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Season 2 of the HBO series adaptation of the video game The Last of Us is now just three weeks away! The new batch of episodes are scheduled to begin airing on April 13th – and ahead of that date, a new poster for the new season has been unveiled. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.

The story of the The Last of Us video game is set years after a fungal plague wiped out much of humanity, transforming most into vicious zombie-like monsters, the story follows Joel, who’s living in a militarized quarantine zone. He has a close relationship with Tess, who operates in the black market of this community. Together, they’ve become known by the local criminal underworld for their ruthlessness. On a mission to reclaim their stolen guns, they run into the leader of the Fireflies, a resistance group, who tasks them...

Every choice has consequences. After two years of a highly anticipated wait, the record-breaking Emmy award winning HBO series The Last of Us returns.

Season 2 picks up five years after the events of the first season, which saw Joel (Pedro Pascal) massacre a team of doctors who were hoping to cure civilization from the zombie-like disease ravaging the surviving population. The only problem with this plan is that the cost of a potential vaccine came at the expense of fatally experimenting on the mysteriously immune Ellie (Bella Ramsey)—a price Joel wasn’t willing to pay. Now, as a result of their respective actions while searching for safety, Joel and Ellie will be forced to face repercussions from their individual pasts.

Some new faces will appear in Season 2 of The Last of Us, all of whom are from the video game. Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Tati Gabrielle and more will bring these characters to life.

Season 2 of the HBO series adaptation of the video game The Last of Us is now just one month away! The new batch of episodes are scheduled to begin airing on April 13th – and ahead of that date, Variety has revealed the names of six new additions to the cast, including the great Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix). The actor, who is often referred to as “Joey Pants,” recently appeared on just one episode of Dexter: Original Sin as a character called Mad Dog, who exited way too soon. Here’s hoping he’ll be on The Last of Us for a while longer.

Pantoliano’s fellow new additions to the cast are Alanna Ubach (Euphoria), Ben Ahlers (The Gilded Age), Hettienne Park (Hannibal), Robert John Burke (RoboCop 3), and Noah Lamanna (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds). Details on their characters have not been revealed.

The story of the The Last of Us...

Content warning: this article contains a discussion of suicide.

Guess who's joining the cast of "The Last of Us" season 2? Good old Joey Pants, or, more formally, Joe Pantoliano.

In an interview with Variety, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann exclusively revealed that Pantoliano is joining the cast of the massively successful show's sophomore season as Eugene, a character that's only briefly seen in the video game.

Apparently, it was Mazin's idea to make Eugene into a fully fleshed-out character, and Druckmann readily agreed. "I get excited when I see these opportunities," he told the outlet. "I'm like, 'Oh, I don't know Eugene that well!' The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel [Pedro Pascal] and Ellie and their relationship."

Mazin, for his part, celebrated Druckmann's willingness to adapt to big story changes in the adaptation...

The stars are kicking off Oscars weekend!

Jon Hamm and wife Anna Osceola joined Olivia Wilde and Zoe Kravitz at the 2025 Saint Laurent x Vanity Fair Pre-Oscar Dinner on Friday night (February 28) in Los Angeles.

The annual event, which celebrates awards season, was hosted by Saint Laurent Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello and Vanity Fair Editor in Chief Radhika Jones.

The event was also a mini reunion for Olivia and her Booksmart star Kaitlyn Dever!

Other stars in attendance included Rosé, Adrien Brody and girlfriend Georgina Chapman, Anora‘s Mark Eydelshteyn, Edgar Ramirez, Jodie Turner-Smith, Disclaimer‘s Leila George, On Swift Horses actress Sasha Calle, The Holdover‘s Dominic Sessa, Danny Ramirez, Ruth Negga, Esther McGregor, model Anja Rubik, influencers Devon and Sydney Lee Carlson, Lorraine Nicholson, Animal Kingdom‘s Ben Robson, and director Ethan Dawes.

The 2025 Oscars will be taking place on Sunday, March 2 with host Conan O’Brien. Make sure...

Netflix’s pop-infused true crime series Apple Cider Vinegar asks a lot of its star, Kaitlyn Dever.

The hit show chronicles the rise and fall of Belle Gibson, the real-life Australian single mom who launched a wellness empire by convincing the world she was overcoming brain cancer with an all-natural lifestyle — “all of which would be incredibly inspiring… if it were true,” as Netflix’s official summary puts it.

For Apple Cider Vinegar‘s colorful twist on Gibson’s grift, Dever masters a regional Aussie accent and inhabits a staggering range of emotions, tracing the con-woman’s trajectory from an emotionally abused teen to an arch-manipulator brought to the brink. Along the way, she plots, seduces, fakes seizures, weathers humiliations, occasionally bursts into song, and suffers intense emotional highs and lows, both real and imagined — all while attempting to be a better mom to her young son.

Devers first displayed...

