Trailers

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Tiny dancer: Ana de Armas is a fierce assassin in Ballerina trailer

Ballerina, culture, film trailers, John Wick, Lionsgate, Trailers / /

Vengeance has a new face —

“To stop the assassin, you must become the assassin.”

–

Ana de Armas stars as dancer/assassin Eve Macarro in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.

John Wick fans hoping for a fifth film in the hugely popular action franchise will at least be able to return to “Wick-World” next year with the release of a spinoff film, Ballerina, set between the events of 2019’s Chapter 3—Parabellum and Chapter 4 (2023). (The full title is the decidedly unwieldy From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.) Lionsgate just dropped the first trailer, and it has all the tight action choreography and eye-popping visuals we’ve come to expect from the franchise—including a cameo by none other than the Baba Yaga himself (Keanu Reeves).

(Spoilers for John Wick Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 below.)

Parabellum found Wick declared excommunicado from the High Table for killing crime lord Santino D’Antonio on the grounds of the Continental. On the run with a bounty on his head, he makes his way to the headquarters of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate, led by the Director (Anjelica Huston). That’s where we learned Wick was originally named Jardani Jovonovich and trained as an assassin with the syndicate. The Director also trains young girls to be ballerina-assassins, and one young ballerina (played by Unity Phelan) is shown rehearsing in the scene. That dancer is the main character in Ballerina, now played by Ana de Armas.

Screenwriter Shay Hatten sold a spec script featuring the ballerina character to Lionsgate in 2017 and ended up contributing to the Parabellum screenplay and serving as lead writer on Chapter 4. While Chad Stahelski has directed all four John Wick films, for Ballerina the studio brought on Len Wiseman (the Underworld franchise). But Stahelski is still a producer on the film and worked closely with Wiseman on those all-important action sequences.

  • Winston (Ian McShane) recruits a young Eve as a child.

    YouTube/Lionsgate

  • She loves the ballet.

    YouTube/Lionsgate

  • Sharon Duncan-Brewster plays Nogi, who trains Eve and the others to be assassins.

    YouTube/Lionsgate

  • Firearms training.

    YouTube/Lionsgate

  • Lance Reddick makes his last (posthumous) appearance as Charon.

    YouTube/Lionsgate

  • Winston still looking suave.

    YouTube/Lionsgate

  • The young assassin in action.

    YouTube/Lionsgate

  • John Wick (Keanu Reeves) finally makes an appearance.

    YouTube/Lionsgate

Huston returns as the Director, Ian McShane is back as Winston, and Lance Reddick makes one final (posthumous) appearance as the Continental concierge, Charon. New cast members include Gabriel Byrne as main villain the Chancellor, who turns an entire town against the titular ballerina, Eve Macarro (de Armas); Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Nogi; Norman Reedus as Pine; and Catalina Sandino Moreno and David Castaneda in as-yet-undisclosed roles.

Attendees at Cinemacon in April were treated to a teaser trailer; much of that footage seems to be in the trailer. We see Winston recruiting a young orphaned Eve with some scenes of her learning boxing, martial arts, and gun and knife skills. She’s looking for her father’s killer and naturally encounters some opposition, requiring her to fight a lot of nasty people, some armed with flamethrowers. Finally, she comes face to face with Wick, asking how she can start doing what he does. His response: “Looks like you already have.”  De Armas looks fierce as hell and up to the physical challenges of her role. We’re looking forward to this one.

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina hits theaters on June 6, 2025.

Listing image by Lionsgate

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Prepare to be entertained by latest action-packed Gladiator II trailer

culture, Entertainment, film trailers, Gladiator II, Paramount Pictures, Trailers / /

Choosing gladiators is an art —

“You have something in you. Rage. Never let it go.”

–

Are you not entertainment? We’ve got a shiny new trailer for Gladiator II.

When the first trailer for Gladiator II dropped in early July, it racked up more than 180 million views in its first 48 hours, so clearly there’s an audience for Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel to his 2000 blockbuster Gladiator. And no wonder; as I noted at the time, the film “promises to be just as much of a visual feast, as a new crop of power players (plus a couple of familiar faces) clash over the future of Rome.” We’ve now got a shiny new trailer, and I stand by that initial assessment—especially since this trailer confirms what had previously been hinted about the protagonist’s biological father.

(Some spoilers for Gladiator below.)

