PREDATOR: BADLANDS Star Elle Fanning Reveals New Details

predator: badlands debuts trailer at cinemacon. still from prequel film Prey

The Predator franchise continues with director Dan Trachtenberg’s (the excellent prequel Prey, and 10 Cloverfield Lane) Predator: Badlands, with The Neon Demon actress Elle Fanning starring. The actress took to the CinemaCon stage to debut the trailer. The footage has not yet been released online, but it did reveal some interesting details, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Elle Fanning will play Thia, a character who, rather than fight against the film’s Predator, will team up with the alien hunter. “Something unprecedented happens in this movie, and my character is not the one being chased,” Fanning told CinemaCon’s audience. “My character actually teams up with the Predator, and you get to see him in a whole new light.”

This follows what director Trachtenberg previously revealed of his film, saying: “The creature is front and centre, leading the charge. He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally, too. Creating a character you connect with, but are also super-intimidated by, has been challenging. But exciting.”

As previously reported, Predator: Badlands won’t be the only Predator film releasing this year, as 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell teased that there’s another unnamed feature set to release before Badlands. Details on this other film are near non-existent.

The Predator franchise kicked off with the action-horror classic in 1987. That was followed by sequels Predator 2, Predators, The Predator, and the prequel Prey, as well as the two Alien vs. Predator movies.

Predator: Badlands releases in cinemas on November 7th, 2025. Stay tuned for when the trailer releases online.

TRON: ARES Trailer Debuts Red Laser-Packed Footage

tron: ares trailer footage features red suited guards

An official trailer for the long-awaited sequel to 2010’s Tron Legacy, Tron: Ares, has dropped. It sees Jared Leto portray a highly sophisticated program, Ares, “who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.”

The original 1982 film’s star, Jeff Bridges, is heard in the trailer’s voiceover: “Ready? Because there’s no going back.” This trailer release follows Leto and Bridges introducing a teaser at CinemaCon last week.

Bridges starred in the original Tron as a video game designer who is transported inside his own creation and teams up with Tron, a security program. The 2010 sequel brought back Bridges but took on a generational approach to the story by bringing in new characters. Tron: Ares, however, will focus on the emergence of a sentient program in the human world.

The project is directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) from a script by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne. The movie also stars Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan and Gillian Anderson. Leto, Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Emma Ludbrook and Steven Lisberger produce, while Russell Allen executive produces. The famed rock band Nine Inch Nails is scoring the film.

The film releases in cinemas on October 10th. Check out the Tron: Ares trailer below:

2025 Hugo Awards Finalists Announced

Logo for the Seattle Worldcon 2025, where the 2025 Hugo Awards will be held.

The nominees for the 2025 Hugo Awards have been announced. The winners will be announced at Seattle Worldcon 2025.

The Hugo Awards is a major indicator of the state of science fiction, as Worldcon members tend to be the genre’s most dedicated fans. They consume a great many new works of science fiction every year and are willing to travel across the world to attend genre book conventions. For this reason, the Hugos are followed closely by fans and professionals alike. 

Note that Dune: The Musical did get enough votes to be nominated, but was judged ineligible as previews began in 2023 during its development cycle, a rule that makes things a little challenging for theatrical work looking to be nominated.

Congratulations to everyone nominated. 

The full list follows:

Best Novel

  • Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit US, Tor UK)
  • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press, Sceptre)
  • Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tordotcom)
  • Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (DAW)
  • A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (Tor)
  • The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey, Hodderscape UK)

1078 ballots cast for 554 nominees, finalists range 90 to 157

Best Novella

  • The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
  • The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom)
  • Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)
  • The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar (Tordotcom)
  • The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Tordotcom)
  • What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire)

739 ballots cast for 209 nominees, finalists range 75 to 135

Best Novelette

  • “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld, May 2024)
  • “By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars” by Premee Mohamed (Strange Horizons, Fund Drive 2024)
  • “The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea” by Naomi Kritzer (Asimov’s, September/October 2024)
  • “Lake of Souls” by Ann Leckie in Lake of Souls (Orbit)
  • “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)
  • “Signs of Life” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 59)

