Room star Jacob Tremblay and Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul will star in The Night House from producer Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity, Split). The Night House is based on the 2023 novel by Jo Nesbø, whose writing was previously adapted in 2007’s The Snowman, and bears no relation to David Bruckner’s 2020 film of the same name.
In the wake of his parents’ recent death, high schooler Richard has been sent to live with relatives in the remote town of Ballantyne. One day, during an innocent prank call in a phone booth, Richard shockingly witnesses his classmate violently get sucked into the phone receiver and disappear without a trace. Police suspect Richard to be responsible, and no one believes his story except Karen, a fellow teenage outsider. As Richard and Karen try to understand their friend’s inexplicable death, they soon realise they have unleashed terrifying evil forces. As reality starts to blur, can Richard even trust himself?
Tremblay and Paul will play different aged versions of the protagonist, Richard, in the psychological horror.
Other upcoming projects for the actors include Tremblay appearing in Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Life of Chuck, and Macon Blair’s reboot of The Toxic Avenger. Paul will next star in the sci-fi horror film Ash.
After debuting an excerpt of the film during the Super Bowl, Universal Pictures has released the full trailer for How to Train Your Dragon, a live-action remake of the beloved animated film from DreamWorks Animation.
As an animated trilogy, How to Train Your Dragon centred on the growing relationship between a young, clumsy Viking teen and aspiring dragon hunter named Hiccup and Toothless, an injured dragon he saves. Meanwhile, the female lead, Astrid, progresses from someone prejudiced against dragons to a warrior bonded to one.
Writer-director Dean DeBlois’ film stars Mason Thames as Hiccup and Nico Parker as Astrid. Also in the cast are Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd, Peter Serafinowicz and Murray McArthur.
This live-action feature is based on the 2010 animated film that DeBlois had co-directed with Chris Sanders, itself inspired by the book series from Cressida Cowell. DeBlois, Marc Platt and Adam Siegel also serve as producers.
During a trailer-unveiling event, DeBlois discussed the origins of the new movie (as relayed by The Hollywood Reporter). “With the rushed production schedule and the limited resources that we had on that first movie for DreamWorks, there were things that we skipped past that we could have maybe done a little more justice to — some of the characters, some of the depth of relationships and the immersive action,” he said. “It’s a reimagining that holds quite faithful to the story and yet finds moments where we could enrich character relationships, give a bit of depth, give a little bit of mythology that might have been lacking in that original.”
DeBlois explained that he always felt the character of Astrid “was a little underserved” in the original film: “Nico Parker plays Astrid, [and] that feeds into this idea that she has come from a different culture, that she is a descendant of one of those prized dragon-fighting warriors that were collected by Vikings in different places. She hopes to be chief of this tribe one day. She’s got great ambition, and what’s nice about it is that it creates a conflict between she and Hiccup.”
The director also explained his desire not to make the dragons too anthropomorphic. “The challenge has been upon our animators to do exactly what our DreamWorks animators had to do, which is watch a whole lot of dog, cat and horse videos and find those cues that we humans interpret as being the attitudes that we want to be expressed, so that we don’t sacrifice personality,” DeBlois said. “With every dragon, there’s a sense of reinvention because some of them were cartoonier than others.”
Watch the trailer for How to Train Your Dragon below.
Hasbro Entertainment is creating a cinematic universe based on its Magic: The Gathering game and is teaming with Legendary Entertainment to span television and film projects. Reportedly, the first step in this ambitious franchise will be adapting the game as a movie.
Magic: The Gathering was launched in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast as the world’s first trading card game, becoming a near-instant, global hit. Hasbro acquired Wizards of the Coast in 1999. Players in agame represent powerful, duelling wizards called Planeswalkers. Each card a player draws from their deck represents a magical spell which can be used to their advantage in battle.
“We pride ourselves on being thoughtful caretakers of singular, beloved IP, and no property better fits that description than Magic: The Gathering,” said Mary Parent, Legendary’s chairman of worldwide production. “Alongside the fantastic Hasbro team, we look forward to creating a multimedia universe that thrills longstanding fans and creates a broad wave of new ones.”
“This is an exciting and complementary partnership, uniting one of the world’s most iconic brands with a powerful and proven steward,” said Hasbro Entertainment head of film Zev Foreman. “Magic: The Gathering has inspired decades of epic world-building and creative storytelling. It is a perfect match for Legendary’s diversified approach to marquee IP, and we are excited to work together to build a whole new Magic: The Gathering universe.”