Gladiator II centers around Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), son of Lucilla and former heir to the Roman Empire, given that his father (also named Lucius Verus) was once a co-emperor of Rome. Lucius hasn’t been seen in Rome for 15 years. Instead, he has been living in a small coastal town in Numidia with his wife and child. Like Maximus before him, he is captured by the Roman army and forced to become a gladiator after the death of his family. Per the official premise:

Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.

Pedro Pascal plays Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who trained under Maximus, tasked with conquering North Africa. Although the young Lucius once idolized Maximus, Marcus Acacius apparently will be a symbol of everything Lucius hates. Connie Nielsen reprises her Gladiator role as Lucilla, who does not recognize her son when she first sees him fighting in the arena as a gladiator. But she figures it out, since we see her urge Lucius to “take your father’s strength. His name was Maximus, and I see him in you.”

Derek Jacobi also returns as Senator Gracchus, who is opposed to growing corruption in the Roman court. Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger play young co-emperors Geta and Caracalla. Denzel Washington rounds out the cast as Macrinus, an arms dealer who keeps a stable of gladiators. Tim McInnerny plays Thraex, Alexander Karim plays Ravi, and Rory McCann plays Tegula.

Gladiator II hits theaters on November 22, 2024, in the US. Internationally, it will premiere on November 15, 2024. Scott recently said that he is already developing a third film, Gladiator III, which would also star Mescal as Lucius. So we already know Lucius will survive, which might be why Scott has compared the ending of this film to The Godfather: Part II (1974).

Listing image by YouTube/Paramount Pictures

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Florence Pugh’s depressed assassin finds her crew in Thunderbolts* teaser

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Careful who you assemble —

“Everyone here has done bad things. Someone wants us gone.”

–

Florence Pugh heads an assembly of misfits in Marvel’s Thunderbolts*.

Marvel Studios has dropped an extended teaser trailer for the final feature film in its Phase Six slate: Thunderbolts*, now with a mysterious asterisk to the title. The studio has touted the film as having a different tone from other recent MCU offerings—thanks in part to hiring “a crew of indie veterans who sold out” to make the film—and judging from the teaser, it looks like they just might deliver on that.

As previously reported, Thunderbolts* is a follow-up of sorts to 2021’s Black Widow. It’s directed by Jake Schreier and stars Wyatt Russell as US Agent/failed Captain America from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Contessa Valentina Allegra, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, David Harbour as Alexei/Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster, and Lewis Pullman as Bob/The Sentry.

In addition, Geraldine Viswanathan plays Valentina’s assistant, Mel, and Harrison Ford will appear as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, aka Red Hulk, aka the US president. (Ford’s character will also appear in February’s Captain America: Brave New World.) Laurence Fishburne and Rachel Weisz will reprise their MCU roles as Bill Foster and Melina Vostokoff, respectively.

There’s no official synopsis yet, but the studio describes the film as “an irreverent team-up featuring depressed assassin Yelena Belova alongside the MCU’s least anticipated band of misfits.” It’s basically the MCU’s version of The Suicide Squad; in fact, James Gunn was originally attached to direct Thunderbolts but bowed out after making The Suicide Squad because he felt the projects were just too similar.

Enlarge / “Look at you. So adorable.” Valentina Allegra de Fontaine assembles the Thunderbolts.

Marvel Studios

The three-and-a-half-minute teaser trailer appears to be similar to the footage shown to attendees at San Diego Comic-Con. It opens with Yelena visiting Alexei, who initially thinks it’s a DoorDash order. Alexei is clearly not doing well despite insisting that he has plenty of work and is “so full, so filled.” But Yelena confesses feeling empty despair since Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) died in Avengers: Endgame, despite throwing herself into her assassination work. As she describes herself as drifting and lacking purpose, we see Bucky and US Agent looking similarly depressed.

We see Yelena doing her work with impressive efficiency until she walks into what appears to be a trap. As she battles US Agent and Ghost, they stumble upon a nebbishy Bob lurking in the background—and then the room locks down. Cue Valentina shown at a fancy gala as she ruminates about the long-standing belief in good guys and bad guys. “But eventually you come to realize that there are bad guys and there are worse guys, and nothing else,” she says. Naturally she wants all those depressed assassins and antiheroes for her own warped version of the Avengers.

There’s plenty of action and lots of wisecracking humor, including an amusing shot of Bucky removing his arm from the dishwasher and reattaching it. And unlike Alexei’s “bulletproof-ish” car, Bob turns out to be truly bulletproof (thanks to a hefty infusion of super soldier serum).

