Even by the ‘it’s-not-Jaws’ standards of most shark films that aren’t, you know, Jaws, Netflix’s Thrash is very much not Jaws. In fact, it’s more Crawl — Alexandre Aja’s impressively gnarly gators-in-a-flood film, where the opening natural disaster is only the beginning of the characters’ problems. That premise is effectively replicated here, just with fins instead of scales, as a hurricane tears through the town of Annieville — and while most residents flee before it’s too late, several are left behind to deal not just with the rising waters, but the toothy horrors they contain. The results are mostly watered-down chum, albeit with occasional fun to be found.

Writer-director Tommy Wirkola — behind Nazi-zombie-fest Dead Snow, and Santa-but-John Wick actioner Violent Night — is no stranger to a schlocky premise, and keeps the tone playful and light. His script signals the third-act mayhem with all the subtlety of an exploding yellow barrel — when Phoebe Dynevor’s heavily pregnant Lisa gets a call from her anxious mother early on, asking if she’s still thinking of a water-birth, you know where things are headed. The same goes, too, for Whitney Peak’s young Dakota — an agoraphobe who hasn’t left the house since her mother died, about to get an unexpected incentive to venture outside again. And across town, a trio of foster kids find that the sharks are only mildly less dangerous than their nefarious carers.

Even for a shark B-movie, Thrash is particularly thin and silly, with stock characters and a premise that Aja tackled with far more bite. The sharks themselves feel intangible and offer little suspense, while the opening flood is awash in unpolished CGI. Still, you can’t fault it going for broke in the final act, chucking dynamite explosions, maternal rage and Vanessa Carlton’s Millennial classic ‘A Thousand Miles’ into the mix to undeniably entertaining effect — if you’ve stuck it out that far. It’s not Jaws. It’s not even Crawl. But it is quite fun, if you turn your brain almost completely off.

Streaming on: Netflix 
Episodes viewed: 8 of 8

The beef in Beef, Season 1, was particularly juicy: two miserable people, fuelled by hate, who couldn't let go of just how much they despised each other. But much has changed in the second instalment of the A24 anthology comedy-drama from creator Lee Sung Jin. The original run’s stars, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, have moved behind the camera in the role of executive producers, making way for a new conflict — which also throws love into the mix.

Season 1 took big swings, and the new episodes do in their own way, refusing to rely on a proven formula. Romance complicates the interpersonal dynamics, inspiring smaller beefs both within and between the two lead couples, played by Cailee Spaeny, Charles Melton, Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. The discord is also more passive-aggressive, in contrast with the overtly aggressive hate of Season 1.

The result is entertaining, but also messy.

You'd think that love and workplace animosity might be more relatable, but adding these elements, including an extra third couple (played by Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho), ends up muddying the water somewhat. It’s clear that Lee has a lot he wants to say, but Season 2 trips over its own ambition as a result. This new narrative incorporates everything from class difference and intergenerational divides to Asian-American identity and how love intertwines with hate. The result is entertaining, but also messy. As the various tensions escalate, so too does the show’s absurdity. Although that was also true of Season 1, these new characters are tougher to empathise with, or even understand.

That's through no fault of the cast. Mulligan delivers some of the best, most withering put-downs — “There is literally no reason why I would know that,” she says at one point, exasperated — while Melton proves again why he deserves more awards recognition, following his May December Oscar snub. Youn Yuh-jung, meanwhile, is so good that you’ll wish the show was focused on her and Song Kang-ho's couple rather than the others. Failing that, we’re simply left missing Danny and Amy from Season 1.

Jacob Elordi is an actor who knows a thing or two about survival on-screen. He survived being an Aussie POW as The Narrow Road To The Deep North's Dorrigo Evans. His Creature made it out of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein in one piece (just about), too. Elordi even managed to emerge from the wreckage of Euphoria Season 3 unscathed, somehow. And Ridley Scott's upcoming post-apocalyptic sci-fi joint The Dog Stars, adapted from Peter Heller’s 2012 bestseller, is about to put the Oscar nominee through the wringer again — this time as Hig, a civilian pilot holed up in an abandoned air hangar and trying to survive in a pandemic ravaged America. This time at least, Elordi does have back-up — as you will see in the trailer below;

There you go! When Reapers (basically murderous, marauding packs of scavengers) come a-knocking, who you gonna call? No, not Ghostbusters. How about a medic named Cima played by Margaret Qualley, a gruff ex-marine called Bangley brought to gravelly-toned life by Josh Brolin, and a good boy doggo called Jasper? Sounds pretty good to us. And the movie — which finds Elordi's Hig looking to break Bangley's "wake up, defend, survive" routine and take to the skies in pursuit of an enigmatic transmission — looks pretty good, too. With Scott back in familiar speculative genre territory after the wild ride that was 2024's Gladiator II, The Dog Stars finds the 88-year-old filmmaker tapping into both his penchant for pulsating set pieces (Hig and co's Reaper encounters are frenetic to say the least!), as well as a more melancholy and a meditative métier that is perhaps a little less often seen from Sir Ridders in more recent works. In other words, the trailer teases a very faithful adaptation of Heller's book.

Also glimpsed here are Guy Pearce, who plays former Navy SEAL — and Cima's father — Pops, and Allison Janney, whose role has yet to be revealed but who very much seems to be dressed as an air hostess in this trailer. Will Elordi make it out of yet another survival story alive? What awaits at the other end of that transmission? And how does an air hostess Allison Janney factor into the equation? We don't know yet! But we very much look forward to finding out when The Dog Stars hits cinemas on 28 August.

A short time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, the final trailer for The Mandalorian And Grogu was dropped during Disney's CinemaCon presentation. And while we've had trailers for Jon Favreau's movie — the first big-screen Star Wars outing since 2019's The Rise Of Skywalker — already, three of 'em in fact (if you count that Super Bowlspot), there's something about this one that just hits different. Maybe it's the focus on Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin and Grogu's emotional father-and-son bond. Maybe it's Ludwig Göransson's swelling, John Williams infused score. Heck, maybe it's all those Anzellans! Who knows? But the Force is undeniably strong with this last teaser — and you can check it out below;

"The old protect the young... and then the young protect the old." Oh boy, we're gonna need to stock up on beskar to protect our hearts with The Mandalorian And Grogu, aren't we? But hey, didn't we tell you: what a trailer! Mando taking orders from Sigourney Weaver's Colonel Ward, who warns our favourite bounty hunter gone good that his mission — to take out imperial war lords — "isn't about revenge, it's about preventing another war." Grogu hanging out with a whole horde of Anzellans. A closer look at the returns of Clone Wars bounty hunter Embo and Star Wars Rebels fan favourite Zeb Orrelios (Steve Blum). There's action, jumps to lightspeed, new planets, and weird lil' — and big — guys galore. (Shout-out to Jeremy Allen White for his suitably monstrous Rotta the Hutt voice!)

There's also a real, undeniably emotional through-line here: the realisation that Mando and Grogu aren't necessarily always going to be together. Even despite us having spent three seasons of The Mandalorian desperately awaiting the moment Din Djarin and Din Grogu could retire to their little cabin on Nevarro. There's even some interesting threads dangled here surrounding Grogu and the potential for him to become his father's keeper, tapping into both sides of his training to protect his adoptive old man. In other words, this just feels like Star Wars — and boy could we use some of that right about now.

With tickets set to go on sale for The Mandalorian And Grogu tomorrow, and the movie due out in cinemas on 17 May — almost exactly a month from now — we don't have long to wait to see how Favreau and co's movie propels us into 'a completely different era of Star Wars.' If the movie's as good as this last trailer, then we have only four words to say to that: this is the way.

Good news for fans of big video game brawls. Not only do you have Mortal Kombat II to look forward to on the big screen later this year, but another of gaming’s all-time-great fighters is about to level up for cinemas. Street Fighter is on the way, ready to bring Capcom’s outlandish side-scrolling punch-em-up to the movies, and it looks to be going all-out in bringing the games' super-stylised world into a new medium. Check out the first trailer:

We’ve got Ryu and Chun-Li, Balrog and Guile, and a whole load of other beloved favourites. We have that culture-permeating ‘Perfect!’ sound effect. And, yes: we have a Hadouken! Street Fighter looks to be keeping all of the iconography intact in its translation to film form, since fidelity to video game source material seems to be of real import as Hollywood goes increasingly game-focused. Japanese-born American filmmaker Kitao Sakurai — previously behind prank comedy Bad Trip — is directing here, and seems to be bringing comedy as well as crazy fight moves. Previously, the film was to be helmed by the Philippou brothers, who exited prior to this iteration.

Sakurai has assembled a considerable cast – including Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, Andrew Koji as Ryu, and Callina Liang as Chun-Li, alongside the likes of David Dastmalchian, Eric André, 50 Cent, Jason Momoa, and WWE superstars Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns — to see his Street Fighter come out swinging. Sakurai has also co-written the screenplay alongside T. J. Fixman.

So, will Street Fighter deliver a box office K.O.? Can it go head-to-head with Mortal Kombat II for the prize of ultimate fighter movie? And when are cinemas going to go full Tekken? We’ll get at least some answers when Street Fighter hits cinemas on October 16.

Following their bold, contemporary remixes of The Invisible Man and Wolf Man, another classic-horror icon receives the Blumhouse treatment. Although, as the title makes clear, it’s Irish writer-director Lee Cronin (Evil Dead Rise) rather than BH regular Leigh Whannell doing the honours. Still, anyone who enjoyed both those movies is unlikely to be disappointed by Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, as it follows the same “tweak, inject a shot of modern relevance, and amp up the scares” approach. With the caveat that Cronin’s inspirations seem to lie mostly outside the Mummy mythos, and take him into some questionable territory.

Similar to his 2019 debut The Hole In The Ground, this story revolves around the disappearance of a child — in this case young Katie Cannon (Emily Mitchell) — who later reappears and returns home in a creepily changed form (Natalie Grace). Here the transformation is far less subtle: Katie has spent eight years in an Egyptian tomb wrapped in bandages, and has re-emerged scarred and virtually catatonic, with long, horny finger- and toe-nails, looking very similar to a peat-bog person thanks to some impressive make-up work.

Should keep the most committed horror-hounds happy.

As you might imagine, Katie’s reintegration into her Albuquerque-based family (dad Jack Reynor, mum Laia Costa, younger siblings Shylo Molina and Billie Roy, sassy granny Veronica Falcón) is painful and distressing. So this ‘Mummy’ is no reanimated ancient priest stalking ruins and museums like Christopher Lee or Arnold Vosloo. This is an apparently vulnerable young woman requiring around-the-clock home-care from her traumatised and increasingly fractious loved ones, who ultimately suffer from monstrous domestic antics that feel closer to The Exorcist than anything involving bandaged stalkers.

Add in some queasily effective body-horror scenes (the nail-cutting sequence is a nasty doozy), and this makes for some uncomfortable viewing that might not be to everyone’s taste. With the extra wrinkle that Katie’s abduction and corruption are inflicted by predatory foreigners, whose retrograde othering is only marginally mitigated by the inclusion of a heroic Egyptian cop played by Moon Knight’s May Calamawy.

At the same time, Cronin’s darkly humorous tone (which peaks with one glorious C-bomb) and sudden-volume-cranking jump-scare style urge us not to take things too seriously. Indeed, as the chez Cannon situation spirals into a grand guignol blowout, the whole thing turns very Evil Dead. By this point it feels like Cronin wants to hit as many genre hallmarks as possible on this (slightly overlong) descent, which should keep the most committed horror-hounds happy, at least. Although the sticklers among them will surely agree that his Mummy isn’t really a mummy movie.

An overly familiar take on stardom and showbusiness, Outcome, Jonah Hill’s second narrative feature following 2018’s charming Mid90s, is a schizophrenic satire that flits between two incompatible strands. The first is a quiet character-study of Keanu Reeves’ superstar reckoning with his past behaviours. The second is a whackier, outrageous comedy of Hollywood shenanigans about averting career-ending catastrophe. Unfortunately, Hill never finds a way to accommodate both tones and the result delivers more whiplash than Damien Chazelle could dream of. In short, there is nothing here that isn’t done more sharply, funnily or with more resonance on The Studio.

Reeves is the improbably named 56-year-old Reef Hawk, a movie star for four decades who, like no other actor ever, has fronted three franchises but also won two Oscars. The beloved public persona masks a private pain, half a decade of drug and booze addiction that is finally in the rear-view mirror. Now ready to make his comeback, he is extorted to the tune of $15 million, threatened by the release of a video that will finish his career. On the advice of his improbably named crisis lawyer Ira Slitz (Hill), Reef begins an apology tour, asking for forgiveness from those he has hurt in his life with the underlying agenda of revealing the blackmailer.

Reef is also propped up by two high-school friends played by Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer that embody the film’s twin poles, by turns shrill and unfunny, then intimate and poignant.

The damage-limitation sequences deliver Outcome’s best moments. Reef’s meeting with his mother (Susan Lucci), who used his fame to catapult into The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, is blistering, the pair revisiting the past while also negotiating the demands of reality TV. In a different register, Reef’s reunion with former girlfriend Savannah (Welker White) is a scene of quiet pain, as the latter realises how much of her time was wasted.

But best of all is Reef’s catch-up with his childhood agent, the improbably named Red Rodriguez, superbly played by Martin Scorsese. A Broadway Danny Rose small-timer who works out of a bowling alley, Red feels abandoned by his clients (“the guy you leave if you do your job right”), and Scorsese nails that ache perfectly. It’s by far the most affecting performance of the whole film.

Which frankly isn’t saying much. For the bulk of the film is dominated by Reeves, always likeable but strangely vacuous, involved in crisis-management meetings that feel far too broad to land. Hill’s hyper-energised Slitz, all veneers and over-use of the word “bubbe”, is too much of a caricature to feel like he’s in the same film as Scorsese’s character, be it fielding calls from his clients (“Tom Hanks just body-slammed his housekeeper”) or assembling a council of war (Roy Wood Jr, Atsuko Okatsuka, Laverne Cox, and Annie Hamilton) to fight Reef’s corner. Reef is also propped up by two high-school friends played by Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer that embody the film’s twin poles, by turns shrill and unfunny, then intimate and poignant.

Hill and co-writer Ezra Woods circle the piping-hot pitfalls of modern celebrity — cancel culture, separating the art from the artist, victim capitalism, the tell-all interview (with Drew Barrymore) — but don’t really have anything to say about them. Hill’s filmmaking also doesn’t ring true, the score too insistent, Los Angeles looking like it was shot on The Mandalorian’s Volume. Ultimately Outcome needed a more refined, truthful director. Maybe the Hill who turned up for Mid90s.

Ariana Grande is a BAFTA, Oscar, and Golden Globe nominated actor, a three-time Grammy award-winning pop megastar, and a very, very funny woman. The triple threat! Not only have the 'Thank U, Next' singer's comic chops shone as Wicked's Glinda, but lest we forget Grande started out in comedy with Nickelodeon's Victorious and has regularly stolen the show with her SNL appearances. Now, in long-gestating Meet The Parents fourquel Focker In-Law, Grande is about to flex her funny bones alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro as Olivia Jones, Greg Focker's son Henry's (Skyler Gisondo) overachieving new girlfriend. Check out the trailer below to see how Olivia enters the Focker family's circle of trust;

Interrogation scene? Check. Ben Stiller's 'Gregfocker' slipping into the Robert De Niro role from Meet The Parents while De Niro and Grande riff gleefully off one another? Check. Cringe-out penis jokes, awkward family dinners, and the return of Owen Wilson to the Focker fold? Check, check, and treble-check! As trailers go, Focker In-Law is kinda ticking all the boxes for fans of the franchise a decade and a half on from less-than-spectacular original trilogy capper Meet The Parents: Little Focker. And, as a former FBI hostage negotiator whose hyper competence has Greg (and us) on red alert, Grande fits into the dysfunctional family's dynamic seamlessly here, fearlessly throwing herself into everything from heimliching Ben Stiller to going to two-wheeled war with her prospective father-in-law. Even if she is called 'evil Geppetto' and knocked off her bike by an over-protective Greg Focker.

Written and directed by franchise veteran John Hamburg, with Stiller, De Niro, Wilson, Teri Polo, and Blythe Danner all back to reprise their roles from the original Focker trilogy opposite franchise flesh blood Beanie Feldstein and Skyler Gisondo, the groundwork has certainly been laid for a winning return from the chaotic comedy saga. We look forward to finding out if Grande is a real Focker — or merely a Fock-ing fraud — when Focker In-Law hits cinemas in November.

Back in 1994, director Peter Farrelly made Dumb And Dumber: a wilfully stupid, aggressively crude but ultimately lovable comic yarn about a couple of bros who find themselves in a series of high-stakes hijinks. With Balls Up, Farrelly is seemingly attempting to conjure a similar sort of magic, albeit this time neglecting to include anything lovable — or, crucially, funny.

As far as titles go, Balls Up is about right. This is a disaster. Having improbably gone serious in 2018 to take home the Oscar for Best Picture with Green Book, Farrelly appears to be attempting to summon the spirit of his 1990s gross-out heyday, with genuinely nightmarish results. Perhaps there were at one point some jokes in the script by Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, but none are present in the will-this-do shrug that makes it to screen.

Comedies don’t need to be plot-heavy or even plot-first, but they need at least a plot — the very basics of storytelling — upon which to anchor the comedy.

From the moment we are introduced to Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser), we witness nothing approaching any kind of actual character trait, the filmmakers instead incorrectly surmising that repeated jokes about condoms are enough to keep the ship afloat. All we know about our dumber-and-dumberer duo is that they sweat a lot and are generally obnoxious. Brad’s response to seeing one character’s Alcoholics Anonymous chip is to announce, “Says you, pussy!”, before pressuring a recovering addict into breaking several years of sobriety. And we’re supposed to root for these guys?

What makes the experience all the more wretched is the sheer filmmaking incompetence on display here. There is no narrative structure to speak of. Comedies don’t need to be plot-heavy or even plot-first, but they need at least a plot — the very basics of storytelling — upon which to anchor the comedy. An hour into Balls Up and it’s not clear what the story is even supposed to be. Instead, it’s simply a succession of airless set-pieces, which feel like the first draft of a comedy-writer’s pitch-meeting whiteboard: what if a football mascot looked like a dick? What if a CG alligator ingested a massive amount of cocaine? What if a tin-eared ’90s conception of eco-warriors licked frogs? What if two men were forced to stuff penis-and-balls-shaped condoms down their throats, the entire joke appearing to be ‘imagine if they were gay’?

Worse still, the majority of the action takes place in Brazil, with all the cultural sensitivity and international diplomacy that we’ve come to expect of the United States lately. It’s hard to say which is the grimmest regional stereotype, but perhaps the worst offender is Sacha Baron Cohen as a long-locked gangster kingpin, whose joyless comedy accent approach is Borat by way of ’Allo ’Allo. Brazilians aren’t the only injured party here; women, too, are completely reduced to cliché, with all female characters sidelined as mere sex objects, saddled with dialogue like, “I’ve always wanted to fuck the dick off an American.”

By the time Mark Wahlberg is frantically pulling a vampire fish out of his penis — Dirk Diggler would be rolling in his grave — all hope is lost. Even by the piss-poor standards of some of the straight-to-streaming slop of late, this is a miserable experience for everyone involved. Balls Down, more like.

With Godzilla Minus One — excuse us, the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One — writer/director/VFX artist Takashi Yamazaki brought terror to Tokyo, pitting the atomic might of Gojira against the heroic spirit and heart of kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) in a creature feature for the ages. Now, three years later, we're about to get monsters in Manhattan as Yamazaki brings cinema's favourite septuagenarian lizard — bigger, badder, and frankly more terrifying looking than ever before — to New York in hotly anticipated sequel Godzilla Minus Zero. And you can check out a freshly dropped teaser trailer for the incoming kaiju chaos below;

Okay, okay — now we see why this is about to make history as the first Japanese movie ever shot specifically for IMAX. Sure, this Godzilla Minus Zero teaser may be short, but forty seconds is plenty to tee up our boy Big G getting set to exact revenge on the nation whose nuclear tests mutated him into... well... this Godzilla. As Yamazaki revealed at CinemaCon, Godzilla Minus Zero is a direct sequel to Godzilla Minus One, set two years after the events of the first movie. And, what's more, the official synopsis for the film confirms that we'll be reunited with the first movie's Shikishima family here, too.

The synopsis for Yamazaki's movie reads: "Godzilla Minus Zero picks up in 1949, two years after the tumultuous events of Godzilla Minus One, and continues the story of the Shikishima family as they face an all-new calamity. Additionally confirmed out of CinemaCon, Ryunosuke Kamiki, the hero who faced Godzilla’s terror in Godzilla Minus One, returns as Koichi Shikishima, and is joined by Minami Hamabe as Noriko Oishi, who miraculously survived Godzilla’s first attack on Tokyo."

Now, whether Kamiki, Hamabe, and Mr. Godzilla will be joined by any other kaiju-sized co-stars in Godzilla Minus Zero is yet to be confirmed — though we would note that the gravity manipulation glimpsed in the trailer may point towards a certain three-headed dragon making an appearance *cough* King Ghidorah *cough*. (After all, Yamazaki did tell Empire not so long ago that perhaps Godzilla Minus One was really "the calm before the storm" for our human heroes.) Ghidorah or no Ghidorah though, we'll see exactly what Godzilla's latest rampage has in store for us when Godzilla Minus Zero arrives in cinemas stateside on 6 November — and hopefully here in the UK soon after. Watch this space!

One Aragorn casting rumour went to Deadline. Another Strider was told to THR. And more still came unto Variety, The Wrap, and even Empire. But they were, all of them deceived, for another casting announcement was made. In the land of Las Vegas, in the halls of Caesar's Palace, Warner Bros. and director Andy Serkis revealed the full line-up for The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. And leading the line alongside Serkis' Sméagol will be... Jamie Dornan! Yes, the Barb And Star actor will play Strider — later known as Aragorn — in Serkis' film, which takes place between The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings trilogies.

Joining Dornan's chief of the Northern Dúnedain Rangers in The Hunt For Gollum are *deep breath* Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo; Lee Pace as his Hobbit trilogy character, Elvenking Thranduil; Kate Winslet as Marigol, reportedly Gollum/Sméagol's Stoor Hobbit grandmother from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium; Leo Woodall as Dúnedain man Halvard, believed to be one of the Rangers of the North accompanying Strider on his hunt; and, of course, Serkis himself, who's pulling double/triple duty as director and Gollum/Sméagol.

The Hunt For Gollum is set to find Aragorn and Gandalf seeking out the titular creature of cunning, looking for information on Bilbo Baggins' ring in the span of time between Bilbo's birthday party from Fellowship Of The Ring and the burgeoning Fellowship's arrival at the Mines of Moria. "Across two trilogies, a mark of a Middle-earth film, has always been the formidable array of talent brought to bear in every role," said director Serkis in a statement accompanying his movie's CinemaCon presentation. "The Hunt for Gollum continues in that tradition, and I am delighted to announce the return of two of Middle-earth’s most beloved performers, alongside some exceptionally talented new additions to Tolkien’s world.”

Described to Empire as a Middle-earth adventure with 'a strong psychological interior story' by co-writer Philippa Boyens, The Hunt For Gollum is shaping up to be something precious (precioussss) indeed. And with the latest Lord Of The Rings movie due to hit cinemas on 17 December, 2027, the countdown to our Middle-earth return is well and truly on.

Read almost any review of Osgood Perkins' Nicolas Cage led 2024 occult horror Longlegs and you'll find the word 'singular' — or a variant of it — being used to describe the prolific genre filmmaker's chilling serial killer tale. But perhaps we were a little hasty in our choice of words. Perhaps Longlegs wasn't quite so singular after all... or at least it won't be for much longer. Per THR's reporting, writer-director Perkins is re-teaming with star Nicolas Cage on a new Longlegs movie.

Shifting home base from indie outfit Neon — where his Keeper, The Monkey, and the original Longlegs were made — to Paramount Pictures after the first film's distributor baulked at the cost and scale of his latest venture, Osgood Perkins isn't simply making Longlegs 2 here (or Longerlegs, as somebody surely would've called it.) As THR's sources state, this secretive new film will instead be something else that's "set in the Longlegs universe." In all fairness though, satanism or no satanism, *SPOILER ALERT* Cage's creepy killer Longlegs — aka Dale Cobble — was very much dead by the end of the first film, with no sign of infernal intervention reviving the face-mashed murderer anytime soon. Given where that first movie leaves Maika Monroe's FBI Agent Lee Harker, too, the likelihood of her appearing in any future LCU (that's Longlegs Cinematic Universe) movies is fairly slim we reckon.

Made on a budget of $10 million, Longlegs was something of a word-of-mouth phenomenon, with occultism heavy marketing, in-theatre stunts, enigmatic trailers, and Cage's unhinged performance driving the movie to a hefty $128 million box office haul by the end of its run. We don't know what Longlegs' follow-up will entail, who else will be in it, or how Perkins and Cage are planning to bring Dale Cobble back at this point, but we are already seated and very afraid. Hail Satan!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a buzzy bit of casting news for James Gunn's upcoming Superman sequel, Man Of Tomorrow, actually. Following a frenetic few weeks of whispers, rumours, and counter-rumours about who may be set to play alien anti-heroine Maxima in Gunn's sophomore directorial effort in the DCU, the movie has found its alien queen (no, not that Alien Queen.) Per Variety's reporting, Splitsville and Andor star Adria Arjona has officially signed on to play Maxima in Man Of Tomorrow as pre-production ramps up on the superhero sequel.

As has been well publicised and widely reported in recent weeks, casting for the role of Maxima — who, in the comics at least, first appeared as a tyrannical despot obsessed with Supes before later reforming and joining the Justice League — took an intense audition process to nail. In the end, Arjona saw off Eva De Dominici (The Cleaning Lady), Sydney Chandler (Alien: Earth) and Grace Van Patten (Tell Me Lies) to land the part, a role which reaffirms Gunn's desire to dig into some lesser spotted DC deep cuts and embrace a more cosmic side of the comic books that we haven't seen so much on the big screen to date.

We still don't have anything by way of an official synopsis or logline for Gunn's Man Of Tomorrow just yet, but we do know that the movie will see David Corenswet's Superman and Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor team up to take on Lars Eidinger's Brainiac — an iconic comic book villain with an insatiable appetite for knowledge, destruction, and really just making Supes miserable. We also do know that among the movie's wider ensemble will be returnees Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl), Guy Gardner (Nathon Fillion) and Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific). And there'll also be a big-screen DCU debut for Lanterns star Aaron Pierre, who'll be reprising the role of Green Lantern John Stewart in Gunn's film.

Will Maxima get her (Super)man? Can Clark Kent and Lex Luthor stop fighting long enough to fend off the threat of Brainiac? And will Krypto be around for all the fun after that Supergirl trailer? We'll find out the answers to those questions — and more — when Man Of Tomorrow hits cinemas on 9 July, 2027.

For many moviegoers out there, the Insidious franchise will have started — and ended — with James Wan and Leigh Whannell's 2010, Tiny Tim needledropping, Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne led chiller about a family tangling with evil spirits from a realm called The Further. In actuality however, there were four sequels — ranging from the good (Insidious: Chapter 2), to the mid (Insidious: Chapter 3), to the "Ooh, Patrick Wilson directed one?" (2023's Insidious: The Red Door). Now, Insidious is back with a sixth movie, Out Of The Further, bringing a fresh family, fresh terrors, and a few familiar faces to the horror saga. Check out the trailer below;

You get a jumpscare! You get a jumpscare! Everybody gets a jumpscare! Well, it certainly looks like writer-director Jacob Chase is going all-out to deliver Insidious' signature brand of demonic chills — albeit with a fresh, Talk To Me-esque patina — here, deploying all the weapons in his horror arsenal. You want demonic dental appointments? Out Of The Further's got 'em. You want demons from the past movies? (Hello, shotgun lady from Insidious!) Out Of The Further's got 'em. You want 'Tiptoe Through The Tulips', the return of Lin Shaye's underrated scream queen Elise Rainier, and a terrifying twist on that one pillow fort Bluey episode? Well, Out Of The Further's got all that too — and an intriguing plot revolving around The Haunting Of Bly Manor's Amelia Eve.

The official synopsis for Insidious: Out Of The Further reads: "In Insidious: Out of the Further, Amelia Eve stars as Gemma, a young mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in who discovers she can travel into The Further, the purgatorial realm of lost souls at the heart of the Insidious universe. When something evil comes after her, Gemma discovers an ability that changes everything: she doesn’t just enter The Further, she can bring what lives there back to the real world. Once the demons realize her power, our world becomes their playground."

We'll see for ourselves whether this latest entry in this demonic horror saga is destined to bring the franchise out of the Further — or if it's more a case of Insidious: Out Of Ideas — when Insidious: Out Of The Further hits cinemas this August. Tiptoe through the window, by the window, that is where I'll be, come tiptoe through the tulips with me…

Alright, let's do this one last time. In 2018, the wizards at Sony Pictures Animation changed the animation game with Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. In 2023, under Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson's direction, they changed it again with the multiversal madness of Across The Spider-Verse, leaving Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and his pals in a very precarious position with a humdinger of a cliffhanger ending. Now, at long last (and after a delay or two), Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson — alongside franchise producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller — are finally ready to deliver trilogy capper Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse. And if Sony's newly released first-look images from the movie are anything to go by, then it's gonna be emotional. Check them out below;

Hoo boy — CinemaCon, you have delivered! There's a lot to get stuck into with these new shots from Beyond The Spider-Verse, but the upshot is we are very worried about Miles Morales' dad, Officer Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry). Miles and his old man having a heart-to-heart against a golden hour backdrop? Young Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) and Jefferson Davis flashbacks? Hobie 'Spider-Punk' Brown (Daniel Kaluuya) on a mission to save Miles' Dad? Yeah, consider us worried. And that's before accounting for Miles — Earth-1610 Miles, that is (there's no shots of Jharrel Jerome's alt-universe Prowler Miles G. Morales here) — being about to get his lights turned out by a very angry looking, glitching Miguel O'Hara (Oscar Isaac).

If there was any concern that Beyond The Spider-Verse may struggle to live up to ASTV and its jaw-slackening finale, in which Miles found himself face-to-face with his decidedly more antagonistic Earth-42 self, then consider those concerns suitably quashed. And that's even without seeing the fresh looks at The Spot and the rest of Miles' Spider-Society chums reportedly shown during Sony's CinemaCon presentation.

Written by Dave Callaham, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller, and now set to hit cinemas on 18 June, 2027, almost a whole decade since Into The Spider-Verse first came along and blew our minds, things are really starting to shape up for Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse to deliver a truly epic, emotional Spider saga finale. Until then, until the day the Spider-Verse trilogy (hopefully) takes its place among the greatest movie trilogies ever made, there's the small matter of a Spider-Noir series and Spider-Man: Brand New Day to look forward to next. Webheads, assemble!

This week's edition of the Pilot TV Podcast coincides with Sam Levinson's Euphoria making its long-awaited return to our screens following an eventful and somewhat turbulent four-year hiatus. But can it possibly meet Boyd’s lofty expectations when it lands on Sky/HBO Max? And speaking of Sky, Matthew Macfadyen and Elizabeth Banks’ size-shifting comedy The Miniature Wife also lands on that platform this week, while hit comedy Big Mood returns for another run on Channel 4, rounding out the shows James Dyer, Boyd Hilton, and Steph Seelan are casting their critical eye over on the latest episode of Pilot.

Elsewhere, the gang busts out the (metaphorical) turntables to thrash out our favourite TV needle drops, there’s a lot of unnecessary watermark chat, and you’re all invited to Steph’s birthday party. (Except James, of course.) Plus! The team dig into a busy week for telly news, including a bunch of casting announcements for Nobody Wants This Season 3, Alien: Earth Season 2, and the upcoming Peaky Blinders sequel series. You lucky ducks!

You can watch this week's episode of the pod below;

Prefer your pods to be purely audio? Well, you can also listen to this week's episode — which, if you're counting, is #384 — on your podcast app of choice. Also, if you want to subscribe to Pilot TV+, where you'll find an extra episode of the pod every week, gain early access to our latest episodes, and cut out all those pesky ads, then you can find all the details here — it takes the place for Peak TV podcasting to a whole other level.

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Though Katniss Everdeen’s story ended a while ago, there are plenty of Hunger Games tales still to be told. Author Suzanne Collins still has much she wants to say – given the state of, well, everything right now – and has continued to explore the dystopia she created in various prequel novels, themselves adapted for the big screen. Now, after The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, which dialled the clock back to the 10th Hunger Games, Sunrise On The Reaping will be presenting the 50th edition of the kiddie death-match – perhaps its most brutal ever, and the one that gave us victor Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss’ District 12 mentor, played in the original films by Woody Harrelson. Here’s the new trailer:

There’s one key reason why this Hunger Games lives in infamy: as a ‘Quarter Quell’, it’s a ‘special’ edition of the games with an additional rule: this time, double the amount of tributes are picked from the districts. So, Haymitch is one of 48 children battling for survival, the biggest bodycount of any edition, in a beautiful and brightly-coloured arena. That’s the immediate difference to any of the other films here; after Ballad rendered Panem in a post-War aesthetic, Sunrise is going full block-colour ‘’70s/80s look, reflected in its world and clothing, while the arena is a verdant nightmare.

Returning director Francis Lawrence – who helmed every Hunger Games film but the first, and recently squeezed in The Long Walk too – has assembled a stellar cast for this one, many of whom are playing younger versions of characters from Katniss’ stories. Relative newcomer Joseph Zada is playing Haymitch, with Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character), Kieran Culkin as presenter Caesar Flickerman (later to be Stanley Tucci), with Maya Hawke as victor Wireless, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as fellow former victor Beetee, and Lili Taylor as another victor Mags – played, respectively, by Amanda Plummer, Jeffrey Wright and Lynn Cohen in Catching Fire. Elle Fanning looks perfectly cast as the young Effie Trinket. Oh, and Ralph Fiennes is our latest Coriolanus Snow; far older than Tom Blyth in Ballad, but a bit younger than Donald Sutherland, too, in the Katniss era.

Sunrise On The Reaping also has Mckenna Grace and The Long Walk’s Ben Wang as fellow District 12 tributes Maysilee Donner and Wyatt Callow, with Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove; a Covey girl that Haymitch loves, and yearns to be reunited with beyond the Games. And that's a near-unrecognisable Glenn Close as reaping host Drusilla Sickle.

It’s a stacked cast, and a tantalising bit of Panem history – and fans won’t be waiting long. The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping comes to cinemas on November 20. May the odds be ever in your favour.

Ever since Charlotte Regan made her feature directorial debut with 2023's brilliant Scrapper, we've been chomping at the bit to see what her next project would look like. And now, following eye-catching gigs directing episodes of The Buccaneers and The Responder, that next project — subversive BBC crime drama Mint — is nearly here. Starring Emma Laird (yes, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple's Jimmima) and Benjamin Coyle-Larner (yes, the multi-talented rapper Loyle Carner) as two star-crossed lovers from rival crime families, Mint already sounds like another Regan banger. And you can see Empire's exclusive first teaser for the show below;

Night-time train station meet-cute? Check. Coyle-Larner turning on the charm with that silk-smooth voice? Check. Slo-mo shots and close-ups that are at once incredibly tense, incredibly intimate, and emphatically Regan? Check, check, and triple check. Some gravity defying park-based frolicking? Yup — there's that, too! Yeah, we're thinking Charlotte Regan's back. And while this teaser really is just that, a tantalising glimpse at what's to come in Mint, it sets up the series' hook perfectly. By the looks of it, we're in for a contemporary Romeo & Juliet type love story, only instead of Montagues and Capulets you've got two British crime families whose doe-eyed kin — Shannon (Laird) and Arran (Coyle-Larner) — find themselves embarking on a forbidden romance.

The prospect of seeing two instantly magnetic screen presences like Laird and Coyle-Larner bringing Shannon and Arran's relationship to life is enough to have us very much in already. But, as the show's synopsis teases, Mint's not just a mob love story: it's a crime drama that shifts focus from 'the crime world' and 'politics of succession' to the human lives at the centre of its story, to the way Shannon and her loved ones deal with patriarch Dylan's (Bulk's Sam Riley) decision to step down as the head of the family for 'mysterious reasons'.

