producer on that reboot Beatriz Sequeira has confirmed that she is just as interested in seeing more of Moss in a follow-up, as she hopes that Whannell could return for another installment. Sequeira recently reunited with Whannell for Wolf Man, which is set to hit theaters on January 17th.

When asked by ComicBook if she could picture an Invisible Man sequel without Whannell, the producer confessed, “No, but I could see a sequel with everyone’s involvement, and we would love to see one. I just think that the character of Cecilia, it’s so fantastic, and I would want to see what she wants to do next.”

Given the nature of the film’s ending, the story doesn’t particularly need a follow-up, though the narrative seeds that were planted have sparked a lot of speculation among audiences. Back in 2022, Moss confirmed to ComicBook that the project hadn’t been put in the background, but this past October, Whannell confirmed that the future of the concept was in the studio’s hands.

“With Invisible Man, I really felt good about where we ended, for me,” Whannell confirmed to ComicBook. “I don’t own the IP for Invisible Man so Universal can make a sequel if they want to – but for me, as a filmmaker, I really think that was a closed story. I can’t see that there’s any more story to tell.”

[RELATED – The Invisible Man and Wolf Man Director Reveals Next Universal Monster He Wants to Adapt]

Despite the door seemingly having closed for Whannell on that character, we can see his skills at reviving another Universal Monster with the upcoming Wolf Man.

Wolf Man is described, “What if someone you loved became something else? From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man. Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

“But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without. The film co-stars Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid’s Tale), Ben Prendergast (The Sojourn Audio Drama), and Benedict Hardie (The Invisible Man).”

Stay tuned for updates on a possible sequel to The Invisible Man. Wolf Man hits theaters on January 17th.

Would you like to see the movie get a sequel? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

The post The Invisible Man Producer Addresses the Status of the Potential Sequel appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Universal Monsters are some of the most beloved creatures in all of cinema, as they’ve not only been brought to life in dozens of proper ways over the years, but have also inspired countless imitators. Many audiences would consider offering up a new take on 1941’s The Wolf Man as a sure-fire success, but with the shortcomings of 2010’s The Wolfman, it’s taken another 15 years to this month’s Wolf Man. One reason why fans, and producer Beatriz Sequeira, have more confidence in the upcoming take on the concept is that it comes from writer/director Leigh Whannell, who previously found success in his The Invisible Man. Wolf Man lands in theaters on January 17th.

“I do trust him implicitly, it was like, ‘In Leigh we trust,’ basically,” Sequeira shared with ComicBook about the project, with the two having also worked together on Invisible Man. But also when I saw it, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is happening.'”

Even with Sequeira’s confidence in Whannell, the Wolf Man hitting theaters this weekend has undergone some changes since it was initially announced. When the project was first announced in 2020, Ryan Gosling was expected to star, with the movie then adding Whannell. Director Derek Cianfrance then took over the project from Whannell, only for Christopher Abbott to step in for Gosling as Whannell reunited with the project. Despite the various changes, Sequeira explained that what audiences see in theaters aligns with Whannell’s original vision.

“Leigh’s version has not changed a lot,” the producer confirmed. “We definitely wanted to do a more grounded version of the Wolf Man movie, and I think that that never really changed, so a more human story of a Wolf Man.”

[RELATED – Wolf Man Star Christopher Abbott Talks Becoming a Creature of the Night]

Wolf Man is described, “What if someone you loved became something else? From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man. Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

“But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without. The film co-stars Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid’s Tale), Ben Prendergast (The Sojourn Audio Drama), and Benedict Hardie (The Invisible Man).”

Going along with the idea of making a more ground Wolf Man, a key component of that was reimaging what a “Wolf Man” would look like in this world. The final on-screen look of the creature is a credit to both Whannell’s vision and makeup designer Arjen Tuiten.

“So I introduced [Whannell] to Arjen Tuiten, who is the makeup designer, because I knew that we needed somebody that was a visionary and that will be very passionate about it,” the producer detailed of the monster’s look. “And they hit it off and then when the first time that we saw the maquette, I was like, ‘Well, that is it.'”

Wolf Man hits theaters on January 17th.

Are you looking forward to the movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

The post Wolf Man Producer Beatriz Sequeira Details the Journey of Reviving the Monster appeared first on ComicBook.com.

On Friday, January 17th, Grand Theft Hamlet will be released in U.S. theaters. The hook is simple: directors Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls have created a documentary about staging a production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto Online. While the concept sounds somewhat absurd, fans of Grand Theft Auto should take it somewhat seriously; Grand Theft Hamlet currently holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with more than 40 critics having weighed in on the film so far. The film has also won multiple awards already, including the Jury Award for best documentary feature at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.

Grand Theft Hamlet is a machinima production, similar to other high-profile projects like Skibidi Toilet and Red vs. Blue. The theatrical release for Grand Theft Hamlet is being handled by MUBI, and a trailer for the documentary can be found below.

Once Grand Theft Hamlet has been released in theaters, it will be interesting to see how audiences react. The challenge with a film like this is that it has two very different audiences to appeal to. On one hand, streams of GTA Online have done extremely well on Twitch, so it’s likely fans of the game will give it a chance. However, casual viewers might be hesitant about watching a documentary play out entirely within a video game. That’s going to be a tough sell for some theater goers. Apparently the audience does eventually get to see the cast, but not until the very end (presumably once the credits roll).

The concept of a documentary shot entirely in Grand Theft Auto Online came about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the lockdowns, artists were looking for ways to continue to stretch their creative muscles, and we got to see a lot of creativity as a result. Video games in particular became an outlet for many different people. Around the same time Crane and Grylls were creating a documentary in GTA Online, Rogue One co-writer Gary Whitta developed a talk show created entirely within the Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Similarly, various sports games were used to fill the void left by in-person events, with major athletes competing in iRacing competitions and Mario Tennis tournaments.

RELATED: 7 GTA Cameos You Missed in San Andreas, GTA 5, and More

At the very least, Grand Theft Hamlet could be a fun distraction for GTA fans hungry for new content related to the franchise. 2025 is supposed to be the year that Grand Theft Auto 6 is released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, though there has been speculation about whether the game will actually release during this calendar year. We’ve still got a long way to go to find out, so Grand Theft Hamlet could help to fill the void a little bit.

Are you planning to check out Grand Theft Hamlet? What do you think of the movie’s concept? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post New Movie Made Entirely in Grand Theft Auto Has Near Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Sony has released a first look teaser at its upcoming adaptation of Until Dawn. Adaptation is being used pretty loosely in this context, as the film does not directly cover the events of the PlayStation 4 game. We’ve known for some time now that the filmmakers planned on telling an original story, but we didn’t know exactly how that would work in practice. In a short video, Sony has now revealed the basic concept of Until Dawn, and how it relates to the source material. Apparently, the filmmakers are trying to replicate the gameplay’s basic concepts instead of its storyline.

In the first look video, writer/producer Gary Dauberman explains that his goal was to not give audiences the same experience they had while playing the game. Director David F. Sandberg says that the movie will have “the same tone and the same vibe, but it expands upon the universe.” Sandberg goes on to say that the game had players making different choices that resulted in the characters having different deaths. The film will attempt to replicate that idea, where the characters die and essentially start over in a different horror genre. To actually make it out alive, they have to make it through these events until dawn. The first look video can be found below.

All in all, this sounds like a fascinating attempt at bringing the game to the big screen. Like the movie, the Until Dawn video game mashed up different horror genres, starting out as something closer to a slasher film, before pivoting to a creature feature. In that way, the concept of these characters waking up in new horror genres does fit in pretty well with the game. Whether or not fans of Until Dawn will enjoy the result remains to be seen, but it’s an interesting approach, and the filmmakers clearly put a lot of thought into how best to adapt the game.

In addition to the concept of characters having multiple deaths, the filmmakers have also brought over one of the main actors from the game; Peter Stormare will be back in the film. In the Until Dawn video game, Stormare played Dr. Alan J. Hill, and he will also play someone named “Hill” in the movie. However, these two do not appear to be the same character.

RELATED: Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 Rumor Points to 2027 Movie Release

Unfortunately, the first look doesn’t offer a whole lot more information. We’re given some brief teases of the main cast, and some of the freakier occurrences they’ll be dealing with. The end of the first look promises that a trailer for Until Dawn will be arriving soon, so hopefully Sony won’t be keeping us in suspense for too much longer. With the movie slated to arrive in theaters on April 25th, we can probably expect to see something within the next few weeks, as Sony begins the hype cycle.

Are you looking forward to Until Dawn? Would you have preferred a direct adaptation? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Until Dawn First Look Explains the Movie’s Differences from the Game appeared first on ComicBook.com.

While many Star Wars fans are familiar with bounty hunters like Boba Fett and Cad Bane, Embo remains a relatively obscure character despite being one of the most formidable hunters during the Clone Wars era. That might soon change, as recent rumors suggest that Dave Filoni’s fan-favorite bounty hunter from Star Wars: The Clone Wars might make his live-action debut as the main antagonist in The Mandalorian & Grogu. His potential inclusion in the upcoming movie could introduce this fascinating character to a broader audience while adding an exciting new threat to Din Djarin and Grogu’s adventures.

Embo is a male Kyuzo from the planet Phatrong who gained notoriety during the Clone Wars for his exceptional combat abilities and unique approach to bounty hunting. Standing at an impressive height of 1.99 meters, Embo’s most distinctive feature is his large-rimmed circular hat, which he uses both as a defensive shield and a deadly projectile weapon. Unlike many of his peers who rely heavily on advanced technology, Embo prefers a more traditional approach to hunting, wielding a bowcaster as his primary weapon, and depending on his physical prowess and tracking skills.

[RELATED: Star Wars: The Mandalorian’s Grogu Gets Anime-Style Short Series Ahead of New Movie (And It’s the Cutest)]

Throughout his appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Embo demonstrated his versatility by working with prominent bounty-hunting crews, including those led by Sugi, Cad Bane, and a young Boba Fett. However, his only true loyalty lies with his faithful companion Marrok, an anooba who assists him during his missions. This dedication to his pet reveals a more complex side to the otherwise stoic hunter.

Embo’s Rumored Role in The Mandalorian & Grogu

As The Mandalorian & Grogu enters post-production, the rumor mill has been running non-stop, with multiple sources trying to get leaks of the movie’s mysterious plot. One of these reports claims Embo might serve as the primary antagonist in The Mandalorian & Grogu, with Filoni – who originally voiced the character in The Clone Wars – expected to reprise his role. The rumors suggest that the plot revolves around a rescue mission to save Rotta the Hutt, who is allegedly being held hostage by Embo. This scenario would be particularly interesting given that Rotta, voiced by Jeremy Allen White, is now a fully grown crime lord, quite different from the infant Hutt that Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano once rescued.

If these rumors prove true, Embo’s inclusion could create an intriguing dynamic with Din Djarin, as both characters follow strict codes of honor despite their dangerous professions. Additionally, Embo’s presence might tie into the larger threat posed by the Shadow Council, especially considering that Imperial Warlord (played by Jonny Coyne) has been confirmed to appear in the film. Finally, Embo’s rumored involvement with Rotta the Hutt could explore the complex power dynamics in the post-Empire galaxy, especially concerning the criminal underworld’s relationship with both the New Republic and Imperial remnants.

The Mandalorian & Grogu is scheduled to hit theaters on May 22, 2026. While we await official confirmation about Embo’s role in the film, fans can watch his original appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, currently streaming on Disney+.

The post Star Wars: Who Is the Bounty Hunter Embo? And Is He in The Mandalorian and Grogu? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Peter Jackson’s iconic The Lord of the Rings trilogy stands as one of cinema’s greatest achievements, forever changing how audiences and critics view fantasy filmmaking. Each installment builds upon its predecessor, crafting an epic tale that transformed Hollywood’s approach to adaptation and special effects. During a recent interview with Letterboxd, the Academy Award-winning director opened up about which entry in his landmark trilogy he holds in the highest regard, a revelation that offers a fascinating insight into how Jackson views his own work.

In the interview, Jackson admitted he hasn’t revisited the trilogy since its release, explaining, “I can’t watch my own films. I just, I mean, one day… I sort of enjoy it more as more time goes by, so one day I’ll watch them again.” When asked to name his favorite installment, the director chose The Two Towers, though he quickly added, “But if I see them again I might have a totally different one.” This marks one of the rare occasions Jackson has discussed his personal preferences regarding the trilogy, which took nearly a decade of his life to bring to the screen, from initial pitching in 1995 through the release of the final film in 2003.

[RELATED: Why The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Owes Everything to This 1996 Horror-Comedy]

Given each film’s unique achievements, the director’s carefully measured response is no surprise. The Fellowship of the Ring introduced audiences to Middle-earth with groundbreaking visual effects and intimate character work, earning $871.5 million worldwide and four Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. The Two Towers expanded the scope with the battle of Helm’s Deep and the introduction of Gollum, the first convincing performance-captured character in film history, bringing in $926 million and winning two Oscars for Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. The Return of the King then made history by crossing the billion-dollar mark with $1.15 billion, becoming only the second film ever to achieve this milestone at the time, following James Cameron’s Titanic.

A Trilogy That Changed Hollywood Forever

The impact of Jackson’s adaptation extends far beyond box office numbers. The trilogy collectively earned 30 Academy Award nominations, winning an astounding 17 Oscars. The crown jewel of this achievement came when The Return of the King made Oscar history by winning all 11 Academy Awards it was nominated for, including Best Picture and Best Director. This clean sweep tied The Return of the King for the record of most wins by a single film, an honor it shares with 1959’s Ben-Hur and Titanic.

Behind the cameras, Jackson’s decision to film all three movies simultaneously over 438 consecutive days in New Zealand revolutionized blockbuster filmmaking. Plus, the trilogy’s innovative blend of practical effects, miniatures, and CGI created a new template for epic filmmaking. This inventive approach to franchise filming influenced subsequent series like Harry Potter and The Hobbit, while the trilogy’s success paved the way for other epic fantasy adaptations such as Game of Thrones.

The production’s unprecedented scale required New Line Cinema to commit approximately $285 million upfront, a massive gamble for the studio at the time. Its achievements sparked a revolution in how Hollywood adapts beloved literary properties, proving that with proper respect for source material and innovative filmmaking techniques, fantasy novels could be transformed into critically and commercially successful films that satisfy both hardcore fans and general audiences.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is currently available for streaming on MAX.

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For those of you who thought that the monster in the upcoming Steamboat Willie horror movie, Screamboat, would be the stuff of nightmares, get ready to be disappointed as we just got our first look, and it’s uproariously corny. The film reimagines the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse – which entered the public domain on January 1, 2024 – as a slasher movie villain, and will have a theatrical run taking place between late January and April of this year. Screamboat is written and directed by Steven LaMorte, who told Variety: “I’m so excited to share our mischievous monster mouse with the world. Screamboat is my way of paying homage to Disney while putting a sinister, yet comedic twist on the classic.”

The first official image released for the film depicts Screamboat Willie as an anthropomorphized rat that hearkens back to the original Disney character, complete with the large ears, sailor’s cap, and big-buttoned shorts. This version of the character even sports a black-and-white color palette, much like his 1928 counterpart. However, even though this is supposed to be a horror movie, Screamboat Willie looks more like an animatronic from Chuck E. Cheese than a grotesque killer creature. The blood harpoon he brandishes does little to inspire terror.

To be fair however, that is the point, as this film is a horror comedy. Playing Screamboat Willie is David Howard Thornton, most famous for playing Art the Clown from theTerrifier series. The actor is certainly no stranger to movies that blend blood and laughs, and Screamboat looks to be no different. Regarding his casting, LaMorte added: “Watching David Howard Thornton bring Steamboat Willie to life with the magicians at Quantum Creation FX has been nothing short of amazing — he’s hilarious and murderously entertaining. I can’t wait for audiences to meet Willie and experience the chaos we’ve created.”

