(Left) Diane Lane as Slim Keith in ‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.’ Photo: FX. (Right) Linda Blair in 1973’s ‘The Exorcist’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Preview:
Diane Lane is joining the next ‘Exorcist’ movie.
Mike Flanagan is writing and directing the film.
It’ll be an all-new approach.
After a brief detour into the more metaphysical side of filmmaking with ‘The Life of Chuck’ modern horror maestro Mike Flanagan is diving back into the terror genre via a new take on ‘The Exorcist.’
The new movie won’t be a continuation of David Gordon Green’s 2023 effort ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ as plans for a trilogy flamed out following the disappointing box office returns for that.
Instead, Flanagan has written his own script, and has the backing of Universal alongside genre stalwart production companies Blumhouse and Atomic Monster.
(L to R) Cody Flanagan and director Mike Flanagan on the set of ‘The Life of Chuck’. Photo: Neon.
Flanagan is keeping his plans quiet for now –– no details have emerged, beyond the basic idea of demonic possession –– and we don’t know how Johansson, Jupe and now Lane will factor in.
When will the new ‘Exorcist’ movie be on screens?
Universal has scheduled the new movie for release on Friday, March 12, 2027.
(L to R) Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey is Fiyero in ‘Wicked For Good’, directed by Jon M. Chu.
Preview:
Universal wants to keep going to the ‘Wicked’ well.
The company is looking at other stories to tell within the land of Oz.
No details have been provided yet.
As Universal says “thank goodness” for the success of 2024’s ‘Wicked’ and this year’s follow-up, ‘Wicked: For Good,’ the company already has one eye on the future of the franchise. Even if it all remains clouded in secrecy for now.
Universal Studios’ chief marketing officer Michael Moses said this to Vulture about the potential for more stories set in the land of Oz:
“Because of ‘Wicked’s’ success but also the fanship, we have almost a responsibility to figure out how we can continue in this universe. Have we figured it out yet? No. But there are things underway.”
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So, yes… we can expect more trips to the land of Oz, even if the likes of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) seem unlikely to show up in anything more than cameos.
Who else has been talking about more ‘Wicked’ projects?
Ariana Grande is Glinda in ‘Wicked For Good’, directed by Jon M. Chu.
It’s not just the studio that has been hinting at future ‘Wicked’ ideas in the works.
Stephen Schwartz, the award-winning composer (who pushed to make the story into a stage show years ago and crafted all the songs, including the new entries in ‘For Good’) told the Ankler newsletter that he and Winnie Holzman –– who wrote the book for the musical and co-wrote the screenplay for both movies –– have been conjuring something up themselves.
Here’s what Schwartz said:
“I think the Glinda and Elphaba story feels complete — but there are other aspects that could be explored. Gregory Maguire, the original ‘Wicked’ novelist, has several books, for example. But there’s another idea that Winnie and I are discussing: not a sequel, but an adjunct. Let me put it that way.”
What shape could a ‘Wicked’ spin-off take?
Jeff Goldblum is The Wizard of Oz in ‘Wicked For Good’, directed by Jon M. Chu.
While the story of the ‘Wicked’ movies themselves does indeed feel like it has been told, there is no shortage of other material to draw from.
As Schwartz notes, Maguire has written eight sequel novels. His most recent book was published this year and was an Elphaba prequel story titled “Elphie: A Wicked Childhood.” A Glinda prequel is scheduled for 2026.
Universal may well look to television also, with the potential for stories set on the small screen –– and let’s not forget that the company has its theme parks, where there may well be the chance for guests to interact with Ozians to a greater degree now that the movies are such a hit.
(L to R) Jonathan Bailey is Fiyero and Ariana Grande is Glinda in ‘Wicked For Good’, directed by Jon M. Chu.
List of Movies and TV Shows Based on the ‘Wizard of Oz’:
(L to R) Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in ‘The Mummy.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Preview:
A new entry in ‘The Mummy’ franchise is in development.
Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are in talks to return to their roles.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will direct for Universal.
Back in 1999, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz delivered a great on-screen partnership as dashing, roguish hero Rick O’Connell and practical English Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan for ‘The Mummy.’
Fraser returned for two sequels and Weisz for one (more on that below), but since then, fans have wanted to know if they might both be back, given their winning chemistry.
Things went dormant after that (aside from an ill-fated attempt to launch a Classic Monsters Cinematic Universe with the Tom Cruisereboot in 2017, and more recent reports of ‘Evil Dead Rise’s Lee Cronin developing a new take), but the signs and portents are pointing to a return for the original duo.
