Toy Story 5 is slated for a June 19, 2026 release. The sequel will see Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang’s jobs challenged after being introduced to what kids are obsessed with today — electronics. Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, and Joan Cusack are expected to be reprising their roles as Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and Jessie, respectively. Other members of the voice cast include Ernie Hudson, who will take over the voice of Combat Carl from the late Carl Weathers, and Anna Faris, who has been cast in an undisclosed part.

O’Brien commented on his new gig on Instagram. He joked that he’d initially wanted the role of Woody or Buzz Lightyear, only to be told that Hanks and Allen would still be voicing the characters. Thankfully, he realized Smarty Pants is “the best character of them all.“

While speaking with WIVB earlier this year, Allen teased that Toy Story 5 will focus more on Jessie, the cowgirl voiced by Cusack. “I can tell you that it’s a lot about Jessie,” Allen said. “Tom [Hanks] and I do — Woody and I — do realign. And there’s an unbelievable opening scene with Buzz Lightyear. I can give you that, but I can’t give you much more.“

The first three Toy Story movies are damn-near perfect; In fact, Quentin Tarantino is such a big fan that he refused to see the fourth movie. “In the case of Toy Story, the third one is just magnificent. It’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen,” Tarantino said. “And if you’ve seen the other two, it’s just devastating. But the thing is, then three years later or something they did a fourth, and I have no desire to see it. You literally ended the story as perfect as you could, so no, I don’t care if it’s good. I’m done.“

Fans were anxious that Toy Story 4 would ruin the franchise, but it received rave reviews and grossed over $1 billion worldwide. Can Toy Story 5 continue the trend?

The post Toy Story 5 welcomes Conan O’Brien to the cast appeared first on JoBlo.

In an excerpt from Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie by Clark Collis (via Entertainment Weekly), Perry revealed that he originally believed The Final Destination would mark the end of the series. Ironically, it became the highest-grossing installment at the time—a title Bloodlines is poised to surpass—and ultimately paved the way for yet another sequel.

“I figured that we’re done,” Perry said. “Then, lo and behold, opening weekend, we’re like, ‘Uh, okay, here we go.’ I don’t think the fourth one is good at all, actually it sucks. But it was successful enough to give us a chance to redeem ourselves with 5.“

Most will agree with Perry; The Final Destination was a muddled mess of 3D kills and unmemorable characters, but we can be thankful that it didn’t kill the franchise.

“The newest chapter in New Line Cinema’s bloody successful franchise takes audiences back to the very beginning of Death’s twisted sense of justice,” reads the official synopsis for Final Destination Bloodlines. “Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.” The film stars Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Brec Bassinger, and the late Tony Todd.

Our own Tyler Nichols enjoyed Bloodlines, although he admits he wasn’t completely blown away. “One of the fun aspects of the series is the tension, and trying to add an equation to figuring out death’s plan just makes it all a tad lame,” Nichols wrote. “Not to mention constantly referring to death as a he, like he’s a physical person. Thankfully, this boasts some absolutely incredible kills, with some of them being the best of the franchise. Yes, I know, a bold claim. But I stand by it.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

Which Final Destination movie is the worst of the franchise? You can also take our poll for the best Final Destination movie right here.

The post Final Destination franchise producer reveals which sequel is the worst: “It sucks” appeared first on JoBlo.

The series will be directed by Max Winkler, who has worked on many Muprhy projects. He’s helmed episodes of American Horror Story, American Horror Stories, The Watcher, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, and Grotesquerie.

The Shards is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale which follows a 17-year-old version of Ellis during his final year at Buckley prep school. When the enigmatic new student Robert Mallory arrives on campus, Ellis suspects he might be connected to the nearby serial killer known as The Trawler. The story was initially released on Ellis’ Patreon in 2020 as a serialized audiobook, but was published as a novel in 2023.

The Shards was previously in development at HBO, with Luca Guadagnino (Challengers) and Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) each considering directing the project. There were even rumblings that Jacob Elordi (Saltburn) was being eyed to star, but it ultimately fell apart due to creative differences.

“We were invested in The Shards at HBO, from January to September, until we parted ways, and it became an extremely frustrating experience, and what we thought we were able to do we were told that we can’t,” Ellis said (via World of Reel). “The show that we sold, through whatever machinations were going through at Warners Bros, was sadly not going to be that show anymore.“

Ellis added that the project had started to move in a direction he didn’t approve of. “I didn’t just want to get the thing made, I also wanted it to be good,” he said. “I wanted it to be what my version of good was. This had all been promised to me when we made the deal, and it was just not happening. I really felt like eight months of the year had been wasted. I was disappointed and bitter. I said never again. I’m never going to do this again.“

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The original series centers on Reverend Eric Camden, a Protestant minister in the fictional town of Glen Oak, California, and his wife Annie, as they navigate the challenges and drama of raising their seven children, whose ages span from infancy to adulthood—with some having families of their own. The series spanned 11 seasons (10 on The WB and one on The CW) with 243 episodes. It was also one of the final shows produced by Aaron Spelling before his death in 2006.

Sources tell Variety that the 7th Heaven reboot “would focus on a diverse family, and that none of the original cast members would appear.” It’s still early days, so no network or streamer is attached. Anthony Sparks (Queen Sugar) will serve as executive producer and showrunner on the reboot.

Of course, it’s hard to talk about the family-friendly series without mentioning the Stephen Collins controversy. The actor starred in 7th Heaven as Reverend Camden, but that wholesome image wasn’t entirely accurate. In 2014, Collins admitted to “inappropriate sexual conduct with three female minors.” Audio from a marriage counselling session between Collins and Faye Grant (now his ex-wife) had leaked, and Collins thought he could get ahead of the scandal by explaining his actions.

Beverley Mitchell, David Gallagher and Mackenzie Rosman, who played Lucy, Simon and Ruthie on 7th Heaven, addressed the controversy last year during their rewatch podcast. “We want you to know that we see all of your comments and we know how excited you all are for the rewatch, but before we get into that we do think it’s important that we say something about Stephen Collins,” the actors said. “All forms of abuse, sexual abuse of any kind, it’s inexcusable. And victims of abuse need to be shown compassion and they should be given support.“

They continued, “We do not excuse or condone his behavior. Our hope for this podcast is to reconnect with you, our fans, to relive some 90s nostalgia and to share our fondest memories of 7th Heaven.“

Although 7th Heaven remains a popular show for those who grew up with it, I imagine that Collins’ actions have tainted it for some. A reboot would be a good way to keep the series alive for a new generation.

Are you down for a 7th Heaven reboot?

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Spike Lee directs Highest 2 Lowest from a screenplay by William Alan Fox, based on High and Low by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Ryūzō Kikushima, Eijiro Hisaita, and King’s Ransom by Evan Hunter. Highest 2 Lowest takes Kurosawa’s classic crime thriller to New York City and tells what happens when a titan music mogul is targeted with a ransom plot.

Check out some of the first reactions from entertainment outlets in the Cannes crowd below:

According to Variety‘s Peter Debruge, Highest 2 Lowest brings Kurosawa’s classic crime thriller “to new highs, delivering a soul-searching genre movie that entertains while also sounding the alarm about where the culture could be headed.” Debruge says the film “isn’t so much a remake as a manifesto,” the “sensational third act more than justifies what might have seemed an unnecessary update.”

In contrast, Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent says, despite Washington’s history of playing flawed heroes with heart, the seasoned actor feels “wasted” in Highest 2 Lowest. According to Macnab, “his performance is vivid and wildly energetic, but ultimately short on emotional depth,” the reviewer says about Washington’s David King. “The problem is that even when King’s world threatens to crumble around him, he is never dragged that low. He’s always the alpha. We are not given much sense of inner turmoil or doubt.”

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian appears to have dug the film a great deal, saying Lee’s film is a “big, muscular picture which aspires to the crowd-pleasing athleticism of Spike Lee’s sport icons; it’s very enjoyable and there’s a great turn from Washington.”

Tim Grierson of Screen Daily says Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest is an “ambitious, thought-provoking” crime thriller. Unfortunately, Grierson says the film crumbles under its own weight. “Beyond the shaky character dynamics, the plotting often feels disjointed, despite a terrific action sequence that pays homage to a similarly riveting set piece in Kurosawa’s film,” Grierson says in his review. “But such moments are squandered in an overstuffed story that unconvincingly also wants to tackle the materialism in the hip-hop world and the scourge of social media. Ultimately, the picture’s energetic swirl comes across as slightly hollow, its barrage of themes and impulses never finding harmony.”

