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Marvel Studios kickoffs of the summer blockbuster season in just 2 weeks with the release of Thunderbolts* on May 2. With tickets now on sale, box office tracking and projections ahead of the film’s release are forecasting a solid, if not somewhat soft, opening weekend; with most estimates landing between $63 to $77 million. While that is on the lower side for an MCU movie, optimists believe the general lower level of familiarity with the characters on the roster, combined with the positive test screenings, could give the film significant potential and room to grow in subsequent weeks via word of mouth. Elsewhere, Captain America actor Anthony Mackie offered some insights on Avengers: Doomsday while promoting Twisted Metal Season 2 for Peacock, saying, “It's going to give the audience that old Marvel feeling that they always had.”

​The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the introduction of a new Oscar category for Achievement in Stunt Design, set to debut at the 100th Academy Awards in 2028, honoring films released in 2027. This decision follows years of advocacy from industry professionals, including director and former stuntman David Leitch and stunt coordinator Chris O'Hara, who was notably credited as the first official "stunt designer" for his work on The Fall Guy. While the specific criteria and presentation details are yet to be finalized, this move is seen as a significant step toward recognizing the creative and technical artistry of stunt professionals in filmmaking. However, there is notable disappointment that earlier works, such as Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible series, will not be eligible for this new recognition.

​HBO has officially announced the adult cast for its upcoming Harry Potter TV series, confirming several roles and actors we’ve discussed, along with new additions. John Lithgow will portray Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer is cast as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu takes on Severus Snape, and Nick Frost will play Rubeus Hagrid. Additionally, Luke Thallon has been cast as Professor Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse will portray Argus Filch. Casting for the central trio—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—is still underway, with over 32,000 children auditioning for these iconic roles. 

In an interview with Deadline, Warner Bros’ Mike De Luca and Pam Abby confirmed that the studio is moving forward with sequels to A Minecraft Movie and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. This weekend, A Minecraft Movie crossed a half a billion dollars at the global box office.

A24 has released the first trailer for Ari Aster's Eddington, which stars Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, and Emma Stone. The film will premiere next month at the Cannes Film Festival and then will release in theaters on July 18th.

Comedian Nate Bargatze will host the 77th annual Emmy awards which will be held on September 14th 

The Last of Us season 2 debuted to 5.3 million viewers, a 13% increase from the season 1 premiere.

Insider Jeff Sneider is reporting that a remake of the 1988 horror cult classic Killer Klowns From Outer Space is in the works at MGM with Ryan Gosling attached to produce. This scoop is currently unconfirmed at this time.

Jurassic Park star Sam Neill has joined the cast of the upcoming Godzilla x Kong monsterverse sequel which will be directed by Grant Sputore.

Ahead of Star Wars Celebration this weekend, a new Darth Vader novel titled Master of Evil from author Adam Christopher has been announced which will release on November 11th.

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Warner Bros. now has the biggest movie opening of the year so far, as A Minecraft Movie raked in more than $300 million dollars globally in its opening weekend. If you’re surprised, don’t be, as video game movie adaptations seem to be the hot ticket. Minecraft’s opening marks the largest ever for actor Jason Momoa and comes in second for Jack Black. 

Tom Cruise’s seemingly last outing as Ethan Hunt was finally shown in a full trailer for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, hitting theaters on May 26. The high-octane trailer looks back at previous Mission: Impossible entries and hints that all that has happened to the main character has been on purpose. 

Lightcycles meet the real world in the trailer for Tron: Ares, Disney’s newest entry to the Tron universe. The trailer, featuring music for the film by Nine Inch Nails, shows us what it will look like when the digital Tron world infiltrates the real world. The film stars Jared Leto and the cast includes Greta Lee, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Cameron Monaghan. The film marks a nearly 15-year gap since the last Tron entry.

Colossal Biosciences has gene-edited a modern wolf species to re-create a new version of the extinct species used in fantasy lore such as Game of thrones, Dire Wolves. They are returning to the world after being extinct for more than 12,000 years. The first two new dire wolves, Romulus and Remus, were born in October. Colossal has a mission of de-extinction and claims this is proof it can be done.

After the debut of a sizzle reel for upcoming shows this year on Max that featured some very brief shots of Peacemaker season 2, Jame Gunn confirmed that the series will begin streaming on August 21.

