The official trailer for Ridley Scott’s sequel already had us pumped seeing Paul Mescal doing battle against a rhinoceros. However, Entertainment Weekly has the scoop that it wasn’t exactly the 3D printed radio-controlled animal that made this action sequence challenging for the Emmy nominee. It was actually Mescal having to battle against Mother Nature, who made the sandy floor very hot for him. Said the actor,

I can’t imagine having to shoot arena scenes in the scorching hot sun being any fun. Especially if the floor feels like fire. At the same time, Paul Mescal’s character, Lucius, is supposed to be bringing his hardworking A-game against Pedro Pascal’s Marcus in revenge for invading his home. As training is already intense enough for the son of Maximus, the actor portraying him having to perform those sequences in the blazing sun added a layer of physical and mental work that makes him worthy of a gladiator.

Paul Mescal absolutely put in the grunt work to play Lucius Verus. Getting ripped into shape for Gladiator II had his co-star Joseph Quinn saying he wouldn’t stand a chance against Mescal at the gym with his full commitment to looking the part. The Lost Daughter actor wasn’t hiding those muscles in training videos that reveal him lifting weights so flawlessly.

Mescal expressed how important it was to look like a Roman warrior you wouldn’t dare want to go up against, but also vital to avoid the training pitfall of “looking more like an underwear model.” I would say the award-winning actor for sure has the physicality of a mountain of a man ready for war compared to posing for Ancient Rome’s GQ edition.

Considering Paul Mescal’s filmography consists of smaller-scale productions, it’s safe to say Gladiator II will be the talented actor’s biggest film to date that could make him more famous (to his chagrin). Getting the chance to continue the legacy that Ridley Scott started back in 2000 presents obstacles of their own. Fortunately, the 28-year-old actor got “totally right” advice from his director saying “Your nerves are no fucking good to me,” which made the Gladiator II actor feel better knowing he’s right about that.

Even despite being “incapacitated by nerves” working with a big-name actor like Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal had to train himself to snap out of it knowing it was his job to get the show on the road. With the BAFTA nominee taking on new lessons in an upcoming big-budget movie, I’m confident he’ll take what he learned for many future film roles as his career continues to skyrocket.

It definitely didn't make matters easy for Paul Mescal going up against Pedro Pascal, a rhinoceros, and the burning hot weather in Gladiator II. But like his character, Lucius, who needed to overcome intense challenges to honor his father’s legacy, Mescal pushed himself to do the same thing to help Ridley Scott film his epic follow-up film. Get ready to watch the Ireland native battle it out in the Colosseum with the 2024 movie release in theaters on November 22.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first John Wick movie’s release, Chad Stahelski, who co-directed that 2014 flick with David Leitch and directed the following three movies solo, sat down with THR to discuss this property’s past, present and future. This included mentioning a “feature anime” about John Wick which takes place before the events of the movies, and when the interviewer questioned if it would explore the “impossible task” that John had to carry out before he would leave the assassin life behind and marry his wife, the filmmaker responded:

Although he’s not willing to 100% commit to confirming that this anime prequel is about John Wick’s impossible task, it sounds like the project will at least touch on this major event in the character’s life, if not fully explore it. For those who need a refresher, in order to retire from being an assassin, John had to kill all of crime lord Viggo Tarasov’s enemies in a single night. He was only able to accomplish this with the help of Santino D’Antonio, who only agreed to help John in exchange for a marker that he could use to call in a favor at a later date, which ultimately led to the events of John Wick: Chapter 2.

John Wick racked up a massive kill count over the course of his four movies, but from what little has been said about the impossible task, the amount of bodies dropped on that night seem almost legendary. While part of me wishes that this event was better left imagined, I am intrigued by the prospect of it being explored on the big screen, especially through animation rather than live action. That way the action sequences can be depicted in more colorful and outlandish ways befitting the animated medium.

