On the latest episode of Cinema Royale, film critics Travis Hopson and Joblo.com‘s Chris Bumbray talk about Brady Corbet’s searing American epic, THE BRUTALIST! Is it a modern day masterpiece? Will it take all of the awards at the Oscars? Or will it be a critically-acclaimed film that won’t be fully appreciated until years later?
All of this and more on a new episode of Cinema Royale, which you can find anywhere that you get podcasts.
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Somebody call Brendan Fraser, a new Mummy is emerging from its tomb. THR first reported, and since it has been confirmed by Blumhouse, that Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin will direct The Mummy for New Line, a fresh take on the classic Universal Monster. The film is expected to hit theaters on April 17th 2026.
Blumhouse had been holding that date for a “mystery Lee Cronin film”, and now we know what the big secret was. Cronin will direct and also write the screenplay. James Wan is a producer through his Atomic Monster label. Plot details are under wraps, of course, but don’t expect it to be a sweeping global adventure like the Fraser movies were.
The confirmation from Blumhouse was on their Instagram, captioned “Something terrifying will be unleashed in 2026.”
The Mummy will mark the third of Blumhouse’s revival of classic Universal Monster movies. The first, Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, was a critical and box office hit in 2020, earning $144M on a $7M budget. The next one, Wolf Man, opens in January 2025 and is also directed by Whannell.
Universal has been making mummy movies since the 1930s, with famous actors such as Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. starring in the franchise. Fraser and Rachel Weisz then starred in a series of Mummy adventure movies that became big blockbusters in 1999 and the early 2000s. Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella starred in a failed reboot in 2017 that was meant to launch an entire cinematic universe.
Cronin was Sam Raimi’s handpicked choice to direct Evil Dead Rise, which he did to tremendous success in 2023. He preceded that with the buzzy indie horror The Hole in the Ground. He’s also attached to Thaw, a horror-thriller also at New Line. It’s unclear what the status of that is but one assumes The Mummy will take priority.
Hollywood producers are swarming over anyting from author Colleen Hoover that they can get their hands on, following the $350M box office of It Ends with Us. Amazon MGM set Anne Hathaway to star in an adaptation of her bestseller, Verity, and now Deadline reports that Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett will be joining her.
Nick Antosca, known for horror films The Forest and Antlers, wrote the most recent script for director Michael Showalter. The psychosexual gothic story follows Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling thriller author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series that his wife is unable to finish after a mysterious accident. Upon arrival at the lavish Crawford estate, Lowen slowly learns that things are not exactly as they seem with the discovery of a secret, unfinished manuscript that may divulge chilling admissions about the family’s past. As Lowen ingratiates herself with Jeremy and his young son Crew, she must discern if Verity’s writings are merely lurid works of fiction or an ominous warning by a deranged psychopath.
Johnson will play Lowen Ashleigh with Hartnett as Jeremy Crawford.
Verity was self-published by Hoover in 2018 and became a huge success story when it made the bestseller list, selling millions of copies.
Johnson has had a mixed year with roles in Madame Web and Daddio opposite Sean Penn. She’ll be seen next with Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal in Celine Song’s Materialists. Hartnett has been experiencing a career resurgence following roles in Oppenheimer, Trap, and an episode of The Bear.
At three-a-half-hours long, director Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist is a cinematic allegory for the American dream. It’s ambitious, beautifully shot, and is possibly Adrien Brody’s best work. There are so many elements of this film that shouldn’t gel together and that seem pretentious, but when seen onscreen, everything just clicks. It is a testament to brilliant filmmaking.
Brody plays Jewish–Hungarian architect László Tóth who at the start of the film has landed in New York. He travels down to Pennslyvania to settle with his acclimated cousin, Attila (Alessandro Nivola), and his wife Audrey (Emma Laird). Though László tries to adapt to his new environment, constant reminders of his immigrant status keep the film from feeling at peace. When Harry Lee Van Buren, one of Attila’s regular customers comes into the store to ask for his library to be redone, László goes to painstaking efforts to make the space perfect. When that goes awry, he is abandoned by his cousins and goes to work as a common construction worker. It isn’t until Harrison Van Buren, the former client’s father (Guy Pearce), comes back having discovered László’s past as a brilliant European architect and a Holocaust survivor that all is forgiven.
