TV, Movies & Home Theatre - Page 7

Marvel's Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner is back on his feet and fully recovered, returning to work one year after almost losing his life.

On Jan 1st of this year, Renner was involved in a freak snow-plow accident that saw the beloved actor crushed by his snowcat while clearing snow near his home. His injuries were horrific, including 30 broken bones, and he had to undergo emergency surgery in the ICU to save his life.

Now, just one year since the accident, he has shared a post on his Instagram, originally posted by his Mayor Of Kingstown co-star Emma Laird, who tagged the actor and captioned "Back with my favorite guy next week." where Renner added, "It's happening."

Starting January 29, 2024, Amazon Prime users will soon have their viewing sessions interrupted by ads.

Amazon Prime Video started out as an added value to boost the appeal of its world-changing Prime subscription, but the streaming wars have kicked content investment into overdrive. Amazon has spent hundreds of millions of dollars creating original programming and adaptations like the Lord of the Rings series, Wheel of Time, and The Boys.

As is the case with other streaming services, that cost is starting to trickle down to subscribers. Rather than raise Prime Video's subscription costs outright, Amazon will instead use ads to make more revenue. The company has announced that all existing Prime Video users will be subject to "limited advertisements" in late January of next year. Users can pay an extra $2.99 per month to avoid these ads on Prime Video.

The director of the upcoming sequel to the Planet of the Apes series has confirmed the possibility of further movies in the franchise.

Speaking with Empire, director Wes Ball and producer Joe Hartwick Jr. have confirmed that the upcoming film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was always intended to be the next chapter in a brand new trilogy of monkey mayhem. While Ball is unsure if he will be involved with further installments of the series, he confirmed that he was in talks with the studio "about the next story."

He also suggested that while the former trilogy was about "the end of humanity," this new trilogy will be "very much about the beginning of something." This new film will be set 300 years after the ending of the rebooted Apes continuity that began with 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which saw Andy Serkis' Caesar lead his kind toward becoming the more predominant species on Earth.

According to multiple sources, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global are reportedly in talks for a potential merger of the two entertainment giants that could have wide-ranging consequences for the industry. Both companies themselves are products of mergers as recently as 2022 with Warner Bros.

Discovery formed from a deal between WarnerMeida and Discovery, Inc. and Paramount Global in 2019, previously known as ViacomCBS Inc. until 2022, forming from a merger of CBS Corporation and Viacom. Sources report that Paramount Global's Bob Bakish and Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav met with one another on Tuesday this week.

The CEO pair were reportedly in talks to discuss a possible merger of the two companies, though it does appear the companies would not be equal parties due to Warner Bros. Discovery being worth a whopping $29 billion and Paramount Global worth adding up to only $10 billion, just over one-third of that total.

Godzilla Minus One is set to be re-released in a more old-school look reminiscent of the original, as seen in the release of a new trailer.

The film, which had the best opening for a foreign film in 2023, also blasted the United States records for the best opening weekend of a live-action Japanese film debuting to a whopping $11 million. As well as making high returns at the box office, Godzilla Minus One has been widely acclaimed by fans and critics alike with it also becoming a finalist for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards in 2024 and became the sixth highest-grossing Japanese film in the history of the US box office.

Minus One's writer/director, Takashi Yamazaki, who had waited 15 years until the technology was right to produce this film, also won the award for best director at the Hochi Film Awards in Japan, where Minus One was nominated for an additional 3 awards.

Netflix's live-action adaptation of the beloved series Avatar: The Last Airbender is set to hit our screens early next year, and the showrunner of this new take has revealed that the series will "remix" events from the original animated series.

The biggest question fans have had about this new adaptation is how faithful it would play out to the original when it debuts, even more so once it was announced the creators of the original animated series had exited the project moving forward due to creative differences, after spending two years on the production.