Tangled, Disney’s live-action reimagining of its 2010 animated film, has been put on pause, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project had been in active development, with The Greatest Showman helmer Michael Gracey on board to direct and a script by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. As of now, the future of the film remains uncertain.

HBO has officially renewed The Last of Us for a third season ahead of its second season premiere this weekend. A decision has not been made yet on whether or not the third season will be the series’ last.

Sources tell Deadline that A Quiet Place: Day One director Michael Sarnoski will write and direct the highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Hideo Kojima’s genre-defying video game, Death Stranding, with A24 and Kojima Productions producing.

Variety has learned exclusively from sources that Summer H. Howell is nearing a deal to star in Mike Flanagan’s upcoming “Carrie” TV series at Amazon in the title role.

Slow Horses star Jack Lowden is currently in talks to play Mr. Darcy in Netflix’s upcoming Pride and Prejudice series. First unveiled last year the series is being penned by “Everything I Know About Love” author Dolly Alderton.

Deadline reported exclusively that Robert Pattinson is a star Denis Villneuve has his eye on for a role in Dune 3, which is scheduled to start shooting this summer.

Late last year, 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell revealed that there were two Predator movies in development. The first was already known: Predator Badlands, a live-action take directed by Prey‘s Dan Trachtenberg starring Elle Fanning. The second was a secret project, one that now has finally been revealed as an animated film titled Predator: Killer of Killers. 20th Century shared the trailer Tuesday, as well as a release date of June 6 on Hulu and Disney+.

X-Men actor Alan Cumming, in an interview with NBC’s Today With Jenna and Friends, explained that in early makeup tests for Avengers: Doomsday, the timeframe for the process of his Nighcrawler makeup routine has dropped from 4-5 hours to 90 minutes. 

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CinemaCon, the world’s largest gathering for the motion picture industry, where studios and exhibitors showcase their upcoming film and theatrical offerings, reigns supreme this week, as the event was held in Las Vegas, March 31 through April 3. Several of the major studios we talk about on a near-weekly basis had plenty to dazzle us with, so let’s break it down by studio and/or IP:

Sony leaned heavily into its Cash Cow, meaning it was all things Spider-Man. In addition to placing Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, the final film of the animated Spider-Verse trilogy, back on the calendar for a June 4, 2027 release, Tom Holland took the stage to reveal the official title for his upcoming fourth Spider-Man film: Brand New Day, along with a new July 31, 2026 release date.

Over at Warner Bros and DC, James Gunn ran the show, as he’s been known to do. While the filmmaker shared an extensive sneak peek at his upcoming Superman, which was released online the next day; he also revealed that, circa 2018, he was approached to direct a Henry Cavill-led Superman film for the DCEU but opted to direct Suicide Squad instead. On the subject of James Gunn’s Superman, Nathan Fillion, who portrays Green Lantern Guy Gardner in the film, was announced to be reprising the part in HBO’s upcoming Lanterns series.

Marvel Studios shared a new trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps with CinemaCon attendees, which reportedly ‘electrified’ and confirmed a fairly significant plot point regarding Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, as well as giving a first look at Julia Garner’s Shala Bal Silver Surfer. Marvel’s other, fast approaching, summer tentpole, Thunderbolts*, also had time to shine as Florence Pugh shared 5 minutes of footage with the audience, which teased the various miscreants' initial allegiances.

Independent of CinemaCon, but still timely, Lucasfilm released the trailer for Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, an animated anthology series that follows in the footsteps of previous ‘Tales’ series, this time with a focus on bounty hunters Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane.

Disney’s offerings also included CinemaCon exclusive trailers for Avatar: Fire & Ash, Tron: Ares and Zootopia 2. 

Lionsgate announced an animated John Wick prequel directed by Shannon Tindle and with Keanu Reeves expected to voice the titular character. Chad Stahelski is developing John Wick 5 with Reeves returning, and Donnie Yen will direct and star in a spinoff.

Sam Mendes revealed that all four Beatles biopic films will be released in April of 2028. Set to star in the films are Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Each of the four movies will focus on one of the members.

Danny Boyle unveiled the 28 Years Later trailer and confirmed Nia DaCosta directed its sequel, The Bone Temple. He also noted financing for the third film is still pending, urging fans to support the first two.