[RELATED: Steamboat Willie Horror Movie Gets First Teaser Trailer]

The film follows a group of people embarking on a fun late-night boat ride in New York City, only for the night to take a bloody turn when Screamboat Willie goes on the hunt for fresh tourists. Will they survive the night, or will they become the next victims of this malicious mouse?

Screamboat is only the most recent project based on the now public domain Disney character, as last year saw the release of The Mouse Trap, which featured a killer wearing a Steamboat Willie inspired mask who hunting down a group of young friends at an amusement park. These movies continue the recent trend of filmmakers turning beloved children’s characters that are in the public domain into horror movie villains. There’s even a budding shared cinematic universe – called the Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) – that launched with the release of 2023’s Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. Upcoming films in the franchise include Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and more.

Screamboat releases on January 24, 2025.

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Harry Potter fans have a lot of critiques of the series, but one in particular keeps rearing its serpentine head: Ron Weasley’s approximation of Parseltongue in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the seventh book and the eighth movie, Ron is able to open the Chamber the Secrets by mimicking the sound of his friend and roommate Harry speaking to snakes. Opinions vary on whether this is a plot contrivance or a rare victory for Ron.

In the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry and his friends find themselves in possession of Voldemort’s horcruxes with no means of destroying them. They know from experience that basilisk venom will do the trick, so Ron and Hermione head to the secret entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. This legendary section of the castle is only supposed to be accessible to the “heir of Slytherin,” and it needs to be opened with a password in the Parseltongue language. Ron talks it into opening, they explains modestly: “Harry talks in his sleep.”

This feat is huge for Ron, even prompting Hermione to finally kiss him for the first time. It also allows them to destroy another horcrux and further weaken Voldemort. However, fans have pointed out that it’s awfully convenient, and it doesn’t feel like it should be possible when you stop and think about it. Salazar Slytherin’s hidden chamber has gone undiscovered for a thousand years, after all.

[RELATED: Harry Potter Fans’ Petition to Stop Hogwarts Legacy 2 Hits 13k Signatures]

As you can see above, fans have also pointed out that this might just be above Ron’s pay grade, specifically. The young Weasley struggled to pronounce basic incantations in earlier movies, yet here he can mimic an unfamiliar non-human language well enough to persuade a magical doorway to open.

Commenters debated on when and how Ron picked up the ability to copy Parseltongue. Some thought he must have been repeating specifically what Harry said to open the Chamber of Secrets in book two, which would have been nearly five years earlier. Other argued he could have been using the same sounds Harry used to open a magically sealed locket earlier that very year. Of course, Ron himself seemed to imply that any old Parseltongue sound would do.

Consistent and rigorous magical worldbuilding isn’t exactly the strong suit of the Harry Potter franchise, as fans have pointed out in all kinds of other ways. The story is very character-driven, and in this moment, Ron needed a win while the team needed a venomous fang. Sadly, it’s probably that simple

All eight Harry Potter movies are streaming now on Max, along with all three Fantastic Beasts movies. The novels are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.

The post Harry Potter Fans Still Can’t Get Over This Ron Weasley Mystery in Deathly Hallows appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Kraven the Hunter is leaving the jungle for home theaters. With the latest — and possibly last — of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe movies hitting digital retailers this week, fans may be on the hunt for more from Sony’s universe of Marvel characters based on Spider-Man’s supporting characters and villains. Characters like Eddie Brock, bonded with an inky black alien symbiote to become the lethal protector Venom (Tom Hardy), blood-sucker Morbius, the living vampire (Jared Leto), the clairvoyant Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) and her group of future Spider-Women (Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor), and the human-hunting Kraven (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

If you’re wondering how to untangle the web of Sony’s Spider-Man spinoffs, which are set in their own loosely-connected universe separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we have you covered. Here’s how to watch Sony’s Spider-Man Universe movies in order and where to stream them all.

Venom (2018)

Journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is a broken man after he loses everything, including his job and fiancée (Michelle Williams). Just when his life is at its lowest, he becomes host to an alien symbiote which results in extraordinary superpowers — transforming him into the brain-munching Venom. The lethal protector must bond with his alien alter-ego if they hope to survive their weaponized symbiote rival: Carlton Drake/Riot (Riz Ahmed).

Where is Venom streaming? You can watch Venom on Disney+ or Sony Pictures Core (available on PlayStation and Sony Bravia TVs).

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

When serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) bonds with a blood-red symbiote to become Carnage and joins forces with the sonic-screaming Shriek (Naomie Harris), the deadly duo is formed just as Eddie Brock (Hardy) and the Venom symbiote suffer some separation anxiety.

Where is Venom: Let There Be Carnage streaming? You can watch Venom 2 on STARZ or Sony Pictures Core.

Morbius (2022)

Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed. Will good override evil – or will Morbius succumb to his mysterious new urges when friend-turned-foe Lucien (Matt Smith) embraces his own vampiric blood lust?

Where is Morbius streaming? You can watch Morbius on Disney+ or Sony Pictures Core.

Madame Web (2024)

The origin story of future blind clairvoyant Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), Madame Web follows NYPD paramedic Cassie, who develops the power to see the future — and realizes she can use that insight to change it. With great power comes great responsibility to protect Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazón (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor), three young women bound for powerful futures…if they can all survive a deadly present as they’re hunted by the mysterious, spider-like Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim).

Where is Madame Web streaming? You can watch Madame Web on Netflix or Sony Pictures Core.

Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

The final film in the Venom trilogy finds Eddie and Venom (Hardy) on the run as they’re hunted by both of their worlds. Imperial General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) seeks to destroy Eddie/Venom before Knull’s (Andy Serkis) Xenophage can retrieve the Codex that is needed to free the King in Black from his Klyntar prison, which would bring about hell on Earth.

Where is Venom: The Last Dance streaming? You can rent ($9.99) or buy ($14.99) Venom 3 online via digital retailers like Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, and YouTube, or on Sony Pictures Core.

Kraven the Hunter (2024)

“Once you’re on his list, there’s only one way off.” In the R-rated standalone story, Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) becomes the world’s greatest hunter as he tracks down criminals like his gangster father (Russell Crowe). But when the Russian mercenary known as the Rhino (Alessandro Nivola) goes on the offensive with the mysterious assassin called the Foreigner (Christopher Abbott), Kraven’s hunt begins.

Where is Kraven the Hunter streaming? You can buy Kraven the Hunter wherever digital movies are sold starting Jan. 14.

The post Where to Watch All of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Movies, From Venom to Kraven the Hunter appeared first on ComicBook.com.

There are many deeply amusing qualities in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, especially when it comes to every line delivered by Paul Rudd’s blitzed-out surfer guru (“Oh, the weather outside is weather!”) However, what’s arguably most hysterical about this Nicholas Stoller directorial effort is its box office haul. Forgetting Sarah Marshall grossed $63.17 million domestically, meaning the film that ended on a gigantic puppet musical about Dracula (complete with Jason Segel doing a Bela Lugosi impression) has made more than all of Universal’s other 21st-century Dracula movies.

Despite costing so much less to make, Universal Pictures’ release Forgetting Sarah Marshall and its recurring fascination with Dracula mythos proved more palatable to the general public than Dracula Untold, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and Renfield. Universal keeps trying to make this lynchpin of the original Universal Monsters a big deal at the modern box office, but audiences just aren’t nibbling. What’s happening here? The Mummy Returns and The Invisible Man proved 21st century Universal Monsters movies can make a pretty penny at the box office – something the new Wolf Man remake is betting on. Why is Universal’s Dracula cursed at the box office unless he’s a singing puppet?

Universal’s Dracula’s Box Office Woes

Tod Browning’s 1931 Dracula really began the Universal Monsters resurgence in the 1930s (though The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera technically preceded it in the studio’s canon). Bela Lugosi’s famous incarnation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 literary character would return in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein while other actors would portray the character in movies like House of Frankenstein. In the rest of the 20th century, famous iterations of Dracula from other studios would be inhabited by Christopher Lee and Leslie Nielsen. Universal, meanwhile, would try to make the Dracula lightning strike again in the 21st century to dismal box office results.

Trying to turn Dracula into a tortured superhero played by Luke Evans in Dracula Untold didn’t get audiences all revved up for further Dracula movies. Nor did turning this vampire into a monstrous beast in The Last Voyage of the Demeter get audiences lining up around the block. The studio’s 2024 horror/comedy Abigail, which is loosely based around the Dracula’s Daughter concept, had a middling box office ($42.8 million off a $28 million budget). Not even an acclaimed turn from Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula in Renfield was enough to inspire box office success. Four times Universal has struggled to resurrect this undead icon, while its arthouse sibling studio Focus Features has ironically had extreme success with the Dracula pastiche Nosferatu. Count Orlok is now more of a box office draw than Dracula!

A key problem any Dracula movie has is that vampire movies have a mixed box office track record outside of the Twilight and Hotel Transylvania franchises. Interview with the Vampire and Bram Stoker’s Dracula made money in the 90s, sure; however, Dark Shadows, Morbius, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter were all bombs. Not even glowing reviews could turn Let Me In into a moneymaker back in October 2010. Just putting a vampire into your movie won’t suddenly turn it into a hit.

On the contrary, it’s fair to say that, at this point, audiences appear to hesitate when it comes to vampire films. You have to really sell your title as something special or idiosyncratic to get over this box office hump. Universal’s attempts to get Dracula revived haven’t quite cracked that nut.

[RELATED: Wolf Man Director Issues Warning That Not Everyone Will Like the Creature Design (But for Good Reason) ]

Is There Hope For Modern Dracula Movies?

It doesn’t help that Dracula is so associated with comedic skewerings (like Adam Sandler’s Dracula from Hotel Transylvania) that it’s hard to make him as frightening to 2025 moviegoers as he was to folks in 1931. That might be why Nosferatu has done so much better with Count Orlok. Even with the character’s SpongeBob SquarePants connection, Orlok doesn’t have the baggage of endless pop culture parodies (or other recent box office bombs) weighing him down like an albatross. Perhaps Dracula and his mythos simply can’t function as well in the modern horror movie landscape.

If there’s any hope for any filmmaker tackling the inevitable next attempt by Universal to relaunch Dracula, though, is that hit vampire horror movies exist. Nosferatu proved Twilight and Hotel Transylvania don’t have monopolies on lucrative vampire features. If one modern hit exists in this domain, another can surely emerge. Don’t forget that the entire modern Universal Monsters concept looked dead in the water after 2017’s The Mummy. All it took was The Invisible Man (2020) to suddenly make these productions hot again. 21st-century Universal Dracula movies are currently cursed, but that doesn’t mean they’re doomed for all of eternity. Perhaps it’s time to think of (finally) adapting that Dracula puppet musical from Forgetting Sarah Marshall into a feature-length movie?

Dracula Untold is currently streaming on Netflix.

The post Why Is This One Universal Monster Modern Box Office Poison? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Avengers filmmakers… assemble. Five years after directing duo Anthony and Joe Russo ended an era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige announced that the Russo brothers would be returning to helm the Multiverse Saga-ending Avengers: Doomsday (dated May 1, 2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (May 7, 2027). Not only are the Russos reuniting with screenwriter Stephen McFeely — co-writer with Christopher Markus of the Russo-directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame — but ex-Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. is donning the metal mask and armor of Doctor Doom.

While Endgame was the end of the line for the original lineup of Earth’s mightiest heroes — Downey’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk — it was also supposed to be the final MCU movie from the four-time Marvel directors.

“Endgame was the end, and it took a little time for us to begin to think about it as something other than an end,” Anthony Russo told Empire Magazine in an interview pegged to their new Netflix movie The Electric State. “We’re very close with Kevin and Lou [D’Esposito, Marvel Studios’ Co-President] and the entire Marvel team and we’ve had conversations through the years. We’ve talked about a lot of ideas.”

RELATED: MCU Schedule: Every Marvel Studios Movie and TV Show Release Date in 2025 and Beyond

The Russos fielded questions about returning to the MCU while promoting non-Marvel movies like The Gray Man and Cherry, and in 2022, they said “never say never” when asked whether they could see themselves back behind the camera for another Avengers-sized epic. One idea that kept surfacing: Secret Wars.

“Really what happened was, we ended up stumbling upon an idea that activated all of us,” Anthony explained. “You couldn’t see it coming until it came, and once it came it was like, ‘Well, that’s a story we need to tell.'”

Added Joe, “There were ideas that we were trying to wrap our heads around that preceded this one, and we just never found the story.” Although the Russos didn’t disclose which projects might have helmed, none seemed right until McFeely figured out how to adapt Secret Wars for the MCU.

An expansive superhero epic with a roster of characters that spans multiverses, 2015’s Secret Wars was conceived by comic book writer Jonathan Hickman as a universe-colliding event which would dwarf 1984’s superhero crossover Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars.

“I remember calling Steve [McFeely] and said, ‘Hey, crazy idea. What do you think if we all go back and do Secret Wars?'” Joe Russo said. “You were like, ‘F— no. Absolutely not.’ And then you hung up. And the next morning at 7.30 you called and were like, ‘Alright, I have an idea.'”

It seems that idea hinges on Downey’s Doctor Doom. The Oppenheimer Oscar winner is coming out of retirement as the MCU’s greatest hero to play Marvel’s greatest villain, an archnemesis of the Fantastic Four who, as it happens, is the central character of 2015’s Secret Wars. Feige brought the Russo brothers on stage to announce the news at last summer’s San Diego Comic-Con, revealing that Avengers 5 — originally titled The Kang Dynasty and centered on the since-fired Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror — had been renamed Doomsday, and that Downey would be the man behind Doom’s mask.

“That four-movie run was incredible, and it left us creatively spent with all our emotions on the floor,” Anthony Russo told the packed 6,500-seat Hall H. “In the time since, through a very special story, Joe and I have come to potentially see a road forward with you all.”

Plot details are being locked away on Battleworld, but Marvel also confirmed that this summer’s Fantastic Four: First Steps — which stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Richards/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/the Thing — will feed into Doomsday and Secret Wars, with Marvel’s first family joining Earth’s mightiest heroes in a crossover that is rumored to include everyone from Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.

Besides Downey, reported cast members include Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. To paraphrase the master of the mystic arts: We’re really in the endgame now.

Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to open May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027, as the final film of The Multiverse Saga.

The post The Russo Brothers Confirm They Had Plans for a Marvel Return Before Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars appeared first on ComicBook.com.

]Just a few weeks after flopping at the box office and delivering a franchise-worst performance for Sony’s universe of Marvel characters, Kraven the Hunter is already making its way to living rooms around the country. On Monday, Sony announced the on-demand and physical releases for Kraven the Hunter, the former of which is just around the corner.

Kraven the Hunter is set to make its home debut this week, hitting on-demand platforms for purchase and rental on Tuesday, January 14th. That’s just one month after Kraven was initially released in theaters.

In addition to the on-demand digital release, Sony also announced the full physical release plans for Kraven the Hunter. The film is being released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD formats on March 4th. The 4K UHD combo will also be available as a collectible steelbook.

You can preorder any edition of Kraven the Hunter right here.

The 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and Digital versions of Kraven the Hunter are set to come with a slew of special features, including multiple featurettes about the making of the film and a selection of deleted scenes. You can take a look at the full list of features below.

• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Becoming Kraven
• Beast Mode: The Stunts of the Hunt
• Outtakes & Bloopers
• Kraven’s First Hunt: The Direction
• Allies & Antagonists: The Killer Cast

The DVD edition of Kraven the Hunter will only include the final three features listed above, so you’ll have to get one of the other editions if you’re hoping to check out the deleted scenes.