The John Wick franchise first expanded beyond the main film series in 2023 with the limited series The Continental, which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription. Along with this anime prequel, Ballerina and Under the High Table, there’s a spinoff movie centered on Donnie Yen’s Caine in the works. Halle Berry has also expressed interest in reprising Sofia for her own spinoff, though it would need to happen soon. We’ll step back into this world once Ballerina arrives June 6 on the 2025 movies schedule.

Pacino, who is now 84, recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about his life and legacy amidst the release of his new book, Sonny Boy: A Memoir. The legendary actor discussed the role that The Godfather played in his career and how it shaped him as an actor. Despite the praise he received from critics and audiences alike for his performance, Pacino still avoided watching the movie at all costs. He explained that he even left the premiere of the film before watching it:

The Scarface icon isn't the only one who has avoided watching their own performances. Adam Driver used to leave his own premieres before he became more comfortable with the idea, and Denzel Washington has said he never revisits his own work. Despite Al Pacino trying to avoid the film, it was hard for him not to get sucked in, especially as the movie would frequently be aired on TV in subsequent years. While discussing that, he provided a personal reason as to why it took him so long to watch it:

I understand him not feeling like he was the right audience for his own film. It’s hard to be objective about something you're so intimately a part of, especially if you tend to be self critical of your own work. However, the allure of Godfather is almost undeniable, and the almost flawless filmmaking makes the film objectively great. Pacino’s performance is a standout, with the Oscar-winning drama being one of the Heat actor’s best movies. He may have been a biased audience member, but almost everyone who has seen the American classic agrees that it’s one of the greats, and an essential watch of the 20th century.

After seeing the film, Pacino believes it’s even better than the beloved sequel. It was famously a fraught production, with the studio fighting against casting Pacino and Marlon Brando in lead roles and entrusting young filmmaker Coppola with the kind of budget he was asking for. After the release of the film, anxieties diminished, with the movie becoming a worldwide success, and one of the most acclaimed movies of the '70s.

Even though it may have taken a while to get there, it's great that Al Pacino can now appreciate what he helped create and enjoy the movie as an audience member and not just a performer. You can revisit the Godfather movies, which are now all streamable with a Paramount+ subscription. Pacino fans should also check out Sonny Boy: A Memoir, which can be purchased now on Amazon.

James Horner - Titanic

Tragedy struck on a June day in 2015 when composer James Horner was killed when the plane he was flying crashed. Luckily Horner left a legacy of amazing soundtrack work that includes Aliens, Glory, Patriot Games, Braveheart, and other award-winning compositions. However, his most famous, for which he won an Academy Award, has to be Titanic.

Ramin Djawadi - Game Of Thrones

Even early in his career, Ramin Djawadi was producing some epic scores. Like, for example, his score for the original Iron Man in 2008. In 2011, however, he created his masterpiece, the theme song and score for Game Of Thrones. Few theme songs in history have been more epic, completely befitting the show.

Bill Conti - Rocky

One of the most famous movie scores of all time has to be from Rocky. Admit it, you are singing it to yourself right now. Not only has it been used in many of the Rocky franchise movies, but it's also been heard countless other times in other media. Nothing gets you psyched up quite like this great score by Bill Conti.

Trent Reznor And Atticus Ross - The Social Network

Trent Reznor, like other great film composures started in rock n roll. Nine Inch Nails sold millions and millions of records before Reznor teamed up with Atticus Ross and began scoring films. His first, and still his best (though they are all great) has to The Social Network.

Ennio Morricone - The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Few composers are as iconic as Ennio Morricone. His theme for The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly is just one of many scores he wrote over his long career. While they are all great, it's this one that stands out not just for it's use in the movie it was written for, but for all the other times we've all heard elsewhere.

Henry Mancini - The Pink Panther

This was a tough one for me because Henry Mancini has a few bangers. The theme of the TV show Peter Gunn is one, and "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's is another. When all is said and done though, it's tough to argue that the theme to The Pink Panther isn't the most iconic of all his wonder works.

John Carpenter - Halloween

John Carpenter not only directed a slasher film classic with Halloween, but he's also responsible for the eerie theme song that has become a classic of its own. It's not the only great score Carpenter has written for one of his movies, in fact, he's scored most of them. Escape from New York is another standout, but none have come close to the cultural impact of Halloween.

