Sigourney Weaver Joins STAR WARS Film

sigourney weaver in avatar

She’s escaped face-sucking aliens and run amongst some tall blue folks on a foreign planet, but Sigourney Weaver is now taking her skills to a galaxy far, far away. The sci-fi legend is in talks to join the cast of The Mandalorian & Grogu, which is the first Star Wars film to go into production since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Jon Favreau, who created the series starring Pedro Pascal, is directing the feature. Favreau, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni are producing the feature, which is expected to begin filming later this year. At the time, Favreau had said of his involvement: “I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created. The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting.” Meanwhile, Kennedy had said: “Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have ushered into Star Wars two new and beloved characters, and this new story is a perfect fit for the big screen.”

In the film, Pascal is expected to return as Din Djarin, aka the Mandalorian, a warrior who reluctantly (at first) must ensure Grogu’s (aka Baby Yoda) safety. No word yet on when this film might hit the big screen. Sigourney Weaver was recently seen in James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, and is expected to appear in Avatar 4, 5, and 6. There’s no word yet on who Weaver might play in this upcoming Star Wars title.

Edgar Wright In Talks To Direct BARBARELLA

edgar wright in talks to direct remake of 1968 film starring jane fonda, barbarella

The Barbarella feature, which Sydney Sweeney is expected to star in, may well have found its pilot: Edgar Wright is in talks to direct the film for Sony Pictures, with Jane Goldman and Honey Ross also in talks to pen the script. The project is still in the early development stages, and is planned as a new take on the character that originated in a French comic series from Jean-Claude Forest, but who achieved global recognition as portrayed by Jane Fonda in the 1968 cult movie. In said film, Barbarella, an astronaut from the future, is sent on a mission to find and stop an evil scientist whose invention could spell the destruction of the galaxy.

Sweeney has had a banner year already, having starred opposite Glen Powell in the rom-com Anyone but You, appearing in the ill-fated but highly-publicised Madame Web, and taking the lead role in the Catholic horror Immaculate. Meanwhile, Edgar Wright is best known for helming films like Last Night in Soho, Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and will direct a new adaptation of The Running Man for Paramount Pictures that will, coincidentally, star Glen Powell.

This is not the first time that a remake of the cult favourite film has been attempted. As reported by STARBURST in 2022, when this iteration was first announced, “We’ve gotten close to a new Barbarella adaptation several times over the years, with the likes of Drew Barrymore and Rose McGowan both coming close to slipping on the space boots in 2000 and 2008 respectively. High-profile filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Nicolas Winding Refn have also been attached along the way, the latter having envisioned it as a TV series for Amazon in 2014 with James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade on scripting duties.” Hopefully though, with the talent currently attached, this is the one that will make it to the finish line.

Andrew Garfield Joins Luca Guadagnino’s AFTER THE HUNT

andrew garfield in under the banner of heaven

Andrew Garfield is set to star opposite Julia Roberts in the upcoming thriller from Luca Guadagnino, an Amazon MGM Studios feature titled After the Hunt.

Guadagnino will direct After the Hunt from a script by first-time screenwriter Nora Garrett, which centres on a college professor who faces a crossroads in confronting her own dark past when a standout student makes an accusation against one of her colleagues.

Additional cast members will be announced at a later date. Garrett will executive produce with Karen Lunder for Imagine Entertainment, with the company’s executives Brian Glazer and Allan Mandelbaum producing the film with Guadagnino on behalf of his company, Frenesy. Filming is expected to begin this summer.

Guadagnino is best known as the Academy Award-nominated director of Call Me by Your Name, but has made waves in the genre sphere with films like the Dakota Johnson-starring remake of Suspiria, as well as the cannibal romance Bones and All starring Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell. His other film for Amazon MGM, Challengers, is in cinemas now.

Andrew Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee that will next be seen in A24’s We Live in Time, starring opposite Florence Pugh. He was recently seen reprising his role as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Tatiana Maslany To Star In Horror From LONGLEGS Director

tatiana maslany in orphan black, to star in keeper from longlegs director osgood perkins

We might still be eagerly waiting for the bizarre horror Longlegs to hit our screens, but director Osgood Perkins has already set up his next movie, another genre flick titled Keeper; Deadline reports that the picture will star Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) and Rossif Sutherland (Brandon Cronenberg‘s Possessor), and that NEON has acquired the rights to the film.

