In 1997, the Wachowkis offered Will Smith an opportunity to star in their generation-defining sci-fi epic The Matrix, but the Fresh Prince actor turned it down to make Wild Wild West. Yeah. Poor life choices aside, audiences have remained curious about what a Matrix film starring Will Smith would look like. According to a mysterious post on Smith’s Instagram account, they could get their wish. Stop the presses! Could Will Smith play Neo in The Matrix 5? Let the speculation commence!

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After Warner Bros. released The Matrix Resurrections in 2021, the studio confirmed The Matrix 5 is in development. Sadly, the Wachowski sisters won’t direct the project. However, WB’s got Cabin in the Woods helmer Drew Goddard going behind the camera.

On Monday, Will Smith posted a cryptic video that harkens back to the original Matrix film. In the video, a typed message tells Will to “wake up.” The message reads, “What would the Matrix have been like with Will Smith as Neo?” The video then reveals that the Matrix has him, leading fans to believe Smith is leading the next film in the Matrix franchise.

What does this mean? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’d bet Smith will replace Keanu Reeves as Neo for the next Matrix movie. While that move could sound like sacrilege, it wouldn’t be the first time the franchise recasts primary characters. In The Matrix Resurrections, Jonathan Groff played Agent Smith instead of Hugo Weaving, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played a version of Morpheus rather than Laurence Fishburne.

If Smith steps into the role of Neo, could other characters get recast? Does The Matrix 5 continue the story, or is the fifth live-action film a reboot? Goddard could present an in-universe reason for Smith replacing Reeves, but it might be better to start from scratch. Regardless of the plan, Smith getting the chance to revisit the Neo role all these years later is wild. Will fans of the franchise warm to Smith’s portrayal? Will Smith’s Neo exhibit a personality similar to Reeves’s? I have so many questions.

What do you think about Will Smith possibly playing Neo in The Matrix 5? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Back in March, we heard that production had wrapped on the Stephen King adaptation The Monkey, which is coming our way from the team of producer / genre regular James Wan and director Osgood Perkins, whose credits include The Blackcoat’s Daughter (a.k.a. February), I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, Gretel & Hansel, and the recent Nicolas Cage horror film Longlegs (you can read our review HERE). Longlegs was released by Neon – and they’ll also be giving The Monkey a theatrical release on February 21, 2025. We’ve seen a teaser trailer for the movie before (you can watch it in the embed above), but now it has been revealed that a full trailer will be dropping this Wednesday – and ahead of that, Neon has shared the Motion Picture Association ratings board’s report on the trailer! You can check it out at the bottom of this article.

Perkins wrote the screenplay for The Monkey, working from a King short story. The film will tell the following story: When twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.

Theo James (The White Lotus) plays the twins in later years, while Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth) plays them in their younger days. Also in the cast are Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings), Tatiana Maslany (She–Hulk: Attorney at Law), Colin O’Brien (Wonka), Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends), and Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek).

James Wan and Michael Clear are producing The Monkey for Atomic Monster, while Jason Cloth and Dave Caplan produce for C2 Motion Picture Group. Executive producers include Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Fred Berger of Automatik, Peter Luo and Nancy Xu of Stars Collective, John Friedberg of Black Bear, and Chris Ferguson. Atomic Monster and Stars Collective developed the project, and C2 Motion Picture Group provided the financing.

Wan previously provided the following statement: “Stephen King is the godfather of the horror genre. He had a huge influence on me as a child and throughout my career and it’s always been a dream to help bring one of his stories to life. The Monkey is a personal favorite, with its simple, iconic, and incredibly marketable conceit. And I can’t imagine anyone better than a visionary and lifelong genre fan like Osgood to bring this to life.“

In addition to directing the films mentioned at the top of this article, Perkins directed an episode of the recent revival of The Twilight Zone. He has also worked on the screenplays for the thriller Removal, the crime thriller Cold Comes the Night, and the horror film The Girl in the Photographs.

