Long-running horror franchises are often only as good as their iconic killers and John Kramer/Jigsaw quickly joined the list of terrifying maniacs after the 2004 release of Saw and its subsequent sequels. Though the character died in Saw III, he’s lived on through flashbacks as inspiration for fellow psychos as the franchise has evolved. Actor Tobin Bell has played Kramer in 8 of the 9 films in the series (Spiral being the only film in which he did not appear) and now a new report from One Take News has the actor returning for the tenth installment in the franchise.
Bell is back on board for Saw X, which Lionsgate promised will capture “hearts — and other body parts — with all-new twisted, ingenious traps and a new mystery to solve” when it releases in theaters on October 27th, 2023. Kevin Greutert, who directed Saw VI and Saw 3D/Saw VII, is back for the tenth film and is working from a script by Spiral co-writers Jose Stolber and Peter Goldfinger.
Commenting on the announcement, Saw franchise producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules told One Take News, “What a thrill to be reuniting with Tobin. His performance as John Kramer is part of the magic that made this franchise a phenomenon and his character is an active part of this film.”
Earlier this year, following the announcement of the film, Burg and Koules, who have been with the franchise since its inception, promised fans more of what they’ve come to love about the series:
We have been listening to what the fans have been asking for and are hard at work planning a movie that Saw aficionados and horror fans alike will love. And part of that is giving the reins to Kevin Greutert, director of Saw VI, which is still one of the fans’ favorites in the entire series. More details will be revealed soon.
Henry Cavill is officially back. On Monday morning, the actor took to social media to confirm his return as Superman. He posted a video for his fans along with the caption, “A very small taste of what’s to come, my friends. The dawn of hope renewed. Thank you for your patience, it will be rewarded. #Superman.”
In the video, which can be seen below, Cavill says he wanted to make his return official. “I wanted to make it official — I am back as Superman,” he says to the camera. The actor thanked his fans saying, “Thank you for your support and for your patience.”
While a new Superman film hasn’t officially been announced by Warner Bros. Discovery, it is thought the studio wants at least one more Superman film with Cavill in the role. (Reports even suggested the studio had potential directors in mind for the project.) It would mark the actor’s second solo outing as the character after 2013’s Man of Steel. Since then, he’s appeared in films such as Batman v Superman and the poorly-received Justice League. Ahead of his return as Superman for Black Adam, Cavill had discussed his hopes of donning the cape once again, but it seemed as though the studio had other plans.
With Walter Hamada officially gone, though, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson having fought for his return, it seems Cavill’s future as Superman is brighter than ever.
Along with a first-look teaser and a poster for their upcoming 2023 film, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quatumania, Marvel Studios has released a synopsis for the Peyton Reed-helmed project.
In the film, which officially kicks off phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible. Jonathan Majors joins the adventure as Kang. Director Peyton Reed returns to direct the film; Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard produce.
News of the development of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was first broken in October 2019. COVID put the project on hold, but it has always been intended to be a MAJOR movie, as reported here.
Marvel Studios has made the decision to move ahead with the third 'ANT-MAN' film. About 2 weeks ago, I was told it was expected to film Summer of 2021. Yesterday I found the hard evidence I was looking for: Pym Particles Productions III LLC was formed a little over a month ago. pic.twitter.com/oeemIiX54o
— Murphy's Multiverse of Podcasts (@PodcastMurphy) October 17, 2019
These words, uttered by Matt Smith‘s Prince/Prince Consort Daemon Targaryen in a moment of raging spousal abuse, really set the tone for an unexpectedly intense season finale. House of the Dragon returned for another hour on HBO last night, it’s last of the year, and somehow managed to up the dramatic ante on a show that’s been pretty consistently melodramatic for ten-straight episodes. Titled The Black Queen, in reference to Emma D’Arcy‘s Princess/Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, the finale stands as the series’ official boiling-over point in the conflict between members of the Targaryen family.
With Tom Glynn-Carney‘s Aegon II Targaryen crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms against the proper line of succession, Rhaenyra and her supporters – known as the “Blacks” – must devise a game plan to win back the Realm. Unfortunately, as is often the case in Westeros, nothing really plays out all that smoothly. While Rhaenyra hopes to find a peaceful transition between rulers, Daemon goes rogue and begins plotting a full-scale war. Elliot Grihault‘s Prince Lucerys Targaryen and his brother Jacaerys (played by Harry Collett) head north in search of allies among the Starks and Baratheons, but a surprise confrontation with Ewan Mitchell‘s Prince Aemond Targaryen puts a major damper on Rhaenyra’s rallying cry.