So Mint is a love story. It's also a crime drama. But it's also doing its own thing in a way that looks and feels totally fresh, with oodles of talent both behind and in front of the camera. Sounds pretty, well, mint to us. We'll definitely be tuning in when the full series hits BBC iPlayer — and the first episode premieres on BBC One — on 20 April.

The Little Mermaid and Bridgerton’s Duke of Hastings team up in this new romcom, which pairs up two of Hollywood’s hottest young things, Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page, as a couple drawn together against a backdrop of wine, pasta and Tuscan sunshine. An idyllic setting, sure — but You, Me & Tuscany is far from perfect.

We meet Bailey’s Anna in New York. Still grieving her mother and the Italy-based culinary dreams they shared, she’s trying to escape her own chaotic life by living vicariously through other people’s, house-sitting in luxurious abodes. When she meets handsome Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), and hears of his family’s restaurant in Tuscany, she ends up travelling there, letting herself into his vacant villa, and telling his family that she and Matteo are engaged. But as she grows closer to his vineyard-owning cousin Michael (Page), it’s clear she can’t keep up the façade for long.

Fun filmmaking flourishes are let down by a script drowning in cliché.

Bailey is luminous, star quality shining through even the most eye-rolling dialogue. Anna gets by on sheer likeability, and Bailey does the same — she’s funny when she needs to be, and delivers a stirring speech in the final act that is the best thing in the whole movie. Page is as dashing as ever, only showing us cracks of vulnerability beneath that leading-man exterior.

They have decent chemistry; best in the low-key conversations, rather than the prosaic romantic moments. Somewhat disappointingly, though, the thread of them being the only two people of colour in the small Tuscan town is only hinted at and made the subject of jokes, rather than properly interrogated or informing their relationship. The supporting cast bring some much-needed energy, especially Aziza Scott as Anna’s wisecracking bestie, and Stella Pecollo as Matteo’s oversharer sister.

Director Kat Coiro has experience in this arena, after helming 2022’s Jennifer Lopez-starring Marry Me. That same glossy sensibility shows up here, as well as some of the playfulness with form seen in her episodes of Marvel’s She-Hulk. But some fun filmmaking flourishes are let down by a script drowning in cliché, dialogue so stilted it verges on parody. Most of the emotional developments feel undercooked, and the only out-loud laughs come from a blooper reel in the credits with clips solely of bit-part improvisers barely seen in the film. A movie like You, Me & Tuscany obviously doesn’t require kitchen-sink levels of realism, but something this lacking in depth or grounding makes it hard to care about the characters, and whether they get their inevitable happy ending.

Ok, first things first. Let's get it out of the way. Yes, the Empire Podcast team — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and John Nugent — spend a great deal of this week's podcast answering a listener question about great movie quartets. They also spend a great deal of time, in the Movie News section, talking about The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. And yes, despite all that, they spectacularly fail to mention Bilbo, Samwise, Merry and Pippin in the former category. So, just letting you know that now lest you wish to shout at your podcast device of choice. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. Or maybe fourwarned is more apt in this case.

Anyway, it's a fun episode in which our own quartet also talk Taskmaster series 21, discuss other nuggets of movie news, and review James McAvoy's directorial debut, California Schemin', Francois Ozon's The Stranger, rom-com You, Me & Tuscany, and podcasting horror, Undertone. And Chris has a lovely chat with James McAvoy, who pops into the podbooth to talk about directing for the first time. [41:45 — 1:00:32 approx] Oh, and the group make tentative and fun plans with this week's work experience person. Enjoy.

And if all of the above isn't quite enough Empire Podcast for you, then there's plenty more where that came from. You can listen to this week's episode (which, if you're counting, is #712) on the pod app of your choice. There, you'll also find the latest episode of Empire Pod regular The Interviews, which brings you even more chat with the cast and crew behind the biggest new releases. The most recent instalment sees Chris Hewitt talking to actual Richard Kind about his role as Max Bialystock in the West End production of Mel Brooks' The Producers; Chris again, chatting with You, Me & Tuscany stars Regé-Jean Page and Halle Bailey; and finally, Mike Muncer has a lovely chat over Zoom with Ian Tuason and Nina Kiri, the director and star of Undertone. You lucky, lucky lot!

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I was nervous for the oncoming onslaught, surrounded by strangers, quietly dreading the sequence and – right on cue – as it began, I began to crumble. Emotionally exposed among the Royal Albert Hall’s 5,000-strong throng. But also adrenalised. Call it masochistic if you like, but I do enjoy my heart being thumped about by cinema. Reduce me to rubble! Figuratively speaking.

I had seen Interstellar only twice before – upon release in November 2014, and then a few weeks later at an open-air screening in a park in Sydney, bats swooping in front of the setting sun while Hoyte van Hoytema’s own magic-hour golden glow also bathed the audience. That was special. Both times, the scene in which Matthew McConaughey’s astronaut Coop receives video messages from his kids at home had the same effect on me as it did him. As he sat there uncontrollably sobbing in his spaceship, having suddenly – thanks to relativity – lost 23 years in a matter of mere hours, I sobbed too, such is the massive, merciless wallop of it all. That residue had stuck with me since. So, on Easter Sunday in London, I knew it was coming. And yet I was, it turned out, unprepared. “Hey, Dad.” “Hey, Murph.”

There in the Royal Albert Hall, Interstellar was projected while the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra played Hans Zimmer’s score live, among them the soundtrack’s organist Roger Sayer, sat behind the venue’s 70ft-high towering beast of an organ (built in 1870, boasting 9,999 pipes and looking like something from Frankenstein’s lab). I had already lost it before the video-messages bit. Coop driving away from home – ripping through the cornfield as he heads to NASA, tears in his own eyes after leaving his distraught daughter behind – had kicked things off. And I went multiple times after that too, right up to the final stretch and Ellen Burstyn’s beatific smile: “I knew you’d come back.” “How?” “Because my dad promised me.”

There are I believe three explanations for the intensity of my response that evening.

1: The film is really fucking emotional.

2: I have my own daughter now, and so my own brain chemistry has changed, as well as my perspective on the world and my experience of life, and of cinema, particularly a film like this, particularly this exact film. Murph’s distress is my daughter’s distress. Cooper’s interactions with her are mine. My defences are down. Dismantled.

3: Seeing and hearing the orchestra provide that incredible score as it happens, at the risk of supreme corniness, was to witness human excellence. These world-class musicians overwhelmingly committing to the work, together creating something so astonishingly beautiful… that alone is a thing of awe and wonder. The movie purist in me tells me that live scoring shouldn’t work, that it would be distracting, diverting our eyes away from the screen, seeing behind the curtain as the film unfolds. But watching these people make that music infinitely enhanced Interstellar. To look down every so often, to see them right there, bringing such sonic grandeur to the room – there was, for me, something truly transcendental about it.

I have listened to the Interstellar score more than any other over the past 12 years. It does feel spiritual. It does feel cosmic. It does feel like you’re being carried into another realm. This was the intention.

When director Christopher Nolan first approached Zimmer, the screenplay still being written, he told him barely anything about it, simply asking him to spend a day making a piece of music to accompany a story – typewritten on a single page of paper – about a man leaving his kid because he had an important job to do. There were just two lines of dialogue on that page of paper: “I’ll come back.” “When?” Also referenced, though, was something Zimmer himself had said to Nolan a year earlier about the fact that once your children are born, you “look at yourself through their eyes.” Assignment in hand, Zimmer spent a day writing a piece about what it feels like to be a father. Nolan then stuck that piece on heavy rotation while he wrote the rest of the script.

Zimmer chose Roger Sayer for the organ work, brought to life on a then 90-year-old church organ. It’s impossible to imagine the film without it. “I made the case very strongly for some feeling of religiosity to it,” said Nolan of the score. “The film isn’t religious, but… the organ, the architectural cathedrals and all the rest, they represent mankind’s attempt to portray the mystical or the metaphysical.” It’s a deeply human instrument. An organ. Not a synth. “It can only make a sound with air, and it needs breath,” said Zimmer. “And on each note, you hear the breath, you hear the exhale.” You could hear that – and see it, and feel it – in the Royal Albert Hall. Sayer with his back to us, in thrall to the pipes, making majesty behind the keys. Taking us to church.

The silence in the Hall was deafening. No pins were dropped, but you could hear the tears.

Show-stoppers were in no short supply. Interstellar's docking sequence – during which Cooper has to connect his lander to the Endurance space station, despite being informed it’s impossible – is bravura enough on screen. But witnessing the orchestra play the accompanying piece, ‘No Time For Caution’, the other night, it felt like genuine life or death, Sayer going for broke, every string-player thrashing away as if there were genuinely no tomorrow. “Okay, we’re out of orbit”, said Coop, impossible mission made possible, and the Royal Albert Hall audience spontaneously erupted into applause – for Coop, for Nolan, for Zimmer, but most of all for the orchestra in the room, recreating the work with perfect precision and to overwhelming effect. (Incidentally, when Nolan and Zimmer had finished their work together, the director gifted his composer a watch – just as Coop does to Murph before he leaves for his mission. On the back of the one Nolan gave to Zimmer, he had inscribed, “This is not the time for caution.”)

Nolan took on Interstellar because of how it made him feel as a father; his producer and wife Emma Thomas said she didn’t think he could have made it before being one. “Having children,” Nolan later told The New York Times, “absolutely fine-tunes your sense of time and time passing. There’s a desperate desire to hang on to moments as your kids grow up.” Which is Interstellar in a nutshell. That sentiment is why the video-message scene is so integral, and so powerful. What we see on screen there is raw footage in every sense – it was McConaughey’s first take, and he hadn’t seen the messages before doing so. His reaction was real, and it shows. By the time Jessica Chastain’s adult Murph arrives, having refused to send any messages up to this point, the score gradually disappears. The silence in the Hall was deafening. No pins were dropped, but you could hear the tears.

Confession: I don’t cry much in the real world, despite sometimes having good reason to. For me, it all comes out in the cinema. Films help us to process things, to make sense of them. To feel them. Cinema gives us permission to cry. Possibly due to the fact that I’m having an emotional time with my own daughter at the moment, seeing Interstellar with that orchestra the other night was an extremely physical catharsis, the film’s meditations on love and loss and time hitting me like never before. Man, it’s amazing to be alive. “I’m here now, Murph. I’m here.”

Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother (no commas) is an exquisite three-part harmony. The bequiffed indie legend has done portmanteau pictures before — Mystery Train, Night On Earth, Coffee And Cigarettes — but this is his most affecting: a delicate, lovely portrait of the relationships between parents and kids that suggests, despite shared genes and bloodlines, that those closest to us might still be unknowable.

‘Father’ follows siblings Jeff (Adam Driver) and Emily (Mayim Bialik) visiting their eccentric dad (Jarmusch talisman Tom Waits), who they haven’t seen for two years following an ‘episode’ at his mother’s funeral. As Jeff and Emily arrive concerned about how their father lives day-to-day, it’s a mini-masterpiece of awkwardness and small talk, suggesting a wealth of family history and relationships without reverting to swathes of backstory. Like a hipster M. Night Shyamalan, Jarmusch also delivers a nifty twist in the tale.

Simple and generous towards its flawed people.

Some 4,550 miles away in Dublin, ‘Mother’ sees prim Timothea (Cate Blanchett) and black sheep Lilith (Vicky Krieps) arrive separately at the home of their novelist mum (Charlotte Rampling). It’s the annual family afternoon tea — Jarmusch drops a Hitchcockian top shot over the immaculately laid-out table — and a comedy of brittle manners unfurls over the PG Tips. (“Shall I be mother?” Rampling’s author asks, pouring the brew. “You might as well start sometime,” replies Lilith.) Never resorting to cliché, Jarmusch expertly sketches the unspoken affection between the two sisters — watch them giggle over their mother’s overwrought book titles like ‘Reckless Moonlight’ and ‘An Unfaithful Tomorrow’ — and wrings compelling plot out of ordering an Uber.

The final entry, ‘Sister Brother’, changes things up, with American twins Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) in Paris on one last visit to their deceased parents’ flat, a tender stroll through empty rooms and down memory lane. Perhaps because it has no present parental figure, it lacks the bite of the previous stories, but replaces it with something more heartfelt and reflective, offering a gentle reminder that the uneasy get-togethers and prickly tea parties might later feel more like wasted opportunities.

All of this is perfectly played across the board and beautifully shot. Threaded throughout each yarn are recurring motifs — slow-mo shots of skateboarders, Rolex watches, riffs on the phrase “Bob’s your uncle” (best uttered by Waits) — that are less Easter eggs, more telling reminders that, despite geographical distance, we all experience the same stuff. Simple and generous towards its flawed people, it seems the only thing bigger than Jarmusch’s hair is his heart.

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The Jurassic Park T-rex roar. Psycho's shower scene strings. "Goooood morning, Vietnam!" Whether sound, soundtrack or dialogue, it's often the audio side of audiovisual entertainment which stays with you long after the credits have rolled. While we'll happily extol the display capabilities of the best TVs, it's time we tip our hats to the accessory which brings that all-important amplification: the soundbar.

This piece of tech steps in to do the heavy lifting when televisions fall short, which they frequently do. Despite advancements in what even 32-inch TVs can deliver by themselves, we still think a soundbar is often an essential piece of kit. Factoring it into your budget when improving your entertainment array will mean that you're not left wondering what the big deal was about the QLED or OLED screen that you just spent so much time researching.

They're versatile, too. A soundbar could be a much-needed addition to your gaming setup or act as a speaker for listening to music, with or without a TV. Coming in various sizes and packing different levels of power, it's all a question of finding the one that suits your space. If you want a soundbar with a separate subwoofer, and perhaps some other external speakers, then we've picked out a few affordable options (and there are more in our guide to the best surround sound systems, with our top candidate being the Samsung HW-Q990F). For the most part though we've restricted our choices to the best all-in-one soundbars. While traditional surround sound is achieved through placing different parts of audio kit around a room, today's soundbars can excel at doing this in a single unit. They manage it through housing multiple speakers, making the most of what these can offer via clever design, and by using technology which is adept at simulating an even broader range of sounds.

What this means in practice is that the audio side of a home entertainment setup isn't automatically improved by having a variety of constituent parts dotted about your living space. An all-in-one soundbar can offer a great, and sometimes superior, alternative. But that will depend on its quality, which will be partly reflected in its cost. However, there are plenty of soundbars which are reasonably priced and deliver great value for money – you just need to know what you're looking for. We've saved you the bother of searching, with budget soundbars, compact units, Dolby Atmos stars, and more all to be found below.

How we chose the best soundbars

We know that the most common use for a soundbar is to improve a TV's sound, and have therefore taken the price and capabilities of televisions into account when making recommendations. We don't imagine you'll want to spend the same or more on a supporting player (albeit a very important one) to the star of the show. As such, some high-end creations which retail for more than £1,000 don't feature here. If you are looking to break the bank, Sennheiser's Ambeo Soundbar Max and Bang & Olufsen's Beosound Theatre are among the premium soundbars which are absent. Find out more about how we test and choose at the end of the page.

Best soundbars in 2026

Expert's choice: Best soundbar of 2026

For leading the way in the number of channels it can deliver, we've picked the Sonos Arc Ultra as the best soundbar overall. The one notable omission from Sonos in an otherwise stellar unit is the lack of DTS audio. If that's important to you, and you want to remain close to what the Arc Ultra can offer in terms of sheer power in an all-in-one bar, then other premium options include the Marshall Heston 120 and the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 (the successor to the Theatre Bar 8 we reviewed).

If you're not looking to invest quite as much in a soundbar but still want great build, design and features there are several other options above, from the mid-range Samsung S60D to the Hisense HS2000 at less than £100.

What to look for in a soundbar

It's clear from the examples above that there's no 'typical' soundbar, either in design or the technology used. When investing in this piece of equipment it's important to think about exactly what function you want it to fulfil, where it will be going and how much money you're willing to spend on it.

Purpose

Soundbars are traditionally used in partnership with a television (or a projector) and that's the basis on which we've formulated this guide. However, you could also want a soundbar for listening to music (either via Bluetooth or by connecting to a record player or similar). This wouldn't be conventional due to the shape of a soundbar, but it would mean that you'd be able to worry less about some of the specialist audio we've mentioned (like Dolby TrueHD, for example). That's because these are cinema sound formats with a focus on bringing movies to life.

It's also a technology which can be heard by more than one person at a time. If that's not relevant to your circumstances, or you don't want to disturb others when you're watching a series, there are other ways of listening like surround sound headphones, or even the Sony Bravia Theatre U neckband speaker which we tested.

Size

Measure up the space you have available for your new soundbar. It's the most practical but perhaps the most important of considerations, as any technical wizardry will be pointless if you can't fit the soundbar where it needs to go.

There are two things to consider here: how wide is your TV and how wide is the unit on which it's placed. We've included recommended minimum TV sizes for each soundbar in the specifications tabs. This is because it will be visually confusing if your TV dwarfs the soundbar you choose for it, or vice versa. Remember that the size of a television is measured diagonally corner to corner, so don't make the mistake of seeing the width of a soundbar and thinking that corresponds directly to the inch size of your TV. For more information about which TVs suit which soundbars take a look through our guides to the best TVs by size:

Best 32-inch TVs

Best 40-inch TVs

Best 43-inch TVs

Best 55-inch TVs

Best 65-inch TVs

Design

Linked to size is design. You're going to spend a lot of time looking at your soundbar when it's sat right in front of your telly, so you'll want to make sure that it has a design that you like (and probably one that's not wildly out of sync with its surroundings). That's why, in addition to the potential technical advantages, it may be worth considering a soundbar of the same brand as your television. And, while emphasising that the soundbar is going to be permanently on display, you can also find ones which are less conspicuous than others. If you're not a fan of bold LED displays or prominent brand logos then there are far more plain and functional options out there – the Samsung HW-S50B is a great example. Finally, do you need it to be wall mountable and does it come with the necessary elements, like a bracket, in order to achieve this?

Number of speakers

In terms of soundbar technology, the number of speakers is a simple but effective way of predicting the level and quality of sound that the unit is likely to deliver. It's the reason why soundbars with more speakers are generally more expensive. However, it's worth bearing in mind the extent to which some soundbars can simulate sound which goes beyond the number of physical speakers they have. In these cases you'll need to check what requirements need to be met in order for this simulated sound to be achieved. For example, does the soundbar need to be paired with a specific model of TV or further external units like a subwoofer?

Speaking of which, the inclusion of a subwoofer either as part of the soundbar itself or as a satellite speaker is worth prioritising if you're keen to eke additional bass out of your favourite blockbusters. You'll know if a subwoofer is present by the channel configuration of the soundbar which will be represented as two or three numbers. Each number refers to a different element. Using the Sonos Arc Ultra as an example, its channel setup is 9.1.4. This means it has nine 'main' speakers (these will be 'ear-level', mostly forward facing), one subwoofer and four speakers which point upwards. By contrast, something like the Hisense HS2000 has a 2.1 channel configuration, meaning it has two main speakers and one subwoofer, but no up-firing speakers. You can find out more about channel configuration and different types of speakers and drivers in the terminology guide below.

Features

There's often a direct correlation between speaker configuration and a couple of the features which we've mentioned frequently when discussing our soundbar choices: Dolby Atmos and DTS: X. These advanced audio formats (the Samsung Q930F system we tested has both) are great for a more cinematic experience, but can only be utilised if up-firing speakers are part of your soundbar setup. The exception to this rule is when 'virtual' Atmos or DTS is included. As the name suggests, this is a way of achieving the intended effect without relying on physical speakers. So pay attention to channel configuration and tech claims and see if they align.

Beyond this, there will be other more niche audio formats that some soundbars will offer, as well as brand-specific technology (Samsung's Q-Symphony or LG's WOW Orchestra, for example). These will be benefits when it comes to the audio on offer, but don't prioritise them over more fundamental elements which, if missing, will be more noticeable and frustrating. Some soundbars are app rather than remote control-operated, others will integrate smart assistants and Bluetooth. The latter will be particularly important if you want to use your soundbar in conjunction with your smartphone as well as your TV.

Connectivity

Bluetooth is just one way to link a soundbar to a TV or other device. It's also the case, as we've highlighted in reference to the Samsung Q600C, that some versions are older than others. Pick a soundbar with a recent iteration to ensure a more reliable connection.

For wired connections, having a variety of options will help if connecting multiple systems to a soundbar at the same time. If your TV has an HDMI port with ARC or eARC capability (more on these below) then ensure your new soundbar does also, otherwise the benefit of these connections will be lost. Likewise, if you have an older television it might not feature an HDMI connection but is likely to have an optical output, so whichever you soundbar you choose will need to have an optical input.

Soundbar terminology

There are certain terms which crop up frequently in any discussion of audio in general and soundbars in particular. We've used a few above when outlining what the best soundbars can offer. Here's a further breakdown of exactly what each means.

Speakers

A soundbar (or sound bar, depending on the manufacturer) is, at its most basic, a unit of one or more speakers commonly used to improve the sound of a TV's speakers. It's a simple way of upgrading your home audio in a single purchase.

What is a driver?: A driver is the part inside the soundbar that actually makes the sound. It's a small speaker unit that moves back and forth to create the sound waves you hear.

What is a woofer?: A woofer is a type of driver that specialises in playing low sounds – like deep bass notes and rumbles in movies. A subwoofer takes this technology further for even more substantial bass.

What is a mid-range speaker?: A mid-range speaker is another type of driver that handles the 'middle' sounds. Because of this, it's ideal for improving dialogue.

What is a tweeter?: A tweeter is a small driver made for high-pitched sounds. It helps add clarity and crispness. A super tweeter can reach the highest of the highs.

What is channel configuration?: Channel configuration describes how many separate sound paths, or 'channels', a soundbar can create. The first number represents the number of main speakers, the second the number of subwoofers and the third the number of up-firing speakers. More channels usually means more immersive, surround-like sound.

Dolby sound

Ray Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories in 1965. At that time, movies and television normally had just a single channel of sound – meaning only one stream of audio played in a specific direction. Dolby Laboratories contributed to improvements in this, creating new ways to enhance recorded sound and increase the number of channels, allowing for a richer and more immersive experience.

What is Dolby Atmos?: Dolby Atmos adds height, width and depth to cinematic audio as it's able to direct sound into your room with pinpoint precision. Instead of assigning sound to a channel (like a left speaker or right speaker), Atmos treats certain sounds – like a voice, bird, or helicopter rotor – as independent objects that can be precisely placed and moved anywhere in space.

What is Dolby Digital? Dolby Digital takes audio and splits it into multiple separate channels, it's typically 5.1 surround sound.

What is Dolby Digital Plus?: An improved version of Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus can handle higher-quality audio and more surround speakers. It's also designed to work well over internet connections, so you get better surround sound even with streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+.

What is Dolby TrueHD? Dolby TrueHD delivers lossless sound, which means you hear the audio exactly as it was originally recorded, with no quality lost from compression. This creates detailed home audio, supporting up to 7.1 surround sound. It's often found on Blu-ray (have a read of our Panasonic Blu-ray player review) and some high-end streaming devices. If you're aiming for the best home cinema experience, Dolby TrueHD is worth keeping an eye out for.

DTS sound

DTS (Digital Theatre Systems) was established in the 1990s as a competitor to Dolby. It has developed its own technologies for providing richer, more realistic audio at home.

What is DTS Digital Surround?: Like Dolby Digital, DTS Digital Surround splits audio into multiple channels.

What is DTS: X? DTS: X, like Dolby Atmos, makes 3D audio its focus. A soundbar and TV combo which supports this will allow you to hear sound from all around you.

What is DTS-HD Master Audio?: DTS-HD Master Audio is another high-quality audio technology with a focus on lossless sound (in the same way as Dolby TrueHD).

Connections

All soundbars will have wired connection options, some more than others. You will also find that some utilise Bluetooth to allow for wireless connectivity.

What is HDMI?: HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a cable and connection that transmits high-quality audio and video with a single wire.

What is Arc?: (Audio Return Channel) is a feature of HDMI that allows audio to be sent to the soundbar from the TV via the same HDMI cable used for video input.

What is eArc?: eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) is an improved version of ARC, supporting higher-quality audio, including formats like Dolby Atmos.

What is Optical?: Optical (also known as Toslink) is an older cable connection that transmits digital audio from your TV to your soundbar using light. Unlike, ARC and eARC, it doesn't support some of the newer audio formats.

What is Bluetooth?: Bluetooth is a means of achieving wireless audio. The most recent iterations are 6.0 and 6.1, but these don't feature widely among consumer technology yet. For up-to-date Bluetooth in a soundbar, look for the fifth version (5.0 - 5.4).

Why should you trust us?

We've selected the best soundbars through research, testing, comparison and our opinion as consumer tech journalists. We've included units from respected brands and have paid particular attention to the number of speakers each soundbar boasts or can simulate. We've also considered design and how a soundbar will look when unboxed and in use, as well as the build quality and any special features it can offer. Connectivity and control options (both remote and app) were also part of our decision-making. Each product has a section outlining its technical specifications. We've provided further information about how we recommend products if you'd like to find out more about this process.

Latest updates

This article was first published in August 2025. Future relevant additions and amendments will be noted here.

1 April 2026: We added a photo of the the Samsung Q930F, a surround sound system which we've reviewed.

17 March 2026: We added a link to our guide to the best gaming monitors.

2 March 2026: We added a link to our guide to the best budget projectors.

18 February 2026: We added a small ultra budget soundbar option: the Majority Atlas.

4 February 2026: We added a table to explain what different soundbar channel configurations offer.

14 January 2026: We added further photos of the tested Sonos Arc Ultra, and a link to our full review. We also included a link to our guide to the best projectors.

8 January 2026: We answered the question: "Can you use a soundbar with any TV?".

2 January 2026: We changed our choice of the best soundbar with subwoofer. The Samsung Q600F has replaced the Samsung Q600C. The Q600F is a newer model which we've tested and which doesn't differ substantially in price from the Q600C.

19 December 2025: We answered the question 'Where should you not put a soundbar?'.

4 November 2025: We added a link to our review of the Samsung Q930F soundbar.

31 October 2025: We replaced the Azatom Elite with the Azatom Pulsar PR500 due to price and availability.

28 October 2025: We added a link to our guide to the best Samsung soundbars.

15 October 2025: We added photos of the tested LG S70TY soundbar and wireless subwoofer, our best LG soundbar.

25 September 2025: We added a link to our guide to the best Dolby Atmos soundbars.

23 September 2025: We added a table which offers an at-a-glance comparison of our choice of the best all-in-one soundbar overall (Sonos Arc Ultra) and the best soundbar under £150 (Hisense HS2000).

22 September 2025: We included a link to our guide to the best small soundbars.

15 September 2025: We mentioned the Azatom Pulsar PR500 when discussing our choice of the best budget Dolby Atmos soundbar (the Azatom Elite). The Elite has a built-in subwoofer, while the Pulsar PR500's subwoofer is a separate unit.

10 September 2025: We answered the FAQ: "What are the disadvantages of a soundbar?".

8 September 2025: We added a link to our guide to the best LG soundbars.

3 September 2025: We answered the FAQ: "Is a soundbar better with HDMI or Bluetooth?".

27 August 2025: We added links to our guides to the best Bose soundbars and the best surround sound headphones.

David Ker is a journalist with a decade of experience in print and digital publishing. He appreciates technology made with its environmental impact in mind and which presents him a further means to pursue his love of music, reading, games, TV and film. Above all, with so many options out there, he's interested in products that display something out of the ordinary and offer value for money. Hard to please, he assures Empire readers that he'll be a discerning critic on their behalf.

Just in case there was any remaining doubt that video game adaptations are the new comic book movies, another one's strafing our way — and it's a biggie! This evening, THR is reporting that Sony's Columbia Pictures are gearing up to bring Hideo Kojima's stealth combat franchise Metal Gear Solid to the big screen. And, what's more, the studio has already found one of the hottest directorial duos around to make it: Final Destination Bloodlines duo Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein.

With stock in Lipovsky and Stein rising following the critical and commercial success of last year's Final Destination reboot (Final Destination 7 is, as you may expect, already well on its way), Sony has snapped up the duo on a 'sweeping and expansive' first-look deal. This will see the pair make 'wildly fun, commercial, character-driven, genre-bending films' for the studio under their own Wonderlab banner — and clearly Solid Snake (Snake! Snaaaaaake!), long since cemented as one of gaming's very greatest characters, has slithered onto Lipovsky, Stein, and Sony's radar for the big-screen treatment.

"Metal Gear Solid was nothing short of a groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece that forever revolutionised video games," said Lipovsky and Stein in a joint statement accompanying today's announcement. "We are thrilled and honoured to bring Hideo Kojima’s iconic characters and unforgettable world to life.”

The Metal Gear series — so named after the superweapon that special forces operative Snake is recurrently tasked with finding — is renowned for not only creating the blueprint for stealth games and expanding the gaming world's understanding of what the medium could be, but also for its inherently cinematic nature. The last mainline entry in the series, The Phantom Pain, had almost four hours of Kojima crafted cutscenes, while the one before that — Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots — had over eight hours of 'em, some feature-length on their own. Consider our curiosity piqued to see how, er, solid Snake's movie debut will be. This is good, isn't it?

One batch, two batch, penny and dime... Frank Castle is back, and it's Punishin' time! Last month we learned that the finale of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 will be directly followed by the release of _The Punisher: One Last_Kill, a one-off Marvel Studios Special Presentation centred around Jon Bernthal's skull-armoured vigilante. And now today, the first full trailer for King Richard and Top Boy director Reinaldo Marcus Green's one-shot has been released. And while there's no shortage of violence in store from — and for — our man Frank here, it looks like the anti-hero is searching for peace, too. Check out the trailer below;

Now there's a trailer! And as we teased above, it looks like this isn't just Frank Castle in pure, baddie-pulping mode. Sure, there's Frank locked and loaded, Frank on fire, Frank running with a baseball bat, and Frank roaring like a beast unleashed over the course of this trailer. But there's also Frank surrounded by his demons, haunted by memories of his loved ones lost, and, honestly, kind of just cracking up a little bit. The presence of an unseen character (potentially comics villain and recurring thorn in Punisher's side, infantryman Barracuda?) goading Frank, asking if he "thinks God's gonna forgive us for what we've done", only adds to the sense that this isn't going to be a straight-up bloodbath. The tone here is, if anything, as elegiac as the content is brutal — clearly something co-writers Green and Bernthal have hashed out and worked on together.

We still don't know the full plot of One Last Kill just yet, but we do know the logline teases how this special presentation follows as "Frank searches for meaning beyond revenge, when an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight." Again, 'unexpected force' — it's not not giving Barracuda vibes. (And, lest we forget, Jamal Lloyd Johnson — not seen in the trailer — is playing a mystery character called Barry in this...)

With Daredevil: Born Again's finale coming before it and Spider-Man: Brand New Day set to hit cinemas shortly after, it'll be fascinating to see how The Punisher: One Last Kill fits into the bigger MCU picture — and where it leaves Frank Castle and his bloody calling. We'll find out for ourselves when Marvel Studios' latest Special Presentation hits Disney+ on 12 May. Bring. It. On!

Fans of animation are no strangers to Brad Bird. He brought to life Vin Diesel’s super-sized robot in The Iron Giant, gave us one of the best superhero films of the 2000s with The Incredibles, and introduced audiences to the internet’s favourite chef Remy in Ratatouille. But his latest project actually dates back to before all of those films, having been gestating in the director’s mind for more than 30 years.

The project in question is Ray Gunn, a blend of 1940s noir detective films and sci-fi that has just revealed its first images along with its voice cast. Check out the first shots from the film below;

Leading the lineup is Oscar-winner (and all-round great dancer) Sam Rockwell, voicing the titular private eye Raymond Gunn. He is joined by Scarlett Johansson as multimedia star Venus Nova, with Johansson describing working with Bird as a “career milestone”. Also among the cast is Tom Waits, who will voice a character called Eyera.

Alongside the cast announcement comes a first look at the film itself. Set in Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future, Ray Gunn follows private eye Raymond Gunn as he is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and the mysterious multimeida star Venus Nova. Based on these first images, the film looks like it could be a blast, bringing something of a Knives Out energy to the world of sci-fi. Or, as Bird himself describes the film to Tudum, “It’s The Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers.”

Bird has spoken about Ray Gunn numerous times over the years, and now the long-gestating passion project will finally hit screens later this year thanks to Skydance Animation and Netflix. Judging by this first look, it might just be a case well worth signing onto. Watch this space!

As Game Of Thrones' Tyrion Lannister, Peter Dinklage faced more than his fair share of monsters — both human and otherwise. One monster the Toxic Avenger and Roofman star has never faced however is the xenomorph... until now. Per Deadline's reporting, four-time Emmy winner Dinklage is the first new cast member boarding Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth Season 2 at FX ahead of production starting on the sci-fi series' sophomore outing next month.

Set to shoot at Pinewood Studios in May, bringing the Alien franchise back to its original home, Alien: Earth Season 2 — as creator Hawley himself has teased to Empire — is about to spell big trouble for Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and co following *that* 'Now we rule' Season 1 finale mic drop. And while we have no confirmation as of yet when it comes to who Dinklage may be playing when the proverbial faeces hits the fan in Season 2, there may be a potential clue in Hawley's further comments on his future plans for Alien: Earth. "There’s a bit of Game Of Thrones to the corporate world that feels interesting to me," Hawley told Empire recently, teasing a desire to dig into the "corporate politics" of the series' future-Earth setting further with its next outing. Could Dinklage — a man who knows a Thronesian thing or two — pop up as a prominent figure from one of the show's warring corporations perhaps? He has landed a series regular role, after all. Honestly, we don't know at this point... but we're sure we'll find out soon enough.

What we do know about Alien: Earth Season 2 is that while Hawley has said Wendy and her Lost Boys' growing autonomy will continue to be the beating heart of the show, there are still far bigger ideas at play here, too. "It’s a story about humanity trapped between nature that’s trying to kill us and the technology we’ve created that also seems to be trying to kill us," Hawley told us. "That feels a lot like the world that I live in, and so I feel like there’s a lot there to really grapple with.” Consider us ready to enter the figurative ring and grapple with it all — T. Ocellus, Xenomorphs, Weyland-Yutani, uneasy human-synth/alien alliances, all of it — whenever Alien: Earth Season 2 arrives on terra firma. Or just Disney+, really.

We've got an itch for an action movie threequel — and Netflix has a Rake to scratch it! Yes, after technically dying in Sam Hargrave's Extraction, and having gotten better in testosterone-fuelled follow-up Extraction 2, Chris Hemsworth's Aussie merc Tyler Rake is officially coming back for a new mission with the ingeniously titled Extraction 3. And what's more, per Deadline's reporting, we know that he's not coming back alone: Sam Hargrave is returning to the directorial hotseat, while Rake's BFF/manager Nik (Golshifteh Farahani) and mysterious 'Man In The Suit' Alcott (Idris Elba) are also re-entering the fray on-screen.

Having somehow pulled off a prison riot, car chase, and train face-off all rolled into one insane 21-minute 'oner' with Extraction 2 (not to mention setting Hemsworth's excellently named Tyler Rake on actual fire), upping the ante for the surprisingly brutal and brilliantly choreographed action franchise, Extraction 3 has got a lot to live up to. That being said, according to Deadline, Hemsworth — fresh from the release of Bart Layton's heist thriller Crime 101 — was taken enough with writer David Weil's latest script for the action sequel that he's readily committed himself to spending this summer shooting the movie. Plot details on the film are, as you may expect, under wraps — but we imagine the gist will be that Tyler Rake gets given a mission that necessitates lots of badass action set pieces and explosions and such. After all, what more could we possibly want from a third Extraction?

With both of its first two entries ranking among Netflix's most popular English-language films, the Extraction franchise has successfully shown what a life beyond Thor and the MCU could look like for the hammer-wielding Hemsworth brother. And after the sensorial assault (in a good way) that was Extraction 2, consider us fully aboard with Extraction 3 — or 3xtraction as all the cool kids will no doubt be calling it. Next stop: Extr4ction.

In the early 2000s, before TikTok virality and algorithmic fame, there was a potential different route to stardom: invent an entirely new identity and hope nobody notices. That, more or less, is the true story behind California Schemin’, the directorial debut of James McAvoy. It’s a scheme so unhinged it doesn’t need much embellishment, though the film, inevitably, shapes the chaos of real life into something a little neater, smoothing out some of the edges in favour of conventional underdog-story beats.