Thunderbolts* hits theaters on May 2, 2025.

Marvel Studios

Listing image by Marvel Studios

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Robert Pattinson gets the crappiest immortality in trailer for Mickey 17

bong joon-ho, culture, Entertainment, film trailers, Mickey 17, Robert Pattinson, science fiction film, Trailers, Warner Bros. / /

How (un)lucky can one guy get? —

“Let’s blow up these second-hand baloney boys.”

–

Robert Pattinson’s character didn’t read his contract’s fine print in Mickey 17, director Bong Joon-ho’s latest film.

It has been five long years since director Bong Joon-ho’s film Parasite topped Ars’ list for best films of the year, whose prior work on Snowpiercer and Okja are also staff favorites. We’re finally getting a new film from this gifted director: the sci-fi comedy Mickey 17, based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. Judging by the trailer that recently dropped, it feels a bit like a darkly comic version of Duncan Jones’ 2009 film Moon, with a bit of the surreal absurdity of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (1985) thrown in for good measure. And the visuals are terrific.

Ashton’s inspiration for the novel was the teletransportation paradox—a thought experiment pondering the philosophy of identity that challenges certain notions of the self and consciousness. It started as a short story about what Ashton called “a crappy immortality” and expanded from there into a full-length novel.

Ashton told Nerdist last year that Bong’s adaptation would “change a lot of the book,” but he considered the director a “genius” and wasn’t concerned about those changes. The basic premise remains the same. Robert Pattinson plays the space colonist named Mickey Barnes, who is so eager to escape Earth that he signs up to be an “expendable” without reading the fine print.

Expendables are basically disposable employees (aka “second-hand baloney boys”). If they happen to die on the job, their consciousness is uploaded to a new body, and the cycle starts all over again. When a multiple unexpectedly survives while on an expedition to colonize the ice world Niflheim, Mickeys 17 and 18 discover that the policy in such cases is to exterminate all the multiples, and they must fight for their right to keep existing.

In addition to Pattinson, the cast includes Steven Yeun as Berto, Toni Collette as Gwen Johansen, Mark Ruffalo as Hieronymous Marshall, Naomi Ackie as Nasha Adjaya, Holliday Grainger as Red Hair, Angus Imrie as Shrimp Eyes, and Steve Park as Agent Zeke. Anamaria Vartolomei, Thomas Turgoose, Patsy Ferran, and Daniel Henshall have also been cast in as-yet-undisclosed roles. Perhaps one of them plays the person in the giant pigeon costume who briefly appears in the trailer.

Mickey 17 hits theaters in the US on January 31, 2025. It will premiere in other countries on January 28, 2025. Ashton penned a sequel, Antimatter Blues, which was published last year, so maybe Bong Joon-ho will adapt that one, too.

Listing image by YouTube/Warner Bros.

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Final trailer for Venom: The Last Dance introduces Knull, god of symbiotes

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The end is near —

“This world can’t survive if you stay together.”

–

Tom Hardy returns for one more round as host of an alien symbiote, in Venom: The Last Dance.

Tom Hardy is back for one last hurrah as investigative journalist Eddie Brock, host of an alien symbiote that imparts superhuman powers to its host, in the final trailer for Venom: The Last Dance. The trailer has all the wise-cracking “buddy cop” vibes and fast-paced action we’ve come to expect from the franchise, including a trip to Vegas where Venom discovers the addictive allure of slot machines. But there are also hints of an inevitable bittersweet farewell—because this time they’ll face off against Knull, god-creator of the symbiotes.

(Spoilers for Venom and Venom: There Will Be Carnage below.)

As previously reported, the first film in the franchise served as an origin story for our antihero. A bioengineering firm called the Life Foundation discovered a comet covered with symbiotic lifeforms and brought four samples back to Earth. Brock’s then-fiancée, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), showed him classified documents revealing that the foundation was conducting human/symbiote experiments. The symbiotes needed oxygen-breathing hosts to survive, but they invariably ended up killing those hosts.

Brock ended up infected with one of the symbiotes, named Venom. Venom revealed that the symbiotes are intent on taking over Earth by possessing/devouring all humans, but Brock ultimately struck up a bargain with Venom, and they decided to protect Earth instead. Together, they took on Life Foundation CEO Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), infected with a symbiote called Riot. Naturally, they won.

