Milly Alcock will be starring in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, with the film set to be scripted by Ana Nogueira and based on the comic series of the same name written by Tom King and illustrated by Bilquis Evely. After her father is murdered and the one responsible is still out there, Ruthye Marye Knoll seeks out Supergirl to help her on a vicious mission. She wants revenge, and if Supergirl doesn’t help her, she’ll do it herself, whatever the cost. Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone) will play Krem of the Yellow Hill, the villain who kills Knoll’s father.
Craig Gillespie (Cruella) will direct the movie, but DC Studios co-chief James Gunn has teased that this version of Supergirl will be different. “In our series we see the difference between Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl who was raised on a rock, a chip off Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life, and then came to Earth when she was a young girl,” Gunn said. “She’s much more hardcore, she’s not exactly the Supergirl we’re use to seeing.” Production will begin early next year, with the film slated to be released on June 26, 2026.
The Supergirl movie will be the second theatrical installment of the new DC Universe, following Gunn’s Superman movie, which will hit theaters on July 11, 2025. It has been teased that Supergirl might appear in another DC project before her solo movie.
However, the first project to emerge from the new DC Universe will be Creature Commandos, an animated series featuring the voices of Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein, Indira Varma as The Bride, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Alan Tudyk as Doctor Phosphorus, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, and Steve Agee as John Economos, and Sean Gunn as Weasel. The series will debut on Max on December 5th.
Inspired by the ‘Route 29, Liberation’ poetry collection by Taichi Nakao, filmmaker Yusuke Morii took a month-long trip along the eponymous road that connects the cities of Himeji and Tottori in southwestern Japan. The result was a screenplay depicting two women making the same journey, albeit for vastly different reasons and with many obstacles along the way. The antisocial Noriko (Haruka Ayase) is a young cleaner recently diagnosed with a brain tumour, who answers the request of a psychiatric patient she meets at work to bring her 12-year-old daughter for a visit. Haru (Osawa Ichina) is the quirky, similarly isolated girl in question, who goes with Noriko without question, hopping into the orange van she stole from her employer and setting off on what is supposed to be a simple three-hour drive.
But there are a few flaws in Noriko’s plan – namely that she’s failed to get permission to pick up Haru, and after losing their ride to an eccentric car thief, they are forced to make the journey on foot. The snag brings them into contact with other oddballs travelling along the rural Route 29, as well as the lush forests that surround the long stretch of road, and eventually a face from Noriko’s past. It’s a lo-fi take on Paper Moon, replete with a charming performance from the young Osawa Ichina, trading Kansas and Missouri for the riverside tarmac of the Chūgoku region. The cinema of Wes Anderson might also be a source of inspiration – there are plenty of carefully composed wide shots and Morii’s emotionally inarticulate characters speak in offbeat rhythms.
Among the strangers Noriko and Haru meet during their journey are an unnamed father and son, who have abandoned society to live a simple life in the woods. They share their food with the travellers, reflecting on the anxieties which have led them into the forest; a similarly surreal encounter brings them to a near-silent elderly man who Haru nicknames ‘Gramps’. Such details could easily be dismissed as quirky flourishes, but there’s an earnestness that underwrites Route 29, teamed with Haru’s wide-eyed imagination and the mysterious nature of Noriko herself.
Although Morii’s film feels familiar in its conceit, the specifics are decidedly unique, and the remarkable performances of Ayase and Ichina anchor a story that might otherwise float away. It’s a meandering, lyrical road movie, strange and serene in its conceit and execution, and demonstrates a growing confidence as a filmmaker in Yusuke Morii.
Lego has proven it can deliver when it comes to animated fare, but what about live-action? Deadline reports that The Lego Group is developing three live-action movies with Universal Pictures and has tapped some major directors to help. Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), and Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) will each direct a Lego movie.
As for the plot of these three movies, they’re under wraps, but I’ll admit that I’m intrigued by what Lego has planned for these live-action projects. Jenkins will direct her project, which she also co-wrote with former DC Entertainment President Geoff Johns and will produce through her Wicious Pictures banner. As for Kasdan, he will direct from a script by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul based on an original idea and a previous draft by Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows. He will also produce with Melvin Mar through their Detective Agency production company. Cornish will also direct and is currently rewriting the script from a draft by Heather Anne Campbell, which was based on a treatment by Simon Rich.
