Marvel’s X-Men reboot is a very big deal, and so it makes sense that a lot of time and care are being put into it. All we know so far is that Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier will be at the helm, Sadie Sink has been cast, possibly as Jean Grey, and that Michael Lesslie (Hamlet, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) wrote the script. Well, not so fast. That script is getting another rewrite from the showrunners of two of the most popular TV shows around.
Speaking recently with Collider, Schreier said that Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear writer Joanna Calo are both rewriting the X-Men screenplay.
“They have come in and are working on a draft right now, which is really exciting to be able to put that group of people together again. When you go back and read X-Men [comics], there’s ideology, but also interpersonal drama, almost of a soap opera quality. Having writers who understand both how to drive ideology from personal stakes, if we get that right, that’s what will feel most honest to what X-Men can be.”
This isn’t crazy or anything, especially for Marvel, which frequently lets multiple writers take a shot at writing some of its biggest films.
Schreier and Jin are already working together on the second season of Beef, so perhaps they can bring some of that creative synergy to Marvel’s merry mutants.
While concrete details remain scarce, plenty of X-Men casting rumors are out there in the ether. Along with Sink as Jean Grey, there’s talk of Jack Champion as Cyclops and Margaret Qualley as Rogue. Perhaps, with Comic-Con coming up in a few months, we’ll start getting some official confirmations soon.
Olivia Wilde was the star of this year’s Sundance, going against type in her performance in Gregg Araki’s Let’s Talk About Sex, but also for directing and starring in the hilarious comedy, The Invite. A24 smartly snatched the film up for a hefty sum, and today they’ve dropped the first trailer, which happens to feature a quote by yours truly. Yes, I’m a fan.
The Invite stars Wilde and Seth Rogen as a troubled married couple, whose relationship problems are exacerbated by the arrival of their frisky, enigmatic neighbors, played by Edward Norton and Penelope Cruz, for a dinner date. The night goes sideways with sexual revelations that test the boundaries of marriage. Basically, it’s four terrific actors, one increasingly cramped apartment, and a whole lot of sexual tension.
The film is written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, who together previously wrote Celeste & Jesse Forever, another comedy that tackles difficult relationships with raw honesty, humor, and incredible cast chemistry. A24 has a hit on their hands.
Long before The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity gave us found footage flicks that gave the impression of “real” horror, the wave of psycho serial killers in the 1970s (thanks Charles Manson!) gave rise to an even more extreme genre experience. It wasn’t enough for horror fans to watch slashers on the big screen, they wanted the feeling of watching actual horrors taking place. And that led to 1978’s mondo horror Faces of Death, presented as a documentary that claimed to show real murders of people and the killings of animals. True, there was some actual footage of death in the film, but overall it was mostly fake, the brutality dressed up in grindhouse style to appear genuine. The film was a huge hit for the time, but gained new life on VHS and in bootleg, which is where me and my friends watched it and pondered whether it was real. For a long time, I had no clue.
There’s a new Faces of Death on the murder scene, directed and co-written by Daniel Goldhaber whose impressive How to Blow Up a Pipeline (review here) was a superb, gritty call-to-action. In a way, this new movie is, too, but in a completely different kind of way. Yes, there are intense moments of gruesome decapitations, dismemberments, and more, but the film is about our media consumption and the toxic ramifications of the violent content we seek out online. Not only does it fuel conspiracy theories, but inevitably invites others to do increasingly horrific things for the admiration that comes with going viral.
Shot three years ago and having endured numerous delays, Faces of Death arguably arrives at the perfect time, as genre fans are again seeking out more radical films that push the envelope. Euphoria breakout Barbie Ferreira plays Margot, who works at a YouTube-esque video content site called Kino. A content manager, her gig is to sort through the videos and reject or deny them based on the violent imagery, the sexual content, etc. It’s an odd job for Margot, who herself has a twisted Internet celebrity herself. Years ago, she became a viral sensation when her sister was killed by a train in a stunt gone wrong. Margot has been a shut-in ever since, refusing to hang out with friends or go out because someone always recognizes her.
Hidden away from the world in her office cubicle, Margot becomes fixated on a series of videos showing heinous, ritualized murders. A man gets electrocuted, his eyes taped down so they don’t pop out, and the blood pouring out of his ears to show that he’s actually dead. In another, a man’s head is trapped in a table hole and then beaten with hammers. The skin is then peeled off, the skull cracked, and the brain revealed so that it can feasted on by foodies. Margot can’t tell if these videos are real or even if she should approve them for the site. Her boss (played by Jermaine Fowler, still terrible) doesn’t really care. “Feed the algorithm” is his mantra. If the people want it, give it to them. When Margot hears about the original Faces of Death from her roommate Ryan (Aaron Holliday), she discovers that these killings appear to be by a copycat, and they might actually be real.