Hasbro also already has a television series based on the game lined up at Netflix with showrunner Terry Matalas, best known for Star Trek: Picard.
Autobots beware! Hasbro has unleashed the ultimate Decepticon upon the world. Well, they’re about.
In a move that will open the wallets of Transformer’s fans worldwide, Hasbro Pulse has officially launched its latest HasLab project: the Transformers Legacy Liokaiser Combiner, also known as Chest Force. Leaping out of the Japanese anime Transformers: Victory, this 30cm tall combiner toy is a premium production.
This fearsome combiner breaks down into six Voyager-scale Decepticon bots—Leozak, Gaihawk, Ellbat, Jaruga, Killbison, and Drillhorn. Each figure measures 14 cm. They each transform into a unique vehicle and feature a removable Chest Animal that converts into a weapon accessory.
In the anime, Liokaiser is a staunch ally of Deathsaurus, so if you already have that toy, then this is a must-have.
Transformers Legacy Liokaiser Combiner is being fan-funded on Hasbro Pulse until March 25th, 2025, and it’s the only way to guarantee to own this must-have monster of a combiner Transformer. More details here.
Critical Role‘s much anticipated TTRPG, Daggerheart, will launch on May 20th, 2025. Produced by Darrington Press (Critical Role’s publishing arm), the fantasy roleplaying game is seen by many fans as a legitimate challenger to Wizard of the Coast’s latest edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
The game’s core mechanic uses two 12-sided dice, one representing Hope, the other Fear. Players roll these dice to determine the outcome of actions, with Hope and Fear representing the ebb and flow of the story. The DM, on the other hand, rolls a twenty-sided die in order to control the actions of everyone who aren’t the players.
“We built Daggerheart from the ground up to be a toolbox for crafting heartfelt, epic tales of adventure, and we’re so excited for the finished game to be in people’s hands finally,” said game designers Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall. “Through years of hard work, with an army of collaborators, and thanks to an incredible open beta playtest with the community, the game is now ready for you to make your own. We look forward to hearing about all the campaigns you build, the enemies you slay, and the stories you tell at the table together!”
The Daggerheart Core Set will include a 300-page, lavishly illustrated hardcover rulebook, including everything you need to run and play the game. It also comes with 279 illustrated cards for smoother playing. It is set to retail at around $59 USD. A Limited Edition Core Set is also available, including a GM screen, tokens, dice, a notepad, and a fancy hardcover.
Pre-orders for Daggerheart are open atDaggerheart.com, offering both Standard and Limited Edition sets. Daggerheart games will be available to play this year at UK Games Expo (Birmingham, May 30th – June 1st), Gen Con(Indianapolis, July 31st – August 3rd), andPAX Unplugged (Philadelphia, November 21st – 23rd). You will be able to find the STARBURST team at the UK Games Expo playing this game if you’re lucky.
Legendary Entertainment has partnered with Hasbro (who own Wizards) to create a live-action feature film and television series set in the trans-planar world of Magic: The Gathering. Mary Parent, Legendary’s Chairman of Worldwide Production, said, “We pride ourselves on being thoughtful caretakers of singular, beloved IP, and no property better fits that description than MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Alongside the fantastic Hasbro team, we look forward to creating a multimedia universe that thrills longstanding fans and creates a broad wave of new ones.”
The card game is set up to accommodate multiple storylines set in entirely different magical worlds. Potentially, this means that live-action shows could involve adorable woodland creatures taking on hordes of vampires in a magi-tech world obsessed with racing. However, it’s probably going to be about the Gatewatch, a team of folk who guard reality against that sort of nonsense.
Zev Foreman, Hasbro Entertainment’s Head of Film, said, “This is an exciting and complementary partnership, uniting one of the world’s most iconic brands with a powerful and proven steward. MAGIC: THE GATHERING has inspired decades of epic world-building and creative storytelling. It is a perfect match for Legendary’s diversified approach to marquee IP, and we are excited to work together to build a whole new MAGIC: THE GATHERING universe.”
Legendary is best known for its work on franchises like Godzilla vs Kong and Dune. Hasbro has been developing it’s reach into TV, with Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble game shows already produced. A Magic: The Gathering TV show is in production via Netflix, with 12 Monkey’s showrunner Terry Matalas already involved.
We look forward to finding out who in the production team plays Commander.