Venom was released in October 2018 and was roundly panned by critics, several of whom specifically bemoaned the lack of a Spider-Man connection. Audiences, however, begged to differ. Venom racked up $856 million globally. Hardy had already committed to two sequels, and a mid-credits sequence featured Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady taunting Brock (who was interviewing Kasady for a story) from his cell. Kasady vowed to escape and bring “carnage,” leaving little doubt as to the villain’s identity in a sequel.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage, directed by Andy Serkis, was released in 2021, also to mixed reviews and a strong box office, grossing $506.9 million worldwide. That film ended with Brock and Venom victorious over Kasady and heading off for a well-deserved vacation while the duo pondered their next steps. In a post-credits scene, Venom told Brock that he and his fellow symbiotes knew about other universes, at which point there was blinding light, and they were transported into the Marvel Cinematic Universe—a direct result of the spell cast by Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home. (At the time, there were plans for a future crossover film with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.)

“With you to the end”

Serkis was unable to return as director for The Last Dance, but Kelly Marcel, who wrote the screenplay for Carnage, stepped in to make her directorial debut. Per the official premise:

In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.

In addition to Hardy, Peggy Lu is back as convenience store owner Mrs. Chen, who befriended Eddie and Venom early on. Also returning is Stephen Graham as Detective Patrick Mulligan, who figured prominently in There Will Be Carnage and is now infected with his own symbiote named Toxin.

Cristo Fernández will reprise his role as the bartender in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Rhys Ifans played Curt Connors/Lizard in that film but will play a man named Martin in The Last Dance. Is there a secret connection? We’ll have to wait and see. (It seems after two outings, Williams won’t be reprising her role as Anne in the third and final film.) The cast also includes Chiwetel Ejiofor as a soldier intent on capturing Venom; and Alanna Ubach and Clark Backo in as-yet-undisclosed roles.

Venom: The Last Dance hits theaters on October 25, 2024.

Listing image by YouTube/Sony Pictures

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Kraven the Hunter’s new trailer gives us a dark, gore-filled revenge story

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“When the man comes around” —

It’s the latest installment in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, which has floundered recently.

–

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train) plays the title character in the forthcoming film Kraven the Hunter.

Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) got off to a strong start with Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), both of which racked up high box office earnings despite mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. But then the studio foundered badly with a couple of box office flops: 2022’s Morbius and 2024’s Madame Web.

Sony hopes to right the ship with a third Venom film in October (The Last Dance) and the much-delayed Kraven the Hunter this December. We’ve got a new trailer for the latter, leaning heavily into R-rated gore and set to Johnny Cash’s moodily atmospheric “The Man Comes Around.” It’s an entirely different, darker vibe from prior offerings: a revenge narrative rife with violence and daddy issues. Color us intrigued.

Comic book fans are well acquainted with Kraven as one of Spider-Man’s most formidable foes, a founding member of the Sinister Six. He’s a Russian immigrant with an aristocratic background who fled his home country when Tsar Nicholas II’s reign collapsed in 1917. He’s a big game hunter with enhanced abilities thanks to ingesting a mysterious potion made from jungle herbs. He’s very hard to injure, has super-human strength, and enhanced sight, hearing, and smell, as well as being a good tactician with excellent hand-to-hand combat skills.

Screenwriter Richard Wenk has said that Sony intended to adapt the critically acclaimed 1987 storyline in Kraven’s Last Hunt by J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck, and Bob McLeod, which leaned heavily into the character’s Russian origins to create a very Dostoyevsky-like arc of a tortured soul. That storyline features an older Kraven whose health is failing who decides to hunt Spider-Man one last time, whereas the film is clearly an origin story. And Kraven actually dies by suicide in that comic arc, but we’re guessing Sony has plans to use him in other SSU films, with or without his arch-nemesis Spider-Man.

Per the official premise:

Kraven the Hunter is the visceral, action-packed origin story of how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless 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.

In addition to Taylor-Johnson and Crowe, the cast includes Ariana DeBose as the voodoo priestess Calypso, Kraven’s love interest; Fred Hechinger as Dmitri Smerdyakov, aka Chameleon, Kraven’s half-brother; Alessandro Nivola as Aleksei Sytsevich, aka Rhino, a Russian mercenary who can transform into a human/rhino hybrid; Christopher Abbott as a mercenary and assassin called the Foreigner; and Levi Miller as young Sergei.

Kraven the Hunter hits theaters on December 13, 2024.