394 ballots cast for 188 nominees, finalists range 36 to 58

Best Short Story

  • “Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones (Lightspeed Magazine, Jan 2024 (Issue 164))
  • “Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 56)
  • “Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 57)
  • “Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)
  • “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine, May 2024 (Issue 168))
  • “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J. Kim (Clarkesworld, February 2024)

610 ballots cast for 673 nominees, finalists range 32 to 110

Best Series

  • Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga Press)
  • The Burning Kingdoms by Tasha Suri (Orbit)
  • InCryptid by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
  • Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
  • The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books)
  • The Tyrant Philosophers by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Ad Astra)

621 ballots cast for 201 nominees, finalists range 57 to 90

Best Graphic Story or Comic

  • The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (Graphix)
  • The Hunger and the Dusk: Vol. 1 written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Chris Wildgoose (IDW Publishing)
  • Monstress, Vol. 9: The Possessed written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)
  • My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book 2 by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way written by Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio (IDW Publishing)
  • We Called Them Giants written by Kieron Gillen, art by Stephanie Hans, lettering by Clayton Cowles (Image)

265 ballots cast for 259 nominees, finalists range 13 to 37

Best Related Work

  • “Charting the Cliff: An Investigation into the 2023 Hugo Nomination Statistics” by Camestros Felapton and Heather Rose Jones (File 770, February 22, 2024)
  • r/Fantasy’s 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge (r/Fantasy on Reddit), presented by the r/Fantasy Bingo team: Alexandra Forrest (happy_book_bee), Lisa Richardson, Amanda E. (Lyrrael), Arka (RuinEleint), Ashley Rollins (oboist73), Christine Sandquist (eriophora), David H. (FarragutCircle), Diana Hufnagl, Pia Matei (Dianthaa), Dylan H. (RAAAImmaSunGod), Dylan Kilby (an_altar_of_plagues), Elsa (ullsi), Emma Surridge (PlantLady32), Gillian Gray (thequeensownfool), Kahlia (cubansombrero), Kevin James, Kopratic, Kristina (Cassandra_sanguine), Lauren Mulcahy (Valkhyrie), Megan, Megan Creemers (Megan_Dawn), Melissa S. (wishforagiraffe), Mike De Palatis (MikeOfThePalace), Para (improperly_paranoid), Sham, The_Real_JS, Abdellah L. (messi1045), AnnTickwittee, Chad Z. (shift_shaper), Emma Smiley (Merle), Rebecca (toughschmidt22), smartflutist661
  • “The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel” by Jenny Nicholson (YouTube)
  • Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll (University of Minnesota Press)
  • Track Changes by Abigail Nussbaum (Briardene Books)
  • “The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion” by Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford (Genre Grapevine and File770, February 14, 2024)

431 ballots cast for 209 nominees, finalists range 28 to 95

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  • Dune: Part Two, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Legendary Pictures / Warner Bros. Pictures)
  • Flow, screenplay by Gints Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža, directed by Gints Zilbalodis (Dream Well Studio)
  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, screenplay by George Miller and Nick Lathouris, directed by George Miller (Warner Bros. Pictures)
  • I Saw the TV Glow, screenplay by Jane Schoenbrun, directed by Jane Schoenbrun (Fruit Tree / Smudge Films / A24)
  • Wicked, screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, directed by Jon M. Chu (Universal Pictures)
  • The Wild Robot, screenplay by Chris Sanders and Peter Brown, directed by Chris Sanders (DreamWorks Animation)

610 ballots cast for 217 nominees, finalists range 80 to 219

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

  • Fallout: “The Beginning” written by Gursimran Sandhu, directed by Wayne Che Yip (Amazon Prime Video)
  • Agatha All Along: “Death’s Hand in Mine” written by Gia King & Cameron Squires, directed by Jac Schaeffer (Marvel, Disney+)
  • Doctor Who: “Dot and Bubble” written by Russell T Davies, directed by Dylan Holmes Williams (BBC, Disney+)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks: “Fissure Quest” created by Mike McMahan and written by Lauren McGuire based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, directed by Brandon Williams (CBS Eye Animation Productions for Paramount+)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks: “The New Next Generation” created and written by Mike McMahan, based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, directed by Megan Lloyd (CBS Eye Animation Productions for Paramount+)
  • Doctor Who: “73 Yards” written by Russell T Davies, directed by Dylan Holmes Williams (BBC, Disney+)