Elmer Bernstein - The Magnificent Seven

No one could compose an epic score quite like Elmer Bernstein. If you want something that sounds patriotic, or triumphant, Bernstein is your man. Whether it's a comedy like Stripes, or a blockbuster like The Great Escape, or a Western like the original True Grit, Bernstein could di it all. His most famous, though, comes from one of the best Westerns of all time, The Magnificent Seven from 1960.

Hans Zimmer - Gladiator

Hans Zimmer is one of the all-time great film composers and there are a number of his scores that people might argue belong here. For me though, there is no question what score sits above them all. The music in Gladiator is just perfect in every way. It pings every emotion the movie does wonderfully.

John Williams - Star Wars

Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jurassic Park. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Superman. Harry Potter. Do I need to go on? John Williams stands alone when it comes to the most moving, most famous, and most iconic scores. One score, however, stands above even those legendary works of music. Stars Wars simply wouldn't be the same without the music, full stop.

Nino Rota - The Godfather

Francis Ford Coppola has talked about the influence of legendary Italian director Federico Fellini so it makes sense that he would seek out the composer of the scores of many of Fellini's films. Most of Nino Rota's impressive scores were for Italian movies, but his music for both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are his most famous, and for good reason. There are many reasons both movies are universally considered two of the best movies ever made, and the music is certainly one of them.

Max Steiner - Gone With The Wind

As one of Hollywood's first major composers, Max Steiner was nominated for a jaw-dropping 24 Oscars, and won three. Oddly, one of the ones he didn't win for is now unquestionably his most famous, the score for Gone With The Wind.

Alan Silvestri - The Avengers

There are a lot of choices with this entry. Personally, my Gen X nostalgia makes my favorite Alan Silvestri score the one from Back To The Future. Of course, there is also Forrest Gump and more recently, Ready Player One, in which he even included a bit of Back To The Future as one of the many easter eggs in that movie. However, when you are responsible for the score of some of the highest-grossing movies of all time with The Avengers movies, that one has to go at the top of the list.

Wendy Carlos - The Shining

Though she's only done a limited amount of soundtracks, avant-garde electronic artist Wendy Carlos has a 100% rate. Tron, The Shining, and A Clockwork Orange are the only films she's written the music for and while it's a tough choice, I put The Shining on this list.

Lalo Schifrin - Mission: Impossible

Argentinian Lalo Schifrin could be described as the "coolest" composer in Hollywood, based on his body of work. Movies like Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt, Dirty Harry, Enter The Dragon, and many others, all contribute to the cool actor. He's also been sampled widely in hip-hop and trip-hop. None of his many award-winning scores can compete with the theme to Mission: Impossible which he wrote for the TV show in the '60s and has become ubiquitous in pop culture.

Monty Norman - James Bond

John Berry is the man most famous for the music in James Bond, but he didn't write the theme. That bit of genius came from Monty Norman, who scored the first Bond film, Dr. No. Later, Barry would claim to have written the theme that has been used in every Bond movie since the beginning, but it was Norman all along (though Barry did rearrange it).

Howard Shore - The Lord of The Rings

Howard Shore's career started in television when he was the first musical director on Saturday Night Live for the first five seasons. He later moved into film scores and while he's had a number of fantastic ones, it's his work in the Lord Of The Rings series that earned him three Academy Awards.

Thomas Newman - The Shawshank Redemption

Composer Thomas Newman got his first big break in movies when he worked alongside John Williams, conducting some of the music Williams wrote for Return Of The Jedi. He must have learned a lot, as he's been one of Hollywood's most in-demand composers ever since. His best work has to be the emotional score for The Shawshank Redemption, one of the many reason reasons that movie is considered one of the best films of the '90s.

Morton Stevens - Hawaii Five-0

Hawaii Five-0 was one of the hippest shows on TV in the late 1960s and that was in large part due to the super cool intro and the theme music by Morton Stevens.