Gregory Ellwood from The Playlist says that despite its slow start and not being one of Lee’s most notable films, Highest 2 Lowest brings out the best in Washington. “It’s no shame that this thriller isn’t even in the top pantheon of Lee joints, as he refers to them. The man has some masterpieces on his resume. It might be in Washington’s, however. He’s so viscerally engaging that you want to see the movie again just to enjoy his performance. Is that a result of the collective experience of having the gang back together again? Or is Washington just on a roll?”

Regardless of critics’ opinions, we urge you to see Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest before giving a definitive verdict. After reading some of the above-listed quotes, are you still interested in seeing the film? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post First reactions to Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest say the Kurosawa-inspired mystery lands between “ambitious” and “one-note” appeared first on JoBlo.

We’re still waiting to hear exactly when the nine episode first season is going to start airing – but while we wait, executive producer Andy Muschietti, who direct the two It feature films, has revealed that each season of the show will go further into the past.

Brad Caleb Kane (Tokyo Vice) and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman), who was a co-producer on It: Chapter Two, are the showrunners on It: Welcome to Derry (and Kane recently signed on to be showrunner on the Friday the 13th series Crystal Lake as well.) The show is being executive produced by Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, the sibling director/producer duo that was behind the two It movies, through their production company Double Dream. Kane and Fuchs are also executive producing, as are Shelley Meals, Roy Lee, and Dan Lin. The series is produced by HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television.

Fuchs wrote the script for the first episode, working from a story he crafted with the Muschiettis. Andy Muschietti has directed four episodes of the nine-episode series.

Stephen King had this to say about the series: “I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing, and I’m glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust including his talented sister, Barbara. Red balloons all around!“ The Muschiettis added, “As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King’s It until the thick paperback fell to pieces. It is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our It movies. We can’t wait to share the depths of Steve’s novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity, and horror.“

The cast of Welcome to Derry includes Taylour Paige (Zola), Jovan Adepo (Watchmen), Chris Chalk (Perry Mason), James Remar (Dexter), Madeleine Stowe (Revenge), Stephen Rider (Daredevil), Alixandra Fuchs (Hatfields & McCoys), Kimberly Guerrero (The English), Dorian Grey (Star Trek: Discovery), Thomas Mitchell (Gangland Undercover), BJ Harrison (Family Law), Peter Outerbridge (Saw VI), Shane Marriott (Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent), Chad Rook (Billy the Kid), Joshua Odjick (Little Bird), Rudy Mancuso (Música), and Morningstar Angeline (Westworld). We don’t know anything about the characters they’ll be playing, either. In fact, the only character we know anything about is Pennywise.

Muschietti told Radio TU (with thanks to our friends at Bloody Disgusting for the transcription), that the plan is for It: Welcome to Derry to run for three seasons. “It’s a story that’s based on the interludes of the book. The interludes are basically chapters that reflect Mike Hanlon’s research. They’re fragments of his research. For 27 years, it’s the guy trying to figure out what it is, what did it, who did it, who saw it, and all that stuff. So they talk about catastrophic events from the past, like the fire in the Black Spot, the massacre of the Bradley Gang, a gang of bank robbers in the ’30s, and the explosion of the Kitchener Ironworks. Every time [Pennywise] comes out of hibernation, there is a catastrophic event that happens at the beginning of that cycle. We are basing the three seasons of this series on each of these catastrophic events. There’s a reason why the story is told backwards. So the first season is 1962, the second season is 1935, and the third season is 1908.” He added that Warner Bros. is happy with the first season and wants to start production on season 2 as soon as possible.

Are you looking forward to It: Welcome to Derry? Do you want to see this three season journey into the past play out? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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What Do We Know About Y: Marshals, the upcoming Yellowstone spin-off series focused on Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton? More than you may think. The CBS series is slated to continue where the original Yellowstone left off, but in a direction we have never seen from a Taylor Sheridan series before. From plot, casting news, and more, let’s dive in and look at what is coming up in the new addition to the Yellowstone franchise.

Y: Marshals will be a procedural.

While the term procedural may not be something the general public is familiar with, it represents many series on network television. Procedural refers to any series that follows a law enforcement or military agency as they investigate crimes, while the audience gets to follow along. Think of shows like Law & Order, NCIS, CSI, or any other acronym-titled show. In the case of this Yellowstone spin-off, Y: Marshals will follow Kayce Dutton, the youngest son of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, as he “joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence” per the official logline.

The series will air on CBS.

Rumors about the new Marshals series have been floating around for some time, and we mentioned it back in our breakdown of the Yellowstone spin-off focused on Beth and Rip. The most significant shift for this series is that it will be the first Taylor Sheridan entry in the Yellowstone franchise that will debut on network television. While Yellowstone has been repurposed and edited for content to air on CBS after the initial run on Paramount Network, Y: Marshals will be explicitly designed for CBS standards. This likely means the series will look and feel very different from any other Yellowstone project.

Taylor Sheridan will not be the showrunner.

Taylor Sheridan has so many projects in flight, ranging from The Madison and the next Yellowstone origin series to Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, Lioness, and more. The guy does not have time to run another series. Spencer Hudnut will step in as showrunner on Marshals, having worked on a similar procedural series, SEAL Team. Sheridan will remain aboard the new spin-off as executive producer alongside John Linson, Art Linson, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin, and Bob Yari. Star Luke Grimes will also get credit as an executive producer for the series.

The Yellowstone finale may have set up this spin-off.

The Yellowstone series finale saw Kayce sell the Dutton Ranch back to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) for the price initially paid by his ancestors in the 19^th century, $1.25 an acre, while retaining a small parcel for his family to live on. The final episodes also saw Kayce call in some favors from his military connections to take down his brother Jamie and protect his family legacy. The brief moments of Kayce exercising his military skills should work well for his investigations in the new series. Still, it remains to be seen why he would join the marshals after reluctantly serving in any official capacity during his time on Yellowstone.

Which Yellowstone characters will appear?

It seems pretty much a guarantee that the new series will feature Kelsey Asbille as Kayce’s wife, Monica, and Brecken Merrill as their son, Tate. Because Kayce lives with his family on a part of the former Dutton property, we will likely see Gil Birmingham and other members of the Yellowstone cast who did not move away from Montana at the end of the flagship series.

Could there be crossover potential?

We should never rule out the opportunity for CBS and Paramount to find a way to maximize the potential for Y: Marshals to reunite Kayce with his sister Beth, played by Kelly Reilly, and Rip Wheeler, played by Cole Hauser. Because of the tonally distinct nature of Yellowstone and this procedural, the crossover may or may not happen often. Still, it would be a missed opportunity if they did not explore it.

When will we see it?

Production is slated to begin in Summer 2025 as Hudnut and Sheridan have a massive budget on their hands that will eclipse other network television shows. How watered down the content will be compared to premium cable and streaming services, which can present their series with nudity, violence, and profanity that CBS cannot. CBS has already announced a Sunday night timeslot of 9 pm EST for Y: Marshals and that the series will consist of 13 episodes. They also have locked in a Spring 2026 premiere, which means we will learn more about the casting and plot specifics of the series very soon.

Stay tuned to JoBlo.com as we learn more about Y: Marshals and your favorite shows. What do you expect to see in the upcoming Yellowstone spin-off series? Let us know in the comments, and click the like and subscribe to follow all our latest original videos.

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In the complaint to the National Labor Relations Board, SAG-AFTRA says using generative AI undermines “bargaining unit work,” meaning actual voice actors could have played the part of Vader in the free-to-play-but-nigh-impossible-not-to-spent-money-on battle royale experience.

The root of SAG-AFTRA’s complaint stems from ongoing concerns about using AI across the entertainment spectrum. The union is currently involved in an Interactive Media Agreement strike, which targets AI protection for video game voice actors. To be clear, SAG-AFTRA workers can contribute to the game, but arrangements need to happen before participation is approved. Parties would need to grant a deal before a specific date. In Fortnite’s case, that date is August 2023.

In the case of Fortnite, which uses Darth Vader as an NPC and (earnable) playable character, The Walt Disney Co. and Epic Games say the arrangements to use Jones’s voice were made in “close consultation” with the actor’s estate.

