Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 33

McDonald’s Nostalgic New Meal Features a Pretty Yet Ominous Mystery Shake

One of the things we miss the most is how fun and colorful restaurants and stores used to be. Back in the day, you could stroll the aisles of Target and see neon lighting while snacking on popcorn. Maybe you’d grab the Blue Light Special at Kmart while your favorite jams were blasting. And who can forget the character that McDonald’s used to have in the Ronald McDonald era before they started looking sleek and upscale. While those days are gone, we can experience some of that old era thanks to a new McDonaldland Meal complete with a rather ominous shake. 

According to the fast food giant, visitors can order the McDonaldland Meal starting on August 12. Along with either McNuggets or a Quarter Pounder and fries and a collectible, you can get the Mt. McDonaldland Shake. It is a secret creation that you’ll have to taste for yourself.

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Will it make your stomach churn or tickle your tastebuds? Who knows. It looks very cotton candy-like and pretty. 

McDonalds

You can also check out this (kinda weird) McDonaldland promo featuring some old yet familiar faces from the franchise’s past. 

I hate to admit it, but I will be in line for this one. Let’s see how it goes.

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Dave Bautista Joins HIGHLANDER Reboot as Villain Opposite Henry Cavill

“There can be only one,” unless we’re talking about Highlander. In that case Hollywood will just keep making new versions again and again. Now we know for sure it will very soon. A big screen reboot, starring Henry Cavill as its titular Immortal, will be John Wick director Chad Stahelski‘s next film.. But that’s not the only job he’s taking on. Lionsgate has also tasked him with overseeing both the John Wick franchise and the new Highlander franchise he’s launching.

Cavill will go up against Dave Bautista, who will play the immortal villain known as The Kurgen in the Highlander reboot. It’s a fan-casting dream come true for many folks.

Netflix

In late 2023 Stahelski said his Highlander reboot was still in development. Not long after, Deadline reported Lionsgate was definitely “moving forward” with the project. Now we know it will be Stahelski’s next feature film.

That first feature will only be the start. This news comes as part of a larger deal with Lionsgate. The studio has also put the John Wick director in charge of the assassin franchise. He will have “creative oversight” of the popular series. Stahelski will also fill the same role for his budding new Highlander franchise. He will lead both properties across film, television, and other mediums. (Yup, it might not be long before Highlander returns to TV.)

“I am pleased to be able to grow my relationship with Lionsgate in this new oversight role for the John Wick universe and its further expansion,” said Stahelski in a statement. “John Wick is so close to my heart and to be able to continue shepherding it will be a blast for me. I’m so happy to also be launching another franchise with Highlander, a world that is so rich with engaging stories to be told.”

20th Century Studios

Previous reports said his first Highlander film will also have a big-time budget topping $100 million. These new films will also touch upon elements long-time fans know and love about the franchise. During an interview last year Stahelski told Josh Horowitz, “Our story engages a lot of the same characters and stuff like that. But we’ve also brought in elements of all the TV shows, and we’re trying to do a bit of a prequel, a setup to The Gathering. So we have room to grow the property.”

Star Cavill additionally noted to the Happy Sad and Confused podcast, “Obviously, I watched [Highlander movies] when I was a lot younger, and have since rewatched. But also the TV show. I really enjoyed the lore behind it. That sense of a tragic warrior, with more of a story to tell than just a cool guy with a cool sword doing cool things. And this goes even deeper into that.” 

Exactly how much the new rebooted franchise will connect to the previous Christopher Lambert Highlander show and movies is still unknown. The exact nature of Cavill’s role on the show, which we first reported on in 2021, is also unclear. Although, most likely, he’ll be playing the rebooted Immortal Connor MacLeod. What we do know, for now, is that Russell Crowe has come aboard the reboot. He’ll play the role of Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, made famous by Sean Connery in the original 1986 movie. Additionally, Industry star Marisa Abela has joined the cast as well.

As for the rest, we bet it won’t be that much longer until we find out more about the Highlander reboot.

Originally published on August 29, 2023.

