The two-episode premiere of Lucsfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, The Acolyte, is now less than a week away and despite fans and press having seen multiple episodes of the show, spoilers remain hard to come by. That makes it all the more interesting that Disney may have intentionally revealed one of the most tantalizing tidbits so far via an official production brief.
Set in the High Republic era, The Acolyte “is a mystery thriller that invites audiences into the gray areas of universal themes, such as power, right and wrong, light and dark, and is designed to make audiences really engage in the struggle to balance the duality,” according to the show’s creator, Leslye Headland. At the center of that mystery is Mae, “a mysterious young woman with a tragic past,” played by Amandla Stenberg. Given that Mae’s identity is pivotal to the noir-inspired series and Lucasfilm’s strong track record of keeping secrets, it’s a bit shocking that they may have let at least part of the cat out of the bag.
Played by Jodie Turner-Smith, Mother Aniseya is the leader of a coven of Witches who live on the planet Brendock. Witches are nothing new to the galaxy far, far away as fans are already familiar with the Dathomirian Nightsisters. Like the Nightsisters, the Witches of The Acolyte are “people who are Force-sensitive, but are not necessarily part of the Jedi Order,” according to Headland. However, the Brendock Witches are not Nightsisters and, according to Turner-Smith, Mother Aniseya “has abilities that are beyond anything that any of them have ever seen.”
Though the information might at first seem to indicate that Mae is the daughter of Mother Aniseya, that might not necessarily be the case. As seen in the trailer, the Jedi, led by Master Sol, visit Brendok to meet with Mother Aniseya (according to the production brief, this occurs in Episode 3) and, presumably, dig up some information about Mae. While it is entirely possible that Mother Aniseya is the birth mother of Mae, it’s also possible that Mae met Mother Aniseya at a young age and was raised by her and her coven of Witches where she learned some of “the arcane ways of the Force.” Whatever the case, it’s clear that the two share a key connection that will certainly play a large role in the central mystery of the series.
The Acolyte begins streaming on Disney Plus on June 4th.
About Star Wars: The Acolyte
In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie TurnerSmith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.
Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.
The Fantastic Four is shooting for the stars and so far, they don’t seek to be falling short of them. Just a week after a trip of big names joined the film, Marvel Studios has landed another.
According to Deadline’s Justin Kroll, Natasha Lyonne has been added to the cast in an unknown role.
Lyonne joins recent additions John Malkovich, Paul Walter Hauser and Ralph Ineson, who will play Galactus. Julia Garner was cast earlier in the year as a new version of the Silver Surfer and Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach were the first to come on board as the members of Marvel’s First Family.
The Fantastic Four is set to begin production this summer ahead of a 2025 release.
Hollywood living legend John Malkovich has reportedly joined the cast of Marvel Studios 2025 film The Fantastic Four.
According to THR, Malkovich has agreed to a deal that will see him join a cast that already boasts Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner and Paul Walter Hauser.
Malkovich’s role in the film has not been revealed. The actor could be playing anyone from Reed Richards’ father Nathaniel to villain Phillip Masters. He could also be doing voice work for Amy number of characters.
Not many actors have their name floated around MCU roles more than Giancarlo Esposito. A popular fancast for Charles Xavier, Esposito has never shied away from his desire to find the right Marvel Studios role. Now it seems he has.
During a panel at CCXP, Esposito revealed he has agreed to a deal with Marvel Studios though he did not reveal which character he’ll be portraying.
While Esposito is, understandably, keeping his role under wraps, he did say that while it is NOT Professor X, he’s set to show up “sooner rather than later.” Teasing that his mystery role is “better than you can imagine”, the star chose to leave it at that. Let the fancasta begin…or continue.
Alan Silvestri‘s score has been the heartbeat of the MCU for well over a decade. As the composer behind Captain America: The First Avengers, The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Silvestri‘s work has brought the extra thrill to scenes like Thor’s arrival in Wakanda and Cap stepping out of the shadows in Edinburgh. Silvestri has had plenty of work in the past five years but has not collaborated with Marvel Studios since Avengers: Endgame. Now it seems that’s about to change.
In an interview with Games Radar, Silvestri teased that he may be returning to score an upcoming MCU film. When asked if he was willing to return to work on a Marvel Studios project, he said “Well, it looks like that could be happening, I just can’t talk about it [laughs]. I love that universe, for sure.“
While he’s currently working on scoring Joe and Anthony Russo’s The Electric State and Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Silvestri refused to share what upcoming MCU project he might lend his talents to. There are certainly plenty of options that would seem to be good fits for the legendary composer. Marvel Studios The Fantastic Four looks to be shaping up as a major part of the Multiverse Saga and, of course, a pair of Avengers films are in development as well. Or, perhaps, Silvestri will take a crack at scoring Marvel and Sony’s next Spider-Man film given he’s yet to work on a project featuring the Web-Slinger. Whatever project he does agree to work on, it will certainly be better because of him.