A new and final trailer for The Buildout promises a beautiful, genre-bending adventure through the desert ahead of the film’s February 25th VOD release.
The Buildout is written and directed by Zeshaan Younus and stars Jenna Kanell (Terrifier, Renfield), Hannah Alline (Mayfair Witches), Natasha Halevi, Michael Sung Ho, and Danielle Evon Ploeger.
In the film, “Something is happening in the desert. The epicenter is a strange tent, humming with an imbued esoteric energy. What is found within its walls is incomprehensible. We first meet Dylan and Cameron as they barrel deeper into the desert. One knows exactly where they’re going, the other one is doing their best to be a good friend. On a road trip fueled by junk food and documented by a handheld camera, the women traverse a landscape that feels more like Mars than Earth – the California Desert. This is their last chance to get back – back to what they used to be. Today, they are but mere fragments of their former selves; weighed down by the looming presence of a shared tragedy.
“A story of rebirth, recovery, closure, and accountability propelled forward by an esoteric conduit. This women-led narrative follows the tectonic shift of a friendship over one fateful day. In the face of the unexplained, they lean into their truest selves and come face-to-face with an unnerving discovery.”
Directors David Charbonier and Justin Douglas Powell (The Boy Behind the Door, The Djinn) have announced their next film, a survival horror project titled The Nowhere Game. Kiernan Shipka, best known for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and the time-travel slasher Totally Killer, will star opposite Ghostbusters’ Mckenna Grace. Alan Pototsky wrote the screenplay.
“The film follows Carin (Grace) and Allie (Shipka), whose road trip takes a harrowing turn when the two young women are kidnapped by a cold-blooded sadist and thrust into a brutal game of survival. With a short head start, Carin and Allie will be set loose in the forest with limited supplies while being hunted in front of an online audience watching in grim fascination. With no sign of civilization and no way to call for help, the women rely on their wits and each other to evade capture.
“Navigating the hostile wilderness, they discover eerie clues left behind by previous contestants, painting a grim picture of the stakes they face. As the hunter closes in, realization dawns on them: surviving isn’t just improbable — it’s nearly impossible. Carin and Allie must shed their fear and transform from prey to predator to bring this twisted game to its final, bloody conclusion.”
Stay tuned for more info on The Nowhere Game as we hear it.
The classic Gaston Leroux novel The Phantom of the Opera has been adapted countless times over the years, but it appears another film version is on the way, this time from France.
Deva Cassel of The Leopard, Julien De Saint Jean from last year’s The Count of Monte Cristo, and Heartbreaker‘s Romain Duris are attached to star.
Cassel will star as 18-year-old Anastasia, who is newly arrived in Paris and isfull of hopes and dreams as she takes up a position as a ballet dancer at the opera house. Ambitious artistic director, James Figueras (Duris), is reviving Orpheus, the mythic opera by Ernest Dupré, inspired by the Greek mythological figure of Orpheus and his journey into the underworld in search of his dead wife Euridice. One night, Anastasia meets the opera house’s mythical phantom (Saint Jean) and they embark on an impossible love story. Meanwhile the prima ballerina, meant for the role of Euridice, barely escapes death and Anastasia lands the star role.
Filming is due to begin this summer at the Palais Garnier opera house. This Phantom of the Opera is being described as a modern re-reading that will feature fantasy, period, and thriller elements.
We got Rihanna as a Smurfette before we got a ninth album. Director Chris Miller’s Smurfs has just dropped its first trailer, with a set release to cinemas on July 18th, 2025 from Paramount Animation. Smurfs is, of course, based on the characters and work of artist Peyo.
The film’s voice cast includes Rihanna, Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Xolo Mariueña, Kurt Russell and John Goodman.
Smurfs sees the blue villagers set out on a mission after Papa Smurf gets abducted by a vortex in the sky, leading the group to travel to the human world and land in Paris. From the trailer, it also seems the Smurfs are going on a whole multiverse adventure, including trips to a video game world, pencil sketch world, etc.
“The DNA in Peyo’s original drawings guide so many creative choices in the film,” Miller said at a presentation at the Annecy Animation Festival in June. “It’s the blueprint for the kind of film I want to make. All of the action lines and thought bubbles from the comics are going in the movie, and the comics have inspired the style of animation to be fun and buoyant, with plenty of squash and stretch.”
Rihanna wrote, produced, and sings new original songs for the film. Katy Perry previously played Smurfette in the 2011 film and Demi Lovato in 2017’s The Lost Village.