Mike Post - Law & Order

Admit it, your humming the theme to Law & Order right now. It's okay, we all are. Mike Post, wrote the incredibly catchy theme song and is also responsible for some of the most memorable theme songs of all time, including Hill Street Blues, Magnum, P.I. and LA Law, among others. Still, it's this one that most people think of first.

Danny Elfman - The Simpsons

How do you pick just one Danny Elfman score? The answer is, you don't, you go with one of the most recognizable TV theme songs of all time with The Simpsons. Sure, you have the Tim Burton Batman score, or the music from Pee Wee's Big Adventure, or any other number of legendary Elfman scores, but come on, it's The Simpsons!

Bernard Herrmann - Psycho

When you have something like the score to Citizen Cane on your resume, but it's not your most famous work, you are definitely doing something right. Bernard Herrmann worked with many of the best directors in Hollywood's Golden Age, and none more so than Alfred Hitchcock. Herrmann's score for Psycho is one of the most iconic ever put on film.

Harold Faltermeyer - Top Gun

This one came down to two choices, the theme song to Beverly Hills Cop, called "Axel F" and the opening theme to Top Gun. In the end, the soaring guitars and dramatic beat from Top Gun won out as my choice for the great Harold Faltermeyer. His score for Fletch also deserves a nod.

Alfred Newman - How The West Was Won

Full disclosure, the most famous piece of music Alfred Newman ever wrote is the intro/fanfare that accompanies the beginning of all 20th Century Fox movies. Setting that aside, his second most famous work is the iconic score for How The West Was Won, which has been used all over pop culture for years.

Maurice Jarre - Lawrence Of Arabia

Maurice Jarre's most famous works probably depend on what generation is making the choice. Over his incredible career, which stretched out over five decades, he wrote the scores to movies as diverse as Doctor Zhivago, Ghost, and Dead Poet's Society. However, his score for Lawrence of Arabia is the choice here, for obvious reasons. It's as epic as the movie is.

Anne Dudley - The Full Monty

There is no question that the world needs more soundtracks from female composers and Anne Dudley is example A1 in the argument for that. Her work, from American History X to The Crying Game and beyond has been uniformly great. She is also one of the few women to win an Oscar for one of her scores, for 1997's The Full Monty.

Alexander Courage - Star Trek

Alexander Courage might not be the biggest name on this list, but he's responsible for one of the most famous and most-played theme songs of all time. Courage, in addition to other TV work and some movie work, composed the theme song for the original Star Trek series in the 1960s and his music has been used, at least in part, for basically all the Star Trek movies and TV shows.

James Newton Howard - The Hunger Games

James Newton Howard's first movie score was for the cult-classic version of Dune from director David Lynch. He's written dozens of scores since, and while all are great, I'm partial to his work with the Hunger Games trilogy. The music has to be pretty diverse with that story and the score succeeds in every way.

Randy Newman - Toy Story

We all have a friend in Randy Newman. Though he first became famous for his sardonic singer/songwriter work in the 1970s, for many people, he's first known for his work on the Toy Story franchise, including the song "You've Got A Friend In Me" in addition to the scores.

Quincy Jones - Sanford & Son

Quincy Jones is first and foremost known for his incredible music production for the likes of Michael Jackson and other pop stars in the '70s and '80s. But did you know he also wrote the theme song to Sanford & Son? It's an all-time banger of a theme song that people still love to listen to 50 years after the show debuted.

A. R. Rahman - Slumdog Millionaire

Bollywood legend A. R. Rahman isn't as well known in the Western world as he is in his home country of India, and so while I'm sure there are pieces of music by Rahman that are more beloved in India, I have to go with one of his scores I love from Hollywood, which comes down to a choice between Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours. While the latter was nominated for an Oscar, the former won one, to go with all the Oscars Slumdog Millionaire won that year.

Rachel Portman - Theme To Chocolat

Rachel Portman became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Score for Emma in 1996, but her best work came in 2000 for her score to Chocolat starring Johnny Depp. She was nominated for it but missed out when she lost to composer Tan Dun for his work in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

A new wave of updates has come in regarding release dates for upcoming Disney movies, and among them is Blade being removed from the November 7, 2025 slot and being replaced by Predator: Badlands. Considering that Blade would have needed to be filming now, if not finished with principal photography, in order to make that November date, this move is hardly surprising. Badlands, on the other hand, began filming in late August in New Zealand, so it taking over that slot makes complete sense.