Of course, the murders are real, although it might make for an interesting movie if that were more of a question mark. That said, we know they’re real because Stranger Things actor Dacre Montgomery plays Arthur, a serial killer whose thing is creating snuff films in which he tortures and kills low-level celebs. He kidnaps Samantha (Josie Totah), one of those annoying influencers who dances in public places, by appealing to her own vanity. Arthur also snatches a local Florida news anchor (Kurt Yue) and cages them until it’s time to make them headliners of his own murderous online content, which has a huge following of deranged sickos. Arthur doesn’t seem like much, but this guy is a twisted freak who delights in the grisly acts he commits. He knows his audience, too, at one point ranting about how much everyone loves him, including gun manufacturers and the government itself, for the fear he helps spread.
So Margot and Arthur are on a collision course, one that can only lead to the kind of bloodshed that Arthur wanted to begin with. He’s like a demented circus ringleader, hooking audiences with murder rather than circus animals. No matter how things play out, Arthur is the winner because he’s giving his fans what they demand. Faces of Death, much like its predecessor, is about tapping into something so illicit, so outlawed, that it shocks us to the core. It’s like a drug user taking that first hit, and from then on it’s about trying to match that high by going into further extremes. Where the film ultimately falters is in the final act, which takes on a more conventional horror tenor as Arthur becomes just another familiar villain with idiotic tendencies. So while this new Faces of Death may not achieve the same level of cult status, it has just as much on its mind about how fucked up we are as a society. That might be the scariest thing of all.
Faces of Death hits theaters on April 10th from IFC and Shudder.
Do people even remember The Adventures of Tintin anymore? The gorgeous motion capture film was released in 2011 as a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, both huge fans of the iconic detective created by Hergé. The film had a script by Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat, and Joe Cornish, which is a like a fanboy dream trio. Originally planned as the first leg of a trilogy, the sequels never happened, despite both filmmakers insisting that they will…someday.
Well, perhaps that time is coming? Andy Serkis, who played Captain Haddock in The Adventures of Tintin, has told Collider that Jackson is eager to finally get moving on the long-awaited sequel…
“Oh gosh, I wish! I really hope so. I love that ‘Tintin’ film,” Serkis said. “I loved the process of making that film with such great filmmakers. I think Peter really, really wants to make it, so hopefully down the line.”
The deal was that Spielberg would direct the first one, with Jackson taking on the next one after he finished with The Hobbit trilogy. Well, that was ages ago. Part of the problem could be that The Adventures of Tintin didn’t exactly kill it at the box office. It made $374M worldwide on a budget of $130M, and earned a Oscar nomination for John Williams’ score. But the film leaned heavily on the 3D technology that was red-hot at the time, and even that wasn’t enough to draw a ton of interest.
Personally, I loved The Adventures of Tintin and you can read my review here. Such a gorgeous film that captured the swashbuckling, globe-trotting spirit of Hergé’s comics. Rumors were that the next movie would adapt The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun, but honestly, after all of this time, nothing is for certain.
20th Century Studios has released a new trailer for The Devil Wears Prada 2, the sequel to the 2006 fashion comedy that (rather inexplicably) became a global sensation. While Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt are back, I’m having a hard time figuring out why this movie needs to exist two decades later, other than to update the wardrobe.
Once again directed by David Frankel and penned by screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, the film returns Streep to her iconic role as cruel Runway Magazine boss Miranda Priestly. Her Anna Wintour-esque performance laid the groundwork for so many similar roles over the years, while Hathaway’s ambitious Andy did similar for wide-eyed career climbers. Tracie Thoms and Tibor Feldman also return to their familiar parts as Lily and Irv.
New additions to the cast include Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Patrick Brammall, Caleb Hearon, Helen J. Shen, Pauline Chalamet, B.J. Novak, and Conrad Ricamora.
The film is based on author Lauren Weisberger’s sequel, Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns, in which Andy becomes editor of a bridal magazine just as she’s planning her own wedding, but is inevitably pulled back into Miranda’s world of cruel couture.
At least this trailer features an original track, “Runway”, by Lady Gaga and Doechii.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theaters on May 1st 2026.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get punished in a big way. Even though Daredevil: Born Again is streaming now on Disney+ and has been since March 24th, a new teaser for Season two has dropped. Why? Because this one also features a look at The Punisher: One Last Kill, the Marvel Television Special Presentation featuring Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is written by Bernthal and director Reinaldo Marcus Green. The duo worked together previously on the HBO series We Own This City, and the film King Richard, so they have a creative relationship that could last a long time. Punisher will have a major role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as well, so he’s getting around.
As for Daredevil’s second season, Charlie Cox is back as Matt Murdock, who is again in a deadly showdown with crime boss Wilson Fisk, played by Vincent D’Onofrio. Deborah Ann Woll, Margarita Leveiva, Wilson Bethel, and Ayelet Zurer return from the prior season, while Krysten Ritter makes her MCU debut as Jessica Jones, and Matthew Lillard plays the mysterious Mr. Charles.