Kraven the Hunter stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular anti-hero, who has spent decades as a villainous fixture in the world of Spider-Man. The film also stars Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, and Russell Crowe. The film is directed by Triple Frontier and A Most Violent Year filmmaker J.C. Chandor.

The official synopsis reads, “KRAVEN THE HUNTER is the action-packed, R-rated, standalone story of how one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON plays Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless gangster father, Nikolai Kravinoff (RUSSELL CROWE), starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.”

After hitting theaters on December 13th, Kraven the Hunter struggled mightily at the box office, failing to live up to the performance of Sony’s other Marvel films. As it stands now, the film has made less than $60 million globally.

The post Kraven the Hunter Home Release Date Revealed (And It’s Sooner Than You Think) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Tom Holland is a fan of Funko Pops, especially when they’re based on his Marvel hero Spider-Man. The prolific actor recently revealed how he owns every Funko Pop made from his Spider-Man, which would include the trilogy Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. However, as much as he loves Funko Pops, Holland admitted to having to remove them from his home since it appeared he had built a shrine to himself, which was something he hadn’t intended on doing.

“Funko Pops! I love Funko Pops,” Tom Holland told GQ Spain. $43 bucks, worth every penny. I think they’re really cool. I’ve actually collected all my Funko Pops. I kept them in my house for a long time, but then it got to the point where it looked like I had a shrine to myself, and I had to get rid of them because it was quite embarassing. They’re in cupboard, but I love them. Keep making them, because I think they’re brilliant.”

[RELATED: Andrew Garfield Debunks Spider-Man 4 Rumor (But He Knows We Don’t Believe Him)]

Funko Pops are small vinyl figures of pop culture characters, most notably with large heads and small bodies with black eyes. Some of the franchises featured in the Funko Pop line include Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Disney, and many more. They usually don’t cost more than $15 for one figure, and they’re fun to display on a shelf or a desk inside or outside its original packaging.

Tom Holland and Zendaya are engaged

The latest bit of news on Tom Holland is that he’s engaged to his Spider-Man co-star Zendaya. Speculation on the popular couple began at the Golden Globes when Zendaya was spotted with a diamond ring on her wedding finger. TMZ reported that Holland proposed to Zendaya within the past couple of weeks, specifically on a date between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. It’s worth noting that neither Holland or Zendaya have publicly commented on the reports of their engagement. That is also not a surprise since they’ve kept their private life out of the spotlight.

Tom Holland is suiting up as the web-slinger for Spider-Man 4, which has an official release date of July 24, 2026. The July 24, 2026 date is only seven days after a new untitled movie from director Christopher Nolan, which coincidentally will also star Tom Holland after he was added to the project. How Holland will handle juggle Spider-Man 4 and his Christopher Nolan movie filming in the same year remains to be seen, but it’s safe to say the webslinger will be a busy man in 2025.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton is helming the currently untitled Spider-Man 4. A new rumor states some Marvel villains were scrapped from the sequel after some script rewrites, including Scorpion and Shocker.

The post Tom Holland Confesses to “Embarrassing” Spider-Man Funko Pop Collection appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Batman Epic Crime Saga spans a feature film (2022’s The Batman), a prequel comic book (The Riddler: Year One), and a spinoff television series (2024’s The Penguin), with a sequel (2027’s The Batman: Part II) in development at DC Studios. Connecting them all is Matt Reeves, who oversees this expanding corner of the DC universe that is — at least for now — standalone, existing separately from the interconnected DCU under the purview of DC Studios co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Now that The Penguin has wrapped up its Golden Globe-winning first season on HBO and Reeves’ Batman sequel has been pushed from 2026 to 2027, the filmmaker has one priority: the Dark Knight’s return.

“I would love to do more [spinoff series],” Reeves told MTV News, adding that “the thing we’re really focused on” is The Batman 2.

“We’re talking about doing the second season of The Penguin, but my big priority is to get The Batman 2 shooting and going,” Reeves said. “And then it’ll be exciting where we’ll go from there.”

RELATED: The Batman 2 Director Teases Sequel’s Unexpected Villain and Story: “It’s Going to Show Different Sides” of Robert Pattinson

Reeves also confirmed that production is scheduled to begin this year on the sequel, which will come five years after Robert Pattinson suited up as a year-two Batman in the 2022 film. “Our plan, and our hope, is absolutely to do another season [of The Penguin],” Reeves said. “We just have to come up with the idea that we think is the right idea, which is what we’re working on.”

While development on The Batman 2 is “taking longer than I would have wanted,” Reeves said, “I’m super excited about what we’re doing, so I really can’t wait to share that with everybody.”

In 2020, it was announced that Reeves was developing a streaming series set in the world of The Batman for HBO Max (later Max). Described as an “examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City,” the GCPD series from Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter was to launch “a new Batman universe across multiple platforms.” But Winter eventually exited the since-scrapped series, elements of which were folded into The Penguin (about Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb and his rise to power as Gotham City kingpin).

Reeves was also developing an Arkham Asylum series that was allegedly being reworked into a spinoff series focused on Barry Keoghan’s Joker, although Gunn dispelled those rumors. One thing Reeves isn’t ruling out, however, is a Penguin-style spinoff following Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), half-sister of the currently incarcerated Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti).

As series producer Dylan Clark previously told ComicBook, HBO is interested in Batman spinoffs for “marquee characters” like Farrell’s Penguin, who is confirmed to return opposite Pattinson in Batman 2.

“The streaming-cable space was was a no-brainer for some of the bigger characters. Casey [Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content] was the first person that said, ‘I need a marquee character,’” Clark said. “And Matt said, ‘You know, I have this really good idea for Colin for the second movie.’ And Casey said, ‘I want that. You can’t just have these characters be in the movie space.’”

Clark continued, “It was a natural transition that way, and I think we have some great ideas to explore more characters from our movie space to do this same thing with Casey and Sarah [Aubrey, Max original programming chief].”

All episodes of The Penguin are available to stream now on Max. Warner Bros. has dated The Batman 2 for Oct. 1, 2027.

The post Matt Reeves Teases The Penguin Season 2 and More Spinoffs After The Batman 2 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

There are classic heist films, such as Michael Mann’s Heat, and then there’s the worst of the worst, like 3000 Miles to Graceland. What follows is a list of those that fall on the former side, but within the time frame of the last twenty years, and without a member of Dominic Toretto’s “family” in sight. To be included, the movie had to include a fairly straightforward, heist-centric narrative. In other words, genre films that have incorporated heists, e.g. Ant-Man and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, were not subject for inclusion. Instead, what follows are the best movies from the past 20 years where a heist (usually gone wrong) is at the direct center of the narrative’s progression. Any one of them would make for a great evening watch, perhaps after checking out Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, now in theaters.

Inside Man (2006)

Denzel Washington has said that he intends to retire sooner rather than later and, should he follow through on that, he will still have left audiences with any number of great performances in equally great films. Spike Lee’s Inside Man is one of them. This hair-raiser tells the tale of Washington’s Detective Keith Frazier, NYPD hostage negotiator. When Clive Owen’s Dalton Russell and his crew take over a Manhattan bank and take hostages, Frazier must race to get them safe and Russell in cuffs.

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

The fact that Sidney Lumet’s final film, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, didn’t receive a single Oscar nomination is nothing short of confounding. 2007 may have been a better-than-average year for movies but no Oscar nominations? Lumet deserved one, screenwriter Kelly Masterson deserved one, and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney all deserved one for this non-chronological, heartbreaking masterpiece.

Hoffman stars as broker Andy, who is in debt up to his neck. He enlists his brother, Hank (Hawke), to rob a very particular jewelry store: the one owned by their parents. Unfortunately, the robbery doesn’t go as planned, and before long they’re running head-to-head with their grieving and vengeful father (Finney).

The Town (2010)

After Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck’s The Town helped cement the notion that he was a director to watch more than an actor to bash. It also helped Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, and Blake Lively rise up to the A-list. The Town primarily tells the story of Affleck’s Doug MacRay, the leader of a bank robbing team whose best friend James (Renner) is a consistent liability. When James tanks a hostage at their latest robbery (Hall), the once-cold MacRay begins to realize there’s more to life than cash and knowing he could bail at any time.

[RELATED: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Reuniting for New Crime Thriller]

Drive (2011)

Visually stunning, buoyed by a great soundtrack, and sublimely acted, Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive (alongside the Pusher trilogy and Valhalla Rising) announced the director as a major talent to keep one’s eyes on. Unfortunately, his reteaming with lead Ryan Gosling for Only God Forgives was the diametric opposite. But not even that jumbled mess couldn’t take the wind out of this thematically rich crime film.

Gosling stars as “Driver,” a Hollywood stuntman who makes most of his money driving around criminals. Like Jason Statham in The Transporter, he has rules that can’t be broken. But, when he befriends his neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her son, and her husband gets out of prison, he gets roped into a robbery that ends in blood and shotgun shells.

Hell or High Water (2016)

Before he started putting out a new streaming series seemingly every week, Taylor Sheridan turned out a few brilliant films. Between his writing Sicario and both writing and directing Wind River there was perhaps his best film: Hell or High Water.

The story spends time with both a pair of Texas Rangers (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) and a pair of sibling robbers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster). Pine’s Toby is a fairly grounded individual, especially when compared to his loose cannon brother, but together they’re quite formidable bank robbers, which is a pseudo-profession they feel has become a necessity now that their family ranch is about to enter foreclosure.

Widows (2018)

It may not be quite on par with director Steve McQueen’s brilliant Hunger, Shame, and 12 Years a Slave, but Widows is nonetheless further testament as to why he may be the most talented auteur working today. It’s much the same for Viola Davis, who leads an ensemble cast with a layered, engrossing performance.

The narrative follows four women whose husbands took part in a robbery gone horribly wrong. Now, they’re being held accountable for their husbands’ failure, and must discreetly lift $5 million from a local respected politician’s house to keep themselves and their kids safe.

Wrath of Man (2021)

Jason Statham always makes for a great lead in a heist film, or, in the case of The Italian Job, a great supporting player. But, to the former point, while The Bank Job is an excellent straightforward British caper, Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man is arguably both the star and the director’s best film to date.

This non-linear actioner follows “H” as he joins a security guard crew. When his first day is ruined by a heist, “H” takes care of the issue with ease. This sets off a series of events that expands on his identity not just for the remainder of his crew, but the audience as well.

The post 7 Best Heist Movies of the Last 20 Years (That Aren’t Fast & Furious) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Universal Pictures’ The Wolf Man was one of the later additions to its roster of Universal Monsters, but no audience would argue that the titular lycanthrope is a fan favorite. Even though the specific character might not have been directly revived in big-screen adventures as often as figures like Dracula or Frankenstein’s Monster, it would inspire decades of werewolf cinema. In a new take on the material, Christopher Abbott plays a man who has a violent encounter with an unseen beast, igniting within him a terrifying transformation while in his family’s farmhouse. Wolf Man lands in theaters on January 17th.

“Research-wise, it’s the first time I’ve had to research more National Geographic-type stuff than other movies,” Abbott explained to ComicBook of how the primal nature of the role changed his preparation methods. “There’s different levels as the process is happening. There’s maybe 80% human, 20% animal, and then that shifts. So to track how a human would react to something as opposed to an animal, a human reacts one way, if it feels ill or if it’s scared, as opposed to how does an animal act, how, if it feels ill, all its little levels.”

Wolf Man is described, “What if someone you loved became something else? From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man. Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

“But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without. The film co-stars Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid’s Tale), Ben Prendergast (The Sojourn Audio Drama), and Benedict Hardie (The Invisible Man).”

[RELATED – The Invisible Man and Wolf Man Director Reveals Next Universal Monster He Wants to Adapt]

Despite the movie being filmed out of sequence, Abbott recalled how the prosthetics used in filming would help serve as a quick shorthand to remind him where he was in his character’s frightening transformation.

“You do all the work beforehand, so you have to track it mentally, but the good thing is that the prosthetics can easily remind you of what stage you’re meant to be in,” the actor expressed. “[Makeup designer Arjen Tuiten] did such a great job. His focus on detail is really specific. Once I can see myself in, let’s call it stage one, two, or three, I knew I can just remember where I’m supposed to be at mentally.”

Lon Chaney Jr. played Wolf Man in the original 1941 movie, while Benicio del Toro took on the part for the 2010 remake. Dozens of actors have played werewolves in a century of horror cinema, but the pedigree of a proper Wolf Man made this project a bit different.

“I’d seen most iterations of Wolf Man and, the nice thing is, I think they’re all quite different, whether it’s the original, whether it’s the Wolf Man with Benicio, whether it’s Jack Nicholson [in Wolf], whether it’s An American Werewolf in London, which is a comedy,” Abbott detailed. “I think, while the character more or less remains, the allegories and the themes around that have all changed, so I didn’t feel like I needed to like, repeat a role. It doesn’t feel like it’s, I don’t know, Batman or something like that. You can have your own spin on it because it’s such a different story around it.”

Wolf Man lands in theaters on January 17th.

Are you looking forward to the movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

The post Wolf Man Star Christopher Abbott Talks Becoming a Creature of the Night appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Netflix‘s extensive library of movies is home to a multitude of outstanding titles that have flown under the radar. With the streaming model of film distribution growing increasingly popular, it’s difficult to remain in-the-know about new releases. Over its near two decades of operation, Netflix has amassed hidden gems from all genres, including horror, historical drama, science fiction, and biopics. So, before checking out all the new arrivals on the streaming service, it would be well worth looking back at these 10 titles, which represent the best movies that casual audiences may not have ever heard of.

The Wonder

Starring Florence Pugh, Sebastián Lelio’s The Wonder chronicles the story of a nurse who tends to a young girl whose relatives claim has miraculously survived for months without food in 1860s Ireland. Released on Netflix in 2022, The Wonder received mostly positive reviews, scoring 85% among Rotten Tomatoes critics. The film’s cast also includes Tom Burke, Kíla Lord Cassidy, and Niamh Algar.

Society of the Snow

The 2023 Spanish language film Society of the Snow is based on true events involving the 1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 that crashed in the Andes mountains while flying a rugby team to Chile. Directed by J.A. Bayona, Society of the Snow details the players’ grueling battle for survival in unfathomable conditions. The movie earned a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Woman of the Hour

Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman of the Hour arrived on Netflix in 2023. In the film, Kendrick stars as Sheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles. Based on a true story, Sheryl goes on a popular dating TV show and unexpectedly meets a serial killer. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave Woman of the Hour a 91% approval rating. The movie also features Daniel Zovatto, Tony Hale, and Nicolette Robinson.

Atlantics

French filmmaker Mati Diop’s Atlantics is an equally entertaining and important work. The 2019 movie stars Mama Sané as Ada, a young Senegalese woman arranged to marry a rich man despite being in love with a construction worker named Souleiman (Ibrahima Traoré). Ada and Souleiman are torn apart when the latter goes missing at sea while attempting to migrate. With plenty of mysterious elements, Atlantics is well worth watching. The film earned a lofty score of 85 on Metacritic.