Best mates Gavin Bain (Séamus McLean Ross) and Billy Boyd (Samuel Bottomley) are aspiring rappers from Dundee with a familiar problem: talent alone isn’t enough. In a music scene obsessed with credibility, their thick Scottish accents mark them as novelties rather than contenders. So they do what any sensible young artists might do: adopt American accents, invent Californian backstories, and relaunch themselves as the fictitious rap duo Silibil N’ Brains. Cue clumsy accent practice, montage sequences, and the occasional snort of disbelief from those closest to them, especially Billy’s girlfriend Mary (Lucy Halliday), who is the lone naysayer to an increasingly elaborate deception.

McAvoy proves himself a capable storyteller with an instinct for comedy and tone..

Against all logic, the plan works. A few accent tweaks and some swagger later, the pair are suddenly being taken seriously by London record-label executives. What begins as an attempt to expose the music industry’s shallow obsession with image soon gathers momentum. As the attention grows, the lie becomes harder to abandon and Gavin in particular begins to let ambition overshadow friendship.

McAvoy directs with an appealing lack of fuss. There’s nothing flashy on screen, but he captures the texture of working-class friendship and small-town ambition with warmth. The Dundee scenes in particular have a loose, affectionate energy, grounded by the easy chemistry between Ross and Bottomley. Their double act is the film’s strongest asset: Bottomley’s Billy is the cautious realist, while Ross’ Gavin grows increasingly intoxicated by the promise of fame. That shift gives the film a brief darker edge, where it hints at the psychological toll of living inside a lie.

California Schemin’ rarely strays far from the familiar rhythms of the music biopic: struggle, breakthrough, excess, fallout. For a story this strange, the storytelling does feel overly conventional. Yet the film remains a buoyant watch. The performances are lively, the pacing brisk, and the satire of an industry obsessed with “authenticity” lands neatly enough. McAvoy may not reinvent the genre with his first outing behind the camera, but he proves himself a capable storyteller with an instinct for comedy and tone. It’s a little scrappy and thoroughly predictable, but undeniably a hoot while it lasts.

Think about it: you’ve probably never seen Danny Dyer on a horse. That’s because he can’t ride one, despite having it on his acting resume. Or, at least, he couldn’t ride one until he stepped into the role of working-class millionaire Freddie in hit series Rivals – the Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s romping ‘80s novels, packed with sex, scandal, and some serious heart to boot. When it came to the horseback polo scenes in the upcoming Season 2, it was officially time for Dyer to saddle up.

There was no way Dyer was going to be the only cast member not on a real horse. “The alternative is that they have a quad bike with a fake horse on the back, and they pull it along,” he tells Empire. “So the fear of having to sit on that, when everyone else was riding the horse, I was like, ‘No way. I’ve got to do this.’ And I did it!” There was one particular steed that Dyer bonded with. “Had a lovely horse called Snaffles who really did look after me,” he says. “I’m really proud of myself, actually, because I lied on my CV for all them years about being able to ride a horse, and now I actually can ride a horse.” Giddy up.

The new season is set to dial up everything that fans loved about the first run, though it now moves ahead without Jilly Cooper herself – who gave the show her blessing, and had a cameo in Season 1, but who passed away in late 2025. “She loved that I was playing Freddie,” says Dyer. “I could see a little glint in her eye every time I was talking to her, because I’m a little bit naughty as well, you know. I loved her little cheeky glint. And I’m not gonna lie — I flirted with her a lot.” If you’re in the Rutshire Chronicles, that’s exactly how you’re meant to behave.

Read Empire's full Rivals Season 2 feature in the Steven Spielberg issue – on sale Thursday April 9. Order a copy online here. Rivals Season 2 comes to Disney+ from May 15.

Ready for the truth to be revealed? Disclosure Day is coming, Steven Spielberg’s new summer blockbuster set to spill extra-terrestrial secrets – and the new issue of Empire has the first word on the master’s latest original.

You’ll find the magazine on newsstands from Thursday April 9 – and you can order a copy online here right now – but first, here’s a sneak peek inside its pages.

Steven Spielberg

Over 50 years ago, he invented the blockbuster. Now Spielberg is back with a fresh one – and he sits down for a major new interview, revisiting his sci-fi classics, and exploring his relationship to the genre as he readies Disclosure Day.

Disclosure Day

Plus, we take a deep dive into his new film, speaking to stars Josh O’Connor, Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo and Eve Hewson, plus writer David Koepp, to get the first word on the summer’s most secretive film.

Mother Mary

Are you ready for it? David Lowery is back with a pop psychodrama that sees Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel go head-to-head. He talks Empire through its original songs, the styling, its central rivalry, and the psychological power-struggle at its core.

Power Ballad

Nobody delivers harmonious cinema like John Carney. His latest sees Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas face off in a case of a stolen song – and they tell Empire all about hitting the high notes on a music-based comedy.

Jet Li

For decades, Jet Li has been delivering mind-blowing martial arts in action cinema. As he prepares to release his book, he talks Empire through his game-changing career – from Hong Kong to Hollywood.

The Sheep Detectives

You’ve seen murder-mysteries, but never one where the sleuth is a flock of sheep. Enter The Sheep Detectives. The film’s sprawling cast – including Hugh Jackman, Bryan Cranston, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Regina Hall, Nicholas Braun and Hong Chau – talks Empire through its mad making-of.

Rivals: Season 2

The sauciest – and most surprising – show on TV is back. Empire goes on set of Rivals’ ripping return, speaking to the cast and crew about going deeper on the Jilly Cooper series that had everyone hooked.

First Word

In the news section, we tap in to Toy Story 5 with director Andrew Stanton; talk art and arseholery with Ian McKellen for The Christophers; get a fresh slice of Beef as Season 2 looms; peek ahead to what’s in store in Dune: Part Three; look at the latest series from Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd, Half-Man; and much more.

Final Cut

In the home entertainment section, we look back on the reception of The Running Man with Edgar Wright; go beat-by-beat on Zootropolis 2 with its directors; rank the films of the late, great Robert Duvall; revisit the game-changing Hard Boiled with John Woo, and much more.

Reviews

In this issue, you’ll find reviews of starry relationship nightmare The Drama; James McAvoy’s directorial debut California Schemin’, Mark Jenkin’s latest singular Cornish original, Rose Of Nevada; Season 5 of galactic drama For All Mankind; the return of Jim Jarmusch with Father Mother Sister Brother; and many more.

At last: a film which warns of the evils of podcasting. Undertone is a very effective kind of horror, especially in how it tells a story both about, and via, the audio form. While it may trade in somewhat unoriginal genre tropes — the haunted house, the evil demons, the creepy children’s songs, the jump scares — its form and its function feel fresh, fluent and flippin’ frightening. At the very least, it is a deeply unsettling sensory experience.

This comes from first-time writer-director Ian Tuason, who partly based the story on his own experiences in caring for his dying parents, and — in a staggering move which must have been at least a little bit psychologically triggering — filmed the entire feature within the walls of his own childhood home in Toronto. Tuason’s set-up is smart, never leaving the claustrophobic walls of that home, its shelves heaving with Catholic trinkets and religious bric-a-brac. A statuette of the Virgin Mary looms with benign menace.

This is the family home of Evy (Nina Kiri), whose mother (Michèle Duquet) is suffering from a terminal disease, bed-bound and nonverbal. Evy is a podcaster who co-hosts a spooky show with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco; like most of the characters besides Evy, never seen, only heard). While Evy is acting as her mother’s caregiver, she and Justin are in different time zones, hence Evy is conveniently forced to stay up until the inherently spooky witching hour of 3am to record new episodes of the show.

Technically and sonically, this is as sharp as it gets.

Undertone began life as a found-footage radio play, which you can totally see: Tuason and his sound team carefully and deliberately use the aural space as a storytelling realm all of its own. When Evy slips on her expensive-looking headphones, we the viewer slip into the pristine, noise-cancelled space she occupies; when she starts hearing things that may or may not be there — from the increasingly disturbing recordings of a cursed married couple, to the possessed-sounding podcast phone-ins — we hear them too, the entire span of the audio space utilised to full, nerve-jangling effect. (If you’re able to see the film in a cinema kitted out with the most modern, spatially crisp speakers, it makes a difference.) But we are also invited to imagine what we can’t hear, the noise-cancelling headphones generating a unique kind of anxiety, alluded to by Tuason’s camera, which often lingers in unsettling angles and ominous framing.

Technically and sonically, this is as sharp as it gets, buoyed by strong, subtle performances, especially from Kiri, who essentially carries the entire film. This being an A24 horror, the script leans heavily on family trauma (see also: Hereditary, Bring Her Back, Midsommar, Talk To Me) — by now a slightly tired conceit, albeit here given a very specific dose of Catholic guilt to underpin it. Evy clearly cares for her infirm mother but also holds complicated feelings for her, and the strictly religious childhood in which she was brought up. Nods to pregnancy and abortion feel extra weighty with the Catholic strictures they infer — made even more complicated by a demon named Abyzou.

If the ground it treads on feels recognisable, the way in which Undertone unravels its story is distinctive enough to leave an impression. Tuason’s insistence on ambiguity and mystery, to the end, might alienate some, but it is entirely in keeping with the enigmatic mood his film establishes from the off. It’s one thing to be scared of things that go bump in the night; it’s quite another to hear those things go bump in full Dolby Atmos surround sound.

To me, my X-Men news! Here at Empire HQ, we've had mutants on the mind these past few months: Wonder Man's Simon Williams has a mutie-shaped question mark over the source of his powers; the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer's had Jean 'Dark Phoenix' Grey on our minds; and we already know a mutant x-travaganza awaits in Avengers: Doomsday later this year. But now, courtesy of Collider, we have fresh news about a 100% confirmed actual mutant project — Jake Schreier's solo MCU X-Men movie.

Speaking to Collider ahead of Beef Season 2's 16 April release, Schreier — who directs on the show — gave an update on his inbound MCU X-Men reboot, confirming that Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and series scribe/The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo have come aboard to help write the latest draft of the movie's script. "We're still developing," teased Schreier of his X-Men, praising Sung Jin and Calo's contributions to Beef and to his first MCU team-up movie, Thunderbolts*, before sharing how "they have come in and are working on a draft right now, which is really exciting to be able to put that group of people together again."

As anyone who has seen Beef, The Bear, or Thunderbolts* will know, both Sung Jin and Calo are no strangers to handling stories on an intimate, interpersonal level, dealing with characters who hold vastly differing moralities and worldviews. As Schreier explains, that's the secret sauce he's after for the X-Men's long-awaited entry into the MCU. "When you go back and read X-Men [comics], there's ideology but also interpersonal drama, almost of a soap opera quality," said the director. "Having writers who understand both how to drive ideology from personal stakes, if we get that right, that's what will feel most honest to what X-Men can be."

Having already teased his "very exciting" X-Men movie to Empire last summer, it looks like Schreier is locked in and bringing together the best of the best to help guide his next MCU blockbuster. If the team in front of the camera is as talented as the team working behind it, then the new age of mutants could be a glorious, golden one indeed. And until we hear more on Schreier's plans, there's still X-Men '97 Season 2 coming this summer to get hyped for... Bwa-na-na-na naaaa na-na!

It's hard to believe it's been almost two years exactly since writer-creator-star Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer dropped on Netflix. The Scotsman's darker-than-dark thriller — inspired by his own experiences with an obsessive stalker — turned Gadd from Edinburgh Fringe comic to international superstar seemingly overnight, bagging BAFTAs, Emmys, and Golden Globes like nobody's business as the series dominated social media discourse for months on end. Now, Gadd is back (and seriously jacked) with Half Man, a BBC-HBO drama in which he and Jamie Bell (All Of Us Strangers) play two Glaswegian men who come together, and apart, and together again in a story spanning four decades. Check out the trailer below;

Okay, so the bad news is it looks like Richard Gadd is not giving himself a break from bleak drama for a fun multi-cam sit-com. The good news is that Half Man looks like the kind of meaty, thematically hefty, generational drama you sense that nobody could do quite like Gadd. As we see here, Half Man tells the story of Niall (Bell, played in his teenage years Mitchell Robinson) and Ruben (Gadd, played in his teens by Stuart Campbell), two opposite-sides-of-the-tracks lads who find each other as kids and — through trauma-bonding, toxic brotherhood, and numerous twists of fate — find themselves still held in each others' orbits as adults. If the two minutes of Niall and Ruben we glimpse here are anything to go by, it seems that there's layers to their relationship plenty enough to put both onions and Shrek to shame, and there probably won't be a dry eye in the lounge by the time the series is over.

The official synopsis for the six-episode series reads: "Niall and Ruben are brothers. Not related in blood but the closest you can get. One, fierce and loyal. The other, meek and mild-mannered. Inseparable youth. Brought into each other’s lives through death and circumstance, all they have is each other… But when Ruben turns up at Niall’s wedding three decades later, everything seems different. He is on edge. Shifty. Not acting like himself. And soon, an explosion of violence takes place which catapults us back through their lives, from the eighties to the present day."

What's up with Ruben? What's up with Niall? And what's up with Ruben and Niall? We'll find out for ourselves when the first episode of Half Man lands on BBC iPlayer on 24 April at 6am sharpish. While we wait, we're off to drop Mr Gadd a text asking for his workout schedule. Seriously, the man looks like he'll be dashing from the set of this to star in the next season of Gladiators!

Streaming on: Prime Video

Episodes viewed: 6 of 8

A lot has changed since The Boys’ brand of vulgar, violent and gross satire first arrived on the superhero storytelling scene in 2019. Most notably, as its world has darkened, so too has our own. Where once the social commentary it offered felt like a funhouse mirror with bite, the political climate of the real world has become so outrageous that parodying it in 2026 simply offers a not so dimly lit reflection of our current times. Still, even if this final season makes it clear that the show’s ability to provoke and surprise has diminished, showrunner Eric Kripke and his crew have still got a few smart tricks up their sleeves.

Though the Season 2 conclusion of The Boys’ sister series Gen V teased an exciting alliance between the young Supes led by Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) and Starlight (Erin Moriarty), disappointingly little is done with it. By Episode 2, the status quo of past seasons is restored, with Butcher (Karl Urban) leading his ragtag group on a mission to end Homelander (Antony Starr) once and for all. It’s all a bit too familiar, and after four preceding seasons, it feels too drawn-out. Indeed, though there are big moments that occur in the first episode, the momentum it generates is neither seized nor built on, and there is a surprising lack of urgency throughout. For a show that’s in its endgame, The Boys is content to spin its wheels far too often.

At a time when so many are currying favour with fascists, the social commentary here feels especially pointed and sharp.

Pacing issues aside, the character work remains strong. Ever more convinced of his Godhood, Homelander is by turns terrifying and pathetic, and Starr deserves kudos for the amount of interiority he brings to such an outwardly evil psychopath. The increased focus on religion means a lot of screen time for series newbie Oh-Father — a televangelist Supe through which the show skewers the hypocrisy of Christian evangelicals — and Daveed Diggs is a consistent, pompous highlight in the role.

There are some nice flourishes and shake-ups elsewhere, too. One standout episode is fragmented into vignettes from multiple characters as they go about their business, with Firecracker (Valorie Curry) emerging as its MVP. At a time when so many are currying favour with fascists, the social commentary here feels especially pointed and sharp. And the fact that Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) can now talk to her partner Frenchie (Tomer Capone) just in time for rich conversations about what using or not using a Supe-killing virus will do for their relationship and the lives of others is another strong component of the season. It’s this heartfelt humaneness at its core that makes sticking with The Boys worthwhile, even if its final journey towards the finish line isn’t as flawless as we hoped.

You could never accuse David Lowery of being one-note. The filmmaker began his career with a riff on Bonnie and Clyde in Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, and has since given us arthouse spookfests (A Ghost Story), Earthy-toned Disney remakes (Pete’s Dragon, Peter Pan & Wendy), and existential epic fantasies (The Green Knight). Oh, and he directed episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew too. Next up? He’s going full pop star psychodrama in Mother Mary, starring Anne Hathaway as a legendary pop icon, reconnecting with Michaela Coel’s mysterious dressmaker after they parted ways years previously.

The film boasts true pop cred, with songs penned by Charli XCX, super-producer Jack Antonoff, and fka twigs – but it doesn’t stop there. To craft a genuine pop spectacle, Lowery found himself in his Taylor Swift era. “Her Reputation concert film is one of the best concert films ever. It's truly phenomenal. And for our concert sequences we looked at that repeatedly,” he tells Empire. “You would not believe the amount of time we were talking about Taylor.”

Swift’s 2018 tour proved pivotal in helping Lowery and his collaborators figure out how to put on a Mother Mary production within tight budgetary constraints. “We took three songs from Reputation and broke it down, shot by shot, and looked at them like, ‘Okay, if we were doing these, how much would these shots cost to do in visual effects?’,” he explains. “We used that as a budgeting tool, because we didn't know how to wrap our heads around actually pulling off a stadium concert-show on a minimal budget. We were literally using Reputation as a guide. I can go on about Reputation all day.” Baby, let the games begin.

The spirit of Taylor lived on through the Mother Mary shoot and beyond. “When we wrapped, Annie [Hathaway] gave me a Taylor Swift style beaded bracelet with ‘Anti-Hero’ on it,” reveals Lowery, adding that they both went to see the Eras Tour in Europe. “I definitely brought a lot of Taylor Swift to the table in terms of who Mother Mary was. I would often would be like, ‘Imagine Taylor Swift in ten or 15 years – that’s sort of who this character could be.’” Mother Mary is coming. Are you ready for it?

Read Empire’s Mother Mary feature in the Steven Spielberg issue – on sale Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. Mother Mary comes to UK cinemas on April 24.

When Toy Story first arrived in 1995, it came at a time when the majority of kids’ playtime involved… well, toys. But fast-forward over three decades later, and things have changed. A lot. So it is that Toy Story 5 tackles something genuinely existential for Woody, Buzz, and Jessie: the arrival of tech, embodied by Lilypad. The film’s incoming villain, voiced by Past Lives’ Greta Lee, will give youngster Bonnie a whole new way to play – one that’s much more enticing than her dolls.

As director – and Pixar legend – Andrew Stanton sees it, our beloved heroes are truly no match for Lily. “When tech comes in, it wins," he says. “It happens to adults and kids. It just wins. So that was the more interesting slant to take: there’s no competition. Have a kid playing with toys, drop in a screen device and see what happens. And so we leaned into the truth of that, and had fun with that.” It was, he says, the reason to make a fifth Toy Story – to speak to the fundamental change in the way kids play today. “The biggest thing that was lingering all this time is the way that technology has usurped playtime in real life. Lily is representative of what we’re up against,” he explains.

Still, it won’t all be doom and gloom – don’t expect another trip to the furnace for Woody and co., necessarily. Stanton reckons the kids are alright. “My co-director, McKenna Harris, is 30, which is my kids’ age,” he says. “I’m not writing them off as some lost generation. They’re just as hungry and passionate and clever as you ever thought your generation was. It’s made me a lot more hopeful about how the youth are going to navigate through this than I was before.” Let the war for Bonnie’s attention begin.

Read Empire’s full Toy Story 5 story in the Steven Spielberg issue – on sale Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. Toy Story 5 comes to cinemas on June 19.

It’s in the DNA of dystopian fiction: things don’t tend to end well. That includes Stephen King’s – or, Richard Bachman’s – original novel of The Running Man, depicting an all-out deathmatch as Ben Richards bets his life to save his family. We’ll save the spoilers for the next paragraph (you have been warned), but let’s just say, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows come the closing credits. While Edgar Wright’s film adaptation, starring Glen Powell as Richards, is far more faithful to the book than the 1987 film, it still makes some significant changes to King's ending – and the director is clear on why.

Spoilers follow for The Running Man.

While King’s book sees Richards’ wife and daughter die – and ends with Richards sacrificing his own life to stick it to The Network – Wright’s film sought a different course. “In the original draft, we did do the thing where Sheila and Cathy passed away,” he reveals to Empire, in an interview looking back on the film. “But to be honest, as soon as you cast actors in those roles, I don’t think I could have done it, even if it had been in the script. Like, this is too brutal.”

As for saving Richards, there was a more obvious reason to change the novel. “We wanted him to be the spark of the revolution. That was in the first draft,” Wright confirms. The book saw Richards fly a plane into the Network building, but the world has changed a lot since 1982. “We were never going to do the ending from the book,” says Wright. “It obviously has real-life parallels with a horrific real-life tragedy. We thought it’d be in incredibly poor taste to evoke 9/11. That was not ever a discussion.”

Though The Running Man struggled to find an audience in cinemas in November, Wright has hope that it will continue to reach people for years to come. “I’ve been in this position before,” he says. “Scott Pilgrim didn’t do well on its initial release, and over time has become a cult movie, or even a catalogue title for Universal. I feel like The World’s End, the perception of it has changed over time.” This Running Man won’t stop running, then. “I’m proud of the movie,” says Wright. “There’s a lot to talk about, and there is a life beyond the opening weekend.” Shoes on, people.

Read Empire’s full Edgar Wright interview – looking back on The Running Man, and its reception – in the Steven Spielberg issue, on sale Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. The Running Man is out now on digital, 4K Ultra-HD, Blu-ray and DVD.

Just when you think you’ve seen everything a legend like Ian McKellen can offer on screen, along comes something like The Christophers. The new film from Steven Soderbergh gives the beloved actor a deliciously juicy role to sink his teeth into: Julian Sklar, a bitter British artist with a penchant for devastating putdowns, harbouring wounds from his past as he faces the end of his career. Set him up against Michaela Coel’s hustling forger Lori in a more-or-less two-hander, and you have all the right ingredients for a twisty-turny battle of wills.

For McKellen, Sklar’s scabrousness was a major draw to taking on the role. “He was such a one-off half-monster, it was fun to impersonate someone like that. And just be glad that I don’t feel I am anything like that myself,” he tells Empire. While the real McKellen is a world away from the cantankerous Sklar, he saw ways in which his own experience could inform the character. “The way [Sklar] related to young people, the way he related to his fans and his detractors — well, it was easy enough to feed off my own life there. It didn’t take much to imagine what it would be like to be Julian,” he admits.

Still, Sklar is a complex figure, whose layers are revealed over the course of the film. He’s a character who’s lived a full life, just as McKellen has – and that inevitably works its way into the performance. “He’s about my age, he’s had some celebrity. He’s been in love. He feels betrayed. He feels disappointed. He loses faith,” says McKellen. “Well, anyone of my age could have been close to those situations.” Get ready for another stellar performance from one of the greats.

Read Empire’s full Ian McKellen interview on The Christophers in the Steven Spielberg issue – on sale Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. The Christophers comes to UK cinemas from May 15.

Everybody loves a murder mystery movie. Recent years have given us the arrival of super-sleuth Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out trilogy, as well as a bunch of Kenneth Branagh Poirot adaptations. And soon, a very different sort of detective story will be hitting the big screen. It has all the regular ingredients; a dead body, a knotty plot, surprises in store. But let’s just say, when it comes to the actual crime-solvers this time around, ewe aren’t ready.

The Sheep Detectives – scripted by The Last Of Us and Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin, and directed by Kyle Balda – delivers exactly what it says on the tin. Because, the yarn it’s unravelling regards the death of a shepherd, Hugh Jackman’s George Hardy, with his flock setting out to discover whodunnit. It was the unexpectedness of this combination that drew Jackman in. “It really got me because I was like, ‘This sounds pretty nutty — Knives Out meets Babe’ — and it’s intriguing because I think we’re all looking for things that are really inventive and new,” he says. It made for a very different kind of shooting experience to, say, Wolverine. “There were a couple of sheep, but mainly it was puppets that I was working with, which were incredible,” he says of his ovine co-stars. “I had something incredibly real to interact with, and beautiful and magical. It wasn’t just a tennis ball.”

Chances are, you’ve never seen anything quite like The Sheep Detectives – it’s a leap of faith, similar to the one George’s sheep take when they decide to track down his killer. “I think it’s very much about what we can achieve when we come together and when we believe in ourselves, not just individually but as a group,” says Jackman of the film. “And that takes courage.” Now, when can they team up with Benoit Blanc?

Read Empire’s full The Sheep Detectives feature in the Steven Spielberg issue – on sale Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. The Sheep Detectives comes to UK cinemas from May 8.

Streaming on: Disney+

Episodes viewed: 8 of 10

After getting sliced in half following a legendary introduction and duel (of the fates) in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Darth Maul’s story was done after six glorious minutes. But that was just the beginning. Arguably no Star Wars character who debuted in live action has benefitted more from the medium of animation than the universe’s most famous Dathomirian. Each appearance in The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels added new layers and edges to his unpredictable journey. And now Dave Filoni (who masterminded the aforementioned series) has finally seen fit for the iconic villain to take centre stage for the first time in Maul: Shadow Lord. It’s a choice that pays dividends.

Maul contains multitudes, and we see a great many of them over the course of the season. Maul the schemer takes precedence early on as he looks to take revenge on his enemies. Maul the teacher is one of the strongest storylines, his not-quite-allies-but-not-quite-enemies dynamic with young Jedi Padawan Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon) one of the backbones of the season. Through them, the political undertones that have always been a part of Star Wars become more explicit too, with dialogue like, “What does it mean to be a Jedi? Guardian of peace and justice in a time of lawlessness,” and, “You don’t realise the fragility of these institutions until they’re ripped away,” nodding to the US’ current political moment. Later, Maul the betrayed comes to the fore in a moment of startling vulnerability that leads to well-earned tears.

When the time comes to draw lightsabers and do battle, Maul is often an overwhelming threat.

That takes nothing away from his menace, however, and when the time comes to draw lightsabers and do battle, Maul is often an overwhelming threat. Each swing of his lightsaber emphasises his brutality, and the red glint of his weapon has rarely felt so imposing, with the messier, grungier art style accentuating the darkness of this world. When the Jedi and Inquisitors join the fray, the animation rises to the challenge in spectacular fashion.

Under the direction of Brad Rau (The Bad Batch), the vocal performances are uniformly strong. As overwhelmed police captain Brander Lawson, Wagner Moura gets better as the series progresses, bringing a weariness and ultimately asense of desperation and fear that feels convincing and authentic. Richard Ayoade adds some welcome levity as Lawson’s naive robot partner Two-Boots, and Adlon infuses Devon with a youthful, determined vigour.

But primarily, this is Sam Witwer’s show. From calm seduction to venomous menace and even some surprising vulnerability, it’s another great showcase of why his vocals for the titular Maul are so definitive. And with Season 2 already green-lit, we’ll thankfully be getting more of him — and the show — sooner rather than later.

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S

Think of the biggest, most feature-rich video game you’ve ever played. No, bigger than that. Whatever you’re picturing, imagine more stuff to do in it, a litany of play mechanics, an even more complex story, a host of characters to meet. Make a mental mash-up of The Witcher III, The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Skyrim, Final Fantasy, and even a dash of… Starfield, maybe? Congratulations – you might just about be conceiving of something close to Crimson Desert.

To call developer Pearl Abyss’ staggeringly ambitious open world RPG “vast” is to paint it too small, and to say it’s packed with content is to undersell the concept of density itself. Crimson Desert is positively crammed with ideas, resulting in a game that blurs genre lines and almost gives players too much to do.

Crimson Desert really is almost anything you want it to be.

As Kliff, you’re a rugged member of the Greymanes, a tribe of grizzled, wolf-themed warriors slaughtered in the opening motions by rival clan the Black Bears. Skewered by a sword and cast into a river, you wake up mysteriously healed in the province of Hemand, where you can set about rebuilding your life and seeking vengeance. At this point, you might expect a fairly standard high fantasy romp – and with an English language cast full of regional accents and liberal use of the C-words (the inventive “cockswagglers” as well as the other one you’re thinking of), one not so subtly drawing on Game Of Thrones. Then a beggar leads you on a subquest to a series of technologically advanced flying islands and basically gives you superpowers, and you start to cotton on to the fact there’s a whole lot more going on in the world of Crimson Desert.

As you explore the continent of Pywel – eventually crossing paths with some other surviving Greymanes – there’s tremendous freedom to do just about anything you like. There are all the usual RPG diversions, from helping villagers with their low-stakes chores to upgrading weapons, to less expected fare, like trading in stocks and commodities. There are a bevy of side games, from arm wrestling in taverns (which, thrillingly, isn’t just down to hammering a button to win!) to rounds of rock, paper, scissors. You can become a wannabe private detective, hunting down people or property, or a full-on bounty hunter. Eventually, there are both dragons and other fanciful mounts to pilot, although you’ll start off with a humble horse. Fancy a bit of environmental puzzle solving, lugging blocks or curious tech around with a sci-fi energy beam? Or some platforming around floating fortresses? How about some good old fashioned meaty combat, blending thunderously powerful melee strikes with an agility belying Kliff’s intimidating size, alongside a tonne of powers and abilities? There’s all that and more to get to grips with here – Crimson Desert really is almost anything you want it to be.

It’s also strikingly gorgeous. Pywel won’t win any awards for originality when it comes to medieval styled fantasy worlds, nor the stranger, more cosmic elements that weave in and out but carry a degree of familiarity to them, but it is all incredibly beautiful to look at. Pearl Abyss even gets a little cocky on this front – there’s a moment early on where you’re guided to "take it slow" while crossing a bridge, purely for the devs to show off the world they’ve made. It would be frustrating if it weren’t actually worth slowing down to take it all in.

Unfortunately, it’s all let down by some of the most obtuse and unintuitive controls of any game in recent memory. There’s a degree of common language that’s evolved in games over the years, particularly when playing on controllers, and Crimson Desert seems to go out of its way to ignore almost all of that lingua gamer. For instance, aiming a weapon is best mapped to the left trigger, and firing it with a pull on the right. Yet in this case, Kliff both aims and fires his arrows with the left trigger, a frankly ludicrous choice that leads to wasted arrows. Or toggling between walking and sprinting – by now, it’s muscle memory to millions to click in on the left thumbstick, but in Crimson Desert, that’s the crouch command. If you want to run, you have to double-tap A (on an Xbox-standard controller), which just adds extraneous inputs.

Even if you’re a PC player with a streak of mouse-and-keyboard puritanism, things are no better. Commands are scattered across the keyboard in haphazard fashion, with different inputs mapped to the same keys, some activated on short press, some on long. Across the (key)board, there are utterly absurd design and input choices that, in congress with the sheer overabundance of stuff to do in the game, make it nigh on impossible to remember what you’re doing between play sessions. Pearl Abyss is pushing out patches that it claims will address some of these control malfunctions, but at time of writing, the physical act of playing the game far more troublesome than it should be.

If those control woes can be massaged away, Crimson Desert could establish itself as a modern titan of open-world gaming. Even in its current form, the game is compelling – undoubtedly over-stuffed, but with so many compelling avenues to explore that you can’t help being drawn in to its weird world.

Looking like the Devil himself and rocking a badass double-ended lightsaber, Darth Maul entered The Phantom Menace as one of Star Wars’ coolest villains. Then, scarcely six minutes, a fistful of lines, and one ‘Duel Of The Fates’ later, he died… or so we thought. Yes, somehow, Maul returned. And now, after scene-stealing turns in animated series The Clone Wars and Rebels, the Zabrak baddie is getting his own show, Maul: Shadow Lord, to complete his story. As supervising director Brad Rau tells Empire, we're about to see more of the Maul we know — and the one we don’t. “We wanted him to remain mysterious… brutal… dark,” teases Rau, smirking. “But there's so much nuance to this character anytime he shows up.”

For the uninitiated allow us a brief trip back to not so long ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Following his 50%-off trip down a Naboo reactor shaft courtesy of Obi-Wan Kenobi (“Kenobayyy!”) in Episode I, Maul resurfaced in Season 4 of The Clone Wars. Kept alive by the power of hate and reforged by magic — and, more importantly — metal spider-legs, Maul went on to be reunited with his weirdo brother Savage Opress; tried, and repeatedly failed, to exact revenge upon Kenobi (“Kenobayyy!”) and his former master, Palpatine; and eventually saw his remaining family mercilessly slain by the Sith. He even tried tempting Rebels hero Ezra Bridger to the Dark Side for a bit, before dying – again – in a final duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Bisection, it turns out, really wasn’t even the half of it.

Somewhere among it all though, the son of Dathomir reappeared in live-action in Solo, as the head of crime syndicate Crimson Dawn. So the question still remains: how did that happen? “We’re dealing with some of Maul’s missing years,” Shadow Lord head writer and co-developer Matt Michnovetz explains to Empire. “We've got some real estate on the timeline.”

Given Maul’s Clone Wars-era dealings as head of the aptly-named Shadow Collective — an alliance of crime syndicates rivalling the Sith Order — the idea of exploring Maul’s resurgence as a mastermind in Star Wars’ murky criminal underworld was on the board from the earliest conversations about the show. “Everything came up,” shares Michnovetz — including Maul material that had never actually made it to the screen before. “‘Do we keep [2014’s] Son Of Dathomir comic and those unproduced Clone Wars scripts as canon? Do we tell the crime story?’”

With an untold chapter in one of Star Wars’ greatest characters’ history waiting to be written, the time had come to give Maul centre stage. And it would be a return fuelled not by hate, or Dark Side powers, but... sushi.

———

Long before he became the co-CEO of Lucasfilm, Dave Filoni was the overlord of Star Wars animation. Hand-picked by George Lucas to lead The Clone Wars, Filoni went on to oversee Rebels, Resistance, The Bad Batch, and more. Next up, then? Something darker. Something pulpier. Something edgier. Something Maul. And he knew exactly who to call. “I was in a parking lot at my favourite sushi restaurant, and Dave called me up and pitched it,” recalls Michnovetz. The onigiri could wait. “We had a two-to-three-hour conversation. I was like, ‘Oh my god, let’s do it. This is incredible’.” The idea, as well as the sushi, presumably.

Elsewhere, deep in the inner sanctum of Lucasfilm Animation, Brad Rau was in the trenches on the final season of misfit clones series The Bad Batch. When he got wind of a Maul solo show, he too couldn’t resist the idea. “When I heard about it, I said, ‘Wait, what are you guys doing?’,” Rau remembers. Once he’d officially joined the team, Rau and Michnovetz met many times to talk Maul — over dinner, naturally. “Matty and I have had more than a few conversations about the show at that same sushi restaurant,” he laughs. Honestly, outside of Lucasfilm HQ, this might be the most important office in Star Wars. “This is where the deals go down,” Michnovetz confirms.

In Episode I, Maul was a cool-looking baddie with little-to-no hint of anything going on behind his Sith yellow eyes. But in the years since, we’ve seen his pain — and his hate — and come to understand him as a uniquely tortured being...

The real food for thought with Maul: Shadow Lord isn’t only the prospect of learning how its demon-faced protagonist seizes power in a Mid Rim criminal underworld: it’s the promise of a deeper dive into one of Star Wars’ most compelling figures. In Episode I, Maul was a cool-looking baddie with little-to-no hint of anything going on behind his Sith yellow eyes. But in the years since, we’ve seen his pain — and his hate — and come to understand him as a uniquely tortured being within this universe, a deadly yet damaged warrior forever trapped in a Sisyphean struggle to prove his worth.

“He’s a complicated guy,” says Rau. The director teases that there’s “the potential for vulnerability” in Maul that viewers “should watch out for” in Shadow Lord. Lest we forget, by the end of the Clone Wars, Maul’s list of losses runs to *deep breath* his childhood, his master, his mind, his family, his morality (if he ever had any), his criminal empire, his dignity and his legs. Hell, he even lost his ‘Darth’! That’s a vulnerable position for anyone to find themself in — double-ended laser sword or not.

These deeper depths and new shades of the Dathomirian have clearly been on Michnovetz’s mind, too. Shadow Lord shows Maul in different lights, conducting Cassius Tea ceremonies as well as saber-kebabbing mobsters in the neo-noir underworld of Janix. “You’ve got to remember that he was trained by the big bad guy, the most powerful villain in the whole series…” he muses. “He’s a manipulator, and he’s got this desire for larger schemes, and all these devious means to achieve them.” Still, any path taken through the Dark Side casts a long and looming shadow. “This is also a cautionary tale,” teases Michnovetz. “Maul’s a tragic figure, doomed to repeat his mistakes. He's stubborn, but because of that he's also a survivor, so you’ve gotta give him that.”