The Lego movies have been quite successful, starting with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie in 2014. That film was followed by The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, in addition to a handful of short films and a Unikitty! TV series.
The most recent Lego project is a little unusual: Piece by Piece tells the story of American musician Pharrell Williams’s life and career through Lego animation. Our own Chris Bumbray did enjoy the film for what it was, but found that the novelty soon wore off. “While I found Piece by Piece mostly entertaining, I did find myself wondering who exactly the film was for. Hip-hop fans will maybe be annoyed by the fact that it’s so family-friendly that many of the best songs from Pharrell’s discography, such as N.E.R.D’s ‘Lapdance,’ are way too controversial to be included in a movie animated by LEGO. Also, don’t expect to see P. Diddy show up as a talking Lego head in this – for obvious reasons,” Bumbray wrote in his review. “In the end, Piece by Piece is most suitable for younger audiences, but even if a more unvarnished music doc would have been welcome, the movie still does a good job evoking the fact that Pharrell’s had an outsized influence on modern pop music. Yet, given the animation style, it can’t help but feel a little too much like a novelty.“
Lego has proven it can deliver when it comes to animated fare, but what about live-action? Deadline reports that The Lego Group is developing three live-action movies with Universal Pictures and has tapped some major directors to help. Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), and Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) will each direct a Lego movie.
As for the plot of these three movies, they’re under wraps, but I’ll admit that I’m intrigued by what Lego has planned for these live-action projects. Jenkins will direct her project, which she also co-wrote with former DC Entertainment President Geoff Johns and will produce through her Wicious Pictures banner. As for Kasdan, he will direct from a script by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul based on an original idea and a previous draft by Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows. He will also produce with Melvin Mar through their Detective Agency production company. Cornish will also direct and is currently rewriting the script from a draft by Heather Anne Campbell, which was based on a treatment by Simon Rich.
The Lego movies have been quite successful, starting with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie in 2014. That film was followed by The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, in addition to a handful of short films and a Unikitty! TV series.
The most recent Lego project is a little unusual: Piece by Piece tells the story of American musician Pharrell Williams’s life and career through Lego animation. Our own Chris Bumbray did enjoy the film for what it was, but found that the novelty soon wore off. “While I found Piece by Piece mostly entertaining, I did find myself wondering who exactly the film was for. Hip-hop fans will maybe be annoyed by the fact that it’s so family-friendly that many of the best songs from Pharrell’s discography, such as N.E.R.D’s ‘Lapdance,’ are way too controversial to be included in a movie animated by LEGO. Also, don’t expect to see P. Diddy show up as a talking Lego head in this – for obvious reasons,” Bumbray wrote in his review. “In the end, Piece by Piece is most suitable for younger audiences, but even if a more unvarnished music doc would have been welcome, the movie still does a good job evoking the fact that Pharrell’s had an outsized influence on modern pop music. Yet, given the animation style, it can’t help but feel a little too much like a novelty.“
Plot: An aging gangster attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes in his past, but the criminal underworld won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Review: Over the last sixteen years, Liam Neeson has consistently delivered a string of variations on his 2008 hit Taken. Outside of a handful of exceptions, the Oscar-nominated actor has made movie after movie about cops and soldiers using their particular sets of skills to take down bad guys who underestimate the elderly protagonist. As those projects have begun to blur together, Neeson has had some tricks up his sleeve with voice work in The Lego Movie, comedic turns in A Million Ways To Die In The West, and the occasional big-budget offering. The ones that utilize Neeson’s gravitas and everyman demeanor have stood out from the over fifty projects he has acted on or voiced during that span. You can add Absolution to that shortlist. A powerful drama about criminals and the ramifications of aging, Absolution is easily one of Liam Neeson’s best performances and one that elevates what could have been a B-movie into something more.
Absolution stars Neeson as a nameless enforcer referred to in the credits as Thug. Thug has worked for three decades for a gangster named Charlie Connor (Ron Perlman) and is mentoring his son Kyle(Daniel Diemer) to take over the family business. Thug begins to notice memory lapses that range from forgetting his address to his son’s name. A former boxer, Thug learns his memory loss is advanced and irreversible. As he tries to reconnect with his daughter Daisy (Frankie Shaw) and his grandson Tre, Thug questions his life and the relationships he ignored in favor of dedicating his life to criminal work. He also begins a casual romance with a nameless Woman (Yolonda Ross) who accepts Thug as he is despite his line of work and his diminishing mental capacity. Thug also reflects on the impact of his work when he gets involved with a sex trafficking ring. None of it is glamorous, and all of it has repercussions.
