In a short amount of time, Henry Cavill has played Superman, The Witcher, and even made a funny cameo as “The Cavillrine” in Deadpool & Wolverine. Was that cameo just a taste of what’s to come for Cavill with Disney? Because a new rumor says he could be heading to Star Wars next.
Scooper MTTSH (via SFFGazette) says Cavill is up for a villainous role in an upcoming Star Wars project from Lucasfilm. It may or may not be connected to the trilogy of films from writer/producer Simon Kinberg that were announced last year. Cavill has been rumored to join the galaxy far far away for ages, and nothing is confirmed as of yet.
It’s unclear what Cavill’s role would be, of course. Kinberg’s movies were previously thought to continue the Skywalker Saga with episodes 10, 11, and 12, but those reports have been disputed. It could be that Kinberg is creating a completely new story with characters we’ve yet to meet on screen.
Coming up for Cavill is a role in the Highlander reboot, which could make for pretty good lightsaber training. He also has Guy Ritchie’s action film In the Grey, and the live-action Voltron from Rawson Marshall Thurber.
If you’re like me and have children, you absolutely brought your kid to a comic bookstore, but instead of them going crazy for Marvel or DC, they might have fallen in love with cartoonist/author/illustrator Dav Pilkey’s “Captain Underpants” graphic novels. Captain Underpants is a fun, easy-to-read superhero story for young kids and has had more than 12 different graphic novel volumes, as well as the spin-off series “Dog Man” which pivoted away from the teenage superhero for a tale of a Dog whose head was sewn onto its former (and currently deceased) police officer owner and worked as a police officer in OK City. Dog Man itself has had more than 14 volumes as well as creating its own spin-of “Cat Kid” (so expect that character to show up in a sequel), so it’s a no-brainer that such a popular kids graphic novel would get its own film adaptation in the new Dog Man film.
Although the Dog Man character is a Captain Underpants spin-off, Dog Man operates on its own and doesn’t connect to the other Pilkey-Verse characters and still is funny and entertaining but isn’t really connected to Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. This is good because it gives the film a chance to do its own thing. The story begins introducing the audience to the titular hero’s nemesis Petey, the evil talking cat who terrorizes the city (Pete Davidson). Petey plants a bomb as part of his reign of terror and famed cop Officer Knight and his pet come to diffuse the bomb. Unfortunately, the bomb still goes off. However, the police department launches its own “Six Million Dollar Man” adventure as they manage to sew the dog’s head onto Officer Knight’s body. Bad for Officer Knight, but good for “Dog Man” the new “supa-cop” for the department.
Dog Man (voiced, well “barked” by writer/director Peter Hastings) is now on the force and under the direction of the Chief (Lil Rel Howery), who acts just like every clichéd police chief riding our hero to do things by the book and his way. The Chief is always worried about the mayor (Cheri Oteri) breathing down his neck about Petey. In his downtime, Dog Man misses his former owner. Officer Knight’s home was sold, and his former girlfriend has moved on, so Dog Man is truly on his own. Because Hasting doesn’t do any vocals, Dog Man’s performance is driven by the Dreamworks animation team and Hasting’s barks, grunts, and whines.
Dog Man proves to be a great foil for Petey and stops most of his evil plans, so Pety has to make plans to up the ante. He decides that one Petey is not enough for Dog Man, he needs to clone himself. However, because Petey didn’t read the directions, his clone is a baby version of himself: Li’l Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon). But since Li’l Petey is still a baby, Pety doesn’t have the patience for him and abandons him. Dog Man, ever the kind soul meets the abandoned kitty and takes him in, and slowly becomes a surrogate father for the young cat.