And give him that, you do gotta. When we meet Maul in Shadow Lord, the horned Houdini’s not long escaped the clutches of the Jedi and the Sith amid the chaos of Order 66, fleeing for the badlands of the Mid Rim in a stolen shuttle. Now, around a year or so post-Order 66, it's a dark time for the galaxy – but one rife with opportunity for those who move within its shadows. Maul's journey has taken him to the murky metropolis of Janix, out of sight of the Empire, where he plans to fan the flames of a turf war to seize power while his underworld rivals take each other out; as long as the Imperials don't catch him first. “We’re following him through these efforts to achieve all these crazy goals,” says Michnovetz of Maul’s burgeoning Janix operation. “Like Palpatine, he has a meticulous plan. But let’s just say he hits a lot more snags than his old master. He's got to adapt and change, and I think that’s where the fun and real excitement of the show lies.”

Of course, amid all the plotting and scheming and strategising, you’ll still get the Maul you’ve known and loved since Episode I’s ‘Duel Of The Fates’ showdown. “We want to see the brutal, action-packed side of this guy,” says Rau. “And we do – it’s pretty cool!” It’s time then for Maul to deliver some serious double-ended street justice. Yeah, we’re thinkin’ the Zabrak’s back.

———

Right at the heart of Shadow Lord – as he has been at the heart of all things Maul ever since the character’s 2012 Clone Wars return – is Sam Witwer. Peter Serafinowicz gave Maul’s first Episode I words life. Ray Park gave the Dathomirian’s physicality and ferocity form. But it is Witwer — affectionally referred to by both Rau and Michnovetz as their “Jedi Master” on this show — who has dedicated himself to the character for the last fourteen years.

Bringing menace, weight, seduction, and all-timer line reads (“Kenobayyyy!”) to the role, Witwer has been constantly reframing our understanding of Maul ever since The Clone Wars found him an incoherent, mentally shattered wreck on Lotho Minor. “He — and we — are constantly, all of us, looking for ways to see new facets of this character we haven’t seen before,” says Rau of Witwer’s approach. “Sometimes it boils all the way down to an emphasis or an attitude punch on a line read that’s different than we expected.”

It doesn’t hurt that Witwer is joined in Shadow Lord by a cadre of stellar voice actors, each of whose characters help to reveal Maul in new, unexpected lights. Across the season, Maul finds himself engaged in a Heat-like game of cat-and-mouse with Janix cop Captain Brander Lawson (The Secret Agent Oscar-nominee Wagner Moura), the duo’s honour codes fascinatingly bumping against one another as both try to achieve their goals while avoiding Imperial intervention and protecting their own.

And then there’s young Jedi-on-the-run Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon) and her diminutive master Eeko-Dio Daki (Dennis Haysbert), who find themselves involuntarily pulled into Maul’s orbit. Like Maul, Devon and Eeko-Dio have lost everything because of Palpatine. And like Maul, both find themselves hiding out from the Empire on Janix (fans are already theorising whether the Twi’lek will eventually become old-canon favourite Sith apprentice Darth Talon). If experience has taught us anything though, it’s that whenever Maul takes interest in making a young Force user his new apprentice, the teaching invariably flows in both directions — and things get very complicated, very quickly. Just ask Ahsoka Tano or Ezra Bridger.

“All you really need to know is that this is a fast-paced action thrill ride about a guy who's been wronged by a bunch of different people, and he wants payback”

Whether you’re a card-carrying Maul-head, haven’t been following Maul’s story since Episode I, or see the name and think somebody’s just misspelt a shopping centre, Shadow Lord is designed to welcome all comers. “All you really need to know is that this is a fast-paced action thrill ride about a guy who's been wronged by a bunch of different people, and he wants payback,” promises Michnovetz.

So yes, Maul: Shadow Lord is a Star Wars show. It is a Dark Side show. But it’s also a crime series, a mob drama, a pulp fiction about bad guys and worse guys as heavily influenced by the aforementioned Heat — and The Untouchables, and Raymond Chandler’s Marlowe mysteries — as George Lucas’ own THX-1138 and Ralph McQuarrie's OG trilogy sketches.

———

As ever with Maul, it seems his rise to the top of the galaxy’s criminal underworld won’t be straightforward. Michnovetz teases some “pretty crazy stuff” in store; we may know how and when Maul’s story ends, but that doesn’t mean we know the whole story. “We know Maul’s fate,” he states, promising “some zigs and zags that you're not expecting, 100 percent.” Plus, of course, it’s worth remembering that the survival of any supporting players isn’t guaranteed. As Michnovetz reminds us of the show’s new faces, “we don't know their fate or their timelines.”

In time, Shadow Lord will complete the story of Maul — but this chapter is only just beginning. Season 2 is already in the works at Lucasfilm Animation, and there’s still much to explore before we discover how Maul came to pop up in Solo. “Just wait ‘til you see where this goes,” says Michnovetz. As Episode I taught us all those years ago, you can’t keep a good Maul down.

Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord begins streaming on Disney+ from April 6.

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast is an Easter bonanza, folks, that sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, and James Dyer (with new honorific firmly in place, at least for now) discuss the best resurrections in movies, wax lyrical about Richard Kind in The Producers, and cast their learned eyes over a glut of movie trailers, including the new one for Supergirl. The gang also review Fuze, The Drama, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. Speaking of Fuze, Chris even finds time to have a lovely chat with that film's star and director, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and David Mackenzie, about their heist thriller, accents, working on a building site, and more. Pop this pod in the fridge, smash it from a great height, and feast on the shards of film-related fun. Enjoy!

And if all of the above isn't quite enough Empire Podcast for you, then there's plenty more where that came from. You can listen to this week's episode (which, if you're counting, is #711) on the pod app of your choice. There, you'll also find the latest episode of Empire Pod regular The Interviews, which brings you even more chat with the cast and crew behind the biggest new releases. The most recent instalment sees Chris Hewitt chat accents, auditions, and more with Theo James, star of Fuze; Jamie Graham enjoying some trash talk with The Pope Of Trash himself, John Waters; and boasts an extended excerpt from our Ready Or Not: Here I Come spoiler special interview with that film's directors, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.

Want to make sure you never miss out on the latest movie news, reviews, and Empire exclusives again? Click here to add Empire as your go-to source on Google Feed.

There’s nothing quite like a Steven Spielberg action sequence. Think those incredible Indiana Jones setpieces (the Raiders boulder! The Temple mine-cart chase!), Jurassic Park’s dino mayhem, or Minority Report’s jetpack brawl. And while his new summer blockbuster Disclosure Day is many things – a sci-fi movie; a conspiracy thriller; an alien flick – it’ll also see the legendary director once again put pedal to metal.

“It’s an action movie,” the director tells Empire in a major new interview. “It has a large scale. It comes out of the gate very fast. I think this is a very experiential story.” And, in true classic Spielberg style, it has big ideas underpinning it all. “It’s also a very emotional deep dive into how people perceive each other, so it has echoes of the divisiveness that goes on today. Within the genre of science-fiction, it offers a few solutions regarding the importance of empathy,” he says. The film is being kept tightly under wraps, but sees the likes of Josh O’Connor, Emily Blunt and Eve Hewson wrestling with an extra-terrestrial cover-up, pursued by Colin Firth’s corporate contractor trying to keep the truth under wraps.

“It has a certain amount in common with certain ’70s conspiracy thrillers but in a completely different way from Close Encounters,” teases screenwriter David Koepp, who penned the script from Spielberg’s own story. “This felt like Three Days Of The Condor to me. Conspiracies are fantastic for movies because they’re an onion, and you peel away layers and find out more and more.” That’s the basis for more classic Spielberg setpieces, with “giant stunts, car chases and a massive train-sequence,” promises producer Kristie Macosko Krieger – the latter of which saw O’Connor and Blunt strapped to a real speeding locomotive. “It was not CGI,” she confirms. “Steven likes things as practical as humanly possible.” Get your popcorn ready now.

The new issue of Empire features a major new Steven Spielberg interview, on his lifelong sci-fi obsession, his legendary contributions to the genre, and how it all culminates in his new original feature, Disclosure Day. Plus, we sit down with the Disclosure Day cast – Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson – and screenwriter David Koepp to get the first word on the summer’s most top-secret blockbuster. Find the Steven Spielberg issue on newsstands from Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. Disclosure Day comes to cinemas from June 12. {#block-5449be0e-ecb6-487a-a293-7dba631918db}

Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

The Fatal Frame series has been a survival horror staple since the days of the PS2 (when it was released under the name Project Zero in Europe), but unlike genre big hitter Resident Evil, it opted for more of a slow-burn approach to terror. Inspired more by Japanese folklore and ghost stories than by B-movie schlock, the series was centred on the Camera Obscura, a device that could detect and combat spirits through the power of… well-framed photography. Trust us, it’s scarier than it sounds.

The second entry, 2003’s Crimson Butterfly, has long been considered a series high point, a creeping tale of tension set in the abandoned village of Minakami, where twins Mio and Mayu Amakura find themselves trapped. Playing as Mio, you’ll either be guiding Mayu by the hand through the small town, or chasing her down as she’s spirited away by supernatural forces. While the girls’ relationship and backstory is the principal driver, it’s the wonderfully unsettling Minakami Village that proves the real leading lady. Notes and diaries build up the dark history of the setting and its vanished inhabitants, creating a drip-feed of trauma and tragedy that leaves players perpetually on edge.

Getting a titular fatal frame – a perfectly timed photo taken right as an enemy is about to strike, dealing a tonne of damage and stunning them – is supremely satisfying.

Tonally, it owes a debt to Hideo Nakata’s Dark Water or Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Grudge, but expands the oppressive, inescapable claustrophobia of a haunted house to an entire cursed village. It’s a brand of terror aided by this second remake (one previously arrived for the Wii, back in 2012) shifting to full 3D environments, rather than the fixed camera perspective of the original. Actually creeping down crumbling corridors or through empty streets is far more intimidating when you have no idea what lurks behind the next corner, and with new locations and some additional story beats, there are suprises in store even for returning players.

Unfortunately, changes elsewhere mean that the signature camera-based combat now leaves something to be desired. You’ll still deal damage to rampaging ghosts by capturing them on film, hitting them harder the better you compose the shot. The idea still works in principle – spooks aren’t sitting around posing, instead slashing at you or otherwise taking umbrage at your modest ghostbusting efforts, leading to a desperate back and forth as you try to move the fragile Mio out of harm’s way, reposition, and snap away again. Getting a titular fatal frame – a perfectly timed photo taken right as an enemy is about to strike, dealing a tonne of damage and stunning them – is supremely satisfying as a result.

However, the addition of charms and filters to the camera adds a level of unnecessary complexity. They’re useful out of combat, giving you access to abilities like tracking ghosts through walls or finding hidden areas, but tend to create problems in battle. For too much of the game, you feel underpowered, even within the strictures of survival horror where you should be at a disadvantage. Ghosts too easily slip into an “aggravated” state where they can regain health and boost their damage, and there’s not a great deal to be done other than engage in a war of photographic attrition to whittle their health back down. Later, after upgrading some choice charms and pairing with an appropriate filter – and the right type of camera film, which can also massively impact your effectiveness – you’re almost able to literally one-shot some spooks. The balance feels completely off.

Worse, while the modern visuals of this remake mostly impress, helping make 2026’s Crimson Butterfly disturbingly atmospheric, the game struggles when it comes to performance. The frame rate is, charitably, uninspiring, seemingly capped at 30fps, while the Switch 2 release (version tested) suffers frequent pop-in for textures, effects, and lighting. It can be incredibly immersion-breaking.

Still, despite its flaws, Fatal Frame II remains a deeply affecting slice of interactive horror. It maintains the feel of the original where it counts, while the full 3D approach may make it more palatable to modern players. Enjoyable for what it is, but it’s those with a penchant for turn-of-the-millennium J-horror who are likely to get the most out of this.

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

The original GreedFall, released in 2019, introduced players to the fantasy-tinged land of Teer Fradee, a beautiful island filled with wondrous creatures and inhabited by a magic-wielding indigenous population — and then cast them as one the colonisers tearing it asunder. Sure, as an RPG, it meant you were playing an ostensibly neutral outsider who could choose to ally themselves with the natives, but the framing — unsubtly modelled on the real-world rush for the “New World” in the 1600s — was still uncomfortable.

Attempting to redress matters with its second go-around, developer Spiders opts for a prequel, set three years before the events of the first game, this time focusing on the native perspective. You play as Vriden Gerr, a trainee druid of sorts, and designed to your liking with a robust character creation suite. “Vriden Gerr” is more title than name though, meaning “Rootless” in the Teer Fradee language (one of The Dying World’s more impressive elements, an entire constructed language that’s fully voice acted), a moniker that underpins the returning choice-driven gameplay.

This latest GreedFall does present a captivating world to explore. Although not quite fully open world, its multiple vast areas are beautifully crafted.

Exactly how much you choose to associate with the outsiders, and whether or who to trust among them, could make for a deeper exploration of complex themes, but such complexity never materialises. Soon enough, your player character is captured by invaders and shipped off as a “prisoner”, with all the subtlety that implies. That, along with the game’s standing as a prequel leading inevitably into the downer vibes of the original game, undermines almost any later attempt at nuance – even though you’re rapidly freed and the game begins to open up after a fairly linear intro, why would you ever consider working with any of the colonisers? It nullifies almost any choice you may take or story thread you might pull at, the writing lacking anywhere near the consideration necessary to handle such sensitive material.

Still, this latest GreedFall does present a captivating world to explore. Although not quite fully open world, its multiple vast areas are beautifully crafted. From the earliest sections in your home village, where you’re accompanied by childhood friend Nílan, to the more “developed” regions populated by arch capitalists and cartoonishly evil villains, The Dying World is a gorgeous one. Special note has to be made for the sublime soundtrack too, composed by Olivier Deriviere, and elevating the entire package.

Structurally though, this all feels a bit by the numbers. All the standard hallmarks of a western RPG are here – assorted companion characters with their own plots and backgrounds to explore, missions and quests that can branch in countless directions, an attempt at a romance system, a glut of skills and customisations to master – but there’s nothing that really stands out as being unique to this game, this world.

The biggest departure from the original GreedFall is with The Dying World swapping out the previous real-time action-driven combat for a more tactical real-time-with-pause approach. At any point, you can freeze the action to issue specific commands to your characters, be it precisely where to move to or which ability to use. It’s reminiscent of RPG classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, although not quite as intuitive. It’ll likely take a few battles to wrap your head around both the compexities and the possibilities of the system, but once you have, it’s a robust approach that adds an almost tabletop aspect to combat.

If you’re really struggling though, Spiders throws in a couple of difficulty modifiers to streamline things, either handling some of the minutiae for you while still allowing you to issue individual commands, or taking full control of any other party members while you control only Vriden Geer, an experience a bit closer to the original game. There’s even an invincibility toggle, if you just want to focus on the story.

Unfortunately, that story just isn’t enough to win most people over. There are hints of greatness in The Dying World, narratively and mechanically, and perhaps with more development time it could have achieved it, but ultimately it never does. While it’s not without its charms, this is one for hardcore genre devotees only.

Move over Rocky, Grogu, Yoshi, and that little capybara from Flow — there's a new lil' guy (well, gal) on the block and her name is Ally. Having wooed us last year with Mickey 17's inaccurately named cuties the Creepers, Bong Joon Ho is going all in on the charm with the protagonist of Ally, the director's debut animated movie. And now, having spent the best part of the last seven years developing his ocean-based odyssey alongside co-writer Jason Yu, director Bong has revealed a first proper look at the piglet squid at the centre of his latest film. Check it out below;

Don't say we didn't warn you — Ally is going to be on every little (and big) cinephile's Christmas list when director Bong's latest hits cinemas in late 2027. Billed as a 'family adventure', adopting a deep-sea angle on ideas of bravery and connection, Ally — whose creature designs are inspired by real-life marine biology — centres around its eponymous heroine, a piglet squid who calls the South Pacific Ocean her home. As the movie's logline reveals, Ally has "ambitions of reaching the surface and one day featuring in a wildlife documentary. Her world is upended when an aircraft goes down into the sea, setting her on an unlikely journey upward alongside a mismatched group of companions." If you've seen Bong Joon Ho's Okja, or the above-mentioned Mickey 17, you'll know that the South Korean filmmaker has form for deploying borderline mythic creatures at the heart of socially and environmentally conscious yarns — and with its deep-sea-dweller-meets-human-world set-up, Ally seems well placed to pick up that thread (albeit in more film night friendly form.)

An international production whose collaborators include animation supervisor Jae Hyung Kim (Toy Story 4), production designer Marcin Jakubowski (Klaus), and eight-time Academy Award winning British VFX and animation company DNEG (Interstellar, Inception, Ex Machina), Ally has no shortage of creative firepower aboard helping to bring Bong Joon Ho's vision to life. Here's to enjoying baby's first Bong in 2027 — which is not a sentence we thought we'd ever write in an Empire news piece.

You know the old saying about how today's news is tomorrow's fish and chip wrappers? Well, turns out, it still holds up today actually. Barely a week since we first learned that Ryan Gosling had been set to lead The Daniels' new sci-fi movie, the duo's first feature since Oscar-winning smash Everything Everywhere All At Once, Variety is reporting that Gosling has exited the buzzy blockbuster project.

Though neither Daniels Kwan or Scheinert — or Ryan Gosling himself — have commented on the Canadian actor's sudden departure, Variety cites 'a scheduling conflict' as the cause for Gosling's exit. With RG having only just finished up an extensive press tour for another hyped sci-fi blockbuster, Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Project Hail Mary, and also now just over a year out from the release of Shawn Levy's hotly anticipated Star Wars: Starfighter, it isn't hard to imagine a scenario where the three-time Oscar nominee's schedule could become a little conflicted. Even so, with production on Daniels' ambitious sounding EEAAO due to get underway in Los Angeles this summer, the Gos' departure from the project could well put a not at all inconsiderably sized spanner in the works.

Described by Daniel Kwan as "a fun sci-fi, action comedy with a big heart" that's "very existential" in a recent Collider interview, the Daniels' latest remains locked in for a 19 November, 2027 theatrical release as of right now. And while we don't know who'll step into Gosling's shoes just yet, we're hopeful that Daniels Kwan and Scheinert will throw their own Hail Mary and find their man soon enough. Watch this space!

David Mackenzie is a chameleonic sort of director. Starting his career in his native Scotland with arty films like Young Adam and Hallam Foe, he has since branched out into making a high-concept sci-fi (Perfect Sense), a gritty prison drama (Starred Up), a neo-Western (Hell Or High Water) and a New York-set thriller based around telecommunications devices for the deaf (Relay). Fuze represents another hard turn into new material, a sweaty heist genre film centred around the discovery of a World War II bomb on a building site. But despite a banging drum ‘n’ bass title sequence, complete with a handsome drone tracking shot of London’s skyline, this is in fact a rigidly old-fashioned, defiantly silly, dad-friendly sort of thriller.

It’s all plot and zero character. We know precious little about who these people are or what motivates them, the film seemingly uninterested in backstory until the final third, by which time it gets a bit daft. Our ensemble is introduced in workmanlike fashion: there’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson (essentially playing the same character he played in Tenet with a different accent) as Major Will Tranter, the bomb-disposal specialist called in when an incendiary device is discovered buried in a central London building site. There’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw as the police Chief Superintendent Zuzana, who lives in the obligatory Big Screens control room. And Theo James and Sam Worthington are there too as Karalis and X, respectively, the bank robbers who use the bomb disposal’s evacuation zone and power outage as cover to steal some precious diamonds.

Where this film succeeds is in its fast-cutting tension, evoking the grittiness and violence of a 1970s heist flick.

This is a vastly overqualified cast — Mbatha-Raw and The Souvenir’s Honor Swinton Byrne, as her deputy, seem bussed in from another film — but they just about sell the perfunctory dialogue and businesslike exposition. When the script tries for any kind of flourish or flair, it falls flat. “Don’t be shit,” is the Major’s best advice from his years of experience. “All roads lead to Afghanistan,” notes the Chief Superintendent, without context or reason.

Where this film succeeds is in its fast-cutting tension, evoking the grittiness and violence of a 1970s heist flick. The opening hour, which keeps things contained to a literal ticking time bomb, a tense bank job, and the law enforcement overseeing it all, feel like the film’s strongest suit. It's almost a shame it doesn’t keep that energy going. Still, Mackenzie’s direction is solidly edgy, continuing the mood he developed so successfully in Relay.

The final ten minutes, and a set of Animal House-style “where are they now?” end title cards, are largely misjudged. But on the whole this is a perfectly fine viewing experience, even if the ending never quite lives up to its sweaty first act promise — better when the fuse is actually lit.

Tom Wolfe's biting 80s New York satire The Bonfire Of The Vanities has lived many lives. It's been turned into an infamous Brian De Palma flop of epic proportions (which spawned Julia Salamon's must-read making-of book The Devil's Candy); it's had the full-on opera treatment; and at one time it was even set to get an event series from The Big Bang Theory producer Chuck Lorre. Now, The Bonfire Of The Vanities is being relit and retooled at Apple TV as a limited series, and — per Deadline's reporting — Presumed Innocent showrunner David E. Kelley and The Batman director Matt Reeves are the ones looking to rekindle the fire fuelling Wolfe's book.

For Kelley, The Bonfire Of The Vanities marks a return to Wolfe territory following his Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane led Netflix show A Man In Full. While that adaptation offered a contemporary take on its source material however, it remains to be seen whether this one will look to take the same approach. For those unfamiliar with the book (or film... or opera...), The Bonfire Of The Vanities takes aim at New York high society and the disparity between the Big Apple's haves and have-nots through the cautionary tale of Sherman McCoy, a Wall Street bonds trader whose life catastrophically unravels after his mistress runs over a young Black man in the Bronx, offering a has-been journalist the opportunity of a lifetime when he agrees to chase the story and write about it.

Dealing with heightened racial tensions, political volatility, class and wealth inequality, and the moral bankruptcy of the elite, you could say that The Bonfire Of The Vanities is a story that has arguably never felt more timely or more resonant. Here's hoping David E. Kelley and Matt Reeves' take on it is closer to the book than the film on the quality scale then, eh?

There's a new Duke in town (and no, thankfully, it's not got anything to do with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.) Following the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man in cinemas and on Netflix, the movie marking the final chapter in the book of one Tommy Shelby, writer-creator Steven Knight's focus has fully turned to the next generation of his Birmingham mob drama — and while Tommy's son Duke will be at its forefront, Barry Keoghan, who played him last, won't be. Per Deadline's reporting, Jamie Bell is set to play Duke Shelby in Netflix and the BBC's upcoming Peaky Blinders sequel series, and you can check out a first look at the All Of Us Strangers star in character below.

Set a full decade after the events of Immortal Man, it makes sense that Knight's new Peaky series brings with it a new actor stepping into Duke Shelby's shoes. And as we now know, Jamie Bell isn't the only new face heading for the cobbled streets of Brum. Also aboard the new series — which has already scored a two-season order — are Stranger Things' Charlie Heaton, ex-007 Lashana Lynch, Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay, and Stereophonic star Lucy Karczewski. According to the new series' logline, "in this new era of Peaky Blinders, a decade after World War Two, the race to rebuild Birmingham becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions. This is a city of unprecedented opportunity and jeopardy. At its blood-soaked heart is Duke Shelby (Bell): older, wiser, more ambitious, and most certainly more dangerous." It's believed but as-yet-unconfirmed that Charlie Heaton will be leading the Peaky Blinders alongside Bell's Duke in the new show.

"I am thrilled that we are announcing a new era of Peaky Blinders, moving the story to post-war Birmingham in the early 50s,” said Knight — who, it's worth noting, also currently remains deep in the trenches of writing Denis Villeneuve's new James Bond movie at Amazon — in a statement accompanying today's casting news. “We are incredibly fortunate to have Jamie Bell taking the role of Tommy Shelby’s oldest son, Duke, and to have Charlie Heaton also leading the cast. There are more exciting cast announcements to come, and Peaky is on the road again.”

Already filming at Knight's Digbeth Loc. Studios in Birmingham, this new Peaky Blinders show looks primed and ready to launch a whole new era for the critically acclaimed mob saga after the passing of the torch that was The Immortal Man. And by order of Empire, we'll take another six seasons and a movie of Peaky shenanigans if it's on offer, please and thank you Mr. Knight.

The sci-fi blockbuster wouldn’t be what it is today if it wasn’t for Steven Spielberg. But as well as continuing to contribute to the genre – including with his upcoming alien conspiracy thriller Disclosure Day – the master filmmaker is keeping an eye on other directors’ works too. Among them, one stands particularly tall: Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films. And it sounds like Spielberg will be in line with the rest of us for Part Three this December.

“Recently, I’ve loved the Dune movies. They are among my favourite science-fiction movies, not just recently, but of all time. Especially the second film,” he tells Empire in a major new interview. “I think [Part Two] is the best movie Denis has ever made. I cannot wait to see the third one. I’m sure he’ll show it to me early. I’m such a fan of his.” He likens Villeneuve’s treatment of the Frank Herbert source material to the approach another modern master recently made with a literary adaptation. “I love the [Dune] books, and I just think his tribute to the books is like Guillermo [del Toro]’s tribute to Mary Shelley with Frankenstein: he honoured Mary Shelley as I think Denis honoured Frank Herbert,” says Spielberg.

It’s not just sci-fi that’s captured the legendary director’s attention; he’s been wowed in the horror arena too. “I haven’t directed a horror film yet, and I’ve always wanted to, and someday I may. But there have been some great horror films out already that satisfy that itch,” he says. Chief among them? The latest work from Zach Cregger. “When I see a great horror film like Weapons, I don’t have an itch I need to scratch. I see Weapons, and it doesn’t make me want to make a horror film that’s as scary or scarier than Weapons. It satisfies me so completely, it actually arrests my desire to someday make a really, really scary movie.” Aunt Gladys will be thrilled.

The new issue of Empire features a major new Steven Spielberg interview, on his lifelong sci-fi obsession, his legendary contributions to the genre, and how it all culminates in his new original feature, Disclosure Day. Plus, we sit down with the Disclosure Day cast – Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson – and screenwriter David Koepp to get the first word on the summer’s most top-secret blockbuster. Find the Steven Spielberg issue on newsstands from Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. Disclosure Day comes to cinemas from June 12.

For decades now, alien enthusiasts have theorised that evidence of extra-terrestrial life has been hidden by authorities, filed away from prying eyes in Area 51 and secret military bases. If the truth is out there, it’s redacted. A similar secrecy applies to Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day. This is a blockbuster of the ‘top-secret’ variety – a mysterious conspiracy thriller that sees the Hollywood legend return to the science-fiction genre he’s revolutionised many times over. His latest is all about the big questions: do aliens exist? How long have we known for? And should humanity at large know about it?

These are notions that Spielberg has explored going right back to 1977’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind – and nearly 50 years later, he has more to say. “There are definitely questions posed by Close Encounters that are answered in Disclosure Day,” star Emily Blunt tells Empire. We can reveal that she plays Margaret Fairchild, a journalist who career-pivots into weather presenting; where, as the Disclosure Day trailers show, she's at the centre of a bizarre on-air incident, vocalising in unsettling seemingly-inhuman clicks. “She’s walked through life with itchy fingertips,” Blunt teases. “She has this sense that she doesn’t belong where she is right now.”

Margaret is swept into the orbit of Josh O’Connor’s Daniel Kellner – a cyber-security expert who’s stumbled upon highly-classified knowledge, placing a target firmly on his back. “He is a complete unexpected hero,” O’Connor says. “He’s an incredibly thoughtful person, but underneath, there is something about him that is unexplained, that he can’t put his finger on.” Also caught in the crossfire is Eve Hewson’s Jane Blakenship, Daniel’s girlfriend, facing her own fallout from his quest for the truth.

Hot on Margaret and Daniel’s tail is Colin Firth’s antagonist, Noah Scanlon – leader of Wardex, contracted by the government to keep the biggest secret in the cosmos, well, secret. As sinister as Scanlon is, he’s a man with a job to do, with major consequences if he fails. “There are very few people that have that responsibility to maintain what the world can cope with and what it can’t,” says Firth. “Then the question becomes, who gets to decide that?”

Also fresh out of Wardex – with a different agenda – is Colman Domingo’s Hugo Wakefield, an advocate for disclosure. And, possibly, a stand-in for Steven Spielberg himself. “We’ve never discussed it, but I feel like Hugo is a surrogate for Steven,” Domingo muses. “I feel like Steven’s optimism, his trust, his belief in the moon and the stars and all that is beyond are embedded in my character.”

For now, everything else Disclosure Day is locked away. Maybe in a wooden crate, somewhere at the back of a giant warehouse, surrounded by endless other wooden crates. But this summer, the truth will be revealed.

The new issue of Empire features a major new Steven Spielberg interview, on his lifelong sci-fi obsession, his legendary contributions to the genre, and how it all culminates in his new original feature, Disclosure Day. Plus, we sit down with the Disclosure Day cast – Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson – and screenwriter David Koepp to get the first word on the summer’s most top-secret blockbuster. Find the Steven Spielberg issue on newsstands from Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. Disclosure Day comes to cinemas from June 12.

Across his entire career, Steven Spielberg has delivered some of the greatest films ever made about alien life. First he probed the unknowable mystery of it all, in 1977’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Then he explored notions of human connection and childhood friendship in 1982’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. And in 2005, he exorcised the terror and paranoia of post-9/11 America in an adaptation of War Of The Worlds. Now, over 20 years later, Spielberg has aliens on the brain once again – questioning whether the truth is, indeed, out there with his brand new summer blockbuster, Disclosure Day.

The film explores the idea of ‘disclosure’ – namely, whether humanity has made contact with extra-terrestrial life, and if the general public deserves to know. And Spielberg himself is firmly on one side of that argument. “If I could know, I would want to know,” he tells Empire in a major new interview. “Who would not want to know?” The ramifications of such a radical revelation – that aliens exist, and we’ve made contact – would have considerable ramifications for the entire planet, part of the central tension in Disclosure Day. “There are also great questions on what kind of social and theological disruption would occur if such an event was disclosed beyond anyone’s reasonable doubts,” says the filmmaker.

Spielberg wrote Disclosure Day’s story himself, before entrusting the project to regular screenwriting collaborator David Koepp (Jurassic Park and War Of The Worlds, among others). And while audiences love to see him in alien-blockbuster mode, this is personal for Spielberg too. “I have seven solid decades of a vast personal interest in what lies beyond our atmosphere, in the cosmos, and what is within our atmosphere right here on planet Earth,” he says. This time, he has something new to say on the subject. “The question has always remained for me: are we alone on our own planet? I cannot imagine that we are alone out there. That question has not only haunted me, but it has inspired me. But, I think, it has now resolved itself to my satisfaction in Disclosure Day.”

It’s a fascination that goes all the way back to his formative years, shaped by the childhood that he fictionalised in 2022’s The Fabelmans. “My dad took me outside when I was five years old in New Jersey to watch a meteor shower,” he remembers. “Then he built me a homemade reflecting telescope, where I was able to see the moons around Jupiter and the rings around Saturn. So, I give credit to my father for instilling in me both values of science and imagination.” Over 70 years later, Spielberg’s still looking to the skies.

The new issue of Empire features a major new Steven Spielberg interview, on his lifelong sci-fi obsession, his legendary contributions to the genre, and how it all culminates in his new original feature, Disclosure Day. Plus, we sit down with the Disclosure Day cast – Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson – and screenwriter David Koepp to get the first word on the summer’s most top-secret blockbuster. Find the Steven Spielberg issue on newsstands from Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. Disclosure Day comes to cinemas from June 12.

Steven Spielberg shot exclusively for Empire in Los Angeles by Art Streiber.

When Steven Spielberg goes sci-fi, cinematic magic is made. Think Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Or E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Or Minority Report, or A.I. Artificial Intelligence, or War Of The Worlds. For decades now, Spielberg has been the master of not only blockbuster movies, but big imaginative visions of worlds beyond our own. And now, it all comes together in Disclosure Day – Spielberg’s long-awaited return to big summer sci-fi cinema, wrestling with the notion of alien contact, and humanity’s relationship to life among the stars. Watch the skies: the master is back in action.

This month’s issue of Empire is a massive Steven Spielberg special – featuring a major new interview with the legend himself on his top secret science-fiction thriller, and his astonishing history with the genre; revisiting the classic movies that got him here, and exploring how it culminates in the ultimate truth-is-out-there tale in Disclosure Day. Plus we take a deep-dive into the new film, speaking to its starry cast – Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colman Domingo and more – and writer David Koepp, heading into restricted areas for the first word on this summer’s most mysterious must-see.

On the cover is, of course, Steven Spielberg, bathed in cosmic light, shot exclusively for Empire by Art Streiber in Los Angeles.

And the subscriber cover features a silhouette of the great director, as he faces a close encounter of the Empire kind.

And that’s not all. Also inside this issue, we take on the tablet revolution with Toy Story 5; meet kung-fu titan Jet Li for a career-spanning new interview; pull the (woollen) threads on farmyard whodunnit The Sheep Detectives; take the Spice to look ahead at what lies in store in Dune: Part Three; pop off with David Lowery’s Mother Mary; go on the steamy set of Rivals Season 2; experience cinematic Stink-O-Vision with Dead Lover; and much more.

The Steven Spielberg issue escapes containment on Thursday April 9, coming to your local newsstand – and you can pre-order a copy online here. Disclosure Day comes to cinemas on June 12.

We believe in genuine research and hands-on testing. If you do too, click here to add Empire as a preferred source on Google.

Once an extravagance seen in state-of-the-art home cinemas, any top projector bright enough to actually watch a movie on used to cost well into the thousands. Cut to today, and increasingly powerful tech is making its way into some of the best budget projectors on the market. Suddenly, that 65-inch TV doesn't look quite so impressive...

So what do we mean by 'budget projector'? Most of the models we found for this article are cheaper than many televisions. And that increase in screen size for hundreds rather than thousands of pounds can only mean one thing: your movie nights are going to look spectacular. A white wall or an affordable screen, like the VonHaus 100-inch projector screen we tested in our Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 review, is all you need to upgrade your experience. Shone onto it, the motorbike-meets-cliff moment in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning gave us flashbacks of sitting at the local cinema.

But surely a budget projector is a dim, low-resolution experience – like it was when you borrowed the office projector for that Lord Of The Rings watchathon a few years ago? Thankfully not. In fact, we find that the only real differences between budget projectors and their £1000-plus counterparts are brightness levels, resolution and picture processing features. Even then, some of those features make it into many of our affordable options – such as budget 4K projectors. You won't be getting super-bright lasers, but you will have a picture that's a lot larger than your current TV, and one that can be seen in the daytime without the need for blackout curtains.

Some of our picks are compact and portable with their own speakers built-in, making them a really fun and practical projector choice for parties, trips and even evening garden screenings. But with many of these you also have the option of hooking it up to one of the best soundbars for massive cinematic audio. We've even included some projector screen recommendations for the first three products in our line-up to help you find a good match. So, let's prove that projection is the affordable big TV alternative by shining a light on some of the best budget projectors available right now.

How We Chose The Best Budget Projectors

We've selected the best budget projectors based on reliable and trusted brands, average user reviews, price, and suitability for each use case. We've looked for budget projectors that offer a balance of price and image quality, including resolution, brightness, maximum projection size, sound format support, smart features, build quality and overall design. We also look for good connectivity with a range of devices and extra control options, such as via apps. Our writers may also choose products based on hands-on experience. Retailers are selected based on price, availability and reputation as reliable and trusted sellers. Find out more about how we test and choose products.

Best Budget Projectors in 2026

Expert's choice: The Best Budget Projector

We've chosen an entry-level projector as our best overall option – the NothingProjector NP One. While it would have been very easy to have awarded the Hisense 4K Trichroma Mini Laser Projector C2TUK the top spot based on tech specs alone, it's at the highest end of the budget category – and beyond what some might consider an affordable first step into the world of projected entertainment. However, the Hisense is our favourite on this list for spec and features, with the NP One being a solid performer at the other end of the price range.