Dolemite Is My Name

Released on Netflix in 2019, Dolemite Is My Name tells the real-life tale of entertainment pioneer Rudy Ray Moore, featuring Eddie Murphy in the lead role. Helmed by Craig Brewer, the movie’s star-studded cast also includes Keegan-Michael Key, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Snoop Dogg, and Chris Rock. Dolemite Is My Name received a 97% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

[RELATED – 9 Netflix Original Movies We Totally Forgot Existed]

His House

2020’s His House is a gripping psychological horror film certain to give audiences nightmares. Directed by Remi Weekes in his feature-length directorial debut, His House follows a South Sudanese refugee couple who arrive in England and uncover an unspeakable evil residing in their new town. The movie stars Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba, Matt Smith, and Javier Botet. His House has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Forty-Year-Old Version

Directed by and starring Radha Blank, The Forty-Year-Old Version hit Netflix in 2020. The movie’s storyline revolves around a struggling New York City playwright who embarks on a hip-hop career to finally achieve her breakthrough in entertainment before she turns 40. Receiving a near-flawless Rotten Tomatoes score of 99%, The Forty-Year-Old Version makes a pleasantly entertaining watch thanks to its comedic and musical characteristics.

Mudbound

2017’s Mudbound, directed by Dee Rees, presents the engaging story of a pair of returning World War II soldiers who encounter racism in rural Mississippi as they re-adjust to civilian life. The acclaimed film, which has a Metacritic rating of 85, features Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Rob Morgan, Jonathan Banks, Garrett Hedlund, and many more in its cast.

1922

Netflix’s film adaptation of the Stephen King novella 1922 surprisingly flew under the radar. The plot follows a rancher who convinces his son to assist in the murder of his wife for financial gain. Released in 2017, the movie stars Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmid, and Kaitlyn Bernard. 1922‘s positive reception landed it a 92% Rotten Tomatoes approval score.

I Am Mother

The 2019 film I Am Mother remains a largely unnoticed sci-fi gem on Netflix. Its storyline involves a teenage girl raised by a robot in a distant future following humanity’s extinction. Directed by Grant Sputore and starring Rose Byrne, Luke Hawker, Talia Sturzaker, Clara Rugaard, and Hillary Swank, I Am Mother holds an impressive 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The post 10 Best Netflix Movies You’ve Never Even Heard Of appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The hype train has already left the station for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. This began with San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, when Kevin Feige announced the return of Marvel heavyweights Robert Downey Jr. and filmmakers the Russo brothers, and continued with the news that Chris Evans will also return to the MCU. These movies are looking to revolve around RDJ’s Doctor Doom and seem to be taking their marching order from the Secret Wars comics, the name of a series of excellent Marvel event comics.

Marvel has bungled the Multiverse Saga and these two movies are their tickets back to the top. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten further and further away from its comic-accurate roots, there are several things from the Secret Wars comics that these movies could use to great effect. Secret Wars stories have some tropes that have helped them become beloved, and Marvel Studios would do well to include the best ones.

Battleworld

Battleworld appeared in both the original Secret Wars from 1984 and the 2015 one. The original Battleworld was an amalgamation of different planets created by the Beyonder. The Beyonder made it so that the heroes and villains would have places to fight — hence the name — for the ultimate reward. The second Battleworld was made up of pieces of the Multiverse that Doom, Doctor Strange, and Molecule Man were able to save after the Incursions destroyed the Multiverse.

Battleworld is an integral part of the Secret Wars mythos. No matter where Marvel takes the story — whether it goes more towards the 1984 or the 2015 Secret Wars — Battleworld needs to be part of it. Each version has its charm — the original has high-tech alien bases and a variety of flora, fauna, and geographic conditions while the latter has pieces of the coolest worlds from the Marvel Multiverse. The latter is probably the version that the movies will use, as the Incursions have already been teased in the MCU, letting MCU fans experience Battleworld.

The Beyonder/Beyonders

Without the Beyonder and his people, there is no Secret Wars. The first Secret Wars revolved around the Beyonder, then known as One from Beyond, bringing together the heroes and villains of Earth to test them against each other. The character would get fleshed out in Secret Wars II, when he took on a human body and went to Earth to learn about being human. The Beyonder became a fixture in the Marvel Universe, showing up to do crazy stuff and then disappearing for a while.

Jonathan Hickman’s run on Avengers/New Avengers would introduce readers to the Beyonders and go more into the origin of the Beyonder — it was part of a race of all-powerful beings who dwell outside the Multiverse. They created the Celestials and maintained the Multiverse, and eventually started the Incursions as an experiment. Much like Battleworld, it’s impossible to imagine a Secret Wars story without the Beyonder or Beyonders. Things are pointing to them appearing, again because of the Incursions, and that’s a very good thing.

Molecule Man

Molecule Man first appeared in 1960 Fantastic Four #20. Owen Reece gained the power to control molecules and fought the Fantastic Four many times over the years. He was part of the villains gathered by the Beyonder. He’d become a major part of the Secret Wars mythos in Secret Wars II, his powers allowing him to stand against the Beyonder. His godlike power had its drawbacks — they drove him crazy — and it was revealed that they came from the universe of the Beyonders, linking him to them. The Molecule Man would allow Doom to manipulate the powers of the Beyonders in 2015’s Secret Wars, kept secret from the rest of Battleworld by Doom and Doctor Strange.

[RELATED: New Black Panther Rumor Has Marvel Fans Fuming (But Some Are Happy With It)]

Molecule Man is an important factor in Secret Wars stories. His relationship to the Beyonders and the Multiverse — it’s revealed that he can exist on a multiversal level, with one of him in every universe — is unique in the Marvel Universe, and he’s a rather sympathetic villain, having tapped into something he doesn’t understand. The MCU could always use more sympathetic villains, and Doomsday/Secret Wars could use Molecule Man to great impact.

God Emperor Doom

The announcement of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom was a massive surprise, and it’s one that fits the tropes of the Secret Wars comics. Doctor Doom plays an integral role in the first and last Secret Wars. In the 1984 one, he’s basically the leader of the villains and eventually is able to steal the power of the Beyonder, becoming a god and the main villain of the story. In the 2015 Secret Wars, he’s the savior of the Multiverse and the leader of Battleworld, ruling as God Emperor Doom.

Doom became a god twice in the Secret Wars stories and he needs to become one in the movies as well. It’s still unknown how Doom is going to work in the new movies — whether RDJ Doom is the actual Doom or a multiversal Iron Man pretending to be Doom trying to fight the true Doom — but regardless, God Emperor Doom has to appear. It’s such an important part of what Secret Wars is.

Superpowered Warfare

This one might seem like a no-brainer, given the name, but Secret Wars has always revolved around the concept of superpowered warfare. The 1984 version pits two sides against each other for the ultimate prize, while the 2015 version started with the 616 and 1610 Marvel Universes fighting each other for survival. This opened on a Battleworld that had been living under a fragile peace which is shattered when survivors of Earths-616 and 1610 start agitating the various factions and cause them to rise up against Doom. War is very important to these stories and the movies need to remember that.

The MCU has shown that they know how to cool superpowered war scenes — Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame have excellent, large-scale battle scenes — so it should be a snap to include that sort of thing in the new films. A multiversal war, manipulated by the Beyonders, Doctor Doom, or both, has to be the main focus of these movies. Marvel Studios needs to bring things to the next level with these films, and superpowered war is the road they need to take to get there.

The post 5 Things Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars Need to Include From the Comics appeared first on ComicBook.com.

When you buy through our links, Comicbook may earn an affiliate commission. If you didn’t add enough Blu-rays to your collection over the holidays, you can make up for it in a big way with a deal on Amazon that offers three top tier 4K Blu-rays of your choice for $33. That’s only $11 each for films like Oppenheimer, Dune Part Two, Blade Runner 2049, Nightmare On Elm Street, Barbie, The Batman, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shining, North by Northwest and much, much more. UPDATE: Many of the top Blu-rays in the sale are going into backorder status with long ship times. Amazon may restock before the sale ends, but you’ll want to reserve your favorites while you can. Additional details can be found below.

You can shop the entire 4K Blu–ray sale here on Amazon until 11:59 pm PT / 2:59am ET on January 20th / 21st. Note that titles can be added and removed from the sale at any time. While you’re at it, you might want to check out another huge Blu-ray sale that’s happening on Arrow Video 4K Blu-ray releases. Classics like Robocop, The Warriors, Trick ‘r Treat, Conan the Barbarian, Demolition Man, Hellraiser, Donny Darko, and much more are currently 50% off. If you want to see what the hottest Blu-rays are at the moment, check out the links below.

• Amazon Blu-rays – Best Sellers
• Amazon Blu-rays – New Releases
• Amazon Blu-rays – Biggest Movers
• GRUV – Top Sellers
• GRUV – New Releases

As you’ll see via Amaon’s bestsellers, Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of the beloved Broadway stage musical Wicked is burning up the sales charts on Blu-ray at the moment. Unfortunately, it isn’t part of the 3 for $33 deal, but you can score the 4K version for $29.95 (25% off) here on Amazon now. It comes with a huge list of special features that you can find below.

• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
• SING ALONG – ALTERNATE FEATURE-LENGTH VERSION – Rejoicify, it’s your turn to sing your way through Oz! Sing-along to all of your favorite Wicked songs as you join Elphaba and Glinda on their magical journey.
• DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES
  • Pfannee & ShenShen Meet Glinda – Reunited at Shiz University, Glinda, Pfannee, and ShenShen recall their past by performing a twirling routine together.
  • Shiz Gazette Introduces Fiyero – Excitement spreads across Shiz as word gets out that Prince Fiyero is on his way.
  • Toss Toss – Glinda teaches Elphaba the art of Toss Toss, with mixed results.
  • Elphaba & Fiyero in the Forest – The relationship between Elphaba and Fiyero takes a turn as they come to care for a lost lion cub.
  • Elphaba’s Promise – Elphaba makes a pledge to Glinda that they both hope will strengthen their friendship.
  • Train Platform Farewell – Glinda, Madame Morrible, and Governor Thropp gather to send Elphaba off to Emerald City.
  • Boq & Elphaba Talk – Elphaba challenges Boq to face the truth about his feelings for Nessa Rose, but she has difficulty doing the same when it comes to Fiyero.
  • Train Ride to Emerald City- Glinda and Elphaba expand their world by taking a luxurious train ride to Emerald City.
  • In the Emerald City – The bustling streets of Emerald City take Glinda and Elphaba one step closer to finally meeting the Wizard.
  • Palace Monkeys Chase – Elphaba and Glinda race through a maddening maze of winged monkeys determined to take them down.
• MAKING WICKED – Return to Oz for a fantastic behind-the-scenes journey with this expansive look inside the characters, choreography, and creativity that make up the movie’s unforgettable world.
• WELCOME TO SHIZ – Unlimited imagination, couture fashion, and spectacular production design come together at Shiz University, providing a place for performers and viewers to be fully immersed in the fantasy. Designed from details in L. Frank Baum’s books, the uniforms, clever contraptions, and circular sets create a sprawling campus where magic feels like an everyday occurrence.
• A WICKED LEGACY –Take delight in the cast and filmmakers sharing personal memories of their first encounters with the original Broadway production, and how those lasting connections created emotional experiences while making the movie. Also highlighted are the iconic cameos that pay tribute to the cultural phenomenon that became one of the most popular musicals of all time.
• THE WONDERFUL WIZARD – Follow the yellow brick road to Emerald City for an in-depth look at the infamous Wizard of Oz. Inside the palace’s throne room, the Wizard himself, Jeff Goldblum, pulls back the curtain to peer at his character’s magic and mechanics with senior special effects technician Christopher Clarke, who details how the Wizard’s massive robotic head comes to life.
• FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR JON M. CHU
• FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH STARS CYNTHIA ERIVO AND ARIANA GRANDE

The post 4K Blu-ray 3 for $33 Deal Is Selling Out Quickly appeared first on ComicBook.com.

We’re less than one year away from the release of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, and it seems that Blumhouse and Universal Pictures might already have big plans for the future of the film series. According to @Katsterlingfan on X/Twitter, they have been told by a reliable source that filming on a third movie in the FNAF series will begin 6 months after the release of the sequel, with a planned release in 2027, possibly late in the year. @Katsterlingfan has a big following on the platform and a positive record with FNAF fans, but they also encouraged their followers to “take this with a heavy grain of salt.”

On the surface, a 2027 release for Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 doesn’t seem impossible. By the time Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 releases on December 5th, it will have been just over 2 years since the first movie’s release. A late 2027 release for a third film is ambitious, but certainly not impossible. Given the success of the first movie, there’s a pretty good chance that Blumhouse and Universal will want to capitalize, and start up production with a short break between.

Obviously, plans can change. The first Five Nights at Freddy’s had a box office haul of more than $297 million on a budget of $20 million. It also managed that number despite the fact that the movie was released that same day streaming on Peacock. That set a new record for Blumhouse, and it’s not hard to imagine the company wanting a steady stream of sequels. However, if the second film were to underperform, plans could easily change.

Five Nights at Freddy’s was already a massive franchise when the first movie released in theaters. The games and merchandise have generated huge sales, and the series has a passionate following. With Hollywood increasingly pursuing video game adaptations, there’s no doubt that Blumhouse and Universal want Five Nights at Freddy’s to generate the same level of success seen by Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog series. Whether we’ll get a similar string of sequels remains to be seen, but this rumor about a third film seems very plausible.

RELATED: Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Star Matthew Lillard Reveals Why He’s “Very Excited” for the Sequel

At this time, details about Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 are very slim. A teaser poster for the movie was released in October 2024, which featured an image of Toy Freddy from the games. We know that several members of the surviving cast will be back for the sequel, including Josh Hutcherson, who played protagonist Mike Schmidt. The movie will also see the return of Matthew Lillard, who played William Afton in the first film. As the year goes on, we should start to get a lot more details about the sequel, and maybe even some hints about Blumhouse and Universal’s plans beyond that!

Are you planning to check out Five Nights at Freddy’s 2? Do you think we’ll see a third movie in the series in 2027? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 Rumor Points to 2027 Movie Release appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The 2000s brought groundbreaking innovations to horror cinema that continue influencing filmmakers today. From found-footage techniques that changed how we experience fear to intimate character studies that elevated the genre’s storytelling potential, this era delivered unforgettable scares that resonated with audiences worldwide. Furthermore, independent productions proved horror could tackle complex themes while maintaining commercial appeal, while major studios took chances on unique creative voices that would reshape the genre landscape. 

Through careful character development, innovative directing techniques, and genuine emotional stakes, the best horror films of the 2000s demonstrate how genre pictures can tackle complex themes while still delivering the scares audiences crave. Here’s our picks for the best horror movies of the 2000s.

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Sam Raimi’s return to horror follows Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a loan officer cursed to be dragged to hell in three days after denying a mortgage extension to an elderly woman. The film perfectly balances genuine scares with gleefully twisted comedy, powered by Raimi’s masterful direction that transforms this tale of karmic revenge into a rollercoaster ride. Through dynamic camera movements, memorable practical effects, and a deep understanding of how to build tension, Drag Me to Hell creates a uniquely engaging horror experience that demonstrates why Raimi remains one of the genre’s most influential voices.

Cloverfield (2008)

Director Matt Reeves and producer J.J. Abrams revolutionized the monster movie genre with this found-footage masterpiece that follows a group of friends documenting their desperate attempt to survive a massive creature attack on New York City. By grounding its spectacular destruction through intimate, documentary-style filmmaking, Cloverfield creates an immersive experience that makes its fantastic elements feel terrifyingly real. The film’s focus on ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances and masterful special effects that never break the found-footage illusion create a haunting portrait of survival against impossible odds that still

The Ring (2002)

Gore Verbinski’s atmospheric horror masterpiece follows journalist Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) as she investigates a mysterious videotape that kills viewers seven days after watching it. The film’s strength lies in its ability to create overwhelming dread through subtle visual cues and psychological manipulation rather than relying on jump scares. Through its exploration of urban legends and technology-based fears, alongside Watts’ compelling performance as a mother fighting to save her son, The Ring crafts a profoundly unsettling story that transforms mundane objects like televisions and telephones into sources of terror. Plus, The Ring is one of the best horror remakes, capable of standing on its own legs while showing respect for the original Japanese flick.