So rather than give Blade yet another date, Disney has opted to remove it from its schedule entirely. This news comes three months after Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige that the creative minds at the company were still trying to “crack” the movie, and that it was important to make sure that the script writing process wasn’t being rushed. Feige also told our own Sean O’Connell that “sometimes you need that magic thing that falls into place.”

Meanwhile, Predator: Badlands will bring the Predator franchise back to the big screen following the streaming-exclusive release of the prequel Prey, which can be accessed with a Hulu subscription. Elle Fanning, who will next be seen in the 2024 movie release A Complete Unknown, is playing the lead role, and Prey’s Dan Trachtenberg will reprise his helming duties for this sixth installment in the franchise; eight if you count the Alien vs. Predator movies. No official plot details have been disclosed yet.

So things are looking good for Predator fans a little over a year from now, but those who are eager to see Mahershala Ali bring Blade to life following Wesley Snipes’ time with the character (including in Deadpool & Wolverine) will have to keep waiting for that indefinitely. Frankly, with all the obstacles the Blade reboot has faced, I worry that this project will end up going the way of Inhumans, which was once supposed to follow the fourth Avengers movie, but was ultimately scrapped and later adapted into a critically-panned TV series. If that happens with Blade, then all we’ll get from Ali in the MCU is his vocal cameo in Eternals.

At least MCU enthusiasts don’t need to worry about being devoid of any movies in 2025, as Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are all slated between next February and July. You’re also welcome to use your Disney+ subscription to revisit almost the entirety of the MCU continuity.

It’s been over two months since It Ends With Us came out in theaters, and for the most part, Blake Lively hasn’t said much about the film following all the viral rumors that spread like wildfire. However, she has posted a few times about the project, domestic violence resources, the importance of voting, her haircare brand, Blake Brown, and her love for her family and friends. This included an appreciation re-post for Colleen Hoover, which you can see in the IG Story below:

The image Hoover uploaded was also used in a photo dump Lively posted back in July. They had attended an event called Book Bonanza in Texas together to promote It Ends With Us, and the Gossip Girl star posted a ton of BTS images from the event that included her helping the author with her dress, her assisting her co-star Isabelle Ferrer into heels, those viral $19,000 jeans she wore, and more.

In the caption, the A Simple Favor star wrote about how much she appreciates all the women in her life and how proud she was to have been called a “crown straightener” – which is “a woman going around straightening all the women’s crowns around her.” Clearly, Lively was impacted by this weekend with Hoover and co, as you can see in the caption below:

Now, while there’s drama about there possibly being multiple cuts of It Ends With Us and supposed disagreements between Lively and Baldoni, this most recent IG Story shows that the actress and author are still very close.

At the moment, it’s unclear what is true and what isn’t when it comes to the rumors surrounding this film. People became suspicious when Baldoni wasn’t doing press with Lively, Hoover and the rest of the cast, and at the premiere, he wasn’t photographed with any of them. While he has spoken highly of those he worked with on the film, his lead actress hasn’t said much about him at all. However, she has made a point to compliment Hoover and her book – which she did during CinemaBlend’s It Ends With Us interviews.

Even though it’s still unclear exactly what happened behind the scenes of this film, it is lovely to see Lively and Hoover continuing to publically appreciate each other. It also makes me wonder if they’ll collaborate again to make the sequel to It Ends With Us, It Starts With Us. When asked about it, Baldoni said Lively should direct the sequel, and the first film performed well at the box office. So, it seems possible that another collaboration between these two could happen.

Overall, despite the rumors, allegations and drama, it’s lovely to see Blake Lively and Colleen Hoover continuing to support each other. If you want to see the film they made with Justin Baldoni, Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar and more, you can buy or rent It Ends With Us on Amazon.