“Ask him all your pressing questions about the Force, the Galactic Empire … or you know, a good strat for the last Storm circle. The Sith Lord has opinions,” Fortnite wrote in a blog post about interacting with the menacing villain of the Empire.

SAG-AFTRA is fighting tooth and nail to establish fair arrangements for its union members and the studios/companies they wish to work with. Allegedly side-stepping the process to launch your annual in-game Star Wars event for a “Galactic Battle” marketing push could be considered a step too far in a court of law. The jury remains out on this, but we’re watching the situation closely.

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Variety reports that Nell Verlaque revealed that filming on Thanksgiving 2 is attempting to commence this year. Verlaque told the publication that she’s read parts of the screenplay and shared that her and Roth bounced ideas off each other. She explained, “I would like to get covered in blood. I told him I really wanted to be tortured. Like fully pained [and] tortured. I think it’s more fun as an actor. The crazier, the better for me.” Verlaque also revealed that the “goal” for them was to shoot “Thanksgiving 2” sometime this year.

Another project in development for Roth is a potential Hostel TV series, which is rumored to star Paul Giamatti. But in the meantime, The Ice Cream Man will be his current focus as it films this summer. In a recent press release, Roth described the slasher movie in the following way: “I’ve had this idea for a long, long time, and studios were too afraid of my early drafts. Now’s the time to push the envelope farther than I ever have with what I think will be my most terrifying and insane film to date… Films like Ice Cream Man are what we created The Horror Section for, to make unrated, boundary-pushing theatrical events the horror fans can all scream about for years. I’m very lucky to have such fantastic partners like MCT and, of course, all the investors in The Horror Section.”

Christopher Woodrow and Raj Singh of Media Capital Technologies, which is financing the project, also stated, “Working with Eli is always a privilege, and this film feels fresh and exciting as it’s his first original project in the independent market in nearly a decade. We believe Ice Cream Man will mark the start of the next great horror franchise with massive commercial potential.“

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“This is a total surprise for me, so I’m emotional,” Washington said as part of his acceptance speech. “It’s a great opportunity to collaborate with my brother once again, brother from another mother, and to be here once again in Cannes. We’re a very privileged group in this room that we get to make movies and wear tuxedos and nice clothes and dress up and get paid for it as well. We’re just blessed beyond measure. I’m blessed beyond measure. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.”

Spike Lee directs Highest 2 Lowest from a screenplay by William Alan Fox, based on High and Low by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Ryūzō Kikushima, Eijiro Hisaita, and King’s Ransom by Evan Hunter. Highest 2 Lowest takes Kurosawa’s classic crime thriller to New York City and tells the story of what happens when a titan music mogul is targeted with a ransom plot.

Denzel Washington’s storied career includes knock-out roles in films like Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, Antoine Fuqua’s Training Day, Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, Robert Zemeckis’s docudrama Flight, the Washington-directed period drama Fences, Jonathan Demme’s 1993 tear-jerker Philadelphia, and so much more. His next feature project includes a starring role in Fernando Meirelles’s Here Comes the Flood, an action thriller about a bank guard, a teller, and a master thief who become entangled in a deadly game.

We sincerely congratulate Mr. Denzel Washington on winning the Palme d’Or award at this year’s Cannes Festival. Throughout his career, Mr. Washington has given us countless outstanding performances, and we hope to enjoy his talent for years to come.

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J. Houston Yang (Good Boy (short), Abduction, Up Next) directs Sentinel, based on a story he wrote and a screenplay from Joe Barnathan and Marcus Rinehart. Capstone and WME Independent are bringing the package to the Cannes market. Production could start as early as this fall, with Stahelski producing alongside 87Eleven cohorts Alex Young, Jason Spitz, and Christian Mercuri from Capstone and Marc Goldberg. David Haring and Roman Viaris will executive produce via Capstone Studios.

According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Sentinel focuses on “a blue-collar mechanic who finds himself on the run in an unforgiving wilderness hunted by a killer, a ruthless drone gone rogue, after he witnesses the assassination of his boss. With only an unlikely companion at his side, he has to survive a brutal and uncover the truth.”

“We are excited to partner with Capstone Studios to create this new, near-future action franchise,” said Stahelski and Young of 87Eleven. “The franchise focuses on elements of the future that have every potential to scare humanity. Houston’s fresh take on our overall concept will intrigue international audiences and leave them craving more.”

Yang is a seasoned Hollywood filmmaker with editorial and action designer chops. He’s contributed to trailer editing, been a pitch consultant for over a decade, and is ready to step into the action spotlight with Sentinel.

Chad Stahelski continues tackling one Hollywood project after another with his Highlander remake (starring Henry Cavill) and an adaptation of Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima in pre-production. Stahelski directs Highlander from a script by Ryan J. Condal, Michael Finch, and Kerry Williamson. Henry Cavill stars in Highlander as an immortal Scottish swordsman who faces off with other immortal warriors to obtain a coveted ability. Meanwhile, Ghost of Tsushima focuses on the Samurai warrior Jin Sakai, the last surviving member of his clan, who must set aside the traditions that have shaped him as a warrior to wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Tsushima. A sequel to Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima video game, Ghost of Yōtei, is due to release on the PlayStation 5 console on October 2, 2025.

What do you think about the concept for Sentinel? Does Chad Stahelski’s involvement with Sentinel make you want to learn more? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Sentinel: Chad Stahelski’s 87Eleven Entertainment & Capstone Studios join forces for a rogue drone on the hunt action film appeared first on JoBlo.

Whistle is written by Owen Egerton. The is adapted from his own short story, and stars Keen (Deadpool & Wolverine), Sophie Nélisse (Yellowjackets), Sky Yang (Rebel Moon), Percy Hynes White (My Old Ass) and Nick Frost (How to Train Your Dragon). The official plot description reads, “In WHISTLE, a misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. They discover that blowing the whistle and the terrifying sound it emits will summon their future deaths to hunt them down. As the body count rises, the friends investigate the origins of the deadly artifact in a desperate effort to stop the horrifying chain of events that they have set in motion.” Producers on the film include David Gross and Jesse Shapira for No Trace Camping, and Macdara Kelleher for Wild Atlantic Pictures.

Hardy said in a statement, “WHISTLE is made with the same heart-on-sleeve, disenfranchised-teen-spirit found in my favorite genre movies that I grew up watching. I was drawn to the mysterious mythology surrounding the ‘Death Whistle’ and how it presented me with the opportunity to create a variety of cinematic, imaginative and terrifying deaths. This film is built for the big screen experience, so I can’t wait for audiences to blow the WHISTLE with Independent Film Company and Shudder in cinemas!”

Adam Koehler, the Director of Acquisitions and Productions who secured the deal with IFC and Shudder on behalf of the filmmakers, stated, “Corin Hardy is a master of his craft and we’re overjoyed to be bringing this horrifying vision to audiences across the country. With WHISTLE, he’s created a vicious and bloody treat that will stand tall among the best and scariest horror films in recent box office history.” A first look at the film has also been released and can be seen below.

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Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Boys) shows no signs of loosening his stranglehold on the Predator franchise. He’s got several projects featuring the classic science-fiction horror hunters stealthily sneaking toward screens large and small, including Predator: Badlands. Today, 20th Century Studios is ready to unleash the latest trailer and poster for Predator: Killer of Killers, an original animated anthology set in the Predator universe, releasing on June 6, 2025.

Here’s the official description for Predator: Killer of Killers from 20th Century Studios and Hulu:

“The anthology story follows three of the fiercest warriors in human history: a Viking raider guiding her young son on a bloody quest for revenge, a ninja in feudal Japan who turns against his Samurai brother in a brutal battle for succession, and a WWII pilot who takes to the sky to investigate an otherworldly threat to the Allied cause. But while all these warriors are killers in their own right, they are merely prey for their new opponent – the ultimate killer of killers.”

Predator: Killer of Killers is directed by Dan Trachtenberg with Josh Wassung, from animation company The Third Floor, serving as co-director. The film stars Lindsay LaVanchy, Louis Ozawa, Rick Gonzalez, and Michael Biehn and is written by Micho Robert Rutare and story by Trachtenberg and Rutare, based on characters created by Jim Thomas & John Thomas. The producers are John Davis, Dan Trachtenberg, Marc Toberoff, and Ben Rosenblatt, with Lawrence Gordon, James E. Thomas, John C. Thomas, and Stefan Grube as executive producers.