Universal showed off a trailer for Jurassic World: Rebirth that has not been made available to the public, but stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and director Gareth Edwards, took the stage to voice their love and enthusiasm for the franchise.

Lightning Round

• Sony’s live-action version of The Legend of Zelda hits theaters March 26, 2027, as announced by Nintendo on Friday. Directed by Wes Ball (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), the film has yet to reveal its plot or cast.

• Lili Taylor has joined Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 in a recurring role as a political rival to Wilson Fisk, per Deadline.

• Ketchup Entertainment has officially closed a deal with Warner Brothers for around $50 million dollars to bring the shelved film Coyote vs. Acme to audiences. The film is now expected to get a theatrical release in 2026.

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Today, Marvel held a five and a half hour long casting announcement live stream. Twenty-six cast members were announced painstakingly slowly and wordlessly, via the backs of chairs and it all ended with Robert Downey, Jr. himself strolling in and shushing the viewer.  Also in an interview this week, Scarlet Witch herself, Elizabeth Olsen, claims Wanda will not be returning for either of these Avengers films.

Amy Pascal and David Heyman have officially been named as producers on the next James Bond film, according to a Variety article from Tuesday. Pascal is known for her work at Sony and continues to work with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller on different projects such as Spider-Man: Noir. Heyman’s name ought to be familiar to Harry Potter fans as he produced all eight of the original films and is also in pre-production on the new series.

Though it took first place this weekend, the $43 million domestic opening of Disney’s live action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a box office failure. Along with dismal revenue for the controversy-embroiled film, it has received an overall CinemaScore of B+ - something no Disney live action remake has done yet. Robert DeNiro’s Alto Knights also debuted to disappointing figures and the Jonathan Majors-led Magazine Dreams only cracked $700,000 in its limited release.

Apple’s streaming service had a huge win after finishing the second season of Severance last week when the show became the most-streamed series on AppleTV+, surpassing Ted Lasso. Severance hit the Nielsen streaming report for five consecutive weeks, clocking in with 681 million minutes viewed. Apple CEO Tim Cook quickly gave the show the greenlight for a third season last Friday morning. On the heels of this news, it may be surprising - or not - to hear that Apple loses $1 billion a year on the streaming service and only has 45 million subscribers. But based on what the tech giant has said in the past, this may not matter.

Speaking at Disney's annual shareholder meeting, Bob Iger confirmed that Pixar is developing a sequel film to Coco with a targeted theatrical release date sometime in 2029. The sequel will bring back members of the creative team from the original film, including director Lee Unkrichn and co-director Adrian Molina. Mark Nielsen will produce.

WME is shopping the rights to the Jason Bourne franchise as well as the full library of Robert Ludlam properties to potential suitors since the rights have officially expired at Universal. Skydance, Apple and Netflix are said to have met with the estate for the rights. Universal, too, could potentially win the rights back if it made an attractive bid.

Sherman Augustus has joined the cast of HBO's Lanterns in a recurring role. He will play John Stewart's father, John Senior. J. Alphonse Nicholson was also cast last week in the series and will play a younger version of John Senior.

Agency Verve, which has represented the rights for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise since 2017, is reportedly looking to sell the rights to revive the franchise. A rumored interested party, according to Deadline, is filmmaker JT Mollner and producer Roy Lee and if they get a script together, word is that Glen Powell would like to read it. A24, Lionsgate and others are reportedly expressing interest in that vision. Mollner and Lee are currently coming off the heels of cult hit Strange Darling.

Two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz and two time Oscar winner Renee Zellweger have joined Only Murders in the Building Season 5.

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Last week, during an interview with Brazilian pop culture and media YouTube outlet, Omelete, to promote their new film, The Electric State, Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars directors, Joe and Anthony Russo offered insights on how the upcoming pair Avengers of films differ from their previous multi-phase, saga-concluders: Infinity War and Endgame; describing the duology as a “new beginning.” Joe Russo went on to reiterate the real motivation for the creative duo returning to the franchise after leaving on an all-time high more than 5 years ago. 

In a double dose of DC casting news, sitcom vet Jason Ritter has joined the cast of Lanterns in a recurring role as Billy Macon, a ‘good-looking charmer who does his father’s bidding, clings to his small-town ego and has everything to lose.’ Elsewhere, The Penguin actor, Colin Farrell has entered negotiations to replace Daniel Craig as the titular sergeant of Luca Guadagnino’s Word War II film, Sgt. Rock.