Listing image by YouTube/Sony Pictures

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The Witch’s Road might take everything in Agatha All Along D23 trailer

Agatha All Along, culture, D23 Expo, Disney Plus, Entertainment, streaming television, Trailers / /

witchy women —

“The Witch’s Road will give you the thing you want most… if you make it to the end.”

–

Kathryn Hahn seeks a new witchy coven in Agatha All Along.

Disney introduced the poster and first full trailer for Agatha All Along during its annual D23 Expo this weekend. The nine-episode series, starring Kathryn Hahn, is one of the TV series in the MCU’s Phase Five, coming on the heels of Secret Invasion, Loki S2, What If…? S2, and Echo.

(Spoilers for WandaVision below.)

As reported previously, Agatha All Along has been in the works since 2021, officially announced in November of that year, inspired by Hahn’s breakout performance in WandaVision as nosy neighbor Agnes—but secretly a powerful witch named Agatha Harkness who was conspiring to steal Wanda’s power. The plot twist even inspired a meta-jingle that went viral. That series ended with Wanda victorious and Agatha robbed of all her powers, trapped in her nosy neighbor persona.

Head writer Jac Schaeffer (who also created WandaVision) has said that the series would follow Agatha as she forms her own coven with “a disparate mixed bag of witches… defined by deception, treachery, villainy, and selfishness” who must learn to work together. And apparently we can expect a few more catchy tunes—one of which is front and center in the new trailer. This new series picks up where WandaVision left Agatha. Per the official premise:

The infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…

In addition to Hahn, the cast includes Aubrey Plaza as warrior witch Rio Vidal; Joe Locke as Billy, a gay teenage familiar; Patti LuPone as a 450-year-old Sicilian witch named Lilia Calderu; Sasheer Zamata as sorceress Jennifer Kale; Ali Ahn as a witch named Alice; and Miles Gutierrez-Riley as Billy’s boyfriend.

Debra Jo Rupp reprises her WandaVision role as Sharon Davis (“Mrs. Hart” in the meta-sitcom), here becoming a member of Agatha’s coven. Also reprising their WandaVision roles: Emma Caulfield Ford as Sarah Proctor (aka “Dottie Jones”); David Payton as John Collins (“Herb”); David Lengel as Harold Proctor (“Phil Jones”); Asif Ali as Abilash Tandon (“Norm”); Amos Glick (pizza delivery man “Dennis”); Kate Forbes as Agatha’s mother, Evanora; and Brian Brightman as the Eastview, New Jersey, sheriff.

The first two episodes of Agatha All Along drop on September 18, 2024, on Disney+, with episodes airing weekly after that through November 6.

Disney+

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Jude Law’s Jedi befriends kids lost in space in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer

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“It’s dangerous out there in space” —

The standalone series is set in the same time frame as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. 

–

TKTK Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

The Star Wars universe continues to expand on streaming television with the release of the first trailer for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew this weekend at Disney’s annual D23 Expo. The eight-episode standalone series is set in the same time frame as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

Executive producer Kathleen Kennedy was intrigued when series co-creator Jon Watts pitched a Star Wars series inspired by the 1985 film The Goonies. (Kennedy had co-produced that film and co-founded Amblin Entertainment.) She told co-creator Christopher Ford that The Goonies hadn’t been created specifically for kids, instead telling a story that just happened to be about kids going on an adventure. So Ford and Watts wrote Skeleton Crew with the same mindset: a show for everyone that just happened to feature kids as the central characters. Per the official premise:

Skeleton Crew follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy, crossing paths with the likes of Jod Na Nawood, the mysterious character played by [Jude] Law. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.

Jude Law leads the cast as the quick-witted and charming (per Law) “Force-user” Jod Na Nawood. Ravi Cabot-Conyers plays Wim, Ryan Kiera Armstrong plays Fern, Kyriana Kratter plays KB, and Robert Timothy Smith plays Neil. Nick Frost will voice a droid named SM 33. The cast also includes Tunde Adebimpe, Kerry Condon, and Jaleel White in as yet undisclosed roles.

The trailer opens with our young protagonists at school, preparing to take a test that will set the course of their respective futures. At least one of them is bored with the daily routine and longs to do something more exciting. “What if we could go anywhere we want in the whole galaxy?” he asks. “A real adventure. No more pretend.” Naturally they find a mysterious “lost Jedi temple” buried in the woods and soon find themselves rocketing away on a spaceship—and getting lost. Can they survive all the dangers of space and find their way back to their home planet? With the help of Law’s Jedi, we like their chances.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premieres on December 3, 2024, on Disney+.

