With the 20th anniversary of Incredibles just around the corner, Pixar announced a third film in the franchise, Incredibles 3, is “officially in the works.”
While no release date was provided, Brad Bird–who directed the first two films in the franchise–is back for the threequel.
Updating…
Nearly six years ago, the BBC reported on the titles for each of the sequels to Avatar. Whether or not they were ever true, it’s now clear that the reported title for Avatar 3, The Seed Bearer, didn’t make the cut.
During D23’s Disney Entertainment Showcase, director James Cameron revealed the title for the third film in the franchise. Set to release on December 19, 2025, the film will be called Avatar: Fire and Ash.
According to Cameron, who flew in from New Zealand where he’s been working on the film, Avatar: Fire and Ash “is not what you expect but it’s what you want” and will feature a new character that he promises fans will “love to hate.”
Updating…
As part of D23’s Disney Entertainment Showcase, Walt Disney Animation Studios rolled out a brand new trailer for Moana 2.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical “Moana 2” reunites Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) and Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.
-Official Synopsis for Moana 2
Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, Moana 2 opens in theaters on Nov. 27, 2024.
On the heels of winning San Diego Comic-Con with the Avengers news that shook the fandom, and with a film at the box office in Deadpool and Wolverine which is breaking records, the MCU is riding high. And this weekend’s D23 event may provide an additional jolt of enthusiasm about the franchise. However, with only Agatha All Along on Disney Plus to sustain content appetites for the rest of the year, we can expect to see some loss of momentum, particularly when the next shoe drops with respect to the beleaguered Blade film.
This weekend’s House of the Dragon finale will likely cap a season that undoubtedly restored the feeling for the television franchise that reigned over the monoculture like a Targaryen Dynasty. And with additional spinoffs in the works, all skepticism about sustainability has been melted away with dragon flame. Warner Brothers Discovery’s flagship franchise is flying high, and we continue to whistle that iconic theme.
The mixed reaction to The Acolyte and the continuing Culture War noise surrounding this franchise have really left Star Wars vulnerable. A Skeleton Crew trailer release is imminent, and maybe an infusion of Stranger Things energy into the graying, embittered fandom will do it some good. This is a franchise built on childlike wonder, and much of the recent content has been lacking in that regard.
Head-to-head against The Acolyte, the most recent season of The Boys held its own in terms of mindshare, and even though Season 4 didn’t hit the highs of previous seasons, that hasn’t stopped Amazon from greenlighting a prequel spinoff to go with the Mexico-set spinoff announced a while back. The fact that the next season will be its final one will center it even more firmly in the discourse, as fans and critics will wonder if it can “stick the landing.” If anything, The Boys’ biggest Achilles heel might be the extent to which real-life steals its absurdist thunder.
With one of the most critically and commercially successful films of the year, a sequel expected to be fast-tracked, and the spinoff prequel Dune: Prophecy series set for November on HBO, 2024 has been quite the year for the Dune franchise. And that’s before the memes. However, it does still remain to be seen how far the franchise climbs in the pop cultural consciousness, or whether this year will be its apex, given that other franchises were hobbled by the pandemic and the strikes, and given that things get extra weird on Arrakis from here on out.
While James Gunn‘s DCU prepares to pull out of the station, fans of those characters will get to visit Gotham twice this fall, as the HBO series The Penguin returns us to the world of Matt Reeves’ The Batman Epic Crime Saga. And although Robert Pattinson’s Batman is unlikely to feature heavily in the series, his shadow will likely loom over the story. And at the cinema, the highly anticipated sequel to the billion-dollar grossing Joker will offer us another glimpse into Todd Phillips’ Scorsese-tinged hyper-reality, as Lady Gaga‘s Harley Quinn enters the fray. Other alternate universe projects have yet to be announced, and details remain limited on the proper sequel to The Batman, but needless to say, the more successful these two projects are, the more likely that others will also see the light of day.
Superman has recently wrapped, the first teaser trailer for Creature Commandos (dropping in December) has been released, and news items about upcoming projects continue to surface. Still, while anticipation for what James Gunn is cooking up remains high, excitement is muted. There was no SDCC panel, and it’s possible that audiences won’t get non-set leak Superman footage until 2025. So for the remainder of 2024, we could very well be in “wait and see” mode.