NBC's latest "Suits" spin-off has finally arrived, introducing fans to a new setting, fresh characters, and more unique cases in the world of law. Centering around Ted Black (Stephen Amell) and the other characters who work at his firm, "Suits LA" tackles everything from murder mysteries to Hollywood drama, with the latter opening the door to some fun celebrity cameos. However, the Dylan Pryor character looks set to be at the heart of the celebrity-centric chaos in season 1, and viewers who grew up watching Nickelodeon shows might recognize her from a pair of classics.

The "Suits LA" season 1 premiere, "Seven Days a Week and Twice on a Sunday," introduces Dylan as an in-demand actor who Ted's firm wants to represent. He plays it cool and pretends that no skin will fall off his nose if she chooses a competitor, but we later learn that Ted really wants Dylan to be his client.

Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford often share the screen in Apple TV+’s mental health dramedy Shrinking, but during the SAG Awards opening “I am an actor” segment, she would have preferred to take up the spotlight on her own.

As the Booksmart actress began her contribution to the heartfelt introduction, which involved performers like Jodie Foster and Mikey Madison, she found herself a wee bit side-tracked. “Los Angeles is often known as the city of dreams. And sure enough all my dreams have come true here. From my dream of preparing…” she began, before noticing Ford trying to sneak a piece of food behind her in the camera view.

By the time Ford understood what was happening and attempted to stop eating, Williams had already gotten distracted, breaking into laughter and playfully shouting, “I told him to turn away!” She burst into further fits of giggles as Ford attempted to hide behind her completely,...

Exclusive: Ben Harris, who has been overseeing casting for Netflix’s comedy series for the past three and a half years as Director, Series Casting, Comedy, has been promoted, adding casting oversight of the streamer’s drama series too.

As Director, Drama/Comedy Series Casting, he will have dual report to Netflix’s head of comedy Tracey Pakosta and head of drama Jinny Howe.

Harris has been head of comedy casting at Netflix since the streamer launched an in-house casting department in July 2021.

Before that, he was a casting director with a resume that includes HBO’s Veep, for which he shared an Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series Emmy Award with Allison Jones, as well as HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Eastbound & Down, Avenue 5 and White House Plumbers; Max’s Our Flag Means Death; FX’s What We Do In the Shadows, NBC’s The Office, Fox/NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine,...

Quick LinksThe Last of Us Creatives Have Announced a Concerning ChangeAbby's Physical Prowess Defines The Last of Us IIAbby Is a Rare Character In the Entertainment Industry

Neil Druckmann's massively popular and emotional video game clicked its way into our hearts upon its release in 2013. Zombie-adjacent horror games were not a new concept, but the creator raised the stakes in the story of Joel and Ellie. The Last of Us isn't just a hack 'em-up role-playing game. Druckmann took the medium of video games to make a moving and -- more often than not -- an emotionally traumatic story. Players are thrust into the perspective of Joel Miller on the day that a devastating infection consumes the world. Druckmann forces the players to experience the most harrowing experience anyone can have -- losing a child. As Joel traverses a dystopian world, he is constantly confronted with his trauma, especially...

Quick Links'Apple Cider Vinegar' Is Netflix's Latest Crime Drama SensationThe Shocking True Story of Belle Gibson's Salacious Scam

The talented and dynamic Kaitlyn Dever has steadily established herself as one of the big and small screen's most exciting young stars, with the prominent actress having appeared in a slew of hit shows and films like Justified, Last Man Standing, Dopesick, and the highly-anticipated second season of The Last of Us, as well as Ticket to Paradise, Booksmart, and No One Will Save You. Dever has been nominated for both two Golden Globes and a Primetime Emmy for her dazzling work and roles, and has proven herself to be a powerhouse presence in Hollywood.

Dever's next buzzed-about project is the Netflix crime drama miniseries Apple Cider Vinegar, in which she will star as Australian former wellness guru Belle Gibson, who, after building a massive and lucrative social media empire,...

Kaitlyn Dever stars as infamous scammer Belle Gibson in “Apple Cider Vinegar” — a woman who built a business empire on a fake cancer diagnosis.

As Belle lies her way through several business launches, she weaves a complex web of deceit with cancer patients, associates, friends and even her on partner. Dever stars in “Apple Cider Vinegar” alongside Alycia Debnam-Carey, Ashley Zukerman, Aisha Dee, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Mark Coles Smith and Phoenix Raei.

Keep on reading for the full breakdown of all the characters in “Apple Cider Vinegar,” and where you’ve seen them before.

Kaitlyn Dever as Belle in “Apple Cider Vinegar” (Netflix)

Kaitlyn Dever as Belle Gibson

Kaitlyn Dever stars Belle Gibson, a troubled young woman who pretends to have brain cancer in hopes of gaining more attention in personal life, before the lie grows as she develops an app and book for healthy eating, using her trials and tribulations...

Netflix released its latest addictive limited series Apple Cider Vinegar on Feb. 6, and it's a show that's going to have you seriously hooked and on the edge of your seat. Based on the true-ish story of a real wellness influencer's actual lie, Kaitlyn Dever stars as Belle Gibson, a social media scammer whose falls comes almost as quickly as her rise.