Pety continues his schemes and brings back a dead supervillain fish named Flippy (Ricky Gervais), who not only is just as evil as Pety (probably more), but he also has telekinesis. Flippy slowly morphs into Dog Man’s true villain which causes Pety to reexamine his goals as both a supervillain as well as a father for his clone. In fact, the heart of the film doesn’t lie with Dog Man, but the dynamic between Pety, Li’l Petey, and Petey’s estranged father, Grampa (Stephen Root)
Dog Man is a completely wacky, fun, and silly film that knows exactly what it is and its goal. The animation style is the same as Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie and perfectly captures the graphic novel’s Spider-Verse style of animation. There are plenty of strange hijinks from the graphic novel (talking terroristic cats, talking telekinetic British fish, animatronic building raging kaiju-style, and plenty of other fun stuff), but the film also packs a whole lot of heart, and the touching family moments are well done. Expect either a sequel, or another Pilkey-Verse spin-off as it’s clear this franchise is here to stay!!
Neil Burger has directed just about every kind of movie one can think of. Beginning his career with the experimental Interview with the Assassin, Burger went on to direct huge studio films such as Divergent, intimate dramas such as The Lucky Ones (one of my favorites), and hit comedies such as The Upside. Burger’s latest, Inheritance, was a chance to do something he’d never done before and that was direct a globe-trotting espionage thriller. Did I mention it was shot on an IPhone?
Inheritance stars Phoebe Dynevor as Maya, a young woman who is drawn into an international conspiracy by her estranged father after it’s revealed that he is a former spy.
I had a chance to speak with Neil Burger about Inheritance, and we talked about the film’s genesis during the pandemic lockdowns. While others were turning their attention towards staying inside, he was envisioning a story that traveled the world. We talked about the challenges of shooting the film guerrilla style in real world locations, and some of the precarious positions that put Dynevor in. This one was a treat so I hope you’ll check it out!
Inheritance is open in theaters now via IFC Films! Check out the interview below and my review here.
It’s taken longer than hoped for David Cronenberg to find distribution for his latest film, but the wait is finally over. Janus Films will release The Shrouds this April, and this is shaping up to be a big one for the legendary filmmaker.
Cronenberg has called The Shrouds his most personal work ever, as it was inspired by the grief he felt after his wife’s death in 2017. Origianlly envisioned as a Netflix series, the film stars Vincent Cassel as Karsh, an innovative businessman and widower who fashions a unique device that allows grieving family members to watch their deceased loved ones decompose in real-time. When someone breaks into Karsh’s cemetery and begins desecrating graves, including that of his wife, he must discover who and why.
Also in the cast are Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, Elizabeth Saunders, and Sandrine Holt. Cronenberg wrote and directed the film, his first since 2022’sCrimes of the Future. He’s suggested this could be his swansong, as well, making this a must-see for his legion of fans.
SYNOPSIS: In an eerie, deceptively placid near-future, a techno-entrepreneur named Karsh has developed a new software that will allow the bereaved to bear witness to the gradual decay of loved ones dead and buried in the earth. While Karsh is still reeling from the loss of his wife from cancer—and falling into a peculiar sexual relationship with his wife’s sister—a spate of vandalized graves utilizing his “shroud” technology begins to put his enterprise at risk, leading him to uncover a potentially vast conspiracy.
The Shrouds opens in NY/LA theaters on April 18th, with a wider rollout on April 25th.
A couple of days are left in this year’s Sundance Film Festival, but in typical fashion the Jury and Audience award winners are announced once the premieres are over. In a bit of a surprise, Hailey Gates’ directorial debut Atropia won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize Dramatic while James Sweeney’s Twinless won the Audience Award.
Atropia stars Alia Shawkat as a struggling actress playing an Iraqi in a fictional Iraqi city set up for training during the Iraq War. The film also stars Callum Turner, Chloe Sevigny, Tim Heidecker, Chloe East, and Jane Levy.
Twinless had a big Sundance, coming away with two awards. Along with the Audience Award for Drama, star Dylan O’Brien received the Special Jury Award for Acting. O’Brien stars alongside Sweeney in the story of two young men who become friends in a support group for twinless twins. Also in the cast are Lauren Graham and Aisling Franciosi.
The Grand Jury Prize for Documentary went to Seeds, about the legacy of Black generational farmers in the American South.