Martyrs (2008)

Pascal Laugier’s uncompromising film follows Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï), who escapes from brutal captivity as a child only to be haunted by visions of her tormentors years later. When she finally tracks down those responsible, her closest friend Anna (Morjana Alaoui) becomes entangled in a secret society’s disturbing quest for spiritual enlightenment through suffering. Through its unflinching portrayal of trauma and sophisticated exploration of martyrdom, Martyrs transcends typical revenge narratives to deliver a philosophically rich horror experience that challenges viewers to keep their eyes open while maintaining powerful emotional resonance.

[RELATED: Before Wolf Man, These Are the 7 Best Werewolf Movies]

The Others (2001)

Alejandro Amenábar’s gothic experience stars Nicole Kidman as Grace Stewart, a devoutly religious mother struggling to protect her photosensitive children Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley) in a fog-shrouded Victorian mansion. When three mysterious servants arrive, led by the enigmatic Mrs. Mills (Fionnula Flanagan), a series of inexplicable events forces Grace to question everything she believes about life, death, and reality itself. Through its masterful use of atmosphere and psychological manipulation, The Others transforms familiar haunted house tropes into a profound exploration of grief, faith, and maternal devotion. The film’s true genius lies in how it uses its period setting and gothic elements to craft the ultimate ghost story.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Edgar Wright’s brilliant horror-comedy follows Shaun (Simon Pegg), a directionless electronics salesman stuck in a dead-end job and a failing relationship with his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield). When London falls to a zombie outbreak, Shaun must finally step up, joining forces with his slacker best friend Ed (Nick Frost) to rescue his mother (Penelope Wilton) and win back Liz. Wright’s signature rapid-fire visual style and razor-sharp script, co-written with Pegg, elevate this beyond simple parody. Instead, the zombie apocalypse becomes a perfect backdrop for exploring very human themes about growing up, accepting responsibility, and maintaining relationships.

Let the Right One In (2008)

Tomas Alfredson’s Swedish masterpiece introduces us to Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), a bullied 12-year-old boy who forms a profound connection with Eli (Lina Leandersson), a mysterious girl who only appears at night in their snow-covered Stockholm suburb. As their relationship deepens, Oskar’s discovery of Eli’s vampire nature transforms this intimate character study into something far more complex. Against a stark winter landscape, Alfredson crafts a tender coming-of-age story that reimagines vampire mythology through the lens of childhood loneliness.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Directed by Oren Peli, this found-footage phenomenon centers on Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat), a young couple whose attempt to document strange occurrences in their suburban San Diego home spirals into a nightmare. As Micah’s obsession with capturing evidence intensifies, the supernatural presence grows more aggressive, revealing a sinister decades-old connection to Katie. Armed with nothing but security cameras and practical effects, Peli manipulates negative space and sound design to create overwhelming dread. Yet beneath the supernatural scares lies an equally disturbing portrait of a relationship crumbling under the weight of fear, making its explosive climax all the more devastating.

28 Days Later (2002)

Danny Boyle reimagines zombie cinema by opening with Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakening from a coma to discover London abandoned. Alongside fellow survivors Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley), he uncovers the horrifying reality: a “rage” virus has transformed most of the population into rabid killing machines. Shot on early digital video cameras that lend a raw documentary feel, Boyle’s apocalyptic vision stands apart in its exploration of human nature. The real horror emerges not from the infected masses but from the survivors themselves, as the distinction between civilization and savagery blurs in the fight for survival. The movie also redefined the zombie mythology by turning the undead into agile killing machines instead of their classic slow interpretation.

The Descent (2005)

Neil Marshall’s horror movie is one of the best 2000s horror movies, and there are no questions about it. The Descent follows Sarah (Shauna Macdonald), who joins five friends for a spelunking expedition one year after losing her husband and daughter. Under the leadership of the ambitious Juno (Natalie Mendoza), what begins as adventure becomes a desperate fight for survival when the group finds itself trapped in an unmapped cave system. Marshall builds unbearable tension long before revealing the ancient predators lurking in the darkness, as the cave’s suffocating environment brings long-buried resentments and betrayals to the surface. This sophisticated approach to horror transforms a monster movie into a multifaceted study of trauma and survival, with an all-female cast facing both physical and psychological terrors that will haunt viewers long after the credits roll.

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Few horror subgenres delve as deeply into human psychology as cult-themed films. These movies explore our fundamental needs for belonging and meaning while exposing how easily those desires can be manipulated. From isolated communes to urban occultists, cult-focused horror films reveal the terrifying possibilities when charismatic leadership meets vulnerable followers. Furthermore, they make us question if we are really above the influence of cults or if we would also fall victim to these nefarious organizations.

Here’s our ranking of the seven best horror movies about cults, each offering a unique perspective on collective beliefs gone wrong.

7) The Lodge (2019)

Directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz craft a chilling winter nightmare in The Lodge, starring Riley Keough as Grace, a woman haunted by her past in a religious cult. When Grace finds herself trapped in an isolated winter lodge with her soon-to-be stepchildren, her traumatic history begins to surface in disturbing ways. As if that wasn’t scary enough, the film’s claustrophobic setting amplifies its exploration of how cult-related trauma can poison even the most ordinary family dynamics.

What sets The Lodge apart is its unflinching examination of generational trauma and religious extremism. Rather than focusing on active cult participation, the film shows how the psychological scars of cult membership can persist long after an escape, affecting not just the survivor but everyone around them.

6) Baskin (2015)

Turkish horror film Baskin takes viewers on a descent into madness when a group of police officers stumbles upon a terrifying cult ritual. The film stands out for its unique cultural perspective and uncompromising vision. While many cult films focus on psychological manipulation, Baskin presents a more visceral approach, examining how authority figures react when confronted with forces beyond their comprehension or control. 

Director Can Evrenol creates a nightmarish atmosphere that blends surrealism with visceral horror, pushing the boundaries of conventional narratives. Instead of a linear story, Baskin is a cyclical trip to hell, with scenes so violent and drenched in blood that they’ll remain carved into your memory long after the credits roll.

5) Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Roman Polanski’s classic stars Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse, a pregnant woman who becomes the focus of her neighbors’ sinister plans. The film’s genius lies in how it gradually reveals the cult’s presence, building paranoia through seemingly innocent interactions that take on darker meanings as the story progresses.

Rosemary’s Baby revolutionized how horror films approach cult narratives by grounding supernatural elements in everyday urban life. Instead of painting the devilish cult as a group of wackos hidden in the woods, the movie shows how danger can hide in the places we consider the safest. Finally, its exploration of bodily autonomy and institutional control of women remains painfully relevant today. It’s no wonder Rosemary’s Baby’s influence can be seen in countless subsequent films dealing with occult conspiracies.

[RELATED: Before Wolf Man, These Are the 7 Best Werewolf Movies]

4) The Wicker Man (1973)

Robin Hardy’s folk horror masterpiece follows Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) as he investigates a missing person case on a remote Scottish island. What he discovers is a pagan society that challenges everything about his Christian worldview.

The film’s strength lies in its ambiguity, presenting both Howie’s rigid Christianity and the islanders’ paganism with equal measure of sympathy and criticism. The film forces viewers to question whether Howie’s Christian morality is any more valid than the islanders’ pagan beliefs, creating a sophisticated examination of religious relativism that culminates in one of horror cinema’s most shocking endings. In addition, Christopher Lee’s memorable performance as Lord Summerisle helps create one of cinema’s most fascinating cult leaders.

3) The Endless (2017)

Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s mind-bending film follows two brothers returning to the “UFO death cult” they escaped years ago. What begins as a journey for closure becomes an exploration of time, reality, and the nature of free will. The directors’ decision to play the brothers themselves adds an extra layer of authenticity to the story, as Benson and Moorhead know precisely what kind of horrors they want to conjure with this slow-burn meditation on cults.

The Endless distinguishes itself by avoiding typical cult movie tropes. Instead, it uses the setting to explore existential questions about choice and determinism. The movie also doubles down as one of the best explorations of cosmic horror ever put on film, delving into the uncomfortable horrors of facing a force of nature you can’t comprehend. As a result, The Endless’ innovative approach to supernatural elements and complex narrative structure creates a uniquely thoughtful entry into the genre.

2) The Empty Man (2020)

David Prior’s criminally underappreciated film follows ex-cop James Lasombra (James Badge Dale) as he investigates a series of disappearances linked to the mysterious Pontifex Society. Slowly, his missing person case evolves into a meditation on belief, reality, and the nature of existence itself.

The Empty Man elevates cult horror by treating its philosophical concepts with genuine intellectual rigor. The film suggests that ideas themselves might be conscious entities capable of spreading like viruses through human minds. Through the Pontifex Society’s doctrine, the film explores how modern loneliness and existential dread might make people susceptible to dangerous ideologies that promise meaning through the obliteration of the self. Granted, this is not an easy movie, as it demands the audience to question what reality even means, which explains the movie’s initially polarized reception. Yet, The Empty Man has slowly found the recognition that it deserves.

1) Midsommar (2019)

Ari Aster’s daylight nightmare follows Dani (Florence Pugh) as she joins her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) on an anthropological trip to a remote Swedish commune following a devastating personal tragedy. By setting its horrors in perpetual sunlight, the film creates a unique sense of disorientation that mirrors Dani’s psychological state as she’s drawn deeper into the commune’s influence.

What makes Midsommar the pinnacle of cult horror is its careful balance of empathy and horror. The film understands that cults don’t prey on weakness but on universal human needs for community, understanding, and ritual. That’s all the more relevant as Midsommar doubles down as a study of how seductive white supremacy ideas can be to those lacking meaningful human bonds. Through Dani’s journey from isolation to terrible belonging, Aster examines how grief can make anyone susceptible to manipulation. The film’s stunning cinematography and attention to detail in its ritual sequences create an immersive experience that’s simultaneously beautiful and horrifying.

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Despite an illustrious career spanning over two decades, including two Academy Award nominations, actor Djimon Hounsou has revealed he’s still struggling financially in Hollywood. The revelation is particularly striking considering Hounsou’s trajectory, from his breakthrough role in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad to becoming a staple of blockbuster franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe. During a recent interview with CNN’s African Voices Changemakers, the star opened up about the challenging financial realities of his acting career, highlighting ongoing issues of pay inequality in the entertainment industry that persist even for performers of his caliber.

“I’m still struggling to make a living,” Hounsou admitted in the interview. “I’ve been in this business making films now for over two decades with two Oscar nominations, been in many blockbuster films, and yet I’m still struggling financially. I’m definitely underpaid.” The actor’s candid revelation contrasts his impressive resume, which includes critically acclaimed performances in films like Amistad, Gladiator, and Blood Diamond, the latter earning him his second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2007.

[RELATED: Djimon Hounsou Reveals How Rebel Moon Brought Friendship With Zack Snyder Full Circle]

The actor further elaborated on his experiences with pay negotiations in Hollywood, sharing how he often faces lowball offers despite his extensive experience and accolades. “I still have to prove why I need to get paid,” Hounsou explained. “They always come at me with a complete low ball: ‘We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much.'” These struggles persist despite Hounsou’s involvement in major box office releases, including roles as Korath in Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel, the Fisherman King in Aquaman, and the wizard Shazam in multiple DC films.

From Oscar Nominations to Ongoing Industry Struggles

Hounsou’s journey in Hollywood began with Steven Spielberg’s 1997 historical drama Amistad, though his breakthrough performance was met with unexpected obstacles. “I was nominated for the Golden Globe, but they ignored me for the Oscars,” the actor recalled. Despite this early setback, Hounsou would go on to earn two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor – first for Jim Sheridan’s In America in 2004, where he delivered a powerful performance as an HIV-positive artist, and then for Edward Zwick’s Blood Diamond in 2007, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.

The actor connected his personal experiences to broader issues in the industry, stating, “That’s a sign for you that systemic racism is not something you can deal with lightly. It’s so deeply inserted in everything that we do, across the board.” He also referenced fellow actor Viola Davis’s similar struggles with fair compensation, noting how even acclaimed performers continue to face pay equity challenges regardless of their achievements. Davis, who has won an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award, has previously spoken about facing similar compensation disparities despite her accolades.

In recent years, Hounsou has maintained a strong presence in major productions, taking on roles in films like A Quiet Place Part II and Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon. His work has also extended beyond acting, as he founded the Djimon Hounsou Foundation to address the cultural disconnection between Africa and its diaspora. “My acting work really opened my eyes,” Hounsou shared. “As I was doing research for [Amistad], I became profoundly aware of the disconnect between Afro-descendants from their roots and culture. Because when you don’t know where you came from, you don’t know who you are.”

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The 1990s were an era of horror films that need to be studied. The early part of the decade gave us the tail end of the slasher sub-genre that governed horror. By the mid-1990s, you had anything from poorly produced Stephen King adaptations made for television to Wes Craven revitalizing the slasher with Scream. Yet, by the end of the decade, The Blair Witch Project would usher in what you can do with a horror film and the new heights you could take it without studio backing. Even if you don’t like the found footage horror film, you can’t argue against the floodgates it opened.

All of it is produced with a camcorder, some hiking gear, and utter the fear that centers around a group of aspiring documentary filmmakers who go off into the woods of a small town to investigate a string of local murders that are believed to be committed by a supposed witch. Once they get lost and begin to hear scary sounds at night, all bets are off.

Why We Never See the Blair Witch on Screen

You never see ‘The Witch’ in The Blair Witch Project, though you see remnants of the entity around. The closest you get to seeing her on screen is in the film’s final moments (more on that in a second). What did you expect from a few filmmaking hopefuls with no money but an idea of how to make a scary film?

RELATED: Blair Witch Producer Says Everybody’s Been Watching the Wrong Version of the Movie

The Blair With Project lives and breathes in the idea that it’s not what you see. It’s what you don’t that gets you scared. It’s in the screams of actress Rei Hance, formerly known as “Heather Donahue,” and the iconic close-up of her runny nose. It’s in the pile of rocks that the three lost searchers of the witch wake up to, and the stick figures made of twigs hanging from the trees. The fear and dread lie in the idea of ‘Josh’ (Joshua Leonard), who goes missing in the film’s third act, and the meltdown of ‘Mike’ (Michael C. Williams) as he begins to lose his mind. The threat of the witch being unseen keeps things grounded in reality. Thus, all the fears and anxieties the characters have as they dive further into their living hell feel all too real.

Many People Thought The Blair With Project was Real

A key factor in the success of The Blair Witch Project is that it’s presented as an actual piece of found footage. The marketing behind the movie didn’t break character in that sense for a long time. All of this makes you, an audience member, want to see what this witch looks like and see it badly. 

The Blair Witch Project was also a film that utilized the internet before anyone else ever thought to do so, making it not easy to spot if it was a fake thing for people to buy into or not. The website for the film now takes you directly to the Lionsgate website, but at the time, www.theblairwitch.com had an eeriness about it that made it feel like you were examining the files of a crime scene. You know what wasn’t on the site? Any photos of the Blair Witch. Viewing the website only added fuel to the fire to get butts in seats when the film hit the national stage and scared millions.

That Ending Though…

Some want to scoff at The Blair Witch Project‘s ending; others think it is a masterpiece. By the time you reach the final few moments of the film, your palms are sweaty as you await some sort of big reveal as to what the witch looks like. 

In the film’s final minutes, we are with Heather and Mike, who hear Josh yelling for help in the distance. They have stumbled upon a strange abandoned house in the woods. Mike is attacked by something off-camera. We then cut to Heather on her camera, yelling, screaming, and looking for her friends. She eventually enters the basement and finds Mike standing in the corner, facing the wall, previously mentioned in the film as a tactic used by Rustin Parr, a man who killed multiple children and was alleged to have done so at the instruction of the Blair Witch. Mike is completely motionless, Heather’s camera gets knocked to the ground, and the screen goes fuzzy, and eventually goes black. 