When Belle claims that she's managing her terminal brain cancer diagnosis, as well as other diagnoses, without the help of traditional medicine and only nutrition and alternative wellness methods, she sees her empire take shape with The Whole Pantry. An app, a cookbook, a large Instagram following, all taking over at the same time as fellow cancer survivor and wellness influencer Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey). Their rivalry sets the stage for Belle's downfall.

The intriguing real-life story adds in elements of fictionalization to truly present the full scope of...

What would you do if you created a website and everything you said or did was met by a heady rush of likes, heart emojis and many, many positive comments from a devoted number of followers spurring you on to do even more?

In Netflix’s “Apple Cider Vinegar,” premiering Thursday Feb. 6, that is exactly what happens to two Australian wellness influencers in the mid-2000s. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with promoting wellness but in these cases, one influencer, Milla Blake, started her website while seeking alternative treatment for her cancer. The other, Belle Gibson, did the same with one grievously frustrating difference. Gibson did not have cancer.

Through six tragi-comedy episodes, writers Samantha Strauss (“Nine Perfect Strangers”), Anya Beyersdorf (“The Twelve”) Angela Betzien (“Total Control”) and director Jeffrey Walker explore not only the glamorous world of early influencers but how easily those seeking help and community for their...

Molly Gordon has a new movie in the works!

On Tuesday (February 4), it was announced that the 29-year-old actress – best known for her roles in The Bear, Theater Camp, and Booksmart – will be directing, writing, and starring in A24‘s upcoming comedy Peaked.

Keep reading to find out more…Peaked follows “the two girls who traumatized you in high school as they try to relive their glory days at their 10-year reunion,” according to Variety.

Molly will be co-writing the screenplay with her friend Allie Levitan, who was recently hired as a writer on Saturday Night Live.

The movie is scheduled to film later this year. As of right now, no other cast members have been announced.

Just last week, Molly was at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival promoting her new movie Oh, Hi! with co-star Logan Lerman.

As HBO’s The Last of Us gears up for its second season, all eyes are on the introduction of Abby Anderson, one of the most important and controversial characters from The Last of Us Part II. When it was announced that Kaitlyn Dever had been cast in the role, fans of the game had mixed reactions. The primary point of discussion? Abby’s physique. In the game, Abby is a towering, hyper-muscular soldier, while Dever presents a physically smaller framed character.

After breaking out on “The Bear” and starring in last year’s “Theater Camp,” Molly Gordon is teaming with A24 for a new comedy film called “Peaked.” Gordon will direct and star in the movie, which she co-wrote with Allie Levitan.

“Peaked” was written by Gordon and Levitan, a writer for “Saturday Night Live.” The shoot is scheduled for later this year. David Hinojosa and Zach Nutman of 2Am will produce alongside Gordon and A24. Levitan will executive produce. Topic Studios, who previously collaborated with Gordon on Theater Camp, will co-finance.

The official synopsis says that “Peaked “follows the two girls who traumatized you in high school as they try to relive their glory days at their 10-year reunion.”

Gordon recently starred in “Oh, Hi!,” a romantic comedy that just debuted at Sundance. (Gordon also has a story by credit.) She also returns to co-star in the fourth season of “The Bear” later this year.

Molly Gordon, best known for “The Bear” and “Theater Camp,” is writing, directing and starring in the upcoming comedy “Peaked” for A24.

According to the official logline, the film follows “the two girls who traumatized you in high school as they try to relive their glory days at their 10-year reunion.” Gordon is co-writing the screenplay with her friend Allie Levitan, who was recently hired as a writer on “Saturday Night Live.”

A24 will finance and produce “Peaked,” which is scheduled to shoot this year. David Hinojosa and Zach Nutman of 2Am will produce alongside Gordon and A24. Levitan will executive produce. Topic Studios, who previously collaborated with Gordon on “Theater Camp,” will co-finance the film.

Gordon and Levitan are also collaborating on the Searchlight Pictures film “Small Parts,” with Gordon attached to direct and co-write with Levitan. That movie, described as a new take on the 1987 Shelly Long and...

Streaming on: Netflix

Episodes viewed: 6 of 6

“This is a true story based on lies.” It’s the line that opens every episode of glossy new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar, along with the constant reiteration that Belle Gibson, the suspicious Instagrammer at the centre of it, was not paid for the recreation of it, nor anyone else involved in her story. Often delivered via characters breaking the fourth wall, it’s a perfectly tongue-in-cheek foundation for this strange, still-prescient tale about social media’s proclivity for selling us snake oil.

If you weren’t keeping on top of online influencer drama during the 2010s, Gibson is an Australian blogger who gained millions of followers after sharing she had brain cancer, posting healthy recipes which she said helped her manage the illness. Her popularity led to an app, a partnership with Apple, a book, media appearances, awards from magazines and more...

We don’t yet have a premiere date for “The Last of Us” Season 2 but HBO promises it’s coming in April 2025. In the meantime, Entertainment Weekly shares new images this week.

Entertainment Weekly previews “The Last of Us” Season 2 across two different articles – read one here and the other here – with the new images giving us fresh looks at Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie, who are both back for the new season. They’ll be joined by fresh faces including Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby, Isabela Merced’s Dina, and Young Mazino’s Jesse, characters those who have played The Last of Us Part II are of course familiar with. It’s the arrival of Abby, in particular, that promises to change the game for the HBO series.