451 ballots cast for 302 nominees, finalists range 31 to 59

Best Game or Interactive Work

  • Caves of Qud, co-creators Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat; contributors Nick DeCapua, Corey Frang, Craig Hamilton, Autumn McDonell, Bastia Rosen, Caelyn Sandel, Samuel Wilson (Freehold Games); sound design A Shell in the Pit; publisher Kitfox Games
  • Dragon Age: The Veilguard produced by BioWare
  • The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom produced by Nintendo
  • Lorelei and the Laser Eyes produced by Simogo
  • Tactical Breach Wizards developed by Suspicious Developments
  • 1000xRESIST developed by sunset visitor 斜陽過客, published by Fellow Traveller

298 ballots cast for 187 nominees, finalists range 19 to 34

Best Editor Short Form

  • Scott H. Andrews
  • Jennifer Brozek
  • Neil Clarke
  • Jonathan Strahan
  • Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
  • Sheila Williams

322 ballots cast for 165 nominees, finalists range 28 to 80

Best Editor Long Form

  • Carl Engle-Laird
  • Ali Fisher
  • Lee Harris
  • David Thomas Moore
  • Diana M. Pho
  • Stephanie Stein

162 ballots cast for 89 nominees, finalists range 15 to 40

Best Professional Artist

  • Micaela Alcaino
  • Audrey Benjaminsen
  • Rovina Cai
  • Maurizio Manzieri
  • Tran Nguyen
  • Alyssa Winans

214 ballots cast for 209 nominees, finalists range 14 to 37

Best Semiprozine

  • The Deadlands, publisher Sean Markey; editors E. Catherine Tobler, Nicasio Andres Reed, David Gilmore, Laura Blackwell, Annika Barranti Klein; proofreader Josephine Stewart; columnist Amanda Downum; art and design Cory Skerry, Christine M. Scott; social media Felicia Martínez; assistant Shana Du Bois.
  • Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and Valerie Valdes, assistant editors Premee Mohamed and Kevin Wabaunsee, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart, producers Summer Brooks and Adam Pracht; and the entire Escape Pod team
  • FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, publisher and executive editor DaVaun Sanders, poetry editor B. Sharise Moore, art director Christian Ivey, acquiring editors Rebecca McGee, Kerine Wint, Egbiameje Omole, Emmalia Harrington, Genine Tyson, Tonya R. Moore, sponsor coordinator Nelson Rolon
  • khōréō, produced by Zhui Ning Chang, Aleksandra Hill, Danai Christopoulou, Isabella Kestermann, Kanika Agrawal, Sachiko Ragosta, Lian Xia Rose, Jenelle DeCosta, Melissa Ren, Elaine Ho, Ambi Sun, Cyrus Chin, Nivair H. Gabriel, Jeané Ridges, Lilivette Domínguez, Isaree Thatchaichawalit, Jei D. Marcade, M. L. Krishnan, Ysabella Maglanque, Aaron Voigt, Adialyz Del Valle Berríos, Adil Mian, Akilah White, Alexandra Millatmal, Anselma Widha Prihandita, E. Broderick, K. S. Walker, Katarzyna Nowacka, Katie McIvor, Kelsea Yu, Lynn D. Jung, Madeleine Vigneron, Marie Croke, Merulai Femi, Phoebe Low, S. R. Westvik, Sanjna Bhartiya, Sara Messenger, Sophia Uy, Tina Zhu, Yuvashri Harish, Zohar Jacobs
  • Strange Horizons, by the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective
  • Uncanny Magazine, publishers and editors-in-chief: Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; poetry editor Betsy Aoki, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

334 ballots cast for 94 nominees, finalists range 38 to 108

Best Fanzine

  • Ancillary Review of Books, editors Jake Casella Brookins, Zachary Gillan, Lane Gillespie, Misha Grifka Wander, Gareth A. Reeves, Bianca Skrinyár, Cynthia Zhang
  • Black Nerd Problems, editors William Evans and Omar Holmon
  • The Full Lid, written by Alasdair Stuart and edited by Marguerite Kenner
  • Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice L. Newman, associate writers Cora Buhlert, Jessica Holmes, Kerrie Dougherty, Kris Vyas-Myall, and Natalie Devitt, and the rest of the Journey team
  • Journey Planet, edited by Allison Hartman Adams, Amanda Wakurak, Ann Gry, Jean Martin, Sara Felix, Sarah Gulde, Chuck Serface, David Ferguson, Olav Rokne, Paul Weimer, Steven H Silver, Christopher J. Garcia and James Bacon
  • Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog, editors Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk

243 ballots cast for 77 nominees, finalists range 25 to 67

Best Fancast

  • The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe, producer Jonathan Strahan
  • Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones, presented by Emily Tesh and Rebecca Fraimow
  • Hugo, Girl!, presented by Haley Zapal, Amy Salley, Lori Anderson, and Kevin Anderson
  • Hugos There, presented by Seth Heasley
  • A Meal of Thorns, presented by Jake Casella Brookins
  • Worldbuilding for Masochists, presented by Marshall Ryan Maresca, Cass Morris and Natania Barron

376 ballots cast for 197 nominees, finalists range 24 to 64

Best Fan Writer

  • Camestros Felapton
  • Abigail Nussbaum
  • Roseanna Pendlebury
  • Jason Sanford
  • Alasdair Stuart
  • Örjan Westin

329 ballots cast for 158 nominees, finalists range 27 to 62

Best Fan Artist

  • Iain J. Clark
  • Sara Felix
  • Meg Frank
  • Michelle Morrell
  • Alison Scott
  • España Sheriff

186 ballots cast for 120 nominees, finalists range 16 to 37

Best Poem

  • Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead (Titan)
  • “Ever Noir” by Mari Ness (Haven Spec Magazine, Issue 16, July 2024)
  • “there are no taxis for the dead” by Angela Liu (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)
  • “A War of Words” by Marie Brennan (Strange Horizons, September 2024)
  • “We Drink Lava” by Ai Jiang (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 56)
  • “Your Visiting Dragon” by Devan Barlow (Strange Horizons, Fund Drive 2024)

219 ballots cast for 266 nominees, finalists range 11 to 26

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

  • The Feast Makers by H.A. Clarke (Erewhon)
  • Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao (Tundra Books)
  • The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)
  • Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee (Delacorte Press)
  • Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
  • So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

268 ballots cast for 175 nominees, finalists range 18 to 52

Astounding Award for Best New Writer (sponsored by Dell Magazines)

  • Moniquill Blackgoose (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Bethany Jacobs (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Hannah Kaner (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Angela Liu (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Jared Pechaček (1st year of eligibility)
  • Tia Tashiro (2nd year of eligibility)

341 ballots cast for 168 nominees, finalists range 28 to 96

Seattle Worldcon 2025 will be held at Seattle, USA in August 2025. More information can be found here.

M3GAN 2.0 Gets Even Campier In New Trailer

m3gan 2.0 official trailer

Hold onto your vaginas, “smoking hot warrior princess” M3GAN 2.0 is back and campier than ever in the new trailer from Blumhouse and Atomic Monster.

Two years after M3GAN, a marvel of artificial intelligence, went rogue and embarked on a murderous rampage, its creator, Gemma, has become a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of AI. Meanwhile, Gemma’s niece Cady, now a 14-year-old teenager, is rebelling against Gemma’s overprotective rules.

Unbeknownst to them, the underlying tech for M3GAN has been stolen and used by a defence contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia, the ultimate infiltration spy. However, as Amelia’s self-awareness increases, she becomes less interested in taking orders from humans.

As Amelia begins going after those who created her, Gemma realises the only option to save herself and Cady is to resurrect M3GAN (with upgrades) and help her to take Amelia down.

Director Gerard Johnstone and writer Akela Cooper return for the follow-up to their 2023 film, alongside producers James Wan and Jason Blum. Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Amie Donald, and Jenna Davis return to star, alongside newcomers Ivanna Sakhno, Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, and Jemaine Clement.

M3GAN 2.0 releases in cinemas from June 27th. Watch the trailer below:

Disney Hits Pause On TANGLED Live-Action Feature

still from disney animated film tangled

Rapunzel is pulling her hair back into her tower, with news that Disney’s live-action reimagining of the 2010 animated film Tangled has been put on pause. The project had been in active development, with The Greatest Showman filmmaker Michael Gracey on board to direct from a script by Do Revenge and Thor: Love and Thunder’s Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.