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Jonathan Bailey on Wading in Mangroves and More in JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH

Jonathan Bailey is seemingly everywhere across space and time, from the Regency era of Bridgerton to the fantasy world of the Wicked films. But, one place we’ve really enjoyed seeing him lately is in the dangerous grasslands near the equator facing off against dinosaurs in Jurassic World Rebirth. The British actor plays Dr. Henry Loomis, a bespectacled paleontologist with a heart of gold who ends up on a life-changing mission. This role took Bailey right into the heart of Thailand for shooting, which was no easy feat considering the location’s oppressive humidity and almost prehistoric terrain. 

In fact, we got just a taste of Jonathan Bailey’s filming experience during a recent press trip to Thailand, thanks to Universal All Access and Mandy Kay Marketing. While there, we scaled a wall during a rock climbing expedition, set sail to explore caves and lagoons, and even trekked through the exact same grassland location where Dr. Loomis first saw the Titanosaurus herd. That moment of sheer awe mirrors and measures up to the first time Dr. Alan Grant laid eyes on a majestic creature brought back to life. It translates so effortlessly on film, but filming is anything but considering that there’s no actual dino there. 

Universal Pictures

So, how did Bailey translate those emotions and the physicality of his character to screen. Well, being in the elements certainly helps. “When you’re wading through mangroves up to your nipples, it really helps for a physicality and a specificity,” he tells us during an interview in Thailand. While we suspect that his theater roots help translate these elements to cinema (which he didn’t disagree with), he does say that acting changes due to different lenses. “I also describe it as a different [view], like an apex and a concave lens… on stage you’re doing something very specific that you have to put through the lens to magnify its work for everybody. And on film, you just think about it in the other way, that everything you’re doing comes to a point.” 

Oftentimes in Jurassic World Rebirth, that point is imaginary or a random stand-in for something terrifying. Along with his castmates, director Gareth Edwards, and others, you can experience the glory of this film at home.

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Jonathan Bailey Joins Orchestra to Record JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH Soundtrack

It is currently available to own or rent through several retailers and comes with some pretty sweet bonus materials: 

ALTERNATE OPENINGDELETED SCENESRAPTORS – Featuring Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Luna Blaise and Audrina MirandaMUTADON ATTACK – Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Rupert Friend, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH : HATCHING A NEW ERATHE WORLD EVOLVES – Journey into a reimagined Jurassic World with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and the rest of the cast and filmmakers.OFF THE DEEP END – Dive into the thrilling ocean sequence and learn about the challenges of shooting on open water, the one-of-a-kind gimbal used to toss around the Essex and Mariposa, and the VFX wizardry that brought the Mosasaurus and Spinosaurs to life.TREKKING THROUGH THAILAND – Follow the cast and crew’s footsteps as they navigate the challenges of shooting in exotic jungles, beaches, and tall grass fields that become home to the Titanosaurs.REX IN THE RAPIDS – Brace for a T. rex encounter that’s different than anything experienced before with a nail-biting river chase recreated from Michael Crichton’s original Jurassic Park novel.DON’T LOOK DOWN – Soar into the Quetzalcoatlus sequence with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Bechir Sylvain as they train for and shoot their cliff rappelling scenes.MINI-MART MAYHEM – Go inside the heart-stopping third act of Jurassic World Rebirth and witness the process of crafting sets that allow the movie’s mutant dinosaurs to step out of nightmare-inspired designs and stop on an exhilarating rampage.GAG REELMEET DOLORES – Meet the animatronic Aquilops with an extraordinarily lifelike personality.MUNCHED: BECOMING DINO FOOD – Get a victim’s firsthand view inside the frightening jaws of deadly dinosaurs that munch, chomp, and chew their way into creating unforgettable death sequences.A DAY AT SKYWALKER SOUND – Actress Audrina Miranda guides a personal tour of Skywalker Sound in California to meet the audio editors, foley artists, and mixers who design the movie’s wide array of sounds.HUNTING FOR EASTER EGGS – Find out where to look for cleverly hidden Easter eggs that pay homage to everything from the first Jurassic Park film to other Steven Spielberg classics.FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR GARETH EDWARDS, PRODUCTION DESIGNER JAMES CLYNE, AND FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JACK RAVENSCROFTFEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR GARETH EDWARDS, EDITOR JABEZ OLSSEN, AND VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR DAVID VICKERY

Can you mimic Jonathan Bailey’s incredulous expressions to a tee? You can find out and see by grabbing this film on digital and watching it in the comfort of your own home.