Kaitlyn Dever may not look exactly the same as her video game counterpart, but the showrunners promise she...

The creators of HBO‘s The Last of Us, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, feel the pressure of the show’s upcoming season but refuse to give into fear. Druckmann and his team at Naughty Dog have spent years thinking about Joel, Ellie, and the dystopia they inhabit, changing the story to keep fans guessing, surprised, and entertained. Adapting the game’s traumatic events for HBO’s award-winning series is complex but also an opportunity to tweak events to tell a different narrative. The creatives behind HBO’s The Last of Us appear ready for the onslaught of criticism. The divide fuels creativity, and now we have a gallery of first-look images from The Last of Us Season 2 to tease upcoming events.

Today, Entertainment Weekly dropped a detailed feature concerning the next chapter of The Last of Us, which consists of seven action-packed episodes that fans unfamiliar with the game...

Beauty and the Beast and Legion star Dan Stevens first boarded the Monsterverse in Legendary Pictures' Godzilla vs. Kong sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. 

The British actor played Trapper in the 2024 blockbuster, serving as a dentist and veterinarian to the monsters. He quickly became a firm fan-favourite and now, The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com) reveals that Stevens is in talks to reprise this role in Grant Sputore's (I Am Mother) unnamed follow-up to The New Empire. 

Booksmart and The Last of Us star Kaitlyn Dever was the first human addition to the cast. More are expected to follow. 

Gareth Edwards helmed 2014's Godzilla, with Jordan Vogt-Roberts taking charge of Kong: Skull Island. Later, Michael Dougherty expanded the Monsterverse with Godzilla: King of the Monsters before we got a full-blown crossover in Adam Wingard's Godzilla vs. Kong. He returned for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire...

Since the Monsterverse franchise began with 2014’s Godzilla, Legendary Pictures continued to witness success with each installment of the classic Toho Godzilla series. Recently in 2024, the Monsterverse once again returned in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which despite receiving middling reviews from critics, became a massive box-office hit and a crowd-pleaser.

A still from Godzilla X Kong: A New Empire | image: Legendary Pictures

So now, Legendary Pictures is once again set to return with more epic kaiju action in a Godzilla x Kong sequel. Upping the ante with the two most recognizable giant monsters in cinematic history, the next installment has already released some major updates. Let’s dive right into and check out everything we know so far about the upcoming movie.

Release date for the Godzilla X Kong sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | image: Legendary Pictures

The Monsterverse continues to grow! Fresh from the gigantic...

Isla Fisher is known for bringing her all to comedy roles, but the actress is now crediting her former co-star Kirsten Dunst for teaching her an invaluable trick of the trade: how to act drunk.

Fisher and Dunst co-starred together in 2012 film “Bachelorette,” which was directed by Leslye Headland and adapted from Headland’s off-Broadway show. The dark comedy had an all-star ensemble cast that included Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson, James Marsden, Adam Scott, and Ann Dowd. And while Fisher had famously already played an unhinged character in “Wedding Crashers,” her “Bachelorette” role of an aging alcoholic former high school popular girl had a different level of nuance.

Fisher said during “The Drew Barrymore Show” while promoting “Dog Man” and “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” that it was Dunst who helped her embody the layers of the character. When asked by host Drew Barrymore which former co-star she learned the most from,...

A night out with your best friends is still the best night ever.

I saw “One of Them Days” in theaters over the weekend and I have to recommend it. It’s a buddy comedy that follows two best friends (Keke Palmer and Sza) who are trying to make rent before they’re kicked out of their apartment. The film is funny and heartfelt – the two leads have a ton of chemistry, you believe they’ve been best friends for a decade – and the plot is wild and entertaining. Ultimately, it’s about what buddy comedies are about: a great friendship that makes each person better. It got me thinking about other awesome buddy comedies out there – so, here are my favorite top seven buddy comedy movies you can stream right now.

Top 7 buddy comedy movies you can stream right now

No. 7: ‘Rush Hour’

No. 6: ‘Booksmart’

No. 5: ’21 Jump Street’

No.

It could practically be its own subgenre by now – the low-cost indie that gets maximum production value out of being set completely in a cabin in the woods. It’s an isolated location with a limited cast where anything can happen and the characters, left to their own devices (and usually without cell phone service), can indulge in pages and pages of budget-friendly dialogue. Maybe there’s a supernatural element or suspense undertones. Add a point if there’s a reference to Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” series, perhaps the ultimate cheap cabin-in-the-woods franchise.

You get that the filmmaking team behind “Oh, Hi!,” an endlessly charming romantic comedy that just premiered at Sundance, knows how embedded the cliches of a cabin-in-the-woods indie can be. It zigs where you think it’ll zag, weaponizing that knowledge and using it to subvert expectations. It constantly keeps you on your toes in a way that feels refreshing,...

Subscribers to DC Studios Fan First were the first to see the new TV spot for Superman.