The project pause comes in the wake of an underwhelming performance by Disney’s latest live-action adaptation, the Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot-starring Snow White.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, who broke the news, studio insiders remain uncertain whether Tangled will move forward down the road or undergo a complete creative rethink.

Disney’s strategy of repurposing its old titles by adapting them into live-action has been their go-to since the early 2010s. Some features — Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King — did better than others — Dumbo, Pete’s Dragon. Recently, though, Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King had a slow start and The Little Mermaid struggled at the box office, with Snow White performing even worse.

Lilo & Stitch, a remake of the 2002 animated film that will land in cinemas from May 23rd, looks to break from the recent pattern and perform well upon release. After that, the live-action Moana will sail in on July 10th, 2026.

One can only assume that whether Tangled gets back on production course will depend on how the aforementioned titles perform in the next 15 months.

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2 Debuts Teaser Trailer

five nights at freddy's 2 first teaser trailer

Blumhouse’s Jason Blum took to the stage at CinemaCon to debut the first teaser trailer for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.

“The first Five Nights at Freddy’s was Blumhouse’s biggest hit,” Blum recalled before assuring the crowd that although the first movie was released day-and-date on Peacock, the sequel would launch exclusively in cinemas.

The first Five Nights at Freddy’s film centres on a security guard (played by Josh Hutcherson) at a pizzeria who soon learns that the establishment is home to some evil animatronics. The movies are based on the video game franchise of the same name that debuted in 2014. The trailer for the sequel teases more mysteries involving the pizzeria. “They’re out there, Mike,” Elizabeth Lail tells Hutcherson’s character in the footage, “… everywhere”.

Piper Rubio and Matthew Lillard also star in director Emma Tammi‘s sequel to the 2023 original film, which she also helmed. Tammi directs from a script she co-wrote with Scott Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback. In a previous interview, Tammi had said of a possible follow-up that “We have some loose ends that I think are going to have to come back in a sequel to be tied up.”

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will be released on December 5th, 2025. Watch the teaser below:

Podcast RE-VAMPED WITH JULIET LANDAU Explores IRL Inspiration Behind BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

WAS BUFFY A REAL GIRL? 

THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WHO INSPIRED A TV POP-CULTURE ICON…

On the Re-Vamped with Juliet Landau podcast, fast becoming the go-to source for Buffy the Vampire Slayer revelations and new info, Susanna Puisto, costume designer from season one says, “Buffy, Willow and Cordelia were based on real people.” For the first time ever, Susanna shares that the inspiration for Buffy was her good friend who introduced her to show-creator, Joss Whedon. She goes on to say, “They were based on three high school girls here in Los Angeles. When they speak the Buffyspeak, I can hear my friend. It’s a very specific way of talking. There’s a whole backstory that’s true that’s really incredible.”  

Landau says, “The thing I love about doing this podcast is that every single episode unearths things I’ve never heard before! After twenty-five years in the Buffy-verse, I didn’t think that was possible!”

Re-Vamped With Juliet Landau is the only Buffy podcast with a cast member as the guide. On the tv series, Buffy’s friends were referred to as The Scooby Gang – a reference to Scooby Doo. Juliet played vampire villainess Drusilla – aka Dru. Her Re-Vamped co-hosts are her alter-ego, Scooby Dru, who adds her singular POV to the mix, Sire Rebecca and Watcher Dev. 

Re-Vamped captures heartfelt nostalgia and is a fresh evolution; a continuation with new content and new entertainment as well, with creative features like imagined “missing scenes” and fan-driven trivia battles.

Only up a short time, Re-Vamped with Juliet Landau has already crossed 188,000 downloads. It won Best Podcast at the Breakout Music & Film Awards, with the ceremony held at The London Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Re-Vamped and its discoveries have already been covered in People, Entertainment Now, Yahoo News, Screen Rant, LA Weekly and Radio Times, among others. You can check out the show over on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or everywhere else podcasts are available. 