It’s an unforgettable ending that will linger with you as you go about your life after seeing the film. Many other found-footage horror films have attempted to do the same thing, and many have failed. The Blair Witch Project accomplished all of this without ever showing you the monster. 

The post This ‘90s Horror Movie Is Terrifying, Even Though You Never See the Monster appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Lord of the Rings might just be the best movie binge you can go on, but there are a lot of ways to go about it. Thankfully, these days it’s easy to track down all the films on a whim and customize your experience in Middle-earth. Whether you’re a serial re-watcher, a new fan or a friend of a prospective new fan, read on for where to find each Lord of the Rings movie right now and the best order to watch them in. With now seven movies technically within the film franchise, it could be confusing which way to enter The Lord of the Rings, but there is one way to rule them all.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Let’s kick things off with a hot take: in most cases, a Middle-earth marathon should start with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, not The Hobbit trilogy. This is not the case with J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, as he wrote The Hobbit first and they work better in this format. However, the movies were made out of order, and it shows. The Hobbit movies are full of visual and thematic references to the original trilogy, and they work better as a prequel viewed after the fact. On top of that, the LOTR trilogy is simply better, so if you lose steam and stop early, at least you’ll have gotten through the best the series has to offer.

You can find The Fellowship of the Ring streaming now on Max, and it’s important to note that the streamer has both the theatrical version and the extended cut. In most situations, you’ll want to opt for the extended cut. If you don’t want to commit to a subscription, you can also buy or rent the movie on most major PVOD services, including Prime Video, Apple TV and YouTube. These services also have the extended editions, but only for purchase, not rental.

[RELATED: Why The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Owes Everything to This 1996 Horror-Comedy]

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Two Towers comes next, and once again you’ll be able to find it on Max and on most major PVOD services. Keep in mind that if you’re taking my advice and sticking to the extended editions, you shouldn’t plan on breezing through these movies. For example, the theatrical cut of Two Towers has a runtime of 2 hours, 52 minutes, while the extended edition is 3 hours, 55 minutes. Watching the whole trilogy on a lazy winter Sunday is certainly possible, but it’s a commitment of about 12 hours of screentime.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Return of the King is also on Max and the same PVOD stores as tis predecessors. Here, I’ll take a moment to mention the physical media options. This trilogy has gotten some fantastic releases on DVD and Blu-ray, with some of the most lauded bonus content in movie history. If they’re not already on your shelf, they’re a must-have. However, to find these bonus-packed releases you’ll need to look at secondhand markets. Warner Bros. is currently selling a DVD box set that only includes the theatrical versions of the films.

For Blu-ray collectors, it’s more straightforward. The 4K Ultra HD collection features both the theatrical and extended cuts of all three movies, along with many of the most popular bonus features from throughout the years. Sadly, the six-film collection released at the same time does not include extended editions — either on Blu-ray or DVD.

The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim

To get controversial again, I’d recommend pausing here to watch the latest movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. It’s not just because we’re going in qualitative order — although that’s a part of it — this movie will make the most sense to you here, with the politics of Rohan and Gondor fresh in your mind. This prequel is set 183 years before Frodo receives the One Ring, and it is narrated by Miranda Otto reprising her role as Eowyn. The War of the Rohirrim is still playing in many theaters right now, but it is also available to watch at home via most major PVOD services.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

From here, we’ll dive into The Hobbit trilogy, which you’ve likely heard has a mixed reputation within the fandom. Although the novel is shorter than any of the installments of The Lord of the Rings, it was still stretched out into three movies. Most fans will agree that either the first one or the second one is the strongest of the three, but one way or another you probably won’t enjoy this as much as the original trilogy.

For a repeat binge-watchers, you know the drill — The Hobbit trilogy comes last on this list because you don’t necessarily watch it every time. If you get through the extended cuts of the original trilogy and you still haven’t gotten your fill of Middle Earth, you may turn this one on for another dose, but it’s not necessary. I’d recommend the same for new fans, and if you’re trying to get a friend or loved one obsessed with this series, I’d encourage you to take a break before The Hobbit and consider whether you want to go this far at all. For a newcomer, it might be better to get a few LOTR binges under their belt first before even touching this one, unless they’re super enthusiastic about it.

As for where to watch, there’s actually a bit of quirk with this one. For some reason, at the time of this writing Max does not have the extended edition of An Unexpected Journey. You can stream the theatrical cut there or find the extended cut on a PVOD store — or on a disc. In this case, the extended edition is only 13 minutes longer, so the difference is not nearly as drastic.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Desolation of Smaug is also streaming on Max and PVOD stores in both theatrical and extended versions. This movie is arguably the high point of the prequel trilogy thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as the dragon. If you can get your hands on the bonus content, I’d highly recommend watching his behind-the-scenes featurette when you’re finished. The actor really gave his all to this role, short-lived as it may be.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Finally, we finish with The Battle of the Five Armies, available on max and PVOD stores in two different lengths. It’s not a strong ending for this experience, but with new movies on the way, hopefully that will change soon. Alternatively, you could branch out to TV from here and check out The Rings of Power on Prime Video, or simply circle back to Fellowship for another cycle.

The post The Lord of the Rings Movies Watch Guide: What Order and How to Stream appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Dune: Part Two was one of the big hits of 2024, wrapping up the first book’s arc in the best way possible, and setting things up for Dune: Messiah. What we know so far is that shooting for the third film might not start until late 2025 or early 2026, and since Denis Villeneuve’s announcement, there hasn’t been any more specific info about the casting. Obviously, based on what the story has hinted at, the audience already has an idea of who to expect in the next sequel, but when it comes to new characters, only readers of Frank Herbert’s book series will know.

The Dune: Messiah story, which will be adapted from the second book, which will be adapted from the second book, will see Paul Atreides as Emperor, dealing with the pressures of being a leader and the complex consequences of his actions. But there are some surprises ahead, like Duncan Idaho. The character died in the first Dune movie, but could he make a return? Given that Villeneuve is a big fan of the entire saga and has stayed true to the original story so far, it’s likely that viewers will see Jason Momoa reprise the role.

Warning: Spoilers below for the Dune: Messiah novel!

Why Duncan Idaho’s Return Is Important in Dune: Messiah

In Dune, when Duncan appears, it’s clear that he has been a pivotal figure for Paul since he was a boy. Not only was he a loyal warrior for House Atreides, but he also served as a mentor and a trusted friend to Paul, someone the heir relied on deeply. To understand Duncan’s importance beyond his relationship with the protagonist, we can also look at his role with the Fremen. He played a crucial part in building the alliance between the Atreides and the people of Arrakis. When Paul and Jessica are forced to flee due to the Harkonnen attack, it’s Duncan who aids them, demonstrating his unwavering loyalty to the Atreides family. This is what drives him to protect Paul and Jessica when the sietch they seek refuge in is attacked. He ultimately sacrifices his life to ensure their safety.

His presence is brief in the first movie, but it also lays the foundation for his more significant role in the subsequent books, as it’s in Dune: Messiah that he is resurrected as a ghola. In Dune: Prophecy, fans have already seen how the cinematic universe has successfully adapted a face dancer – a race introduced in the second book that is linked to the Tleilaxu. Like the gholas, face dancers are creations of this secretive society, known for their expertise in genetic manipulation. Their primary goal is to create beings to serve their own purposes, often revolving around power and control, and this is where Duncan’s resurrection comes into play.

[RELATED – Everything We Know About Dune: Messiah (Including Who Will Return)]

In the second book of the series, the character is brought back as a ghola – a clone with no memories of his past life. He is initially used as a spy, part of a conspiracy against Paul, who is now seen as a threat to the Tleilaxu’s control over the universe. However, the big twist is that Duncan is also programmed to kill Paul if he recovers his memories. The Tleilaxu’s reasoning is that if the ghola regains his past memories, he would remember his loyalty to House Atreides and refuse to carry out his mission. This setup creates a fascinating dilemma, as Duncan’s arc raises the question of whether a ghola can truly be the same person as they were before.

Besides, the reactivation of his memories is a crucial element of the plot, as he struggles to reconcile his relationship to the Atreides with the orders given by the Tleilaxu. Bringing him back into the adaptation not only stays true to the original material but also serves as a way to continue a narrative full of internal dilemmas and ethical conflicts, which add depth not just to the character, but to the story as a whole. This ensures a relevant storyline, particularly since Duncan’s decisions will have a significant impact on Paul’s fate and the future of the empire.

In this sense, his resurrection as a ghola is not only a means of expanding the universe but also a catalyst for new conflicts, revelations, and the evolution of the plot. However, there is another aspect of the new Duncan’s journey that is not very pleasing to Dune fans – Alia Atreides.

The Romance Between Duncan and Alia Shouldn’t Take Center Stage in Dune: Messiah

The ending of Dune: Part Two made it clear that the plot of the third movie will focus not only on Paul’s struggles as Emperor but also on his romance with Chani, which will now essentially become a love triangle, as Princess Irulan is promised to marry him. The saga addresses many themes, but it’s fair to say that romance has never really been the central focus. Villeneuve, however, has already mentioned that Messiah will highlight some of these romantic elements, which makes sense, considering Paul is the protagonist. However, shifting focus to the romantic relationships of other characters, like Duncan’s, is not something the audience likely wants to see – especially since in the novel, he falls in love with Alia while she is still a girl.

Paul’s sister’s development is a super fast process since Jessica’s pregnancy, when she takes the Water of Life in the Bene Gesserit ritual in Dune: Part Two. The effects get passed on to Alia while she’s still in the womb, making her a fully mature child loaded with knowledge from the memories and consciousness of various ancestors. It’s known that the sequel will have a time jump, which might show Paul’s sister as much older (since Anya Taylor-Joy has already been confirmed for the production), but even so, we’ll still be dealing with a naturally adolescent girl. She still has emotions and thoughts that don’t fully match her early mental maturity, which makes a romance with the ghola a disturbing or uncomfortable dynamic for the audience.

Other than that, focusing on this kind of relationship could take away from the psychological battle Alia starts facing with her multiple inner consciousnesses. Of course, this issue is just introduced in Messiah and will be explored in more depth in the third book, Children of Dune. However, even though Villeneuve has said that the next film will be his last project in the universe, Warner Bros. is reportedly working on a fourth installment. If that happens, it might be the best time for her character to develop with Duncan. Not now.

Still, we should remember that nothing is completely certain yet. In an interview with Men’s Health last year, Momoa didn’t give a clear answer about returning to the franchise, only saying he would “get in trouble” if he tried to say anything about it. However, it’s highly likely that he will come back, especially since fans know that Duncan ultimately becomes one of the most important characters in the entire saga.

Dune: Messiah is currently without an official release date.

The post Dune: Messiah Needs to Include This Character Return (And Cut Out One Creepy Moment) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Nothing is cooler than two films that are part of a series that take place in real-time, very close to one another, despite their releases being a few years apart. That’s precisely what The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum did back in 2004 and 2007. Based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name, the success of 2002’s The Bourne Identity, staring Matt Damon in the title role as Jason Bourne, a man with amnesia who comes to realize that he is a deadly assassin, helped generate two sequels that have been dissected for how close in real time the plot lines are to one another. The reason why many find this timeline very perplexing is that the same scene appears in both Supremacy and Ultimatum. 

The Bourne and Landy Phone Call Scene

The scene that may have thrown both hardcore Bourne fans and fair-weather ones for a loop centers around when Bourne finds an ally in CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen). The first time we see this scene is at the end of The Bourne Supremacy. In the scene, Landy takes a call from Bourne, where she reveals his real name to be David Webb. Bourne then says to Landy, “Get some rest, Pam. You look tired.” Then we realize that he’s in a building close by watching her.

The Bourne Ultimatum Takes Place Six Weeks After The Bourne Supremacy

The Bourne Ultimatum was, at the time, supposed to be the big conclusion to the amnesiac assassin’s arc (that changed in the years to come). In the third film in the franchise, Bourne attempts to expose the wrongdoings of the Treadstone assassin program. 

RELATED: New Jason Bourne Movie in the Works From All Quiet on the Western Front Director

The timeframe between the two films is only six weeks. The final scene in Supremacy with Bourne and Landy is loosely repeated in the back half of Ultimatum, thus signifying some overlap between the two films, and meaning some plot points of Ultimatum may have happened off-screen in Supremacy. 

It’s easy to think that the final scene in the second film is indeed the last of that certain adventure; it is actually a flash forward to what would develop in the third act of the third installment. The scene that precedes it, where Bourne visits the daughter of one of his victims in Russia, helps paint the picture more clearly. The Bourne Ultimatum begins in Russia, prior to him heading back to the U.S. 

The Bourne Ultimatum may be bending time at first glance when it fits the scene into its plot, but it’s actually a tactic of great screenwriting. We never truly know the timeline of when Landy and Bourne’s conversation takes place until it hits us right in the face in the third film. See for yourself just how effective it is, as both films are streaming on Peacock.

The post The Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum Timeline Isn’t as Confusing as It Seems appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Sony’s connected universe of Marvel characters is essentially dead, as the studio is working on new directions for Marvel films. The Venom series was able to sustain success for an entire trilogy, but none of these other Spider-Man-adjacent solo adventures have been able to replicate it. Unfortunately, because of these failures, fans didn’t get to see some of the planned crossovers that would’ve taken place in the franchise.

It appears one of those big crossover moments could’ve come in the last of Sony’s Marvel experiments: Kraven the Hunter. Concept artist Jules Darriulat recently took to Instagram to share some designs for an unused scene in Kraven, designs featuring none other than Venom. Take a look!

“Here’s an environment shot done for a cancelled sequence from Kraven the Hunter,” Darriulat. “It was a lot of fun working on this sequence with the Framestone’s art department.”

According to the artist, this piece with what appears to be a fallen Symbiote is an “environment shot” for Kraven the Hunter. That could mean a number of things, but it does indicate that the sequence may not have involved Venom as an actual character in the movie. It could have been used for a scene that was part of a montage or post-credits sequence that teased the larger Sony/Marvel universe.

Remember that Knull, the god of the Symbiotes, was set up in Venom: The Last Dance to be a massive force across the entire universe. The character was discussed for a bigger role and even a potential solo film, so Kraven could’ve been paving the way for even more of Knull’s story across the Sony movies.

As it turns out, that idea must not have made it to the filming stages of Kraven the Hunter, as the only look we’ve got for it comes in the form of this concept art.

Other Kraven the Hunter Changes

Like other Sony/Marvel films, Kraven the Hunter had some changes and alterations take place in post-production that were noticeable to those working on the film.

Kraven star Alessandro Nivola recently told The Hollywood Reporter that one of this key scenes was changed by the time Kraven the Hunter hit theaters, even though he was assured that specific scene was being kept as it was.

“The way I performed it was totally silent. It was a silent scream. When I did it, everybody laughed on set. It was so weird, but they all loved it. We kept referring to it as the ‘silent scream moment,’” Nivola said. “So I kept asking J.C. [Chandor] during the edit if the silent scream was still in the cut, and he said, ‘Yeah, of course. We would never lose the silent scream.’ But when I saw the movie, it had that guttural voice catch, which I don’t think was as effective as it would’ve been otherwise.”

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Harry Potter may be a children’s series, but it still has some terrifying moments in its exploration of witchcraft and wizardry. The movies get progressively darker as they go along too, which means they treat their scary moments more seriously and less cartoonish. Still, the scariest scene in all eight films is in the second movie, when Harry and Ron visit the Aragog’s home all by themselves. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets shares the same director and nostalgic style as the first movie, but if you stop and think about it, its content is extremely dire.