Per the synopsis, “Keeper follows a couple as they escape for a romantic anniversary weekend at a secluded cabin. When Malcolm (Sutherland) suddenly returns to the city, Liz (Maslany) finds herself isolated and in the presence of an unspeakable evil that unveils the cabin’s horrifying secrets.”

Perkins, known for directing The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel, helms from a screenplay by Nick Lepard.

Before all that, though, NEON will release the serial killer thriller Longlegs in cinemas from July 12th. Longlegs‘ synopsis is as follows: “FBI Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer (Nicolas Cage). As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.” Check out the teaser trailer here. You can also read our recent interview with Tatiana Maslany, promoting her most recent film Butterfly Tale.

Sebastian Stan & Lily James Reunite In Horror LET THE EVIL GO WEST

sebastian stan and lily james, who starred in pam & tommy, reunite for let the evil go west

Sebastian Stan (Fresh, Falcon & The Winter Soldier, A24’s A Different Man) and Lily James (Rebecca, Baby Driver, The Iron Claw) are reuniting for the first time since Pam & Tommy to star in psychological horror thriller Let the Evil Go West, Deadline reports.

The film hails from Speak No Evil director Christian Tafdrup, based on a script by Xc Vs. Tafdrup also executive produces the English-language remake of his film, coming from Blumhouse and Universal on August 9th. Let the Evil Go West “follows a railroad worker who stumbles upon a fortune under deeply disturbing circumstances. As horrifying visions and manifestations drive him toward madness, his wife becomes convinced that an evil presence has attached itself to their family.”

north.five.six. represents the film’s international rights and will introduce it to buyers at Cannes, while CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group arranged the financing and will handle the domestic sale. Tim and Trevor White (King Richard) are producing under their Star Thrower Entertainment banner, alongside Mark Fasano and Nathan Klingher for Gramercy Park Media, which is also financing the film, and Allan Mandelbaum. Stan and James will also executive produce along with Gramercy Park’s Joshua Harris and Ford Corbett and north.five.six.’s Michael Rothstein and Samuel Hall.

FANTASTIC FOUR Casts John Malkovich, Ralph Ineson

ralph ineson to play galactus in the fantastic four, pictured here in MCU series What If

The Fantastic Four scores two more prestigious, sought-after actors: British actor Ralph Ineson has landed a lead role as big bad villain Galactus, and John Malkovich joins the project in an unconfirmed role.

Fantastic Four stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. Julia Garner is, as previously announced, playing the Silver Surfer, while Paul Walter Hauser was recently revealed to star in an undisclosed role.

The MCU film is still scheduled to release July 25th, 2025, and hails from WandaVision helmer Matt Shakman, directing from a script by Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer.

John Malkovich is a multiple Oscar-nominated actor, having starred in high-concept films like the excellently meta Being John Malkovich, cult faves like Con-Air, and high-prestige titles like Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire. Ralph Ineson, meanwhile, was recently seen in the horror prequel The First Omen, Gareth Edwards’ The Creator, Robert Eggers’ The Northman and will appear in the director’s next endeavour, Nosferatu. Ineson is confirmed to play Galactus, an intergalactic being who consumes the life force of planets.

POPPY PLAYTIME Video Game Getting Film Adaptation

poppy playtime video game getting film adaptation from legendary

Legendary has closed a – surprisingly aggressive – deal with Mob Entertainment, beating out several competitive offers, to develop and produce a live-action feature adaptation of the horror video game, Poppy Playtime. Legendary will develop and produce the project alongside Mob Entertainment and Angry Films’ Don Murphy and Susan Montford.

Poppy Playtime is a first-person video game that sees the player acting as a former employee of a faded toy brand and who, thanks to a cryptic letter, is drawn back to an abandoned facility from which all staff disappeared ten years prior, only to discover it inhabited by a host of toys, including Huggy Wuggy, Mommy Long Legs, and CatNap, all of whom have taken on a life of their own. The game’s players have to solve clues, work out puzzles, and use gadgets to unravel the mystery of the letter and get out alive.