The latest Predator: Killer of Killers trailer showcases the anthology’s Predators, tortured human warriors, and nonstop ultraviolence. The animation gives off Arcane vibes, with visceral violence that harkens back to the extreme carnage of the Mortal Kombat video game series. The three different stories drop audiences at the center of multiple battlefields where chances of survival are slim to none. In addition to matching wits with the Predators, the humans battle inner turmoil, navigate interpersonal squabbles, and watch their loved ones get picked off individually.

What do you think about the latest Predator: Killer of Killers trailer? Do you like the animation style? Can the anthology stand proudly alongside the film franchise? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Killer of Killers trailer unleashes bloody violence and a poster for the animated anthology appeared first on JoBlo.

Tom Segura has become a popular podcast host in addition to his work as a stand-up comedian. With multiple comedy specials and tons of friends in the industry including Bert Kreischer and Bill Burr, Segura has a lot of connections. But, as big as he is on stage, Segura has long had the ambition to make movies. Some of his ideas came together as the beginning of what became his new Netflix series, Bad Thoughts.

Bad Thoughts is a six-episode series of interconnected short films that tackle the intrusive thoughts we all have, but cross the line of what we think in our imaginations, but would never act upon. Some shorts are multi-part stories that cross episodes, while others are brief, standalone films that work. Segura’s series has mock trailers, celebrity spoofs, and original ideas while featuring recognizable actors including Shea Whigham, Daniella Pineda, and Dan Stevens. Each episode contains hilarious films resembling Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone, crossed with Key & Peele.

Tom Segura chatted with me for almost half an hour about his new series and where the ideas came from. The comedian has some film projects in the works, but directed some of these shorts himself. He talked about the line between funny and too much and how lucky he was to get some actors on board. Segura also discussed support from Netflix and the role that Jason Momoa played in one particular short. Check out the full interview in the embed above.

Bad Thoughts is now streaming on Netflix.

The post Interview: Tom Segura talks comedy, movie aspirations, Jason Momoa and his new Netflix series Bad Thoughts appeared first on JoBlo.

According to Variety, part of the package includes a German-language remake of Knock Knock, which he will produce (but not direct). Next up for Roth is the slasher film The Ice Cream Man, but as part of the deal with Construction Film, he’ll also be directing Final Cut, a giallo-style feature in which Ferres will also appear. Roth has long been a superfan of the genre, with him recently appearing on Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary’s The Video Archives Podcast for a lively discussion of one of the genre’s undisputed classics, Dressed to Kill. 

Roth has a lot in the works, including a sequel to his horror hit Thanksgiving, The Ice Cream Man (which he describes as his “most terrifying and insane” film yet), and a potential Hostel TV series, which is rumoured to star Paul Giamatti. 

In a recent press release, Roth described The Ice Cream Man in the following way:

“I’ve had this idea for a long, long time, and studios were too afraid of my early drafts. Now’s the time to push the envelope farther than I ever have with what I think will be my most terrifying and insane film to date… Films like Ice Cream Man are what we created The Horror Section for, to make unrated, boundary-pushing theatrical events the horror fans can all scream about for years. I’m very lucky to have such fantastic partners like MCT and, of course, all the investors in The Horror Section.”

The post Eli Roth sets new giallo + Knock Knock getting German remake appeared first on JoBlo.

The description reads,
“Man-child Billy Madison has been a spoiled rich kid all his life, and spends his days drinking and partying. When his father, hotel magnate Brian, becomes fed up with his son’s irresponsible ways, he issues an ultimatum. Since Billy passed all his schooling thanks to his father’s influence and bribes, he must retake and pass every grade in 24 weeks. Otherwise, the business will be turned over to Brian’s conniving associate, Eric.”

The special features are set to include:

DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY

• NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• NEW Audio Commentary by Author and Filmmaker Bryan Connolly and The Billy Gilmore Podcast Host Wilson Smith
• Audio Commentary by Director Tamra Davis
• 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
• Optional English Subtitles

DISC TWO – BLU-RAY

• NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• NEW Audio Commentary by Author and Filmmaker Bryan Connolly and The Billy Gilmore Podcast Host Wilson Smith
• Audio Commentary by Director Tamra Davis
• Deleted Scenes (32:58)
  • The Pool, Penguins & Pornography (5:38)
  • Billy at Home (8:58)
  • Being Billy (5:52)
  • School Days (5:47)
  • Eric and Principal Anderson (4:41)
  • Academic Decathlon and Graduation (2:01)
• Outakes (3:44)
• Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)
• 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
• Optional English Subtitles

The technical specs of the special 30th anniversary 4K release read:

Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Subtitles
English SDH

Disc
4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray Disc

Playback
4K Blu-ray: Region free
2K Blu-ray: Region A (B, C untested)

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The supernatural action series from Blumhouse Television had a loyal fanbase, who were left with a completely unfinished story. The season one (and, it would turn out, series) finale set up the intended second nicely, but sadly, those fans will never get to see how the story could have progressed. We also really dug the season, with our own Alex Maidy giving it an 8/10 and saying it was one of the most fun horror series he’s come across in a while.

With Kevin Bacon in the lead and the Blumhouse brand stamped on it, you’d think The Bondsman would have made it through a few seasons. But let’s face it, Amazon didn’t exactly do a great job of promoting it. That’s no doubt one of the biggest factors in its cancellation; how can you let a show breathe and find its life (so to speak) if you’re not going to hit the ads?

Here’s what Bacon himself had to say about it on social media:

For those who have yet to check out The Bondsman, it follows “Hub Halloran, a murdered bounty hunter who’s back from the dead after being resurrected by the Devil to trap and send back demons that have escaped from the prison of Hell. By chasing down those demons with the help and hindrance of his estranged family, Hub learns how his own sins got his soul condemned — which pushes him to seek a second chance at life, love, and country music.” The series released on April 3rd on the streamer.

When we interviewed a number of people involved with The Bondsman last month for the release — including Bacon, writer Eric Oleson and co-star Maxwell Jenkins — they were all excited for how the series had come together and what made it stand out. Unfortunately, they won’t be promoting anything beyond those eight episodes. This is especially a drag because Bacon does so well on TV; yet, he hasn’t had a couple of multi-season series such as City on a Hill and The Following.

Did you watch The Bondsman? Why do you think it didn’t work out?

The post The Bondsman canceled after one season; Kevin Bacon reacts appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: Four years ago, Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel, Nine Perfect Strangers, became a pulpy summer hit for Hulu. With an ensemble cast that included Regina Hall, Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Shannon, and Nicole Kidman, the drug-fueled thriller blended some dark comedic elements within a mystery set in the remote Australian wilderness. While the David E. Kelley-created series was based on a standalone novel, the success allowed the door to be opened for a sophomore season. With Kidman returning as Masha in an all-new European location, Nine Perfect Strangers manages to improve upon the story from season one as it aims to follow in the footsteps of The White Lotus.

The first season of Nine Perfect Strangers found the title group of protagonists attending a remote retreat called Tranquilium, led by the enigmatic Masha Dmitrichenko (Nicole Kidman), who uses hallucinogenic drugs to help her guests reach a mental and psychological balance. As the guests endured visions and reached their mental breaking points, they reached clarity at the end as Masha departs, and we see her with a vision of her dead daughter by her side. The second season finds Masha a notable success after the controversial treatments from season one. It has transferred to a facility deep in the Alps called Zauberwald, run by her mentor, Helena (Lena Olin), and fellow scientist Martin (Lucas Englander). As in the first season, Masha assembles a new group of patients to undergo the next stage of her drug-induced treatment, which carries an even bigger purpose than before. The connections between the guests at Zauberwald are not clear at first nor direct, but as the eight-episode season progresses, the truth behind Masha’s experiment is revealed.

The cast of the first season was excellent, exceeding the quality of the material. Still, this season we have an even more substantial assortment of characters who all inhabit their roles wonderfully. Imogen (Annie Murphy) is a judgmental woman who struggles with her mother, Victoria (Christine Baranski), who arrives with her much younger lover, Matteo (Aras Aydin). Musicians and couple Tina (King Princess) and Wolfie (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) are dealing with a creative block that has put a wedge between them, while Peter (Henry Golding) is looking for meaning alongside his father, wealthy magnate David (Mark Strong). There is also the former nun, Agnes (Dolly de Leon), and television personality Brian (Murray Bartlett), who have all arrived to seek Masha’s guidance. As their stay at the snowed-in retreat keeps them cut off from cell service and access to outside assistance, the stakes begin to be raised as the drugs kick in. This gives us a lot of back and forth from the cast, especially Murray Bartlett, who once again steals the show as he did in The Last of Us and The White Lotus. Everyone is excellent, as no single role feels underdeveloped or wasted.

