This review is based on a screening at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

One of the most confounding films to compete for the Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival debut Hope is a rip-roaring Korean creature feature made with gonzo skill. Idiosyncratic in structure, spring-loaded with momentum, and doused in additional rocket fuel, it’s the kind of movie sure to divide viewers given how obviously it’s been cut down from something longer and more labyrinthine in scope. However, its flaws are all part and parcel of its dazzling, “How the hell does this even exist?” spectacle. It’s the kind of reaction reserved for bangers like Mad Max: Fury Road, especially given just how much of Hope unfolds on roads and highways at a hundred miles an hour, with characters leaning out of cop cars and practically kissing the pavement; the comparison isn’t unwarranted.

Set along the DMZ in the South Korean border town of Hope Harbor, Hope departs from other great films of its ilk, like Bong Joon Ho’s The Host, by picking a rural setting. Police chief Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min) and various gun-toting locals are called to investigate a bull carcass in the middle of an open road, with claw marks far too big for the local bears, but before they have a chance to dig into the mystery, carnage begins engulfing their nearby township. This thrusts them into utter chaos for nearly the film’s first full hour as they chase down an unseen monster while navigating bodies, debris, and cars sent tumbling from off-screen in scenes that alternate between the dizzying terrors of director Na Hong-jin’s last film, The Wailing, and something out of William Friedkin’s The French Connection, with cameras low to the ground as they zip around tight turns.

While we do eventually see the aforementioned creature – one of several that appear across the movie’s 160 minutes, played via performance capture by Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, Cameron Britton, and Taylor Russell — this initial, extended set piece provides enough heart-in-mouth thrills that you might even wish the monsters remained unseen. Granted, this might also be the case if you’re averse to malformed CGI, but the standards once set by Hollywood aren’t the same everywhere else. The way Na Hong-jin uses his digital tools, as though bringing impossible stop-motion critters to life, makes for a marvelous romp. The characters are largely paper-thin cutouts, but they provide enough levity and allure to keep things moving. For instance, there’s Squid Game mainstay Jung Ho-yeon, who plays rookie cop Sung-ae and gets a heroic, grenade launcher-wielding entrance akin to a South Indian action star.

To say that Hope is an alien film isn’t exactly a spoiler, but discovering the nature of its designs is a delight unto itself. Usually, one look at a movie’s extraterrestrials tells you just how close or far removed its designs are meant to be from humanity, but Hope also features a variety of creatures that make this calculus more complicated. Some of these aliens are elegant, even regal; others are puzzling creations of flesh, bone, and even wood, where you’re never quite sure what you’re looking at (anatomically speaking). Still others feel plucked from the sketchbooks of H.R. Giger, but for the most part, they have just enough human features to place them in the uncanny valley, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing given how they’re used dramatically.

The movie’s most heroic characters – like Zo In-sung’s headstrong, horse-riding tracker, Sung-ki – aren’t those that land the most accurate shots, but rather those that occasionally pause to consider the lives and emotions of these rampaging creatures, catching glimmers of something deeper in their distinctly human eyes. On paper, Hope is entirely a game of figuring out what the f*** the townspeople are even up against, and responding accordingly. But nestled within its action, comedy, and mystery are fleeting moments of empathy that verge on heartbreak for the situation at large, as the movie threatens to become something more sentimental and Amblin-esque.

That it never does is tragic all on its own. You see, Na Hong-jin’s country setting doesn’t just provide wide open spaces for mayhem and detailed production design; rather, it sets the stage for subtle social and political commentary akin to The Twilight Zone and other American Cold War science fiction, drawn from an era when the Red Scare had people seeing communists in their soup. Setting Hope along the border with North Korea has a similar function, between signs that warn not only of animals, spies, and grenades – the alien creatures are, in essence, a combination of the three – but of infiltration at large.

These fears of invasion take shape in kooky ways, like Bum-seok being continually surprised by just how armed-to-the-teeth the people of his town turn out to be. This is funny in the moment, but it speaks to the exact kind of cultural paranoia that breeds the movie’s high-octane violence in the first place. It also seems to breed rot – everything that dies in the movie decays faster than usual, which is never commented upon but ensures that most scenes are drenched in squelching practical effects and buzzing insects. Death is always just around the corner, so every time ammunition tears through the air, it also threatens to make the movie more sickly.

Not since Starship Troopers has large-scale sci-fi action been laced with such wrenching internal conflict, wherein heroes are instantly demythologized and frequent moments offering mutual understanding are dismissed by rattling machine guns. That Hope revels in its violent displays is certainly an attempt to have its cake and eat it too, but Na Hong-jin is more than capable of toeing this tonal line given how unapologetically he drenches each scene in physical and emotional adrenaline. It’s hard not to be swept up by the movie’s deluge of sounds and images.

That the film ends on a note teasing a potential sequel is just as strange as anything you see on screen. However, that Hope also works as an isolated sliver of something larger which we may never see – and which the trigger-happy characters choose not to recognize – feels thematically whole as well. Perhaps the movie’s alleged heroes are too far gone in the direction of selfish survivalism to have ever stood a real chance at building something better and exploring new possibilities, which is nothing if not a warning sign of where we are and what’s to come.

The Hunt For Ben Solo fan campaign is still going, and its latest stunt saw a truck circle the Mandalorian and Grogu premiere in Hollywood.

The Star Wars superfans behind the campaign have spent a year now trying to convince Disney to make canceled movie The Hunt For Ben Solo a reality, putting money into various initiatives designed to keep Adam Driver’s character front of mind.

Late last year, Driver dropped a bombshell to the Associated Press that he’d spent the last few years developing The Hunt for Ben Solo. The Lucasfilm-approved but Bob Iger-nixed direct follow-up to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was confirmed by attached director Steven Soderbergh, and on multiple occasions the fanbase has hired planes to do fly-overs of the Walt Disney Studio lot in Burbank to rally support — something Rey Skywalker actress Daisy Ridley has responded positively to.

The movie would have taken place following The Rise of Skywalker and centered on Adam Driver’s character Kylo Ren and his quest for redemption. Driver told the Associated Press that The Hunt For Ben Solo was “one of the coolest f—king scripts I had ever been a part of.”