The relationship between these two accomplished men is the crux of this film, the push and pull between the renowned creative from a foreign land and the “self-made” man who is not as free-thinking as he portrays. When Harrison commissions László to build a community center in his dead mother’s honor, their dynamic escalates to traumatic heights, lasting decades. Though the project affords him the opportunity to bring his wife, Erzsébet (a stellar and worth-the-wait Felicity Jones) and niece over to the States, it comes almost at the cost of his marriage and sanity.
You are going to see the three-and-a-half-hour runtime and want to watch something else. When I tell you this film moves, I mean it. The pacing of The Brutalist isimmaculate. There are shorter movies that have come out this year that don’t have the pacing or structure that this film has. It’s a breezy 215 minutes and only adds to the prestige of what Corbet has created. From the opening shot of the Statue of Liberty twisted upside down, you understand this is a different allegory than we’ve seen of the American dream.
Daniel Blumberg’s score is one of the year’s best and elevates every scene it is featured in. Part experimental jazz and synthed-out piano, the music feels both contemporary and of the mid-century period the film is set in. Lol Crawley’s cinematography and Dávid Jancsó complement one another beautifully. Corbet has curated brilliant artists to work on this film with him, including his co-writer Mona Fastvold. The story never misses a beat and keeps you entwined in the personal dynamics and ethics of the story.
Corbet’s crowning achievement, however, is Adrien Brody. He brings life and layers into a character who carries most of the story on his back. While Brody certainly has the skill and filmography, this is the most prestigious thing he’s done in years. His role is so specific yet he encapsulates the everyman beautifully. Brody breathes new life into the tragic American hero.
I hate to call this film Corbet’s Goodfellas or Schindler’s List because this is a work all its own. But The Brutalist is the kind of film that future filmmakers and actors will look back on with admiration and envy. Expect this one to win at least one statue at this year’s Oscars. And don’t listen to your gut when it comes to runtime. This one has to be experienced in theaters.
Danny Boyle fans have waited a long time for 28 Years Later to finally hit theaters on June 20th 2025. The good news is they won’t have to wait long for the next sequel to arrive. Sony has announced that Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will hit theaters on January 16th 2026.
That’s just seven months between movies. Boyle and DaCosta shot the two movies back-to-back, working from Alex Garland’s screenplay. Plot details remain under wraps. What the heck is a Bone Temple, anyway? Sounds freaky.
28 Years Later stars Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Edvin Ryding. Taylor-Johnson’s character will survive long enough to appear in The Bone Temple, as well, and he’ll be joined by Cillian Murphy who reprises his role as Jim, protagonist of 2002’s 28 Days Later.
DaCosta is best known for directing The Marvels, Candyman, and Little Woods.
Here’s the synopsis for 28 Years Later: It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Paramount and SEGA had a plan to release a new Sonic movie every two years. And so far they have stuck to that plan and are racing to do so again. With Sonic the Hedgehog 3 set to open this weekend and run circles around Mufasa: The Lion King, Paramount has already set in motion a sequel.
Variety reports that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is in the works and is expected to hit theaters in 2027. Details on the plot are unknown, naturally, but those who take in Sonic 3 this weekend will have an idea of where the story is going.
Analysts are projecting a $60M+ opening weekend for Sonic 3, with even more internationally. Critics have already given the film a thumbs up, as it currently holds an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can read my review here.
It’s easy to see why Paramount is so eager to keep Sonic going as quickly as possible. The two films have combined for $725M at the global box office and driven hundreds of millions of dollars in other consumer sales. The franchise will likely crack the $1B mark with this third movie.
Jeff Fowler has directed all three movies and is likely to return as he’s been talking about a sequel. A big question mark hangs over the return of Jim Carrey, who has been great as comedy villain Dr. Robotnik. Carrey is an infrequent actor but has played an integral creative role in these movies. They wouldn’t be the same without him.