As for the new movie, it’ll have a script from David Coggeshall (‘The Family Plan’) and while details are mostly being kept in a sarcophagus, the Reporter’s sources are suggesting that it’ll be a sequel that wipes away the events of ‘Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.’ Okay by us!
Where else can we see Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz?
(L to R) Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in ‘The Mummy.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Fraser won an Oscar for 2022’s ‘The Whale’ and will next be seen in heartwarming drama ‘Rental Family,’ which lands in theaters on November 21.
Now comedian Nikki Glaser, who had a role in ‘Trainwreck’ is the latest to collaborate more directly with the filmmaker on a new, untitled romantic comedy that Deadline is describing as “edgy.”
Glaser is working on the script with Sean O’Connor, whose credits include ‘Solar Opposites’ and who was one of the contributors to the comedian’s recent stint as host of the Golden Globes (the first for a solo female performer).
As for the movie itself, all we really know at this point is that it’s a romantic comedy that has yet to announce its title.
Chances are some of it will draw from Glaser’s stand-up routine, the most recent special for which she filmed the Fabulous Fox Theatre in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri and will be on Hulu next year.
She’s also busy with another movie –– co-writing and producing a project for Paramount inspired by the MASH game played by school students (which gets its name from the way it starts off with a player literally writing out the letters ‘M-A-S-H’ to predict whether one will live in a mansion, apartment, shack, or house).
The final project will reportedly be in the vein of ‘Sliding Doors’ with a hint of ‘Jumanji’, where the game becomes reality for one woman.
What else is Judd Apatow working on?
(L to R) Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow arrive on the red carpet of The 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
Beyond this movie, Apatow is as busy as ever. He was a producer on ‘Poetic License’, which was directed by his daughter, Maude Apatow.
He’s aboard a variety of projects in the works, including one about the cola wars between Coke and Pepsi.
There’s also a Mel Brooks documentary Apatow is working on with Michael Bonfiglio. And those are just the tip of the iceberg.
When will the Nikki Glaser/Judd Apatow movie be in theaters?
Given that it’s in early development, there is no release date on the schedule for the movie. The next step, assuming it gets greenlit, will be to find a director.
(L to R) Finn (Mason Thames) and The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) in ‘Black Phone 2’, written and directed by Scott Derrickson. Photo: Universal Pictures.
2022’s ‘The Black Phone,’ directed by Scott Derrickson from a script by him and C. Robert Cargill (based on a short story by Joe Hill), was a fresh, supernaturally-slanted take on the serial killer trope, told through the lens of Derrickson’s own childhood memories of growing up in a working-class Denver, Colorado neighborhood in the 1970s. It featured Derrickson’s uncanny ability to craft scenes filled with menace, as well as genuinely harrowing work from Ethan Hawke as the child killer known as the Grabber and Mason Thames as his latest victim.
Although ‘The Black Phone’ was a self-contained story, Derrickson and Cargill have found a way to extend the narrative with ‘Black Phone 2,’ which also brings back Hawke, Thames and Madeleine McGraw as the sister of Thames’ character. Leaning more heavily into the supernatural, and wearing influences like the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ films and ‘The Shining’ more outwardly, the slow-burning ‘Black Phone 2’ strains at times to force its narrative forward but still delivers an often-frightening and gorier new chapter of the story.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Ethan Hawke and director Scott Derrickson on the set of ‘Black Phone 2’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
It’s four years since Finney ‘Finn’ Blake (Thames) was held captive by the Grabber (Hawke), finally killing him and escaping with the help of calls from the murderer’s previous, dead victims on a disconnected rotary phone in the Grabber’s basement lair. Still plagued by trauma from his encounter, Finn at first does not want to hear that his younger sister Gwen (McGraw) is having psychic dreams – just like their mother, who ended her own life – in which she sees three dead, mutilated boys at a Christian youth camp called Alpine Lake.
After learning from their father (Jeremy Davies, more dazed this time around) that their mother worked at the camp years ago, Gwen insists that she and Finn – along with their friend Ernesto (Miguel Mora, returning from the first film but this time as his doomed character’s brother) — head up there to find out what happened to the boys before the dreams drive her mad. Snowed in with the camp’s manager (Bichir), his niece (Rivas) and a pair of administrators, the group are besieged not just by Gwen’s ever more vivid dreams but physical manifestations as well – and increasing signs that the Grabber himself is reaching out from beyond the grave to take revenge on Finn and Gwen.