Driver played Ben Solo / Kylo Ren in each of the three films in Lucasfilm’s Sequel Trilogy, with his final appearance in 2019’s divisive The Rise of Skywalker. “I always was interested in doing another Star Wars,” Driver said. He revealed he had been in talks about another Star Wars movie since 2021, and that then Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had “reached out.”

“I always said: with a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second,” Driver commented. “I loved that character and loved playing him."

Driver said Lucasfilm “loved the idea” and “totally understood our angle and why we were doing it.” However, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney co-chairman Alan Bergman said no. "They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that,” he said. Soderbergh told AP: “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”

Driver was described as feeling mystified by the decision, insisting the plan was to “be judicial about how to spend money and be economical with it, and do it for less than most but in the same spirit of what those movies are, which is handmade and character-driven.” He pointed to the much-loved Empire Strikes Back as being “the standard of what those movies were.”

The Hunt For Ben Solo sounds dead, but Brianna Johns, writer, voice actor, and self-confessed “avid” Star Wars fan, has not given up hope. Johns, alongside other members of the campaign, arranged for a mobile billboard truck to circle the world premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu in Hollywood, CA. The truck featured large black text on both sides that said "WHERE'S BEN SOLO?" while showcasing the campaign's calling card, Ben's Missing Poster, on the back.

“This truck is our way of showing Disney we’re still here,” Johns told IGN. “We saw someone from Industrial Light & Magic posted our truck to their Instagram story and are taking that as a good sign, trusting that word of mouth spread within the event.”

The aim, Johns said, is for the fan campaign to hold one major event at least every other month “to inspire fans and engage the C-Suite.” In January, it was billboards, in March there was a presence at Toronto Comicon. They even had a professional skydiver jump out of a plane, and held a ticketed special screening of The Last Jedi in April. Now, it’s the premiere truck.

“Count on more meetups, more efforts and ways to help online and off,” Johns continued. “We’ll keep showing up and making noise however we can. Our overall goal is the same as it ever was: We want Ben Solo’s return on the big screen.”

Last year, Daisy Ridley told IGN she’d heard “rumblings” of Adam Driver’s revelations about the movie. “I have lots of friends who are crew, so things always travel like that. But, whoa! When the story came out, no, I was like, 'Oh, my God!' And it was him that said it, right?” Ridley added that she found the fan campaign that sprung up following the news heart-warming.

“I do love when there is a collective of positivity,” she said. “The way the internet seems to have rallied to try and get it to happen. I think one), it's fantastic for us all. It's good for us to all be united about something in a really positive way. Obviously, everyone knows he was a very popular character, but it was also lovely to think, 'Wow, people really, really care and want this.' I just... I like it. I like when people join forces — excuse the pun — from all around the world, all different sorts of people. I just love that the Star Wars fandom is such a huge and gorgeous array of different points of view and different people, and the fact that everyone is really behind this thing, I think, is just sort of lovely, in a time that is so f***ing nuts for probably every single person on this Earth. I think it's wonderful. So I was surprised, and honestly, I felt joyful about how it went down.”

In the short term, Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian & Grogu movie is out imminently, then Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter releases May 2027. TV wise, Ahsoka Season 2 is in development. Ridley's Rey film, assuming it actually gets made, takes place roughly 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker as she looks to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Image credit: Brianna Johns | @bananajohns.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Iron Lung, the debut feature film from successful YouTuber Mark Fischbach, will be available to watch on YouTube from May 31, reports Deadline. Fischbach, who is known to his YouTube viewers as Markiplier, revealed the film’s home viewing premiere date during a panel discussion at Cannes.

It was confirmed the release will be exclusive to YouTube, with Fischbach referring to the service as his home.

“I’m pretty loyal to it,” he said.

Iron Lung, which was written, directed, and edited by Fischbach (who also self-financed and starred in the film), was released in cinemas in January this year. Based on the 2022 video game by developer David Szymanski (Dusk, Gloomwood), Iron Lung is the story of a convict who is sealed inside a submarine and forced to navigate his way through an ocean of blood on a desolate moon. The mission comes in the wake of an unexplained phenomenon that has seen all stars and planets in the universe disappear, leaving the only humans remaining those who were aboard space stations or spacecraft at the time.

While the critical response to Iron Lung was mixed, the film was a commercial success, grossing more than $50 million on a budget of $3 million. IGN’s review noted that while it was clear Fischbach “really loves Iron Lung… his sluggish movie adaption of the game feels interminable rather than serving as a compelling interpretation of this world.”

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

The story of the Corleone family is turning to the next page, as The Godfather is now set to continue with a new book called Connie that is set to release in 2027.

Publishing company Random House told the Associated Press earlier this week that it had officially acquired a Godfather novel written by best-selling author Adriana Trigiani. The novel has been authorized by the estate of original book series author Mario Puzo and will follow a story from the perspective of Don Vito Corleone's only daughter.

"Connie is a novel about how a woman works to forge her own way in a world that's already decided who she is, what she's about, and how she should be treated," Trigiani said in a statement. "People underestimated Don Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone at their peril. The same will be true for Connie Corleone."

The Godfather is no doubt most widely known as the film trilogy that director Francis Ford Coppola started in the '70s. Although the movies still stand as some of the most quotable films in the history of cinema decades after their release, the Corleone family's roots actually date back to Puzo's 1969 crime novel, also called The Godfather.

He went on to continue the tale with a sequel titled The Sicilian in 1984, and although a series of additional books – including The Godfather Returns, The Godfather's Revenge, and The Family Corleone – were published all the way up to 2012, Connie will be only the third to receive approval from Puzo's estate.

Trigiani will pick up the reins as the first estate-approved installment written by a woman. It's unclear how it will expand on the story of Connie Corleone, who was played by Coppola's sister, Talia Shire, in the movies.

"We had been looking for someone to retell the story from a new perspective," Puzo's son, Anthony Puzo said in a statement. "Adriana was knocked out when I told her that the character of Vito Corleone (played in the films by Brando and De Niro) was actually based on my grandmother. We talked about how the women ran both of our families, but behind the scenes. Adriana's vision for Connie's life blew us all away. I'm very pleased and excited to have her on board."