Daredevil: Born Again season two is streaming now on Disney+, while The Punisher: One Last Kill arrives on May 12th. Events in both shows will run concurrent to one another.
I’m happy to offer our DC area readers the chance to attend a free early screening of I Swear, featuring Robert Aramayo’s BAFTA Award-winning performance as Tourette’s Syndrome campaigner John Davidson.
SYNOPSIS: Based on the life story of Tourette’s Syndrome campaigner John Davidson, MBE. Set within 1980s Britain, the story follows him throughout his troubled teens and early adulthood, and explores this little known and entirely misunderstood condition, along with his attempts to live a ‘normal’ life against the odds.
The screening takes place on Wednesday, April 8th at 7:00pm at AMC Georgetown. If you’d like to attend, RSVP using the Google form here. Please remember, all screenings are first come first served and you’ll need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!
I guess today is the day for adaptations of idyllic societies crumbling into chaos. Netflix has revealed the trailer for Jack Thorne’s miniseries take on William Golding’s classic novel about boys being boys, Lord of the Flies.
Thorne is the co-creator of the acclaimed Netflix series, Adolescence, so he’s staying in the territory of violent young men doing violent things. Golding’s 1954 book centered on a group of preadolescent boys whose plane crashes on an isolated island. As they are the only survivors, they must work together to survive, but y’know, they’re a bunch of dudes and the society they try to build devolves into savagery.
Shot in Malaysia by director Marc Munden (The Secret Garden), Lord of the Flies is the first TV series adaptation of Golding’s book. Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer, Kara Talve, and Cristobal Tapia de Veer provide music.
The ensemble of more than 30 boys includes Winston Sawyers as Ralph, Lox Pratt as Jack, David McKenna as Piggy, and Ike Talbut as Simon. Thomas Connor appears as Roger, Noah, and Cassius Flemyng as twins Sam and Eric, Cornelius Brandreth as Maurice, and Tom Page-Turner as Bill. Pratt also plays Draco Malfoy in the upcoming Harry Potter series, so things are definitely looking up for him.
SYNOPSIS: Innocence descends into savagery when a group of English schoolboys becomes desert island castaways in the first television adaptation of William Golding’s landmark dystopian classic.
Jack Thorne’s four-episode Lord of the Flies hits Netflix on May 4th.
There are certain books that are required reading throughout our school years. Certainly, George Orwell’s 1945 classic, Animal Farm, is one of them. The story of a utopian society that falls tragically into dystopia is an unforgettable read, especially as it uses farm animals in its allegory of the Russian Revolution. But that also makes an adaptation an extremely tough sell. For Andy Serkis, his latest directorial effort is told in the style of 3D animation, which might be appealing to kids even if the core themes are way above their heads.
To be fair, the latest Animal Farm trailer does a better job at depicting the darker aspects than the previous one, which looked like a kiddie movie made by Dreamworks. The story sticks true to the material, following a group of animals who take over a farm from the humans who were trying to send them to the slaughterhouse. But once that’s done, the animals must decide how to rule, and who will be doing the ruling. Inevitably, a corrupt system of inequality emerges, and ultimately a dictatorship.
The star-studded voice cast includes Seth Rogen as Napoleon, Gaten Matarazzo as Lucky, along with Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Steve Buscemi, Laverne Cox, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, Iman Vellani, and Serkis himself.
SYNOPSIS: From visionary director Andy Serkis, and featuring the voices of Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Glenn Close, and Woody Harrelson, comes a satirical allegory of revolution and power. Animal Farm traces how a movement for equality is systematically corrupted. As the pigs consolidate control, truth is erased, dissent is crushed, and the farm descends into a ruthless dictatorship—fulfilling Orwell’s warning about the dangers of communism.
Angel Studios will release Animal Farm into theaters on May 1st.
Kathryn Newton and Radio Silence just can get enough of each other. After working together on the genre flicks Abigail and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, Deadline reports Newton will star in the holiday horror flick White Elephant, which Radio Silence will produce as part of its partnership with Project X, dubbed RSPX.
Newton is joined in the cast by Nick Jonas, who will be seen next in John Carney’s musical comedy Power Ballad alongside Paul Rudd.
White Elephant will be directed by Eli Craig, best known for horror films Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Little Evil, and Clown in a Cornfield. Craig also rewrote the original script by JT Billings, and based on his resume, I’m guessing he added a lot more humor to it.
The synopsis sets itself up to be comedic but gory holiday slasher.
Eight friends. One prize. Zero trust. Their annual festive holiday gift exchange spirals into a cutthroat game of Christmas carnage.
Newton’s horror resume is a mile long, with just a few of her previous genre credits including Lisa Frankenstein, Freaky, and Paranormal Activity 4. Coming up, Newton has the psychological thriller DreamQuil, and a return as Cassie “Stature” Lang in Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday.