“Superman,” DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen, will be in theaters and IMAX nationwide on July 11, 2025, and internationally beginning 9 July 2025, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.

DC Studios heads Peter Safran and Gunn are producing the film, which Gunn directs from his own screenplay, based on characters from DC, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

The film stars David Corenswet in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The...

In just a few short months, we'll be seeing Booksmart star Kaitlyn Dever come face to face with Clickers, Bloaters, and all sorts as she takes on the role of Abby Anderson in HBO's The Last Of Us Season 2. And it looks like Dever isn't done tangling with monsters just yet, as the in-demand actor has just booked herself a role in Legendary's ever-expanding MonsterVerse. That's right, folks: as reported by Deadline, Dever has landed a part in the upcoming sequel to Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which is set to be helmed by I Am Mother director Grant Sputore.

As you may recall, Godzilla Vs. Kong and The New Empire director Adam Wingard surprised fans last May with the shock announcement that he wouldn't be returning to the Hollow Earth for a third MonsterVerse movie, despite having already talked up ideas for his next Kaiju battle royale. Instead,...

IMDb presented actress Molly Gordon with the "Fan Favorite" STARmeter Award at the IMDb Studio within the Acura House of Energy during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Gordon produced and stars in 'Oh, Hi!,' premiering at this year’s festival, following her critically acclaimed directorial debut, 'Theater Camp.' IMDb STARmeter Awards recognize the stars who are fan favorites on the IMDbPro STARmeter chart, which is determined by the page views of the more than 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide.

Gordon’s standout performances in "The Bear," 'Shiva Baby,' and 'Booksmart' have made her a staple on the IMDbPro STARmeter chart. Additionally, IMDb recently named "The Bear" the most anticipated returning TV series of 2025, and fans are eagerly awaiting her return to the small screen as Claire. Previous IMDb STARmeter Award recipients at Sundance include Riley Keough, Jennifer Connelly, Nicholas Braun, Bill Skarsgård, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

Learn more about IMDb STARmeter Awards at www.imdb.com/starmeterawardswww.imdb.com/starmeterawards.

We got confirmation late last year that a follow-up to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was officially in the works, with writer Dave Callaham enlisted to pen the script for the untitled movie.

Adam Wingard, who helmed The New Empire and previous MonsterVerse movie Godzilla vs. Kong, was originally set to return, but ultimately departed the project under "amicable" circumstances, with Grant Sputore stepping in to replace him shortly after.

Now, Deadline reports that the next MonsterVerse movie has founds its lead in Kaitlyn Dever.

We don't have any details on who she'll play, but the trade mentions that, while Kong and Godzilla will still be fronting the film, Legendary is looking to build on its human characters. The story will focus on "Godzilla and Kong as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat."

Sputore doesn't have much experience, having come from the world of commercials, but he...

The next entry in the MonsterVerse continues the franchise tradition of getting talented actors who one wouldn't think of joining a big kaiju franchise where a giant gorilla punches a giant lizard. While the main draw of the MonsterVerse films has been Godzilla, Kong, and other titans, the franchise has also included an incredible lineup of talent, including Bryan Cranston, Brie Larson, and Samuel L. Jackson. For the upcoming follow-up to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, The Last of Us season 2 star Kaitlyn Dever is joining the franchise.

Deadline reports that Dever is in talks to play the lead in the untitled sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. She is best known for her role in 2019's Booksmart and has starred in movies like Rosaline, No One Will Save You, and Ticket to Paradise. She will next be seen in The Last of Us Season 2, playing Abby Mills,...

After taking on aliens in No One Will Save You, Kaitlyn Dever is in negotiations to come face-to-face with Godzilla and Kong in the next installment in Legendary’s MonsterVerse franchise, Deadline reports.

The followup to last year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire — the highest grossing Godzilla film of all time — is said to feature several new human characters alongside the iconic Titans as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat.

Insiders say that while Godzilla and Kong will still be fronting the film, Legendary is looking to build on its human characters. Director Grant Sputore (I Am Mother) is aiming to combine character-driven storytelling with the franchise’s signature epic scale and action.

Dave Callaham, who helped establish the MonsterVerse with a story credit on 2014’s Godzilla, penned the script.

Best known for starring in Booksmart and her Golden Globe-nominated performances in “Dopesick” and “Unbelievable,” Dever...

A decade ago, Legendary Pictures secured the rights to Godzilla and other characters owned and created by the Japanese company Toho so they could launch a cinematic universe they call the MonsterVerse – and they also secured the rights to the King Kong character so he could be part of their MonsterVerse as well. Things got started with Godzilla in 2014, and since then the universe has expanded with Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, the animated series Skull Island, the live-action series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. A third Godzilla / Kong mash-up is now in the works – and Deadline has learned that the iconic monsters are being joined in the cast by Kaitlyn Dever this time around.

Dever’s credits include Good Grief, No One Will Save You, Next Goal Wins, Rosaline, Dear Evan Hanson, Last Man Standing, Booksmart, Justified,...