The Motion Picture Association ratings board has given The Monkey an R rating for strong bloody violent content, gore, language throughout and some sexual references. Their report on the trailer we’ll be seeing on Wednesday can be read below, or you can click HERE to blow up and clarify the image.

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The holidays have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue watching holiday-themed entertainment. For example, filmmaker Don Swaynos, whose credits include Don’t Ever Change and the upcoming Professional Texan, released a horror comedy short film called Roger Is a Serial Killer over the holidays, and it’s still just as entertaining to watch in January as it was in December. You can see for yourself by checking out the embed above, where you can watch the 8 minute short in its entirety.

Sara Paxton (Shark Night), Mark Reeb (The Overbrook Brothers), Chris Doubek (Bacurau), Mical Trejo (Saturday Morning Mystery), and genre icon Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Castle Freak, You’re Next, etc.) star in Roger Is a Serial Killer, which has the following synopsis: A podcaster implicates her stepfather in a series of unsolved murders, which makes for a compelling show but an awkward family reunion.

Thomas Fernandes and Christopher Shea produced the short, with Amanda Fox and Mark Reeb serving as executive producers. Sadly, Reed is no longer with us. He passed away at the age of 47 in August of 2023.

Don Swaynos told Fangoria, “Seeing family for the holidays can be awkward, especially in the wake of the election, so I hope Roger Is a Serial Killer can serve as a distraction. Even if you don’t get along with your family, at least you didn’t make a podcast accusing them of serial murder.” Well, it’s not serving as a distraction from holiday get-togethers at this point, but it can still serve as a quick distraction from a hectic day. And watching a Barbara Crampton horror project can always brighten up your day. Swaynos also gave a shout-out to the producers, cinematographer Ellie Ann Fenton, art director Sam Robinson, composer Curtis Heath, everyone at TBD Post, and the entire crew. He added, “I still can’t believe how amazing our cast was; they’re still making me laugh. I hope you enjoy it.“

What did you think of the short horror comedy Roger Is a Serial Killer? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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Are you ready to dive back into Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon franchise like never before? I hope so because, thanks to the fine folks at Sandbox VR, a Rebel Moon VR game is coming to 55 physical Sandbox VR locations tomorrow, January 7. Rebel Moon: The Descent will find players “gear up with their fellow rebels for battle against the ruthless forces of the Motherworld’s military,” per the game’s description. “Inspired by the vision of legendary director Zack Snyder, players become members of the resistance and are transported to the planet of Daggus, where they experience what it’s like to descend through towering skyscrapers, gritty urban streets, and a subterranean mine while they defeat enemy soldiers and spacecraft.”

Rebel Moon: The Descent is Sandbox VR’s 10th immersive experience and second collaboration with Netflix after launching Squid Game Virtuals in 2023. Players lost their minds for Sandbox VR’s Squid Game experience, resulting in the fastest climb to $1 million. As a positive word about the game spread, Squid Game Virtuals earned $4.56M in two months at physical venues.

“We’re exploring a couple others right now, nothing signed yet,” Sandbox VR CEO Steve Zhao explained to Variety. “But having worked with Netflix on two IPs already and getting the hang of working with them, and we love them, it’s just very organic for us to see what else is there. This could be definitely a multi-year relationship as we continue to explore what IPs could work. For us, directionally, it certainly helps to have IP that really resonates with fans. Or in the case of, a ‘Rebel Moon,’ we were all big fans of Zack Snyder. Another thing is, we also want to look at IPs that work really well in VR. So anything that’s action-packed, anything with a very distinct, rich, colorful world, those really resonate. And, of course, something that’s very social, something people can really collaborate together on.”

In addition to Rebel Moon: The Descent, Netflix plans to launch another game set in Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon universe via Netflix’s streaming platform. While it’s easy to forget that Netflix offers video game experiences, it’s worth noting that quality games like the Golden Idol series, Monument Valley 3, The Almost Gone, and Centipede Reacharged exist on the platform.