What To Look For In A Budget Projector

Whatever model you settle on, it should offer something that even the best TV of a similar price doesn't. If you're looking for something super-small and under £100, even the best budget pico projector (AKA: micro-sized projector) is not going to outdo your faithful TV – especially if it's an accomplished OLED like the excellent Samsung 65-inch S85F we reviewed. For most of us, the decision will be based on sheer screen size, but there are some other things to consider when it comes to making the right choice.

Brightness Is (Almost) Everything

Firstly, it's worth taking the time to understand the way that various projector brands state their products' brightness levels. We'll expand on this in our projector tech glossary below. But, as a quick overview, you might see brightness measured in lumens – most commonly ANSI lumens or ISO-Lumens. However, there's no fast and accurate way to convert one to the other, as each standard has different measures and test conditions. So, although ISO lumens are generally around 0.8 times as bright as the equivalent number of ANSI lumens, this isn't scientific. Remember, a projector may state its brightness in ISO lumens – but that doesn't always make it less bright than another measured in ANSI lumens – it's just a different measurement standard.

When buying, our advice is to keep one eye on the stated brightness level of your top choice of projector. Then see how much a brighter one (measured in the same units) would cost. For instance, if your chosen model is rated as 350 ANSI-Lumens, try looking for a brighter one. If it's still within budget and has some of the other features you like, always go for the brightest budget projector you can.

What Brightness Do I Need?

NEBULA has an excellent guide to ANSI versus ISO lumens that includes recommendations on the optimal brightness you should be looking for with a projector. Here's a general guide depending on your viewing conditions:

As with all budget projectors, brightness and contrast are heavily impacted by the amount of ambient light in your room. Even though some projectors are easily bright enough to be seen in the daytime in a room without harsh ambient light, we always recommend as little ambient light as possible.

Another thing to remember is that the apparent brightness level reduces the farther the projector is from the screen, so if you're planning on using a projector with a low-end brightness rating for a very large image, you may want to up the number of ANSI/ISO lumens.

Choose Your Projector Technology

The core projector technology you choose directly impacts brightness, colour and contrast. The premium choice is still laser-based projectors, as they can offer brighter and more vivid images with more detail. They're also more energy-efficient than a traditional LCD projector that uses a lamp as a light source. That said, lamp-based projectors can be just as bright as laser (and cheaper), so don't discount one if the price and features are right for you.

You'll also find projectors that boast DLP (Digital Light Processing). This method of reflecting the image through the lens is used with both laser and LCD-based projectors and often results in more detail and less motion-blur.

Use A Projector Screen

Although relying on a large open wall in your home might seem to be the easy option, it's actually one of the least practical and most problematic. Firstly, you'll need to paint it white to get the best image and contrast from your budget projector. Yes, you'll find plenty of projectors with settings that compensate for an off-white or colour-tinted light wall, but they do so by substantially altering the colour profile of what you're watching. If you're all about enjoying movies the way the director intended, complete with expert colour-grading, an off-white wall is not the way to go.

Secondly, you'll need to make sure that the wall is continually blemish-free. This means no picture hooks or nails – so, making use of your wall while not watching is also a no-go. Lastly, many budget projectors have built-in screen detection that adjusts the projected image to perfectly fit a 16:9 screen ratio. As most projector screens have a black border that denotes the white 16:9 ratio, the projector will be able to detect that border and do a lot of the hard work for you with keystoning and other refinements.

Match Screen Size With Your Projector's Throw

If you have a screen size in mind, always check the projector specifications to make sure its lens can handle the size you need. Don't assume that you'll get an image as large as you want by simply increasing the space between it and the screen. Picture size is all about the power of the laser or lamp, plus the optics inside that will throw the image onto the screen. Most projectors will state their maximum image sizes in inches (measured diagonally, corner-to-corner), so double-check before you buy.

Long Throw Versus Short and Ultra Short Throw Projectors

Although ultra short throw projectors will be a rarity in the budget category, they are worth hunting down if your room is particularly short on space. So, what are ultra short, short, medium and long throw projectors?

Long and Medium Throw Projectors: As the name suggests, these projectors need to be placed some distance from the screen (or wall) to project a larger image. Generally, long throw projectors need to be placed over two metres away or more to achieve a large enough image.

Short Throw and Ultra Short Throw Projectors: These types of projector are designed to sit a lot closer to the screen or wall – as close as 3 feet – while still producing a large image. Ultra Short Throw projectors do the same but at an incredibly short distance from the screen, as close as a few centimetres. Because of this, they're almost always laser projectors, as the extra brightness is needed to throw the image upward from such a short distance.

They're great space-savers and make for a neater setup over the long cable run and mid-room placement of long-medium throw versions. However, bear in mind that the ultra short throw variety requires a perfectly flat surface. The tiny throw distance means that it'll show every ripple, bump and distortion of a regular roller projector screen, tensioned screen, or even a wall. You'll need a fixed projector screen – which is essentially a tensioned white canvas that you'll need to permanently wall-mount or store somewhere. For most, a short or short-to-medium throw projector will be perfect for a large image at a sensible distance from the screen.

Go for 4K if your budget allows

Although projector tech has become more affordable, the vast majority of the budget projector category has Full HD (1080p) resolution or lower. This is especially true with many of the best mini projectors. In terms of modern viewing habits, and certainly where any serious film fan is concerned, this is decidedly last generation. However, if you haven't fully embraced 4K entertainment yet and have a large collection of standard Blu-ray discs rather than the 4K UHD variety,  you might find that a Full-HD budget projector has everything you're likely to need.

That said, with so much content streaming in 4K (not to mention high-tech extras that come with it, like HDR for a billion extra colours) it's definitely the optimal choice. Movies and shows on 4K Blu-ray disc are much more prevalent now too, so you're in for a cinema-like experience. You may have been content with borrowing the office's budget projector for PowerPoint presentations a few years ago, but that's not going to do justice to today's high-resolution media.

Plan For Placement And Connectivity

One of the most overlooked and troublesome aspects when choosing a projector is placement. Yes, you can ceiling-mount a projector to declutter your floor space, but you'll need to route power HDMI cables through the ceiling too. Unless you're planning on projecting the majority of your entertainment, we recommend a floor-standing projector, preferably on its own small table so that the whole thing can be easily packed away or moved into a safe corner when not in use.

Need A Gaming Projector? Look At Refresh Rate And Low Latency

These two features go hand-in-hand for console gamers looking to project their adventures. Search for a projector that supports low-latency features, possibly via a dedicated Game Mode. This will mean a fast reaction time between what you do with your controller and what happens on screen. The refresh rate for gaming is often 120Hz at the high-end, so if you're into smooth, judder-free 4K gaming, look for that or 60hz at a minimum. VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) isn't found on many low-budget projectors, but if you find one you're in for an even smoother gaming experience thanks to the projector matching the changing framerate of your console.

HDMI And Power

If your smart projector is going to be used with more than just onboard apps, you'll need something like the five-meter Southlight HDMI 2.1 Cable. Thankfully, these long cables are affordable, and they can be up to 10 metres or more, depending on your needs. Projector power supply is also a consideration, especially with a projector that must sit in the middle of the room while in use.

None of the models in our lineup above comes without HDMI. However, if you find yourself tempted by a better deal, you should make sure that it has HDMI and not just analogue AV inputs – these are red and black (or white) phono plugs for audio, and yellow for video. Likewise, many cheaper and older projectors are designed for office use and may only include computer and laptop-friendly inputs, like VGA and DVI. Not only are these lower resolutions than 4K or even full HD, but you won't find these on most modern consoles or media players either.

Plan For Sound

While some budget projectors can process and output spatial audio formats like Dolby Atmos or DTS, in most cases any projector's built-in speakers aren't going to do this justice. Not everyone has a high-end surround sound system, but if you do, you'll want to make use of it.

Whether you're going to use a good budget soundbar, one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars or a more expensive system with your budget projector, it's important to check that your projector has a dedicated digital audio output. This is often an HDMI port with ARC (Audio Return Channel) support; preferably the more advanced eARC version that supports high-definition surround formats like DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD. You can read more about HDMI ARC/eARC in our guide to surround sound jargon below.

Budget Projector terminology

The best budget home projector will differ from standard office projectors in fairly major ways when it comes to performance and connectivity. But this is not always clear from the model name alone, so it pays to know your stuff before you buy. Here are some of the most common projector terms you'll come across.

Lumens

A lumen is a unit of measurement used to gauge the amount of light emitted from a range of technologies. An ANSI lumen describes light as measured from projectors, and so is measured differently to ensure accuracy. Although you'll find some projectors listed with the alternative ISO lumen rating, it's not as widely adopted in the projector market. As a very rough rule of thumb, one ANSI lumen is equivalent to around 0.8 ISO lumens.

Contrast Ratio

The contrast ratio of a projector is the measurement between the brightest part of the image and the darkest. So, a ratio of 2000:1 would be used to describe a projector that was capable of projecting a light 2000 times brighter than the darkest part of the image. The higher the contrast ratio the better the apparent black levels will seem thanks to the brightest areas being extra bright.

Throw Range And Throw Ratio

The range is the distance between the projector's lens and the screen, and the throw ratio is the relationship between that distance and the size of the projected image. When buying a projector, both of these are only really relevant when planning the placement in your room. If you want a 100-inch image from a projector with a long throw range and a low throw ratio you'll need to plan to have it quite some distance from your screen. For example: If you have, say, a throw ratio of 1.5:1, the projector should sit 1.5 feet from the screen to achieve an image that's 1 foot wide.

Resolution

As with TVs, there are three main resolutions commonly found in projectors: Half HD (1280 x 720 – also known as 720p), Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels / 1080p) and 4K – also known as UHD (Ultra High Definition). The latter has 3840 x 2160 pixels (2160p). The higher the resolution, the more pixels make up the image, resulting in higher detail and clarity.

HDMI

HDMI is a digital interface that carries both audio and video signals through a single cable or port. The main advantage here is convenience – you don’t need individual cables for sound and vision, making your setup much tidier and simpler. Plus, because it’s digital, HDMI delivers far better quality than older analogue connections. The latest HDMI 2.1 standard supports much higher data bandwidth, allowing for even better performance with 4K (and even 8K) content and high-res spatial audio.

ARC / eARC

Getting sound and vision from your Blu-ray player or gaming console to a projector used to be a tangle of wires. Now, HDMI cables with ARC and eARC make a huge difference. ARC, or Audio Return Channel, is a feature of certain HDMI ports that lets audio flow in both directions – sending sound back through the same cable it came in on. This feature streamlines your wiring and simplifies system setups.

Imagine you have a smart projector connected to a soundbar using its HDMI ARC port. When you watch a movie using an app on the projector, audio is sent to the soundbar. If you have an Xbox or Blu-ray player connected to the soundbar, the video can travel back to the projector along the same route. So, no need for separate video-in and audio-out wiring.

eARC, or Enhanced Audio Return Channel, builds on this by offering even more bandwidth, so it supports lossless surround sound formats like DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD. This includes advanced spatial audio such as Dolby Atmos, providing top-tier audio quality and immersion.

Latest Updates

This review was first published in August 2025. Any future relevant updates and additions will be added here.

17 March 2026: We answered the FAQ: "Do I need a soundbar with a projector?".

20 February 2026: Answered the FAQ: "Can I use a smart projector without a Wi-Fi connection?".

18 February 2026: Added links to our guides to the best 4K projectors and best projectors of 2026.

17 February 2026: We changed our best overall choice to the NothingProjector One due to changes in availability and price. We also added the VOPLLS Mini Projector as our pick for best value budget projector, and the XGIMI MoGo 2 Pro Smart Portable Projector as our best 1080p budget projector.

5 February 2026: We answered the FAQ "What are common projector mistakes?".

30 January 2026: Amended the retailer for the Nebula Capsule Air to reflect a better price. Added a link to the Samsung 65-inch S85F OLED we reviewed, our guide to the best soundbars, and the best small soundbars.

22 January 2026: Added the Hisense 4K Trichroma Mini Laser Projector C2TUK. Added a better deal on the Dangbei N2 Mini Smart Projector.

22 December 2025: Added the Anker NEBULA Mars 3 Outdoor Projector, NothingProjector Google TV Projector, and Hisense 4K Laser Projector M2TUK Pro. Updated retailer for the Dangbei N2 Mini Projector. Added Expert's Choice comparison table.

21 October 2025: Updated some pricing, including the NEBULA Capsule Air Projector at a lower price. Added links to the best Dolby Atmos soundbars and the best tech gifts for 2025.

22 September 2025: We added projector screen recommendations to the first three projectors in our line-up. Updated pricing on three heavily discounted projectors: NEBULA Capsule Air, Anker NEBULA Cosmos, and the Aurzen EAZZE D1G.

3 September 2025: We added further photos of the tried-and-tested Danbei N2 Mini Smart Projector.

Chris Duffill is a senior tech reviewer, writing for Empire, What's The Best, Yours, Closer, Heat and other brands. He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including TVs, projectors, speakers, amplifiers, turntables and more.

To date, surrealist Italian-Canadian filmmaker Panos Cosmatos has taken us Beyond The Black Rainbow, into Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities, and on a journey into LSD-crazed leather daddy madness with Nic Cage in the mind- and eye-blowing Mandy. Now, eight years since unleashing peak Crazy Cage, Cosmatos is back back back with *checks notes* 80s LA-set vampire thriller Flesh Of The Gods. And after a slight late-in-the-day line-up switcheroo, Deadline has confirmed that freshly minted The Secret Agent Best Actor nominee Wagner Moura and Kristen Stewart are on to play fanged spouses in Cosmatos' latest cinematic trip.

Oscar Isaac had originally been set to star in Cosmatos' movie, but as Deadline reports, the in-demand actor exited recently due to scheduling conflicts (no, we don't dare to believe it's for a stealth Moon Knight comeback, but we do dare to hope.) Still, we think everyone would agree that Moura is more than up to the job here, and the prospect of Wagner and KStew — no stranger to shiny vampy people of course as star of Twilight — vamping it up in 80s LA is an incredibly hot one, indeed. The official synopsis for the movie, in gestation since 2024, reads: "Flesh of the Gods follows Raoul (Moura) and Alex (Stewart), a married couple in glittering ’80s Los Angeles who descend each evening from their luxury skyscraper condo and head into an electric nighttime realm. When they cross paths with the mysterious and enigmatic Nameless and her hard-partying cabal, Raoul and Alex are seduced into a glamorous, surrealistic world of hedonism, thrills and violence." Yeah, you read that right: we're getting hedonism, thrills, and violence — the full trifecta.

Written by Se7en's Kevin Andrew Walker, directed by Cosmatos, starring Stewart and Moura, produced by The Big Short's Adam McKay, and now backed by A24 — who've just boarded the project as distributors — there really is no shortage of firepower both in front of or behind the camera on Flesh Of The Gods. All of which is to say that we absolutely cannot wait to sink our teeth into this one.

Sure, One Battle After Another and Sinners might've taken home the lion's share of the awards, but in many ways the 2026 Oscars really belonged to a singular figure: Aunt Gladys. It was she who Conan O'Brien centred his incredible opening skit around, it was she who Amy Madigan won the Supporting Actress Oscar for so indelibly playing in Weapons, and now it is she who's getting the full-on prequel treatment. Yes, following buzz about an Aunt Gladys movie last summer, Deadline has now confirmed that Weapons writer-director Zach Cregger will pen the prequel — tentatively titled Gladys — with Zach Shields (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Krampus).

As we shared last August when Gladys first started making its way through the trades' grapevine, Cregger and Shields' prequel is expected to explore how Madigan's flame-haired eccentric came to be in Maybrook. Tiptoeing around spoilers (seriously, if you haven't seen Weapons by now then what are you waiting for? Get it watched!), it's safe to say that Aunt Gladys has a lot of narrative baggage that'd be fascinating to see unpacked properly — and lest we forget, early drafts of Cregger's blockbuster chiller actually already had a chapter dedicated to Aunt G and her otherworldly manner. As far as we know, said chapter was only excised to tighten up the script of Cregger's already sprawling movie, and so there's already a wealth of lore and material to start cooking Gladys with.

Given Weapons' Oscar buzz and the fact that Cregger's Resident Evil is already well on its way (18 Septmber, 2026 folks — save the date!), we would expect that Gladys is not going to be kept waiting any longer than absolutely necessary if Warner Bros. and New Line can help it. But until we hear more, we're, er, just off out to make sure there's no blackthorn sticks or engraved bells knocking about anywhere nearby... you can never be too sure.

In the last three years, we've seen Ryan Gosling do existential comedy (Barbie), action comedy (The Fall Guy), and sci-fi comedy (Project Hail Mary) all at blockbuster event level. For the Canadian national treasure and leading source of Kenergy in Hollywood's next leading role however, the man is going one step further with an existential sci-fi action comedy. You could even say that he's kinda doing everything, everywhere, all at once. Yes, in case that clue wasn't on the nose enough, Deadline is reporting that Gosling is set to lead Daniels Kwan and Scheinert's new event movie at Universal Pictures — the duo's first film since their Oscar-winning smash Everything Everywhere All At Once.

As Phil Lord and Chris Miller's sci-fi blockbuster Project Hail Mary continues to amaze amaze amaze at the box office, smashing records left, right, and centre, it looks like Ryan Gosling is wasting no time lining up his next major movie. Even with Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter on the horizon and in the can already, too, The Gos (as nobody calls him) clearly couldn't resist a chance to work with the guys behind EEAAO and Swiss Army Man. Due to start shooting in Los Angeles later this summer, the Daniels' latest has been wrapped in a shroud of secrecy ever since an Untitled Daniels Event Movie was first slated for 19 November, 2027. But while the plot of the film remains under lock and key for now, a recent Collider interview with Daniel Kwan did see the filmmaker tease that fans can expect a movie that's "fun sci-fi, action comedy with a big heart. Very existential." In other words, a Daniels movie.

Elsewhere in that same interview, Kwan shared that "The only thing you need to know is we are trying to do what we have always done, which is listen very deeply to what is happening in the world and try to internalize that and make something really fun and entertaining that kind of reflects that story back to the world." Given the emotionally potent yet batshit insane multiversal shenanigans of Everything Everywhere All At Once, suffice it to say that the Daniels trying to 'do what we have always done' is absolutely fine by us. And with Gosling in play too, currently on the finest form of his career, 19 November, 2027 can't come soon enough. And you can fist our bump to that!

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It's a truth universally acknowledged that moving house can be a bit of a nightmare. That being said, we would concede that your house literally moving, along with your whole neighbourhood and street, into prehistoric times with dinos roaming up and down the 'burbs sounds like a much bigger nightmare — and looks like it too. Yes, the first trailer for It Follows writer-director David Robert Mitchell's secretive new sci-fi movie The End Of Oak Street (fka Flowervale Street) has been released — and there be dinosaurs on the street where Ewan McGregor, Anne Hathaway, and their brood live. Check it out below;

"I think our house... our neighbourhood... our whole street... has moved," says the Platt family's mystified matriarch (Hathaway), framed in a glorious split diopter, in this enigmatic first teaser for The End Of Oak Street (a movie produced by none other than Super 8 sci-fi sage J.J. Abrams.) And she's not kidding! No sooner have we been introduced to Hathaway, McGregor, and their visibly shooketh kids (Sweet Tooth breakout Christian Convery and My Old Ass' Maisy Stella) than we see the cause for their concerns. There's really no other way to put it than to say that their house, neighbourhood, and whole street has moved, root and stem and tarmac, into what looks like a prehistoric jungle. And from that prehistoric jungle comes the roars — and some terrifying/cool glimpses — of actual, literal dinosaurs as Oak Street's bewildered denizens scream "Run!" and flee in terror. And for now at least, that's all we actually see... a teaser in the truest sense of the word.

The brief but dutifully mystery-building official synopsis for The End Of Oak Street reads: “After a mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood to someplace unknown, the Platt family soon discovers that their very survival depends on them sticking together as they navigate their now unrecognizable surroundings.”

Where have the Platts been taken? Why have the Platts been taken? When have the Platts been taken? How have the Platts been taken? And what in the name of Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler are the Platts going to do about the great big whopping dinosaurs outside their front door? We'll find out the answers to all of these questions, and more, when The End Of Oak Street stomps into cinemas on 14 August. Until then, consider our noodles well and truly twisted in the best way.

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Looking for X-Files casting news, folks? The truth is out there... and can be found here! Barely a month after we learned that Danielle Deadwyler is set to co-lead Ryan Coogler's upcoming The X-Files reboot pilot at Hulu, we now know who will be playing the (figurative) Mulder to Deadwyler's (figurative) Scully. Per Variety's reporting, Yesterday and The Franchise star Himesh Patel has boarded the project alongside Deadwyler, teeing up an unexpected but not at all unwelcome Station Eleven reunion for the duo.

According to Variety's source on the inside of the project, Deadwyler and Patel will be playing entirely new characters in Coogler's take on The X-Files, so don't expect the pair to be going for a one-to-one recreation of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson's iconic duo. Rather, as the series' brief yet compelling logline suggests, writer-director Coogler and showrunner Jennifer Yale's take on the sci-fi classic is going for a different kind of chalk-and-cheese dynamic with Deadwyler and Patel. It reads: "Two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents (Deadwyler, Patel) form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.”

Having been burned once recently with an auteur-driven revival of a 90s cult classic series unexpectedly getting the axe following a pilot order at Hulu (Buffy: New Sunnydale, we'll never forget you), we are doing our level best to keep our expectations and hype in check for The X-Files' small-screen comeback. That being said, with Coogler coming fresh off the back of record-breaking Oscar nominations — and historic Oscar wins — for Sinners, momentum, demand, and also experience handling major IP are all on the Creed and Black Panther filmmaker's side. We want to believe it's going to happen — and with Himesh Patel and Danielle Deadwyler now set to star, we can't help but think it probably will. Watch this space! *Alexa, play 'Materia Primoris'*

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Nintendo fans are likely spending the next few days hoarding mushrooms, 1Ups, shells and flowers – because there’s less than a week to go until The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits cinemas. The follow-up to the ultra-successful Super Mario Bros Movie, looks to be going much bigger, nabbing its name from the beloved Nintendo Wii game – and it seems the wider Nintendo-verse is getting involved too. A new poster this week confirmed (spoiled, some might even say) that Fox McCloud, aka Star Fox – of Lylat Wars fame, to UK millennials – will be in the film. And now we know who’s playing him too.

Yes, as that Insta video handily demonstrates, the role has gone to none other than Glen Powell – fresh from The Running Man and How To Make A Killing. Though, in this clip he’s the jumping man, and all signs indicate that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will, indeed, make a killing at the box office. He joins an already stacked cast: Chris Pratt returns as Mario, with Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and Jack Black as Bowser. It was recently announced that Donald Glover is voicing Yoshi, with The Smashing Machine director Benny Safdie entering the fray as Bowser Jr., and Brie Larson playing Rosalina.

Start your guesses now on who else might pop up from the Nintendo properties. Will we see Kirby? Samus? Maybe even Zelda's Link himself, ahead of getting his own live-action film? Stay tuned, and be sure to stick around in the Galaxy credits in case it tees up a Smash Bros movie or something.

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The Radio Silence boys, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, may be soaking up the critical and commercial success of Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come right now as their horror sequel continues to thrill and chill audiences worldwide, but as the saying goes, there's no rest for the wicked. And with that being said, it looks like Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are already turning their attention towards their next chiller: The Mummy's legacy sequel. Following last month's confirmation that Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are returning for more supernatural swashbuckling action, THR has now confirmed John Hannah will also be returning as Evelyn's wisecracking — and not altogether altruistic — brother Jonathan Carnahan.

Hannah, who's previously stated on multiple occasions that he'd be open to returning as light-fingered Jonathan, will be joining Fraser in the four-for-four club as the only other actor in the franchise to have starred in every Mummy movie (Weisz, of course, dipped out on the critically panned — and believed to be now-retconned — The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor.) Plot details on this legacy sequel, reportedly a direct follow-up to The Mummy Returns, are being kept firmly under wraps (or should that be bandages?) for now, but its directors have teased a little of what we can expect very recently. Speaking to us for last month's issue of Empire, the Radio Silence duo shared that screenwriter David Coggeshall has turned in "a very beautiful and sweeping and scary and fun" script — which sounds like a pretty good place to start to us.

Due to shoot later this year in both London and Morocco, The Mummy's latest chapter is beginning in the same year that its last canonical instalment, The Mummy Returns, heads back into cinemas to celebrate its 25th anniversary. How exactly Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan are coming back — and whether or not they'll be joined by Oded Fehr's Ardeth Bay — remains to be seen. But with the movie eyeing a 19 May, 2028 cinema release, we imagine we'll be unwrapping more of The Mummy's secrets in the weeks and months ahead as production looks to get underway. Praise Imhotep!

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Across recent years, we’ve seen plenty of YouTubers turn horror directors – perhaps most successfully the Philippou brothers, with Talk To Me and Bring Her Back, soon joined by Chris Stuckmann with Shelby Oaks, and Markiplier with indie hit Iron Lung. Now, it’s the turn of Kane Parsons, aka Kane Pixels – and he’s adapting an internet ‘creepypasta’ meme that he previously explored in YouTube form; the digital-era myth of the ‘Backrooms’, an endless liminal hellscape whose apparent mundanity (never-ending rooms of murky yellow walls) hides a creeping evil. A24 tapped up Parsons for a Backrooms movie, and the first trailer has just arrived:

Parsons, just 20 years old, has assembled a mightily impressive cast for this one; at the heart of it is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who stumbles upon the cavernous expanse of the Backrooms and takes to exploring its hallways. And then there’s The Worst Person In The World and Sentimental Value star Renate Reinsve, playing his therapist who ventures in after him – with spooky-looking results. As well as A24, the film comes with the backing of Shawn Levy, via his 21 Laps banner, and James Wan’s production company Atomic Monster. The script comes from Will Soodik.

Will the notion of an online ‘creepypasta’ prove as compelling on the screen as in Jane Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going To The World’s Fair? Are we in for another Slender Man disappointment? And can anyone console us that, even though we’re not hotshot 20-year-old directors working with A24 and top-tier acting talent, we’re still doing ok? Anyone? Please? Backrooms will open up on May 29. Don’t get lost!

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Never get between a girl and her super-dog. If you saw Superman and found yourself on its ultra-comic-booky wavelength, chances are you were enamoured with Krypto – Clark Kent’s unruly pooch, who delivered several seriously satisfying smackdowns in James Gunn’s DCU-starter. And, as that film revealed in its final moments, it’s not even Clark’s dog; it belongs to his boozed-up cousin Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl (Milly Alcock), who’s feeling less than super since she saw her planet blow up, killing her entire family and all its people with it. Now, in Supergirl – the second DCU film, this time directed by I, Tonya’s Craig Gillespie – Kara takes centre stage, going on a vengeful quest; and Krypto’s life is on the line.

This is our second proper look at Supergirl, and while Gunn isn’t director on this one, there’s still plenty of Guardians Of The Galaxy energy going on here – which is no bad thing. The film is based on the acclaimed comic run Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow, and sees Kara team up with Eve Ridley’s Ruthye Marye Knoll to track down Matthias Schoenaerts’ rampaging villain, Krem of the Yellow Hills, who killed Ruthye’s father. Along the way they encounter DC fan favourite mercenary Lobo, played by Jason Momoa; no longer Aquaman, but still very much in the DC family.

Stay tuned to see if Supergirl proves another solid step in Gunn’s overall DCU plans – next up, he’s returning as writer-director of Superman sequel-of-sorts Man Of Tomorrow, expected to go into production soon with stars David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult. For now, Supergirl hits cinemas on June 26.

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Stepping into the shoes of psycho killer (qu'est-ce que c'est?) Max Cady is no mean feat. Over the years, a rare few have been called upon to play the vengeful felon from John D. MacDonald's The Executioners: Robert Mitchum in 1962's Cape Fear; Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake; and Dr. Robert Underdunk Terwilliger — aka Sideshow Bob — in The Simpsons all-timer 'Cape Feare'. Now, in Nick Antosca's Scorsese and Steven Spielberg produced new Apple TV take on Cape Fear, Javier Bardem is set to play the first non-Rob Cady, hell-bent on ruining the lives of attorneys Anna (Amy Adams) and Tom Bowden (Patrick Wilson). And you can check out Bardem in full creeper mode below;

Hoo boy — when Antosca described his Cape Fear as 'a nightmare remix' of past adaptations, he sure wasn't kidding! As we see here, this Marty and Spielberg backed take on the iconic psychological thriller is leaning all the way into Cady's crazy, with the Bowdens' familial bliss immediately thrown into disarray when Bardem's wild-eyed, heavily-tatted rocks up on the scene having been unexpectedly released from what should've been a lifelong stretch in the slammer. "Do we deserve all this?" asks Anna of she and her husband's dreamy suburban life at the start of the trailer: "You deserve this," comes Cady's cold response as he closes in on the couple, leaving a trail of claret and panic in his wake. If the edit's a little jarring and the teaser somewhat obtuse, the effect — of disorientating, intriguing, and alarming in equal measure — is pulled off with aplomb.

The official synopsis for Antosca's Cape Fear reads: "Inspired by the 1991 remake directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Steven Spielberg, a storm is coming for happily married attorneys Anna (Amy Adams) and Tom Bowden (Patrick Wilson) when Max Cady (Javier Bardem), the notorious killer they are responsible for putting behind bars, is let out of prison — and he wants vengeance."

Will the new Cape Fear stick to the original formula or break ranks with some new twists and turns? Will there be an extended sequence in which this Max Cady steps on a load of rakes? Is Bardem destined to add another iconic psycho performance to his CV to sit alongside  No Country For Old Men's Anton Chigurh, Skyfall's Silva, Pirates Of The Caribbean's Captain Salazar, and Lyle, Lyle Crocodile's mendacious Hector P. Valenti? We'll find out when the first of Cape Fear's ten episodes debuts on Apple TV on 5 June.

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Let's face it, baby, these days you gotta have a sequel! And following the release of Scream OG Kevin Williamson's Scream 7, which — despite experiencing a troubled production, marred by several controversies — has raked in a franchise-best $204 million at the global box office, it will surely come as no surprise that Deadline has today confirmed Scream 8 is officially in the works at Spyglass. And, what's more, we already know who'll be writing the slasher saga's latest instalment.

After the Williamson and Guy Busick penned Scream 7, which brought Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott back into the franchise's fold some 15 years after her last appearance in Scream 4, sisters Nora and Lilla Zuckerman — of Poker Face and, most recently, that cancelled Buffy The Vampire Slayer reboot fame — have come aboard to pen the saga's eighth instalment. We don't yet have any steer on where the Zuckerman sisters are heading with Ghostface's latest appearance, but given the enthusiastic fan response to Scream 7 — which leant into nostalgia for a more comfortable and straightforward, somewhat less meta slasher joint — it would be very surprising not to see Campbell, Courteney Cox etc. return for more masked murderer hijinks.

With Mike Flanagan's new Exorcist movie currently shooting, Scary Movie 6 inbound this summer, the Oscars finally embracing horror, and no shortage of buzzy horror projects elsewhere on the horizon (did you see that new Backrooms trailer earlier today?), the genre appears to have arrived into a new golden age. Only time will tell how Scream 8 carves out its place in this chiller renaissance.

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The Second Golden Age of Animation in the 1990s was not ushered in only by the use of computers, but by a recognition that cartoons could be for the whole family, with jokes and storytelling that adults would appreciate alongside the poppy antics for the kids. Weep, then, for its end. Illumination’s latest Nintendo collaboration, inspired by the fan-favourite Super Mario Galaxy game, offers the adults a few pings of nostalgia, but otherwise it’s a humourless, hysterical trudge.

There’s very little plot here, just a series of moments scavenged from multiple games that happen one after another. But let’s try to set the scene anyway. We meet a princess, Rosalina (Brie Larson), who is the mother of a brood of multi-coloured stars (the biology of this doesn’t matter, don’t worry about it – and don’t worry about the stars eating tinier stars like popcorn either). She’s kidnapped by Bowser Jr (The Smashing Machine director Benny Safdie), who’s out to avenge his imprisoned dad (Jack Black). Meanwhile Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) meet and befriend Yoshi (Donald Glover) and set out to help Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) as she goes off to rescue her fellow royal.

Nothing feels consequential or deliberate — it’s all just stuff happening and you’re unlikely to remember any of it.

It’s worth mentioning all those celebrity names because you won’t necessarily be able to tell that some of them are in this. Glover and Safdie are unrecognisable; presumably they are either diehard fans of the games, or fans of big stacks of cash, but it doesn’t feel like they’re adding nearly as much as they could be. Glen Powell’s Fox McCloud is better casting, even in a limited number of scenes (setting up a spin-off?), but the voice cast as a whole can’t do much with so little. And there really is vanishingly little to work with: they toy with a redemption arc for Bowser, and then… don’t. Nothing feels consequential or deliberate — it’s all just stuff happening and you’re unlikely to remember any of it.

Said stuff is certainly fast-paced and frenetic, though. Sugared-up children (or adults) in the audience should be happy with ninjis (like ninjas, but cuter) attacking in a casino and Tostarenans (like Día de Muertos skeletons, but cuter)waiting for Mario and Luigi at the end of a pointless bike race. You could argue that the same madcap pace powers the child-centric _Minion_s movies, and that’s true — but they are, crucially, often very funny. This has barely a chuckle, and there isn’t even a breakout moment like the Peaches song from the first film to buoy your spirits. You have to really be invested in hearing little musical stings from the games, glimpsing weird supporting characters, or seeing moments of 16-bit, to sustain you through this bizarrely boring assault on the senses.

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Watching TV in the same old spot is no longer necessary. A portable projector transforms the experience, allowing you to trade your living room for an outside space or wherever you've ended up on a weekend away. The best projectors on the market hold up remarkably well against traditional quality screens, and that includes some models which are small enough to take with you as you travel.

Bigger projectors, like the Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 we tested, are of course more powerful, but several specs remain surprisingly comparable. Many even have smart operating systems built-in, giving you immediate access to streaming services like Netflix without the need to connect to a laptop or phone.

Portability comes in a few guises. Certain projectors, though still meant for mainly indoor use, are small enough to slip into a backpack – perfect companions for parties, events, or bringing a cinema-style experience to a friend's house. While this type may have additional cables or need access to a power supply, others are purpose-built for the outdoors: toughened, water-resistant, battery-powered, and ideal for everything from garden gatherings to off-grid adventures.

Of course, several key factors separate the best from the merely serviceable. Brightness and resolution still determine how sharp and vivid a projected image will appear. Dimensions and weight set the boundaries of true portability, while built-in smart features deliver convenience on the move. Then there's price – even the most affordable options will still be three figures. We've inspected the market and found our picks for the best portable projectors that we think are worth your time and money.

How we chose the best portable projectors

We've prioritised technical aspects such as resolution and brightness when choosing the best portable projectors, while also taking into account aspects like connectivity, size and weight. We've included options at various prices to reflect different budgets and have selected brands that we trust. Well-known and reputable retailers are featured. Find out more about how we recommend products.

Best portable projectors of 2026

Expert's Choice: The best portable projector

Our top choice for outdoor viewing is the Anker Nebula Mars 3. While its 1080p resolution keeps it from being our best overall pick, its impressive portability and robust build make it a standout for al fresco movie nights. This mid-range model is tough enough to handle the rigours of outdoor use, and its long battery life means you can comfortably watch a film or two without worrying about finding a power outlet.

For those seeking value, the NothingProjector One deserves recognition. Budget projectors can be a gamble, but this model delivers reliable performance without a hefty price tag. Apart from its modest brightness, the specifications are solid throughout, and its lightweight, backpack-friendly design adds genuine convenience for movie lovers on the move.

What to look for in a portable projector

With so many factors that contribute to producing a good quality final image, and just as many determining what makes a projector suitably portable, it can be tricky to narrow down your focus. We've briefly summarised below what we consider the most important aspects to look for when buying a portable projector.

Brightness

One of the most crucial aspects of a portable projector is its brightness. While you can adjust the setup and layout of a room to give a home projector the best conditions possible, a portable projector needs to be bright enough to handle different surroundings. Daylight and ambient lighting can still make the projected image appear dimmer, so it is worthwhile trying to keep your intended area of use dark. If that's not possible or you're unsure, aim for higher lumen values. You should also keep in mind that the further away a projector is from its image surface, the dimmer it will be, so those that can cast further will benefit even more from better brightness.