All things considered, it’s a wonder that Hogwarts survives this onslaught at all, especially after its unlikely heroes wandered into the den of a giant spider all by themselves. Seeing all those eight-legged monsters scuttling towards Harry and Ron in a mixture of CGI and puppetry is enough to haunt a young fan for life.

[RELATED: Harry Potter Fans Discover Hidden Part of Hogwarts Legacy Two Years After Release]

As usual, the trouble starts with Hagrid. The gamekeeper advises 12-year-old Harry and Ron to “follow the spiders” if they want to learn the truth, with no time to warn them about what they’re getting into. They follow the ominous trails of arachnids fleeing the castle into the Forbidden Forest on their own, with no one to back them up and no way to deal with what they’ll soon encounter. After a short moonlit hike, they run into Hagrid’s loyal former pet Aragog, who has managed to have hundreds of offspring.

The boys do get some important exposition from Aragog, but the scene is so tense that a viewer could be forgiven for missing the infodump altogether. Aragog is horrifying to behold by himself, let alone the endless mass of crawling legs that slowly gang up behind the boys. The movie makes the perspective very clear — most of these spiders are at least waist-high on Harry and Ron, and they can move fast. Thankfully, we never learn what would happen if they caught the boys or bit them, but we later hear about how coveted the spider’s venom is in the sixth movie.

The fear factor is enhanced by Ron, a self-confessed arachnophobe who is clearly paralyzed with fear, meaning he will be no help in the ensuing confrontation. Their saving grace doesn’t even make things much better — the Weasley family’s enchanted car comes to the rescue, but after it threw Ron and Harry out last time we saw it, it’s a wary ally at best.

In the end, it feels like Ron and Harry owe their survival of this scene mostly to luck, and ironically to Voldemort as well since, he inadvertently taught Harry an anti-spider spell in a flashback. The momentum of the plot takes them forward fast, which is also good because Ron seems ready to curl up in the fetal position after this harrowing experience.

The Other Scariest Scenes in Harry Potter

There are certainly other candidates for scariest scene in the series, and depending on the viewer there may be something that hits harder than Aragog. Realistically, if a couple of unprepared 12-year-olds could get away from the spiders, it’s safe to assume that more experienced witches and wizards could do the same. Still, after facing down a swarm of megalithic spiders that could talk, it’s hard to imagine being scared of another human — even one who could cast spells.

That being said, other monsters definitely raise the scare factor in this series, particularly the undead Inferi in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Voldemort’s snake Nagini also helps to make things creepier in any scene she appears in, and the infamous Dementors cast a long shadow in some of their scenes.

Harry Potter doesn’t set out to be a horror story, but it captures that side of magic pretty succinctly when it wants to. You can stream all eight movies now on Max, along with the Fantastic Beasts movies. The books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.

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Ariana Grande finally weighs in on those Hercules Megara fan castings.

The singer/songwriter turned actress blew audiences away with her portrayal of Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, a role she’s dreamed of playing for decades. This reignited talks about Grande portraying Megara in the Hercules live-action film, greenlit by Disney. While Grande is flattered fans want to see her in the role, her pick for the role is near and dear to her heart.

“It’s really funny, because I grew up singing the Muses’ parts. [laughs] … I have seen some of that, but it’s never been an actual discussion,” Grande tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit podcast (H/T CinemaBlend). “As much as I really love transforming for a role – and I do love the idea of, you know, a darker sort of – ‘c’ asterisk ‘unty’ role like Megara, I do think that I would be remiss if I didn’t say this, I think [Elizabeth] Gillies should be Megara. Do you know my friend Liz Gillies? She’s brilliant. Oh god, that would be a fantastic role for her.”

Gillies is another name that has frequently come up in the Megara discussion. Not only does she have the look and sultry acting needed to pull off Meg, but she’s got the chops, too. Gillies is most known for her role as Jade West on Victorious. She and Grande met starring in Broadway’s 13 and have remained friends since. Gillies later starred in The CW’s remake of Dynasty where she frequently shows off her powerful vocals.

[RELATED: Wicked 2: Ariana Grande Teases “Pivotal” Original Song for Glinda]

Hercules is the latest beloved Disney film to get the remake treatment. The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Lilo and Stitch are just a few of them to get a live-action adaption, and Disney shows no signs of stopping. Hercules was first announced in 2022 but there was a period with no updates at all.

In 2024 The Russo Brothers, who signed on to produce through AGBO, confirmed the film is still in the works. While most details are still unknown, the duo previously explained that the reimagination is “a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution.”

“There are questions about how you translate it as a musical,” Joe Russo told Variety. “Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like? That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical.”

In the meantime, catch the stage adaptation of Disney’s Hercules heading to London’s West End this year and stream the animated film on Disney+.

The post Ariana Grande “Flattered” That Disney Fans Want Her for Hercules Reboot appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Adam Scott is unsure if another comic book movie is in his future. The Severance star played paramedic Ben Parker — the brother-in-law of the pregnant Mary Parker (Emma Roberts), a.k.a. Spider-Man’s mom — in 2024’s Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson as the titular clairvoyant. The Sony-made Marvel movie, which was panned by critics and audiences alike, bombed at the box office and grossed just $100 million worldwide. After playing Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben in the Spider-Man spinoff (and dressing up as Batman in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation), can Scott see himself making another comic book movie?

“I don’t know. Never say never,” Scott told ComicBook in an interview pegged to season 2 of his hit Apple TV+ series Severance. “I’m not sure. I think that it’s a genre that I, certainly, as an audience member, participate in. I like seeing all those movies, I watch them all.”

RELATED: Sony Pictures CEO Blames Critics for Spider-Man Spinoffs Bombing in Theaters: “These Are Not Terrible Films”

While promoting Madame Web, Scott described himself as a former “comic book nerd” who grew up buying comics from the Atlantis Fantasyworld comic book shop in California.

“I was really into comics as a kid. I actually grew up in Santa Cruz, California, where they shot Lost Boys. And the comic book store in [1987’s The Lost Boys] was the comic book store that I would go to just about every day to get all my latest comic books,” Scott revealed on The Jess Cagle Show. “And my next door neighbor owned it, Joe Ferrara, and so I would go in there every day, and he would have the latest comics that I was interested in.”

Although the S.J. Clarkson-directed film set up a potential sequel — with Johnson’s blind clairvoyant Cassandra Webb mentoring Spider-Women Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazón (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) — it’s a future that would never come to pass. The film performed so poorly that it reportedly dashed studio hopes for a franchise, and the studio isn’t actively developing other films set in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe after Venom: The Last Dance underperformed and Kraven the Hunter bombed with one of the worst-ever openings for a Marvel comic book adaptation. Palak Patel, Sony’s EVP of Production and Development who oversaw the SSU, recently exited the studio after 10 years, as did Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra.

“Madame Web underperformed in the theaters because the press just crucified it,” he told The Los Angeles Times before ending his seven-year tenure at Sony Pictures. “It was not a bad film, and it did great on Netflix. For some reason, the press decided that they didn’t want us making these films out of Kraven and Madame Web, and the critics just destroyed them. They also did it with Venom, but the audience loved Venom and made Venom a massive hit.”

“These are not terrible films,” Vinciquerra added. “They were just destroyed by the critics in the press, for some reason.”

Severance season 2 premieres Jan. 17 on Apple TV+.

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The Friday the 13th franchise has always been pretty fast and loose with logic, and that’s just one element that makes it such a treasure. For instance, Jason shouldn’t even be anything other than a decomposing little boy at the bottom of a lake, yet he’s walking around, machete in hand. Just as there’s no consistency with how life and death work, there’s not even any consistency with how the resurrected (or never dead at all?) man looks. Each film has a different look for Jason, and we’ll be doomed if they aren’t able to be ranked.

Primarily, the focus was the character’s various physical designs. However, the work of the man behind the mask (or burlap sack) was taken into account. How Jason carries himself doesn’t vary quite as much as his physical appearance from film to film, but it still does, especially when comparing the second, third, fourth, and twelfth films with what came in between.

#12 – Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning is an odd duck. It often plays more like a cheapo piece of midnight trash (which has its merits) than a coherent film. Director Danny Steinmann, who was known for directing pornography more than anything else, was clearly out of his element.

It also features the worst Jason because, well, it’s not Jason at all. It’s an ambulance driver named Roy, whose identity as the killer is less a twist and more blatantly obvious (the man sinisterly looks directly into the camera at one point for goodness’ sake). Given that fact, this “Jason” doesn’t even move like Jason. He moves like a mortal man, and not in a particularly frightening way at that.

#11 – Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

On the whole, Steve Miner’s Friday the 13th Part 2 is one of the franchise’s best installments. However, it’s often clear that those behind the film weren’t quite sure which direction to take it all. For instance, one of its most iconic kills is lifted directly from Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood.

There’s also the fact that the film’s Jason, his first appearance as an adult, is really just the unnamed killer from The Town That Dreaded Sundown. On one hand, that kind of works as it makes Jason seem like a flesh-and-blood real-world threat, but it’s also without a doubt the second least inspired Jason design in the franchise’s history.

#10 – Jason X (2002)

The worst Friday the 13th doesn’t quite have the worst Jason design, but it’s close. The fourth and final Kane Hodder installment of the franchise, Jason X, is like the other three in that it ranks pretty low in terms of the overall series.

His Jason, however, is iconic for a reason. Hodder makes Jason a force, but of his quartet of performances, this is the only one hampered by an outright goofy design and awful special effects. Even still, at least it’s objectively creative, which can’t be said about the ones seen in A New Beginning or Part 2.

#9 – Friday the 13th (1980)

Some may thing that the first Jason is the worst Jason, because he’s relegated to a cameo. But what a cameo. The final jump scare in Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th is iconic, and even after 45 years and however many viewings, it’s lost none of its impact.

Were the franchise to have not been a franchise and instead been a single film, this moss-covered and grotesque Jason would still work. After all, he’s the prime motivation for the film’s momentum even though he’s long dead. Or is he? A little air of mystery never hurt a horror flick, and it certainly doesn’t hurt the original Friday the 13th.

[RELATED: 5 Horror Movie Franchises That Desperately Need Reboots]

#8 – Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Freddy vs. Jason operates as a continuation of the later Paramount films when it comes to Jason. He’s nothing like the one seen in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and there’s no silly Jason X silver mask (or admittedly effective blood red eyes). Instead, he’s closer to what was seen in the next entry.

The one thing that does work quite well about this lumbering, fairly standard take on the character is actor Ken Kirzinger’s considerable height. Even still, this is the most “meh” Jason out there. You believe he could kill you, but you also believe you could either run away or summon a dream demon to distract him.

#7 – Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

Far ahead of its time and one of the best slasher sequels ever made, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is still burdened with a pretty lame Jason. To be fair, he’s dead dead after The Final Chapter, so he’s supposed to be a slow-moving zombie, but without Kane Hodder behind the mask that’s really all he is.

C. J. Graham had the right size for the role, and there’s admittedly nothing particularly wrong with his take on the character. But, when combined with a comedic tone, this Jason is a pretty difficult one to take seriously, much less be afraid of.

#6 – Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Watching Jason storm through Times Square (actually Vancouver) makes for one of the best Friday the 13th chase sequences, but he’s still a step down from the previous film’s legendary take on the character. However, the film still benefits from Kane Hodder’s return, not to mention all the slime that coats pretty much Jason’s entire body.

Once the mask comes off, this Jason pretty quickly becomes the worst, but up until then he’s solid enough. At the very least he’s the funniest Jason. If you don’t want your jukebox kicked, don’t put it in front of a hockey masked killer with 100+ kills under his slimy belt.

#5 – Friday the 13th (2009)

For the first time in a long time, Jason could catch up with a marathon runner without the use of teleportation which, let’s face it, he can apparently do in some of the movies. The 2009 Friday the 13th remake may be a little too glossy for its own good and filled with obnoxious characters, but they got Jason right.

Derek Mears made for a really terrific Jason. If there was any main reason for Marcus Nispel’s reboot to get a sequel, it was Mears. It also helps that he was coming on the heels of one of the more boring Jasons in the franchise’s history.

#4 – Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is quite a few fans’ favorite installment of the franchise. That’s very much understandable, but its Jason is still a step down from the inferior-as-a-film Part III. Richard Brooker’s Jason set such a high bar that it was almost impossible for Ted White to fill his big, blood-soaked shoes.

On the negative end of things, this Jason just isn’t quite as bulky, which was an asset when it came to just how intimidating Part III‘s could be. On the positive end, White’s is still one of the better Jasons because he’s still surrounded by the grim tone that elevated the first four movies, not to mention the carrying over of the axe mark from the previous film’s climax is a nice touch. Though Jason is most identified as a slow-moving killing machine, he still ran here, which is indeed scarier. The Final Chapter would be the last time he did so until the remake.

#3 – Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Were this a ranking of the films’ overall quality, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday would be pretty close to the bottom. Though, unlike the other New Line movies, it at least attempts to capture the visual and tonal spirit of the Paramount years. It’s just how it goes about doing so that’s…questionable.

What isn’t questionable is that it takes some mighty big swings, and that includes the look of Jason (for the scant amount of time he’s actually on-screen). The penultimate Hodder Jason is wholly unlike the other three. It takes the consistent deterioration of the character and ups it a few notches. And, in doing so, pulls the now barely-there mask a few notches into the undead man’s face. Plus, the few strands of long, graying hair somehow works.

#2 – Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

It’s a toss-up for the top spot, but on a tier list only one can win. But, while Richard Brooker’s take on the character in Friday the 13th Part III didn’t win in terms of design, he is the definitive Jason.

For the most part, the Friday the 13th movies aren’t particularly scary, but the way Brooker portrays Jason gives him a particular frightening edge. Just look at the way he lumbers back up the pier after shooting Vera with the speargun, it’s as if he’s halfway between the mindless killing machine of Part VI and the distinctly human rendition in Part 2. Like the number one spot, this Jason is iconic, primarily because it was here that he got his mask.

#1 – Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Again, it’s a toss-up, but the first Kane Hodder performance as Jason takes the W. Alongside directing the film, John Carl Buechler was a noteworthy make-up artist, and his vision for what the character should look like was a vast improvement over the dull Jason Lives zombie.

The exposed ribs and spine, the decayed face, Hodder’s forceful yet slow way of moving, it all works. Thanks to the MPAA’s demands it’s arguably the least effective entry of the Paramount years (all eight of which are now available to stream for free on Pluto TV), but Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood has the Jason that most people think of when his name is mentioned.

The post Every Friday the 13th Movie Ranked by Jason’s Appearance appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Fastest Man Alive wasn’t a runaway hit with audiences — especially women. That’s according to The Flash director Andy Muschietti, who says in a new interview that his DC film flopped in part because it failed to draw an audience of all four quadrants: older men, older women, younger men, and younger women. The antepenultimate chapter of the DC Extended Universe (since relaunched as the new DC Universe), which starred Ezra Miller as the titular scarlet speedster Barry Allen opposite Michael Keaton’s Batman, ended its nine-week run in theaters with just $266 million at the global box office when it opened in the summer of 2023.

“The Flash failed, among all the other reasons, because it wasn’t a movie that appealed to all four quadrants. It failed at that,” Muschietti told Radio Tu’s “La Baulera del Coso” show. “When you spend $200 million making a movie, [Warner Bros.] wants to bring even your grandmother to the theaters.”

RELATED: The Brave and the Bold Director Andy Muschietti Says Robert Pattinson Won’t Be the DCU Batman

According to Comscore PostTrak exit polling, which reports audience demographics, The Flash‘s first Thursday night screenings pulled in 47% men over 25, 29% men under 25, and 17% women over 25 and just 7% women under 25 (per Deadline). The film went on to receive a B CinemaScore from opening night moviegoers and a 77% from PostTrak exits, with 59% of audiences giving it a “recommend.”