Will you go to one of Sandbox VR’s physical locations to play Rebel Moon: The Descent? Let us know in the comments section below.

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It’s clobbering time! Or at least it will be when the first season of Marvel Rivals kicks off on January 10, 2025! After an incredibly successful launch, Marvel Rivals is still going strong by retaining 90% of its player base since its debut. The always-online, free-to-play Hero Shooter features 33 playable characters (soon to be 37), ranging from heroes to villains and everyone in between. The fast-paced gameplay finds players unleashing character-specific powers across multiple Marvel Universe locales. With a carefully balanced team (or an unbalanced but skilled beat-down), teams battle for map domination, successful payload transport, and more. While the first weeks of Marvel Rivals were a testing ground for server stress, a trailer for the first official season, “Eternal Night Falls,” is here to introduce the Fantastic Four and Dracula!

Here’s the official synopsis:

Darkness engulfs New York as the Timestream Entanglement leaves Doctor Strange trapped in the Entangled Astral Plane, scattering the Darkhold pages. Dracula and Doctor Doom disrupt the moon’s orbit, plunging the city into eternal night and unleashing an army of vampiric creatures. With the world on the brink, the Fantastic Four join forces with iconic Marvel heroes, standing together in the epic battle to break the mystical darkness with science. Ignite the battle against Dracula with the Fantastic Four in Marvel Rivals!

Marvel Rivals Season 1: Eternal Night Falls begins on Jan 10, 2025, at 1am PST.

Marvel Rivals Season 1: Eternal Night Falls introduces Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Doctor Susan Storm-Richards (Invisible Woman), Ben Grimm (The Thing), and Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) as playable characters. While the characters’ move sets are unknown, players can expect the Fab Four to execute attacks specific to their comic book exploits. In other words, Reed will likely bend, stretch, and transform around opponents while Sue uses her abilities to heal and shield her teammates from danger. Ben undoubtedly uses his brute strength to level anyone dumb enough to challenge him, while Johnny goes Nova with his fire-based attacks.

In the weeks since Marvel Rivals arrived, I have found myself switching between several characters, including Squirrel Girl, Jeff the Land Shark, Captain America, Namor, Black Panther, and Luna Snow. I’ve heard whispers about Invisible Woman belonging to the Healer class, which is very exciting! I can’t wait to “get in there” with the Fantastic Four and discover how the Fab Four alters people’s approach to the game.

Marvel Rivals is available to play right now for free on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.

Are you playing Marvel Rivals? Do you have a main? Who is it? Let us know in the comments section below.

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It’s been 20 years since Britain’s iconic animated duo, Wallace and Gromit, nibbled cheese and invented new ways to embolden their friendship in a full-length feature. Last time, the hapless inventor, Wallace, and his dutiful K9 companion, Gromit, solved a spooky mystery in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. This January, they’re facing off against an old foe and an army of destructive garden gnomes in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Before the film’s Netflix launch on January 3, we sat down with Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park and Vengeance Most Fowl co-director Merlin Crossingham to discuss the character’s most grand adventure in decades.

During our chat, Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham commented on Wallace and Gromit’s enduring appeal throughout the ages and whether they ever felt pressure to update the characters for new generations. We also talked with Merlin about moving from directing Wallace and Gromit’s short films to tackling a larger-than-life feature presentation. Additionally, we talk about Norbot the Garden Gnome’s terrifying design and how best to balance the character’s adorable but unnerving look.

You can read the official synopsis for Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl below:

Aardman’s four-time Academy Award-winning director Nick Park and Emmy Award-nominated Merlin Crossingham return with a brand new epic adventure, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. In this next installment, Gromit’s concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified when Wallace invents a “smart” gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own. When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to battle sinister forces and save his master… or Wallace may never be able to invent again!