Michael Dante DiMartino, one of the two original creators of the series, called his exit from the project "The hardest professional decision I've ever had to make." DiMartino also added that he believed the Netflix live-action project has potential, but "Whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Byran and I had envisioned or intended to make."

In September, we were treated to the release of a new Ninja Turtles movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

This new iteration of the turtles was accompanied by a beautiful new art style and animation. The film pitted this version of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael against a new foe in Superfly, voiced by Ice Cube. The turtles were able to put an end to Superfly's evil plan, but with the defeat of their first villain comes an even more formidable threat on the horizon.

The ending of Mutant Mayhem teased the arrival of long-time foe Shredder, and director Jeff Rowe has opened up about his take on the character and how he wants to make the well-known villain "100 times scarier than Superfly". Speaking with Empire, Rowe shared that Mutant Mayhem took inspiration from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy by choosing not to use Shredder as the main villain in the first film.

Jack Black has spoken to Variety and said that he's patiently waiting for some news about a sequel to the intensely popular Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The voice actor for the infamous Bowser sat down for an interview with Variety and revealed that the only communication about a potential sequel has been coming from him, other than that it has been "radio silence" between him, Nintendo, and the animation studio behind the original project, Illumination. Black told the publication that, "The only chatter has been coming from me, and I don't even know if I'm allowed to chatter."

Black said that he's been "chomping at the bit to get back to business," indicating that he's completely on board for a new Super Mario Bros. movie. Black appeared on an episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, where he revealed the iconic track "Peaches" was only created halfway through the production of the movie.

Marvel Studios has lost Kang the Conqueror as the studio fires Emmy-nominated actor Jonathan Majors in the wake of a guilty verdict.

Jonathan Majors is out as Kang, with Marvel Studios choosing to let the actor go after his guilty verdict in court earlier today. The actor was found guilty of reckless assault and harassment by a six-person NYC jury in his domestic violence trial. A rep from Marvel has confirmed the news and their decision to part ways with the actor moving forward.

Majors had played his character "Kang" within the MCU over multiple projects and was slated to be a big villain in Phases 4 and 5. His character debuted in season one of the popular series "Loki" and appeared in the series' second season earlier this year. The actor also starred alongside Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania, which made more than 476M worldwide. Major's character was set to be the MCU's new big bad, with his journey coming to a head in the previously titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, now titled Avengers 5, until a new title is given to the sequel.

"The Monsterverse continues." Warner Bros and Legendary Entertainment have revealed the first official trailer for their upcoming film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire on December 4, with returning director Adam Wingard at the helm.

The sequel to 2021's Godzilla vs Kong premiered during the pandemic and was one of Warner Bros's biggest hits of the year. Set to hit the big screen everywhere in April of 2024, this next chapter in the cinematic Monsterverse promises to team up everyone's favorite titans against a common enemy in the form of a "colossal undiscovered threat" with the tagline "Rise together or fall alone."

Godzilla x Kong will also probe deeper into the origins of our large friends and the mysteries surrounding Skull Island, while also spending more time exploring the Hollow Earth Realm.

Universal has announced the next sequel of one of Dreamwork's most beloved franchises with the release of its first official trailer, "Kung Fu Panda 4." Jack Black is returning to the role.

Nearly ten years since the last film, comedy icon Jack black is set to return to his iconic character Po in a brand new chapter of Kung Fu and adventure. The world's most unlikely kung fu master, Po the Panda, must prepare to take on his new role of spiritual leader and find someone else to take on his role as the new Dragon warrior.

He will have to train a new kung fu expert for the spot while fighting off villains new and old, courtesy of this film's big bad, the Chameleon. Among the characters returning are Li, Po's birth father, voiced by Bryan Cranston, Kung Fu master Shifu, voiced by Dustin Hoffman; and Tai Lung, Shifu's former student and present arch nemesis, voiced by Emmy Award nominee Ian McShane. Hot in the industry right now, Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan also joins the cast as a new character for the movie Han, the leader of the Den of Thieves.