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Could the SUPERMAN Follow-Up Film Be a Literal Super Family Movie? Here’s How It Could Work

Warner Bros. has revealed that James Gunn is hard at work writing his follow-up to Superman, and have used the words “Superman Family” to describe it. Could this be a literal “Superman Family” movie? The concept of the Superman family has been around since the Silver Age of comics, when DC Comics expanded the Man of Steel’s family of Kryptonian characters beyond just one “Last Son of Krypton.” In the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, readers were introduced to Supergirl, Krypto, Streaky the Super Cat, and more. Even Jimmy Olsen was getting powers every five minutes. By the ‘70s, there were enough extended family members to produce a monthly Superman Family series. That concept keeps getting new life.

In the Pages of DC Comics, the Superman Family Keeps GrowingDC Comics

Since the ‘90s, the Superman Family expanded even more. In addition to Supergirl, there was her alt-universe counterpart, Power Girl, as well as Superman’s teenage clone, Superboy. There was also Steel, who took over for Superman when he was dead, and Kong Kenan, the Superman of China. But more recent developments in the DC Universe have truly made the Kents a nuclear family, with Lois and Clark raising their half-Kryptonian offspring, Jonathan. He even took over the mantle of Superman for a bit, although these days, he’s referred to more commonly as Super Son.

So could the upcoming James Gunn “Superman Family” movie actually just be just that? A story about Superman, Lois, and their mighty family? Now, we highly doubt we’d get anything like the recent Superman and Lois CW series. That show had a version of Lois Lane and Clark Kent that had been married for years, raising twin superpowered sons. It’s doubtful that Gunn is gonna flash forward a decade in time, to show us the Kents raising a super son. If only because that would force the rest of the DCU to catch up. So, how do you do a Super Family movie? Well, even without a young Jon Kent in the picture, you still have options. A few already exist in the DCU.

Supergirl Is Already Part of the DCUDC Comics

Supergirl is the obvious first choice. Milly Alcock already appeared in Superman in cameo form, and will get her own Supergirl movie next year. Maybe this Superman Family project is merely a Superman/Supergirl team-up, with Krypto added of course. But one extra hero still sounds like “Superman II” to us. Just because Hulk was in Thor: Ragnarok doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a third Thor movie. So yes, we expect Supergirl to be in this follow-up, but she might not be the only superpowered lady in the family.

Rachel Brosnahan Wants Lois to Become SuperwomanDC Comics

Lois Lane has a history of being Superwoman in the comics, at least temporarily. She was recently saving lives as Superwoman as of a few months ago, in the pages of DC Comics. She has since lost her powers again. But actress Rachel Brosnahan has hinted strongly that she wants to play the superpowered version of Lois, and has been asking James Gunn to introduce that angle. While a new Superman follow-up film wouldn’t jump forward a decade, it stands to reason that Lois and Clark could be a married couple by the time we see them again in a few years. Clark could find a way to give his great love some Kryptonian powers, as he did in All-Star Superman. Even if it only lasts only one movie, it could be a great story on the big screen.

Superman Laid the Groundwork for Superboy/Conner Kent to Exist in the DCUDC Comics

As we mentioned, Superman and Lois have a son, Jon Kent, in the comics. He’s currently the teenage Super Son, and BFFs with Batman’s son Damian Wayne/Robin. But he also has another son….with arch enemy Lex Luthor. Well, sort of. In the early ‘90s, Superman famously died, leading to one of DC Comics’ biggest event stories. As part of the fallout, DC introduced a new Superboy, a clone of Superman, mixed with human DNA. He was force-grown to teenage years in a lab, intended to replace the dead Man of Steel. Eventually, we learn that the human DNA donor was none other than Luthor himself. So yes, in effect, Conner Kent/Kon-El is the son of Superman and Lex.

Seeing as how Superman didn’t exactly raise Conner from childhood, he treats him more like a younger brother. But he’s still part of the Superman family. In Gunn’s Superman, we learn that Lex created a clone of Superman for his own use, Ultraman. But we doubt that Ultraman was his first attempt at a Kal-El clone. He probably made earlier attempts, possibly using his own DNA to fix certain problems. (You know, like how they used frog DNA to fill in gaps when making the dinos in Jurassic Park.) What if Superman discovers a teenage Superboy in LuthorCorps’ cold storage unit, and adopts him? Superboy is also a key member of the Teen Titans, who are getting a movie. So this could be the perfect way to introduce him to the DCU.