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Gaga’s Harley Quinn joins the Clown Prince of Crime in Joker: Folie à Deux trailer

culture, Entertainment, film trailers, Joaquin Pheonix, Joker: Folie à Deux, Trailers, Warner Bros. / /

a perfect match —

“For once in my life, I have someone who needs me.”

–

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga star in Joker: Folie à Deux.

This weekend will be all about San Diego Comic-Con and the hotly anticipated theatrical release of the summer blockbuster Deadpool and Wolverine, but Warner Bros. is already looking ahead to the fall. The studio dropped the official trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to 2019’s smash hit Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix. This time, he’s joined by fellow asylum inmate Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) to bring a comic book criminal partnership for the ages to gritty life.

(Spoilers for 2019’s Joker below.)

Joker was intended to be a standalone film—part of DC Films’ decision to move away from the shared-universe approach of its prior franchise DCEU films. (DC Studios CEO James Gunn is now calling it the “DC Elseworld” project.) It had no relation to the Justice League films that came before, so that freed Phillips to create his own darker, grittier version of this iconic character. He cited Martin Scorsese films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The King of Comedy among his influences. There’s no real origin story for the Joker in the comics—not a definitive one, anyway—so Phillips and screenwriter Scott Silver were able to cherry-pick the canonical elements they needed and make up the rest. (In Batman: The Killing Joke, for instance, the Joker is a failed comedian.)

The sequel was officially announced in 2022. In addition to Phoenix and Gaga, Zazie Beetz returns as Sophie, Arthur’s former neighbor and a single mom, on whom he had a crush, and Leigh Gill and Sharon Washington reprise their roles as Arthur’s therapist and social worker, respectively. The cast also includes Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, Steve Coogan, Ken Leung, and Harry Lawley.

Per the official premise, “Joker: Folie à Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.” The first teaser was released in April and showed Fleck meeting Gaga’s Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a fellow inmate who becomes increasingly obsessed with Arthur… and vice versa. It was clear the pair fed one another’s particular delusions, right down to show-stopping fantasy musical numbers.

This latest trailer, set to the dulcet tones of Frank Sinatra, mostly offers more of the same, although we do get some new footage of Joker representing himself at his trial: “Look around at all these people!” he exclaims, perhaps referring to the throngs of frenzied admirers cheering him on outside. “I will no longer allow any of you to keep me down.” With Harley by his side, he’s ready to give the people what they want. We’re guessing they’re going to choose violence.

Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters overseas on October 2, 2024, followed by a US theatrical release on October 4, 2024. The film will make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.

Listing image by YouTube/Warner Bros.

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Witness the rise of the Bene Gesserit in new Dune: Prophecy teaser

culture, Dune: Prophecy, Entertainment, Frank Herbert, HBO Max, streaming television, Trailers / /

True power begins with control —

“Our hands are poised on the levers of power but yet our grasp on it is still fragile.”

–

The HBO Original Series Dune: Prophecy will premiere this November.

Fans of director Denis Villeneuve’s epic two-part film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune have no doubt been curious about the upcoming HBO Max series, Dune: Prophecy. It’s a prequel series inspired by the novel Sisterhood of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, exploring the origins of the Bene Gesserit. The studio just dropped a tantalizing teaser rife with political intrigue, ominous warnings, and a bit of hand-to-hand combat.

The series was first announced in 2019, with Villeneuve serving as an executive producer and Alison Schapker (Alias, Fringe, Altered Carbon) serving as showrunner. The first season will consist of six episodes, and it’s unclear how closely the series will adhere to the source material. Per the official premise:

Set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.

Emily Watson co-stars as Valya Harkonnen, leader of the Sisterhood, with Olivia Williams playing her sister, Tula Harkonnen. Mark Strong plays Emperor Javicco Corrino, described as “a man from a great line of war-time Emperors, who is called upon to govern the Imperium and manage a fragile peace,” while Jodhi May plays Empress Natalya, and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina plays Princess Ynez.

The cast also includes Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela, a Fremen woman who serves the royal family; Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, described as “a charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past”; Chris Mason as swordsman Keiran Atreides; Josh Heuston as Constantine Corrino, the illegitimate son of Javicco; Edward Davis as rising politician Harrow Harkonnen; Tabu as Sister Francesca, the Emperor’s former lover; Jihae as Reverend Mother Kasha, the Emperor’s Truthsayer; Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen; Chloe Lea as Lila; Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia; and Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline, all acolytes at the Sisterhood School.