As in season one, each episode dives into the backstory of one of the ensemble cast, giving us a more profound exploration of why they seek Masha’s treatment. Dolly de Leon, a breakout star in Triangle of Sadness, offers a beautiful performance that may be one of the strongest supporting roles of the year. Murray Bartlett and Annie Murphy continue to prove themselves capable of any role they take on, and Mark Strong is once again a steadfast anchor for the entire cast. Lena Olin works well alongside Kidman and Lucas Englander, while the frigid castle location offers an entirely different tone and feel compared to the tropical first season. The most notable thing about the second season of Nine Perfect Strangers is how bad it makes the first season look. With elevated writing and a more connected narrative, I overrated the first season. Taken as individual series, each season can be watched as a standalone, but when compared to each other, this run is the better of the two by a significant margin.

While director Jonathan Levine returns after helming the entire first season, the Warm Bodies and Long Shot filmmaker shares duties with Anthony Byrne on half of the eight episodes of this season. Series creators David E. Kelley and John-Henry Butterworth remain executive producers this season but have no writing credits as the team of scribes includes Rachel Shukert, Jaclyn Moore, Dan Robert & Lisha Brooks, Sarah Sutherland, and Jonathan Levine. The new team makes excellent use of the foundation laid in the first season while expanding the story in a new direction that feels more mature and less melodramatic than the first season. Liane Moriarty’s novels have become global bestsellers but have paled compared to Big Little Lies, the marquee HBO series that Nicole Kidman headlined. Moriarty’s Apples Never Fall was another lackluster adaptation. Still, Nine Perfect Strangers has evolved from the limitations of the source material to become an even better and more engaging mystery this time, even if some of the revelations are telegraphed early in the season.

In light of how superior this second season is, I may have overrated the first season in my review. Had the first season been as well assembled as this, it would have been an even bigger hit with audiences and earned more critical praise. Nicole Kidman has built upon the vague origin of Masha in the first season to make her an even more intriguing presence here, with the potential for a third season to dig even deeper into the complex psychological issues her treatments bring to the surface. As much as I liked Kidman this season, being surrounded by this ensemble is the winning formula for this series to be the next big anthology-style hit everyone will discuss and theorize about. While the formula means we won’t see most of these characters again, the final moments of the Nine Perfect Strangers season two finale intrigue me for what comes next.

Nine Perfect Strangers premieres its second season on May 21st with two episodes on Hulu.

Nine Perfect Strangers

GOOD

7

The post Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 TV Review: Nicole Kidman returns for another psychedelic trip with an all-new cast appeared first on JoBlo.

This year, Netflix will be streaming Sesame Street’s all-new, reimagined 56th season — plus 90 hours of previous episodes — available to audiences worldwide. The official description from Netflix reads, “The new season will feature fresh format changes and the return of fan-favorite segments like Elmo’s World and Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck. Expect new ways to play along as Cookie Monster opens his very own Cookie Cart on Sesame Street, and explore Abby’s Fairy Garden, a home to surprising and delightful magical creatures. Additionally, episodes will now center on one 11-minute story, allowing for even more character-driven humor and heart.”

The upcoming reimagined 56th season on Netflix will include the following format changes and segment additions:

• New ways to play along. Cookie Monster opens his very own Cookie Cart on Sesame Street. Will there be cookie chaos or a sweet treat with every adventure? Abby’s Fairy Garden is home to surprising and delightful magical creatures. What could possibly go wrong when Abby helps care for them?
• To-camera moments. The characters speak directly to the viewers and invite them into the action—capturing emotions and interactions. 
• Animation overlays that highlight music, action, humor, and important story moments while adding visual excitement. Visual effects like wand sparkles, bubbles, and confetti will add a touch of anything-can-happen magic to the storytelling.
• One 11-minute story. The longer format provides the opportunity to tell stories with even more character-driven humor and heart.  
• A new animated segment, Tales from 123 that takes viewers INSIDE the most famous apartment building in the world where they can discover the wacky and whimsical building that Elmo, Cookie Monster, and friends call home.
• The return of fan-favorite episodes of Elmo’s World and Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck.  

Sal Perez and Kay Wilson Stallings are on board as executive producers for the production company, Sesame Workshop. Additionally, the show will be introducing a new head writer — Halcyon Person (What a name!). Person is an Emmy, Humanitas, and NAACP Award-nominated TV maker who has also worked as a writer, director, and producer for everything from preschool content to late-night shows. Her credits include being the Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer of Karma’s World (2021) and Dee & Friends in Oz (2024) on Netflix.

The post Netflix brings the sunny days as it welcomes new Sesame Street episodes appeared first on JoBlo.

The release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning marks the culmination of the biggest undertaking of Tom Cruise’s professional career. Regardless or whether or not it turns out to be the last entry into the series, and Ethan Hunt’s final mission, it wraps up an epic two-film storyline. By the time it hits theatres, it will have taken up a full five years of Cruise’s career, with him working on little else since the first of the two films, Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning, started production in 2020. And, with us having seen the new film last week, we can confirm that it’s a direct continuation of the previous film’s storyline. With so much riding on this movie, now is a good time to look back at the last entry, which, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, failed to live up to expectations at the box office, putting pressure on this sequel to overperform.

Now, it should be noted that Dead Reckoning was not the first Mission: Impossible movie to open to a relatively cool reception at the box office. Back in the summer of 2006, Mission: Impossible 3 was supposed to be the blockbuster hit of the year, but Cruise’s stardom had taken a beating the year previously, thanks to some oddball press appearances which put the focus on his Scientology beliefs over the movies he was promoting. Indeed, the movie still ranks as the lowest-grossing installment in the franchise, with only $134 million in domestic grosses, which failed to match the budget and was significantly less than what the first two films had made. It kicked off perhaps the worst period of Cruise’s career, followed by a rare slew of flops that included Knight and Day, Valkyrie (very underrated), and Lions for Lambs.

Yet, the Mission: Impossible series also proved to be Cruise’s box office redemption, with him launching a fourth film, Ghost Protocol, which was an all-or-nothing attempt to do a soft reboot of the series. It took Ethan Hunt to far-flung international locales, and emphasized incredible stunt work performed by the star himself, with that film famous for Cruise climbing the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. While the buzz had been that Jeremy Renner’s character, William Brandt, was meant to be an eventual replacement for Hunt, no one leaving the theatre after Ghost Protocol had any doubt over whether or not the series still belonged to Cruise. It was a much-needed box office hit for Cruise, as were the two follow-ups, Rogue Nation and Fallout, which saw the directorial reigns taken over by Christopher McQuarrie, and the envelope pushed even further in terms of action.

By all accounts, Dead Reckoning was a killer as far as production goes. It likely would have gone fine had its shoot not coincided with the worldwide pandemic, bringing everything to a standstill. The movie had been in production for about forty days when the pandemic reached its boiling point, leading to a months-long hiatus. In the meantime, the movie lost the actor who was set to play the young antagonist, Nicholas Hoult, leading to major re-writes, where Esai Morales eventually took over the reconfigured role, where the baddie, Gabriel, was now a former colleague of Ethan’s from his younger days. 

One thing worth noting is that all eyes were on Dead Reckoning as it was shot, as no one quite knew how a movie such as this could be shot amid a quarantine, leading to much tension on the set. This all hit the breaking point when audio leaked of Cruise having a meltdown on set over violated safety protocols, where he reaffirmed the fact that the movie industry, as a whole, was on the edge of a virtual complete shutdown. He said that people back home were looking at them as a way to go forward, and if they were shut down, it could spell disaster for every other big movie that was trying to shoot safely. The leaked audio actually bolstered Cruise’s popularity, and it’s worth noting that when his long-delayed Top Gun: Maverick, which had been shot pre-pandemic, finally hit theatres in 2022, it was one of the first monster hits of the pandemic era, and Cruise’s most popular film to date.