Connie is expected to be released in fall 2027. For more, you can read what IGN thought about EA's The Godfather video game from 2006.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Keanu Reeves is set to play the lead role in Hidari, a Japanese stop-motion "wood sculpture" samurai film whose proof of concept video blew up on YouTube three years ago.

Hidari began life as a proof-of-concept film released on YouTube back in 2023. It features eye-catching stop-motion action, with characters made from wood, an arsenal of secret prosthetic weaponry, and even a towering wooden mech. The video has amassed over 4.9 million views, with plenty of enthusiasm in the comments for it to be fleshed out.

Creator, writer, and director Masashi Kawamura had said he had a much longer story to tell, and that he had been searching for production partners and investors to help turn the concept into a full length film. Now, it looks like that dream may come true.

Cannes’ Annecy Animation Showcase: The hyped Japanese stop-motion project 'Hidari' leads this year's slate. A stylized and incredibly-shot revenge tale set in Edo-era reconstruction that raised over $100,000 with its 2023 Kickstarter. Full lineup details: https://t.co/kKzBUgtG3c pic.twitter.com/SqLa1IExBP

— Cartoon Brew (@cartoonbrew) April 20, 2026

Reeves, star of The Matrix, John Wick, and the odd samurai movie himself, voices protagonist Hidari Jingoro, who is described as “a man consumed by revenge yet unable to abandon his instinct to create.”

Here’s the official blurb:

Hidari is a stop-motion period film inspired by the legendary sculptor Hidari Jingoro, a mysterious figure whose existence remains uncertain yet who left behind countless works and tales. Brought to life through intricately carved wooden puppets that mirror his craft, the film is being co-developed by three companies: Whatever, the creative studio co-founded by director Masashi Kawamura, together with two internationally acclaimed stop-motion studios, dwarf studios and Tecarat.

Set in Edo-period Japan, Hidari weaves together real historical events and figures with original characters to tell a story of revenge.

Jingoro, a master craftsman of his time, is caught in a conspiracy during the reconstruction of Edo Castle, losing his mentor, the woman he loves, and even his right arm. Barely surviving, Jingoro is transformed into an agent of vengeance. Replacing his lost arm with a weaponized prosthetic, the tools he once used to carve wood are reborn as instruments of destruction. Accompanied by his partner, the “Sleeping Cat,” he sets out on a journey of revenge — only to find himself drawn into an even greater conspiracy.

Power struggles within the shogunate, advancing mechanical soldiers, and a transforming Edo Castle all threaten to consume him. As everything closes in, something within him begins to change. Hidari is a story of revenge and rebirth — of a man who once lived to create, only to lose himself in destruction, and ultimately rediscover both himself and the meaning of his life.

Hidari is Reeves' first role in a Japanese original production, although he is no stranger to voice work, having played Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4, and Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077. He's also familiar with playing samurai, having starred in 2013 movie 47 Ronin in the lead role.

“I’m thrilled by the vision behind Hidari,” Reeves said. “From the proof of concept to the developed script, the team has created something truly extraordinary. It has all the makings of an exceptional film — one I’m excited to see and eager to be part of. I believe this project has the potential to bring something very special to audiences worldwide.”

Kawamura sounds equally thrilled that he's managed to snag Reeves for the role, saying: "One of the films we referenced while creating the Hidari pilot film and developing the screenplay was John Wick. And when I made my own personal dream list of actors I hoped could someday be part of the feature adaptation, the very first name I wrote down was Keanu Reeves. I never imagined that he would actually join the project. Even now, it still feels surreal to me. But with such an incredible actor becoming part of Hidari, our entire team is more motivated than ever to create something truly special together with him."

Keanu Reeves already has plenty on his plate, including a film adaptation of BRZRKR, the comic book series he co-created, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which will see him reprise his role as Shadow, and John Wick 5.

Image credit: Hidari / YouTube.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Man of Tomorrow actor Lars Eidinger has described his live-action take on Superman villain Brainiac as something that is like "an incarnation of Satan."

The man behind the DC's next big movie villain gave audiences their first tease for what he's bringing to the DCU during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Although the James Gunn-directed and David Corenswet-starring Superman sequel is still more than a year out from its theatrical premiere, Eidinger is propping up his world-conquering bad guy as a threat of biblical proportions.

"Yes, the theatrical quality has actually helped me enormously in the context of Superman, too, because it involves a different register of performance, one that isn’t primarily realistic and allows for a far more expressive style of playing," he said when asked how his work in theater has helped in onscreen. "When I watch a film like James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, I find it has a great theatrical quality — in the handling of good and evil, and in a certain tendency toward allegory. Brainiac is described as the incarnation of Satan. I find that almost Shakespearean. The king, the fool — there are so many parallels for me."

Brainiac is not only a recognizable Superman villain; he's one of the most infamous comic book characters in history. Readers and movie watchers have done their best to pick up on every little detail Gunn has dropped when it comes to teases for a DCU version of the mean, green antagonist, but the truth is, most information is probably being saved for closer to the release of Man of Tomorrow.

Eidinger says his Brainiac will give Corenswet's Clark Kent a run for his money, even if we don't know exactly how quite yet. Elsewhere in the interview, the actor opened up about how he was pulled into the budding DCU in the first place. He clarified that doing a comic book movie is "not as different" from his previous work on projects like Clouds of Sils Maria or Home for the Weekend as one might think. He even goes on to praise similar films for having "a serious philosophical ambition," adding that "they carry great allegorical weight" for him.

"Take just the word 'super' — it's used as a superlative, for something excellent, wonderful," Eidinger continued. "But 'super' really only means 'over' or 'above.' So Superman is the Übermensch. You have the Super Ego. There’s already a deep psychological dimension built in."

"Last week I was on set during rehearsals and asked if I could watch some of the filming, which had already started. And I saw an actor in the Superman costume, suspended on wires in front of a bluescreen. I looked at that image and thought: This is the essence of fiction. It’s as significant an image as Hamlet holding the skull: Superman, in that Superman pose, hanging from wires in front of a bluescreen.

