Author: Empire

Having lit up the ring as WWE superstar The Rock, and dominated the box office in blockbuster fare like Moana, Jumanji, and the Fast & Furious franchise over the last decade, it looks like Dwayne Johnson is ready to fully enter his thespian era. And with Benny Safdie’s A24 MMA biopic The Smashing Machine and a Martin Scorsese Hawaiian crime movie already lined up, Johnson has just added another eye-catching project to his increasingly stacked card. Per Deadline’s reporting, the wrestler-turned-actor is reteaming with A24 on Breakthrough, an intense sounding original psychological thriller. Penned by emerging talent Zeke Goodman —…

Dread it, run from it, delays to a Marvel Studios production arrive all the same — and even The Russo Brothers are not beyond the great leveller that is the slate reshuffle. Which is why, though disappointing, it comes as no great surprise that Disney has announced Avengers Doomsday and Avengers Secret Wars have both been bumped from their respective 1 May, 2026 and 7 May, 2027 release dates. Instead, Doomsday is now set to hit cinemas on 18 December, 2026, with Secret Wars due to follow on 17 December, 2027. News of Doomsday and Secret Wars’ changed release plans…

This week’s episode of the Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt mark the release of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning by doing a non-spoiler, non-epic (less than 20 minutes!) chat with that film’s director, the legendarily loquacious Christopher McQuarrie. [26:00 — 43:06 approx.] And that’s not the only interview we’ve got for you on this week’s veritable guestapalooza, nuh-uh. Chris also has a lovely natter with the stars of the new Wes Anderson film, The Phoenician Scheme, Benicio del Toro and Michael Cera. [1:01:37 — 1:15:35 approx.] And then, right at the end of the show, we also bring you…

Arise now, ye Tarnished — an Elden Ring movie is coming! Yes, after weeks of hushed whispers and grapevine rumours doing the rounds, Deadline is reporting — and Bandai Namco have confirmed — that FromSoftware’s critically acclaimed, epic fantasy video game is getting the live-action film treatment in collaboration with A24. And, what’s more, Alex Garland — yes, he of 28 Years Later, Annihilation, and Warfare fame — is heading into the Lands Between as writer-director on the ambitious project. Created by Soulslike game guru Hidetaka Miyazaki from a story penned by Game Of Thrones godhead George R. R. Martin,…

It’s a day ending in ‘y’, so you know what that means folks… more casting announcements for The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping! Over the last few weeks, reveals of who’ll be starring in Francis Lawrence’s upcoming Games prequel have become the Zillennial equivalent of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey role call, with everyone from Jesse Plemons to Ralph Fiennes to Maya Hawke volunteering as tribute to appear in the latest adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ win-or-die sci-fi books. Now, in a new pair of inky Instagram posts, Lionsgate has confirmed that Kieran Culkin and Elle Fanning are heading to Panem.…

Now, here’s some movie news that is very much our tempo on a Wednesday morning. With his mooted Leonardo DiCaprio Evel Knievel film having seemingly failed to launch, Whiplash auteur Damien Chazelle is already mounting another daring new project with a couple more bona fide acting heavyweights. Per Deadline’s reporting, Queer’s Daniel Craig and Oppenheimer Oscar winner Cillian Murphy are in talks to lead Chazelle’s as-yet-untitled next movie at Paramount. According to Deadline, both actors are still currently in the negotiation process to join Chazelle’s follow-up to 2022 Hollywood love/hate letter Babylon, which would look to enter production later this…

This summer, both Marvel and DC are coming out swinging. The MCU has The Fantastic Four: First Steps, its colourful ‘60s-set outing for Marvel’s first family. But on the flip side, DC is going big with the Blue Boy Scout as James Gunn launches the all-new DC Universe with Superman. This time, it’s David Corenswet in the tights, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane – and as this new trailer shows, Superman has all kinds of fights to face. There’s plenty here you won’t have seen in a Superman movie before. Not just Krypto the super-dog, seen in previous teasers,…

For a man who may or may not have at one point recently said retirement was on the cards, Denzel Washington is showing no signs of hanging up his acting boots just yet. Not only is the two-time Oscar winner on board for The Equalizer 4 and 5, and not only has he got Spike Lee Apple TV+ joint Highest 2 Lowest due out this summer, but he’s just signed on for another eyebrow raising project, too. Per Deadline’s reporting, the Training Day veteran is set to star alongside Robert Pattinson and Daisy Edgar-Jones in Here Comes The Flood, a…

Over the course of his career, Ralph Fiennes has played some truly chilling cinematic villains. Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List, Chef Slowik in The Menu, Harry Waters in In Bruges, Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, and, of course, the dastardly Victor Quartermaine in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. Now, having gotten in touch with his better angels in last year’s Conclave, Lionsgate has today confirmed that Fiennes is going back to bad in a big way to play President Snow in Francis Lawrence’s upcoming The Hunger Games prequel Sunrise On The Reaping. Previously played by the late,…

This week’s episode of the BSME Awards-nominated Empire Podcast had better not be the episode that the BSME Awards judging panel listens to ahead of voting, or our nomination might be rescinded. Which is to say, chaos reigns as Chris Hewitt returns — eventually, after being waylaid by a McQ&A — to the hosting chair, and is joined by Helen O’Hara, James Dyer and, for a limited time only, Nick de Semlyen for another carnage-filled edition of your favourite film podcast. Outside of the podbooth shenanigans, our brilliant guests on this week’s show are a cracking pair of pairs. First…