Despite the release of several new genre films, last weekend’s domestic box office was notably slow – at an approximate $54 million total, sluggish enough to earn the title of 2025’s worst box office thus far.  Paramount’s R-rated action comedy, Novocaine, starring Jack Quaid, took the top spot with $8.7 million, slightly below expectations. Meanwhile, Mickey 17 suffered a 60% drop in its second weekend, barely managing to stave off Steven Soderbergh’s spy thriller, Black Bag, with hauls of $7.51 and $7.5 million, respectively.

After more than a year of speculation, Apple TV+ has officially ordered a fourth season of its Emmy-winning comedy Ted Lasso. The pickup comes after co-creator and star Jason Sudeikis closed a deal to reprise his role as the titular character. 

Disney has released the first official trailer for body swap comedy reunion sequel Freakier Friday starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. The film hits theaters on August 8th, 22 years after the original. 

Conan O’Brien, who hosted the 97th Oscars telecast on March 2, has agreed to return and host the 98th Oscars telecast on March 15, 2026, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday. CBS has also announced that comedian Nikki Glaser will return in 2026 to host the 83rd annual Golden Globes.

More than a year after Warner Bros. shelved Coyote vs. Acme for tax incentives, independent distributor Ketchup Entertainment is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire the film for around $50 million. Ketchup recently handled the theatrical release of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, which has earned $3.9 million since its March 14 debut.

Columbia Pictures is plotting a new Starship Troopers movie, tasking District 9 filmmaker Neill Blomkamp to write and direct an adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel story by Robert A. Heinlein. 

The Hollywood Reporter has learned “zero progress” has been made on Saw XI since writing partners Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan turned in a draft back in spring of 2024. Speaking on the project, Melton said “The reason it’s held up is just, there’s inter-squabbling between producers and Lionsgate. They just can’t quite get on the same page.” 

A24 has released the first trailer for romantic feature film Materialists starring Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, and Dakota Johnson. The film hits theaters on June 13th. 

Netflix has released the first trailer for Adam Sandler-led sequel Happy Gilmore 2. The film begins streaming on July 25th. 

Darren Aronofsky is in talks to direct Netflix’s Cujo, a remake of Stephen King’s classic horror novel about a vicious St. Bernard.The project is still in early development, and sources say Aronofsky has yet to hold creative discussions with Netflix. If the deal goes through, this would be his first feature film for a streaming platform.

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This doctor makes house calls! Russo brothers Joe and Anthony told Entertainment Tonight that Iron Man turned Doom actor Robert Downey, Jr. is doing a lot of work to prepare for his new role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Joe Russo commented that Downey is “dialed in” and the actor is even writing a backstory for the character, immersing himself in the role.

In a new move for Marvel Studios, the latest Thunderbolts* teaser had title cards between shots of the movie showcasing all of the talent behind the film that people might recognize. Shots of actors were intercut with cards citing their acting credits outside of the MCU aynd behind-the-camera credit for writing, directing, composing, cinematography, and editing, was also featured. Projects mentioned by these credits include Midsommar, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Beef, The Green Knight, and A Different Man, as well as a couple of others. Director Jake Schreier cited a goal given by Kevin Feige to make this film different and this seems to be one of the ways Schreier is attempting to do so. 

On March 8, HBO released an official trailer for The Last of Us Season 2. Several of us on this panel have a special place in our hearts for this show…let’s talk about it! 

Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has joined the cast of Spider-Man 4. It’s unclear who she will play at this time, though Deadline, which first reported the casting news, hinted that her role will be “significant.”

Disney has released the first full trailer for the upcoming live action remake of Lilo & Stitch, which hits theaters on May 23.

A series adaptation of “Crazy Rich Asians” is in development at Max. Adele Lim, who co-wrote the 2018 film, has been set as showrunner and executive producer, while director Jon M. Chu will also return to executive produce.

Emmy award winning comedy Hacks will return for its fourth season on April 10. Max has also released the first teaser trailer for the upcoming season, which will run for 10 episodes.

Netflix has released the trailer and first-look images for the fifth and final season of its psychological thriller series “You.” The series begins streaming on April 14.

David Arquette will officially reprise his role as Dewey Riley from the first five “Scream” movies in the upcoming seventh installment of the horror franchise.