In the only bit of good news, Steve Toussaint‘s Lord Corlys Valaryon is revealed to have survived his wounds. He and his much-smarter wife, Eve Best‘s Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, pledge their dragons and their navy to the Black Queen, setting up an action-packed second season with tensions high and hearts broken. As per usual, it’s a lot to break down. Luckily for the folks at home, Murphy’s Multiverse has already determined the best and worst moments that occur in The Black Queen.
BEST – Deaths in the Family
House of the Dragon‘s first season finale begins and ends with the deaths of Rhaenyra’s children. Both moments are fairly impactful in terms of viewing experience, but it’s Emma D’Arcy‘s performance in reaction that solidifies The Black Queen as one of the series’ best installments yet. At the top of the hour, Rhaenyra is informed rather abruptly by Rhaenys that her father has finally passed and that Aegon has been chosen to succeed him – in what could be considered a coup on the part of Olivia Cooke’s Queen Alicent Hightower. This shocks the pregnant, would-be Queen into a premature stillbirth, which she delivers on her own – standing up – before walking away to initiate her rightful rule of the Seven Kingdoms. It’s exactly as impressive as it sounds, and an incredibly powerful sequence that likely made it hard for fans to keep their jaws from dropping. The grace and capability with which Rhaenyra handles the situation is eye-opening and sufficiently proves she has the temperament to lead that Aegon does not.
As if that wasn’t enough trauma for poor Rhaenyra, the hour concludes with the loss of a beloved son. Prince Lucerys travels to Storm’s End in an effort to sway Roger Evans’ Lord Borros Baratheon to his mother’s side, but when he arrives, he finds an uncooperative, and surprisingly rude, Borros has already aligned with Aegon at the behest of the latter’s brother, Aemond. The kindly Lucerys tries to leave peacefully on his dragon, Arax, but is pursued by his violently vengeful uncle in a gorgeous – *ahem* – dance of the dragons in the dark skies over Storm’s End. As beautiful and awe-inducing as the moment is, it also results in Aemond losing control over his dragon, Vhagar, with the beast killing both Lucerys and Arax in a shocking clamp of its teeth.
Stylistically, the ending is one of the best to come out of the entire Game of Thrones franchise. Storm’s End and the lightning-filled clouds above it appear to be out of a 1980’s-style Jim Henson film, a la The Dark Crystal, and the visual effects on the dragons and their duel are stunning. There’s a lot to love. However, it’s the minutes following Lucerys’ death that resonate the most. Aemond, for the first time, seems to show some sort of compassion, and the look on Rhaenyra’s face when she learns of what happened can only mean one thing – The Black Queen now has a pretty good reason to be a little less reasonable. Perfect set-up for a second season.
WORST – Otto Hightower Being Himself
Truthfully, there wasn’t much to hate in The Black Queen. The episode sped along at an insane pace and was chock-full of buzz-worthy scenes. However, there was one moment that felt truly infuriating as a viewer, and that was the only one involving a Hightower. Rhys Ifans‘, as good as he is, continues to be one of the most obnoxiously vile characters on the show, with his Otto – Hand of the King – arriving in Dragonstone in an attempt to make Rhaenyra and Daemon swear fealty to their new King. Obviously, they do not, and Otto is forced to make several snide remarks before leaving ominously with the promise of death floating in the air. The best part of his brief appearance in the finale was when Rhaenyra removed his symbol of the Hand and tossed it off a bridge. Hopefully, he never gets it back.
All 10 episodes of House of the Dragon are now streaming on HBO Max. A second season is unlikely to stream until 2024 or later.
Oscar Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has been chosen to direct what’s being described as a “secret” Star Wars film based off a script from Damon Lindelof and an as yet unnamed co-writer. Though the film is still in the early stages of development, the report indicates that it has gained steam at Lucasfilm and is among its top priorites on its theatrical slate. Rumors of Lindelof’s involvement in the project date back to March of 2022.
Obaid-Chinoy recently directed a pair of episodes for Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel, its highest-rated streaming project to date, and continues to ascend. While Lindelof is known for his work on the television side of things, with hits like Lost and HBO’s Watchmen, for which he won two Primetime Emmys, he also has two Star Trek films, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and World War Z under his belt as feature films, so he’s certainly not stranger to penning major theatrical releases. The report indicates that Lindelof and Lucasfilm were keen on finding a director for the project while it was still in the writing stage in order to help shape the vision for the film.