Big casting news has just been revealed for the next chapter of the MonsterVerse. The film will serve as a direct follow-up to Adam Wingard's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Per Deadline, Kaitlyn Dever (The Last of Us) is now in talks to star in the upcoming Godzilla x Kong sequel. The film, which will see Grant Sputore take the helm with Wingard focusing on different projects, will similarly feature a mix of human characters and familiar Titans. David Callaham is writing the script. Character details have not yet been disclosed, and no other cast members are known to be involved with the film at this time.

Related Surprising Avenger Is Taking on Godzilla

Toho International and Marvel Comics reveal the release date and creative team of the epic Godzilla Vs. Hulk crossover one-shot.

Dever was recently cast in one of her biggest roles yet, though it has yet to premiere.

Exclusive: Everyone’s favorite titans are getting a new human co-star for their follow-up to Godzilla x Kong. Sources tell Deadline that Kaitlyn Dever is in negotiations to join the cast in the latest sequel to Legendary’s Monsterverse movie. Grant Sputore steps in as director following in footsteps of Adam Wingard, who directed the last two pics, from a script by Dave Callaham.

The new movie is described as a continuation of the franchise centering Godzilla, Kong and an assortment of other Titans. Insiders say that while Kong and Godzilla will still be fronting the film, Legendary is looking to build on its human characters and the first logical choice landed on Dever, whose star has been on the rise for some time. She now joins the franchise as it combines character-driven storytelling with its signature epic scale and Titan-clashing action in Sputore’s vision.

2024’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire...

Ahead of the Oscar nominations being unveiled, USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and the Adobe Foundation have released a new edition of their Inclusion List, with a focus on movies.

The top-scoring movies for supporting gender inclusion on screen and behind the cameras were A Thousand and One, You Hurt My Feelings, The Marvels, Priscilla and Barbie. For race and ethnicity, the top-scoring movies were Joy Ride, A Thousand and One, The Color Purple, House Party and The Blackening.

In an earlier Inclusions List, 476 theatrically released movies from 2019 to 2023 were analyzed, with on screen and behind-the-camera data used to determine the 150 most inclusive films in that four-year period. The latest Inclusion List builds on that ranking with a new set of films from 2023.

“Our goal with the Inclusion List is to celebrate those who are showcasing and working with exceptional talent from all backgrounds. In the second year of its release,...

Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” was a poster child for the power of inclusion when it broke box office records in 2023, but the $1.45 billion-grossing movie is only the 119th most inclusive film made in the past five years, according to the Inclusion List.

The annual list — presented by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, in collaboration with the Adobe Foundation — is a data-driven ranking that identified the 150 most inclusive films from 2019 to 2023 and ranks a single year’s films across gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability and age representation.

“Our goal with the Inclusion List is to celebrate those who are showcasing and working with exceptional talent from all backgrounds,” stated Dr. Smith in a press release announcing the researchers’ findings. “In the second year of its release, the newest iteration of the Inclusion List spotlights films, filmmakers, and distributors who clearly demonstrate that inclusion...

The second iteration of The Inclusion List from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has identified the 150 most inclusive films from 2019 to 2023, adding to its initial class of 100 films by naming 50 new titles for the year 2023.

Four films from that year have made it into the Top 10 Most Inclusive Films for that timespan, according to the study released Wednesday, with A Thousand and One taking the No. 2 spot overall, Bottoms coming in seventh, The Color Purple ninth and The Blackening in 10th.

The list’s point system took into account talent both in front of and behind the camera, with a total of 20 points broken down into 10-point halves for both on-screen and off-screen inclusion. Two distinct processes were used, one for leads/co-leads and the other for all speaking characters. A film could earn up to 10 points for on-screen inclusion based on the five inclusion indicators across leads/co leads (up to 5 points) and all speaking characters (up to 5 points).

A Thousand and One ranks second with a score of 13.6/20, while Bottoms scores a 12.2/20. The Color Purple and The Blackening are tied with a score of 11.8/20. The highest scoring film on the list remains Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King (2022) with a 15/20.

The list also evaluated 2023 films displaying the best inclusivity across five categories: gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability, and age. It named five of the most inclusive 2023 films within each of those categories.

The 2023 films that scored the highest for the gender indicator of inclusion were A Thousand and One, You Hurt My Feelings, The Marvels, Priscilla and Barbie. A Thousand and One also scored high on the race/ethnicity list alongside 2023’s Joy Ride, The Color Purple, The Blackening and House Party. In the LGBTQ+ category, the top five films of 2023 were All of Us Strangers, Theater Camp, Bottoms, Knock at the Cabin and Saltburn. 2023 releases ranking high in the disability category included What Happens Later, John Wick: Chapter 4, Moving On, Golda and The Holdovers. Films from 2023 that scored highest in their representation of age on the big screen were Moving On, Book Club: The Next Chapter, Marlowe, The Miracle Club and Golda.

Researchers also took into consideration the race and ethnicity of crew members in the roles of director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor, composer, production designer, costume designer, casting director and assistant director.

The second Inclusion List also names 25 top achievers across inclusion metrics and 50 new winners for 2023 cinema. Released Jan. 22, the results calls attention to directors, editors and distributors involved in projects with the highest percentage of women and people of color employees who aided in the process of production from start to finish line.