"Being in the Superman universe wasn’t a dream or burning desire for me. But now that it’s happening, I can see a certain inevitability in it, something almost fated."

Superman Man of Tomorrow will continue Gunn's vision for a new DCU when it brings Corenswet back to the big screen July 9, 2027. Filming began in April, and its cast also includes Matthew Lillard, Andre Royo, Adria Arjona, and more. While we wait for updates, you can catch up on all of the latest from Supergirl ahead of its premiere in June.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Titanic and Terminator director James Cameron said he's "looking at some new technologies" to try and get Avatar 4 and 5 made "in half the time for two-thirds of the cost," but it's going to take a year just to figure it out.

The legendary filmmaker spoke about how he plans to continue his long-in-the-works sci-fi saga during an interview with The Empire Film Podcast. When asked what's next for Cameron following the premiere of Avatar: Fire and Ash and his Billie Eilish concert movie, he told The Empire Film Podcast he's hoping to alter his process to, hopefully "more efficiently," dive back into Pandora.

"You know, I'll be doing some writing. I've got a number of projects that I'm cooking," he said. "And Avatar 4 and 5 are still floating out there. We’re going to be looking at some new technologies to try to do them more efficiently. Because they're hideously expensive and take a long time. I want to do them in half the time for two-thirds of the cost. That’s my metric."

Cameron added that it's going to "take us a year or so" to even come up with a plan on how to more efficiently create Avatar movies going forward. In the meantime, he promised that he'll be "writing and doing a couple of other things."

Avatar first took audiences to Pandora with the launch of the original film in 2009, but its sequel, The Way of Water, wouldn't arrive until an incredible 13 years later in 2022. The three-year wait between Avatar 2 and its Fire and Ash follow-up was comparatively far less painful, but even that timeframe feels a bit on the long side for the 71-year-old director.

While it's true that all three Avatar movies have managed to cross the $1 billion mark at the box office, Fire and Ash only made $1.48 billion compared to The Way of Water's $2.4 billion, suggesting potentially declining interest amongst moviegoers. Adding to the sting is the last film's reported $400 million budget, which doesn't account for the hundreds of millions Disney would have spent on its marketing campaign.

Despite Cameron's hope to eventually bring the Sully family back to theaters, how exactly Avatar 4 and 5 will take shape is unclear, for now. We have yet to see what "new technologies" the Avatar director and writer plans to explore, but he's made it clear that he's hoping to produce the films for cheaper in the past. A report from last month suggested as much, too, though it appeared much was still moving behind the scenes at Disney.

Disney has currently scheduled tentative release dates of December 21, 2029, for Avatar 4 and December 19, 2031, for Avatar 5. A recent update from producer Rae Sanchini promised that scripts are in hand as the team continues to move "full speed ahead."

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Upcoming action movie prequel John Rambo has reportedly added James Franco to its cast.

Details on what is set up to be the controversial actor's first notable big-studio part in years came from Variety, which said that he has joined the film for a "small role." Production on the film in Thailand is said to have wrapped.

Franco was well-known for parts in movies like the Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man trilogy, The Disaster Artist, 127 Hours, and Pineapple Express before being cast out of Hollywood after five women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2018. Of those women, four were students at his now-defunct Studio 4 acting school, while another described him as a mentor. Franco denied the allegations at the time.

A lawsuit regarding the allegations then emerged in 2019 before being settled for more than $2.2 million in 2021. Franco admitted to sleeping with students and said his actions were "wrong" later that same year. Outside of a few somewhat smaller films, the events were enough to keep him out of the public eye and even damage his working relationship with longtime collaborator Seth Rogen. Franco went on to tease his plans to do a "big studio movie" and respond to rumors that he had been hiding away during an interview with Deadline at Cannes Film Festival last week.

"It’s not true I’ve been hiding out," he said. "I've been here the last three or four years running, selling things and they treat me well and I get to go and see great movies."

Franco joins Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I've Loved Before), who has been picked to play a younger version of Sylvester Stallone's First Blood character, John Rambo, and David Harbour (Stranger Things), who recently boarded to take over the role of Commanding Officer Major Trautman. Yao (Sinners), Jason Tobin (Warrior), Quincy Isaiah (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Jefferson White (Civil War), and Tayme Thapthimthong (The White Lotus) are all also attached to the movie. Sisu filmmaker Jalmari Helander is directing the project.

John Rambo has no release date, and no plot details outside of the promise to tell an origin story for the action icon have been released. For more, you can read about how Marvel Studios veterans Joe and Anthony Russo are involved.

Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

In the Grey is now playing in theaters.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill met in Guy Ritchie’s trailer on the first day of filming their new thriller In the Grey, and cheered each other on throughout the improv-heavy production. Ritchie, who wrote and directed the movie, is known for his constant script changes and focus on discovery while filming. In an exclusive interview with IGN, Gyllenhaal says that process allowed him and Cavill to hone their characters in real time.

“With Guy, there's a lot of improvisation, a lot of discovery,” Gyllenhaal says. “Lines change in the moment, scenes shift on the day. We had a scene where we got the lines maybe a few minutes beforehand. All I did was root for Henry to remember his next line, and when he got through it, I was terrified I had to remember mine. That kind of thing keeps you incredibly present.”

In The Grey, which also stars Eiza González (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Carlos Bardem (Assassin’s Creed), and Fisher Stevens (Succession), follows “a covert team of elite operatives who live in the global shadows. When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, the team is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission. What begins as an impossible heist gets much worse, spiraling into an all-out war of strategy, deception and survival.”

Although both Gyllenhaal and Cavill had previously worked with Ritchie, In the Grey marks their first joint on-screen appearance. According to Gyllenhaal, the two actors didn’t have much time together before being dropped right into the action.

“What's funny is that Henry and I hadn't met before day one,” Gyllenhaal says. “We encountered each other in Guy's trailer on the first morning of filming. So, there wasn't much time to workshop a shared reference point. Guy had a very clear sense of who these two (characters) were in relation to each other from the start, and that gave us a strong foundation to build from.”

After previously appearing in Ritchie’s 2023 film The Covenant, Gyllenhaal says teaming up with the director on another film was an easy decision.