On a personal note, speaking with Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham was a bucket list event. I’ve been watching Wallace & Gromit since I was 7 years old, and they’re part of the foundation for my love of animation, especially stop-motion. Never in my life did I think I’d be speaking with individuals responsible for the magic these characters bring to screens, and I am grateful for the opportunity.

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It was recently reported that last year would be the start of location filming for Andrew Niccol’s sequel to Lord of War. The sequel’s producer, Karim Debbagh of Kasbah Films, has expressed his zeal to start production. Debbagh told Variety, “We’re trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali and several countries in the Middle East, and we’ve almost found everything in Morocco. Casablanca itself is so diverse that you find areas that look like Senegal and others that are very luxurious like a California neighborhood, and if you’re looking for places that look similar to Libya, Yémen or Syria, you can find them in and around Marrakech.”

Nosferatu‘s Bill Skarsgård is taking up the mantle in this film as Yuri Orlov’s son and the star has given an update on when production will plan to start for the actors of the film. According to Collider, the Pennywise actor talked about the movie on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast when promoting Nosferatu. He said, “[Nicolas Cage] is a legend. And it looks like it’s happening next year (referring to 2025)… It’s a great script and I think it’ll be a fun one. The character, he’s a charismatic f**king a**hole. And you saw the first one… It’s so cynical and so satirical and bleak and like everyone’s terrible, and it’s also kind of a dark comedy… I like that. I like when you laugh at terrible people… So I think that’ll be a fun one.”

The plot will reportedly involve “a father-son twist, with Skarsgård playing Orlov’s son, Anton. In the Lord of War sequel, Anton tries to top his father’s wrongs instead of stopping them as he launches a mercenary army to fight America’s Middle East conflicts.” Debbagh also revealed the crew will employ 400 to 500 people, with 100 of them coming from the U.S. and the U.K. “The crew members in Morocco have become so well trained in recent years thanks to all the big movies that have come here to film and also the great schools that have opened and helped bolster this younger generation.”

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Two years have gone by since we heard that director Steven C. Miller (Silent Night) was heading into production on a werewolf horror film that, at the time, was going by the title Year 2. Last month (on December 6th, to be exact), the film was given a wide theatrical release in the United States under the title Werewolves – and over the holidays, it was also given a VOD release. Now, we have learned that Werewolves will be reaching Blu-ray on February 4th, and copies are available for pre-order at THIS LINK!

The Blu-ray release will have deleted scenes and trailers as special features.

Starring Frank Grillo of the Purge and Captain America franchises, Werewolves shows us that a supermoon event triggered a latent gene in every human on the planet, turning anyone who entered the moonlight into a werewolf for that one night. Chaos ensued and close to a billion people died. Now, a year later, the Supermoon is back.

Grillo is joined in the cast by Katrina Law (NCIS), Ilfenesh Hadera (Godfather Of Harlem), James Michael Cummings (City On The Hill) and Lou Diamond Phillips (Young Guns). Miller directed from a screenplay by Matthew Kennedy (Inheritance).

Miller also produced Werewolves with Myles Nestel, The Solution’s Craig Chapman, Monty the Dog’s James Michael Cummings and Jim Cardwell, Pimiente Films’ Luillo Ruiz, and Sevier Crespo. Grillo serves as executive producer alongside Tom Ortenberg, The Solution’s Lisa Wilson, Rainmaker Films’ Clay Pecorin and Russell Geyser, Burke Management’s Victor Burke and Vanzil Burke, and Sherborne Media’s Gary Raskin and Alastair Burlingham.

Werewolves was released by Briarcliff Entertainment and The Solution Entertainment Group. Myles Nestel, who is co-CEO of The Solution, provided the following statement: “Our cast is incredible, from the amazing Frank Grillo to powerhouse performances from Katrina Law and Ilfenesh Hadera. The use of practical werewolves designed and built by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr (known from the Alien and Predator series) takes the genre back to its roots in a fresh and exciting way. We hope audiences will have as much fun experiencing the film as we had making it!“

Werewolves secured an R rating for violence, some gore, and language. JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols was a big fan of the film, giving it an 8/10 review that can be read at THIS LINK. Tyler also gave Werewolves an honorable mention on his Best Horror Movies of 2024 list.