Power = control

A short teaser was shown in May during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation in New York City. It was heavy on the exposition, with a voiceover describing the founding of a sisterhood assigned to the Great Houses “to help them sift truth from lies.” The result was a “network of influence throughout the Imperium… but power comes with a price.” They want to place a Sister on the throne and arrange a marriage to make it possible. Not all the Sisters were on board with the plan, however, with one warning that the Sisterhood was playing god “and we will be judged for it.”

This latest teaser opens with an admonition to acolytes of the Sisterhood: “You wish to serve the Great Houses and shape the flow of power; you must first exert power over yourself.” The emperor seems to be easily wooed by the “sorceresses,” much to his empress’s chagrin, but the more influence the Sisterhood wields, the more enemies it gains. Desmond Hart also has his suspicions about the Sisterhood, probably with good reason. “Our hands are poised on the levers of power but yet our grasp on it is still fragile,” Valya tells her sister Tula, assuring her that “I am trying to protect the Imperium”—and “sacrifices must be made.”

Dune: Prophecy premieres this November on Max.

Listing image by HBO Max

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Final Deadpool and Wolverine trailer features a familiar face from Logan

culture, Deadpool and Wolverine, Entertainment, film trailers, marvel studios, Trailers / /

Are you ready? —

We all have a moment that defines us.

–

Ryan Reynolds and High Jackman join forces in Deadpool and Wolverine.

If there’s anything the Deadpool franchise is known for, it’s R-rated cheeky irreverence. The forthcoming Deadpool and Wolverine clearly has that in spades, but the final trailer strikes an uncharacteristically somber note, reminding us just what Wade Wilson/Deadpool stands to lose if Wolverine can’t rise to the challenge. Bonus: There’s a surprise cameo from Hugh Jackman’s co-star in Logan.

As previously reported, Ryan Reynolds found the perfect fit with 2016’s Deadpool, starring as Wade Wilson, a former Canadian special forces operative (dishonorably discharged) who develops regenerative healing powers that heal his cancer but leave him permanently disfigured with scars all over his body. Wade decides to become a masked vigilante, turning down an invitation to join the X-Men and abandon his bad-boy ways. The first Deadpool was a big hit, racking up $782 million at the global box office, critical praise, and a couple of Golden Globe nominations for good measure. Deadpool 2 was released in 2018 and was just as successful.

Deadpool and Wolverine reunites Reynolds with many familiar faces from the first two films. Morena Baccarin is back as Wade’s girlfriend Vanessa, along with Leslie Uggams as Blind Al; Karan Soni as Wade’s personal chauffeur, taxi driver Dopinder; Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead; Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus; Shioli Kutsuna as Negasonic’s mutant girlfriend, Yukio; Randal Reeder as Buck; and Lewis Tan as X-Force member Shatterstar.

Along with Sabretooth, the mutants Toad and Dogpool should be on hand to make some trouble. New to the franchise are Matthew MacFadyen as a Time Variance Authority agent named Paradox and Emma Corrin as the lead villain. There have been rumors that Owen Wilson’s Mobius and the animated Miss Minutes from Loki may also appear in the film.

Marvel released a two-minute teaser for the new movie during the Super Bowl in February, featuring the trademark cheeky irreverence that made audiences embrace Reynold’s R-rated superhero in the first place, plus a glimpse of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine—or rather, his distinctive shadow. And yes, Marvel is retaining that R rating—a big step given that all the prior MCU films have been resoundingly PG-13. Marvel dropped a full trailer in April that was chock-full of off-color witticisms, meta-references, slo-mo action, and a generous sprinkling of F-bombs. And last month, another one-minute trailer dropper with a surprise appearance: Sabretooth, played by the same actor, Tyler Mane, who portrayed the character in 2000’s X-Men.

Someone needs a pep talk

This final trailer takes an entirely different tone, playing like a love letter to the Wolverine of the X-Men franchise. It’s basically Wade/Deadpool having a bona fide heart-to-heart with the Wolverine in this alternate timeline. “I know I turn everything into a joke, but I care,” he says in a voiceover accompanying footage from prior X-Men films, rendered in nostalgic gray tones. “I waited a long time for this team-up. In my world, you’re well-regarded. You were an X-Man. Fuck that, you were THE X-Man. The Wolverine. He was a hero in my world.”