“It feels like one big film in a way, because you're really in his world,” Gyllenhaal says. “He comes back and says, ‘You want to come dive in again?’ And you go, ‘Yeah, sure. I love it in there. The water's warm.’ What's also unique is that he's constantly editing as he goes. He's shaping the story, showing you cut scenes and then you're shaping the next scene together. It doesn't work the way normal movies do, which is why it's very hard to communicate what it's really like. Everyone's on their toes. And if you enjoy that, which I do, it's a hell of a time.’

In the film, Gyllenhaal plays Bronco, an ex-special forces agent who joins Gonzalez’s character on a mission after she previously broke him out of prison. From far-flung locales, to the intense action, Gyllenhaal says that the spectacle of In the Grey is what makes it special.

“You've got to go see this one in the cinema because it's meant for the cinema,” Gyllenhaal says. “It's a huge spectacle full of fun, the way we've loved movies for decades. Guy is making it for that. And what's remarkable is that it's also completely original. It's very hard to do something truly original now; to find a new way in, to do it differently, with a unique voice. That's pretty much an impossibility. And yet you know when you're going to see a Guy Ritchie movie that you're going to see something original.”

Michael Peyton is the Senior Editorial Director of Events & Entertainment at IGN, leading entertainment content and coverage of tentpole events including IGN Live, San Diego Comic Con, gamescom, and IGN Fan Fest. He's spent 20 years working in the games and entertainment industry, and his adventures have taken him everywhere from the Oscars to Japan to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Follow him on Bluesky @MichaelPeyton

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 director Jeff Fowler has published a first look at Metal Sonic as filming on the latest movie comes to an end.

The filmmaker took to social media to share a behind-the-scenes picture of a life-sized version of the iconic Sega villain today. It comes with the news that filming for the next chapter in Paramount Pictures and Sega's series of game-to-movie adaptations wrapped with a little less than one year to go before its March 19, 2027, theatrical release date.

This sneak peek at Metal Sonic mostly serves to further entice Sonic fans rather than offer any sort of big reveal. If the sleek antagonist's presence in the last film's mid-credits scene wasn't enough of a tease, fans already figured he'd play some sort of role in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 after bringing his menacing aura to the teaser trailer published in March.

"And that's a wrap on #SonicMovie4!!!" Fowler said. "On behalf of this amazing cast/crew, we have filmed the BEST Sonic Movie yet and can't wait to share."

Still, this first look at Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 shows that Fowler is on track to continue the Blue Blur's story next spring. Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which premiered in 2024, last saw Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) team up to fight off Doctor Eggman (Jim Carrey) and live-action newcomer Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves).

While that movie's mid-credits scene helped bring Metal Sonic into the mix, it also helped warm up viewers to the idea that pink hedgehog Amy Rose would soon join the Sonic team, too. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter in February, she'll be played by The Good Place and Frozen alum, Kristen Bell.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is scheduled to spin into theaters in March 2027. While we wait for an official trailer and more news about how Metal Sonic fits into the big picture, you can check out the image featuring Amy's Piko Piko hammer that Fowler posted earlier this year. You can also read about who fans think the upcoming spinoff movie will focus on.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Lionsgate has tapped Sam Raimi to direct a new adaptation of the 1978 puppet horror movie, Magic, and some of the crew behind Send Help is coming with him.

Deadline reports that the Evil Dead and Spider-Man filmmaker has signed on to reanimate a twisted cult classic for modern audiences after previously being attached only as a producer. Magic, a modern adaptation of William Goldman’s novel of the same name, will reunite Raimi with writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, the scribes behind January's popular horror comedy, Send Help.

"Sam is the dream director for this project—in fact, his coming aboard represents one of the truly great matches of director and material," Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. "The script is fantastic, and we could not be more excited to see Sam’s direction and creative vision take it to another level. We are absolutely thrilled he has chosen to direct the film."

The original Magic premiered in 1978 and starred Anthony Hopkins as both a ventriloquist named Corky and his lively puppet, Fats. Directed by Richard Attenborough and written by William Goldman, 20th Century Fox sold the original tale as a "terrifying love story" about a doll that becomes eager to flip the script and gain control of its master.

Weapons and It producer Roy Lee is on board Magic as a producer, too, as are Chris Hammond and Tim Sullivan. Raimi Productions' Zainab Azizi, who also previously produced Send Help, is back, as well.

Vertigo's Andrew Childs, Nathan Kahane, and Paul Fishkin are attached as executive producers. Lionsgate's Meredith Wieck and Pavan Kalidindi will oversee the movie. Magic's plot, cast, and release date remain a mystery for now.

"That's right... we are running the Send Help gang back for more," Shannon and Swift said in a joint statement posted to their X account. "MAGIC is happening and Sam is directing. Rejoice horror fans, this is gonna be insane."

While we wait for updates on Magic, you can read about what we thought of Send Help in our 9/10 review.

"Who wants to go to a deserted island and watch Sam Raimi put Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien through hell? Everybody? Great! Send Help is for you," we said upon the film's release earlier this year.

Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

In the Grey is in theaters now.

The old adage “the worst thing you can be is boring” is very much underlined with In the Grey, a deathly dull would-be action thriller that feels three times the length of its 97-minute run time.

Though Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal get top billing, the film’s true lead is Eiza González. She plays Rachel Wild, a lawyer whose opening voiceover explains the film’s title in explicit detail, as she talks about how she operates within both legal and illegal and moral and amoral parameters and, yep, outright says she works “in the grey” because that’s just the kind of movie it is.

The film’s paper- thin plot finds Rachel using her skills and the elite team - and bottomless resources and finances - at her disposal to target Salazar (Carlos Bardem), the crime lord who’s stolen a fortune Rachel is tasked with getting back by any means necessary. Her two best agents are Sid (Cavill) and Bronco (Gyllenhaal), who head up the aforementioned illegal side of her operation, using all sorts of tactics to trick, track and hunt those Rachel needs dealt with.

The opening scenes of In the Grey feel very cliche but also don’t stand out as notably bad or unwatchable, as they set the stage for the story, though it does stand out how much González’s voiceover is used to explain how both her job and her larger team works. But as the film continues, it becomes egregious how much the film stays in the same mode it opens in, as it tells, not shows, over and over and over again.