Will you be buying a copy of Werewolves on Blu-ray? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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A lot of fans have been anxiously waiting for more films set in the world of the 2006 meta slasher Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (watch it HERE) ever since that movie was released. The follow-up Before the Mask: The Return of Leslie Vernon still hasn’t managed to make it into production – but David J. Stieve, who wrote Behind the Mask with Scott Glosserman (and also wrote the Before the Mask script years ago) has made a 13 minute short film called Wait for It, which is said to be set in the world of Leslie Vernon. That short film is now available to rent through the Gathr streaming service, and you can check it out at THIS LINK!

Written and directed by Stieve, Wait for It, which made the festival rounds a couple of years ago, is described as being a loving deconstruction of the slasher genre, seen from the perspective of survivor girl Darcy, who is living in the aftermath of her own encounter with a psycho-slasher killer. We follow Darcy as she travels home from a night out with friends, always remaining wary of the inevitable return of her tormentor.

Lily Anne Harrison stars as Darcy and is joined in the cast by Ashley London and Nathan Baesel (yes, the actor who played Leslie Vernon himself). The short was produced by Amy Larsen and Dan Czerwonka, with Chris Gierowski, Steve Squillante, Richard Stringham, and Russ Troutt serving as executive producers.

Stieve said that Wait for It is “what I call an ‘Easter basket’ of slasher moments, about how a survivor girl copes with the monotony of day-to-day life after her experience. Always looking over her shoulder, always waiting for something to happen, because she knows that ONE day her boogeyman will eventually return. But most days aren’t THAT day. Wait for It let me explore this in a way that throws back to classic horror tropes, with a Leslie Vernon style spin on it.“

Gierowski added that “We have several ideas of how to spinoff this expansion to make more films in the Leslie Vernon universe. The positive reaction to it has definitively proven there is a loyal following who want more from this world and we want to deliver on that.“

I fully agree with the filmmakers that the world needs more movies set in the world of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, so I hope to see Wait for It lead to more expansions of this franchise.

Will you be watching Wait for It now that it’s streaming on Gathr? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Nobody likes to hear that a highly anticipated movie has been delayed, especially when it’s a major franchise sequel like The Batman 2. Yet, even after being pushed back a full year, Matt Reeves remains confident in the next Batman and has provided an update on the timeline.

Speaking on the red carpet at last night’s Golden Globes, Matt Reeves said that despite The Batman shifting to 2027, Warner Bros. and DC are on track to begin filming later this year. “I can tell you that we’re…shooting this year and that we’re excited about it. I can’t really tell you anything about it except that we’re really excited about it.” While he was tight-lipped on any specific plot or character details, Reeves did confirm that the story for The Batman’s sequel will continue from the first movie. That could be interpreted a hundred different ways, but no doubt those not suffering from Joker fatigue will still be pulling for Barry Keoghan to appear.

Adding to this, Matt Reeves teased that not only will some key players be returning, but The Batman’s sequel will also be bringing in some fresh cast. “I’m really excited to be making it and to get our cast back together and to get new people involved and we’re really excited about it…We’re doing something that absolutely continues where the story came from but is something that I hope people are gonna be really surprised by.”

In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Reeves confirmed that the script for The Batman sequel wasn’t finished yet, which James Gunn revealed was the reason that the movie had been delayed from October 2026 to October 2027. But Gunn was also quick to point out that the gap between movies isn’t all that long compared to other sequels.

Elsewhere in the Batman universe, Colin Farrell picked up a Golden Globe for playing Oz Cobb on The Penguin, although the show itself lost out in the Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television category to Netflix’s Baby Reindeer.

Did The Batman’s sequel getting delayed hurt or build your anticipation? 

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