The Directing Award: Dramatic went to Rashad Frett for his debut feature, Ricky. Frett had a buzzing world premiere after spending two years with Sundance expanding on the 2023 short film that was also part of the festival.
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award went to Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby. Victor also directed the film and starred, with Barry Jenkins aboard as a producer.
US Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Atropia/ U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Hailey Gates, Producers: Naima Abed, Emilie Georges, Luca Guadagnino, Lana Kim, Jett Steiger)
Directing Award: US Dramatic Rashad Frett for Ricky/ U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Rashad Frett, Screenwriter: Lin Que Ayoung, Producers: Pierre M. Coleman, Simon TaufiQue, Sterling Brim, DC Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Josh Peters, Mark Steele)
S Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast Plainclothes / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Carmen Emmi, Producers: Colby Cote, Arthur Landon, Eric Podwall, Vanessa Pantley)
US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting Dylan O’Brien for Twinless/ U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: James Sweeney, Producer: David Permut)
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: US Dramatic Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby/ U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Eva Victor, Producers: Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins)
US DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Presented by Steve Bognar & Marcia Smith
US Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling Selena y Los Dinos/ U.S.A. (Director: Isabel Castro, Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran Singh)
US Documentary Special Jury Award Life After / U.S.A. (Director: Reid Davenport, Producer: Colleen Cassingham)
Directing Award: US Documentary Geeta Gandbhir for The Perfect Neighbor/ U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Geeta Gandbhir, Producers: Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne, Sam Bisbee)
US Grand Jury Prize: Documentary Seeds / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Brittany Shyne, Producers: Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon)
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Presented by Raúl Esparza
Audience Award: US Dramatic Twinless/ U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: James Sweeney, Producer: David Permut) —
Audience Award: NEXT East of Wall/ U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kate Beecroft, Producers: Lila Yacoub, Melanie Ramsayer, Shannon Moss)
Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary Prime Minister/ U.S.A. (Directors: Michelle Walshe, Lindsay Utz, Producers: Cass Avery, Leon Kirkbeck, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Katie Peck)
Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic DJ Ahmet /North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia (Director and Screenwriter: Georgi M. Unkovski, Producers: Ivan Unkovski, Ivana Shekutkoska)
Audience Award: US Documentary André is an Idiot / U.S.A. (Director: Anthony Benna, Producers: André Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Joshua Altman, Stelio Kitrilakis, Ben Cotner)
NEXT AWARDS
Presented by Jack Begert
NEXT Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)/ U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Joel Alfonso Vargas, Producer: Paolo Maria Pedullà
NEXT Innovator Award Zodiac Killer Project / U.S.A., U.K. (Director and Producer: Charlie Shackleton, Producers: Catherine Bray, Anthony Ing)
WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION AWARDS
Presented by Wanuri Kahiu
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Writing Two Women / Canada (Director: Chloé Robichaud, Screenwriter and Producer: Catherine Léger, Producer: Martin Paul-Hus)
Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic Alireza Khatami for The Things You Kill /Turkey, France, Poland, Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Alireza Khatami, Producers: Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff, Cyriac Auriol, Mariusz Włodarski, Michael Solomon)
WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARDS
Presented by Cristina Costantini
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) / Iran, Germany, U.S.A., Netherlands, Qatar, Chile, Canada (Directors and Producers: Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award Mr. Nobody Against Putin/Denmark, Czech Republic (Director and Screenwriter: David Borenstein, Producer: Helle Faber
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression Coexistence, My Ass!/ U.S.A., France(Director and Producer: Amber Fares, Screenwriter and Producer: Rachel Leah Jones, Screenwriter: Rabab Haj Yahya, Producer: Valérie Montmartin)
Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary Mstyslav Chernov for 2000 Meters to Andriivka
SHORTS PROGRAMAWARDS
Presented virtually by Isaac Mizrahi
Short Film Grand Jury Prize Theo Panagopoulos for The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing / U.K.
Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing Loren Waters for Tiger
Short Film Special Jury Award for Animation Directing May Kindred-Boothby for The Eating of an Orange
Short Film Jury Award: Animation Natalia León for Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado
Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction Christopher Radcliff for We Were The Scenery
Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction Chheangkea for Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites
Short Film Jury Award: US Fiction Jazmin Garcia for Trokas Duras
Retroactive Awards
Presented by Kim Yutani
The Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction : Danielle Varga for Seeds
The Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Fiction: Joe Pirro for The Wedding Banquet
The 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: SALLY
It’s 1997. Lucas (Tom Blyth) is cruising the shopping mall while OMC’s “How Bizarre” plays over the loud speakers. He catches eyes with a man sitting in the food court. There’s a gentle flirtation before Lucas heads to the men’s room where he meets the man. Without a word said between them to show their sexual attraction, the man unzips his pants as Lucas quickly backtracks and signals for another undercover cop to arrest the man. The lives of undercover cops patrolling the queer scene has been done before in William Friedkin’s seminal film Cruising, and Carmen Emmi returns to it with her feature debut, Plainclothes, memorable only for Blyth’s charismatic performance.
Lucas has a lot on his plate. His father’s terminal illness, a crowded house of loud family members, a recent breakup with his girlfriend, and oh yeah, his hidden homosexual urges. It doesn’t help that dear ol’ Dad isn’t the most tolerant guy in the world, making any thought of coming out a no-go. It makes his job, entrapping others who act on their urges, especially grotesque. Still, he can’t let go of his feelings towards Andrew (Russell Tovey), an older gentleman he encountered but failed to arrest. Turns out that Andrew is thinking of him, as well. Their encounters are cautious, as neither wants their secret to get out. They meet in quiet, darkened places; a movie theater, an alley, a greenhouse. It takes time, but eventually they indulge in their sexual cravings. Boy, Andrew’s gonna be mad when he finds out what Lucas does for a living!
For obvious reasons, Plainclothes is a deliberately paced film, matching Lucas’ restraint and the clandestine nature of his encounters with Andrew. Emmi and DP Ethan Palmer do some cool things visually to spruce up the slow pace, such as switching the aspect ratios and giving the film a VHS video quality. They reflect the conflicting feelings raging inside of him, but they are more distracting than anything else, conflicting with the film’s gradual tone.
Further, Plainclothes feels sort of old-fashioned and dated, relying on stereotypes of the closeted gay man wrestling with his feelings and agonizing over his actions. There isn’t enough original story here for the film to be stand out on its own. The only true highlight is Blyth, a rising star who shows genuine presence and overcomes a lack of passionate chemistry with Tovey. Emmi delivers a respectable effort, but Plainclothes feels like a case of “been there, done that”, and perhaps this case should’ve stayed closed.
Riff Raff, is not only the title of a new movie by Dito Montiel, it’s also the perfect descriptor for the characters portrayed by Pete Davidson & Bill Murray within. The film tells the story of a former criminal (Ed Harris) whose family and life is put in danger when his old crime “family” comes looking for revenge. Honestly, with Ed Harris in a starring role it could be hard to tell that this is a comedy, thankfully we have the aforementioned Murray and Davidson to clue us in.
There’s one key thing I learned from this trailer and that’s the genius of Bill Murray. Yeah, I know that’s a lazy statement but here’s the thing, Murray is one of the few people on this planet that can be this effective in a comedic hitman role. Yes, he’s funny BUT he’s also believable in his sociopathic output. The only other time I’ve seen this done so well was from his Ghostbustin‘ pal Dan Akroyd in Gross Pointe Blank. The other, more uncomfortable thing I’ve learned here is just how much Pete Davidson has grown on me. I really REALLY wanted to dislike the guy…but I just can’t.
Check out the trailer below for all of this PLUS a look at the timeless Gabrielle Union and hilarious Jennifer Coolidge doing what they do best.