SPIDER-MAN 4 Title Announced To Be BRAND NEW DAY

tom holland announces title to spider-man 4

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 is no longer untitled, with the CinemaCon announcement that the upcoming MCU feature is titled Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Holland appeared in a video clip to announce the title, and added, “Brand New Day is a fresh start”. Director Destin Daniel Cretton, best known for helming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, also took to the stage: “To say that it’s an honor to be standing on this stage is a pretty big understatement.” He explained that he was a lifelong fan of Spider-Man and has been drawn to Peter Parker’s “humor” and “messy humanity.” Cretton called Spider-Man 4 a “ride that we haven’t really seen before”.

The title is a reference to a 2008 comic book storyline that takes place after a universe-altering event in which everyone forgot who Spider-Man was, just as they did in the end of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna penned the new Spider-Man film after working on the script for No Way Home.

Up next for Marvel fans is Thunderbolts* in May, followed by The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Next year brings the planned release of Avengers: Doomsday, which recently announced a long, long list of castmembers.

JOHN WICK Universe Expanding: All Updates

keanu reeves as the titular assassin in the john wick universe

CinemaCon is always a news-rich time of year for film lovers, and Lionsgate’s presentation at the conference brought many updates on their Keanu Reeves-starring John Wick universe.

The studio presentation kicked off with an extended look at the Len Wiseman and Ana de Armas spinoff film, Ballerina, the trailer for which released last year. Ballerina is due to hit cinemas on June 6th, 2025.

Update 1: The John Wick franchise is getting an animated prequel feature

Lionsgate announced that Shannon Tindle is directed an untitled animated movie from a script by Vanessa Taylor. Keanu Reeves is expected to voice the character, with longtime franchise producer Chad Stahelski also behind the project. The prequel will take place prior to the events of the first John Wick film, and sees Wick completing the Impossible Task of killing his foes in a single night to fulfil his obligation to the High Table.

“In both animation and the world of John Wick, the possibilities are endless,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson said. “And there is no John Wick story fans are clamoring for more than the Impossible Task. Shannon’s take on that story is an incredible one, and we are beyond excited to see what John Wick can do in animation.” 

Stahelski added, “I’ve always been fascinated with anime. It has always been a huge influence on me, especially with the John Wick series. To have the opportunity to develop a John Wick anime seems to be the perfect progression for the John Wick world. I feel John Wick is the perfect property for this medium — anime holds the potential to expand our world, our characters, and our action in ways unimaginable before.”

Update 2: John Wick 5 is in the works, with Keanu Reeves returning

After much speculation about the franchise’s future, Lionsgate has officially confirmed that John Wick: Chapter 5 will be moving forward. Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski are both returning for the feature, following Chapter 4, which ended with (spoiler) the death of Reeves’ assassin.

There was no information given as to what story the feature might explore.

Update 3: Donnie Yen has been tapped to direct his own spinoff

Donnie Yen is now directing himself in the upcoming franchise spinoff, which will see the action legend reprise his role as the formidable blind assassin, Caine. Lionsgate also revealed that Mattson Tomlin, writer of the upcoming The Batman Part II and the feature adaptation of Keanu Reeves’ comic book BRZRKR, has joined to script the project. The previous draft of the screenplay for Yen’s spinoff was written by Robert Askins.

Plot details for the spinoff are unknown, but it will continue Caine’s story after he was forced to kill Wick. Now freed from his obligations to the High Table, Caine will face new challenges.

Production is expected to begin later this year.

Stay tuned for more updates on the John Wick universe!

GROUPCHAT Screenlife Horror Releases Trailer

groupchat film still

Host meets Dungeons & Dragons in GroupChat, a new screenlife horror for which the trailer has now been released.

In GroupChat, a grieving game master’s new online role-playing adventure spirals into a deadly reality, trapping players in a supernatural fight for survival.

“This is an insanely personal film to me, as I wrote it to help deal with the passing of my own father,” writer-director Dan Brownlie told Bloody Disgusting.

Marcel Jortzik, Amy Tara, Toby Wynn-Davies (Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey), Georgie Rogers, James Grimm, and Debbie Rochon (Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV) star.

With post-production complete, the UK film is currently submitting to festivals. Therefore, GroupChat does not yet have a release date.

Watch the trailer below, and scroll further to see the film’s poster, designed by celebrated horror artist Graham Humphreys, who also did the artwork for STARBURST: THE ALBUM, on sale now!

groupchat film poster art