The DCU Needs “The Supers”DC Comics

So if Gunn really wants to do “The Supers,” we have all the ingredients for a nuclear family already in the DCU. We’ve got “Dad” in Clark Kent, our “Mom” in Lois Lane, “big sis” in Kara Zor-El, and possibly “little brother” in the form of Conner Kent, just waiting to be unfrozen in the LuthorCorps basement. Pixar has the Incredibles, Marvel, of course, has the Fantastic Four, so maybe it’s time for James Gunn to unleash “The Supers” into the DCU. As long as the family dog, Krypto, is along for the ride of course. It wouldn’t be the same without him. We’d love to see the Kents and their family vacations on the moon.

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New Look at MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO Stage Show

We love everything in the Studio Ghibli vibe. We would live inside each and every Hayao Miyazaki movie (yes, including the scary ones). Living in the works of Isao Takahata would be another matter entirely and we’d probably pass there. Regardless, we’ve always wanted to know what a real-life version of a Miyazaki movie would look like. Luckily, we now have two stage shows to help us with that. Concurrently, both Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro have theatrical runs. Even though the latter has played in London’s West End since 2022, we only now have our first look at big ol’ stage show Totoro himself.Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Nippon TV

The image, which we first saw via Polygon, sure looks exactly like what we’d expect the big guy to look like for the realsies. Given the size of the actors portraying the young sisters, we have to assume Totoro is, what, like 10 feet tall? Jeepers creepers. He bears a blank expression and a leaf on his head to keep the rain off. Delightful and weird. Truly incredible how well the producers of this show have been able to replicate Miyazaki’s iconic look in reality. You can watch the original trailer for the show below.

The My Neighbor Totoro stage show comes from the Royal Shakespeare Company and Executive Producer and original film composer Joe Hisaishi – in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV –  and adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (the Oppenheimer stage production, not the movie) with direction from Phelim McDermott. It will play at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London’s Drury Lane until March of next year. If you find yourself across ye olde ponde, why not see what Totoro’s got going on?

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

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STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS’ TOS Parody Episode Was Cosmically Cringe, and Has Us Worried

We here at Nerdist love Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. We don’t mean to disparage other modern Star Trek iterations like Discovery or Picard, which all have their virtues. But SNW was a breath of fresh air, a return to the classic kind of storytelling, born out of a 1960s “New Frontier” style optimism, in a way we hadn’t seen in a long time. The excellent cast, led by Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, and Ethan Peck as Spock, became instant fan favorites. It was also a return to stand-alone, “adventure of the week” episodes, which had gone away with the advent of the streaming era. It created a lot of new fans, and brought back a lot of lapsed Trekkers. But for us, Strange New Worlds has stumbled in season three. This stumble is most evident in the recent episode “A Space Adventure Hour.”Paramount+

Every Star Trek series has leaned into comedy, sometimes several times a season. One of the most beloved episodes of TOS, “The Tribble with Tribbles,” is essentially a sitcom episode in space. The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and even Enterprise continued the tradition of having at least one comedic episode per season. Many of them are classics. But those shows contained 26 episodes per year. When you only have ten episodes a season, like SNW does, and a third of them are just goofy farces, it just fundamentally changes what the show is.

Paramount+

One of the most egregious examples was the recent “A Space Adventure Hour,” a holodeck adventure taking place in a simulation of 1960s Hollywood. Security Chief La’an (Christina Chong) poses as her favorite fictional 20th-century private investigator, trying to solve a murder mystery. If this sounds like the TNG episode “Elementary, Dear Data,” where Data poses as Sherlock Holmes for a holodeck adventure, it’s because it’s basically the same episode. But this version chose to go full meta in references to Star Trek itself as a franchise, and by doing so, we’re afraid Strange New Worlds might have just jumped the Andorian shark.