Netflix has taken to its YouTube channel to share the first official teaser trailer for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the return of Eddie Murphy to his iconic character, Axel Foley.

The new movie is expected to hit Netflix's streaming services in the summer of next year, and will feature quite a few big-name actors, such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will team up with Murphy's character as his new partner, along with Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) reprising their characters from the franchise. According to reports from Deadline, Will Beall has penned the script for the movie and Mark Molloy has directed it.

Murphy is also producing the movie along with Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films, who said that Murphy "can do anything," referring to his ability to fall back into Axel Foley's character with ease. The story of the flick Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F involves Foley's daughter getting her life threatened, which turns into Foley and his new partner uncovering a conspiracy.

Google has released its annual Year in Search 2023 list, and even though there are still a few weeks left before we call it quits on 2023, we've now got a bunch of Top 10 lists covering the most searched movies, games, TV shows, and more. And with that, it's easy to conclude that the most popular searches are stand-ins for the most popular 'x' things for 2023.

Taking a look at games, Hogwarts Legacy takes the crown, beating Sony's The Last of Us franchise, Bethesda's Starfield, Baldur's Gate 3, and Diablo IV. The list of games isn't all heavy-hitter blockbusters, as some of the popular games for 2023 include Battlegrounds Mobile, the Wordle-style Connections from The New York Times, and a Japanese puzzle game that loosely translates to 'Watermelon Game.'

Interestingly, although Baldur's Gate 3 swept The Game Awards and is widely viewed as the best RPG released this year, it sits behind Bethesda's Starfield. Another interesting takeaway is that Grand Theft Auto 6 is nowhere to be found.

Apple has been working on a slew of software updates for release before the end of the year, and while all of the attention might be on the upcoming iOS 17.2 update, the tvOS 17.2 update might actually be one of the biggest changes of all. The software will be released on the Apple TV before Christmas, we expect, and it will remove some of the most familiar apps when it arrives.

That's as confirmed by Apple TV expert Sigmund Judge in a post on X, the social network previously known as Twitter. Judge shared details of what we can expect to see when the tvOS 17.2 update drops and it seems that beyond a newly redesigned interface, there will be plenty going away.

Judge notes that not only will Apple remove the iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows apps, but also a number of features including theatrical poster art, library number counts, and user and Rotten Tomatoes reviews. Apple TV owners can also expect to lose the correct display of TV show season, and the display of owned title resolution, too.

HBO's House of the Dragon season 2 will be released in the Summer of 2024, and ahead of the new season, the creator of the books, George R. R. Martin, has warned the new season may make you cry.

The writer of the famed series Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, took to his blog called "Not a Blog" and revealed he has seen the first two episodes of the new House of the Dragon season, expected to be released sometime in the summer of 2024. According to Martin, the first two episodes he saw were only "rough cuts," but from what he saw, he can distill that they are "dark, mind you. Very dark." Additionally, Martin warned, "They may make you cry. (I did not cry myself, but one of my friends did)."

Furthermore, Martin described both of the episodes as emotional, gut-wrenching, and heart-rendering, which he says is "just the sort of thing I like". For those that aren't familiar with House of the Dragon and have only seen Game of Thrones - House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and is based on Martin's book Fire & Blood, which tells the story of House Targaryen.

Will Smith will be returning to the role of Robert Neville for the upcoming sequel of I Am Legend released in 2007. The sequel will be using the mythology of the DVD release where Smith's character survived and not the cinema release where he died.

Smith revealed he is returning to the role at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, where he teased that he was scheduled to be on a call the following day with Michael B. Jordan, who he later confirmed was in the film. Smith didn't reveal any details about the movie but explained that the sequel will be continuing on from the DVD version of the film, which featured an alternative ending where Robert Neville wasn't killed.