A classic part of a heist or espionage movie is a “this is how our plan will play out” sequence, where we hear how everything is supposed to go for the team’s big operation – often using VO alongside shots of the locations targeted – and get the lay of the land before, inevitably, something goes awry. And those sequences can be super fun and are an appreciated part of the genre. But writer-director Guy Ritchie seems to have the mistaken belief that it would be really fun if a movie was nearly entirely made up of those sorts of sequences, hammering home the technique into monotony.

It is truly maddening how much of this movie is composed of voiceovers from either González or Gyllenhaal explaining what’s going on right now and/or what’s supposed to happen next. It’s not just hand-holding to an extreme degree, it feels lazy and as though Ritchie just didn’t want to figure out any other way to include exposition and simply wasn’t interested in any sort of characterization or personal dynamics, so he skipped as much normal dialogue and character interaction as possible.

Rachel is fierce and shrewd and she’s a shark and… that’s it. There are no other nuances to what we learn about her after what is made quite clear the first few minutes. But that’s better than Sid and Bronco, who are simply there to be generically smart and badass, with zero other layers or reasons to care about them. There is almost nothing in these roles for Cavill and Gyllenhaal to do but glower and yell stock lines about sticking to the plan and getting to the rendezvous point. Given their dueling dullness, it’s curious why these two characters weren’t simply made into one, since there’s so little to make them feel different from one another except that one is British and one is American.

The same goes for their larger team, which includes dudes with names like Baker (Kojo Attah) and Gucci (Jason Wong). Everyone is stoic and super capable, but lacks anything that makes them distinct in personality or skillset. There’s no wit, no charm, and no cool touches for any of these guys.

A film like this usually gets mileage out of how a team of this sort has to improvise and pivot when things go wrong, but this group seem too good and too prepared to ever make things interesting because they really just seem prepared for literally anything. Most of the time, they don’t seem two steps ahead of their enemies, they seem 20 steps ahead, and coupled with them being blank slates, personality-wise, it makes watching them operate boring, no matter how many nameless thugs they shoot or get in car chases with.

Ritchie has had some big highs and lows in his career, and in recent years has been making a lot of movies very quickly that are mostly forgettable. But he’s never made one as dull as In the Grey. It especially stands out that he’s re-teaming with frequent collaborator Cavill here, given these guys have much much livelier – if uneven – films together, like The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

As mentioned, Cavill and Gyllenhaal truly have nothing to work with here, performance-wise, while the naturally likeable González is fine but feels miscast. Though in her mid-30s, she still reads fairly young onscreen in both looks and demeanor, and doesn’t feel like she quite embodies someone meant to be the experienced and dominant leader – her team uses the codename “Mom” for her – as Rachel is intended to be. This is underlined by the presence of Rosamund Pike in a few scenes as a rival of Rachel, given Pike effortlessly exudes the energy Rachel is meant to and feels like she’d be the better casting choice for the role.

When Marvel ended Star Wars: Legacy of Vader after 12 issues, it was obvious they weren't done exploring Kylo Ren's journey between the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. The publisher has finally revealed what's next for Ben Solo - a new limited series dubbed Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren.

The Fall of Kylo Ren continues to explore Ben Solo's difficult journey in this period as he asserts his control as Supreme Leader of the First Order and butts heads with General Hux and Allegiant General Pryde. Check out Phil Noto's cover to The Fall of Kylo Ren #1 below:

The Fall of Kylo Ren is obviously intended as a bookend to 2020's Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren, which revealed how the troubled Ben Solo first became Kylo Ren and took control of the Knights of Ren. Fittingly, the new series will reunite writer Charles Soule and artist Will Sliney.

Marvel's official logline teases:

THE LEGACY OF VADER CREATES A NEW EMPIRE OF FEAR!

Kylo Ren returns from devastation, wielding total fury! As Generals Hux and Pryde tear the First Order apart with treacherous ambition, Kylo cuts through their schemes with merciless clarity. His wrath forges unity through fear and unleashes a Supreme Leader neither general can escape…nor survive disappointing. A pivotal turning point for Kylo, Hux and Pryde and essential reading for every Star Wars fan.

“The story of Kylo Ren (and Ben Solo, of course) always felt huge to me,” Soule said in a statement. “It was clear that a great deal was out there to explore beyond the moments provided by the films, and it’s been such a pleasure—and a challenge—to deliver new tales for one of the most prominent villains in Star Wars. I’m thrilled I get to do it one more time, and even more so that I get to reunite with the incredible Will Sliney, who kicked things off with me on The Rise of Kylo Ren all those years ago. First the Rise, then the Reign, and now the Fall… it just feels right.”

“This is the one book I have been dying to get back on,” Sliney said. “Ever since Charles and I worked on The Rise of Kylo Ren, we knew we were a part of something special. To be honest, I've never experienced a fan group so excited for the story when we worked on Rise, and quietly behind the scenes, Charles and I had been talking about The Fall of Kylo Ren for a long, long time."

Sliney added, “The story we got to tell in Rise is such a key part in the story of Ben Solo. Fall is the same. I'm thrilled to be back drawing it, I can't wait until this gets out into people's hands.”

Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren #1 will be released on August 12, 2026. You can preorder a copy at your lcoal comic shop.

Star Wars: Legacy of Vader already added plenty of new details to Kylo Ren's story, including revealing why the Knights of Ren were MIA during the first two sequel movies and showcasing a reunion between Ben and the ghost of Luke Skywalker. We even learned what happens when Kylo Ren meets Darth Vader himself. It remains to be seen what new revelations will be contained within The Fall of Kylo Ren.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Over the last two weeks, IGN held a fan-voted tournament to determine what you think is the best Gundam in the nearly 50-year history of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. We’ve counted up the votes, and one champion has officially been crowned: Mighty Strike Freedom.

Introduced in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, Mighty Strike Freedom is a combo of the Strike Freedom Gundam Type II and the Proud Defender support craft. The Proud Defender acts as the unit’s backpack, has offensive and defensive capabilities, and allows use of the Disruptor beam cannon and Futsunomitama sword.