Disney is hosting a Hollywood premiere of Snow White on March 15, but the studio won’t be rolling out the red carpet like it usually does. The afternoon festivities will include a pre-party and screening at the El Capitan Theatre with stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot expected to attend. However, the red carpet will not include the dozens of media outlets usually invited by Disney to interview the cast and creatives at its premieres. Instead, coverage will be limited to photographers and a house crew.

Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi space epic Mickey 17 has finally landed at the box office, where it opened to a sluggish $19.1 domestically. Nevertheless, it was more than enough to come in at No. 1 at the box office, with a $53.3 million dollar worldwide total. Captain America: Brave New World took second place with $8.5 million dollars domestically, bringing its worldwide total to $370.8 million dollars in its fourth weekend.

Netflix has released the first official trailer for season 7 of sci fi anthology series Black Mirror. The series will begin streaming on April 10th.

In an interview with InStyle, Scarlett Johansson spoke on the potential return of Black Widow in the MCU, saying “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay? They’re like, ‘But she could come back! Look, I think the balance of the entire universe is held in her hand. We’re going to have to let it go. She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment.”

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Leaks and rumors aren’t our usual foray, but in a week that’s light on earth-shattering headlines, we can’t forgo the opportunity to talk about the reported leaked Avengers Doomsday concept art pieces circulating the web. Consider yourself warned and bear in mind the images in question have not been officially released and are in their very nature, conceptual, so everything discussed should be considered with a healthy amount of scrutiny and discernment. On the same coin, if the leaks are to be taken seriously, the pieces potentially reveal major plot points and crucial information. Potential spoilers in 3, 2, 1…

HBO celebrated and announced the commencing of production on its Lanterns series last week by revealing our first look at stars Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler, as Jon Stewart and Hal Jordan, respectively. The image showcases our heroes not adorned in the typical attire befitting a Green Lantern, but in regular clothing and walking down an empty road and looking a little worse for wear. Still no word on when exactly we should expect the 8-episode season to air;

With Sunday evening’s 97th Academy Awards ceremony, the Awards Season has concluded, but the conversation about the show and its winners and losers is just getting started. Host Conan O’Brien ushered the show along in true comedic fashion and by the time the dust settled, Anora ended up dominating the evening with 5 wins total, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. The Brutalist, which was considered the odds-on favorite, followed with 3 wins for Cinematography, Score and Best Actor. Dune: Part 2 and Wicked were competitors in the technical categories, with 2 wins each, as was the case for Emilia Perez. Finally, Conclave, A Real Pain, The Substance, Flow and I’m Still Here rounded out the awards with one win each.

Supernatural stars Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins will guest star in The Boys' final season, reuniting with former co-star Jensen Ackles who joined in Season 3.

Zendaya will voice Shrek's daughter in Shrek 5, while a controversial first-look teaser revealed animation changes to main characters.

Oscar Nuñez, who played accountant Oscar Martinez throughout The Office’s run, will reprise his character in the upcoming Peacock Office spinoff series.

Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower has joined the cast for season 3 of Amazon's The Rings of Power.

Matthew Lillard has joined the cast of the second season of Daredevil: Born Again. At this time, there are no details on the character he is playing.

Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter has been cast for a guest arc on the upcoming Showtime Dexter continuation series Dexter: Resurrection.

Gene Hackman, two time Oscar winner known for his roles in The French Connection, Unforgiven, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Superman died last week at the age of 95. Both Hackman and his wife were found dead in their home and an investigation is still ongoing.

John Jackson Miller's upcoming novel, Batman: Revolution, is set between Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film and its 1992 sequel, Batman Returns. This installment introduces the Riddler, a character Burton had originally envisioned for a sequel, with the story focusing on Norman Pinkus, a brilliant but overlooked copy boy who transforms into the enigmatic villain. As tensions rise in Gotham City, Batman faces a new adversary who challenges him with a perilous game of riddles, uncovering hidden secrets about the city's past that could have dire consequences for its future.

In an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live executive producer and director of AppleTV+ series Severance Ben Stiller revealed that he originally asked former President Barack Obama to voice the narration of Lumon’s puppet propaganda video in season two. Obama responded that he could not fit it in his schedule, so Stiller opted to go with Keanu Reeves instead.