Resolution

Resolution is the pixel density of an image and is the level of detail you see. Lower resolutions appear blurrier, whereas high resolutions will look crisp and refined. 720p is acceptable for a budget portable projector, but fora higher budget you should ideally be looking at either 1080p (FHD) or 4K displays. The latter is better quality, and what we aim for when choosing a good TV or gaming monitor, but FHD is completely acceptable for a portable device.

Other factors that will contribute to picture quality include the refresh rate and focus. Refresh rate is how often the pixels update (60Hz being 60 times per second), and is important for ensuring that motion appears smooth. A low refresh rate will lead to choppy motions, which can be annoying when watching an action movie or sport, or when gaming. If the projector image appears blurry even in menus, try adjusting the focus manually as it may have been knocked off slightly during setup.

Portability

It may sound obvious that you should consider portability when buying a portable projector, but different designs can still suit different needs. There are models that are small enough to fit inside a backpack and run off a battery charge, meaning you can pretty much take them anywhere, even into the outdoors to camp. Other projectors are still fairly portable, but may be a bit heavier or require a power source to function. They are still portable in the sense that you can move them from location to another without too much hassle, such as bringing over to a friend's house, but they wouldn't be a wise choice to take camping. Decide which type of portability you need, and you'll find it much easier to narrow down your choices.

Connectivity

While it isn't the most critical factor to consider, it's still worthwhile thinking about the ports and connections of a projector. A smart projector will have an operating system you can navigate and stream from, but if you want to display content from another device, you'll either need Bluetooth wireless or a HDMI wired connection. Bluetooth is best for portability, but if you can justify a HDMI cable, the wired connection will likely be more stable and faster. For projectors without native access to streaming services, you'll need a USB port to connect a streaming stick to.

If possible, it's best to favour projectors with multiple available slots. This gives you more freedom to connect the projector to many devices at once, making for a more versatile setup.

Sound

It's natural to focus on the visuals with a projector, but don't ignore the sound quality. Unless you're planning to bring a small soundbar along with you along on trips, the internal speakers of a projector matter. After all, it's frustrating to end up with excellent picture quality, only to be let down by lacklustre audio. That said, due to their more compact builds, portable projectors won't reach the heights of high-end TVs, so it is better to compare them to Bluetooth speakers. Keep an eye (or ear) out for surround sound features such as spatial sound or Dolby Atmos. These do wonders for adding an extra depth to your audio.

Projector terminology

IP Rating – Short for Ingress Protection, the IP rating of a product represents how protected it is from liquids and dust. It consists of two numbers, with the first representing solids (up to six), and the second rates the protection against liquid (up to nine). For example, a fully protected device would be IP69, which would not allow any dust or water in. If the water protection is relevant and the dust rating is not, the space will be filled in with a X, such as IPX5. A projector will not reach those heights, if you want to take one outdoors, we suggest aiming for at least IPX3, to ensure that water splashes and light rain won't damage it.

HDR – High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a type of screen technology. In practice, it helps create clearer, more vibrant final images. For a projector, it ties into the brightness as well. Ideally, good quality projectors will have HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision, all of which are excellent HDR technologies that we favour in TVs too.

Contrast ratio – The contrast ratio is the difference between the light and dark parts of an image. Higher contrast ratios ensure the brightness is more varied, leading to better image quality. With proper contrast, the difference between light and dark should be immediately noticeable and make it easier to tell details a part on the screen or surface.

Lumens – Lumens are the measurement of light produced from a projector. The higher it is listed as, the brighter. However, some projectors are listed with lumens that follow the ISO 21118 international standard (ISO), whereas others follow the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard. Both are accurate, but a single ANSI lumen is slightly larger than a single ISO lumen. As such, an equivalent ISO measurement will be a smaller number than its ANSI counterpart.

Latest updates

This article was first published in March 2026. Future relevant additions and amendments will be noted here.

Kyle Purves is a tech writer and reviewer. They specialise in all types of tech and electronic products, including TVs, monitors, speakers, headphones and consoles.

They are passionate about gaming and are always seeking ways to improve their visual setup. They're also no stranger to hunting down savings, always wanting to get the best deal possible. Outside work, they can often be found playing through an RPG, building Gundam models, or trying to catch up with their ever-expanding list of shows and anime to watch. If possible, they try to play Dungeons and Dragons a couple of times a week, but getting six adults free at the same time is easier said than done.

If you’re a blissfully happy couple looking forward to the long life you’ll spend together with your soulmate, hanging an Ingmar Bergman poster in your fussily Millennial-chic apartment is just asking for trouble. Early in Kristoffer Borgli’s relationship farce The Drama, engaged sweethearts Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson) sit down for dinner with their married friends. A game of What’s The Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done? is played. After everyone else is done sharing their darkest secrets, Emma offers up something that throws the entire dinner — and the next few days leading up to the nuptials — into the kind of chaos that would have your average wedding-planner threatening to jump from the highest rooftop.

Said revelation is expertly engineered to bait an entire spectrum of responses from the characters, as well as from the audience. Emma and Charlie’s friend Rachel (a razor-sharp Alana Haim) is disgusted. Her husband Mike (soft-spoken Mamoudou Athie) attempts to give the whole situation the benefit of the doubt. Emma wishes it would all just blow over. Charlie searches desperately for an outside opinion he can parrot as his own, his reserved Englishness rejecting what is, in his view, Emma’s uniquely American sin. It’s hard to describe just how nimbly deployed this revelation is without actually revealing it here, but audience reactions are likely to run a similar gamut. Your mileage may vary.

It’s a testament to Borgli’s skill as a writer and director that the big reveal is not the movie’s main focus. It’s the driving force behind everything that comes after, sure, but The Drama is more interested in tracking how people deal (or fail to deal) with finding out their loved ones are maybe not who they seem to be, the little ways in which we punish each other for not acting the way we should, the abject humiliation of putting your partnership on display for all to see and scrutinise, and determining whether or not any of that even matters. Relationships — familial, romantic, platonic — are built on a foundation of tiny decisions, and if those decisions start to crumble, the whole thing comes crashing down. The drama of The Drama is visible in every uncomfortable stutter, every moment of avoided eye contact, every back turned instead of consolation offered. You can pinpoint the exact moment when the central couple hits a decisive, defining crossroads for their future. You can pinpoint the exact moment when they both realise it, too.

As dark as it gets, it is often hilarious.

Zendaya and Pattinson both thrive in this environment, relishing the kind of dialogue exchanges you want to watch through your fingers. Emma is woefully unprepared for her past to come back and haunt her, especially by her own doing. Charlie is completely adrift without a model on which to mirror his heretofore charmed life, and the pureness of his panic shocks even himself. Together, they’re a total disaster when real cracks start to show in their partnership. Borgli traps them in glamorous close-ups that reveal every flinch.

Few aspects of modern relationships and wedding culture go un-skewered here. In another early scene, Emma and Charlie are berated by the world’s meanest choreographer while rehearsing for their first dance. In yet another, they have an eyeroll-inducing debate about the performativity of marriage. The two have perfectly trendy (and perfectly vague) jobs as a book editor and a museum curator — jobs that somehow allow them to afford their perfectly trendy apartment outfitted with perfectly trendy bedside-table-lamps, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, Glossier skincare products, and the aforementioned Bergman poster. They seem like sweet people, but you also kind of want to watch them suffer.

The film certainly delivers on that front. As dark as it gets, it is often hilarious in that cruel, keen way that Borgli has proved to be a specialist. It bends towards the same arch cringe comedy that he explored in his fantastic second feature Sick Of Myself, an equally dark dramedy about a woman so jealous of her partner’s successes she obsessively and loudly fakes a severe illness. The characters in The Drama are similarly bound by their basest compulsions, tripping over themselves trying to reconcile what they want with what they think everyone around them expects. What better way to describe a wedding?

On this week's Pilot TV Podcast we have a trifecta of star guests for your listening pleasure. First up, the wonderful Elisabeth Moss actually came in to the Pilot studio to natter with James Dyer, Boyd Hilton, and (especially) Steph Seelan about Imperfect Women on Apple TV. [7:29 — 33:33 approx.] But that's not all folks, no sirree! We also speak to Lisa Kudrow and Michael Patrick King about the triumphant return of The Comeback, which is streaming now on the shiny new HBO Max UK. [1:14:31 — 1:28:20 approx.] Meanwhile, this week’s shows up for review include BBC1’s Babies (strap in for this one), Sky’s The ‘Burbs (in which Jack Whitehall revisits the ‘80s Tom Hanks comedy), and the second season of Jonathan Tropper’s Your Friends And Neighbours on Apple TV (1:52:40). Do we also chat through UK/US exports, argue about cookie allocation and cancel Boyd for not being able to tell Steph and Kay apart? Yes we do.

You can listen to this week's episode — which, if you're counting, is #382 — on your podcast app of choice. Also, if you want to subscribe to Pilot TV+, where you'll find an extra episode of the pod every week, gain early access to our latest episodes, and cut out all those pesky ads, then you can find all the details here — it takes the place for Peak TV podcasting to a whole other level.

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This week's Empire Podcast sees us clamber into the Magic Faraway Tree to talk with Simon Farnaby and Ben Gregor, the writer and director respectively of the brand new Enid Blyton adaptation. Together, the duo tell Alex Godfrey all about how they, er, branched out with the fantastical new film. Either side of that, Chris Hewitt hosts Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Kobi Omenaka to discuss their favourite movie trees and competence porn; run their eye over the week's movie news, including the revelation that Stephen Colbert is co-writing a new Lord Of The Rings movie; and review Splitsville, They Will Kill You, and The Magic Faraway Tree. Enjoy!

And if all of the above isn't quite enough Empire Podcast for you, then there's plenty more where that came from. You can listen to this week's episode (which, if you're counting, is #710) on the pod app of your choice. There, you'll also find the latest episode of Empire Pod regular The Shameless Plug, which takes a deep-dive into the latest issue of the world's biggest film magazine. The most recent instalment sees Nick de Semlyen and Chris Hewitt talk about the origins of the first ever cover shoot with Star Wars characters, as we celebrate The Mandalorian & Grogu, and get stuck into many more stories about the brand new issue while also taking listener questions on what it takes to make a movie magazine.

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It doesn’t take long, watching Zazie Beetz administer one beat-down after another against a parade of cloaked goons, before you start wondering if this film was misnamed and should be ‘She Will Kill Them’. With extreme prejudice. But that’s half the fun of this gonzo action adventure, that it sets a crowd of despicable Satanists against a woman who is so full of pain, fury and desperation that she’s the next best thing to unstoppable. Cue mayhem.

The basic premise is all too suited to the times. Beetz’s Asia Reaves adopts a false persona to land a job as a maid at a Manhattan private members’ club, looking for her missing sister Maria (Myha’la). It’s a dark and stormy night and Asia is soaking wet, shivering with cold and desperate to get inside. There’s just one problem: as one should perhaps expect from a building called the Virgil, its residents have a direct line to hell, and they’re planning on sacrificing the newcomer in ritualistic fashion.

Kirill Sokolov’s commitment to carnage and grisly violence is absolute

The fact that Asia is carrying a suitcase full of weaponry suggests that she has some idea what she is getting into, but she reveals impressive fight skills nevertheless. The residents, meanwhile, dress like TV’s Traitors and seem uniformly weaselly; the only possibly sympathetic one is Patricia Arquette’s Lily, the formidable but not inhuman mistress of the staff, softened just a touch by affection for her husband (Paterson Joseph) and a shaky Irish accent. Director Kirill Sokolov shoots the whole thing like he’s Wes Anderson remaking The Raid: all saturated colours and eerily composed tableaux, even when he’s shooting a disembodied eyeball on its own adventure.

It’s unquestionably style over substance – this is a film completely lacking in subtlety or much subtext (beyond the commendable urge to eat the rich). One chase scene, through the crawl spaces that naturally pepper this deeply creepy building, is inches away from belonging in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Still, Sokolov’s commitment to carnage and grisly violence is absolute, and it makes this a wildly entertaining ride.

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If your evening's cinematic delights include the blood, blues and fire of Ryan Coogler's Sinners, a chaotic chase through the revolutionary landscape of One Battle After Another or the creeping darkness of Weapons, you'll want to experience them just as the directors intended. Thanks to the very latest in audio-visual tech the best 55-inch TVs on the market today are more than up to the job. A lot of the advanced bells and whistles we normally see in 65-inch TVs and larger have made their way into models as small as 43 inches and even high-end 32-inch TVs. But for us the latest 55-inch sets offer the most practical size for most living rooms while still containing the high-tech features of their much larger cousins. Welcome to the best of all worlds when it comes to your movies, shows and games.

So, which features should you look for? For us the best TVs will always offer a stunning 4K picture with vibrant and accurate HDR colours plus excellent contrast and black levels. HDR (High Dynamic Range) which brings over a billion colours to any content that supports it. All of these features are normally found in TVs with high-end OLED and QLED screen tech. You might also need other features like high and variable refresh rates and fast response times if if you're a console gamer. This will keep visuals smooth and your reactions lightning-fast.

As for sound, we normally recommend a top soundbar for surround audio and more immersion for your TV, but some of the high-spec models we've found make this more of an optional extra than a requirement. That's largely thanks to the inclusion of Dolby Atmos or DTS – spatial audio that beams sound around your room with precision. And if you're wondering how that audio wizardry works, check out our guide to Dolby Atmos. Some even have speakers behind the screen itself that changes the location of the sound to match the action on-screen.

You'll also need smart functions with access to your favourite streaming apps. Sounds like jargon? No problem – we've included a buyer's guide. And if you're looking to wall-mount your new set or just keep it looking shiny and new, we've highlighted some of the best accessories at the end of the article too. So, with all of these stunning features in mind, here is our rundown of the very best 55-inch TVs to bring your top-quality entertainment to life.

How we chose the best 55-inch TVs

We've selected the best 55-inch TVs based on reliable and trusted brands, average user reviews, price, and suitability for each use case. We've looked for a balance of price with display type, resolution, audio features, build quality and overall design. We also look for good connectivity options and a wide range of smart TV apps. All of our writers may also choose products based on hands-on experience where we own or have reviewed them ourselves. Retailers are selected based on price, availability and reputation as reliable and trusted sellers. Find out more about how we test and choose products.

Best 55-inch TVs in 2026

Expert's choice: The best 55-inch TV of 2026

Our two favourites from this list are the Samsung S95F, and the Sony Bravia 8 OLED K55XR80. For us, the Samsung is more than just a great all-rounder. It can pretty much do it all and in style, too. The Sony on the other hand is a TV that's been fully tested and is probably our favourite OLED in terms of staying true to a director's intentions – thanks to calibration modes for Netflix and Amazon Prime, not to mention IMAX. It's a cinemagoer's dream.

What are the best accessories for a 55-inch TV?

Buying a new TV is only half of the story when it comes to getting the best out of your new purchase. Addicted to powerful sound or need clearer dialogue? You'll need a soundbar. How about mounting your TV on the wall to save some valuable floor space? A sturdy bracket designed for 55-inch sets is a necessity. We also advocate cleaning your new TV with the right non-abrasive cloths and solutions. We've picked the best accessories below, organised by budget.

Budget TV accessories

Soundbar: Hisense 2.1 Ch 240W all-in-one soundbar

Wall bracket: Perlesmith TV wall bracket for 26-60-inch TVs

HDMI cable: KabelDirekt – 8K/4K HDMI cable

Cleaning kit: Duronic screen cleaner kit

Mid-range TV accessories

Soundbar: Ultimea 5.1 Poseidon D60 soundbar with wireless subwoofer and speakers

Wall bracket: Bontec TV wall mount for 23-70 inch TVs

HDMI cable: Anker 8K/4K HDMI cable

Cleaning kit: iO Clean large screen cleaner spray kit

Premium TV accessories

Soundbar: For audiophiles, the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar we reviewed. Alternatively, models at the higher end of the Bose soundbar range or one of the best Samsung soundbars.

Wall bracket: Invision ultra strong TV wall bracket

HDMI cable: Belkin ultra high speed HDMI cable

Cleaning kit: Whoosh! Screen Shine Pro TV cleaner spray kit

What to look for in a 55-inch TV

If you've already started looking for a new TV, you'll appreciate how easy it is to fall down the rabbit hole when it comes to impressive-sounding features and tech specs. But what about other considerations, like asking yourself what you'll be using it for the most, and where it might fit?

How do you need to use your TV?

Before you dive into reading about cool-sounding features, take a moment to consider what you use your TV for the most. This will help you to narrow down your choices to TVs that can deliver the quality and features you really need.

Tips for film fans

For anyone who values sheer image quality, clarity and colour accuracy for their movies, we recommend looking at 55-inch OLED TVs. We'd put QLED TVs at a close second. Why? Well, although there are all sorts of innovations with local dimming to help blacks stay black with QLEDS, they're still dependent on a backlight. Even with a tightly packed array of LEDs as a backlight with numerous dimming zones, there's just no beating the self-illuminated perfection of an OLED screen. Those organic LEDs are capable of accurate colours, provide their own light and crucially, each OLED/pixel can be independently switched off. For inky black levels, there's no substitute. Couple this with HDR (preferably the superior HDR10+ or Dolby Vision) and you'll have exquisite colour reproduction – much like the excellent Samsung S85F 65-inch OLED TV we reviewed.

That said, QLEDs can be more affordable and come very close indeed to the quality of an OLED, often (due to the separate backlight) providing higher brightness levels – handy if you're watching it in a brightly-lit room.

Audio-wise, look for support for those more advanced surround formats like DTS or Dolby Atmos. We'd also advise any serious movie fan to upgrade – you can find a very capable soundbar under £300 that will support those formats.

For TV binge-watchers

Those who enjoy catching up on the latest shows from streaming apps or from live digital terrestrial TV channels (or catch-up services) are going to share some or all of the same features that movie fans will hanker for. But there are a couple of extra things to look for. First and foremost is the range of apps available, as not all smart TVs have exactly the same ones. While the majority will have YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime and other mainstream app availability, some others (for example, Peacock and Discovery+) may not be present – so always check which apps are included.

Another consideration is recording. If you're hooked on several series at once on live TV you might want a TV with built-in storage (or at least one that can record to a USB drive) so that you can set them all to 'series record' and never miss an episode.

For gamers

Aside from quality features like HDR (High Dynamic Range) for extra colour, the most important capability for any 55-inch gaming TV is a variable and high refresh rate. That means that if you're playing a game that's capable of high frame rates, the refresh rate (the number of images shown per second) will match. The net result? Smooth and detailed motion without stuttering or tearing. We recommend that you look for one that supports at least 120Hz and is variable (often known as VRR, with various branded versions of this called G-sync or FreeSync). This brings your TV up to the standard of most gaming monitors that are the centrepiece of a good PC gaming setup. And, if you want to game in comfort, check out our guide to the best gaming chairs – having bought a new TV for gaming you'll want to enjoy it for hours on end without any aches or pains.

Consider your space

Most of the best 55-inch TVs are also incredibly slim, making them perfect for wall-mounting as well as stand-mounting while being tucked as close to the wall as possible. Thanks to some 55-inch options having super-thin bezels compared to those of a few years ago, they'll take up less space than you might expect. That's all good stuff, but you should always measure up and make sure that the position of your TV allows for comfortable viewing. Wall-mounting your TV is probably the most modern, space-efficient option – but our advice is to make sure it's not mounted too high. The temptation to follow interior design trends like mounting it above a tall fireplace mantel can lead to uncomfortable viewing.

Stick to your budget

Even with many of the cutting-edge features we've mentioned crammed inside, you don't always need to spend thousands of pounds on a new telly. Yes, you may get more bells and whistles from a premium brand's flagship model, but there are plenty of modern TVs that also include the top-tier tech we've mentioned above – like HDR, QLED, high refresh rates and more. So, our advice is to stick to your budget and only spend more if you're missing a key feature that you really need for your viewing. Some of the best 55-inch TVs under £1000 (and sometimes even half that price) will include impressive tech.

Smart enough?

Most 55-inch TVs will connect to your Freeview aerial, so you'll always have access to terrestrial channels without relying on an internet connection. But, if you want to use on-demand catch-up services for those programmes, the Freeview Play app is included with most smart TVs. Other on-demand services like BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, and All 4 are available too. But, for most movie and TV fans, the essential apps to have are from subscription services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Check that your favourite shows and their respective apps are available before you buy.

TV terminology

With so many acronyms flying around, here's a short glossary of TV technical terms. You'll be able to tell your HDR from your HDR10+, and your HD from your Full HD in no time.

4K and Ultra HD (UHD) versus Full HD

4K (or 4K UHD) refers to the resolution, or pixel count, of the display. With a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels (around 8.3 million in total), a 4K TV has four times as much detail as Full HD screens, which only have 1920x1080 pixels. Although some manufacturers are edging into 8K displays and higher, at the moment there's very little consumer content available in that resolution. So, for the latest crisp and accurate images, 4K is the way to go.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Dolby Vision

Providing the content you're watching also has HDR, smart TVs with High Dynamic Range use a much wider palette of over one billion colours. What that means is much more than just a vibrant or saturated picture – it literally means that there are more colours on display, leading to beautifully natural and accurate images that give the overall picture detail and quality a serious boost. HDR10+ is an extension of this, but the use of extra metadata creates an even more refined picture.

Dolby Vision is Dolby's version of HDR10 and HRD10+. Again, this means the picture on-screen appears even more lifelike with colour detail and depth. Dolby Vision is widely regarded as one of the leading versions of HDR for televisions.

LED and LCD

LED stands for Light-Emitting Diode. As a powerful light source, they're normally used in LED TVs as a backlight for a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), which is the part that displays the actual picture. Without a backlight behind it, you'd hardly see the image. This is very much last-generation tech when it comes to TVs, despite there being plenty of 4K LED models around. They're cheaper, but in terms of how the screen gets its brightness, contrast levels usually suffer.

Micro LED and Mini LED

Unlike a normal LED TV, a Micro LED set not only has a high resolution, but each LED is tiny and can individually change its brightness – so, no broad backlight required. That means that black levels and viewing angles are very good, with brightness often exceeding that of other screen types – including OLED. However, they don't come cheap and are often only found in larger sets.

Mini LED TVs work in much the same way as Micro LED ones, but the LEDs are larger – which means they're not small enough to represent a single pixel. Instead, much like LED TVs, they're used as a more accurate backlight to an LCD. The Mini LEDs are small enough to be able to turn off or dim in discrete areas of the screen, often called 'dimming zones'. That goes some way to mimicking the deeper blacks offered by Micro LED and OLED. Because they have more in common with an LCD, they're much cheaper than Micro LED, OLED and many QLED sets.

OLED and QD-OLED

OLED are Organic LEDs. They're grown organically and are self-illuminating. They're small and controllable, with each one representing a single pixel in the image. The technology is known for colour range and accuracy, plus excellent contrast and detail. One of the reasons OLED TVs are popular with movie fans is the infinite black levels and individual pixel lighting control. Each one can be tuned or turned off if needed, for the inky blacks and shadow detail you'll need for movies like Aliens or games like Doom: The Dark Ages. They're not known for super-high brightness levels though, but still outshine the panel types mentioned earlier and are a perfect choice for most movie and TV fans.

As for QD-OLED, this new tech can be seen in some recent Samsung and Sony sets. Quantum Dot OLEDs are self-illuminating thanks to the OLEDs, but they also gain the expanded colour and extra brightness levels of the Quantum Dots in QLED TVs. It doesn't need a traditional backlight, but has increased brightness and the ability to render a wider colour range. It's an interesting hybrid of two TV technologies.

QLED and QNED

Quantum LED TVs attempt and largely succeed in emulating the contrast, blacks and colour levels of an OLED at a slightly cheaper price using a backlit layer of Quantum dots. That said, a QLED TV is definitely not a budget technology. Proponents of it say that you get close to true black levels and also benefit from brighter pictures (great for use in brightly-lit rooms) with excellent colour range. They don't have as good a viewing angle as OLED sets, but they really come close to OLED in all other respects.

The Quantum dots in a QLED TV are tightly packed like the pixels in an LCD, but they convert a bright blue backlight into the full range of super-accurate colours. This is why QLED sets work well with HDR, as they're more capable than most when it comes to rendering those extended colours at a wide range of brightness levels. You can read more about QLED on the Samsung website.

Much like QD-OLED, QNED TVs are a hybrid of Mini-LED backlighting and a layer of Quantum Dots. Here, the Mini-LEDs are replacing the OLEDs function in QD-OLED sets, with the same sort of Quantum Dot layer providing the colour and image. Only made by LG right now, these TVs have excellent black levels and are quite affordable despite the tech inside, but some users say that they're not quite as bright as an equivalent QLED and have a slower response time than an equivalent OLED, making the latter two better for gamers.

Common screen resolutions

HD (or half HD): 1280×720

Full HD: 1920×1080

4K / 4K UHD: 3840×2160

Latest updates

This article was first published in March 2025. Future relevant additions and amendments will be noted here.

27 March 2026: Replaced 'Best 55-inch Panasonic TV' category with 'Best 55-inch TV For Sound' and our pick: the Sony BRAVIA 8 II 55-inch QD-OLED K55XR8M25BP. Updated the link to the Philips TAB5309 Soundbar 2.1 with Wireless Subwoofer for a better price.

17 March 2026: We answered the FAQ: "Which is the best budget 55-inch TV?".

20 February 2026: Added our pick for the best mid-budget 55-inch TV – the Amazon Fire TV 55-inch Omni Mini-LED Series TV. Changed the retailer link for the Samsung 55-inch The Frame TV for the best price. Updated the retailer link for the Philips TAB5309 Soundbar 2.1 with Wireless Subwoofer.

3 February 2026: Added links to our Samsung S85F 65-inch OLED TV review and Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar review. Added links to our guides to the best Samsung soundbars and best LG soundbars.

22 January 2026: Added the Panasonic Premium W95B 55-inch Mini LED 4K HDR Smart Fire TV. Added a better deal on the Sky Glass Gen 2 55-inch TV.

5 January 2026: New lower price on the Samsung The Frame TV. Answered the FAQ 'What 55-inch TV is best for gaming?'.

18 December 2025: Added the Philips Ambilight 55OLED760 4K OLED Smart TV and the Hisense 55-inch 55E78QTUK PRO 144Hz QLED Smart AI TV. Added a link to the best gaming setups.

12 November 2025: We added a link to our review of the Samsung Q930F soundbar.

20 October 2025: We replaced the Panasonic TV-55W80AEY with the superior QLED version: Panasonic Premium TV-55W85BEY. We replaced the retailer for the LG 55QNED87A6B 55-Inch 4K UHD Smart TV to offer a lower price.

9 October 2025: We replaced our choice of the best budget 55-inch TV with a more recent Hisense model (55E6QTUK), which retains the features of our previous choice but adds AI upscaling.

1 October 2025: Amended the price for the Samsung S95F 55-inch OLED 4K TV as it is now cheaper. Replaced the best 55-inch TV for gaming with the 2025 Hisense 55-inch 55U7QTUK MiniLED 144Hz Smart AI TV. Added a link to the best Dolby Atmos soundbars.

18 September 2025: Added a quick comparison table for the products in the Expert's Choice section. Revised the retailer for a lower price on the Samsung 55-inch The Frame TV. New retailer for the Hisense 55-inch 55E7NQTUK Pro TV.

5 September 2025: Added link to the Hisense AX Series Soundbar AX5100Q.

28 August 2025: Amended the price for the Samsung S95F 55-inch OLED 4K TV as it is now cheaper.

28 August 2025: We added links to our guide to Dolby Atmos, the Bose soundbar range and the best budget projectors.

15 August 2025: We added a link to our guide to the best soundbars of 2025.

13 August 2025: Updated prices for the Hisense 55 Inch 4K Smart TV 55E6NTUK and the Hisense 55 Inch 55E7NQTUK Pro as both are now reduced.

6 August 2025: Replaced best 55-inch TV for wall mounting with Samsung The Frame and updated several soundbar recommendations.

14 July 2025: Replaced best overall TV, Samsung S95D, with new model: Samsung S95F 55-inch OLED TV

1 July 2025: We added a 'Best Accessories for 55-inch TVs' section.

6 June 2025: We added links to our guide to the best 43-inch TVs and review of the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 8.

28 May 2025: We added recommended soundbars, from the same brands where possible.

27 May 2025: We updated the Sky Glass product to the latest Sky Glass Gen 2 model.

21 May 2025: We answered the question: "Is OLED worth it?".

13 May 2025: We answered the FAQ: "Is 55-inch big enough for 4K?" and added a link to the Perlesmith TV Wall Bracket for 26-70-inch TVs.

9 May 2025: We added a link to our advice article on QLED vs OLED as part of our answer to the FAQ: "How much should I spend on a 55-inch TV?".

2 May 2025: We updated the price information for the Samsung QE55LS03D and the LG 55QNED87T6B to reflect reductions.

11 April 2025: We added the TCL 55P7K-UK as a sub-£500, 55-inch TV option.

Chris Duffill is a Senior Tech Writer and Reviewer for Empire, What's The Best, Yours, Closer, Heat and other brands. He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including TVs, projectors, speakers, amplifiers, turntables and more.

Having worked in video production, photography and graphic design, he has decades of professional experience with various display technologies. He's owned TVs of various sizes and specs, several home cinema projectors and also set up his own surround sound systems, including Dolby Atmos. He's a lifelong TV and movie fanatic with a master's degree in Screenwriting from the UEA.

“From the totalitarian point of view, history is something to be created rather than learned.” So wrote novelist, essayist, and journalist George Orwell in 1946, as he was gathering ideas for what would become his final book, the dystopian and depressingly prescient Nineteen Eighty-Four. Eighty years later, with Orwell’s warning a bleak reality, documentarian Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) investigates how the writer came to predict the future, and how shockingly accurate those predictions were.

If it’s an Orwell biography you’re after, look elsewhere. Peck provides only the minimum background information required to understand where Orwell was coming from. Instead, he leans heavily into drawing parallels between the ideas contained in Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty-Four, and various essays, and the methods of 20th-century leaders who’ve pushed their agendas through lies, corruption, suppression and state-sanctioned violence. Orwell’s words, delivered with weighty gravitas by Damian Lewis, are set to news footage and clips of movies and documentaries from around the world to highlight a post-truth present enabled by unregulated social media and a global ruling class greedy for power and control.

Peck, like Orwell, wants you to question and interrogate what you see and hear from those in power.

The format is strong and convincing: Peck’s choices are laser-focused, and many of the cuts between fictional films and news footage illustrate a sickening similarity. Big Brother’s anti-Eurasia broadcast, for example, flows into justifications for invasions by George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin so seamlessly, it’s hard to tell where fantasy ends and reality begins. The use of language, so close to Orwell’s heart, is also effectively examined, with doublespeak phrases like “special military operation” and “pacification” called out for what they really mean. Peck, like Orwell, wants you to question and interrogate what you see and hear from those in power.

This, however, is where the film fumbles a little. There’s no doubting where on the political spectrum Orwell: 2+2=5 sits, so you know what you’re getting here. But even as Lewis speaks Orwell’s words about questioning your own side as thoroughly as you would the other, Peck offers no criticism of a liberal viewpoint. Left-wing politicians are conspicuous by their absence, escaping the film’s anger as if they made no contribution to our Orwellian present. There’s also a nagging feeling that none of this is new: it’s hardly original to say that we seem to be living inside Orwell’s nightmare visions these days. And the film offers little hope beyond a last-minute call for resistance. If you, like so many, feel overwhelmed and powerless right now, this might not be the feel-good movie for you.

“This isn’t just about sex,” Ashley (Adria Arjona) says at one point in Splitsville. It’s an apt line that could summarise the filmmaking partnership of actors/writers/producers/directors Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, whose previous feature, the 2019 cycling comedy-drama The Climb, also used a sexual affair as a gateway into exploring male friendship. Here, they move onto a bigger, splashier and more starry canvas to explore modern romance, tackling ethical non-monogamy and open relationships with more grace and shrewdness than you’d expect for a film that opens with a police officer questioning why a man has his penis out on the side of a motorway.

The film is essentially a tale of two couples: the newly divorcing Ashley and Carey (Marvin), and Carey’s best pal Paul (Covino), who’s in an open relationship with his wife Julie (Dakota Johnson). As new romantic dynamics are introduced, all their lives become increasingly entangled. Covino and Marvin represent two extreme sides of masculinity, the former’s alpha mentality playing off the latter’s more sensitive demeanour; they bounce off each other so well you could easily watch them bicker for hours. But the standout is Johnson, who excels in a film that knows exactly what to do with her talents. Showing wit, dryness and impeccable comedic timing, she slots neatly between these two immature men and comfortably walks away with most of the film’s laughs.

There is a confidence here that belies the fact this is only Covino’s second film behind the camera, with sequence after frenetic sequence showing directorial ambition rarely seen in a comedy.

There is a confidence here that belies the fact this is only Covino’s second film behind the camera, with sequence after frenetic sequence showing directorial ambition rarely seen in a comedy. A long take introducing a slew of overlapping romantic partners is a ridiculous highlight (while also doubling as an opportunity to showcase just how charming Adria Arjona can be); the showstopper, however, is an extraordinary fight scene between two jealous, emotionally immature men tearing their way through a house as pristine as an IKEA showroom, stopping only to deliver the lowest of verbal blows. Heightened by choreography so precise it could give John Wick a run for its money, it will have you howling.

Splitsville's unpredictability is one of its biggest virtues, and only occasionally a shortcoming. The plot zigs and zags, often jumping forward in time, keeping the ground moving beneath your feet. In the latter half, some of the storytelling can feel a tad messy — apt, perhaps, for a film about messy humans. While those jumps from silliness to sincerity can feel abrupt, it’s the raw chemistry between its four leads that keeps the suitably chaotic final act on track. And while the film ultimately appears to take one particular side in the central debate of ethical non-monogamy, Splitsville still opens its arms to love and relationships in all their many forms. It gleefully takes a jab at all of them, too — all the while never being above a well-timed penis joke.

They say that every time an Adam Sandler project is born, the movie gods flip a coin and the world holds its breath to see where it will land. Sometimes we get comedy Sandman (see: 50 First Dates, Hubie Halloween, The Wedding Singer), sometimes we get serious Sandman (see: Uncut Gems, Punch-Drunk Love, Spaceman), and more often than not the coin falls for the former. But following dramatic turns in Jay Kelly and the aforementioned Spaceman last year, it looks like Sandler is set to play it straight again in Time Out, Deliver Me From Nowhere director Scott Cooper's upcoming remake of Laurent Canter's 2001 French drama L'emploi Du Temps.

Set to see Sandler star alongside Willem Dafoe, Gaby Hoffmann, F. Murray Abraham, Steve Zahn, and Adam Horovitz, Time Out is a movie about a man at his wits' end, by his own design, stuck in an escalating scenario that threatens to ruin his life. In other words, it sounds like we're in for some stressed out Sandman à la Uncut Gems. The description of the film shared by Deadline reads as follows: "Based on the film L’Emploi Du Temps by Laurent Cantet and Robin Campillo, the pic follows Vincent (Sandler), who after being fired from his job can’t bring himself to tell his wife and family. Rather than reveal the truth, he spins a web of lies to conceal his situation. He escalates his lies further when he creates an investment scheme and asks friends to contribute, and the deception threatens to overwhelm his life and his family."

“I first encountered Laurent Cantet’s film in 2001, and it’s lived with me ever since,” Cooper said of Time Out, which is due to start shooting next month. “I’ve been thinking about revisiting it for years, but now felt like the right moment — we’re living in a time where questions of identity, work, and self-worth have become impossible to ignore.”

Considering how questions of identity, work, and self-worth are a common theme in both Cooper and Sandler's most recent movies, colour us very intrigued to see how the duo — backed by a stellar ensemble — set about taking a critically acclaimed work of French cinema and making it their own. One thing's for sure: we'll definitely be taking the time out to see Time Out when Time Out's out. (Now try saying that back twice as fast!)

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Streaming on: Apple TV

Episodes viewed: 8 of 10

TV’s under-the-radar masterpiece continues to go quietly from strength to strength. This is an alternate history of humanity if the USSR had landed on the moon first and the Space Race had become more marathon than sprint, and in its fifth season, it imagines a world that’s far more advanced than ours in many ways, but horrifyingly plausible in others.