It came into being when the Strike Freedom II piloted by Kira Yamato was on the verge of defeat. It was saved just in the nick of time, and Lacus Clyne arrived shortly after with the Proud Defender. The Strike Freedom II docked with the support craft, creating the Mighty Strike Freedom. The upgraded Gundam then repelled the enemy attack, launched a counterattack, and helped put an end to the Foundation Conflict.

We held this tournament in part to celebrate the release of Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe, which just came out in U.S. theaters today. It’s the second chapter of the Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway trilogy and follows the anti-government group MAFTY, led by protagonist Hathaway Noa, in its revolution seeking to overthrow the Earth Federation. Hathaway will have to grapple with questions like when revolutionaries become terrorists, when justice becomes extremism, and when war is worth the trauma it leaves in its wake. And as always, it features some epic mobile suit battles.

Congrats to Mighty Strike Freedom on the win, and thank you to everyone who voted. For all the latest coverage of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, stick to IGN.

No matter where Henry Cavill goes, Warhammer 40,000 seems to follow. The former Superman actor, who is a huge fan of Games Workshop’s tabletop wargame and is set to star in the Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe for Amazon, was chatting with fans during a break from filming Highlander in Poland, when he was presented with a special gift from a local store owner: a Custodes box.

For the uninitiated, the Adeptus Custodes are a popular faction within Warhammer 40,000. In the lore, they are the Emperor’s bodyguard, more powerful even than the genetically enhanced Space Marines, resplendent in their gold armor and devoted to protecting the leader of the Imperium of Man. Cavill has spoken of his love of the Custodes before, posting clips on his social media showing off his painting skills — and even leaving books for the Horus Heresy tabletop game strewn about on his table for a photo showing his recovery from a leg injury sustained while filming Highlander.

And so a Custodes box (specifically, the Warhammer Horus Heresy: Legio Custodes Battle Group box) madce for a fitting gift for Cavill, given to him by a games store owner in Lodz, Poland. In a reddit post, store owner BenzOC called it was “a great experience,” and said he wanted Cavill “to have some nice Warhammer memories from our city.” According to BenzOC, Cavill was “very pleased with the present,” and based on the actor’s smile captured in the photo, below, that’s quite the understatement.

“Hope he will come back to shoot some Warhammer material here also!” BenzOC added, referencing the Warhammer 40,000 live-action work Cavill is set to kick into gear at some point in the future.

Speaking of which, back in January, Games Workshop addressed the long wait for Cavill’s Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe, insisting that Amazon was in control of the delivery of the adaptation. Games Workshop itself has cautioned fans not to expect to see anything of it for some time, even now, over three years after the deal was announced.

Fans have spent the last few years in a state of enduring excitement about the prospect of finally seeing Warhammer 40,000 brought to life in live-action form across films and TV shows — and with Cavill steering the ship, they’re confident it will be done right.

Hopefully we'll get some details, including who Cavill himself will play, soon. In June last year, Cavill touched on the “complexity” and “trickiness” of adapting the Warhammer 40,000 IP. But, he insisted, he was loving the challenge. Bringing Warhammer to life "is a dream come true," Cavill said, "but it's different from what I've done before, in the sense I haven't had my hand on the tiller of things before. It's wonderful doing that. It is a tricky IP, and a very complex IP, and that's what I love about it. The challenges that come with putting this on the page in a way that is doing justice to that complexity, that trickiness, and that nuance, is a challenge I'm enjoying enormously."

But Warhammer 40,000 wasn’t the only thing Cavill is famous for that followed him all the way to the Highlander shoot in Poland. Another fan said that he was given a script of a The Witcher spinoff book, too.

Cavill, of course, played Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher, and is a huge fan of the games. The Witcher began life in Poland as a series of fantasy novels by author Andrzej Sapkowski, so this was another fitting gift.

As for Highlander, it’s still without a release date, but production is in full swing, and there are plenty of set photos out there that give us an idea of what to expect from the “John Wick with guns” reboot.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Few character designs have quite the striking, haunting appeal of the Skeksis villains in Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal. Now, Dark Crystal super-fans have the opportunity to own an incredibly detailed Chamberlain Mask, based on that iconic villain from the film.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at Bit Bot's Chamberlain Mask:

The Chamberlain Mask is a highly detailed latex mask sculpted and hand-painted by the artists at Oktober Studios. Each mask includes an exclusive 4" x 6" art print from artist Preston Asevedo.

“We’re honored to collaborate with The Jim Henson Company to bring one of the most iconic characters from The Dark Crystal to collectors in a premium format,” said Joshua Viola, Bit Bot co-owner, in a statement. “Our goal with this Chamberlain mask was to create something that feels authentic to the artistry of the original film while offering fans a high-end collectible worthy of display.”

The Chaberlain Mask is priced at $150 and is limited to just 250 units worldwide. The mask is slated for release in Fall 2026. You can preorder one from the Bit Bot store.

For more awesome collectibles, check out our hands-on impressions of the new animatronic Grogu figure and see Dark Horse's latest The Witcher statue.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

When we set out to find the best Lord of the Rings bookends you can buy right now, we expected to find a variety of really cool options. What we found instead was just a bunch of different versions of The Pillars of Kings in bookend form.

The Pillars of Kings, also known as the Gates of Argonath, are an enormous monument to the Kings of Gondor. The monument itself is made up of two carved statues in the likeness of Isildur and Anárion standing on either side of the River Anduin at the northern border of Gondor. You'll likely recognize these big boys from Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, and honestly, they work perfectly as bookends.

Marvel star Paul Bettany has said the cast of Avengers: Infinity War only discovered the movie's heart-breaking ending as it was shot, and their beloved MCU characters were turned to dust.

Infinity War features one of the most iconic sequences in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Thanos gets his wish to snap half of all life from existence. The resulting effect kills some of the MCU's most beloved characters — and was kept so secret, that their actors were only shown that they were dying on the day it was filmed.

Speaking on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Bettany was first asked if he would return as Vision in the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars — to which he replied that he believed he would be, though Marvel is so secretive he couldn't be sure.

"I think so," he said, when asked about his Secret Wars call-up. "As much as you know anything going on at Marvel, or they change they mind. You really do never know.