Although it’s been many years since the last Star Trek film (despite Quentin Tarantino‘s best efforts to give audiences “Hard R Trek”), the franchise has been flourishing on streaming, with a number of well-regarded series on Paramount Plus, and more on the way. And the recent announcement of the first live-action comedy in the franchise’s history could push Star Trek further into the mainstream than it’s been in years.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was moderately successful at the box office, and the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters streaming series was well-received, albeit underappreciated, with a second season on the way. This franchise still has its drawing power, but its days at the top of the zeitgeist may be behind it.
Tom Holland‘s MCU Spider-Man franchise is represented elsewhere, but through the power of the Spider-Verse franchise, every possible Spidey and Spidey-adjacent character — be they in the Amazon researching spiders before dying, bonding with goopy alien symbiotes in San Francisco, or…doing whatever Kraven is doing — is connected via multiversal web. And Beyond the Spider-Verse very well might connect these divergent threads. There’s still no word on when that movie will drop, but for now, fans of the Venom films can look forward to the conclusion of that trilogy in Venom: The Last Dance, which releases in October.
Last year’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts revealed that the two franchises were being merged, and while there’s a degree of uncertainty as to when we’ll get that film, next month’s Transformers: One animated film will give longtime fans the robot-centric big screen adventure they’ve clamored for since they first discovered Stan Bush’s “The Touch.”
While technically, the rights to the Tolkien books have been bifurcated, and the Rings of Power series will likely never cross over with the LOTR projects in the works at Warner Brothers, each is capable of elevating the overall excitement around the stories told on Middle Earth. But unfortunately, Season 1 of Rings of Power, despite its budget and the advertising blitz around it, never really hit the mainstream, and it’s hard to see Season 2 breaking through.
Yes, they’re still making these, and yes, the films still have a billion-dollar upside. But with less than a year until the next film, directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali, is slated to hit theaters, it’s hard to see what new ground this franchise could stake out to fire up the fanbase.
Putting aside the toxic JK Rowling of it all, this franchise needs a cultural reset, and indeed, WBD is looking to introduce a new generation to the world of wizards and wands. They’re still a few years away from getting that project out, though, and who knows what nonsense JK could say or do to further sully the franchise’s legacy before then.
Yes, The Walking Dead has been an AMC mainstay, but while that seems to be limping along, the series based on the Anne Rice novels seem to be gathering momentum. However, despite their highly engaged fan followings, particularly for Interview With the Vampire, the media landscape for these shows doesn’t seem favorable for a jump into the mainstream anytime soon.
The Walking Dead (AMC), Mission: Impossible (Paramount), Fast & Furious (Universal), Mad Max (WBD), John Wick (Lionsgate), Ghostbusters (Sony), James Bond (EON)
A fresh take on 20th Century Studios iconic sci-fi/horror franchise, Alien: Romulus is set to offer audiences a “truly terrifying cinematic experience.” Directed by Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead), the new film is a standalone story yet still deeply rooted in the existing mythology of the Alien franchise. The beginnings of the story took root in Álvarez‘s mind while watching a deleted scene from 1986’s Aliens. “There is a deleted scene in Aliens, where a bunch of kids are running among the workers in the colony,” explained Álvarez. “I remember thinking about what it would be like for teenagers to grow up in a colony so small and what would happen to them when they reached their early 20s.“
Álvarez presented his idea to Ridley Scott, who directed Alien, the groundbreaking 1979 film that birthed the franchise, who then pitched the idea to 20th Century Studios. Shortly after, Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues met with Aliens director James Cameron and began working on the script which features a core cast of young adults, a first for the franchise.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
-Official synopsis for Alien: Romulus
Opening on August 16th, Alien: Romulus is set to be one of the last big tentpole films of the Summer season. Whether you’re brand new to the Alien franchise or a longtime lover of the face-hugging/chest-bursting horror franchise, you’ll need to be prepared as you head into theaters. With that in mind, we present the Ultimate List of What to Watch Before Alien: Romulus!