Wolverine’s response: “Yeah well, he ain’t shit in mine.” We learn that this version of Wolverine resisted all attempts to persuade him to officially don the suit and join the X-Men and now he believes it’s just too late to make a difference. As a last-ditch effort, Wade shows him a picture of the nine people he loves who make up his entire world and tells him he has no idea how to save them—but Wolverine does.

And who shows up at the crucial moment but Dafne Keene’s Laura Kinney, the cloned mutant formerly known as X-23, who inherited the Wolverine mantle in the comics. When Wolverine insists they’ve got the wrong guy, she replies, “You were always the wrong guy… until you weren’t.” We’re betting Wolverine’s gonna step up.

Deadpool and Wolverine hits theaters on July 26, 2024.

Listing image by YouTube/Marvel Studios

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Space colonizers battle ultimate killing machines in Alien: Romulus trailer

20th Century Studios, Alien: Romulus, culture, Entertainment, film trailers, Ridley Scott, Trailers / /

not-so-lucky star —

“Whatever comes, we’ll face it together.”

–

Director Fede Alvarez brings us Alien: Romulus, coming to theaters next month.

The face huggers and chest bursters return with a vengeance in a few weeks when Alien: Romulus finally hits theaters. It’s the latest installment in the Alien franchise from horror director Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead), and the final action-packed trailer just dropped.

(Spoilers for Alien and Aliens below.)

As previously reported, Alien: Romulus is set between the events of Alien and Aliens (and is not related to FX/Hulu’s Alien prequel series slated to premiere next year). That is, after Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo, destroyed the killer xenomorph and launched herself into space in the ship’s lifeboat—along with the ginger cat, Jonesy—and before she woke up after 57 years in hypersleep and battled more xenomorphs while protecting the young orphan, Newt (Carrie Henn). Per the short-and-sweet official premise: “While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Pacific Rim: Uprising) stars as Rain Carradine, Isabela Merced (The Last of Us) plays Kay, and David Jonsson (Murder Is Easy) plays Andy. Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone) plays Tyler, Spike Fearn (Aftersun) plays Bjorn, and Aileen Wu plays Navarro. But we aren’t likely to see iconic badass Ellen Ripley (immortalized by Sigourney Weaver) in the film. At this point in the timeline, she’s in the middle of her 57-year stasis with Jonesy as her escape shuttle travels through space toward her fateful encounter with a xenomorph queen.

Haunted house in space

We got our first look at Alien: Romulus, the ninth installment in the sci-fi franchise, in March with a brief teaser. That footage showed promise that Alvarez could fulfill his intention to bring this standalone film back to the franchise’s stripped-down space horror roots. There was also some special footage screened at CinemaCon in April featuring the expected face-huggers and chest-bursters. A full trailer dropped in March, and it looked as gory, intense, and delightfully terrifying as the seminal first two films in the franchise, with some spooky haunted house-in-space vibes thrown in for good measure.

  • Space is beautiful, but horrors lurk.

    YouTube/20th Century Studios

  • The face huggers claim another victim.

    YouTube/20th Century Studios

  • That feeling when something alien is about to burst out of your chest.

    YouTube/20th Century Studios

  • Kay is justifiably horrified.

    YouTube/20th Century Studios

  • XENOMORPH!

    YouTube/20th Century Studios

  • The xenomorph stalks another victim.

    YouTube/20th Century Studios

This final trailer has a lot of the same footage but gives us a few more details as to the plot. The young space colonizers are gearing up to steal “highly regulated equipment” from the aforementioned derelict space station, mostly because Tyler thinks it “could be our only ticket out of here.” The team thinks it should be a quick job, in and out in 30 minutes. But we know better, don’t we?

They are welcomed to the Romulus Space Station by MU/TH/UR (the ship’s computer), and Bjorn is the first to say out loud that this space station is super creepy. Poor Bjorn gets the first face hugger, followed by Navarro—she’s the one we’ve seen in prior footage discovering she’s got an alien growing inside her chest. In this trailer, we see the chest burster preparing to emerge, to Kay’s understandable horror. Kay, Rain, Andy, and Tyler break out the weaponry, prepared to face the monsters together. But how well do we like their odds of survival against the ultimate killing machines? Especially given that ominous final countdown to an “impact event”…

Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16, 2024.

Listing image by YouTube/20th Century Studios

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