However, all of this on-set chaos led to Dead Reckoning having a massive budget that approached the $300 million mark. Thus, it had to clear an enormous hurdle to be considered profitable when it opened. Sadly, the movie fell victim to a few unforeseen events that seriously hampered its business. One was the SAG/AFTRA strike, which meant that Cruise, despite his pleas for an exception, had to cut short his worldwide publicity tour, badly impacting the global box office (it also led to a huge shooting delay for The Final Reckoning, leading to it being delayed a full year). Another issue was that movie didn’t resonate with audiences the way other instalments had, with many disliking the fact that it was only part one of a two-film saga, which left many people feeling that by the time the credits rolled they hadn’t gotten a whole experience, even if it was the longest movie of the series to date, and had some of the biggest action scenes ever film. Audiences also were upset that Rebecca Ferguson’s fan favourite character, Isla Faust, was killed off, while the movie also fell prey to the Barbenheimer phenomenon that took over theatres only a week after Dead Reckoning came out. 

Of the two movies, it was Oppenheimer that really cut into Dead Reckoning’s box office. While Fallout had been shot for IMAX, with large-scale, IMAX-aspect ratio enhanced sequences, Dead Reckoning was shot conventionally, and only optimized for IMAX after the fact, without the aspect ratio increase. This underwhelmed many fans who shelled out good money to see it in that format, and couldn’t compare to Oppenheimer, which took over IMAX screens and had been shot in the full IMAX aspect ratio.

But rather than pull the plug on the next movie, the choice was made to abandon the idea of releasing the film as Dead Reckoning Part 2. It was also slated to have action scenes shot in the full IMAX aspect ratio, making it one of the more anticipated movies to come out that way this summer.

As it stands, The Final Reckoning is much anticipated by fans of the series and of Cruise’s. If it does mark the end, one has to look at the entire saga as Cruise’s largest undertaking, with the one-two shooting of the Reckoning films the most ambitious thing he’s ever done. Whether or not it pays off remains to be seen, but one must admire Cruise’s dedication to his craft and the art of epic movie-making. 

The post Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: You need to revisit this before you see The Final Reckoning appeared first on JoBlo.

You know what sounds like a hard sell to a Hollywood studio? A chain smoking antihero with a bad attitude and terminal lung cancer whom God himself doesn’t like. Dipping in and out of actual Hell. Where, by the way, Satan can’t wait to torture him for eternity. Oh, and it’s a large-ish budget superhero movie based on a DC/Vertigo comic. It’s a road that would include lawsuits, a music video director, a comic book creator who would rather leave free money on the table than be involved, and the MPAA gumming up the works. But where there’s a Keanu Reeves….there’s a way. This is what happened to Constantine.

The origins of Constantine began in June of 1986 when famed comic creator Alan Moore introduced him in The Saga of Swamp Thing #37. The occult investigator from England was on the hunt for information about something big happening in the supernatural world, (something that might even be Satan himself) when he crosses paths with Swamp Thing. The smart-ass, cigarette smoking character proved to be a hit among fans and achieved his own series three years later titled Hellblazer. Running from 1988 to 2013 and becoming Vertigo’s longest running title. Constantine’s Hellblazer had become a major staple for the label that allowed DC to explore darker, more adult fare in their stories.

When the idea to produce the film came across Producer Lauren Shuler Donner’s desk, she saw it as an opportunity to turn a comic book into a classic horror movie such as The Exorcist. She began development in 1997 and would at one point attach Bulletproof Monk director Paul Hunter to the project before pivoting to visionary director of The Cell, Tarsem Singh. Needless to say that didn’t work out. Singh left the project around 2001 and was promptly sued by Warner Brothers for violating the terms of his contract. Singh retorted by counter suing them, claiming that they didn’t live up to their end of the bargain. He claimed Warner Bros took away his creative rights on the film and wouldn’t allow him to make changes to the script nor meet with the writers.

Speaking of the writers, you wouldn’t see creator Alan Moore’s name attached to the project at the time, either. He’d become jaded with the industry after adaptations of his work on League of Extraordinary Gentleman and From Hell. He not only demanded not to be credited for the film, but requested his royalties be dispersed among the others who had worked on the character. He really meant that sh*t!

The story would be written by The Glimmer Man writer Kevin Brodbin as well as writer Jamie Delano, with a screenplay by Frank Capello based loosely on the Hellblazer stories, with a particular focus on The Boys writer Garth Ennis’ Dangerous Habits story arc. This was something pitched by Cappello, who was fascinated with the idea that a larger than life hero who had dealt with as many dark forces as Constantine had being bested by something as simple as a cigarette. The title of the film was changed from Hellblazer to Constantine to avoid any confusion with another dark story about death and the afterlife… Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. Side note: Would love to see Keanu in a Hellraiser movie.

One on hand, Warner Bros and company played with a lot of dangerous sins themselves. The writers and studio took multiple liberties with the character from the comic books. They moved the story from England to LA. And I don’t know if anyone noticed? But Keanu Reeves isn’t British. He doesn’t play the character British, either. He in no way resembles the musician Sting as the comic book had. Neither does Nicolas Cage, who was at one point attached to play the titular character himself. Which would have been equally cool. The character doesn’t even have his signature blonde hair, nor does he wear the same jacket color. He is still carrying the same shitty attitude. And for Producer Akiva Goldsmith, that’s all that mattered. Goldsmith quipped that he was more concerned with getting the spirit of the character right than anything else.

Finally, director Francis Lawrence began to win over the folks at Warner Brothers one by one in his pitch for the job. Though he had only done music videos up to that point, the studio didn’t mind. They wanted a director who could keep the tempo up and keep the film stylish and believed he could be the man for the job. Lawrence had a vision for the project and only one more person to sell his involvement to: Keanu Reeves. Who told the production specifically NOT to hire a music video director. When Keanu Reeves made it back from his work on one of the Matrix sequels, Francis filled a pitch room with his storyboards and vision for the film. And ultimately won Reeves over as well. The pieces were finally in play.

With Keanu fully on board, the character of Angela Dodson went to the very capable Rachel Weisz, who had just impressed in the thriller The Mummy with Brendan Fraser and its subsequent sequel. The character of Midnite, which was said to be the character the movie stayed the most faithful to, went to Djimon Hounsou. While on the opposite end of the spectrum, the character of Chas had been changed quite a bit. What was once Constantine’s only real adult relationship and mostly his equal had been switched to more of an immature understudy that went to the younger Shiah LaBeouf. The funnest casting of the film might just go to Bush front man and rock star Gavin Rossdale, who portrayed Constantine’s well dressed but demonic nemesis, Balthazar. Rossdale, who was impressive in the role, was given the job and sent that very same day to Stan Winston’s studio to have his prosthetic head built where face sculptors were likely biting their tongues not to make Machinehead jokes.

Tilda Swinton as half breed Gabriel and Peter Stormare as one of the most entertaining and off putting Satan’s you’ll ever see on screen rounded out the films villains. The two ended up being favorites of the director, who appreciated the fresh energy they brought to the end of a shoot full of otherwise tired and weary crew members. It’s an energy boost you can literally feel while watching the film.

Though Constantine is pretty CGI laden and wide in scope, according to Lawrence, the hardest shot to film was actually a simple conversation at a diner on a rainy day between Reeves and Weisz. This because all of the special effects shot were planned down to every tiny detail, including the impressive exorcism mirror stunt in the opening. Whereas the diner scene involved eight pages of dialogue and important exposition between their tow leads. Of which it was imperative to get right.

That doesn’t mean the special effects were easy. They did have to recreate Hell after all. Which, as we know can make or break a film like this (cough, SPAWN). Visual Effects Supervisor Michael Fink and Lawrence decided to go for a more personal approach, basically creating Hell as a parallel version of Los Angeles. Their Hell involved a highway (in another nod towards LA traffic) littered with abandoned cars and demons with no eyes (because half their skulls were missing). The creatures would gather in large groups, sniffing and feeling their way for humans to rip apart. Flying versions of the demons, called Seplatives had their bottom torsos ripped off, so they were cursed to stay constantly in flight. The producers came up with this idea after visiting a place in Yugoslavia that served their drinks in glasses with broken stemware so you couldn’t set them down and would to finish quickly. What the hell is up with the people who run that bar in Yugoslavia? Someone give me an address so I can go tell them how wrong that is.