Paramount+

Much of the episode pokes fun at the original Star Trek series, or, more truthfully, how someone views the original series if they can’t see past the plywood sets and sexy mini-skirts. The original show was all of those things, to be certain. But usually, it tried to say something about our real world within the framework of what they had to work with. The main players of SNW each play thinly veiled counterparts of famous people associated with the classic show. Paul Wesley plays Maxwell Saint, a stand-in for William Shatner. Anson Mount plays a TV producer clearly based on Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Needless to say, neither portrayal was very kind to either individual.

Rebecca Romijn comes off a little better. Here, she plays a Hollywood actress entering the world of producing, and whose first show is a sci-fi series. This is yet another reference to behind-the-scenes Star Trek history, as TV legend Lucille Ball’s Desilu Productions financed the original Star Trek pilot. Lucy sunk a lot of her own capital into launching the series. Simply, there is no Star Trek franchise without Lucy. And she doesn’t come off as bad as the men do. But they essentially made their Roddenberry doppelganger a lecherous jerk. Paul Wesley’s Shatner-esque Maxwell Saint is a similar jerk and called a lousy actor too. Ouch.

Paramount+

Accusations of crappy behavior have been leveled against the real people who inspired these characters for decades. And hey, maybe they’re right. We weren’t there. We’ve seen more than one hilarious SNL parody making fun of Shatner’s acting style. But it’s one thing for a comedy sketch show to poke fun. It’s quite another for the franchise to roast itself so hard. The original Star Trek is the foundation upon which the entire franchise is built, especially Strange New Worlds. The entire thing feels in bad taste, and kind of disrespectful. Recently, reports surfaced that Paramount was courting William Shatner to return to the franchise in some form, and after they painted him the way they did, we wouldn’t be shocked if he told them where to stick it.

But all of this underscores a bigger problem with Strange New Worlds, particularly in season three. This season, three of the ten episodes heavily favor comedy. The writers, at least this season, seem more interested in using the Star Trek format to create space sitcoms. And if it’s not sitcomy, it leans into the soap opera aspect of it all. Both of those elements have a place in Trek. Certainly, TNG and Voyager had romantic “will they/won’t they” romances running through each series. But it was always secondary to the main plot of each episode. In season three, SNW is diving into both more than ever. It feels like the sci-fi exploration has taken a back seat more than ever to wacky gimmick episodes, or “Who is Spock hooking up with this week?” The balance (of terror) is lopsided.

Paramount+

More than anything, it feels like the writers are huge fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer much more than any Star Trek. It’s obvious from last season’s musical episode, and the just-announced puppet episode in season four. They wear their Whedon influence on their sleeve. Buffy remains one of the greatest genre shows ever made, so we understand the reverence. But what made Buffy work is not what usually works for Star Trek. On Buffy, the characters were teenagers, and their hormones made their love lives seem more important than their heroic missions. On Star Trek, these are all supposedly adult officers whose important jobs should take precedence in the story over any romantic entanglements.

Paramount+

The last couple of episodes of Strange New Worlds end on a strong note, so perhaps all is not lost. Much of the episodes of season three were likely written in some kind of haste post-WGA strikes. But this cast deserves better than what they’re mostly getting this season. The original Star Trek’s first two seasons were revolutionary but it’s well known that the quality dropped off hard in their third season. TOS never got a fourth season to get its mojo back, and it took feature films for that to happen. With a fourth and fifth season of Strange New Worlds guaranteed, here’s hoping they get back to the kind of storytelling they excelled at in seasons one and two.

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Fred Armisen, Luis Guzmán, and Steve Buscemi on Being the Adults in the Room in WEDNESDAY Season 2

Although Wednesday on Netflix focuses on the titular character and the other students of Nevermore Academy, that doesn’t mean the adult characters get left in the dust. Especially when you have iconic actors like Luis Guzmán, Fred Armisen, and Steve Buscemi inhabiting these characters. Ahead of season two of Wednesday, we got to chat with these three gentlemen about getting to inhabit such iconic “creepy and kooky” Addams Family roles for a new generation. (There are some mild spoilers in this interview.)Netflix

Nerdist: The Addams Family has been around for generations now. They’ve been comics, TV shows, movies, and animated. Do each of you have a favorite iteration of the franchise before coming on board Wednesday?

Luis Guzmán: Yeah, I love the black and white (1960s era TV) version. I remember as a kid running home from school just to catch it. And I always thought “Man, I want to be part of that family.” Because it was different. It was beautiful to be different, and wacky, and weird, and crazy. It was just a beautiful, different kind of “normal” to look at.