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Brad Winderbaum, head of streaming, television, and animation for Marvel Studios, caught the attention of Defenders fans when he shared that Marvel is exploring bringing back the rest of the Netflix Defenders actors and characters; Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and Finn Jones as Iron Fist. Winderbaum indicated that the studio is excited about this possibility, but there are a lot of variables that will determine the success of pulling it all together. While this is fun to hear as fans, other Marvel TV is taking a pause. Though sources say these projects were never officially greenlit, Deadline reports that Nova, Strange Academy, and Terror, Inc. are not currently being developed. This is mostly being attributed to Marvel’s shift to traditionally-run television shows. But in confirmed news, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Jon Bernthal will star in a Marvel Studios Special Presentation featuring The Punisher that will air in 2026 alongside the second season of Daredevil: Born Again.

On Monday we were treated to the surprise drop of the full Andor season 2 trailer from Lucasfilm. In a very un-Star Wars-like fashion, the high octane footage is set to The Revolution Starts Now by Steve Earle and reminds viewers of how acclaimed the first season was. The drop shared more interesting news; the 12-episode season will be dropped in increments of three episodes at a time for four weeks. Phew!

DC’s duo of James Gunn and Peter Safran took time to have a press event last Friday where they updated us, the people, on where things are going with DC Studios. It’s been just over two years since the big film and television overhaul with DC was announced, with Gunn and Safran taking control of the franchise. Gunn reiterated their desire to bring new stories to life with these characters. The updates included the following: Supergirl is halfway through production, Lanterns began production last week, Clayface will be directed by James Watkins and is eyeing a fall 2026 release, Sgt. Rock, still being directed by Luca Guadagnino, no longer has Daniel Craig attached and is looking for its new star, and the animated Robin movie, Dynamic Duo, is in pre-production. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, Gunn had some comments on The Brave and The Bold that some are taking as confirmation that Robert Pattinson will not be the DCU’s Batman, with the filmmaker saying,“It's certainly not the plan.” And Safran added, “And we love him, but we've got to introduce a Batman into the DCU. That's imperative. And so that's the plan with The Brave and the Bold.”

The James Bond movie franchise is going through a shake up, with Amazon MGM Studios and Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli forming a new joint venture to house the movie property’s intellectual property rights. Under the terms of the agreement, Amazon MGM Studios will gain creative control of the James Bond franchise, while Wilson and Broccoli will remain co-owners of the 60-year-old property. In 2022, Amazon acquired MGM. Since the MGM acquisition, Amazon has held rights to distribute all of the James Bond films, and following completion of the joint venture transaction will control the creative on future productions.

Season two of The Last of Us finally has a premiere date. The seven-episode season of the drama will debut April 13 on HBO. That means the season will complete its run in late May, just under the wire for Emmy eligibility this year.

Jack O'Connell and Delroy Lindo, who will both star in Ryan Coolger's upcoming film Sinners, have joined the cast of Legendary's upcoming Monsterverse sequel to Godzilla x Kong.

Kitao Sakurai, perhaps best known for writing, directing and exec producing The Eric Andre Show, has been tapped to direct Street Fighter, Legendary Entertainment’s feature adaptation of the classic video game from Capcom.

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Captain America: Brave New World premiered globally last week, soaring to the top of the Valentine’s and President’s Day weekend box office with a $192.4 million haul in tow. The Anthony Mackie-led vehicle, which is the fourth Captain America film and 35th MCU film overall, managed to exceed somewhat meager box office projections, however, its reception with both critics and audiences isn’t as definitive a victory. The film is currently sitting at 51% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has earned a B- CinemaScore, which is among some franchise lows for Marvel.

According to exclusive reports from Deadline, the Mike Flanagan-penned, solo Clayface film seems to be on track to meet its targeted September 2026 release, with DC leadership set to hear pitches from potential filmmakers next week. Two noteworthy names rising to the top as candidates to helm the rumored horror-tragedy include Speak No Evil’s James Watkins and Truth or Dare’s Jeff Wadlow – with the expectation that casting will quickly follow suit once a director is locked-in. James Gunn has described the film as a DCU project, but it is still unclear whether it will connect to any existing projects or continuity. 

Christopher Nolan’s next film for Universal, The Odyssey, has assembled an understandably stacked cast that includes the likes of Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o and Jon Bernthal to name a few; now Mia Goth has joined the cast in an undisclosed role, while Matt Damon’s role has finally officially been revealed to the title of role of Odysseus as announced via a photo shared from the film’s X account. The retelling of Homer’s epic poem is slated for a July 17, 2026 release. 