The lonely, windswept, snowbound camp, its buildings’ big picture windows looking out on absolute darkness at night, is a highly effective setting for ‘Black Phone 2.’ Derrickson wrings the most atmosphere out of that, but saves his most unnerving moments for Gwen’s dreams, which are filmed in Super 8 (another Derrickson trademark that goes back to ‘Sinister’). The grainy, faded look adds a layer of unreality to the dreams that is hard to shake, especially as the movie’s spirits begin to appear. As in the first film, the director also knows how to get maximum terror out of a ringing phone and a static-filled line – two things that are often more unsettling than most of us want to admit.
Some of the characters – like Finn, Gwen, and Bichir’s Armando, are well-drawn and given more depth, while others, like the Blakes’ now-sober but dazed dad, get the short end of the stick. Perhaps more controversially, Derrickson and Cargill’s script provides the Grabber with more of an origin story this time, while also explicitly making him into a supernatural being. The story also labors to tie the Blakes and the Grabber together in a more unified way. Whether that makes the universe of the film smaller and less mysterious is a matter of debate, but it makes the script more contrived this time around.
The film also bends the grounded vibe of its predecessor to allow for events in dreams to affect the physical world, which brings this narrative closer to that of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ and its well-loved ‘Dream Warriors’ threequel. It’s not an entirely successful gambit, but it doesn’t detract from the still-heartfelt and genuinely terrifying story at hand.
Although he arguably has less screen time here, Ethan Hawke is still skin-freezing as the Grabber, bringing an intensity to the role that makes him one of the more striking horror creations of the past decade.
But the movie belongs to Mason Thames and especially Madeleine McGraw, both older and wiser – and a masterstroke for Derrickson to get them both back. Finn and Gwen are suffering from PTSD in their own way, and both actors offer up a raw portrait of two kids deeply suffering from trauma. In the end, it’s McGraw’s emotional, complex performance that stands out the most, marking her as an actor to watch.
The supporting cast is capable in all respects, but Demián Bichir also deserves mention: his customary warmth, earthiness, and humanity bring depth and empathy into a character that could have easily been one-dimensional.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) in ‘Black Phone 2’, directed by Scott Derrickson. Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘Black Phone 2’ doesn’t just recycle the first film, like many horror sequels, and while not every new direction it takes works, the film is still a mostly gripping and unsettling affair. Scott Derrickson remains a master of sustaining a mood of dread throughout, and gets the most out of those truly eerie dream sequences.
If the story twists itself to get to where the filmmakers want it to go, and the logic of the movie wobbles from time to time, it makes up for those flaws with some truly great performances, the director’s use of space, shadow, and texture, and the ominous netherworld in which it’s set. If the ‘Elm Street’ movies had kept playing it straight, they might have ended up here.
‘Black Phone 2’ receives a score of 80 out of 100.
In 1982, four years after the events of ‘The Black Phone,’ Finney Blake is trying to deal with the trauma of his experience with the now-dead Grabber. Meanwhile, his sister Gwen starts having terrifying visions of mutilated children and nightmares that include a ringing phone.
Jason Bateman is making a deal to direct ‘The Partner.’
Tom Holland is aboard to star in the movie and produce.
It’ll adapt the John Grisham legal thriller novel.
If it pleases the court, we’d direct the jury (er, readers) to cast their mind back to January of this year, when evidence emerged that Tom Holland had agreed to star in and produce a new movie adaptation of John Grisham tome ‘The Partner’ for Universal.
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The case for making the film has moved on to the point of hiring a director, and Deadline brings word that Jason Bateman is the man taking the job, which would mark his third movie directing gig (not forgetting his numerous TV credits).
Tom Holland arrives on the red carpet of The 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Paul Hebert / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
The plot follows Patrick Lanigan, a young partner in a white shoe Biloxi law firm who fakes his own death in a burning car. He’s left behind a wife, newborn daughter, and a secret. What he’s actually done is fake his death to create a template for a new life by stealing $90 million from a client of his crooked law firm.
He finds happiness and love in South America. When the client who worked so hard to defraud the government finds the money is missing from his offshore accounts, he becomes determined to hunt down the lawyer he doesn’t believe is dead.
That leads the attorney to have to turn himself in to the FBI and face up to the wife, child and life he left behind…
The role of Lanigan offers Holland the chance to play another conflicted, morally questionable character, and enjoy some of the complexity he found in the likes of ‘The Crowded Room’ and ‘Cherry.’