Related: Women-Led Films Fell Close To 30% In 2023, Near A 10-Year Low, Per Study

Out of 400 evaluated directors, five were named the most inclusive: Catherine Hardwicke, Olivia Wilde, Destin Daniel Cretton, Reinaldo Marcus Green and Kasi Lemmons.

Eight editors were noted for their work in film over the past five years, including Annette Davey, Anne McCabe, Blair McClendon, Catrin Hedström, Hilda Rasula, Harry Yoon, Mary Jo Markey.

Related: Hispanics & Latinos Still Invisible In Hollywood, A Trend Across 16 Years, New Study Reveals

The top distributors — companies responsible for bringing top-ranking diverse films to audiences — were listed by the quantity of how many films released: Universal (29), Sony Pictures (21), Warner Bros (18) and, for smaller distributors, A24 (14), MGM (10) and Bleecker Street (9).

A panel discussing the results featuring Smith, Sumi Parekh, Executive Director, Group Effort Initiative, Tracy Oliver, Screenwriter, Director, Producer and Showrunner, Jesse Williams, Actor, Director, Activist, Dewayne Perkins, Writer, Actor, Producer, and Amy White, Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Adobe, is set for Friday at Adobe House on the ground at the Sundance Film Festival.

No matter what mood, situation, or place you’re in, comedy movies can never be a bad idea, because everyone likes to have a good laugh. But sadly, people often confuse comedy films with loudmouthed slapstick humor that is known to dominate the screen. And perhaps this is why the genre of comedy is gradually fading away into oblivion.

With more people looking for drama and action films, comedy is getting sidelined in the world of entertainment. So before the classic sense of humor wanes completely, let’s take a look at 15 underrated comedies including—endearing rom-com, wry dramedy, action-comedy, and more—that’s worth every bit of your attention.

15. Booksmart (2019)

Director: Olivia Wilde

Cast: Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever, Jason Sudeikis, and Molly Gordon

Streaming: Netflix and Tubi

Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut with the 2019 coming-of-age comedy was once advertised as a “female Superbad”. Starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever,...

Netflix has dropped the first trailer and official release date for the hotly anticipated Australian true-crime series Apple Cider Vinegar. The show chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of Belle Gibson, the Australian single mother who launched a wellness empire by convincing the world she had brain cancer and was successfully curing herself with an all-natural lifestyle. “All of which would be incredibly inspiring… if it were all true,” adds Netflix’s official log-line.

As the six-episode limited series’ first trailer reveals, Apple Cider Vinegar will launch worldwide on Netflix on Feb. 6.

Late last year, Netflix unveiled a batch of first-look images and a teaser video featuring star Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart, Dopesick, Unbelievable) as Belle during various stages of her improbable journey from anonymous striver to globally disgraced grifter. As the results of the trailer reveal, the American actress worked with a dialect coach to fully master an Australian accent...

Anna Delvey, meet Belle Gibson. After the smash success of Netflix’s “Inventing Anna” it’s no surprise more scammer stories are forthcoming. And the latest, “Apple Cider Vinegar,” is a doozy.

“Set at the birth of Instagram, ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ follows two young women who set out to cure their life-threatening illnesses through health and wellness, influencing their global online communities along the way. All of which would be incredibly inspiring if it were all true,” per a Netflix press release. “This is a true-ish story based on a lie, about the rise and fall of a wellness empire; the culture that built it up and the people who tore it down.”

Starring Kaitlyn Dever as Australian influencer Gibson, the show was created and written by Samantha Strauss, inspired by “The Woman Who Fooled the World,” by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano. Directed by Jeffrey Walker, the Netflix series will also star Alycia Debnam-Carey,...

Season 2 of the HBO series adaptation of the video game The Last of Us is pretty close! According to the latest teaser trailer (embedded above) it’s coming in just a few months, with it getting an April release date. The trailer gives us a look at a weeping Joel, as well as our introduction to some of the new characters. Check it out!

The story of the The Last of Us video game is set years after a fungal plague wiped out much of humanity, transforming most into vicious zombie-like monsters, the story follows Joel, who’s living in a militarized quarantine zone. He has a close relationship with Tess, who operates in the black market of this community. Together, they’ve become known by the local criminal underworld for their ruthlessness. On a mission to reclaim their stolen guns, they run into the leader of the Fireflies, a resistance group,...

The hilarious cult comedy A Night at the Roxbury, starring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, is making its way to streaming.

Starting January 1, 2025, Paramount+ subscribers can revisit this absurd and endlessly quotable comedy that became a cultural phenomenon in the late ‘90s. Packed with over-the-top antics and iconic one-liners, the film follows two clueless brothers with dreams of getting into their town’s most exclusive nightclub. A Night at the Roxbury is written by Ferrell, Kattan, and Steve Koren, and directed by John Fortenberry. The film is polarizing with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 11% from critics with an audience score of 69%.

Related 'It Was a Tough Holiday Season': Will Ferrell Spotted in Buddy the Elf Costume (With a Cigarette)

Buddy the Elf takes in a hockey game looking a bit rough.