Lucasfilm has not had a Star Wars film in theaters since 2019 but currently has two untitled Star Wars films on their slate of upcoming releases, one set for December 19th, 2025 and the other for December 17, 2027. While the report indicates that production on the Obaid-Chinoy/Lindelof project is expected to be a ways, it’s possible it lands on one of these two dates, especially considering the relative lack of movement on other Star Wars film, both rumored and announced.
The Star Wars universe continues to grow, and if rumors are true, a fan favorite character will be front and center for the expansion. It was revealed last month that Eman Esfandi would bring Ezra Bridger, the beloved protagonist of Disney XD’s animated Star Wars: Rebels, to life in the upcoming live-action Disney+ series Ahsoka. Now, it would seem Esfandi will be around for more than just the Rosario Dawson-starring project, as a new rumor suggests he will receive his own solo series after Ahsoka’s conclusion. The report comes from industry insider Daniel RPK, who claims the actor is already signed on to headline his own show in the coming years.
RPK dropped the disclaimer that he’s unsure whether the Bridger series would be a direct sequel to Rebels or something entirely different. The last fans saw of the character, he was sacrificing himself to bring down Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn and a large portion of the Galactic Empire. Voiced by Taylor Gray in the animated show, Ezra was thrust into parts unknown, alongside Thrawn, with his future left as a giant question mark for viewers and his loyal companions. Ahsoka promises to give an answer to that mystery, but it’s possible Ezra’s journey remains incomplete by the time the final episode airs. An Ezra solo project could then, hypothetically, act as the final installment in a trilogy of shows about the character and his Ghost crew.
It’s important to remember this is only a rumor and should be taken with a grain of salt. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun concept to fantasize about. Fans will be able to learn the truth when Ahsoka begins airing in 2023.
With the conclusion of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law’s nine-episode run came the end of Marvel Studios’ streaming series for 2022. The year kicked off in March with a six-episode journey into the mind of Marc Spector in Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac; continued in June with Ms. Marvel, which also ran for six episodes and introduced Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan to MCU; and concluded with Tatiana Maslany’s fourth-wall-breaking Jennifer Walters. Each series certainly had its own, distinct flavor and, as with all things, didn’t satisfy the palates of all fans. Team MM watched and covered them all, so with them now behind us, we thought we’d share which series were to our taste in the return of the Team-Up!
Joao Pinto
Moon Knight might not be the MCU series that better managed to stick its landing—especially not when compared to Loki, Ms. Marvel, or She-Hulk—but its build-up was indeed special. The character work developed by Oscar Isaac is likely to still be unparalleled in the MCU, and the psychological components made for an incredibly compelling experience ahead of the lackluster and uninspired finale. The weeks while the show was airing were incredibly stimulating both as an audience member and as someone who got to write about the show, perhaps in a way that I hadn’t yet felt, and likely haven’t since, when it comes to Marvel Studios Disney+ series.
Being a fan of Jeff Lemire’s Moon Knight run it was wonderful to see so many elements from it being adapted to the small screen, as well as witnessing the unfolding of the future of the Gods in the MCU, with established connections to both Thor: Love and Thunder and the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The somewhat tedious series finale is unlikely to remain as the final Moon Knight chapter in the MCU. So being, the amazing work developed in the first five episodes will still surely be given a proper climax, one that highlights just how impressive the show really was…if you leave out the finale.
Mary Rowe
She-Hulk is my favorite MCU series of Phase Four. It introduced a main character that represented a very down-to-Earth person, whose super adventures only added to the baseline personal story. It was hilarious, the final two episodes were absolutely phenomenal and memorable, and Marvel seemed unworried about portraying very real women and not shying away from important topics and concepts that are often ignored because they shine a bad light on (a) reality for women, and (b) the “fandom” and general internet’s misogyny. But even without that, it was the most enjoyable show by far, and I can’t wait to see more of this kind of comedy and creative approach in the MCU going forward.