Filmways Television/MGM Television

Steve Buscemi: Yeah, for me, the TV show is what I grew up on. I didn’t know that the TV show at the time was based on the Charles Addams drawings and comics. So yeah, the TV show was my first exposure to it, and I loved it. You just always waited for that to come on.

Fred Armisen: Yeah, same here. Even though we’ve loved every version, the movies and everything, that’s the one I’m most familiar with, earliest on, but I wish I could also, this is not my official answer, but I wish I could say it was the original cartoons in the early 1900s!

Netflix

Fester gets to be a little bit of a ladies’ man this season, in his unusual Fester way. Were you excited when you saw that new development for the character?

Fred Armisen: Yes, and especially because of the way that they wrote it, so it wasn’t just simple. It was just that Fester really just enjoys life, and he meets someone else who also enjoys life, and they really put together some good lines for it.

A lot of the adults who are coming onto this season are legacy characters, but Steve, your character, Headmaster Barry Dort, is new. But adults in Wednesday tend to have interesting backstories. Did they give you all of your backstory when you signed on?

Netflix

Steve Buscemi: Not all of it, and in fact, I didn’t find out his real backstory until much, much later. But that was a really nice surprise, what happens later on down the road. But they gave me enough information that I knew what this guy was about and what he was trying to do, and I think it’s no surprise that he’s a bit nefarious. It doesn’t all add up with what he seems to be and what he really is.

The Addams adults get more to do this season than last. Were you all excited about being a bigger part of the plot this year?

Fred Armisen: I don’t take anything for granted, so it was very definitely a nice surprise. I mean, it would’ve been good either way. That’s how much I love the show. But it was nice. It was great to see these new avenues come up.

Netflix

Luis Guzmán: And also to be more involved in our kids’ lives, and to actually, as a parent, as Gomez, to be sleeping in my old alma mater of Nevermore. Loved that.

Luis, we get a tango moment, which is a nice callback to the movies, I think. What did you think when they approached you with You get to do a Tango with Catherine Zeta Jones?

I said, let’s go, I want to learn. I think I rehearsed that for two months, because I love to dance, but Tango is a whole different beast. It’s a whole different side of your brain, and it’s like the steps are opposite. So you kind of have to try to get your body to understand that in the movement, and man, it was just a beautiful thing to do and to be a part of. Because of this, I have grown to love Tango so much.

Are we going to get some Fester and Gomez moments together? Because I don’t feel like we’ve had a whole lot of that yet.

Luis Guzman: They might be scheming something, but I don’t know yet.

Fred Armisen: It would make sense in that they’re brothers, so we certainly hope so.

I know this is a question people ask all the time, but you guys have really cool costumes and props on this show. Did you guys get to keep any of ’em?

Luis Guzmán: I can’t say. I’m not allowed to say.

Steve Busemi: Because he stole his props!

Luis Guzmán: Shhh….I might be wearing my Gomez socks. Don’t tell nobody.

Wednesday season two part one starts streaming on Netflix on August 6.

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THE BOYS Prequel VOUGHT RISING Adds 6 New Cast Regulars

The Boys is coming to an end, but the world of The Boys is only getting bigger. Yet another live-action spinoff will soon debut on Prime Video. Unlike with Gen V though, this time around we’re going back. Vought Rising will show us how the powerful global conglomerate built its supe empire with the blood, sweat, and tears of innocent people. The show will feature two characters first introduced on The Boys. Vought Rising will star Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy and Aya Cash’s Nazi and first Vought supe Stormfront (who was first known as Liberty.) Now we know who will join them on the prequel. Amazon has announced five new Vought Rising cast members getting in on the bad superhero fun.Harry Livingstone/Monic Schmindheini/Ricky Staffieri/Matt Doyle

Prime Video has found five new stars for Vought Rising as the cast for the series officially grows. Jorden Myrie (Sherwood), Nicolò Pasetti (The Last Voyage of the Demeter), Ricky Staffieri (The Bear), and Brian J. Smith (SENSE8) have signed onto The Boys prequel as series regulars. They join previously announced stars Will Hochman and Elizabeth Posey.