Liam Neeson has often played over-the-hill characters, but none are quite like Thug. There is a rueful and sad quality as we see Neeson putter around his half-empty home, hitting himself in the head for not remembering things. He has a notepad full of addresses and names he keeps forgetting, most of which have not happened in the line of duty. Thug visits a doctor, a priest, and his family as he thinks about what to do next. Absolution captures the depression of losing your mind in several somber moments but goes a bit too on-the-nose when Thug dreams of himself in a boat with his dead father, pondering his fate. There is a mix of voice-over, poignant monologues, and emotionally brutal honesty mixed in with a couple of moments of violence. Absolution avoids the action movie tropes in favor of more dramatic ones, but the few bursts of violence are intense without trying to emulate prior Neeson vehicles. Neeson spends more time gruffly questioning himself rather than kicking ass.
What is most striking about Absolution is the balance between the criminal elements and the personal impacts on Thug’s life. Liam Neeson has to vacillate between being a hard customer who can kill with abandon while trying to reconcile with his daughter before he loses control of himself. Neeson is soft when talking to Frankie Shaw, and she pushes back on the absentee father in her life. As much as Yolonda Ross’ character tries to forge a relationship with Neeson’s Thug, he cannot bring himself to open up to someone, knowing it has an unknown end date. There are some uneven elements, such as Thug’s mental state leading to a rift in his personal life and, in turn, generating the key part of the conflict that serves as the film’s closing act. This segue allows Thug to tie up loose ends but at the cost of leaving some tangents and subplots built over the preceding acts off-screen. It is a minor issue that could have used a stronger conclusion.
Writer Tony Gayton has some solid credits, including the underappreciated The Salton Sea starring Val Kilmer and AMC’s western series Hell on Wheels. Gayton knows how to write criminals and their world well with solid dialogue and monologues that never sound rote or out of place. Absolution marks the second collaboration between Liam Neeson and director Hans Petter Moland. The duo’s 2019 action movie Cold Pursuit is firmly ensconced in the formula of a Neeson Season feature. Cold Pursuit does stand out from some of Neeson’s other action projects as more fun and entertaining than most but is starkly different than the elegiac tone of Absolution. Moland’s Norwegian films share more in common with this movie, notably his dark comedy A Somewhat Gentle Man starring Stellan Skarsgard, which deals with an older protagonist dealing with the hurdles of aging. Neeson and Moland have a solid working relationship that crosses genres, and I would like to see what they do next.
Absolution will not please fans of Liam Neeson’s action-heavy projects but does earn a spot alongside the actor’s better recent films, including In The Land of Saints and Sinners. Neeson’s film Memory treads some similar territory but with a different tone and style. Memory and Absolution make an interesting double feature, with one being a decidedly by-the-numbers action vehicle and the other a dramatic crime film with an emotional center. Absolution surprised me as the trailers do not do it justice. It does show that no matter how many similar movies he makes each year, Liam Neeson is still a masterful actor when given the right material. It also shows how the lead actor can single-handedly elevate a decent movie to a very good one.
Deadline reports that Sweet Tooth showrunner Jim Mickle has been tapped to write and direct the live-action adaptation of Gundam, which is being co-developed by Legendary and Bandai Namco Filmworks.
Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise, Gundam has been described as a space opera depicting a battle waged between massive mechs and armies of space colonies fighting for independence from Earth. The Gundam franchise has grown into a juggernaut over the decades, with dozens of TV shows, video games, manga, and much more.
Now, you may recall that this isn’t the first time Hollywood has attempted to get a live-action Gundam movie off the ground. It was announced in 2021 that Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island) was working on a Gundam movie for Netflix and he seemed quite pumped about the project. Some concept art was even released showcasing one of the giant mechs, but Deadline’s report states that Vogt-Roberts and Netflix are no longer involved in the project.
In addition to Sweet Tooth, Mickle is also known for Stake Land, the post-apocalyptic vampire movie which has become a cult favourite. Mickle also helmed We Are What We Are, Cold in July, and In the Shadow of the Moon. He also developed the Hap and Leonard TV series, which was sadly cancelled after three seasons.