Torbjorn Frazier
My favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe series from Disney+ this year was She-Hulk: Attorney at Law with a bullet. While Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel both had fantastic high points, the latest series from Marvel Studios was most consistent with its high quality. Led by a phenomenal performance from Tatiana Maslany, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law felt like the first MCU project to fully embrace its status as a television series within the greater universe. The stakes weren’t as catastrophic as many of Phase Four’s contemporaries, but they were very much real and resonate in the modern world (it truly was a marvel to watch the show so accurately predict the bad faith negative commentary that would come from toxic corners of the internet). And then of course, the back two episodes of the series provided Marvel’s creative high points of the year thus far. Daredevil had a natural transition from Netflix to the MCU-proper, and then the creative team provided a masterful adaptation of fourth-wall shattering akin to many seminal She-Hulk comic runs.
Batwoman may be over, but it looks like Javicia Leslie is here to stay. Recent set photos from filming of The Flash’s ninth and final season have seemingly confirmed the actress will return to The CW as the multiversal villain Red Death. Leslie previously portrayed an original character named Ryan Wilder, better known as the second Batwoman, in the latter two seasons of Batwoman’srun. She took over the title role from Ruby Rose, who departed the series following behind-the-scenes issues, and quickly became a fan-favorite member of the Arrowverse. Since Batwoman’s cancellation, which occurred in April of this year, viewers have wondered whether Leslie would ever get another chance to put on the cape and cowl. Apparently, the answer is a resounding “sort of.”
In the lore of DC comics, Red Death is actually an alternate-universe version of Bruce Wayne. In his timeline, Red Death became traumatized by the deaths of his various sidekicks and sought to harness the Speed Force as a means of upgrading his crimefighting ability. He eventually succeeded in doing so by defeating the Flash of his universe and fusing with him, resulting in a single super-powered being. Red Death possesses Bruce Wayne’s body, with Barry Allen’s consciousness trapped inside, and a corrupt connection to the Speed Force. After using his newfound abilities to slaughter his rogues gallery, Red Death joined The Batman Who Laugh’s multiversal supergroup ‘The Dark Knights’, and embraced his role as a violent ‘protector’.
It would appear that The Flash’s upcoming season will at least partially adapt this story, but with Leslie’s Wilder taking the mantle of Red Death as opposed to Bruce Wayne. While not confirmed, it’s likely that – much like the comics – this is a variant of Wilder and not the same character fans followed on Batwoman. Either way, however, it will be fun for longtime Arrowverse viewers to see Leslie back in action with a Bat symbol on her chest.
As expected, Black Adam took the top spot at the box office this weekend. The DC flick earned $67 million at the domestic box office. That’s enough for Black Adam to mark the biggest opening of leading manDwayne “The Rock” Johnson‘s career – a title previously held by the Fast & Furious spinoff, Hobbs and Shaw at $60 million.
Overseas, the movie seems to have done slightly better. Black Adam is said to have earned $73 million from 77 international markets. That would be the film’s opening haul for the weekend to $140 million. This number includes $6.1 million from the United Kingdom, $5.3 million from Mexico and $4.9 million from Brazil. The film’s worldwide opening is a bit higher than initial estimates which had it eyeing a $135 million worldwide.
Unfortunately, though, Black Adam still has a hill to climb. With a production budget rumored to be between $195 million to $200 million, Black Adam will need legs in the coming weeks. The film currently has a rotten rating of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and reactions from fans have been incredibly mixed. Next weekend will see the release of the horror film, Prey for the Devil, which could easily bite into Black Adam‘s box office haul.
It was quite the surprise when a sequel to 2019’s Joker was suddenly announced by Warner Bros. Discovery, especially considering the current reshuffling of the studio’s DC universe. Nonetheless, when it was announced that the film would see the return of Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character, and act as a musical with Lady Gaga taking on the role of Harley Quinn, anticipation certainly grew. Now, in the latest episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Behind the Screen podcast, cinematographer Lawrence Sher provided an update for when production will start on Joker: Folie à Deux.
According to Sher, the Joker sequel – which is once again being directed by Todd Phillips, from a screenplay he penned with Scott Silver – will begin filming “in five- or six-weeks’ time.” Additionally, the film will “largely be shot in sound stages in Los Angeles, as well as on location in New York, where the project is set.”
Joker: Folie à Deux is shaping up to be one of DC’s most curious sequels. Phoenix and Gaga will be joined by Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey. And while not confirmed, it’s rumored that the sequel will be told from Harley Quinn’s point of view. The film is also expected to be set in Arkham Asylum and take cues from the Mad Love comics storyline.
Joker: Folie à Deuxis set to hit theaters on October 4, 2024.
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