"It's true that you never know, by the way. When we all died [on Infinity War], we found out that day. They took us into a trailer with pre-vis and everyone was watching the screen going 'oh I die'. No one knew. They really do keep this stuff very secret."

Pre-vis here likely refers to early visual effect composition (such as via Unreal Engine) that gives the film's crew a sense of how a polished CGI sequence might look. The suggestion, then, is that each actor saw themselves fading away into ash right then and there — though presumably they knew they were still booked to return for the film's sequel.

Bettany went on to reveal that his final lines in the movie with Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda — where she has to bid him a heart-breaking goodbye, before Thanos undoes her sacrifice — were also not in the film's script.

"I can't remember what was on the page now but... the Russos were like: 'just improvise this bit'," he recalled. "We were both really terrified. 'Improvise being a robot and having a stone removed from your head?'" he said. "I think there were lines, or maybe one line, but I don't think all of that stuff like 'We're out of time', was on the page."

Of course, Before Secret Wars, Bettany will return as Vision in the upcoming VisionQuest — the upcoming Disney+ series dubbed as the final chapter in the WandaVision trilogy. Asked about the show, Bettany was effusive — describing it as another "huge" swing for Marvel.

"It manages to feel very much like it's somehow a part of that world, an end to a trilogy of sorts, while very much being its own thing," Bettany said. "And it is just really good, I'm really proud of it. We've been in [the editing process] a while now and I've been seeing cuts that are getting better and better, and the effects are coming in.

"It's fun, its moving and its super exciting. [Ultron actor James Spader] is delicious, he's so funny in this."

Earlier this week, Disney finally set a launch date for VisionQuest and revealed a few further details about the series, which will debut later this year on October 14.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Expendabelles, the “female-driven” spinoff of The Expendables, is officially back on a decade after the first attempt to get it off the ground crashed and burned.

The Sylvester Stallone-led action movie franchise began life in 2010 with the first The Expendables movie, starring the former Rocky and Rambo actor alongside the likes of Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and even Arnold Schwarzenegger. Its success spawned multiple sequels, the latest of which was 2023 box office bomb, Expend4bles.

Now, Eclectic Pictures and Hollywood Ventures Group are working on Expendabelles, The Hollywood Reporter said, in yet another push to get the spinoff off the ground. But it might actually happen this time; the idea here is to tell an origin story set in the late ‘90s starring a new generation of elite female operatives in “a stylized, action-driven cinematic event designed to expand the mythology of the franchise while standing firmly on its own.”

Casting has yet to be announced, and we don’t have a release window yet, but we do have a lot of enthusiasm from the filmmakers involved. “There has always been a strong global appetite for female-driven action franchises, and we believe the time is now to introduce a bold new generation of elite operatives into this universe,” Eclectic’s Heidi Jo Markel said.

“What excites us most is the opportunity to elevate the material by pairing it with top-tier creative talent and delivering a fresh, stylish, adrenaline-fueled experience for worldwide audiences.”

Back in 2014, while promoting The Expendables 3, Stallone admitted the question of what goes into a female-biased spinoff was a tough one. “With The Expendabelles, we’re in uncharted waters. To put all women together, will that really work? Do you have to put in some women that are actually really known to be tough — other MMA fighters [like Ronda Rousey who appears in The Expendables 3]? Or are the Expendabelles really part of a divorce, with Sigourney Weaver as my wife and she’s inherited half of the Expendables?”

At the time, The Expendabelles was set to start shooting early 2015 and was slated for release later that year, but it never materialized, with Weaver confirming her departure from the project and The Expendables 3 having a franchise-worst showing at the box office.

Meanwhile, there's no confirmation that The Expendables 5 will happen, after the poor commercial performance and critical mauling of Expend4bles. Lionsgate recently acquired the rights to The Expendables franchise, which you'd imagine it did with another mainline sequel in mind. (This is the same deal that saw Lionsgate pick up the new John Rambo movie starring Noah Centineo.) The question is, will Stallone, now 79, appear in any future The Expendables movie? Or will Lionsgate recruit fresh blood and go down the reboot route instead?

Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has lamented the decline of physical media, saying “they’re almost a niche product for aficionados now.”

Jackson, who spearheaded extended features and editions on physical media with the hugely popular The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition DVD releases, spoke to IndieWire about the impact of their demise.

“You can get Blu-rays and DVDs, but they’re almost a niche product for aficionados now,” Jackson said. “Since they only sell small numbers, no studio wants to put extended features on them or to extend the cuts. We did hours and hours of behind-the-scenes material for The Lord of the Rings DVDs, and so many people have thanked me for doing them. People would watch that stuff over and over again because it inspired them to make films. That’s all gone now, and I think it’s a real shame.”

Extras can of course still be found on the home releases of some big movies. For example, just this week we learned the home release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie includes over one hour of behind-the-scenes bonus content. But certainly there are fewer Director's Cuts and extended editions of movies than there used to be, and that, as Jackson suggests, is tied up in the decline of physical media.

Jackson, though, sounded philosophical about this shift, suggesting it was inevitable as streaming essentially replaced the home video market.

“But the industry has always changed," he said. "When sound came in, people were writing all these articles about how sound is ruining films. It was the same when color came along. People were writing very intelligent articles about why color was an abomination and how it ruined the film industry. So, it just happens all the time.”

While the Lord of the Rings trilogy's Extended Editions add hours of extra material, even more footage was shot and never released. But Jackson recently ruled out yet another version of his iconic adaptations, insisting a full re-release of the films with those unseen scenes would just "be disappointing.”

"Are there great scenes that we never used? The answer is no," Jackson told Empire. "There are bits and pieces, I guess. But if you did an extended-extended cut, or whatever it will get called, it would be disappointing.

"It would be the extended cut with a few extra seconds of something here and there. It wouldn’t be worthwhile doing."

Jackson did say, however, that he'd like to revisit the making of the trilogy one day in a fresh documentary that could contain unused material. "But to this day, I haven't persuaded [the studio], because obviously it's a big undertaking," he concluded.

Perhaps with next year's The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which Jackson is working on, we might see a few eye-catching extras and maybe even an extended edition of its own emerge following the theatrical release.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.