Sweet Tooth came to an end this summer after three seasons on Netflix. Based on the comic series created by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth follows a loveable boy who’s part human and part deer who searches for family and home with a gruff protector on an epic adventure across a post-apocalyptic world. Our own Steve Seigh was a big fan of the final season. “Sweet Tooth series creator Jim Mickle had mountains to climb while adapting Jeff Lemire’s bizarre fairytale for live-action. As a diehard fan of the source material, I would have been among the first to call the Netflix show out for misrepresentation or failed messaging,” Seigh wrote in his review. “Thankfully, Netflix’s Sweet Tooth honors the original story and puts some more meat on the bone. Don’t let the adorable hybrids fool you; Sweet Tooth is a brutal bit of fiction with valuable lessons to teach us all. I never could have imagined this level of care and quality going into a live-action adaptation of Sweet Tooth, and here I stand, gobsmacked and tipping my hat.“
What do you think of Jim Mickle taking over as director of the live-action Gundam movie?
Francis Ford Coppola’s projects may be few and far between nowadays and his most recent film, passion project Megalopolis was a flop with audiences and critics (our own Chris Bumbray gave it a 5/10), but the guy still has a staggering presence and remains one of the most respected and influential filmmakers of his generation. As such, the industry is prepared to honor Coppola with the AFI Life Achievement Award next year.
In a statement, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, said, “Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist – one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit. AFI is honored to present him with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award.”
Like so many, Francis Ford Coppola came up through the Roger Corman system, delivering low-budget horror flick Dementia 13 in 1963. Establishing his reputation through the ‘60s, Coppola went on a tear throughout the ‘70s, directing classic after classic that already too much has been said about: the first two Godfathers, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now. The ‘80s brought experimentations with S.E. Hinton adaptations, infamous flops and movies that by and large never matched their ambitions (two of these factors struck Megalopolis like a bolt of lightning). Not surprisingly, Francis Ford Coppola would have plenty of trouble securing financing, with too-few projects from the ‘90s on being worthwhile, with perhaps Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Godfather Part III being the sole exceptions.
At 86, Francis Ford Coppola will be the second-oldest person to ever receive the AFI Life Achievement Award, bested only by legendary silent film actress Lilian Gish, who was 90 when she was received it in 1984. That was bestowed on Gish by Douglas Fairbanks Jr., which leaves the question: Who will award it to Francis Ford Coppola? The odds would no doubt lean in favor of Martin Scorsese or George Lucas (1997 and 2005 recipients, respectively), but it could be equally sweet to see daughter Sofia deliver the honor.
The AFI ceremony honoring Francis Ford Coppola will take place on April 26th, 2025.
What do you think is Francis Ford Coppola’s crowning achievement in his 60+-year career? Who should give Coppola his AFI Life Achievement Award?
Francis Ford Coppola’s projects may be few and far between nowadays and his most recent film, passion project Megalopolis was a flop with audiences and critics (our own Chris Bumbray gave it a 5/10), but the guy still has a staggering presence and remains one of the most respected and influential filmmakers of his generation. As such, the industry is prepared to honor Coppola with the AFI Life Achievement Award next year.
In a statement, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, said, “Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist – one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit. AFI is honored to present him with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award.”
Like so many, Francis Ford Coppola came up through the Roger Corman system, delivering low-budget horror flick Dementia 13 in 1963. Establishing his reputation through the ‘60s, Coppola went on a tear throughout the ‘70s, directing classic after classic that already too much has been said about: the first two Godfathers, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now. The ‘80s brought experimentations with S.E. Hinton adaptations, infamous flops and movies that by and large never matched their ambitions (two of these factors struck Megalopolis like a bolt of lightning). Not surprisingly, Francis Ford Coppola would have plenty of trouble securing financing, with too-few projects from the ‘90s on being worthwhile, with perhaps Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Godfather Part III being the sole exceptions.
At 86, Francis Ford Coppola will be the second-oldest person to ever receive the AFI Life Achievement Award, bested only by legendary silent film actress Lilian Gish, who was 90 when she was received it in 1984. That was bestowed on Gish by Douglas Fairbanks Jr., which leaves the question: Who will award it to Francis Ford Coppola? The odds would no doubt lean in favor of Martin Scorsese or George Lucas (1997 and 2005 recipients, respectively), but it could be equally sweet to see daughter Sofia deliver the honor.