Rather than a Star Trek-like, post-scarcity utopia, this world suffers the same problems of greed and petty rivalry as our own. There’s a Martian colony in 2013, sure, and they’re building a space elevator especially to delight watching sci-fi nerds, but there are also giant corporations underpaying workers and governments jockeying for position. Its closest relative is probably The Expanse, but even that has more extraordinary elements than this meticulously created alt-history. After all, it’s technically historical rather than futuristic; these Martians recently enjoyed ‘Gangnam Style’ and are still doing flash mobs.

If you spot a parallel to current controversies over AI, you’re probably bang on.

It’s filtered through the lives of vividly drawn characters, notably the Baldwin family: fading rebel patriarch Ed (Joel Kinnaman), his scientist daughter Kelly (Cynthy Wu) and her adult son Alex (Sean Kaufman). Deeply rooted on Mars, they’re perpetually at risk of Earth losing interest in her colony before it achieves self-sufficiency, while Kelly’s search for life on other planets sees her push to go even deeper into the solar system. She’s up against powers who would rather send an unmanned probe, always trying to remove the messy human element from progress. If you spot a parallel to current controversies over AI, you’re probably bang on.

That’s typical of the depth and richness of this series, which touches on capitalistic manipulation, geopolitical fuckery and police corruption, explored via Mireille Enos’ idealistic Mars Peacekeeper. Such big ideas are leavened by emotional whammies that verge on sentimentality, but given how hard this show jerks tears when it chooses, it’s at least effectively deployed.

Some might quibble over the old-age make-up now being applied to half the principal cast, but while a tiny suspension of disbelief is sometimes required, notably for the octogenarian Kinnaman, Cynthy Wu is still in her twenties and convincingly plays a 50-something, so there’s far more right here than wrong. And while large swathes of this season take place in the confined tunnels of the Mars colony, no show on TV is better at reminding us that there’s a great big solar system just outside — and no show is better at reminding us that it’s only our own silly fault we’re not pushing to get out there right now.

It may not be the first of September just yet, but the Potterheads among you don't have to wait a moment longer for a sneak preview of your latest trip to Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Following yesterday's Quidditch-y first look at Dominic McLaughlin's boy wizard in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV series — and ahead of HBO Max's UK launch tomorrow — the official trailer for the show's first season, now officially titled Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, has just been released. And you can catch a glimpse at what Mark Mylod and Francesca Gardiner's return to the Wizarding World has in store below;

Merlin's beard, there's a lot going on here! Firstly, it looks like the extended narrative space created by a season-per-book approach means fans will be getting to see much more of Harry's life with the Dursleys (Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby) and his troubled school days at St. Gregory's, with Dominic McLaughlin's Potter instantly having the ring of Radcliffe's look about him, albeit with perhaps slightly more book-accurate messy hair. But before we know it, Harry's had his Hogwarts letter and he's swiftly off to Diagon Alley with Hagrid (a very jolly Nick Frost), hopping aboard the Hogwarts Express, and arriving at the Wizarding school — given a new, more nature-infused look in the shots we see here. We also catch glimpses of Harry laughing and playing in the snow with Ron (Alastair Stout) and Hermione (Arabella Stanton), getting stuck into Herbology and Defence Against The Dark Arts classes, and taking to the Quidditch field.

And as if that all weren't enough, this first trailer also offers up tantalising teases of Paapa Essiedu's Professor Snape (who now comes with actual dreadlocks!), John Lithgow's Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer's McGonagall, and Anton Lesser's wandmaker Ollivander. Oh! And it looks like this is a proper period piece as well, with Harry's muggle threads and Aunt Petunia's hair-do screaming 90s, further underlining the book accurate approach being adopted here as HBO's 10-year project gets underway.

There's also some new first-look photos from the series to feast your eyes on, showing off more of the new cast in character (including Lox Pratt's Draco Malfoy) and the show's attention to detail in terms of costuming and production design. You can see those below;

Not only did Potterheads get their first proper look at the series today though, folks. The trailer also ends with the surprise reveal that contrary to rumblings of an expected 2027 release date, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone will actually hit HBO Max globally on Christmas Day. Wands at the ready!

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Everything about Ben-Hur is big. William Wyler’s 1959 adaptation of the 1880 Lew Wallace novel had – at the time of its production – the largest budget of any film, totalling over $15 million. It had gigantic sets, teeming with thousands of extras. It was shot on super-wide Panavision 65mm film, a vast cinematic canvas. And its story is an all-out odyssey – told across nearly four hours, including an overture, interval, and entr’acte – in which Charlton Heston’s Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur is wrongly accused of attempting to kill a Roman governor, is forced into slavery, sails across oceans, becomes a champion chariot driver, and goes in search of his long-lost family. All that, and it’s all set against the backdrop of the life of Jesus – making it a true Biblical epic. Now, for the first time, you can watch Ben-Hur in stunning 4K Ultra-HD.

It’s a film that every cinephile should experience – a shining example of the kind of historical opus that Golden Age Hollywood was founded on. It was very much intended that way; Ben-Hur had already been adapted as a 1925 silent film, and studio MGM imagined that making a new version could be a chance to outdo 1956 smash The Ten Commandments, even going to far as to cast that film’s Moses, Heston himself, in the lead role. It worked: Ben-Hur won 11 Oscars, made almost 10 times its huge budget on initial release, and earned rave reviews from critics too.

Today, Ben-Hur still stands as a must-see. For all the incredible feats that modern day filmmakers are capable of, there’s something about the sheer scale of Ben-Hur that remains staggering – the myriad faces crammed into the frame in the sprawling crowd scenes, the epic naval battle, the chariot race filled with thunderous stunts. Its influence can be felt in everything from the gigantic practical productions of Christopher Nolan’s work, to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (with its personal revenge plot set against a historical backdrop), to Star Wars(Episode I’s high-speed podrace is clearly inspired by Ben-Hur’s chariots).

On 4K, Ben-Hur has truly never looked better.

On 4K, Ben-Hur has truly never looked better – and it was already a visual masterpiece. Those stunning ultra-wide frames (it was shot in 2.76:1 aspect ratio; the image is nearly three times as wide as it is tall) are teeming with detail, while the use of Technicolor adds a vivid vibrancy. Take the rich reds and purples of the Roman gowns; the crisp blues of the ocean as Ben-Hur escapes his sinking galley; the verdant greens during the Sermon On The Mount. It all leaps off the screen.

Such visual mastery would mean little if Ben-Hur’s narrative wasn’t so compelling. But it boasts the kind of elemental storytelling that never diminishes; the story of a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, dealt a personal betrayal that sends his life way off course, forcing him to persevere in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds to make things right. While Ben-Hur and his Roman associate Messala (Stephen Boyd) start off as friends, they soon become mortal enemies; the simple act of a falling roof tile sees Ben-Hur accused of treachery against the Romans, which Messala capitalises upon to boost his own status, condemning Judah into slavery, and his mother Miriam and sister Tirzah to Roman captivity.

When Judah and Messala finally come head-to-head, it’s in the film’s most famous sequence: the chariot race, a jaw-dropping ten-minute action extravaganza that was over a year in the planning, all shot practically with real horses on real tracks, requiring Heston and Boyd to learn how to drive their chariots.

The results remain astonishing; fast, furious, and full of heart-in-mouth storytelling beats, the pure adrenaline compounded by the emotional stakes as Judah races against the man who wronged him years previously. Nearly seven decades on, the sequence has lost none of its power, and remains one of the greatest feats ever committed to celluloid.

Ben-Hur isn’t just a historical epic. It’s a Biblical epic, juxtaposing its own tale of a man’s turbulent life against the most extraordinary of backdrops: the life and death of Jesus. Throughout the film, Judah periodically comes into contact with Jesus of Nazareth, whose face is never seen; he’s more of a presence, who rewards Ben-Hur’s faith and resilience, at times offering divine intervention, all while facing his own trials and tribulations. Notably, the final reel, in which Ben-Hur seeks out the family he was forced to leave behind, plays concurrently with the crucifixion; all adding to the scope of the narrative, placing Ben-Hur in the lineage one of cinema’s most foundational genres.

Whether you’re watching Ben-Hur for the first or the tenth time, one thing’s for sure: you’ve never quite seen it look as good as it does in this brand-new 4K restoration.

Own it on 4K Ultra-HD or 4K digital, and revisit one of cinema’s all-time-greats – visit warnerbros.co.uk for more.

The world is changed. We feel it in the water. We feel it in the Earth. We... saw it via video on X. In marking Tolkien Reading Day, Warner Bros. took to its social channels (before we could even have second breakfast!) this morning to reveal that Andy Serkis' The Hunt For Gollum isn't the only Lord Of The Rings movie currently in the works at the studio. In a video featuring Peter Jackson and a "very special partner", we learned that Lord Of The Rings: Shadow Of The Past — co-written by Tolkien obsessive Stephen Colbert — is in active development now, too. See the video below;

Co-written by Colbert and his screenwriter son Peter McGee alongside Rings legend Philippa Boyens, Shadow Of The Past (which, by the by, is a working title) is set to bring Chapters III ('Three Is Company') through VIII ('Fog On The Barrow-Downs') of Fellowship Of The Ring — whose story is largely excised in Jackson's original movie — to life via a framing device set 14 years after Frodo sailed into the West. Yes, this is a Lord Of The Rings sequel... of sorts. The official logline reads as follows: “Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.” For those familiar but not forensic in their recollection of Tolkien's first Rings book, it seems prudent to mention that contained between Chapters III and VIII are 'The Old Forest' and 'In The House Of Tom Bombadil', so gird your loins and warm up your voices, friends!

Now we don't yet know whether Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan will be reprising their roles from the original trilogy here, though Colbert's framing device definitely lends itself to age-appropriate role reprisals on the trio's part. We also don't know who will direct the film yet — whether it be Jackson, The Hunt For Gollum's Andy Serkis, or somebody else entirely. We do however know that Colbert, his son, and Boyens have already been chipping away at Shadow Of The Past for two years now, and with Colbert's current late night talk show hosting duties about to come to an end, suddenly there's a very open slot in the Middle-earth lover's schedule to really crack on with this one.

With Fellowship Of The Ring back in cinemas this year for its 25th anniversary, The Rings Of Power Season 3 well on its way, shooting due to start on The Hunt For Gollum imminently, and now the promise of another Middle-earthian adventure with Shadow Of The Past, these are precious (precioussss...) times to be a Rings fan. We'll bring you more on Colbert's return to Middle-earth (yes, we remember your The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug cameo, Stephen) — and what Serkis is up to with Gollum — as soon as we hear more.

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As a wise Scouse former Mandarin imposter once sort of said, "Wonder Man isn't a job. It's a calling. It's the single most consequential thing that anyone could ever do with their life." Yes, we may have tweaked that phrase just a smidge, but it's clearly a sentiment that Kevin Feige and the top brass at Marvel Studios can get on board with. Per THR's reporting, aspiring actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his thespian BFF Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley) will return in Wonder Man Season 2, which has just gotten the green light at Disney+ following co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest's roundly critically acclaimed first season.

As THR — and the above post from Marvel Studios' X account — confirm, both Abdul-Mateen II and Kingsley will be back back back for more buddy-comedy/unexpectedly profound musings on life, art, and the pursuit of self-fulfilment in Season 2 of Wonder Man, with Cretton — whose next MCU gig, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, just dropped a very exciting first trailer — and Guest also returning at the helm. (For clarity, Cretton will be on directing and exec producing duties, while Guest will resume his roles as showrunner and exec producer also.) We've no word just yet on what the plot for Wonder Man's admittedly somewhat unexpected sequel may entail, but given how Season 1 ended — with *SPOILER ALERT* Williams stepping into his power to bust Slattery out of jail, presumably rendering both technically on the lam from the law (and, lest we forget, the DODC) — it'll be very interesting to see how Season 2 shakes out.

Despite having been somewhat unceremoniously dumped on Disney+ in one fell swoop back in January, Wonder Man has quickly come in for praise as a result of its subversive approach to the tried-and-tested Marvel formula, with the show itself really zeroing in on the relationship between Williams and Slattery while serving didactically as a tongue-in-cheek meta commentary on where we're at right now in the world of 'superhero fatigue'. In terms of where Wonder Man Season 2 could head though, the mind boggles at the possibilities. Could Williams' powers have mutant origins? Was the introduction of Doorman a *cough* backdoor tease for the Great Lake Avengers coming to the MCU? Could Von Kovak somehow go guerrilla and try and make Wonder Man 2 with actual Wonder Man? We guess we'll just have to sit a while and wonder, man... (sorry.)

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Kevin Feige may still be saying that Mahershala Ali's Blade will make it to the MCU eventually, but seven years on from the two-time Oscar winner's reveal as Marvel Studios' Daywalker elect, our dreams of seeing Ali's half-vampire mixing it up with the Avengers have been fading fast... until now. Well, sort of. You see, per Deadline's reporting, Mahershala Ali is about to team up with an Avenger, the esteemed Mark Ruffalo, just not in the MCU. Instead, the duo are set to star opposite each other in Season 2 of Brad Ingelsby's thrilling drama/dramatic thriller Task.

According to Deadline, HBO and Ingelsby had earnestly planned for Task to be a one-and-done limited series for the network á la Ingelsby's previous detective drama, Mare Of Easttown. However, between the first season having been met with rave reviews and significant viewing figures and both Ruffalo and Ingelsby feeling there was still more to explore with troubled FBI Agent Tom Brandis, a second outing quickly became an inevitability. Interestingly, this second season will see Ali enter the fray not as a criminal for Ruffalo's Brandis to get into a cat-and-mouse situation with, but as 'seasoned and well-respected' DEA agent Eddie Barnes, whose unit comes into conflict with Brandis' own as they get tangled up in a new, even murkier operation than last time out.

Suffice it to say, Tom Pelphrey — who so brilliantly played empathetic father (and unassuming-garbage-collector-turned-livewire-criminal) Robbie in Season 1 — will be one hell of a tough act to follow, and Deadline's reporting highlights as much in stressing how high Ingelsby and HBO set their bar when looking for a Season 2 co-lead. But in Academy Award winner, HBO's True Detective Season 1 MVP, and all-round generational talent Mahersala Ali, it would appear that Ingelsby and co have found someone truly capable of dealing with the Task at hand. Now we just have to deal with the task that is waiting for the new season to hurry up and get here. Watch this space...

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Marvel fans, we have an exciting few months coming up. Particularly, fans of street-level New York hero-dom. First up, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is arriving imminently on Disney+, bringing the latest adventures of Matt Murdock (and a returning Jessica Jones) to our living rooms. Later this summer, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will see Tom Holland don the mask after something of a hiatus, back on the big screen. And in between the two, there’s an additional treat: the long-awaited Punisher one-off special, with Jon Bernthal reprising the role that he began in Netflix’s Defenders-verse, and later revived in Born Again’s first season.

Now, we have an official title for the story: it’s called The Punisher: One Last Kill, and it’s directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, who co-wrote it with Bernthal himself. We know exactly when it’ll arrive on Disney+, set to stream on May 12. That’s one week after Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 comes to a close; since the characters have always been closely linked, perhaps there’s a narrative link-up between the two.

While Bernthal’s Punisher has spent plenty of time with Charlie Cox’s Daredevil on screen, he’s also set to share the screen with Spider-Man later in Brand New Day – so audiences are in for a triple whammy of interconnected stories.

One Last Kill will mark the third Marvel production under the ‘Marvel Studios Special Presentation’ banner, following Werewolf By Night and the Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special – and it remains to be seen whether a full Punisher series, or other Punisher stories beyond his Spidey appearance, will be on the way. Daredevil: Born Again has already had a third season confirmed; and, of course, we may see these characters again in December’s Avengers: Doomsday. Either way, it’s time to get your skull-adorned body armour back on.

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It's hard to believe it now, but beloved British children's animation Mr Benn — in which the eponymous, bowler hat wearing gent frequents a magical fancy-dress shop that sends him off, almost Doctor Who-like, on adventures through time and space — only actually ran for 13 episodes when it first aired on the BBC back in the early 1970s. Still, 13 episodes has proven more than enough to foster a half-century spanning love of the character and the concept, and — as we're learning today — it's proven enough to make a Mr Benn movie I Swear writer-director Kirk Jones' next project.

Per a press release issued by 48 Films, BeaglePug Ltd, Jackpot Productions, and One Story High this afternoon, the live-action adaptation of Mr Benn is in active development now, with casting for the lead and supporting roles expected to get underway later this year ahead of a planned 2027 shoot. For Jones, who'll be returning to a family focused milieu for the first time since 2005's Nanny McPhee, this is a project with personal ties and big aspirations. "I adored Mr Benn as a child and immediately saw the importance of introducing him to a new generation, in a live action adventure," shared the writer-director in a statement accompanying today's announcement. "Mr Benn finds a unique way to travel through time and space, visiting historical and futuristic worlds to solve apparently monumental problems, with kindness, compassion and common sense. Following on from I Swear, I am keen to work on a project that is humorous and entertaining, whilst at the same time, in a world full of distractions, helps focus on what is important. If all goes to plan, Mr Benn might even save the world.”

The family of David McKee, the creator of Mr Benn, said in their own collective statement, "The Mr Benn film project has been close to our hearts for many years, it was something our father would often talk about, he was keen to see it happen. It has picked up momentum over time and the pieces have gradually come together. We’re absolutely thrilled to now have Kirk Jones on board to help guide it in the right direction and we are really excited about going back to Festive Road, where we grew up.”

Inspired by fables, with a lead whose suited and booted style represented his creator's love for Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy, Mr Benn is, by design, something of a timeless character with infinite possibilities for adventure laid out in front of him. We look forward to heading back to Festive Road with him very soon.

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Ready for a peek inside Hogwarts? Work is still well underway on HBO’s new adaptation of Harry Potter, telling the original stories of The Boy Who Lived in televisual form. But the first official look at the show has just been unveiled. We’ve already seen its young stars – Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton, playing Harry, Ron and Hermione respectively – in a cast shot, and many unofficial paparazzi photos have circulated from production. But this is it: our first actual official look at the show itself.

That is, of course, McLaughlin’s Harry Potter in his Quidditch robes, ready to step up as Seeker in the Gryffindor team, having become an instant whiz at the Wizarding World’s favourite sport. In the background you’ll see Gryffindor and Hufflepuff banners, and another banner hailing Gryffindor ‘Beaters’, Fred and George Weasley. The image was posted on the official Harry Potter social channels, simply stating: ‘Tomorrow’. Expect, then, a first teaser trailer to debut on March 25 – coinciding with the launch of HBO Max in the UK.

The Harry Potter series comes from showrunner Francesca Gardner, and has Mark Mylod on board as producer, with Hans Zimmer contributing to the score. John Lithgow has been cast as Dumbledore, with Nick Frost as Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu as Professor Snape, and Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall. The first season, adapting The Philosopher’s Stone, is expected to arrive in 2027.

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Do you wanna see our 13 Going On 30 news? Totally have it! 22 years after the world first fell in love with wishful — and then wish-fulfilled — teen Jenna Rink in Gary Winick's Gen Z fave teen movie, Netflix is cracking open a pack of Razzles and going all-in on a feature-length 13 Going On 30 reboot. Per Deadline's reporting, People We Meet On Vacation star Emily Bader is stepping into Jennifer Garner's rainbow-striped dress to star as Jenna alongside Logan Lerman (Bullet Train) in the new movie. What's more, Garner is aboard as executive producer while Bader's People We Meet... director Brett Haley is attached to helm.

Haley is set to direct 13 Going On 30's latest reimagining (there has also been a musical take on the source, naturally) from a script by Mark, Mary & Some Other People scribe Hannah Marks. While plot specifics on the reboot are being kept under wraps for now, we'd imagine this new movie will stick to the story that has made the original such a beloved pop cultural touchstone: for those unaware, 13 Going On 30 follows Jenna Rink, a twelve-year-old who goes to bed the night before her 13th birthday wishing she was 30, only to wake up and find her wishes have come true. The wrinkle, of course, is that as a teen trapped in a woman's body, Jenna now finds herself trying to navigate womanhood and her own sense of self at the same time, all while realising her true feelings for childhood bestie Matt. It's an endlessly quotable coming-of-age classic, and one ripe for the retelling as YA movies continue to be as popular — and needed — as ever.

“13 Going on 30 is one of those rare, perfect films. Funny, emotional, deeply human, with unforgettable performances from Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo and Judy Greer. I’m a longtime fan, so stepping into this reimagining comes with tremendous responsibility," said director Haley of the project in a statement to Deadline. “Jennifer Garner being on board as an executive producer, after playing such a big part of what made the original special, is especially meaningful. I also couldn’t be more excited to reunite with Emily Bader after People We Meet on Vacation. She and the amazingly talented Logan Lerman are a magical pairing. I feel incredibly lucky to be trusted with something that means so much to so many people.”

Will 13 Going On 30's reboot have us all feeling thirty, flirty, and thriving? Will we see Bader and Lerman busting out some killer 'Thriller' choreo by the time the credits roll? Can lightning hit twice for such a beloved early noughties classic? We'll just have to make a wish now and see what happens when we wake up (in probably about 1-2 years' time — we don't actually have a release date.) In the meantime, we're busting out the OG for a rewatch!

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Ordinarily, news of a spin-off movie from a live-action Disney remake wouldn't exactly be the hottest news in town (no offence Gaston.) However, news of a spin-off movie from a live-action Disney remake being directed by one third of The Lonely Island and co-written by three thirds of last year's positively hilarious The Naked Gun reboot... well that's something to shout about. Deadline is reporting that Akiva Schaffer is reteaming with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand to tackle Stepsisters, a movie which will — you guessed it! — give Cinderella's hissable twosome Anastasia and Drisella the spotlight in their own feature film.

Now, technically speaking, it's unclear whether Stepsisters is a spin-off of Kenneth Branagh's Lily James and Richard Madden starring 2015 movie (in which Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger played Drisella and Anastasia), or if it's a live-action movie directly spinning off from the OG 1950 Disney animation. Regardless, we do know that Schaffer, Gregor, and Mand — who've previously delivered the goods for Disney with 2022's underrated, lol-filled Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers — are retooling this take on Cinderella's spiteful siblings from an original script by Tangled scribe Michael Montemayor. We also know, in news that will come as a surprise to approximately nobody, that this isn't about to be some gritty, horror-inflected pivot from Disney (for a horrifying ugly stepsister tale, give Oscar nominated Norwegian body horror The Ugly Stepsister a try): this is very much a firmly comedic take on Drisella and Anastasia.

The prospect of an Akiva Schaffer helmed riff on Cinderella's dreadful side-villains is undoubtedly an exciting one, and fits with where the House of Mouse's energy is being focused just now. Stepsisters joins a pipeline that already includes a Moana live-action remake, the aforementioned Gaston movie, a live-action Tangled retooling, a non-animated Lilo & Stitch 2, and a Paul King Prince Charming joint. Here's hoping these movies and the serious bank they will surely make might also help fund more original movies too as new Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro sets out his vision for the company’s future. Every day’s Christmas Eve, folks!

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When you see 'AI' in a headline on an entertainment outlet's website these days, usually something depressing awaits — but stick with us here as we've actually got some AI-related news that isn't all doom and gloom for a change. Firstly, as you may have seen on social media already, OpenAI's controversial AI video generation app Sora is being shut down. Secondly, per THR's reporting, a knock-on effect of Sora's fall is that Disney is now exiting the $1 billion deal made with OpenAI last year to invest in Sora and license masked, animated, and non-human characters from the House of Mouse for content creation purposes.

Having initially launched as a bonus for ChatGPT Pro and Plus users in December 2024, Sora really came to prominence with the launch of Sora 2 and associated iOS/Android apps late last September. Within days of launch, the generative AI platform's content flooded social media with plagiarism-heavy content featuring well-known figures and IP, leading to OpenAI rapidly rolling back some of its most alarming potential infringements and returning greater control of IP and likenesses to rights holders. Six months later, Sora is no more (or at least soon to be.) "We’re saying goodbye to Sora," reads a statement on the app's social channels. "To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing."

In response to the shock Sora sunsetting announcement, a Disney spokesperson had the following to say: "As the nascent AI field advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere. We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators.”

With all of the above being said however, while there are people out there who will no doubt see today's news that you probably won't be making Darth Vader fight Mickey Mouse while Rocket Racoon provides running commentary anytime soon as a small victory for human creativity and artists globally, that isn't the end of the story — not by a long chalk. OpenAI is still continuing to support video generation on its ChatGPT platform and Disney is still committed to 'continue to engage with AI platforms'. The future of cinema — and television for that matter — then remains very much poised on a knife's edge. But at least there's been a bit of non-depressing news about AI in our beloved world of film and TV, eh?

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Having spent the last decade making documentaries on JFK, Putin, the climate crisis, and more, three-time Oscar-winning Platoon and Born On The Fourth Of July director Oliver Stone has finally returned to narrative feature filmmaking at the ripe old age of 79. Per Deadline's reporting, Stone's long-gestating, generations-spanning family drama White__Lies, something of a radical departure from the filmmaker's most famous works, has officially entered production with Josh Hartnett (Oppenheimer, Trap) leading the line in the starring role.

Once floated as a potential Benicio Del Toro starrer back in 2018, White Lies — written and directed by Stone — has taken a long time to get off the ground, with Stone himself having previously commented that part of the struggle is a result of being 'blacklisted' from Hollywood following some of his more controversial political views and documentarian pursuits. The actual movie itself however sounds like a far more personal and introspective work from Stone, whose usual purview is far grander and, yes, politically driven fare. Described to Deadline as a story about "family, loss and pain, and how love can change shape in the course of our lifetimes,” White Lies "follows Jack Freeman (Hartnett), a child of divorce now repeating his parents’ mistakes in his own marriage and with his own children. Feeling trapped, he embarks on a lust-filled journey to free himself — only to find himself more lost than before. When he meets a woman whose life is the opposite of his own, he begins an unexpected journey of rediscovery.”

With principal photography underway and shooting set to take place internationally across Rome, Bangkok, and Sofia, there is a sense that Stone, despite his half-century plus of directorial experience, is heading into uncharted territory here. Speaking to Deadline, the director said as much himself. "After nearly 10 years away from features, I feel really like I’m starting again, as when I made Platoon and Salvador in 1986," Stone told the trade. "White Lies will find its natural home, because it’s an eternal story of love." Added star Hartnett: "Oliver explores a universe in White Lies that feels personal and entirely new material from a filmmaker I have long admired and am excited to work with.”

Stone's last narrative movie, Snowden, released in 2016 to mostly positive reviews. In our own critique of the film, Jimi Famuwera praised the way "Stone skilfully demystifies one of the Obama era’s most compelling stories", remarking of the film that it represented "a welcome return to form for a cinematic sleeping giant." With Hartnett starring, a story straight from the heart to tell, and cameras now rolling, it would certainly seem that the cinematic sleeping giant is ready to awaken once again.

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Streaming on: Disney+

Episodes viewed: 8 of 8

The construction of Daredevil: Born Again’s first season was infamously Frankensteinian. A creative overhaul mid-production — complete with new writers and stronger ties to Daredevil’s Netflix incarnation — was the right call, but it left a patchy, incomplete residue in its wake. With its sophomore effort, returning showrunner Dario Scardapane has the benefit of presenting one unified vision from beginning to end. The result is a season that’s not only better than its immediate predecessor, but in some ways as good as Daredevil has ever been on screen.

As ever, the biggest reasons for that are Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio. As Daredevil — now clad in a black-and-red suit, with comics-accurate interlocking Ds — and Fisk, they routinely plumb the depths of their characters’ emotions, even when the writing is broadly familiar.

Speaking of hitting hard, the brutal action is a consistent highlight.

As their eternal psychological chess game continues, Scardapane interrogates some depressingly relevant political themes: whether evidence still matters, the cost of integrity, and how even the smallest act of rebellion can make an impact. When Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force sticks random New York citizens into vans for no reason at all, it’s hard not to think about what’s happening in the real world, and it makes everything hit that much harder.

Speaking of hitting hard, the brutal action is a consistent highlight. While it doesn’t aim for the ambitious long takes that helped put Daredevil on the map when it first debuted, there are multiple beautifully shot and immaculately choreographed sequences that leave their mark. Many of them involve Benjamin Poindexter, aka Bullseye (Wilson Bethel, having more fun in the role than ever before), for whom everything in his vicinity is a potentially lethal weapon.

More standout action sequences arrive when Daredevil teams up with Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter). One of the few positives in The Defenders was their fun dynamic, and it’s a geeky delight to see them share the screen again, especially as it unlocks Daredevil’s lighter side.

It all leads to a conclusion that feels much more satisfying and consequential than the cliffhanger of Born Again’s first season, shaking things up in a way that we haven’t seen before while paving the way to the future with a few familiar faces. If it’s as strong as this batch of episodes, it’s cause for excitement.

Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2

Appearances really can be deceiving. Take Pokémon Pokopia — at a glance, this looks like an adorable Pokémon life sim, right? Wrong: spend even a little time with this unassuming chill-out title and you’ll uncover one of the darkest narrative edges the developer Game Freak has ever delivered.

Playing as a Ditto — the shape-shifting glob of goo most players use for breeding stock in core Pokémon games — you find yourself in a fallen world, the familiar towns and villages that pepper Pokéarth left in ruins, utterly devoid of humans and Pokémon alike. Able to transform into a humanoid form and guided by a Tangrowth filling the traditional “professor” role, you set about rebuilding, hoping to draw Pokémon back and find out what happened to humanity. That’s right: this is post-apokélyptic.

Thankfully, possessing both opposable thumbs and the power to copy other Pokémon abilities, you’re able to set about rebuilding society. First you’ll rescue a Squirtle, learning its Water Gun ability, which allows you to refresh parched plants, attracting a Bulbasaur, who in turn teaches you how to grow grass with its Leafage skill. This chain extends through the game, and as you learn more moves, you can create more habitats, which attract ever more Pokémon to move in.

While you’ll only learn key moves for your Ditto from a few of your newfound friends, most residents have category skills that can help in the grand reconstruction project. Sometimes that’s literal, with the likes of construction ‘mon Gurdurr being able to use “build” to erect or repair structures and facilities, while many fire-type Pokémon can use “burn” to light candles or process materials in furnaces, turning sand into glass or metal ores into ingots, used to craft ever-more elaborate items. It provides a unique twist on the series’ monster-catching ethos as a result, aiming to attract Pokémon with skills you need for building rather than battling. Pokopia packs in 300 Pokémon from the past 30 years of mainline games (including a few twists on old favourites, like Mosslax, a moss-covered Snorlax, and Peakychu, a literally off-colour Pikachu), and while there’s no need to “catch ‘em all”, the more you attract, the more flexibility you’ll have.

Structurally, Pokopia is a mélange of Minecraft’s entirely transformable terrain, with the whole world being formed of destructible cubes; Story Of Seasons’ resource gathering and crafting; and, perhaps most obviously, Animal Crossing’s focus on community building. It’s more ambitious than all of those though, as there’s not just one world to terraform or island to beautify, but multiple vast regions to uncover — four main areas with a degree of guided redevelopment to move you through the plot, ephemeral “Dream Islands” you can temporarily visit to find rarer materials, and a blank slate territory (with a very familiar name to long-time fans) that you can restructure however you want.

...it makes Animal Crossing look restrictive in comparison.

Completing objectives set by Professor Tangrowth or other key characters opens up the new core areas, each presenting a different biome, and all tied to Pokémon lore. That narrative thread gives a welcome through-line that many crafting games lack, while still giving players the freedom to design their fiefdoms around it as they see fit.

It all makes for a real showcase of the Switch 2’s power – given the original Switch struggled with the open areas of 2019’s Pokémon Sword/Shield, the vast maps here that can be reshaped cube by cube feel almost magical in comparison. Meanwhile, Ditto can learn literally thousands of crafting recipes for decorations and structures, from simple wooden stools to complex infrastructure, allowing players to tweak designs and layouts to such ridiculously fine detail that it makes Animal Crossing look restrictive in comparison.

That precision is also Pokopia’s biggest problem though, making for a frankly dangerous time sink. It’s the new undisputed master of wickedly addictive gameplay loops, an endless stream of effortlessly charming quick tasks — “I’ll just make that habitat”, or “I’ll just mine a bit more of that resource”, or “I’m almost done on this quest”, or… — that chain together into sleepless nights and lost weekends. It’s a problem exacerbated by both real time waits for major construction work to complete in-game (although even the worst culprits only seem to take until the next day, mercifully), and the often painfully slow pace that villager Pokémon tend to follow you at. Movement speed varies by species, but when you need to take one to a specific facility to use their ability or assign them to a build project, and they’re lagging half a map behind you, it makes the whole game feel unnecessarily padded.

It would be immensely frustrating if not for the fact that Pokopia is so genuinely compelling. Despite its gentle pace and adorable aesthetics, the dark melancholy that runs underneath it all — the Pokémon wondering aloud why their humans left them, the hints you’ll uncover of what caused the end of the world, the smaller character moments tinged with sadness — helps give this an edge that the series has never had before. It’s Pokémon like you’ve never seen it, and all the better for it – you just might need to take some time off work before throwing yourself in.

We may not have a guest in the studio on this week's Pilot TV Podcast (though we have got a heck of a guest who's just stopped by the studio coming on very soon...), but fear not dear listener: we've still got quite the week of telly to get stuck into all the same. Yes, James Dyer, Steph Seelan, and Boyd Hilton are on fine form and fired up in the pod booth for the latest Pilot as we go full Scandi noir with Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole on Netflix, adapting the author’s insanely popular Norwegian crime novels. Meanwhile, Riz Ahmed is exploring the life of a struggling actor (who just so happens to be in the frame to play James Bond) in Bait on Prime Video, and after a year of waiting patiently, we FINALLY get to see The Pitt land on our tellys as HBO Max makes its UK debut. And if all that isn’t enough, there are extensive discussions on Louis Theroux’s journey Into The Manosphere, Boyd’s take on this year’s Oscars broadcast, and ambient TV soundtracks for public bathrooms. What more could you possibly ask for?

Watch this week's podcast below;

Not a video kinda podcast purveyor? No worries, you can listen to this week's episode — which, if you're counting, is #380 — on your podcast app of choice. Also, if you want to subscribe to Pilot TV+, where you'll find an extra episode of the pod every week, gain early access to our latest episodes, and cut out all those pesky ads, then you can find all the details here — it takes the place for Peak TV podcasting to a whole other level.

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Operation 'Make Piles Of Cash' is in full effect, people. Following last week's news that Kirsten Dunst has joined A Minecraft Movie's sequel, quite literally paying off a viral comment she made last year about wanting to finally make a movie that doesn't lose money, the Oscar nominee has only gone and found herself another buzzy, sure-to-be-bankable sequel to board. Per Deadline's reporting, Dunst is set to star alongside Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid's Secret, director Paul Feig's upcoming sequel to twisty book-based thriller The Housemaid.

Set to adapt the second book in Freida McFadden's bestselling Housemaid series, The Housemaid's Secret — which, once again, boasts a script from screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine — will see Sweeney's sort of undercover vigilante Millie back to uncover dark secrets in another outwardly beautiful, inwardly rotten gaff. This time out, rather than *SPOILER ALERT* sparring/teaming up with Amanda Seyfried to deal with a Brandon Sklenar shaped monstrous hair fetishist *SPOILER OVER*, Sweeney's Millie takes a job housekeeping for Wendy Garrick, a secretive figure she isn't actually allowed to meet. And whaddayaknow? Mrs. Garrick's house has an ominous locked door hiding a few secrets that'd make even our dear Millie shudder. As you can see in the below tweet from The Housemaid's account, Dunst will be playing the elusive Mrs. Garrick in the movie. She'll also be joined by Michele Morrone's stalwart Enzo in The Housemaid's Secret's line-up.

“It is a privilege to bring The Housemaid’s next chapter to the screen with Kirsten Dunst. She is an icon. Her career reflects extraordinary range and fearlessness,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Erin Westerman in a statement accompanying the buzzy casting announcement. “Opposite the ever-magnetic Sydney Sweeney, she will be an electrifying force in a world where nothing is ever quite as it seems.”

Given the $400 million+ box office success of The Housemaid, and the legion of fans already knees-deep in McFadden's Housemaid books, we reckon Dunst has backed another winner with her second big casting of the last fortnight. Now we just have to wait to find out whether The Housemaid's Secret is one worth sharing. Here's hoping!