In an opening weekend postmortem, Deadline reported that the “male-heavy” Flash failed to pull in as many women as 2017’s Wonder Woman — the first female-led movie from DC Films — or 2018’s billion-grossing Aquaman, starring a frequently shirtless Jason Momoa in the title role. (Compared to The Flash‘s 17% from women over 25 and 7% from women under 25, Aquaman received 84% approval from the female 25-plus demographic, and it was more popular with moms than dads at 91% approval versus 85%.)

“I’ve found in private conversations that a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character,” Muschietti told La Baulera del Coso. “Particularly the two female quadrants. All of that is just the wind going against the film I’ve learned.”

While The Flash placed first in its opening weekend with $55 million, pulling ahead of Pixar’s animated Elemental ($29.6 million), it dropped to third place in its second weekend with $15.1 million (behind the leggy Elemental‘s $18.4 million) as Sony’s animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swung back to No. 1 in its fourth weekend. Flash‘s second weekend was just a hair above the female-skewing No Hard Feelings, the R-rated Jennifer Lawrence comedy that opened in fourth place with $15 million. By its second weekend, the Sony comedy’s $7.8 million outpaced The Flash‘s $5.2 million — a 65% plunge in its third week in theaters — and Flash fell behind Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid in its sixth week.

In addition to the many controversies of its embattled lead actor, who previously appeared as Barry Allen in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016’s Suicide Squad, and 2017’s Justice League, The Flash failed in part because of its barely-fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes (63%) and B CinemaScore — at the time tied with Batman v Superman as the worst for the DCEU, lower than 2016’s Suicide Squad (B+), 2017’s Justice League (B+), and other divisive installments like 2020’s Birds of Prey (B+), 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984 (B+), and fellow 2023 bomb Shazam! Fury of the Gods (B+).

Last month, when DC Studios co-chief James Gunn was asked why a Clayface movie was greenlit over a “more prominent” character like the Flash, Gunn wrote on Threads that DC Studios is “holding a beat on development” on a potential Flash project set in the DCU.

Meanwhile, Muschietti is attached to direct The Brave and the Bold, which will introduce the DCU Batman and Robin, and Max’s animated Creature Commandos featured cameos by the Flash villain Gorilla Grodd. (The Flash also appeared, albeit briefly, in a vision of a since-averted post-apocalyptic future alongside Batman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and more superheroes who are confirmed to exist in the DCU.)

DC Studios’ Superman, written and directed by Gunn, will officially launch the new DCU when it soars into theaters on July 11. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will follow on June 26, 2026, with Clayface set for Sept. 11, 2026. Also in the works are Peacemaker season 2 (TBA 2025), HBO’s Lanterns, a second season of Creature Commandos, and Muschietti’s The Brave and the Bold, which isn’t expected until after The Batman: Part II opens in late 2027.

The post The Flash Director Reveals Why Film Flopped: “People Just Don’t Care About The Flash” appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Have you ever watched a movie that had so much going on that you had no idea where it was heading next? A movie where none of the characters in the film are who they appear to be at first glance? Bad Times at the El Royale might just be the perfect example of this. The 2018 star-studded thriller from Drew Goddard boasts a seemingly endless cast anchored by Wicked star Cynthia Erivo. Not to be outdone, Chris Hemsworth shines with an opportunity to hit pause on his Thor persona and really sink his teeth into a scene-stealing role that is unlike anything he’s played before. As a film that features stylish visuals and a plot so rich with twists and turns that it begs for a rewatch, Bad Times at the El Royale is certainly worth checking out.

The film is set in 1969 at the El Royale, a once-glamorous but now decrepit hotel located on the border between California and Nevada. The El Royale was a former must-see spot for the wealthy elite who of course brought their juicy secrets and dark pasts with them. The hotel’s unique setting is key to its former charm, with a literal line dividing the two states, offering guests the option to stay on either side. The always-churning story follows seven strangers, each harboring secrets of their own, who check into the El Royale on a fateful stormy night. As the night progresses, the strangers’ paths collide, revealing their own dark pasts, insidious agendas, and unexpected connections with one another.

Bringing a Hammer to a Gun Fight

With such a sprawling narrative filled with outlandish developments and explosive encounters, Bad Times at the El Royale desperately needs its cast to bring it all home, and boy do they ever. It would be a tough task to try and find the weak link in the cast. Everyone plays their part well, and it is pretty obvious that they all had a blast while doing so. Erivo plays Darlene Sweet, a struggling singer who has been looking for her big break. For anyone who has seen Wicked, it’s obvious that Erivo is an incredible singer, and her performance here allowed her to show off again. For such a violent and mysterious film, Bad Times at the El Royale is not shy about cutting loose and going all in with its fun setting.

It’s pretty safe to say that when you think of Chris Hemsworth, the first character that comes to mind is Thor. Hemsworth doesn’t often get enough credit for committing to his other acting roles, and Bad Times at the El Royale is no different. Hemsworth plays Billy Lee, a charismatic and troubled cult leader who has likely ruined more lives than he can count, but that doesn’t stop him from still having a good time. While it’s tough not to notice Hemsworth’s God of Thunder abs throughout the films, he does an excellent job of losing himself into the role and truly becoming Billy Lee.

In addition to Erivo and Hemsworth’s strong performances, they are joined by a cast of supporting characters who are just as colorful as they are. Jeff Bridges plays Father Daniel Flynn, a priest who definitely appears to be slightly different than your average priest. Jon Hamm eats up scene after scene as Laramie Seymour Sullivan, a supposed traveling salesman who is keeping his cards a little too close to the vest. The cast is rounded out by Dakota Johnson, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, and Nick Offerman.

Making Sense of it All

It’s tough to talk about Bad Times at the El Royale without giving away one of its many twists and turns. But one thing is for certain about the film. Whether you’re able to follow along with the plot or not, it is a fun movie to sit back and let unfold. From comedic one-liners to explosive action set pieces, Bad Times at the El Royale has a little bit of everything. As the film gets closer to its conclusion, it becomes obvious that it isn’t just about the finale, but the journey it took to get there.

In an effort to better explain his reasoning for how his film plays out, Goddard explained to Variety that it’s all about the characters. “There’s a theme of empathy running through the whole movie,” said Goddard. “Part of the way that works is to spend time with the characters, and spend time in somebody’s shoes. It all sort of came about through that approach.” 

When Goddard made his feature-film debut in 2011 with Cabin in the Woods, it was clear that he was a filmmaker who made sure that his characters needed to be more than just walking cliches. Bad Times at the El Royale may not come together as a perfect film in the end, but it takes a big swing for the fences and refuses to ever play it safe. And in the end, what more can you ask from a movie with a name like Bad Times at the El Royale?

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe represents the greatest feat of interconnected storytelling that a franchise has ever pulled off; that said, there are more than a few major story threads and character arcs that the MCU has left dangling for years. There was one reveal during Captain America: Civil War that never got a lot of explanation – but it seems like an issue that definitely needs to be addressed. That would be the existence of the multiple Winter Soldier candidates that Zemo (Daniel Brühl) tracked down.

To recap: the final act of Captain America: Civil War saw Zemo lead Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Stever Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), and Prince T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) to a HYDRA facility in Siberia. There, the group discovers an entire squad of Winter Soldiers being kept in cryostasis; instead of unleashing the squad of crazed super soldiers, Zemo kills each one them with a gunshot to the head, ending the threat of the legendary assassins. He almost ends Bucky as well, by instigating a fight that tears the Avengers apart, after it’s revealed that Bucky was the assassin that killed Iron Man’s parents.

Who Were The Winter Soldiers?

We know that Bucky Barnes was the prized pupil of the Winter Soldier Program, and represented its best results. The issue with Russia’s version of the Super Soldier Serum was that it drove its recipients mad with psychosis, so much so that they had to be put into cryostasis. But who were these other candidates for the Winter Soldiers Program? And why did they each choose to step up and face the risks of taking the Super Soldier Serum? And how does Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour) fit into all this?

The story of the Winter Soldiers is actually one of those minor character expansion pieces that would be exciting for fans to dig into. It’s a fun concept to play with: each one of the candidates that joined the program is a character with a backstory steeped in black-ops espionage, as well as their own personal stakes. Each of them also has to duel Bucky at some point in their training, creating a fun recurring role for Sebastian Stan to play (without too much commitment). These other Winter Soldier candidates are “blank slate” characters that can be tied to various other characters or franchises in the MCU via surprise twist reveals.

At the very least, we’ve learned that the MCU tends to succeed best with spy-action content like Captain America: The Winter Soldier – and hopefully the double-dose of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* in 2025. A limited series expanding upon who the Winter Soldiers were would be a fun and unexpected spinoff of that underutilized plot thread from Civil War.

You can stream Captain America: Civil War on Disney+.

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The Harry Potter film series captivated the world for about a decade, yet it wasn’t without faults. The movies were made with some major limiting factors, and plenty of gaffes slipped through into the finished product. Below are seven of the biggest mistakes that you can still see in rewatches to this day — but once you know they’re there, you may never be able to look at Hogwarts the same again.

The Harry Potter movies were made at a time when special effects technology and attitudes were changing rapidly, which is a big factor in some of the mistakes you’ll see below. They also necessarily starred a large cast of child actors, whose inexperience definitely contributed to some of the bloopers and mistakes in the movies. On top of that, the largely British cast had different protections than we normally see in American productions, as they have discussed many times in behind-the-scenes featurettes.

All that added up to plenty of memorable flubs in the seven years we all spent together at Hogwarts. Read in for seven of the most unforgettable gaffes of the series.

“Invisibility” Cloak

Harry’s invisibility cloak is a relatively simple visual effect to pull off — it’s made out of green screen material, and altered in post-production. However, in one shot of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, they forgot to change its appearance, leaving the crumpled green cloak you can see above, just behind Harry’s foot. For those interested, this is the scene where Harry takes Ron to see the Mirror of Erised, about 1 hour and 30 minutes into the movie.

Cameraman

The dueling club scene in Chamber of Secrets is not only full of action, it’s an exciting character moment as Harry faces down Malfoy. With all that going on, you could be forgiven for missing the shot above where a cameraman is clearly visible in the left side of the shot, nestled in among the students.

Crystal Ball

About an hour and 20 minutes into Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione has finally had enough of divination class. She knocks over a crystal ball and storms out, but if you pause you’ll notice that it’s not perfectly spherical. There’s a small red and black tube sticking out of the bottom — perhaps meant to hold it steady, or perhaps to aid in the light and smoke effects within. Either way, it’s gone a few shots later when Harry picks up the ball off the floor.

[RELATED: Harry Potter Fans Still Upset Over That Voldemort Scene: “Worst Change They Ever Made”]

Ruled Parchment

It doesn’t always make sense that modern wizards use outdated technology like quills and ink instead of pens and pencils, and the movies seem generally less interested in this than the books were. By Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, we’re used to seeing the students out of uniform most of the time, but the school supplies still seem mostly dated. The exception is oddly prominent — when Harry’s name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, it’s written on a piece of blue-lined notebook paper. The other three champions’ names are on parchment, and this is especially odd when you consider that it was actually Barty Crouch Jr. disguised as Mad-Eye Moody who put this name in the goblet.

I Must Not Tell Lies

Professor Umbridge forces Harry to scar his left hand with the phrase “I must not tell lies” in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but the scar actually changes hands several times throughout this movie. It seems easy enough to remember since Harry has to write the phrase with his dominant hand, but perhaps the filmmaker wanted to switch hands now and then to make sure the scar was prominent when it needed to be.

Millennium Bridge

The opening scene of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has one of the most infamous anachronisms in the whole series. It shows the Death Eaters attacking the Millennium Bridge in London, but that bridge shouldn’t even exist yet in the movie’s timeline. This part of the story takes place in 1996, while the Millennium Bridge wasn’t opened until 2000. There are plenty of other anachronisms, but this one is the most prominent.

An Awkward Kiss

Finally, Ron and Hermione’s first kiss at the climax of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 simply didn’t do it for some fans, and we know why. In the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint explained how difficult it was for them to commit to this kiss because they had grown up together, and regarded each other like siblings. Daniel Radcliffe even added that he teased them mercilessly about it, making it even harder for them. For some fans, all that tension came through in the finished product — and not in a good way.

All eight Harry Potter movies are streaming now on Max, along with the Fantastic Beasts movies. A new adaptation of Harry Potter as a TV series is expected to debut in 2026 on HBO and Max.

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Captain America: Brave New World is preparing for takeoff at the box office. The Anthony Mackie-fronted Marvel Studios movie hit pre-release tracking service The Quorum and is projected to open with upwards of $95 million when it flies into theaters over Valentine’s Day/Presidents’ Day weekend on Feb. 14 (via Deadline). The projection, which has the 3-day anywhere between $86 million to $95 million, could exceed $100 million for the 4-day Friday—Monday through Presidents’ Day on Feb. 17. Advance tickets are expected to go on sale this Friday, Jan. 17.

Opening within the $95 million range would put Captain America 4 on par with 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the espionage thriller which introduced Mackie’s Falcon and starred Chris Evans as the star-spangled Avenger opposite Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. The second installment of the Captain America franchise took in $95 million from nearly 4,000 theaters when it opened during the MCU’s Phase 2 back in April 2014.

RELATED: Seth Rollins Confirms Marvel Cut His Scenes From Captain America: Brave New World After Reshoots

That projected number is just below the $96.8 million second weekend of last summer’s R-rated Marvel movie Deadpool & Wolverine, and within range of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy ($94.3 million), 2017’s Justice League ($93.8 million), and 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home ($92.5 million). To compare to previous installments of the Cap franchise, the 2011 first installment, Captain America: The First Avenger, opened with $65 million, while 2016’s superhero ensemble Captain America: Civil War scored a franchise-best opening of $179 million in May of that year. (That film co-starred Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and featured the debuts of Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.)

After inheriting the shield and mantle from Evans’ retired Steve Rogers in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and then embracing his new identity in 2021’s Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Mackie’s first feature as Captain America is looking to score the fifth-best February opening of all time.

Black Panther, the first Marvel film to feature a Black superhero in a titular role, has held the record for biggest February opening ($202 million) and the biggest-ever Feb. second weekend ($111 million) since 2018, giving it the No. 1 and No. 3 spots for the month. At No. 2 on the domestic list is 2016’s Deadpool ($132 million); No. 4 is 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($106 million); and at No. 5 is 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey ($85.1 million), the only non-comic book movie in the top 5 for February domestic openings.

RELATED: Who Is Red Hulk in the MCU? Captain America: Brave New World Villain Explained

The film’s promotional partners include McDonald’s and Tide Detergent, and trailers have featured Kendrick Lamar’s “N95.” Marvel Comics has also launched the MCU-inspired comic book series Sam Wilson: Captain America, pitting the star-spangled superhero against the Robert Maverick Red Hulk (rather than Thaddeus Ross); Ross’ Rulk will star in the new Red Hulk series launching on Feb. 26.

In addition, the Sam Wilson Captain America will feature on Marvel’s Black History Month variant cover series (alongside T’Challa, X-Factor’s Frenzy, Wakanda’s Gold Tiger from the New Champions, Miles Morales, and Temper and Storm of the X-Men), all-new anthology novel Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson (out Jan. 14), and picture book A Hero Looks Like You, which is set in the world of the movie.

Per the synopsis, “After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.” Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox) directs the Kevin Feige-produced film, which also stars Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, and Tim Blake Nelson as the Leader. Captain America: Brave New World opens only in theaters Feb. 14.

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