From SNL Sketch to Big Screen Success

A Night at the Roxbury began as a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live...

There was a time when the mention of "McLovin" would've had people assuming McDonalds had a promotional event happening on Valentine's Day. After 2007 though, thanks to Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and one of the best comedies ever made, "Superbad" made it totally reasonable to have that name on a driver's license. It also became an essential movie about high school, so much so that, years later, people still ask its stars if we'll ever get a sequel. Well, one of the loudest mouths in the movie and the actor who's cursed the most on film, Jonah Hill, has a plan so ridiculous it just might work.

In a 2022 interview with W Magazine, Hill said he would absolutely be down for returning to the world of Seth (Hill), Evan (Cera), and Fogell aka McLovin (Mintz-Plasse) under one condition: they would all have to be in their 80s. Sure, it...

“Superman” is heading to screens faster than a speeding bullet and it appears that there will be a lot of famous characters dropping in.

Kicking off DC’s revamped slate and directed by James Gunn, the film is set to hit screens in Summer 2025, and finally has a first look trailer. It follows Superman (David Corenswet) as he tries to balance his alien Kryptonian background with his human upbringing. Along with directing, Gunn also wrote the script, using characters originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

You can check out everyone who’s been confirmed to star in the new “Superman” below. We’ll keep this space updated as more stars sign on.

Warner Bros./YouTube

Clark Kent/Superman (David Corenswet) — David Corenswet is taking up the mantle of Superman following Henry Cavill. He most recently starred in films “Pearl” and “Look Both Ways,” and on the small screen,...

“Krypto. Home. Take me home.”

On Thursday, the world received an early holiday present in the form of the first Superman trailer!

Superman, DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures. In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.

If you sign up on Superman’s official X page, you will receive this message!

@wearemoviegeeks On July 11, it begins. Watch the #Superman Teaser Trailer out now – only in theaters 2025. #FilmedForIMAX @IMAX Reply #stop to opt-out. pic.twitter.com/Yw6lFuUCg8

— Superman (@Superman) December 19, 2024

DC Studios heads Peter Safran and Gunn are producing the film, which Gunn directs from his own screenplay,...

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the new Superman trailer! The teaser for James Gunn’s first big-screen project since taking over as co-head honcho at DC Studios is finally here, and boy, is it packed. It sees Twisters and Pearl star David Corenswet step into the iconic blue suit and red cape, alongside The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, ushering in a new era of comic-book movies from Marvel’s biggest rival. Watch the trailer below.

The trailer comes with all the colour, spectacle and goofiness you’d expect from a James Gunn joint – though it starts with something altogether more atmospheric as Kal-El crashes into a snowy planet, bloody and beaten, before being saved by super-pet and very good dog Krypto. From there, we get a look at Lois Lane, the Daily Planet newspaper, Nicholas Hoult as a very bald-headed,...

Lisa Kudrow’s new trending show on Netflix, No Good Deed, proves she should’ve starred in a dark comedy series a long time ago. Kudrow has been a screen legend since starring as Phoebe Buffay in the cast of Friends. Like her five co-stars, Kudrow was launched to superstardom by her 10 seasons on the show. But she’s also had a great career outside her time on Friends. She starred in the cult classic Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion with Mira Sorvino and gave scene-stealing turns in movies like Neighbors, Booksmart, and Hotel for Dogs.

No Good Deed is the latest show from Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman. Feldman acted as showrunner and executive producer, and even directed a couple of episodes. Netflix dropped all eight episodes of No Good Deed on December 12, and it’s quickly become a big hit with audiences. Much like Dead to Me,...

Mason Gooding is set to return in Spyglass Media Group and Paramount Pictures’ “Scream 7,” reprising his role as Chad Meeks-Martin from “Scream” (2022) and “Scream VI” (2023), according to an insider with knowledge of the project.

Gooding joins Neve Campbell and new cast members Isabel May, Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace and Sam Rechner. There’s no official word yet on Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere nor Jasmin Savoy Brown’s involvement, while fellow “core four” members Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega will not be returning.

The seventh installment of the classic meta-horror franchise will be released on Feb. 27, 2026.

It was previously announced that Campbell would return to the series as longtime heroine Sidney Prescott after stepping out of “Scream VI” in 2023 over a pay dispute. Created by Kevin Williamson alongside late director Wes Craven, “Scream” became one of the defining horror series of the 1990s for its satire of slasher film tropes.

The Friends cast was well known for their on-screen dynamic that seemed to translate off-screen. But in the 17 years between the series finale and the reunion special, the beloved Friends cast reunited just once, Lisa Kudrow has revealed. During a recent appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Dinner's On Me podcast, Kudrow revealed that she, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry all met for dinner at someone's house a decade after Friends' final episode.

"We'd only had dinner, the six of us, once before since the show ended," Kudrow told Ferguson.

Despite the time that had lapsed since the six had all been together, Kudrow said "they didn't miss a beat." Friends premiered in 1994 and made stars of its talented young cast. The characters played so well off each other on-screen that it's hard to imagine any odd dynamics off-screen. But still, Kudrow...