"But for the DVD, there was an alternate version of the ending of the movie where my character lived," he said. "We are going with the mythology of the DVD version." Adding, "I can't tell you anything more, but Michael B. Jordan is in and we're doing it". Notably, Smith previously hadn't expressed interest in a sequel to I Am Legend, but with input from Michael B. Jordan, a new idea was proposed that piqued his interest.

Following strong controversy over season 1, Paramount could redeem its Halo TV series with its upcoming second season.

Halo is returning to Paramount with a second season that debuts on February 8, 2024, the streamer has announced. The first two episodes of Halo S2 will be available on that date, with new episodes releasing every week after the premiere. Paramount has dropped a new 90 second trailer for Halo season 2 that appears to tap into the core themes of the franchise, capturing some impressive shots along the way.

The trailer really underscores the desperation and dimming hope that the human race had to face in Halo's sci-fi universe. The galaxy is on fire, ignited by a bloodthirsty alien zealots who seek to burn whole worlds in a misguided religious crusade. The footage shows planets being glassed by Covenant supercruisers, marines being brutally slashed in the shadows by a lethal elite assassin, and Master Chief going toe-to-toe with a sword-bearing elite in a sequence that can only be described as epic.

Amazon has released the first teaser trailer for the Fallout TV show, revealing a strong attention to detail and authentic representation of the post-apocalyptic franchise.

Following the bad reception to Netflix's Resident Evil and Paramount's Halo TV series, fans are optimistic about Prime Video's new Fallout adaptation. The streamer just released an entertaining 2-minute teaser for the Fallout show that touches upon the gritty humor-meets-horror style and themes that the game IP is known for.

The trailer has some welcome surprises, including a look at the Brotherhood of Steel in action, faithful companion Dogmeat alongside a positively ghoulish Walter Goggins, a hilarious cyclops overseer mutant sequence, and a highlight of some of the fiendishly brutal monstrosities that roam irradiated Los Angeles like the fearsome yao guai and what appears to be a horribly mutated axolotl that has fingers inside of its hideous mouth.

The iconic videogame franchise Fallout is getting the prestige TV treatment, with the first season set to debut on Amazon's Prime Video streaming service on April 12, 2024. Until now, full details on the adaptation have been kept under wraps, and outside of a few leaked set photos, we haven't had much to go on.

Thanks to an in-depth reveal at Vanity Fair, we now have a lot of Fallout TV series info to chew on. The story is a brand-new one and not based on any of the games - and it's canon, according to Bethesda's Todd Howard, who serves as an executive producer on the show. With Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy at the helm, the duo behind HBO's Westworld, the good news is that the dark humor of the Fallout games will be a big part of the post-apocalyptic story being told.

On that front, the main character will be Lucy, plates by Ella Purnell, "an optimistic Vault Dweller with an all-American can-do spirit" who will venture outside the Los Angeles-based Vault 33 for the first time in her life after "her peaceful and idealistic nature is tested when people harm her loved ones."

In a world where there is are seemingly exponential options when it comes to convenient streaming services, physical media sales are down with less and less people going out and buying Blu-rays of their favorite movies and instead just catching them on Netflix.

Famed directors such as Guillermo Del Toro, and Christopher Nolan have expressed concern regarding the dwindling physical media sales of movies, and the power streaming services such as Netflix have over film history. The directors point out that if Netflix remove a movie from its directory because the views its getting are no longer proportional, or profitable, compared to what it costs to have it on Netflix's servers, the movie is gone forever and can never been seen again.

Nolan recently touched on this, saying, "There is a danger, these days, that if things only exist in the streaming version they do get taken down, they come and go." This statement from the Oppenheimer director was backed up by Guillermo Del Toro, who wrote, "Physical media is almost a Fahrenheit 451 (where people memorized entire books and thus became the book they loved) level of responsibility. If you own a great 4K HD, Blu-ray, DVD etc etc of a film or films you love... you are the custodian of those films for generations to come."