This marks Legendary’s first foray into the video game adaptation space, one of the leading trends in both feature and TV entertainment right now. Poppy Playtime joins a line-up of very successful (and some less so) adaptations: among them The Last of Us, Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles, Fallout, Twisted Metal, the upcoming Borderlands, as well as other projects still in the works like El Paso, Elsewhere and Golden Axe.

Peter Jackson Working On New LORD OF THE RINGS Film

the lord of the rings original trilogy helmer peter jackson returning for another feature

Warner Bros. has confirmed that, not only will Middle-earth be returning to the big screen, but OG Lord of the Rings helmer Peter Jackson will be working on the new title, with an anticipated release date in 2026.

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said the company is “now in the early stages of script development” for new Lord of the Rings movies, which he states will “explore storylines yet to be told.

The first film, which hails from WB and New Line Cinema, is Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (though that’s a working title at the moment) with Andy Serkis reprising his role as the titular character, Gollum (aka Smeagol) and directing the feature. Peter Jackson and his longtime writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will be involved every step of the way on the project, even if Jackson won’t be directing. Jackson has, of course, directed many films in JRR Tolkien’s universe: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, as well as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies. Boyens and Walsh are writing the screenplay on The Hunt for Gollum. The deal in question covers two films in the franchise.

“It is an honor and a privilege to travel back to Middle-earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that stinker — Gollum!,” Jackson, Boyens and Walsh said in a statement. “As life long fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with [WBD film chiefs] Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”

“Yesssss, Precious. The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle-earth Peter, Fran and Philippa,” added Serkis. “With Mike and Pam, and the Warner Bros team on the quest as well, alongside WETA and our film making family in New Zealand, it’s just all too delicious… .” 

Michelle Yeoh To Star In BLADE RUNNER 2099

michelle yeoh to star in blade runner 2099, still from everything everywhere all at once

Seven years (already, can you believe it?!) after Denis Villeneuve dazzled audiences with Blade Runner 2049, Blade Runner is heading to the small screen in Amazon’s upcoming series Blade Runner 2099, with news that the inimitable, ever-talented, Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh has signed on to star!

Ridley Scott, the mind behind the original Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford, is executive producing the live action series, with Blade Runner 2099 reportedly a follow-up to the events of the film sequel, 2049. As Deadline writes in their exclusive, “the latest instalment of the neo-noir sci-fi franchise will be set 50 years after the sequel”.

Silka Luisa, best known for Shining Girls, is on board to write, showrun and executive produce. Jonathan van Tulleken (Shōgun) will direct and executive produce the first two episodes.

Released in 1982, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner was a loose adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The movie followed a Blade Runner Rick Deckard, who had to pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space, having returned to Earth to find their creator. In Villeneuve’s sequel, which starred Ryan Gosling as Blade Runner K, followed K’s search for Deckard, who’d been missing for thirty years. Ford returned to his iconic role.

There’s no info yet on the plot of 2099, but with Michelle Yeoh attached, we can only imagine it’s going to be a must-see.

Vin Diesel’s RIDDICK: FURYA Is Moving Ahead

vin diesel returning as riddick in riddick: furya

Vin Diesel is officially returning as the galactic antihero Riddick, in a reboot of the the sci-fi action franchise that gave the Fast & Furious actor his first major leading role.

Riddick: Furya, which was announced to be in the works back in February 2023, is now moving towards an August 26th film start date, as producers announced this week. Diesel, expectedly, returns to star in and produce the film, reuniting him with David Twothy, the filmmaker who directed the franchise’s previous entries.

The film Pitch Black, which released in 2000, introduced Diesel as a captured criminal who, along with a group of other passengers, crash lands on a planet where sundown unleashes feral monsters. It was followed by 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick. Diesel then bought the rights to the franchise, which resulted in the simply-titled 2013 film, Riddick.

In Riddick; Furya, which Diesel and Twohy have been discussing since 2014, Riddick will finally return to his home world, a place he barely remembers and one he fears might be left in ruins. But there he finds other Furyans fighting for their existence against a new monster, and some of these Furyans are more like Riddick than he could have ever imagined.