Graham Moore, whose credits include films such as 2014’s ‘The Imitation Game,’ and 2022 crime thriller ‘The Outfit’ (which he also directed), has been at work on the script.
What else is Jason Bateman working on?
Jason Bateman attends Netflix’s ‘Black Rabbit’ NY Premiere and After Party at SVA Theater on September 16, 2025 in New York City. Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images for Netflix.
Bateman is currently on screens in new Netflix series ‘Black Rabbit’ and was most recently seen in another Netflix production, airport thriller ‘Carry-On’.
Coming up, he’ll be reprising the role of wisecracking fox Nick Wilde in Disney’s animated ‘Zootopia 2’ (due in theaters on November 26) and is a star and producer on HBO series ‘DTF St. Louis’.
Leonardo Di Caprio as Bob Ferguson in ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
Preview:
‘One Battle After Another’ is the latest Warner Bros. movie to top the box office.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s ambitious latest stars Leonardo DiCaprio.
‘Gabby’s Dollhouse’ opened second.
It was certainly a gamble for Warner Bros. to back Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film –– for all the acclaim the filmmaker has accrued, he rarely opens to giant box office figures. And even with a bankable star such as Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead, a budget in excess of $130 million was always going to be tough to turn into profit.
Still, a launch of $22.4 million, enough to top the box office this weekend is certainly healthier for ‘One Battle After Another’ than some might have predicted.
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With plenty of positive reviews and good reactions from cinemagoers, it’s probably about as solid as an original, long movie with controversial themes (social justice, political violence) might have expected.
It opened to $26.1 million across 74 markets, making for a $48.5 million global start.
Of course, it has a long road to travel to get to profitability, but it has premium format screenings and plenty of buzz to help it build legs.
And it represents another good result for Warner Bros., which has already enjoyed success with the likes of ‘Sinners’ and ‘A Minecraft Movie’ this year.
What else happened at the box office this weekend?
Madelaine Petsch as Maya in ‘The Strangers — Chapter 2’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Second place this weekend went to the kid-friendly blend of live-action and animation that is show adaptation ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse’. The Universal movie opened to $13.5 million, and $19 million worldwide.
Horror title ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ clung on to third, adding $6.8 million, ahead of misfiring Renny Harlin sequel effort ‘The Strangers: Chapter 2’, which landed in fourth with $5.9 million. That one at least has the advantage of only costing $8.5 million to make.
Fifth was ‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’, which topped the box office last weekend, and fell, but is still earning money. It made $4.8 million, and is currently sitting at $115.9 million domestically.
Coming up next week is awards-buzzed ‘The Smashing Machine’ starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, but ‘One Battle’ faces no real challenge to its premium screen formats until ‘Tron: Ares’ lands on October 10th and starts gobbling up IMAX locations.
(L to R) Leonardo Di Caprio and Director/Writer/Producer Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton.
Kristen Bell and Daniela Melchior are joining ‘Violent Night 2’.
David Harbour returns as a Santa.
Tommy Wirkola is directing once more.
You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout… I’m telling you why: as we learned way back in January 2023, a sequel to 2022’s festive themed action comedy ‘Violent Night’ was reported as in development.
Harbour, of course, returns as the grumpy Santa Claus who has a propensity for dishing out a little of the ol’ ultraviolence to anyone who makes his naughty list.
Tommy Wirkola (‘Dead Snow’) is back calling the shots (and punches, and hits to the baubles), while the sequel’s script comes from the writers of the original, Pat Casey and Josh Miller.
‘Violent Night’ starred Harbour as a version of Santa who is feeling a little jaded about the whole Christmas thing after centuries of delivering presents to increasingly ungrateful kids.
A Norse warrior lord before he was tapped to don the red suit and bring joy to the world, he’s tired of lists asking for cash or video games, and of competing with Amazon. Plus, the genuine “thank yous” are few and far between.
So when he stumbles into a hostage situation at the Lightstone family compound, where the wealthy Gertrude (Beverly D’Angelo) and her grown kids, in-laws and grandchildren have gathered to celebrate a typically passive-aggressive Christmas, he’s initially more concerned with raiding the liquor cabinet than helping out, he’s moved by young Trudy Lightstone (Leah Brady) to take down the villain known as Scrooge (John Leguizamo) and his goons.
There are zero details on what the sequel will feature, besides presumably Harbour’s less-than-Jolly Old Saint Nick putting a beat down on some new threats.
Will Bell be a villain? Someone Santa has to save? And what of Melchior (who, after all, shares a name with a Biblical wise man associated with Christmas)? Looks like we’ll all have to act like kids on Christmas Eve and wait to see what this new cine-gift has to offer.