Hell was given the same look as the bright heat wave that happens just before a nuclear bomb destroys everything. Everything was made to look as if it were slowly disintegrating alongside a constant, directional wind replicating the blowback of an explosion. Some of their hell was practical and included a large set full of rotting cars and highway debris. They then draped the walls in Green Screen and added all of the nastiness of a living, breathing hell on top of it. An animatronic puppet of one of the demons was made by Stan Winston to add a realistic effect, while the larger hordes were created with CGI.

For a really rad scene where Angela is swooped away from Constantine by demons, they built a full scale building floor and rigged the doors to explode and pull away almost all at once, the same way dominos would fall. They then hooked Rachel Weisz up to a pulley system with a green screen around it and computerized her into the shot, also building a miniature model of a bunch of cubicles on the sides to destroy. Later, they added a bunch of debris such as flying paper and staplers in post. These shots all paid off extremely well. Especially when watching the 4K restoration of the film all these years later. It’s not the CGI fest it was sometimes unfairly panned for years ago.

The props were given extra care as well, with Constantine’s golden cannon being comprised of eight different working pieces that came together to create the unholy shotgun. It also was equipped with a functioning light and the actual ability to fire blanks. The unholy bible was actually full of Latin copy from the script before it was wrapped in plastic and covered in black slime for effect.

The demon throwdown at the end when Keanu decides to have his own demonic wet t shirt contest was filmed all in one shot, with the stunt crew led by coordinator RA Rondell planning the entire fight sequence to a tee.

The character of Vermin Man, a demon comprised fully of crabs, bugs, snakes, and even a bird somewhere in there almost never made the film. He was set to be introduced as a mid-movie fight scene which is just the kind of thing studios sometimes find disposable. Especially for a character this expensive that took over a year to create for the special effects crew who did so using a man in an actual Vermin Man suit, as well as a lot of computer design. The character was especially difficult to create because his body composition was always in flux and full of gross, moving oddities. To make matters worse, once the crew had the shot in the can, the director realized that it wasn’t dynamic or eventful enough. They had to go back and shoot more, with Keanu this time having to dive around in the street, avoiding CG cars to be added in post.

Keanu didn’t mind, however. In a recent interview, the beloved actor said that every day on the set was a mixture of production design, cinematography, writing and performance. Which was the best kind of thing you could hope for when making a movie. Plus, it’s not every day you get to throw a middle finger right to Satan’s face.

The sounds of Constantine were contributed by composer Brian Tyler and featured what was basically a half music video by A Perfect Circle and their song “Passive”, as well a track by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. The movie was finally ready to be released in February of 2005 after multiple delays. Including the fact that they were shooting for a PG-13 rating and were given an R by the MPAA anyways, likely due to the religious content of the film.

Constantine opened to nearly $30 million in its opening weekend. The film went on to nab a total of $230 million worldwide on a production budget of around $100 million. It’s one of those flicks that has aged surprisingly well. Critics weren’t exactly gushing over it upon release but it has garnered a following over the years. A following that’s hard to call “cult” considering the initial moderate box office success….but you could definitely say it’s more widely appreciated currently than it was upon release. Constantine currently holds an audience rating of 72% positive on Rotten Tomatoes.

So with that being said, a sequel is definitely on the way, right? They’ve been talking about it since 2005. But it does seem possible we’re headed in a positive direction. Reeves just as recently as February of 2025 confirmed that both he and director Francis Lawrence had presented an idea to DC Studios, who gave them the go ahead to write a script that would be set in the very same world as the 2005 film.

And that my friends, is what happened to Constantine. With hopefully a lot more happening soon.

A couple of the previous episodes of What Happened to This Horror Movie? can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!

The post Constantine (2005) – What Happened to This Horror Movie? appeared first on JoBlo.

Body horror fans, get ready for a new trip into shock cinema. Julia Ducournau, who directed the visceral horror films Raw and Titane, saddles up to release her third film, Alpha. Titane was a milestone for the filmmaker as she became the second woman director to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes. FilmNation and Charades presented Alpha to potential buyers at the Cannes market, and it was reported that the indie studio, Neon, would come out with the distribution rights to the film. Now, Neon has released a brand new foreboding teaser trailer for the film. You can view it above.

Alpha stars Tahar Rahim, Golshifteh Farahani, Mélissa Boros, Emma Mackey, Finnegan Oldfield and Louai El Amrousy. The plot description reads, “Alpha. A troubled 13-year-old lives with her single mom. Their world collapses the day she returns from school with a tattoo on her arm.” Sounds like a basic plot for a family drama, but Ducournau is known for taking some wildly crazy turns with her films and the teaser, of course, implies that a lot more is going on.

Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film are on board as producers of Alpha. Joining them will be Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie and Frakas Productions will be co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment have also handled sales in the rest of the world during the Cannes Film Festival. Last year, FilmNation Entertainment and Charades provided the following statement: “Alpha is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global audience discovering the story with as much excitement as we did. We can’t wait to bring the film to market in Cannes and to launch sales together for the first time and collaborate in this way.“ 

So, for an idea of what kind of film this might turn out to be, we can only look back at the films Ducournau made previously. Her first movie, Raw, had the following synopsis: Stringent vegetarian Justine encounters a decadent, merciless and dangerously seductive world during her first week at veterinary school. Desperate to fit in, she strays from her principles and eats raw meat for the first time. The young woman soon experiences terrible and unexpected consequences as her true self begins to emerge.

Then Titane told this story: Alexia is a dancer who, after being injured in a car accident as a child, has a titanium plate fitted into her head. Amidst a series of brutal and unexplained murders, her path crosses with Vincent, a firefighter desperately searching for his long-missing son, changing their lives forever.

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With the movie already generating awards buzz for Lawrence’s performance, it’s been acquired by Mubi, the indie streamer making massive waves since they helped The Substance become a major awards player last year. Adding further enticement, Mubi gives its movies full theatrical releases instead of Netflix. With the $24 million price tag, one could assume Die, My Love caused a major bidding war, and this is easily the most Mubi has ever paid for a movie.

Given the star power, it may well pay off, with Ramsay’s movies, which include We Need to Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here, typically tough but rewarding sits with a lot of staying power. Note that this is the third major film in the last year to tackle postpartum depression. Nightbitch earned star Amy Adams good reviews and a Golden Globe nomination, while A24’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You earned raves out of Sundance. However, Jennifer Lawrence’s presence and Ramsay’s hallucinatory take will likely make this a buzzy film when it comes out this fall. 

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At 62, Cruise previously stated that Harrison Ford’s continued career inspires him to keep going into his 80s. Cruise amended his statement as he spoke with The Hollywood Reporter. In an interview with THR on the red carpet for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Cruise corrected himself,

I actually said I’m going to make movies into my 80s; actually, I’m going to make them into my 100s. I will never stop. I will never stop doing action, I will never stop doing drama, comedy films — I’m excited.” 

With The Final Reckoning celebrating Ethan Hunt’s journey throughout the franchise, Cruise found hardship in trying to pick the most rewarding aspect of making the series because “there’s been so many levels of reward with the filmmakers that I’ve collaborated with, the crews, the people, the cultures that we’ve worked in. Everything that I’ve learned and continue to learn about storytelling, about life, about leadership, about character and every aspect of filmmaking. It’s been exceptional, it really is exceptional. I feel very fortunate to be able to make the films that I make and I love it, I just making movies.”

The big draws of each entry are the jaw-dropping stunt sequences and when Cruise was asked if there were any traditions that he picked up in preparation for the stunts, the star replied, “There’s a lot of pre-stunt rituals that keep me alive — it depends on what I’m doing and the amount of preparation I have to do. A lot of thought goes into it, and they are very complex and very interesting.”

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The way it sounds, The Phoenician Scheme is very much a Wes Anderson movie; that might sound vague and non-descriptive but you know exactly what we mean when we say that. With that, we seem to be looking at more of the same, which isn’t a slight at all. Indeed, if there’s one director whose visual style we want to continue to feast on, it’s Anderson.

Even still — and despite a six-minute standing ovation — a number of people who caught the premiere of The Phoenician Scheme are taking issues with the point that it’s just not doing enough to stand out from Anderson’s other movies. How that will actually impact one’s viewing is really up to the individual in this case.

One thing I’m most excited about so the The Phoenician Scheme is the ensemble cast, which sees plenty of Wes Anderson alum returning, including Benicio del Toro, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlet Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Willem Dafoe, and Bill Murray, who sat the rare movie out last time around with Asteroid City. Newcomers include Mia Threapleton and Michael Cera, who evidently fits into a Wes Anderson film as well as we expected. The story finds these actors and more tangled in with businessmen, nuns, assassins, and more.

