ENTERTAINMENT

In 2017, Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi premiered to global fanfare, grossing over $1.3 billion USD and cementing itself in cinema history as the ninth highest grossing film of all time. The second installment of a trilogy, following 2015’s The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi follows Rey as she seeks the aid of Luke Skywalker in strengthening the Resistance forces in their ongoing battle against the First Order, a movement that seeks to place the galaxy under a military-style dictatorship. Five years on from The Last Jedi’s debut, Johnson, who wrote the movie in addition to directing, is reflecting on his contribution to the Star Wars legacy. “I’m even more proud of it five years on,” Johnson said in a recent interview with Empire. “When I was up at bat, I really swung at the ball.” ...

With just slightly more than a month to go until the anime’s release in Japan, Sunrise has now dropped a prologue for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury that you can watch for free. Running roughly 24 minutes long, the new episode set up the main plotline and conflict for the series itself, and follows a new timeline called Ad Stella in which mankind has expanded its reach to the stars through something called GUND Format technology, allowing humans to cybernetically and mechanically enhance themselves with body modifications in order to adapt better to the colonized planets. Without surprise, certain groups begin using the technology to create connections between people and Mobile Suits, which starts a conflict between corporate mecha institutes and the Earth’s government, le...

As Warner Bros. Discovery continues on its next phase of TV and film adaptations within the DC Comics world, the studio has reflected on past projects, hoping to make adjustments for the future. WBD CEO David Zaslav is looking to Kevin Feige’s reign as chief creative officer of Marvel Studios, wanting to emulate the success for DC Comics. Since the cancellation of Batgirl, the studio has faced backlash from the community. While it made sense from a costs perspective, it diminished the trust audiences had with Warner Bros. In order to repair the trust of not only the talent community and the audiences, the company is in for a long strategic overhaul to do so. When it comes down to building relationships with the fanbase, DC has always struggled. The internet fanbase for Justice League: The ...

Miguel Sapochnik, the co-showrunner and director of House of the Dragon, will be leaving the popular Game of Thrones prequel series. According to reports, he is exiting the HBO show after spending “an exhausting three years of effort” on the show’s developmentm but will stay on as executive producer. For the remainder of the first season, Ryan Condal will serve as House of the Dragon’s sole showrunner but will still work with franchise creator George R.R. Martin. “Working within the Thrones universe for the past few years has been an honor and a privilege, especially spending the last two with the amazing cast and crew of House of the Dragon,” Sapochnik, who has signed a first-look deal with HBO for new projects, said in a statement. “I am so proud of what we accomplished with season ...

Harley Quinn has officially been renewed for a fourth season at HBO Max. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the fan-favourite adult animated series from DC Comics will feature a new showrunner, Sarah Peters. Peters has previously written for the show throughout its past three seasons. She is currently a consulting producer on the show and will now serve as the executive producer and showrunner. Peters takes over the role from Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker. The news is announced just a few weeks prior to the season three finale, set to premiere on September 15. The third season of the series follows Harley and Poison Ivy as they return to Gotham as the new DC villain power couple. The announcement also arrives as Warner Bros. Discovery is in the middle of finding its new stra...

Noah Baumbach’s forthcoming satire White Noise has received its release dates. Based on the novel White Noise by Don DeLillo, the new movie stars Don Cheadle, Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig alongside costars André Benjamin a.k.a. André 3000, Jodie Turner-Smith, Sam Gold, Barbara Sukowa and more. The film details the life of a celebrated professor named Jack Gladney (Adam Driver) and the subsequent events that follow when a chemical spill occurs in his hometown. Alongside this, the story grapples with the reality of everyday life and uncertainty. “I read Don DeLillo’s novel in college in the late 1980s, and it felt like now, or the now of then. It captured perfectly the absurdity, horror and madness of America at that time,” said Baumbach in a release. “I reread it again in the early months o...

Tessa Thompson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have been cast in the Flying Lotus-directed sci-fi, Ash. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Thor staple will play the role of a woman who awakens on a far away planet, alone after her space station crew were murdered. She must then make the decision of whether she should trust the man, portrayed by Gordon-Levitt, who was sent to rescue her. As they try to figure out who killed her crew, secrets are uncovered and Gordon-Levitt’s character suspects Thompson’s of being involved. Ash is set to begin production in New Zealand in 2023 and is produced by XYZ Films and GFC Films and executive produced by Neill Blomkamp. Pre-sale tickets for the film will be available at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. In related news, Joseph Gordon-Levitt...

Rosario Dawson co-stars and serves as the producer of Normal Ain’t Normal, a forthcoming scripted anthology series exploring the daily lives of people as the world emerges from a global pandemic. Slated for release on Buzzfeed next month, the series was created by Yvan Iturriaga and Josh Healey out of a partnership between BuzzFeed and Offsides Productions. While the trailer is just a minute long, it offers a glimpse at how the anthology’s characters are forced to adapt to post-pandemic life in Oakland, California. From being overworked at their jobs to dealing with recurring rent hikes, their struggles emphasize the importance of neighbors relying on one another and coming together as a community. Alongside Dawson, the main cast includes D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Martin Sensmeier. Each of ...

A.A. Milne’s beloved Winnie the Pooh books are taking a thrilling, bloodthirsty turn in the first trailer for an upcoming horror film, titled Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. The movie follows Winne (Craig David Dowsett) and his best friend Piglet (Chris Cordell), who enter a feral rampage after their human friend Christopher Robin (Nikolai Leon) departs for college. Providing a first look at all of the horrors headed to Hundred Acre Wood, the twisted trailer sees the bloodthirsty animals stalking human prey and the two titular liquids being mysteriously poured into the same vessel. Rhys Waterfield, who directs the movie, is producing alongside Scott Jeffrey’s Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Productions. Aside from Dowsett, Cordell and Leon, the movie stars Maria Taylor as Maria...

As Venice Film Festival is around the corner, director Sally Potter has released a teaser for her 16-minute short film titled Look at Me, featuring Chris Rock and Javier Bardem. The latest film from Potter also features actor/dancer Savion Glover. Originally, the scenes were a part of Potter’s most recent full length film, The Roads Not Taken which followed a writer with early stages of dementia. However, the short has now become a sequence of its own and sees the plot center around fundraising gala rehearsals where Rock’s character, the gala director, gets into increasingly-escalating showdowns with their temperamental rock drummer, played by Bardem. In the film’s promotional material, Potter noted that the scenes were originally shot for her recent feature. However, she felt that the sto...