Universal has debuted the first full trailer for the live action remake of How To Train Your Dragon ahead of its June 13 release.

Hulu released a first-look teaser for the final season of The Handmaid's Tale, premiering with three episodes on April 8, followed by weekly releases until the May 27 finale. Meanwhile, the sequel series The Testaments has cast Chase Infiniti to star alongside returning Handmaid's Tale veteran Ann Dowd.

Six-time Emmy winner John Lithgow is in final negotiations to portray Professor Albus Dumbledore in HBO‘s high-profile series adaptation of the Harry Potter books, sources tell Deadline.

Ridley Scott's dystopian thriller The Dog Stars is adding to its cast, with Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, and Guy Pearce in final talks to join Jacob Elordi. Written by Mark L. Smith, the film adapts Peter Heller’s 2012 apocalyptic novel for 20th Century Studios.

Prime Video has confirmed The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for a third season, set to film this spring. The new season will feature a major time jump, unfolding during the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron as the Dark Lord forges the One Ring.

Peacock has released the first teaser trailer for season 2 of Twisted Metal, starring Anthony Mackie. The series will return this summer.

Deadline’s sources say Netflix is developing a live-action Dungeons & Dragons series titled The Forgotten Realms. Shawn Levy, Hasbro Entertainment, and showrunner Dave Crevello are producing the project.

Warner Bros. has hired Potsy Ponciroli to write a sequel to the 1985 film The Goonies, with Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus returning as producers. The project has no director attached yet.

Deadline has learned that Denis Villeneuve is currently planning to film Dune 3 this summer and a team has been in pre-production on the film for quite some time. The trade also confirmed that the third film will adapt Frank Herbert’s sequel novel Dune: Messiah and will complete Paul Atreides’ story.

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Marvel made the most of their Super Bowl time by releasing a “big game trailer” for Thunderbolts*. Featuring a needle drop of Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship, the team of misfits gets a little bit more screen time plus an ominous look at, presumably, Sentry played by Lewis Pullman.

Last Wednesday, Universal shared the first teaser trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth. The new Jurassic film features a stacked cast of Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, and Rupert Friend. The newest dinosaur flick in the epic franchise arrives July 2 among other blockbusters that month, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Superman. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film takes place five years after the storyline of Jurassic World Dominion and the creators are citing Michael Crichton’s original book as providing a lot of plot inspiration.

A couple of Marvel stories are making the rounds after being revealed on podcasts recently. Firstly, actor Colman Domingo verified that he did have conversations with Marvel executives, though only after rumors of him playing Kang the Conqueror were circulating. Domingo emphasized that he wants a role that will allow him to “build something from the ground up” and that the Kang rumors were never a conversation from his point of view. On the comics side, Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefield left some comments on the floor of the Robservations podcast about feeling slighted during the Deadpool & Wolverine creative process and that Marvel boss Kevin Feige ignored him on the red carpet. Liefield also said that Marvel has a history of not treating comics creators well, specifically name dropping Feige. 

Hasbro Entertainment is teaming with Legendary Entertainment to develop a shared Magic: The Gathering universe that it says will span film and TV. The first property to be adapted in the universe will be a film.

Star of HBO’s The Franchise, Ruaridh Mollica is stepping into the MCU with a series regular role in Marvel’s Vision Series, sources tell Deadline.

During the Super Bowl, a first look teaser was shown for Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning, which hits theaters on May 23.

Amy Adams has joined Javier Bardem in the Cape Fear series being developed by executive producers Martin Scorcese and Steven Spielberg and showrunner Nick Antosca for AppleTV+. 

Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage has joined Michael C. Hall and Uma Thurman in Dexter: Resurrection, the continuation series of Showtime’s Dexter franchise.

John Ross Bowie who played Barry Kripke on The Big Bang Theory, has closed a deal to return to the role in a spin off series currently being developed by series creator Chuck Lorre for Max.

During a recent interview on The Movie Podcast, Head of Marvel TV Brad Winderbaum revealed that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been renewed for a second and third season.

James Purefoy and Charlotte Riley have been cast as King Randor and Queen Marlena in Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films’ live-action take onMasters of the Universe.