Additionally, Deadline reports two additional cast members have also joined the cast of Vought Rising. The publication shares Mason Dye and KiKi Layne have joined the cast as well, and their roles are currently under wraps.

The studio did not share character names or descriptions for its newest Vought Rising cast members. Since the show takes place in the 1950s, it’s hard to speculate who anyone might be playing. That’s decades before Soldier Boy led the supe team Payback, which appeared in a flashback on The Boys. Safe to say though at least a few of these performers will play arrogant, amoral monsters loaded up with Compound V and unleashed on an unsuspecting public with little to no consequences for their heinous actions. Some will also likely play scientists and corporate suits working for at Vought International, a company so evil it feels real. And maaaaybe, just maybe, one or two of these new cast members will play actual good people in Vought Rising, trying to stop a monster destined to succeed.

Prime Video

Not exactly a brave set of predictions, we know. This is the universe of The Boys, after all. No matter how big it gets somethings will always be true. We can’t wait to learn more about the new characters and cast of Vought Rising and what The Boys prequel has in store for us all.

Originally published on August 7, 2025.

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Gareth Edwards on Delores’ Bittersweet Voice Inspiration and JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH’s Beauty

Jurassic World Rebirth is the seventh film in the overall franchise launched by Steven Spielberg’s seminal 1993 film. It is virtually indisputable that Jurassic Park is one of the most influential sci-fi films of all-time, a summer blockbuster that evokes wonder and fear upon every watch. Because of this, fans wondered if yet another film in this universe can bring something fresh, entertaining, and emotionally resonant to the table. 

The answer to this inquiry is a resounding yes, thankfully. Jurassic World Rebirth crafts a story that is sonically, emotionally, and visually rich with the forces of a strong ensemble cast and director Gareth Edwards visionary lens powering its epic tale. Jurassic World Rebirth delivers childlike awe, oddly comforting familiarity, and ominous beauty thanks to its stunning filming locations in Thailand.

Universal Pictures

Along with dozens of other outlets and media personae, we got to experience a (much less dangerous) adventure in this lush locale, from its pristine seas to its towering rocks and sweeping grasslands. To Edwards, there was no other place that could bring Jurassic World Rebirth to life in a way that marries prehistoric landscape with our modern structures. 

Jurassic World Rebirth: Bringing Its Sonic Richness and Lush Landscapes to Life

“It just has everything going for it,” he told us during the press trip. “[Thailand has] these giant limestone cliffs. It feels very primeval. It’s like you’ve gone back in time. But equally, the thing about Jurassic, which is so great, is that it shouldn’t feel like a load of humans went back in time to when dinosaurs existed. It should feel like the dinosaurs came forwards in times when we existed. I really wanted to find some iconography, geography of modern day architecture so that it felt like you could watch it at home and go, ‘Oh, that’s where I live.’ 

The importance of the film’s theatrical scope translating to an epic home viewing experience was at the forefront of Edwards mind in more ways than one. Jurassic World Rebirth is an audio treat, from the roar of a dinosaur to the swishing of grass in an open field. The director teamed up with Jurassic Park’s sound designer Gary Rydstrom and the team at Skywalker Sound (Captain America: Brave New World, Andor season 2) to craft a soundscape that can turn your living room into a dino-laden jungle.

The team did look back to the past, using the original film’s T. rex roar (which is based on a baby elephant, actually) to provide a layer for this sequel’s mutated D. rex. But, the most surprising revelation is about the origin of Delores’ adorable voice. She’s the baby Aquilops friend of Isabella who goes along for the wild ride. 

“Dolores has his little voice thing that was the sound designer. It was his pet cat,” Edwards revealed. “She was attacked and damaged part of her windpipe. Everything got fixed, but ever since then, she’s had this strange way of breathing. So he’s immortalized her in the movie now.” 

The Wonders of Watching Jurassic World Rebirth at Home

For more secrets about Jurassic World Rebirth’s filming process and other fun facts, fans can grab a digital copy. It is currently available to own or rent from various retailers and comes with exclusive bonus content, including an alternate opening, deleted scenes, and a making-of documentary, among other treats. 