Where else can we see Kristen Bell and Daniela Melchior?
Kristen Bell in 2014’s ‘Veronica Mars’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Bell popped up in a cameo as herself in the most recent season of ‘Hacks’, but beyond that was the star of Netflix comedy drama series ‘Nobody Wants This’ in 2024. The show returns to the streaming service for Season 2 on October 23rd this year.
She’ll also reprise the key role of Anna in ‘Frozen III’, due in theaters on November 24th, 2027.
(Left) Phil Lord on the set of ’21 Jump Street.’ Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing. (Center) Archie Andrews from ‘The Archie Show’. Photo: CBS. (Right) Chris Miller on the set of ’21 Jump Street.’ Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Preview:
A movie based on ‘Archie’ comics is in the works at Universal.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller are producing the movie.
The script comes from ‘Superwoman: Woman of Tomorrow’ comic writer Tom King.
While current audiences might be most familiar with the ‘Archie’ comic book stories via long-running CW series ‘Riverdale’, plans are afoot for a different take, this one aimed at the big screen.
The ‘Archie’ comics series, which have been published for 85 years, follows the high school hijinks of the title character and his main squeezes, Veronica and Betty. It has been turned into any number of shows and movies.
While ‘Riverdale’ was steeped in a ‘Twin Peaks’-like noir and followed the underbelly of the small town where Archie and the gang lived, the new tone of the new movie is being kept a mystery for now.
Here’s what Lord and Miller said in a statement:
“We are longtime fans of Archie, Veronica, Betty, and the gang in all of their iterations. When we heard Tom King’s take on the classic material, we instantly thought it made sense as an event movie for all audiences — both lifelong fans and a whole new generation. We’re so excited to bring these beloved characters to the big screen.”
Emma Watts, who used to run 20th Century Studios and now has her own production company, teamed up with King (who on the scriptwriting front has been working on DC Studios’ HBO series ‘Lanterns’) to develop an initial pitch, which they then presented to Lord and Miller.
They, in turn, took it to Universal under the terms of their first look deal.
What else are Lord and Miller working on?
Ryan Gosling in ‘Project Hail Mary’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
With the project still rattling around the development zone, we wouldn’t expect to see a release date announcement until it is closer to being finalized.
Camila Mendes on ‘Riverdale’. Photo: Warner Bros. Television Studios.
Selected Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Movies and TV Shows:
Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum are starring in ‘Dance Parents’.
Jonathan Levine will direct the movie.
Universal won a bidding war for the rights.
Is comedy ready to make a big comeback to theaters? With ‘The Naked Gun’ doing decent business and Disney bringing legacy sequel ‘Freakier Friday’ this weekend, it would seem other studios are dipping their toes in too.
Universal, which has seen success with comedies in the past, nabbed the project after winning a bidding battle with several other companies for the rights.
With the project still in early development –– besides Levine and the stars, the only other person attached right now is writer Meghan Malloy (‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’) –– the exact plot details are being kept quiet for now.
But we can at least speculate from that title the idea that it’ll be set in the heady world of competitive kids dancing, and the obsessive parents who manage their every step.
Tatum, of course, has extensive dance experience, not least in the ‘Step Up’ franchise. And he and Theron shared a number on stage at the 2013 Oscars.
What else are Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum working on?
Channing Tatum as Gambit in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Theron will next be seen amongst the packed cast of Christopher Nolan’s latest, ‘The Odyssey’, which will be in theaters on July 17th next year. She’s also the lead in new wilderness thriller ‘Apex’.
On top of those, she has a raft of other projects on her list, much of which she is producing, including a limited series adaptation of horror novel ‘The Quiet Tenant’ with Blumhouse, ‘Jane’, a psychological thriller feature loosely based on the life of prolific science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and ‘Two for the Money’, a love letter to the heist genre directed by Justin Lin.
Tatum’s next movie to see theaters will be true crime comedy drama ‘Roofman’, due on October 10th.
He’s recently worked on a new thriller called ‘Josephine’ and is filming ‘Alpha Gang’, a sci-fi comedy about aliens who arrive on Earth plotting invasion but succumb to human emotions when they disguise themselves as a biker gang.
Oh, and there is also the small matter of his reprising the role of Gambit for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which is also in production now for a December 18th, 2026 release.
When will ‘Dance Parents’ waltz into theaters?
With everything still coming together on the comedy, Universal has yet to specify a release date for it.