Alien: Romulus is a standalone adventure set within the Alien franchise, so technically, there’s no “required reading” necessary to enjoy the new horror flick. However, it is set in 2142, roughly 20 years after Ridley Scott‘s original which still stands as one of the best sci-fi/horror films of all time. So, whether you are a newbie or a vet, the bare minimum amount of prep you’ll need to do before heading to the theater is to check out the film that launched the franchise.
Set in the year 2122, Alien pits the crew of the commercial spaceship, the Nostromo, up against the terrifying Xenomorphs. After responding to what they believe is a distress signal, the crew–led by Sigourney Weaver‘s Ellen Ripley–discovers it was instead a warning and find themselves up against one of the universe’s most lethal organisms. Iconic doesn’t truly begin to describe Alien and if you’ve never seen it…well, what are you waiting for?
Alien: Romulus will be the seventh entry in the core Alien franchise. While it’s a standalone story, there’s still plenty of reason to view the other five films in the franchise after watching Alien. Although there’s no ongoing narrative you’ll need to be able to follow, these projects expand on the history and mythology of the Alien universe and provide a more comprehensive understanding of exactly what the young crew of Alien: Romulus is up against. The following projects are presented in the order in which they were released.
Aliens finds Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley right back on the same moon where she first encountered the Xenomorphs 57 years prior. Ripley escorts a crew of Colonial Marines led by Michael Biehn‘s Corporal Hicks back to Acheron where they locate only one survivor: an orphan named Newt who survived a Xenomorph attack. As if having the original film directed by the legendary Ridley Scott wasn’t enough reason to start watching the franchise, Aliens is directed by another member of sci-fi’s Mount Rushmore: James Cameron. A classic ’80s flick and one of the best sci-fi movies ever made, Aliens is worth your time even if it is set 37 years after Alien: Romulus.
An immediate sequel to Aliens, Aliens 3 is an underwhelming follow up to its predecessor. After struggling to find a director for the film, David Fincher was hired for his directorial debut. In 2010, Fincher said of the film that “No one hated it more than me; to this day, no one hates it more than me.” Now that you have an idea what you might be getting into, you should also know that Aliens Cubed was intended to be the last film in the series until…
Even though Alien 3 was a critical dud, it raked in enough money to keep the studio interested in pumping out more Alien films. Given that Weaver’s Ripley sacrificed herself as the end of the previous entry, the studio had to find a work around. Writer Joss Whedon did so by setting the film in 2381, nearly 200 years after the events of Aliens and Alien 3, and “ressurecting” Ripley via cloning. Alien: Ressurection gets pretty nutty but it does star Winona Ryder and end in a way that leaves the future of the franchise wide open.
Rather than push further into the future (Whedon did develop a script for an Earth-set Alien 5) the studio went in the opposite direction. Ridley Scott returned to the franchise to direct Prometheus, a quasi-prequel to the Alien quadrilogy set in 2093. Scott, who developed the premise of the film with Cameron, explained that while Prometheus shares “strands of Alien‘s DNA” it also stands on its own, exploring themes of creation and the co-existence of religion and science. Prometheus has an absolutely killer cast with Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Noomi Rapace and Guy Pearce leading the way and is loaded with Easter eggs and symbology. If you’re into mythology, you’ll be into Prometheus.
Set in 2104, 11 years after the events of Prometheus, Alien: Covenant serves as both a true sequel to that film and a true prequel to Alien. Fassbender reprises his role in Covenant and slays it while taking a sinister turn and the flick does a nice job of spanning the gap between Prometheus and Alien without serving as a direct set-up. While Scott has shared that he has plans for a third prequel film that would lead right into Alien, it’s unclear if Disney intends to proceed with it.
So you’ve made it through the first two tiers…
Once you’ve watched the 6 films listed above, you’ve fully immersed yourself in Alien canon; however, it turns out there’s more to the Alien universe than the Alien films…and then there may be more than that! And if you’re a completist, you’re going to have one helluva watchlist to work through which includes some of the best sci-fi/action films ever created.
While only the Alien films are considered canon in the Alien timeline, the Alien franchise crossed over with another great sci-fi franchise featuring a terrifying alien: the Predator franchise.
Two of the most surprising choices on the list, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 make the list thanks to Ridley Scott who directed films in both franchises and himself made the case for their shared connective tissue.