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Scarlett Johansson Is the #1 Highest Grossing Actor EVER After JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH

Here’s what you can expect with your purchase of Jurassic World Rebirth:

ALTERNATE OPENINGDELETED SCENESRAPTORS – Featuring Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Luna Blaise and Audrina MirandaMUTADON ATTACK – Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Rupert Friend, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH : HATCHING A NEW ERATHE WORLD EVOLVES – Journey into a reimagined Jurassic World with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and the rest of the cast and filmmakers.OFF THE DEEP END – Dive into the thrilling ocean sequence and learn about the challenges of shooting on open water, the one-of-a-kind gimbal used to toss around the Essex and Mariposa, and the VFX wizardry that brought the Mosasaurus and Spinosaurs to life.TREKKING THROUGH THAILAND – Follow the cast and crew’s footsteps as they navigate the challenges of shooting in exotic jungles, beaches, and tall grass fields that become home to the Titanosaurs.REX IN THE RAPIDS – Brace for a T. rex encounter that’s different than anything experienced before with a nail-biting river chase recreated from Michael Crichton’s original Jurassic Park novel.DON’T LOOK DOWN – Soar into the Quetzalcoatlus sequence with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Bechir Sylvain as they train for and shoot their cliff rappelling scenes.MINI-MART MAYHEM – Go inside the heart-stopping third act of Jurassic World Rebirth and witness the process of crafting sets that allow the movie’s mutant dinosaurs to step out of nightmare-inspired designs and stop on an exhilarating rampage.GAG REELMEET DOLORES – Meet the animatronic Aquilops with an extraordinarily lifelike personality.MUNCHED: BECOMING DINO FOOD – Get a victim’s firsthand view inside the frightening jaws of deadly dinosaurs that munch, chomp, and chew their way into creating unforgettable death sequences.A DAY AT SKYWALKER SOUND – Actress Audrina Miranda guides a personal tour of Skywalker Sound in California to meet the audio editors, foley artists, and mixers who design the movie’s wide array of sounds.HUNTING FOR EASTER EGGS – Find out where to look for cleverly hidden Easter eggs that pay homage to everything from the first Jurassic Park film to other Steven Spielberg classics.FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR GARETH EDWARDS, PRODUCTION DESIGNER JAMES CLYNE, AND FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JACK RAVENSCROFTFEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR GARETH EDWARDS, EDITOR JABEZ OLSSEN, AND VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR DAVID VICKERY

After witnessing its splendor in real life and digging into this home release and all of its bonus materials, we can’t wait for Jurassic World Rebirth to stomp into your living room soon.

The post Gareth Edwards on Delores’ Bittersweet Voice Inspiration and JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH’s Beauty appeared first on Nerdist.

COLD STORAGE Delivers One of the Grossest Body Horror Trailers of 2025

It’s been a minute since we had a good gross-out horror, biohazard outbreak comedy movie in the vein of Planet Terror or Slither. Well, our wait for a new entry in this subgenre is nearly over. French production company Studio Canal has just dropped the trailer for Cold Storage, the new film from director David Koepp. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Koepp wrote the original Jurassic Park screenplay, as well the first Mission: Impossible and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man.

His latest film is based on his 2019 novel of the same name. The producers of the cult classic Zombieland are also involved with this one. The film stars Liam Neeson, fresh off the success of The Naked Gun, and Joe Keery, who will have just wrapped up five seasons of Stranger Things. You can check out the first Cold Storage trailer right here:

And here’s the official plot synopsis for Cold Storage from Studio Canal to accompany that trailer:

Teacake and Naomi, two young employees of a self-storage company built on the site of an old US military base, have their wildest night shift ever when a parasitic fungus escapes from the lowest sublevel of the base, where it was sealed by the government decades before. As the temperature rises underground, this highly contagious microorganism multiplies and unleashes its terrors on the facility’s inhabitants – human and otherwise. With time running out, it’s down to Teacake and Naomi, with the help of a grizzled bioterror operative, to contain the rapidly mutating menace and prevent the explosive extinction of Mankind itself.

Studio Canal

This looks very much like a Halloween Horror Nights maze come to life, and we’re not complaining. Also starring in Cold Storage are Georgina Campbell, Sosie Bacon, Vanessa Redgrave, and Lesley Manville. There’s no official release date for the film yet, but the trailer confirms it’s hitting theaters sometime in 2026.

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