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Even in her own time, Enid Blyton was not the coolest or most respected children’s author, but her Magic Faraway Tree books tap into childish fancies like almost nothing else. The problem is that there isn’t a plot among them. Mostly cute things happen, with frequent stops for sweeties, cakes and new toys. This cinematic adaptation needed magic of its own, then, and works as well as it does thanks to Paddington screenwriter Simon Farnaby, who finds gentle wit and an emotional centre even when the sugar rush threatens to nauseate.

Things starts promisingly. Polly (Claire Foy) resigns from her corporate job on a point of principle (involving a fridge voiced by Judi Dench), and she and her husband Tim (Andrew Garfield) decide to risk it all on a pasta sauce business in the countryside. Their older children – Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) and Joe (Phoenix Laroche) – are appalled, but the near-silent youngest sister Fran (Billie Gadsdon) blossoms in the new environment, especially after an encounter with a fairy, Nicola Coughlan’s perfectly pitched Silky. Yes, their new home is on the edge of an enchanted wood where a gigantic magical tree houses a host of extraordinary characters and provides a portal to adorable worlds as they float past. Led by Fran — in the tradition of Narnia’s Lucy — the kids are soon visiting lands filled with sweets, birthday cakes and other delights, shepherded by an eccentric band including Silky, Nonso Anozie’s rather pompous Moonface, and Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), a bloke dressed entirely in kitchenware.

There’s just enough heart and humour to make this enchanting.

The added character beats for the Thompson parents provide the backbone of a narrative — will this dysfunctional family learn to work together? — but even Farnaby struggles to reconcile such sincerity with the wacky characters in the woods, who resist all attempts to suggest real depth or substance. For every moment with Polly making a gentle attempt to get through to her kids, every laugh-worthy line, there are two bits involving weirdos with outrageous hair.

Director Ben Gregor sensibly doesn’t desaturate the ‘real’ world to make the VFX-bathed enchanted world shine brighter, but does make some odd design choices: the Land Of Birthdays — the one every kid remembers from the books — is now dark and rather grim, while the reform school of Dame Snap (Rebecca Ferguson, hastily crammed into the last act) is bathed in sunshine. Then again, some counter-intuition is necessary to leaven the tweeness of Blyton’s books; the film blithely refuses to question the idea, regressive even in the 1930s, that all an unhappy kid needs is some fresh country air. Still, even a family that’s at odds for no real reason needs to come back together, and there’s a sweet optimism in showing that it’s possible.

Richard E. Grant and Claire Foy are two actors with a little experience when it comes to playing folk living in grand, secret-filled, somewhat problematic big houses. Richard E. Grant has Saltburn, Death Of A Unicorn's Leopold estate, and Gosford Park in his housing portfolio already, while Foy's got both Buckingham (The Crown) and Hampton Court Palace (Wolf Hall) in her back pocket. Now, in writer-director Peter Glanz's darkly comic period piece Savage House, the duo are teaming up to play powdered wig wearing Sir Chauncey and corset rocking Lady Savage, a pair of bourgeois rotters looking to get ahead in 18th century England. Check out the trailer below;

Buckets of excrement, wonderfully decadent finery, and Richard E. Grant calling Bel Powley a "dirty little piggy" as she sucks her finger — what more could one possibly ask for from a historical satire called Savage House? Oh, some actual inkling of the plot? Well we can give you that — don't worry. The official synopsis for the movie reads: “Set against the backdrop of eighteenth century England, a massive pox outbreak, and Jacobite uprising – this is a timely and darkly satirical story of Sir Chauncey Savage (Grant) and Lady Savage (Foy) and their blind pursuit of a better life. It is not without a tinge of irony that their family name is the Savages, for this is a Savage House indeed. Filled with duels, decadence, and bloodshed, this is a madcap play on class and power.”

Also co-starring Bel Powley (A Small Light), Jack Farthing (The Lost Daughter), Kila Lord Cassidy (The Wonder), Richard McCabe (Napoleon), Vicki Pepperdine (Poor Things) and Pip Torrens (The Iron Lady) — aka a veritable who's who of "Oh yeah, it's him/her off of such-and-such historical drama" — there's no shortage of talent behind Savage House. And, what's more, we do love a good trouncing of the historical and enduring insanity of the class divide. So with that being said, consider us seated and ready if not to eat the rich, then to at least eat popcorn while laughing at them, when Paramount Pictures' Savage House hits cinemas in June.

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For six years now, horror fans have been waiting for Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come – Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s follow-up to theircult slasher classic. And Empire VIPs got an exclusive first-look at the film in a members-only screening, followed by a live Q&A with its directors. The film sees original Scream Queen Samara Weaving return, this time joined by her sister, played by Kathryn Newton, as they find themselves hunted down by a bunch of bloodthirsty elites – including icon and famed vampire slayer Sarah Michelle Gellar, who didn’t let the directors forget her Buffy roots. Needless to say, heads roll as a fresh game of hide-and-seek reaps more gory results.

In the Q&A, the filmmakers revealed that having The Slayer in the cast meant they had to get creative with the weaponry, as Gellar had used almost every weapon imaginable during her Buffy years. “It happened with every weapon we gave her,” they told Empire. “We had a crossbow as her weapon for a minute, and Sarah was like, ‘Guys, Buffy had a crossbow!’” To up the ante in some of the film’s bigger, more explosive set-pieces, the duo even introduced a rocket launcher into the film. Bettinelli-Olpin says Gellar had a quick response: “‘You know I used a rocket launcher’”. (See Season 2 episode ‘Innocence’)

Across films like Ready Or Not, Scream and Abigail, the directing pair have worked with plenty of icons, including Courteney Cox and Neve Campbell. Now they can add David Cronenberg, Elijah Wood and Gellar to that list. Gillett spoke about the chance of collaborating with such legendary actors. “We’ve only ever met our heroes and ever had the most wonderful and lovely experience,” he told the Empire VIPs. Not bad considering they’ve covered those heroes in buckets of blood.

With the directing duo set to tackle a follow-up to The Mummy next, who knows – maybe they’ll need Sunnydale’s finest in the cast to add some bite.

Sign up for an Empire VIP Club membership and find yourself truly immersed in the best of Hollywood entertainment. As well as getting the world’s biggest movie magazine through your letterbox each month, you’ll receive access to every episode of the Spoiler Special podcast, plus invites to regular preview screenings and Q&As, getting you in the same room as A-list stars and legendary directors (we’ve had everyone from Ryan Gosling to James Cameron swing by). Whether it’s a membership for yourself or a gift for the movie fanatic in your life, VIP treatment is assured. Join from £8.99 a month!

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Nicholas Brendon, star of all seven seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Sundance cult classic Psycho Beach Party, and Criminal Minds among dozens of other projects across film and television, has sadly died at the age of just 54. Brendon passed in his sleep, of natural causes, as confirmed by his family in a heartfelt statement shared via THR.

The statement from the Brendon family reads as follows: "We are heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon. He passed in his sleep of natural causes. Most people know Nicky for his work as an actor and for the characters he brought to life over the years. In recent years Nicky has found his passion in painting and art. Nicky loved to share his enthusiastic talent with his family, friends and fans. He was passionate, sensitive, and endlessly driven to create. Those who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was. While it’s no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing. Our family asks for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart. Thank you to everyone who has shown love and support.”

Born on 12 April, 1971 in Los Angeles, just three minutes after his identical twin brother Kelly Donovan, Nicholas Brendon Schultz grew up with dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. However, having been diagnosed with a stutter at around the age of 7 and lost the passion for baseball as a young man, Brendon both literally and figuratively found his voice — and his calling — in the creative arts, taking up acting in his early twenties first and foremost as a means to help manage his speech impediment.

At the age of 25, at something of a professional, personal, and creative crossroads, Brendon read for the role of one Xander Harris in the pilot episode of a supernatural coming-of-age series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Having hated high school himself, and clocking early on that Xander may have been something of an authorial insert for showrunner and series creator Joss Whedon, Brendon saw an opportunity for himself in the show — and the show's creative team clearly saw an opportunity for the show in him, as he was swiftly cast as a core member of the Scoobies.

Across seven seasons, 144 episodes, and a slew of ill-advised romances with rich girls, besties, and ex-demons, Brendon brought a real everyman, blue-collar quality to Xander Harris. Though by no means a model gent by modern, perhaps somewhat more enlightened standards, Xander is of vital importance to the Scoobies and the series as a whole, an easily underrated hero whose humanity — whose willingness to run to the danger even with no powers of his own to call upon — offers an invaluable bridge for us as an audience between our world and Buffy's. And lest we forget Xander's many, many fine speeches over the years too — his 'yellow crayon' speech to Willow in 'Grave', his 'one who isn't chosen' speech in 'Potential' are real highlights. Xander is a real "his heart is in the right place" kind of guy, and it seems fitting that this will be the role Brendon, for all his demons and struggles in the real world, will be remembered for.

While Buffy was the indelible high-point of his screen career, Nicholas Brendon remained creatively active well past his Sunnydale High School days. As well as starring in the aforementioned Psycho Beach Party alongside a young Amy Adams and being a welcome recurring presence as FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch in Criminal Minds, Brendon also starred in Anthony Bourdain memoir adaptation Kitchen Confidential at Fox, trod the boards opposite Noah Wyle in Lobster Alice at LA's Blank Theatre Company, and even premiered his own web comic, Very Bad Koalas, back in 2010.

Despite having very publicly faced deeply troubling issues with mental illness, substance abuse, and the law during the last two decades of his life, THR's reporting notes that Nicholas Brendon's inner circle had felt optimistic that he'd turned a corner in recent years, and despite having gone through the trauma of a heart attack and diagnosis with a congenital heart defect in 2023, his outlook and attitude were positive heading into his 50s. In the aftermath of Brendon's passing, his Buffy co-star and on-screen best friend Alyson Hannigan took to Instagram to pay tribute to her friend, poignantly sharing a photo of Xander and Willow in the above-mentioned 'Grave' and writing, "My Sweet Nicky, thank you for years of laughter, love and Dodgers. I will think of you every time I see a rocking chair.  I love you. RIP."

Alike his Buffy co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, who sadly died aged only 39 last February, Nicholas Brendon has left this world far too soon. And also alike Michelle Trachtenberg, Nicholas Brendon is destined be remembered by a whole generation for his contributions to popular culture, with future generations sure to find and fall in love with his work in Buffy and beyond. Our thoughts are with his friends, family, and loved ones at this difficult time.

We're not sure what exactly we expected might be next from Peter Farrelly, the American filmmaker whose hits include Dumb & Dumber, Shallow Hal, Ricky Stanicky, and actual Oscar winner Green Book. Suffice it to say, a FIFA World Cup movie in which Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser play a couple of marketing execs who head out to Brazil with high hopes of securing sponsorship for a *checks notes* full coverage cock-and-balls condom, only to spark global outrage and wind up on the run from cops, criminals, and lovers of the beautiful game alike was not it. Still, as the trailer for the Prime Video comedy attests below, this could actually be a bit of a cheeky comic blast;

Now that's a whole lotta trailer people! We've got a clean-shaven PWH pitching a prophylactic that accommodates "the penis and the testicles". We've got PWH ruining Brazil's World Cup hopes by rugby tackling a hot dog shaped mascot with a condom on its head. We've got Wahlberg, PWH, and actual Benjamin Bratt piled into a clapped out car trying to escape the country while mad footy fans threaten to go full The Purge, criminal underworld dwellers circle, and actual alligators close in on them. And we've even got Sacha Baron Cohen in a bad wig, with an even worse accent, playing some sort of semi-camp Brazilian answer to Tony Montana. Seriously, what more could a comedy loving football fan with a puerile sense of humour ask for?

Oh, a synopsis would help? Well, sure. Here's the official synopsis for Balls Up: "In this raunchy, over-the-top comedy, marketing executives Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser) go “balls out” and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive."

Also featuring the likes of Eric André, Daniela Melchior, and Molly Gordon, there's no shortage of funny bones in Balls Up's cast. We'll see whether Peter Farrelly's latest is nuts in a good way — or if it's, er, a load of balls — when the movie hits Prime Video on 15 April. (And no, we don't know why this imaginary FIFA World Cup is being held in Brazil, in 2025 — a non-World Cup year. Frankly, we have bigger questions that need answering here...)

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When pop muses The Pussycat Dolls first sang the lines, "Be careful what you wish for 'cause you just might get it," we wonder whether they could've ever predicted that 18 years later, Oscar nominee Kirsten Dunst's wishes would be coming true in front of all of our eyes. Yes, having jokingly told Town & Country Magazine last year that she'd love to be in A Minecraft Movie's upcoming sequel because A) her kids love the first film, and B) she'd love to make a load of money ("Maybe I can just make a movie where I don’t lose money?” Dunst said at the time), Deadline is reporting that Dunst is indeed joining Jared Hess' A Minecraft Movie 2.

Having most recently starred in Derek Cianfrance's Roofman, Alex Garland's Civil War, and Jane Campion's The Power Of The Dog, three great but admittedly less than money-spinning movies, A Minecraft Movie's sequel will represent a real change of pace for Dunst. In fact, this will be Dunst's first fully fledged franchise outing since Spider-Man 3 way back when in 2007. Plot details, as you'd suspect, are firmly under wraps for our return to the mines at this point in time, though The Wrap has shared that Dunst is set to play Alex, one of the primary available avatars in Mojang's video game juggernaut, in the film. What's more, we also know that Dunst — who we'll next be seeing in Triangle Of Sadness director Ruben Östlund's The Entertainment System Is Down — will be joined by Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Danielle Brooks, Matt Berry and Jennifer Coolidge in the sequel.

The first Minecraft movie was a bona fide box-office juggernaut, grossing a colossal $961 billion worldwide as fans went cuckoo for chicken jockey, "I am Steve!", and the collective phenomenon that has been yearning for the mines. We suspect that Dunst will make that pile of cash — and then some — that she wished for when A Minecraft Movie's sequel hits cinemas on 23 July, 2027. And frankly, we are here for it.

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If all the buzz around Project Hail Mary and Steven Spielberg's upcoming Disclosure Day has left you stargazing more than usual of late, then boy do we have some good news for you. Per THR's reporting, writer-showrunner Maggie Cohn's (The Staircase) limited series The Challenger, an adaptation of Meredith E. Bagby's The New Guys — which chronicles the never-before-told story of NASA's 1978 astronaut class — has been picked up at Prime Video. And what's more, Kristen Stewart is attached to star in what will be her first major TV role, playing legendary American astronaut and physicist Sally Ride.

Already two years deep into development, with Slow Horses alum James Hawes attached to direct, Cohn's series has a two-fold focus. Firstly, the drama is set to tell the story of how Sally Ride became the first American woman in space; and second, the series is also set to go beyond that journey and explore Ride's role as part of the commission tasked with investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion of 1986, a tragedy that claimed the lives of all seven crew members after the shuttle broke apart just 73 seconds into its flight.

Prime Video's official description of The Challenger reads: “As the members of the 1986 Rogers Commission interrogate the complex inner workings of NASA to find what, or who, was responsible for the Challenger’s doomed fate, the show explores commission member Sally Ride’s personal journey. We follow Sally, and the rest of the diverse Astronaut Class of ’78, through the ranks of the shuttle program, through initial recruitment and training, professional and personal highs and lows, until Sally’s historic glass ceiling moment as she becomes the first American woman in space.”

Having just seen Stewart handle the complexities of a brilliant, trailblazing woman whose history is marked by tragedy from behind the camera with her deeply moving directorial debut The Chronology Of Water, it will be fascinating to see her move back to being in front of the camera to portray another herself. Only time will tell however if this one features a cameo from Rocky... watch this *ahem* space!

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Chuck Norris – actor, and beloved star of action cinema – has passed away at the age of 86, his family has confirmed. They described his death as “sudden”, and have asked to keep the circumstances private, though he was recently hospitalised in Hawaii.

“To the world, he was a martial artist, actor, and a symbol of strength. To us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family,” Norris’ family said in a statement. “He lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved. Through his work, discipline, and kindness, he inspired millions around the world and left a lasting impact on so many lives.”

Norris rose as an action star through the ‘70s and ‘80s, first appearing in Bruce Lee’s The Way Of The Dragon in 1972. He was synonymous with the tough-guy cinema of the period – specialising in martial arts, as a black belt in Karate, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu, and judo – in films like Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing In Action, The Octagon, and The Delta Force. In the ‘90s, he became a TV icon in the series Walker, Texas Ranger, a show inspired by his own role a decade previously in Lone Wolf McQuade, starring as Sergeant Ranger Cordell Walker across nearly 200 episodes.

Through his action movies and TV fame, Norris garnered a reputation as an unstoppable force – even his name became one of the earliest memes at the dawn of the internet, extolling him as the ultimate paragon of toughness. In his later years, this notoriety saw him memorably cameo in 2004 comedy Dodgeball, and brought him into Sylvester Stallone’s Avengers-of-‘80s-action-heroes saga The Expendables, appearing in the second film in 2012 as Booker, ’The Lone Wolf’.

In the hours since Chuck Norris' passing, many of the man's friends and peers have been paying taking to social media to pay tribute to a bona fide legend. Sylvester Stallone remembered a true American original on Instagram, sharing, "I had a great time working with Chuck. He was All American in every way. Great man and my condolences to his wonderful family." Elsewhere, Dolph Lundgren also took to Instagram to reflect on the passing of an inspirational figure in his formative years. "Chuck Norris is the champ," writes Lundgren. "Ever since I was a young martial artist and later getting into movies, I always looked up to him as a role model. Someone who had the respect, humility and strength it takes to be a man. We will miss you, my friend." And another of Norris' The Expendables 2 co-stars, Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote of "an icon" on X, posting: "I am grateful that I was able to work with him in multiple ways over the years, from promoting fitness to sharing the screen together. He was a badass, in real life and in Hollywood. His legend will be with us forever. My thoughts are with his family."

For decades already, Norris’ cinematic output has given him legendary status in the popular consciousness; and it will do for many more decades to come. Our thoughts are with his friends, family, and loved ones.

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Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes? Because St. Patrick's Day was earlier this week, and to celebrate the man who drove all the snakes out of Ireland ("you alright in the back there, lads?") this week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Beth Webb discuss some of their favourite snake moments in films. (Or fillums, if you will.) Then, our intrepid quartet get their parseltongues into the week's deluge of movie news, including the Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Dune: Part Three trailers — and they also look back at the 2026 Oscars as well. Reviews-wise, Phil Lord & Chris Miller's Project Hail Mary, Radio Silence's Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come, Ugo Bienvenu's Arco, and Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire are given the once-over, while the wonderful Lord and Miller are this week's guests, sitting down for a lovely natter about puppets, space, and much more with Chris. [55:48 — 1:10:19 approx.] Oh, and James edges closer to a new nickname. Enjoy!

And if all of the above isn't quite enough Empire Podcast for you, then there's plenty more where that came from. You can listen to this week's episode (which, if you're counting, is #709) on the pod app of your choice. There, you'll also find the latest episode of new Empire Pod regular The Interviews, the most recent instalment of which boasts chats with Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come star Samara Weaving and directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Marianne Faithfull docudrama Broken Flowers filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, and Hoppers duo Daniel Chong and Nicole Paradis Grindle.

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It’s the little things that make people fall in love: small kindnesses and moments of beauty, certainly, but also flubs and foibles and failings. Unfortunately, it’s all that texture, those hints of depth and complexity, that are missing from the latest Colleen Hoover novel adaptation, a romance novel with every edge sanded down to a shiny, flat nothingness.

The premise suggested a little more conflict than we get: Maika Monroe’s Kenna returns to Wyoming after years in prison, hoping to establish contact with the young daughter she hasn’t met since birth. But little Diem’s (Zoe Kosovic) paternal grandparents (Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford) want nothing to do with the woman they blame for killing their son Scotty (Rudy Pankow). Meanwhile, Kenna sparks with their neighbour Ledger (Tyriq Withers). But he’s the best friend of her late boyfriend and a sort of surrogate dad to Diem, and struggles to reconcile the monstrous stories he’s heard about Kenna with the woman he’s attracted to.

If Withers comes off as likeable, that’s only because he does his best to convey that his character does have flaws somewhere —we just haven’t seen them here.

Director Vanessa Caswill has done lots of solid TV, like the BBC’s Little Women adaptation, but here there’s little for her to muster but two beautiful young people trying and failing to stay away from one another against the stunning backdrops of the Wyoming mountains. They have lots of angst about how their relationship could impact Diem, her grandparents and the memory of the late Scotty, but mostly that takes a backseat to some boringly written flirting. The leads do their best, but Monroe seems a little uncomfortable with the sheer lack of substance. If Withers comes off as likeable, that’s only because he does his best to convey that his character does have flaws somewhere —we just haven’t seen them here.

Every problem in this film could be solved by a 15-minute sit-down between the four key characters — and in fact pretty much is, in the end — and that makes all the dithering feel forced. It’s commendable to decide that no-one has to be an outright bad guy, because that’s true to life, but if you’re so committed to realism, you might want characters with psychological depth and complexity and fewer lingering shots of cut-off jeans and yearninggazes.

Martin McDonagh's first movie, In Bruges, found two contract killers killing time in Belgium. The Irish playwright and filmmaker's last film, The Banshees Of Inisherin, found two pals coming undone on a rural island against the backdrop of major historical upheaval. Wild Horse Nine, McDonagh's next dark comedy, looks to be something of a full-circle moment then as John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell play two CIA agents sent by their boss (Steve Buscemi) to Easter Island just before the Chilean coup of 1973. Suffice it to say, if the first trailer's anything to go by then Malkovich and Rockwell aren't in for a sunny Oceanian vacation... check it out below;

Bickering killers, lovely scenery, a vague air of portent, and the promise of dark secrets and unexpected diversions (hello Parker Posey! Hello Tom Waits!) — yeah, we're thinkin' McDonagh's back! And if potty-mouthed Rockwell and loose-lipped Malkovich's first encounter with students Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas are a taste of what's to come ("Your country's gonna get fucked!" blurts out a blotto Malkovich after spilling that he's CIA; "Your country's gonna be absolutely fine," Rockwell vainly recovers), then the stage is set for another blackly humorous provocation from one of modern cinema's great provoc-auteurs.

The official synopsis for McDonagh's movie reads: "Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are dispatched from Santiago to Easter island by their bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). Amongst the Island's iconic statues, and as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris's newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways."

First floated back in 2021 with Christopher Walken and Oscar Isaac in the mix to star alongside McDonagh regular Rockwell, then revived with Mark Ruffalo aboard in early 2025, and now finally in the can with Malkovich set to enter the filmmaker's illustrious rogues' gallery, Wild Horse Nine is gathering some real buzz that this first trailer suggests is set to pay off and then some. We'll find out whether McDonagh's made another, er, killer when the Oscar winner's latest hits cinemas later this year.

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The last time Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence teamed up, they were astronomers trying to avert the apocalypse in Adam McKay's climate crisis satire Don't Look Up. Things are noticeably chillier — and the vibe is far more Don't Look Now — in the newly dropped first look at the duo in Martin Scorsese's upcoming Apple-backed adaptation of Peter Cameron's What Happens At Night, a ghost story centred around a married couple whose journey to Europe to adopt a baby takes some unexpected turns. With production officially underway as of today, you can see Leo and JLaw feel a chill below;

Brrr — we don't care how hotly anticipated What Happens At Night and the prospect of Marty back in his Shutter Island milieu may be, you can positively feel the cold from this first shot of the legendary auteur's latest. And honestly, we fully expect the chills will be here to stay the course in the movie itself if the source material's anything to go by. Adapted for screen by Patrick Marber (Notes On A Scandal), What Happens At Night — as mentioned above — sees DiCaprio and Lawrence star as a couple traveling through Europe looking to adopt a child. The kicker is that when they stop at their hotel, the spouses, caught in a liminal/almost purgatorial space, are met with a cavalcade of oddballs — including, per the novel's synopsis, "a flamboyant chanteuse, a depraved businessman, and a charismatic faith healer" — who leave them questioning each other and their relationship. Spooky, eh?

Following Leo and JLaw's recent powerhouse performances in 2026 Oscars Best Picture winner One Battle After Another and Lynne Ramsey's Die My Love respectively, both of which in starkly contrasting ways put the stresses of parenthood under the microscope, we are very intrigued to see what What Happens At Night has in store. And with the likes of Mads Mikkelsen, Patricia Clarkson, and Jared Harris among the ensemble, a cracker of a novel providing the source material, and actual Marty himself at the helm, consider our attention grabbed and curiosity piqued for this one.

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Scooby-Dooby-Dod (fans), where are you? We got some news for you now. After the first piece of Netflix's live-action Scooby-Doo series' Mystery Inc. puzzle fell into place last month, with franchise queen McKenna Grace joining as a young Daphne Blake, it was only a matter of time before we found out who else would be joining her aboard the Mystery Machine. And now, per Deadline's reporting, we do indeed know who'll be playing Shaggy, Fred, and Velma in Scott Rosenberg and Josh Appelbaum's origin series.

As the trade shares, The Pitt's Tanner Hagen will play lovable stoner Shaggy Rogers in the show, with Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret breakout Abby Ryder Fortson set to star alongside as booksmart Velma Dinkley and Maxwell Jenkins (Lost In Space, Sense8) attached to don Fred Jones' iconic orange neckerchief. Plot specifics of Rosenberg and Appelbaum's Mystery Inc. origin story are largely being kept under wraps for now, but we do have a broad official synopsis, which reads: "During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets."

With Stranger Things' emotional final season having already been and gone, Chloé Zhao's Buffy The Vampire Slayer revival cancelled at Hulu just this past weekend, and Tim Burton's Wednesday already three seasons deep now into its run and unlikely to go far beyond that, there's a real gap in the market just now for a supernatural coming-of-age series that could grow and grow and grow. Could a live-action Scooby-Doo series be just what the streaming doctor ordered? With it having been over two decades now since the Mystery Inc. crew's last major non-animated outing (2002's Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed), the jury's still out. But with this casting, this franchise, and so much material to draw on and riff off, we're ready to get a clue and lock in. Watch this space!

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The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival marked co-stars Samuel Bottomley and Séamus McLean Ross’ first time in Canada, and they were determined to make an impression. “We gave a can of Irn-Bru to Ethan Hawke,” enthuses McLean. “I just went up to him and said, ‘I’m such a big fan. Here’s a can of Irn-Bru.’ He was kind of like (makes a suspicious face), ‘Er, thank you very much.’”

The pair were there for the world premiere of California Schemin’, James McAvoy’s directorial debut, in which they play early ’00s Scottish rap duo Silibil N’ Brains. Based on a true story, the film follows the best friends’ rise from Dundee call-centre workers to international music sensations, after temporarily fooling the world with fake American accents.

This is McLean Ross’ first film role — having studied at London’s Guildhall School Of Music & Drama, his biggest gig to date had been Starz spin-off series Outlander: Blood Of My Blood, which premiered last year. As Brains, aka Gavin Bain, he plays the less confident of the duo, who is most comfortable spitting bars behind closed doors. “I love the idea of the secret passions we all have,” he tells Empire. “I can really connect with that [idea of] playing by yourself.” Meanwhile 24-year-old Bottomley, who plays affable Billy Boyd (stage name Silibil), has been on film sets since he was nine. His first appearance was in Paddy Considine’s exceptionally dark 2011 directorial debut Tyrannosaur, starring opposite Olivia Colman and Peter Mullen as a young boy from an abusive home. “I remember feeling like it was one of the first times that I’d been in a place where everyone understands me,” he remembers. “I felt like it was my place.”

He later branched out into TV, which led to a recurring part in BBC coming-of-age show Ladhood in 2019. The three-series comedy, about a group of aimless teen boys growing up in their Yorkshire hometown, sees his character Ralph try (and fail) to freestyle in his mate’s bedroom. Today the actor recites the lyrics from memory, laughing: “I’ve got a gun in my house / I’ve got some bitches and crack and a mouse!”

Thankfully the lyrics in California Schemin’ are, for the most part anyway, more evolved. The co-stars even had to write their own raps as part of the audition process. “[Séamus’] ended up making it into the film, but mine had Gary Glitter in it,” confesses Bottomley.

The roles were demanding; as well as finessing their rhyming skills and skipping between Scottish and American accents, they also had to learn to perform for a crowd as Silibil N’ Brains land a record deal and an ever-growing fanbase. “When we shot at Barrowland (Ballroom, the historic Scottish venue) we were cooked,” McLean Ross remembers. “We came in dead early in the morning, had four bottles of Lucozade, glucose pills. We did one take of singing [Silibil N’ Brains’ track] ‘Superhero’ and we were exhausted.”

Beneath their characters’ personas, the actors see a little of themselves in Gavin and Billy. “As an actor you can have bouts of self-doubt, because it’s a vulnerable experience,” says McLean Ross when discussing Gavin’s early bouts of stage fright. “But I think vulnerability is the good shit. It’s the truth.” On set, he was grateful for his co-star’s presence as they started to develop their characters. “He’s so chill, and I’m a bit of a worrier,” he explains. “I need to do some prep, but Sam can just do it.” Bottomley recalls some advice he gave McLean Ross ahead of them shooting a scene together: “Just do one take where you don’t give a fuck. Do one where you don’t care if it’s a good take or bad take.”

Indeed, as Billy, Bottomley brings the kind of boundless confidence he mined for Ladhood and, to a darker extent, in Molly Manning Walker’s teen drama How To Have Sex, in which he plays a magnetic but sinister vacationer. “I think with How To Have Sex, the confidence came from an insecure place. [He’s] overcompensating,” muses Bottomley. “Whereas that with Billy, it’s pure joy and love and being completely comfortable with who he is.”

When introducing California Schemin’ in-person to audiences, McAvoy has said he wanted to make a fun, working-class Scottish movie about characters who come from a similar background to himself. It was a mission that rang true with fellow Scot McLean Ross, whose parents are vocalists for much-loved homegrown rock band Deacon Blue. “I think we’re so oversaturated with American and English TV shows that our sense of humour doesn’t really land here,” he explains. “And I think we’re pretty funny, and we’ve got some good stories to tell.” Bottomley, meanwhile, felt drawn to a story about people who don’t come from a place of privilege. “[I] did a film with Jack O’Connell [2012’s Private Peaceful], and that was the first time that I’d seen a young, working-class lad being able to do it properly,” he says. “I’ve not seen him in years but I’ve always wanted to let him know how much he inspired me to carry on doing it.”

Another actor who made a more recent impact on Bottomley was Daniel Day-Lewis, with whom he co-starred in 2025 drama Anemone. The pair play father and son and only share one scene, but as Bottomley didn’t meet his on-screen dad until they were face-to-face on camera, it was an experience he’ll remember forever. “I don’t want to be disrespectful, but the only film I’d seen him in was Gangs Of New York. So [I didn’t expect] this old man, with white hair. I looked at him like… ‘Wow,’” he remembers, still stunned. When they finished filming, Bottomley went over to meet him: “I always tell people how great that handshake was — it was the firmest I’ve ever had, but not too overpowering.”

Having shared screentime with one of the greatest living actors, and with both boys taking on their first starring roles in California Schemin’, you have to wonder what comes next. McLean Ross wants the chance to do an American accent again, like he did as Gavin. “Growing up watching American TV — and for all the faults I mentioned earlier, it being oversubscribed to — I used to be a kid talking in an American accent,” he says. “And I just want to go into that world. I’m watching Breaking Bad at the moment and it looks like so much fun.”

For Bottomley, working with actors-turned-directors like Considine and McAvoy has inspired him to turn to filmmaking. “I remember having this conversation with James and he said, ‘Just hold off, because when I was your age I wanted to do it as well, but then I looked at some directors and thought that I couldn’t do that.’” Yet Bottomley is choosing to respectfully ignore that advice. “I’d like to get directing as soon as possible,” he admits, smiling. Time to get schemin’.

The Show: Trespasses

“It’s a Channel 4 show set in Belfast. I love the script and the acting — Tom Cullen’s performance is mesmerising.”
Séamus McLean Ross

The Album: Favourite Worst Nightmare – Arctic Monkeys

“It’s fucking unbelievable. I don’t listen to much new music anymore as it’s all regurgitated, but Arctic Monkeys albums are great.”
Samuel Bottomley

The Podcast: The Rest Is Politics

“It’s quite boring and middle-aged, but I’m obsessed.”
Séamus McLean Ross

The Book: A Song Of Ice And Fire – George RR Martin

“I’ve just finished [the five-part novel series of] Game Of Thrones for the seventh time. Every time I’m figuring out something more [about the story].”
Samuel Bottomley

This article originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of Empire. Photography by Marco Vittur, shot exclusively for Empire in London. California Schemin’ is in UK cinemas from April 18.

The annals of cinema history are filled with great movie trilogies — from The Godfather and The Lord Of The Rings to How To Train Your Dragon, Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy, and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight triptych. And before this year is through, we may yet have completed another. No, we're not talking about the release of Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three, but rather Aardman Animation's Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom! Following the joys of 2014's Chaplinesque Shaun The Sheep: The Movie and 2019's extraterrestrial follow-up Farmageddon, ewe-rated stop-motion scares are on their way this Halloween as Shaun and the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm face shear terror... of the decidedly fluffy variety. Check out the trailer below;

A family-friendly Aardman Animation 'horror' movie, releasing in the legendary studio's 50th anniversary year, with Shaun The Sheep front and centre? We don't know about you, but that sounds pretty un_bleat_able to us. Having already nailed the spooky season/fluffy monster/all ages silliness combo once before with the Oscar winning Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, the Bristolian animation studio is returning to familiar territory with The Beast Of Mossy Bottom — albeit this time with a mad scientist sheep for a lead, and an altogether more unknowable claymated creature running amok. The movie's official synopsis confirms that Mossy Bottom sees "the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm looking forward to Halloween – until the clumsy Farmer trashes the Flock’s beloved pumpkin patch! When Shaun turns mad scientist to fix the problem, things rapidly spiral out of control... With The Farmer missing and a wild beast roaming the woods of Mossingham, all the ingredients are in place for a monstrously fun family adventure."

Written by Mark Burton (Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Paddington in Peru, Shaun The Sheep Movie) and Giles Pilbrow (Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas), and directed by The Flight Before Christmas' Steve Cox with co-director Matthew Walker (Lloyd Of The Flies), The Beast Of Mossy Bottom has no shortage of thumby and funny craftspeople at its helm. We'll find out whether it's woolly good stuff, simply ovine, or a baad idea when Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom rams UK cinemas on 18 September. (Sorry not sorry for all of the sheep puns.)

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Do you remember a few months back when we shared the news that Rush Hour 4 is in the works at Paramount following a nudge from sitting POTUS — and apparent action-comedy stan — Donald Trump? And do you remember how, in that same article, we also mentioned that the Home Alone 2 star apparently wanted more movies like Jean-Claude Van Damme's cult classic MMA flick Bloodsport? Well, we're sure Mr. President will be thrilled to hear that A24 is stepping into the remake ring for a fresh take on Bloodsport from I May Destroy You creator Michaela Coel.

Per Variety's reporting, Michaela Coel — next to be seen playing an art forger in Steven Soderbergh crime comedy The Christophers — has signed on to write and direct A24's reimagining of Newt Arnold's 1988 movie. For those who may not yet have been acquainted with Bloodsport and JCVD's Frank Dux, the movie follows military man Dux as he quits the army to fight in Kumite, the ultimate to-the-death MMA tournament. Whether Coel's take on the source will emulate that plot is unknown at this point, but the writer-director is certainly pumped to get stuck in. "“I have long been in awe of fighters, and astounded by the discipline, intensity and isolation the sport demands of them,” said the in-demand multi-hyphenate in a statement accompanying the movie's announcement. "I am excited to explore this world, especially so with A24 as my collaborators. LET’S FUCKING GO.”

Set to be produced by Marc Toberoff, who has also shared his own excitement about "bringing back that high-energy tournament format to the big screen again", Coel's Bloodsport is coming off the back of something of a mini-boom in fighting shows and movies — from Mortal Kombat and the upcoming Street Fighter movie, to Cobra Kai and The Smashing Machine. We look forward to seeing whether Coel's full-contact reimagining of Bloodsport can deliver another knockout for A24. (And if Trump wants to do something good, we wouldn't say no to a request for The Nice Guys 2... just sayin'.)

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