There’s almost like a connective tissue between all the stuff I went through on Alien into the environment of the Nostromo and people living within close proximity to people who still have Earth-bound connections and here we have people on Earth, so almost this world could easily be the city that supports the crew that go out in Alien. So, in other words, when the crew of Alien come back in, they might go into this place and go into a bar off the street near where Deckard lives. That’s how I thought about it.
-Ridley Scott, Director’s Commentary on Blade Runner home media
In addition to Scott’s thoughts, a bonus feature on the 20th Anniversary Alien DVD indicates that Tom Skerrit‘s Nostromo captain, Arthur Dallas, once worked for the Tyrell Corporation, the company which is responsible for producing the genetically-engineered replicants that populate the Blade Runner franchise. A similar extra exists on the home release version of Prometheus that connects the creation of replicants to the Weyland androids that populate the Alien franchise and a quick shot of what appears to be a prototype Engineer is seen in Blade Runner 2049‘s first teaser.
You son of a bitch. While there’s no direct link to the Alien universe in Predator, if you’re watching the Tier Three films there’s no reason not to watch one of the greatest sci-fi action movies ever made…get to the choppa!
If you’ve ever wondered to yourself, “Is that a Xenomorph skull on the Yautja’s trophy wall in that ship in Predator 2?”, the answer is yes. Predator director John McTiernan cut the idea from the original so rather than Arnold’s Dutch finding it, Danny “I’m Too Old for This Shit” Glover’s Lt. Harrigan got the honors. It was the first hint of a larger, shared universe in which Xenomorphs and Yautjas have a history…and a future.
2010’s Predators is a solid entry in the Predator franchise unlike 2018’s The Predator and while they both flesh out the mythology of the Yautja, they don’t have much of anything to do with their history with Xenomorphs and are only worth a watch if you REALLY feel the need to be a completist. 2022’s Prey, on the other hand, is an absolute must-watch despite also adding nothing to the shared history of the two fiercest aliens in the galaxy. A wonderful reinvention of the franchise and quite possibly the best Predator movie ever made, Prey (you can check out or rankings of all 7 Predator franchise films here) is also a great pre-Romulus watch in order to evaluate if the new direction of the Alien franchise can match Dan Trachtenberg‘s vision.
Let’s be honest: both of these movies are bad. Like all-time bad. It’s hard to imagine having to watch a pair of films like this when you’ll ultimately be comparing them to several classics but they do give you exactly what they promise: Xenomoroph on Yautja violence.
While its inclusion, even in Tier Three, can be debated–mostly due to writer David Peoples not being able to keep his own story straight–Soldier is so bad that it’s good. Regardless of whatever Peoples takes during interviews that took place 40 years apart, there’s plenty of dialogue and even some visual cues to suggest that the adventures of Kurt Russel‘s Sergeant Todd 3465 are in fact part of a Blade Runner “sidequel” as originally stated by Peoples.
A truly terrifying cinematic experience from producer Ridley Scott and director/writer Fede
-Official Press Announcement for 20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus
Alvarez, 20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus opens in theaters nationwide August 16, 2024. The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun) and Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott (Napoleon), who directed the original Alien and produced and directed the series’ entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Michael Pruss (Boston Strangler), and Walter Hill (Alien), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (Charlie’s Angels), Brent O’Connor (Bullet Train) and Tom Moran (Unstoppable) serving as executive producers.
Alien: Romulus will open exclusively in theaters nationwide August 16, 2024.
Source: 20th Century Studios Press Releases
Marvel once again fatigues its way to some record-breaking numbers, but this time in a category many thought they’d never read the names “Marvel Studios” and “Disney.” With the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, they have now managed to win the biggest R-rated opening box office weekend ever with a whopping $205M. That makes it the eighth-highest opening ahead of Black Panther and trailing slightly behind The Avengers. It’s crazy to think that in all this time only nine films ever passed that $200M mark and this is the first time an R-Rated film managed such a feat.
It has also skipped over Deadpool and Deadpool 2′s opening weekends, which each made respective $132M and $125M which were massive for the time for R-rated before Joker went on to make a good streak. It also marks the biggest opening of the year overtaking Inside Out 2, which had a debut of $155M and now is the highest-earning animated film ever. It’s a good sign after many films seemingly struggled last and this year, but may be a bigger sign that July is the new May for the summer box office.