Riff Raff is in theaters nationwide on February 28th, 2025
Official Synopsis: Vincent is an ex-criminal who more than anything, just wants a normal, peaceful life. He and his wife Sandy have built a loving family with their son DJ and are spending the winter break in a cabin before he goes off to college. Chaos ensues when Vincent’s disowned son Rocco, his girlfriend Marina and Vincent’s ex-wife Ruth abruptly show up to spoil the festivities with an ominous warning: the famed gangsters Leftie and Lonnie are coming for them.
Scream 7 is beginning to look like the place to be for dead serial killers to make their return. The latest additions to the legacy sequel’s cast are already members of the franchise: Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley.
Lillard previously played Stuart “Stu” Macher in the original 1996 Scream. He was last seen chasing down Sidney Prescott in an attempt to kill her, only to be electrocuted when she dropped a TV on his dumb head. A photo of Macher is seen as part of the investigation board in Scream VI, where all of the past killers are shown.
Foley played Sidney’s half-brother Roman Bridger in Scream 3 where he was revealed to be the Ghostface. Bridger was the director of Stab 3 and faked his own death so he wouldn’t be considered a suspect in the string of murders. He is later killed by Dewey so that Sidney wouldn’t have to do it herself.
How are either of these characters coming back? The most obvious answer is through flashback, something Scream has often used as a storytelling device. The other possibility is that these guys have twins, and frankly, I wouldn’t put anything past Scream at this point.
Lillard and Foley join legacy cast members Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, along with Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown from the recent revival, plus newcomers Isabel May, Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Sam Rechner, Anna Camp, Joel McHale and Mark Consuelos.
Scream 7 hits theaters on February 27th 2026. [Deadline]
So the Den of Thieves wasn’t quite as crowded the second time around. Christian Gudegast’s heist sequel starring O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Gerard Butler has made roughly half of its 2018 predecessor with $47M worldwide. However, Lionsgate is still quite happy with the franchise, and are ready to move forward with a third caper.
Lionsgate, Tucker Tooley Entertainment, and Butler’s G-BASE are moving ahead with Den of Thieves 3. Will this one have a cool location attached to its name, similar to Den of Thieves 2: Pantera? Perhaps Den of Thieves 3: Djibouti?
Jackson and Butler are expected to reprise their roles as Donnie Wilson and Detective Big Nick O’Brien, who began on opposite sides of the law but ended up working together to pull off a diamond heist in the sequel. You can read my review of the film here.
None of this should come as a surprise. Lionsgate, which had a dismal 2024, has been excited over Den of Thieves which has been one of the studio’s few homegrown hits and Gudegast a rising star. The filmmaker was ready to go on a third movie before the second one debuted, telling THR in January…
“It’s already pitched. It’s already done. We’re ready to go.”
When Chris Evans hung up his Captain America shield and exited the MCU, it was a big blow for Marvel fans. It can be argued that the MCU hasn’t been the same since, even with Anthony Mackie picking up the mantle and starring in Captain America: Brave New World. There was still a lot of excitement for Evans’ reported return in Avengers: Doomsday, not as the Cap we all know and love but possibly as Nomad. However, Evans is now throwing cold water on those reports. So what’s the truth?
Speaking with Esquire, Evans shot down hopes of his return for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
“That’s not true, though,” Evans said. “This always happens. I mean, it happens every couple years—ever since ‘Endgame.’ I’ve just stopped responding to it. Yeah, no—happily retired!”
Is he telling the truth, or pulling an Andrew Garfield? With Robert Downey Jr. coming back as Doctor Doom, anything is possible at this point.
So what about Evans’ pal, Anthony Mackie, who he starred with in multiple Marvel movies? He echoed what his red, white, and blue pal had to say…
“I didn’t know!” Mackie admitted. “I talked to Chris a few weeks ago and it wasn’t on the table then. At least, he didn’t tell me it was on the table, because I asked him. I was like, ‘You know, they said they’re bringing everyone back for the movie. Are you coming back?’ He goes, ‘Oh, you know, I’m happily retired.’”
Mackie will be seen next in Captain America: Brave New World on February 14th, with Evans MAYBE showing up in Avengers: Doomsday on May 1st 2026.