With the classic SEGA franchise having no plans of slowing down Sonic’s sagas in Hollywood fans are gearing up for the rapidly approaching threequel. It’s on our 2024 Movie Release Schedule and due to hit theaters on December 20th. While the official press tour hasn’t begun just yet, Schwartz has been hyping up the Hedgehog, and exciting the fans, with this killer sweater on his social media. He kept it plain, simple and shared that the countdown is on to premiere day.

You can’t deny that sweater is anything but stellar, and that a lot of us are already trying to find it online (myself included, of course). The After Party actor pulls it off so well too, letting Sonic be the star he is. Schwartz’s comment section is full of compliments regarding the incredible sweater, excited fans, as well as comments about the newest Sonic game: Sonic X Shadow Generations. And I personally need that knit.

The coming Sonic movie has confirmed it will pull a lot of inspiration from one of the series' most beloved fan favorites. The threequel involves our classic trio, Sonic (Schwartz), Knuckles (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Tails (Idris Elba) facing off against a new foe, Shadow (Keanu Reeves), who has unmatched powers like they’ve never seen before. The new enemy leads the gang to team up with an unlikely partner to keep the balance.

This new installment is sure to bring a lot of new excitement and stars, including Reeves. There has even been buzz about Sarah Paulson playing a secret role. Regardless of who actually joins, it’ll be an adventure. Both 1 and 2 have been received well overall, with varying opinions from gamers and moviegoers alike, and three will be no different.

As for Schwartz and his sweet sweater, I hope there are many more nods to Sonic and the crew as we continue to count down the days. And maybe a merch drop with this particular piece in the bunch? To catch up on the fun, or review before December 20th, you can stream Sonic the Hedgehog with a Netflix subscription or a Paramount+ subscription. Stream its sequel with a Hulu subscription or a Paramount+ subscription.

In Ridley Scott’s long-gestating sequel, Denzel Washington takes on the role of Macrinus – a slave-turned-arms dealer who plans to usurp power from Rome’s emperors and rule it for himself. Washington was recently present for a special press screening of the movie alongside some of his co-stars. It was there that the 69-year-old actor opened up (via THR) about what it was like to embody a character against the backdrop of ancient Rome. All in all, it sounds like he relished the opportunity to engage in this sort of “play”:

Few would likely argue with the notion that for his films, Ridley Scott knows how to create worlds that feel tangible and fleshed out. Gladiator II cast member Connie Nielsen conveyed the filmmaker’s talent for doing that when she discussed her reunion with the British filmmaker and what it felt like walking back into the Colosseum after 25 years. So it’s easy to see how the American Gangster star would go “crazy” over the movie-making magic and have fun wearing extravagant costumes and being over the top when needed.

The Gladiator II trailer provided fans with hints of Marcinus’ characterization and, at first glance, he seemed to be a delightful kind of slimeball. Denzel Washington shared comments amid the screening that certainly back up that assumption. While chatting about Macrinus, Washington was humorously blunt:

This is somewhat bittersweet due to the fact that this could be one of the last times we see the acclaimed actor perform such roles. About a month ago, the Philadelphia star admitted that there’s not much more he wants to do as an actor. Though that may be sad to some, it does make sense, considering the vast amount of varied work the actor/director/producer has been able to do over the years. The Fences helmer didn’t provide an exact timetable for his retirement plans, though it sounds like he could hang it up sooner rather than later.

At the very least, amid the wave of early positive reactions to Gladiator II, Denzel Washington is being praised for his performance alongside lead actor Paul Mescal. Some even believe Washington could end up snagging a third Academy Award for his work. So, while the revered thespian may soon be calling it a day career-wise, it seems he’s (unsurprisingly) not phoning anything in and remains at the top of his game.

See Denzel Washington’s performance in Gladiator II when it opens in theaters on November 22. And, on that same day, anyone with a Netflix subscription can stream the Washington-produced adaptation of The Piano Lesson.