James Gunn may still be very busy working on making sure Superman is ready for theaters in 2025 but as the man in charge of the entire creative vision of the DCU, he has to make time for other projects as well. He’s already done some work behind the camera on Season 2 of Peacemaker and helped get Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow up and running for a 2024 start of production but a new tease on social media may indicate he’s also making some headway on another project.
At various times across multiple social media platforms, Gunn posted a relatively innocent piece of art featuring the Power Ring of a Green Lantern. However, what’s more interesting is who was paying attention to the post.
While not much is known about Lanterns, one of the more intriguing rumors about the series was that it was set to be written by Tom King while Damon Lindelof would serve as an executive producer. While we’re certainly in no position to confirm anyone’s involvement, it is of note that Lindelof made a point to like the post.
Described by DC Studios’ co-chair Peter Safran as a “terrestrial-based investigation story” in the vein of True Detective, Lanterns certainly sounds like a project right up King‘s alley. According to Gunn, the show will feature Lanterns who “find this ancient horror on Earth, and these guys are basically supercops on “Precinct Earth.” With a premise like that, Lanterns would certainly be within Lindelof’s range if not his sweet split as a creative.
Whoever does end up making it, Lanterns will stream on Max when it’s ready to roll out.
First announced at SDCC ’19, Marvel Studios’ Blade has become something of an enigma. Constant changes to the project’s creative team and the 2023 Hollywood strikes delayed the film so many times that fans began to believe the Daywalker would never make it back to the big screen. However, although the film was left out of Kevin Feige’s CinemaCon presentation of Marvel Studios’ 2025 films, Blade is still making its way down the production pipeline and the studio has every intention of bringing Mahershala Ali‘s passion project to theaters.
In January 2024, rumors of the latest version of the film’s script, written by Michael Green, surfaced and it sounded pretty badass. At that time, the film was said to be a period piece in which Mia Goth‘s villainous character was hunting for Blade’s daughter to use her blood to create an army of Daywalkers. Goth’s character was also rumored to be sporting the Ebony Blade, seen in the post-credit scene of Eternals to be in the home of Kit Harrington‘s Dane Whitman. While some or all of those things may still be part of the script, rumors of another revision to the project have surfaced as well as some information about when it may finally begin filming.
According to insider Daniel RPK, Blade will now be set in the MCU’s present day and will still feature Goth’s Lilith as the big bad. With a solid script now in place, production is scheduled to begin in the UK late in 2024.
Whether set in the past or the present, the film still has the potential to do a lot of heavy lifting for Marvel Studios as they continue to construct a corner of the MCU dedicated to monsters and legitimate horror projects. Werewolf By Night tested the waters in that regard and left fans hoping for more. It sounds as though Blade is not only the next step in that direction but also an important stepping stone itself as Daniel RPK also claims that the film will set up another project: Marvel Studios Midnight Sons. Midnight Sons is a term associated with a group of supernatural superheroes in Marvel Comics. They typically deal with occult threats and darker, supernatural elements within the Marvel Universe. The team has varied in its composition over the years but often includes characters like Ghost Rider, Blade, Doctor Strange, and others with connections to the supernatural or occult.
They gave me the R, which is so important.We are going to have fun because Mahershala is such a deep actor. I’m excited to show a kind of ruthlessness, a roughness he has, that allows him to walk the earth in a particular way. I love him for that. He’s got a dignity and integrity, but there is a ferocity there that he usually keeps under the surface. I want to unleash that and put it on the screen.
-Director Yann Demange on Blade’s R-rating
Though it has been delayed more times than anyone would like to count, it sounds as though Marvel Studios has taken the right approach in taking their time to put together a strong script for the R-rated adventure. With as long as they’ve spent crafting Blade, perhaps they’ve finally found the right mix behind the scenes to make the equal of a Hattori Hanzō.
Blade is currently slated to hit theaters on November 7, 2025.
The wait for the Elseworlds’ sequel got a little longer recently when it was revealed that the writers’ strike had slowed development of the script. In order to give Reeves and co-writer Matt Tomlin time to put the finishing touches on the it, Warner Bros. moved the release date from October 3, 2025 to October 2, 2026. Now a new report from a trusted insider has revealed the a new timeline for the film’s production.
According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, cameras are set to roll on The Batman Part II in April 2025.
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