It’s still a little weird that Karate Kid: Legends has no connection to Netflix’s hit series, Cobra Kai. The show has been so popular and brought a fresh audience to the classic movies that you’d think Sony and Netflix could figure something out. For now, that’s not happening, and the film instead serves as a sequel introducing a new student in need of some karate training from a couple of old masters.
Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan return for Karate Kid: Legends, with Ben Wang as the young kung fu prodigy who could use their guidance to win a karate tournament. The sixth film in the franchise serves as a sequel to the 1984 classic and the 2010 reboot.
The cast includes Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff, and Danny McBride.
Jonathan Entwistle directs from a script by Rob Lieber. Entwistle is best known for creating hit shows The End of the F**king World and I Am Not Okay With This.
Karate Kid: Legends hits theaters on May 30th 2025.
SYNOPSIS: In Karate Kid: Legends, after a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. Li struggles to let go of his past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates, and although he doesn’t want to fight, trouble seems to find him everywhere. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren’t enough. Li’s kung fu teacher Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
Although Courteney Cox has been expected to return for Scream 7 all along, it’s only now that it’s been made official. Variety reports Cox has agreed to reprise her role of intrepid reporter Gale Weathers, a role she’s played in every movie in the franchise.
Weathers has had some close calls over the years, but she came closest to meeting her end in Scream VI when Ghostface stabbed her multiple times. She was rescued, and while her pulse was very weak, Gale got to a hospital in time. Clearly, she has survived.
Cox rejoins fellow franchise original Neve Campbell, who returns as Sidney Prescott after skipping on the last film.
Also coming back is Mason Gooding who played Chad Meeks-Martin in Scream and Scream VI. It’s unclear whether Jasmin Savoy Brown will also come back as Chad’s twin sister Mindy.
Joining them are fresh faces Isabel May as Sidney’s daughter, plus McKenna Grace, Sam Rechner, Asa Germann, and Anna Camp. The horror sequel will be directed by Kevin Williamson, from a script by Guy Busick. Williamson, a writer on multiple Scream movies, will direct one for the first time.
Cox doesn’t make a lot of movies anymore, but shows up for these every time. She recently starred in the Starz series Shining Vale for two seasons.
For much of her career, Ana de Armas has stayed away from big franchise roles. That has obviously changed with her showing up in No Time to Die, and her upcoming role in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. But if this new rumor from Daniel Richtman is true, Armas is due for her biggest studio franchise movie by a wide margin.
The report says Ana de Armas is in talks for a mystery role in Avengers: Doomsday. The upcoming MCU event is shaping up to have a massive ensemble of returning superheroes and villains, but also plenty of new faces of which Armas would be one.
This begs the question of who Armas could be playing? Will she be standing side-by-side with Robert Downey Jr. who is playing Doctor Doom? Maybe a version of Valeria von Doom? With Chris Evans rumored to play the Nomad version of Steve Rogers, maybe a villain such as Diamondback? Or Viper?
It’s unlikely that we’ll ever know the full cast of Avengers: Doomsday or its follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars, until the very last moment. Adding Armas would be a Hell of a coup for Marvel who will definitely want to keep her around for the long haul.
Avengers: Doomsday opens May 1st 2026, followed by Secret Wars on May 7th 2027.
Maika Monroe quietly is one of the most consistent actors around. She can be counted on for at least one great performance or film just about every year. In 2023 it was the remarkable God is a Bullet (if you haven’t seen it, rectify that now), and this year it was Longlegs, the small-budgeted serial killer film that raked in $127M. Understandably, NEON is eager to work with Monroe again on a different thriller from a director she’s quite familiar with.
Deadline reports Monroe will star in Brides, a new thriller from writer/director Chloe Okuno. Monroe stars as Sally, who travels with her husband to an Italian villa where its owner, a mysterious count, takes a peculiar interest in her.
This is a reunion between Monroe and Okuno. Monroe starred in Okuno’s directorial debut, Watcher, in 2022. Okuno also directed a segment in the horror anthology V/H/S/94 and episodes of Let the Right One In and Teacup.
Monroe recently signed on star in a remake of another thriller, 1992’s The Hands that Rocks the Cradle. She is best known for her role in It Follows, and will star in the sequel, They Follow.