The AFI ceremony honoring Francis Ford Coppola will take place on April 26th, 2025.
What do you think is Francis Ford Coppola’s crowning achievement in his 60+-year career? Who should give Coppola his AFI Life Achievement Award?
Let the games begin… again! Netflix is giving everyone a Halloween treat by unveiling a Squid GameSeason 2 teaser trailer that pulls us back into a deadly game filled with greed, deception, and scathing social commentary. The new video was unveiled to thousands of fans at Lucca Comics & Games, Europe’s biggest Comic Con, and offers a glimpse at a very different Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). His always-optimistic disposition has been replaced with a hardened demeanor following the horrors of the previous games. Despite the lasting emotional scars, Gi-hun is on a desperate mission to expose the deadly truth of the competition. But will his fellow players heed his warnings — or blaze their own dangerous path?
Today’s Squid Games Season 2 teaser confirms that one benevolent force controls the competition, the mysterious Front Man, played by Lee Byung-hun. His actual motivations remain a mystery. Still, he isn’t afraid to kill with abandon as contestants fight for survival and a chance to emerge victorious with an oversized piggy bank filled with cash.
Squid Game Season 2 presents a wrinkle to the original formula. Part of the new rules involve contestants voting on whether to continue the game at their peril or walk away with the prize split among them. We know how dangerous the Squid Games are, but do you expect everyone to walk away with a fraction of what they could win? In this economy?
Here’s the official synopsis for Squid Game Season 2 courtesy of Netflix:
“Three years after winning Squid Game, Player 456 gave up going to the States and comes back with a new resolution in his mind,” reads the official Season 2 synopsis. “Gi-hun once again dives into the mysterious survival game, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the prize of 45.6 billion won.”
It’s confirmed that some familiar faces will return to the Squid Game cast, including Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo. Impeccable newcomers Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-uk, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Choi Seung-hyun, Roh Jae-won, Jo Yu-ri, and Won Ji-an will all appear in Squid Game Season 2 as an ensemble of colorful new characters.
What do you think about the Squid Game Season 2 teaser trailer? Would you participate in the deadly game? How long do you think you would survive? Let us know in the comments section below.
With its 50th season currently airing, Saturday Night Live has seen its share of ups, downs and humiliations. It, too, has seen well over 150 cast members take the stage throughout its history, and that includes plenty that you either forgot about or had no idea were even on SNL. We’re talking people like Gilbert Gottfried, Laurie Metcalf, Joan Cusack, Julia Louis-Dreyfus – you probably could have guessed these were all in the ‘80s…Far removed from her brutal days on SNL in the mid-’80s, Louis-Dreyfus remembers where it all started – and not in a good way.
Appearing on the Wiser Than Me podcast, Julia Louis-Dreyfus recalled being spotted at a Chicago-based theater and being invited, along with what she called fellow “complete and total unknowns”, to perform part of the show in New York. Unfortunately, the setting and circumstances didn’t lend to the environment Louis-Dreyfus and company were used to – and neither did the New York state of mind. As Louis-Dreyfus recalled, they were “under fluorescent lights in the middle of the day in front of 20 very cynical, unfriendly SNL cast members and writers who already hated us because a bunch of their best friends had just been fired to make room for us.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus would – along with Gary Kroeger and future husband Brad Hall – join SNL for its eighth season in 1982, with Louis-Dreyfus sticking on for three seasons. But that moment under those awful lights cast a shadow over her entire SNL stint. “We never had a chance. Sketches that had killed in Chicago died a terrible, terrible death that day. It was excruciating. I think that humiliation influenced our whole SNL experience for the next couple of years, to tell you the truth…I’ve learned a lot since that cringy day in a carpeted office on the 17th floor of 30 Rock.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus would have her final SNL episode as a cast member in 1985, leaving the show alongside the likes of Martin Short, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Jim Belushi. The host of that final episode was sports announcer Howard Cosell, just to give you an idea of where Saturday Night Live was at the time. Despite her rough go in Studio 8H, Louis-Dreyfus would return to host SNL a total of three times. And she’s done fine elsewhere, too…
Have you seen any episodes of SNL that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was on? If so, how do you think she did, considering?