The Phoenician Scheme marks the return of Wes Anderson to Cannes, having sat it out with his previous feature, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, going straight to Netflix. The film is in competition for the coveted Palme d’Or, which Asteroid City was also in the running for in 2023. Like that movie, The Phoenician Scheme comes from Focus Features. The film opens on May 30th.

What do you make of the first reactions to Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme right out of Cannes? Will you be seeing it on opening weekend?

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When a zombie outbreak hits small-town New York, a washed-up veterinarian must team up with his ex-wife and her new cop boyfriend to stop President William White and his right-hand man General Graves from destroying NYC. It’s a battle of zombies, power, and unresolved feelings—and the fate of millions rests in the hands of a guy who’s already given up.

This marks the continuation of an interesting detour into genre for Rockwell, who also recently wrapped director Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, in which he stars as a man from the future who travels back in time to save the world from AI. He’ll also be re-teaming with his Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri director Martin McDonagh for Wild Horse Nine. It is currently filming and sounds like it could be a potential Oscar contender either this year or next, depending on when it wraps.

Hellhound director Zach Golden previously helmed the Don Johnson and Olga Kurylenko-led action flick, High Heat. Hungry Bull Productions will produce the film. Here’s what their president, Joseph Restaino, had to say about the movie: 

We are thrilled to bring Zach Golden’s and Ivan’s Martin’s fun, exciting, action packed script to life.  With Zach in the director seat, we have a trusted and proven storyteller leading an all-star cast led by Marisa Tomei, Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina and Martin to bring Hellhound to audiences around the world.  This talented team is a dream come true.”

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What’s the first name that comes to mind when you think of a movie star? Do you go back to the Golden Age of Hollywood? Maybe a ‘70s icon? A blockbuster hero of the ‘80s and ‘90s? The point is, it might not be someone too recent…at least, if you’re Sean Penn, that is, who recently declared, “There’s no such thing as a movie star anymore.”

To me, Timothée Chalamet might be the quintessential movie star right now. But the A Complete Unknown star is hardly on Penn’s radar, saying he has yet to see a single film from him. Adding to this, Penn stated, “It’s like, people are hanging out in their sections of the library. We all used to be in the same library, and [found out] what was special to everybody. I have a romantic memory of that. It’s moved on since then. There won’t be…you’re not going to have a Warren Beatty, it’s not going to happen.”

OK, so Warren Beatty is tough to match, but Chalamet is also a reigning sex symbol (although with that ‘stasche, he’ll never be Beatty) and had the advantage of landing his first movie five years before Beatty did at 24 with Splendor in the Grass. But look at Chalamet or Austin Butler or Glen Powell and you’re looking at a bonafide movie star – granted, they’re not all ones you’re going to drop your weekend for to catch their new flick. (Oh, god, it isn’t Dwayne Johnson, is it?) On the female front, what about Emma Stone or Margot Robbie? For Penn, the concept of a movie star stopped with someone else entirely. “I think the movie star manufacturer ran out around Jennifer Lawrence’s time or something. She’s probably the last movie star, yeah.”

Sean Penn has said many jaded things before, but this does feel a little like the old man yelling at clouds. Really, that he even said he has never seen a Timothée Chalamet movie – even the three that have individually outgrossed Warren Beatty’s entire filmography) – shows he’s out of touch on this one. Yes, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Tom Cruise – all guys who got their start in the ‘80s – still define the Hollywood movie star, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any newcomers who have a rightful spot in the conversation.

Who do you think stands as an absolute movie star in 2025?

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One thing is for sure – audiences are loving the franchise’s return. Typically, horror movies don’t fare well in the weekly CinemaScore polls done by the studios, with a grade in the C-range usually considered typical. Final Destination: Bloodlines managed to score a B+ rating, which is terrific and bodes well for word-of-mouth, meaning the film could end its run in the $100 million range. Even if not through, it will easily end its run as the highest-grossing film in the franchise to date, and will no doubt have WB/New Line Cinema rushing to get yet another instalment in the franchise out within a year or two (at max). 

Meanwhile, the battle for second place was a nail-biter, with Marvel’s Thunderbolts winning – but only by a hair – with them making $16.5 million in their third weekend for a $155 million domestic total. It seems unlikely to crack the $200 million mark, leaving this as one of the lowest-grossing Marvel movies. A lot of its thunder was taken by the zeitgeist-grabbing Sinners, which got back its 70mm IMAX screens this weekend, and made $15.4 million towards a $240 million domestic total. Is $300 million achievable? 

Indeed, Warner Bros was having a very good weekend, with them claiming three of the top four grossing movies at the box office, as A Minecraft Movie made $5.9 million for fourth place, with a $416 million domestic total. Amazon/MGM’s The Accountant 2 continued to show some staying power, making $4.5 million for fifth place, with the $58.7 million total not far off from what the studio’s The Beekeeper made in January 2024. Could The Accountant 3 still happen? Fingers crossed!

The Weeknd’s big screen debut, Hurry Up Tomorrow, posted an abysmal opening, with only $3.3 million this weekend on over 2000 screens. We slammed the movie pretty harshly in our review, and audiences seemed to feel the same way, with it earning a C-minus CinemaScore rating. A24 – after a rough start to the year. – finally seems to have a hit with the Tim Robinson/ Paul Rudd comedy, Friendship, which made $1.4 million on only 60 screens, meaning it had a terrific $23k per screen average.

Sadly, IFC/Shudder’s Clown in a Cornfield lost over 60% of its audience in week two for a $1.3 million gross and $6.3 million total. However, it’s still one of the highest-grossing IFC/Shudder releases to date, and it should make a mint on streaming. The Fathom re-release of Kiki’s Delivery Service proved to be another winner for the company, scoring just over a million dollars. The top ten was rounded off by Until Dawn, which made $800k for a total of just under $20 million.

Next weekend should be huge, as there are two major Memorial Day openings happening between Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch remake and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Which one is the priority for you next weekend? Let us know in the comments!

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10 Things I Hate About You was key late-’90s watching for a couple of reasons. One, it actually made Shakespeare fun (sorry, Baz!). But more importantly, it launched or nurtured the careers of so many of a generation’s favorite faces: Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, and, of course, Heath Ledger, who was one of the runaway stars of 10 Things.

Casting the role of Patrick Verona – the bad boy tasked to woo Stiles’ Kat so that Oleynik’s Bianca so she can get a date of her own – was one of the hardest jobs for the team. And while hundreds of guys tried out for the part, once Heath Ledger entered the room, 10 Things director Gil Junger knew he was the one. As he told Entertainment Weekly, “The truth of the matter is we were casting and he walked into the room, and I’m very picky. I had already read 253 guys — 253 guys! And then Marcia Ross, the head of Disney casting, said, ‘Look, this next kid, I don’t know him. It’s a favor for an agent I respect. So if he’s no good, just stop it and send him on his way.’”

Junger added that despite being a teenager (a rarity in Hollywood, as it’s normally 20-somethings cast as high schoolers), Heath Ledger had the right personality to be the one to scale the bleachers in 10 Things. “He just had a magnetism unlike I’ve ever felt. It was undeniable. If there’s old souls, he must have been centuries old because he just had a way about him that — he was only 17, and yet he just was so confident and loving and wanted to be the best he could be. He was just an incredible young man.”

After 10 Things I Hate About You scored big at the box office, Heath Ledger’s career was off. Soon after, he was cast in The Patriot opposite Mel Gibson, leading A Knight’s Tale and co-starring in Monster’s Ball, all just a few years before he would land his first Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain.

10 Things I Hate About You is still so loved 25+ years later that Junger is even developing a follow-up trilogy that is set to feature 10 Things I Hate About Dating, 10 Things I Hate About Marriage and 10 Things I Hate About Kids. Junger has also supported the idea of paying homage to the late Heath Ledger – who died in 2008 – in the 10 Things trilogy.

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Earlier this week, we dropped our list of the best Final Destination deaths (not including the new movie), and now we want to know which film in the series is the best as far as the fans go? Are people nostalgic for the one that started it all with Devon Sawa, or are the gorier sequels more in line with what our readers like? Or – is Final Destination: Bloodlines the best of the bunch? Take the poll below and let us know in the comments. 

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