According to The Sun, Cruise is finally relocating to America after spending over five years in the UK. The original plan likely wasn’t to be in England as long as he was, but circumstances kept him overseas. He originally traveled to Europe in 2019 when production on Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning began, which is around the time we here at CinemaBlend started covering the M:I production. The plan was always to shoot the seventh and eighth installments back to back, so being overseas for two years was likely the expectation.

However in 2020, COVID hit which led to worldwide lockdowns. This created delays on all film productions across the industry. The movie was scheduled to begin filming in February of 2020, but COVID pushed the M:I schedule and the movie ended up starting during the summer of 2020, and was one of the first movies to resume production during COVID. Even with production resuming, Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 was still continuously faced with delays, as new pandemic protocols had to be met at different shooting locations, and they needed special approval in many instances to move forward.

Mission: Impossible 7 finally was released last summer, but production on the eighth film continued. Shortly after the 2023 release, an industry wide writers and actors strike hit the entertainment industry, once again causing several filming delays. M:I 8 was initially supposed to be released summer of 2024, but then was once again pushed to 2025, to accommodate for another Hollywood work stoppage. The SAG strike officially ended in November of 2023, and production was finally able to pick back up. Considering the scale of the film, the movie only just now wrapped filming, allowing Cruise to return home after 5 years on Mission.

All things considered, it makes sense that Cruise was essentially stuck in Europe for half a decade, but it's still wild to think about. Even under the circumstances, The actor became a notable figure during the Paris Olympics, being a major part of the closing ceremony. The Jerry Maguire star also attended Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour in between crazy stunts for Mission. He also periodically traveled back to the States to promote Top Gun: Maverick and M:I 7, both major filmmaking accomplishments. It’s almost hard to believe Cruise was in London as long as he was, and hopefully the world will see it was all worth it when M:I 8 finally hits theaters.

You can see Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 8, which is set to be released on May 23th, 2025. It is one of the most highly anticipated films on the 2025 movie release schedule, so make sure to check it out when you can. In the meantime, fans of the franchise can revisit Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, and the other M:I movies now with a Paramount+ subscription.

While Jessica Rothe previously shared optimistic thoughts about a potential third film, the box office performance of Happy Death Day 2 U left some uncertainty about whether another sequel would happen. However, Landon recently spoke with ComicBook, confirming that he’s been actively developing the next chapter in the Happy Death Day series. After a few years of anticipation, the director’s latest comments suggest that the third film is well on its way—and worth the wait. Landon also teased some exciting hints about the film’s scope and what fans can look forward to, sharing with the outlet:

The original 2017 Happy Death Day introduced audiences to Tree, played by the fabulous Jessica Rothe, who leads the cast of Happy Death Day. Tree finds herself trapped in a terrifying time loop, reliving the day of her murder over and over again. Each time she wakes up, she uses the repeated events to gather clues, hoping to uncover the identity of her killer. After enduring dozens of deaths and finally defeating her murderer, Happy Death Day 2U expanded the story by diving into the mystery behind the time loop, suggesting that Tree’s ordeal was part of a much larger, more complex universe. Not to mention, Happy Death Day 2 U's credits hinted at the franchise's future.

In 2023, Landon had also hinted that the third movie could break away from the time-loop structure of the previous films, confirming it wouldn’t take place on the same day. This shift in the story’s format means there’s less urgency to rush production compared to the second installment, allowing more time to develop if an upcoming horror movie sequel is greenlit. The director’s hint that the new movie won’t take place on the same day opens the door to endless possibilities for the story’s evolution. Without the time-loop constraint, the third installment could explore new timelines, alternate realities, or entirely different horror mechanisms, keeping the franchise fresh while maintaining its signature blend of slasher thrills and sci-fi twists.

One of the most exciting rumors about the potential threequel is the possibility of a crossover with Kathryn Newton’s Freaky. The Freaky co-writer first suggested this idea, and Newton was fully on board with it. With the third movie potentially moving away from the time-loop structure, the chances of this crossover happening feel more realistic than ever. I can’t think of anything more exciting for horror fans—let’s hope the horror movie gods make it happen!

The first two Happy Death Day movies are now available for purchase. While we wait for more updates about the threequel, check out the 2024 movie release dates.