Internationally, the film made $438M so it’s definitely going to be a smash at the box office and help make up some of the issues that plagued the studio last year with The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Though ignoring online discourse, it was a rough year overall for major releases and the strikes just hit the box office harder than one would expect. It does open the question if this is a similar surprise hit with Spider-Man: No Way Home given the leads and audiences simply care more for nostalgia than original continuations.
Deadpool & Wolverine had initial expectations at $160M so that jump is quite massive after it made $96M on its opening day alone. What is also going to boost its numbers is the impressive A CinemaScore ranking which is quite unusual given how general audiences tend to react towards R-rated films. So, the Deadpool film being a crowd-pleaser with its humor goes against many online reactions stating people will be mixed on it. So, we’re continuing to see a stronger dissonance between X and TikTok reactions against the global reactions. The big question is: how far can it go and is a billion on its radar moving into its second weekend?
Source: Variety
The Rock is cooking…and while we can’t quite smell just exactly what it is he’s cooking quite yet, it’s likely to be something special. Through his Seven Bucks Production company, The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment has struck a first-look deal with Disney that will see The People’s Champ develop films for both theatrical and streaming release.
The agreement cements what’s been more or less a handshake deal between the Seven Bucks and Disney for quite some time. Dwayne Johnson has starred in several Disney films including 2021’s Jungle Cruise and has been leading the promotional charge for Moana 2 as it prepares for its November theatrical release. Johnson’s deal provides the marketable star the opportunity to collaborate with all of Disney’s major studios, including Marvel and Lucasfilm.
The move is the latest in a series that has seen Johnson grow his brand to unimaginable heights. Johnson spun a successful pro wrestling career into an even more successful acting career and has become a social media icon. The actor has his own tequila label, his own energy drink, his own line of men’s skincare and is part owner of the UFL. Following the major restructuring of Warner Bros. plans with DC Comics characters–which no longer included Black Adam–Johnson now finds himself back in the market for another comic book movie. Interestingly enough, a recent rumor had Johnson in the running for one of the X-Men’s most formidable adversaries, Apocalypse, though no further word has come of that since. While there’s no word just yet on what Johson will tackle first, it’s hard to imagine the star doesn’t have something in mind that would see him move into one of Disney’s major brands fairly quickly.
Source: Variety
Auli‘i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson are back as Moana and Maui in the first look at Disney Animation’s Moana 2. Disney has released the first teaser trailer for the sequel along with an official synopsis and new poster.
Moana 2 reunites Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.
-Official Synopsis, via Disney
Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino, Moana 2 features music by Grammy® winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foaʻi, and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina.
Disney Animation’s Moana 2 hits theaters on November 27th.
Rumored Cast
Nicolas Cage‘s Spider-Man Noir was one of many bright spots in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and now he’s set to bring the character into live action. After months of speculation and negotiation, the Academy Award-winning actor has agreed to star in MGM+ and Amazon Prime’s Noir. With Cage signing on, the project has been given a full series order rather than just a pilot episode.
The story of an aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.
Synopsis for Noir, via Prime Video
Development of the series first began in 2023 with Oren Uziel taking on writing and executive producer duties alongside the Spider-Verse team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller. In late 2023, Steve Lightfoot boarded the project as a co-showrunner alongside Uziel. According to Deadline, Killing Eve director Harry Bradbeer has struck a deal that will see him helm the first two episodes.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Nicolas Cage starring in this series! No one else could bring such pathos, pain, and heart to this singular character,” said President Sony Pictures Television Studios, Katherine Pope. “Along with our brilliant producers and partners at Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video, we couldn’t ask for a better team to explore this reimagining of such an iconic character in Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters.“
Amazon MGM Studios head of television, Vernon Sanders, said “Expanding the Marvel universe with Noir is a uniquely special opportunity and we are honored to bring this series to our global Prime Video customers. The extremely talented Nicolas Cage is an ideal choice for our new superhero and the accomplished producing team with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, and the incredible team at Sony is dedicated to expanding this franchise in the most authentic way.”
According to the trade report, the series will first debut on MGM before streaming on Amazon Prime.
Source: Deadline
