Earlier this week, Disney+ confirmed “Andor” will return for Season 2 on April 22, 2025.  Then subscribers got their first look (albeit a brief one) at the new season in a Disney+ 2025 sizzle reel a day later.   Not a bad week for “Star Wars” fans, right?

READ MORE: ‘Andor’ Season 2 Scheduled For April 22, 2025 Premiere Date

Well, the week isn’t over, and neither are the “Andor” teases.  

Continue reading ‘Andor’: Diego Luna Teases A “Huge Mountain For” His Character To Climb & Ben Mendelsohn Hints At Tension With Denish Gough’s Daedra Meero at The Playlist.

Could Derek Cianfrance‘s “Roofman” be next year’s most anticipated film? After this new bit of casting news, it may be. Deadline reports that Cianfrance has his entire ensemble set up for his true-crime pic after casting Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, and Peter Dinklage. Read on for the complete list of new castings.

READ MORE: ‘Roofman’: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst & Peter Dinklage To Star In Derek Cianfrance’s Upcoming True-Crime Pic

Ben Mendelsohn joins the film with LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, and Uzo Aduba as secondary players.  

Continue reading ‘Roofman’ Adds Ben Mendelsohn, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple & Uzo Aduba at The Playlist.

It looks like John Michael McDonagh‘s “Fear Is The Rider” isn’t the only genre pic starring Ben Mendelsohn at the America Film Market.  Deadline reports that Mendelsohn is attached to star opposite Anthony Ramos in “Molepeople” a NYC-set horror flick from director Rob Savage.  And yes, the title should give away the set-up for this one.

READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

Here’s the pitch for “Molepeople” making the rounds at AFM: “one man’s nightmarish descent into the abandoned tunnels beneath the streets of New York City, where a twisted society lurks.”  So imagine “C.H.U.D.

Continue reading ‘Molepeople’: Anthony Ramos & Ben Mendelsohn To Star In Upcoming NYC Horror Pic at The Playlist.

Is this the buzziest thriller at the American Film Market this year? Deadline reports that John Michael McDonagh‘s “Fear Is The Rider” is in Las Vegas looking for deals. And with its cast and premise, the film will get snatched up fast: this ode to Ozploitation sounds too good for anyone to pass up.

READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

Based on Gabriel Bergmoser‘s novel “The Hunted,” “Fear Is The Rider” follows a lone woman in the Australian outback looking for her missing mother who starts getting stalked by a family of serial killers.

Continue reading ‘Fear Is The Rider’: Ben Mendelsohn, Abbey Lee, Toby Wallace & Eliza Scanlen To Star In John Michael McDonagh’s Aussie Thriller at The Playlist.

One of the hotly anticipated shows set to arrive in 2025 is the second season of “Andor.” At D23, fans were treated to a trailer and featurette for the upcoming sci-fi series that serves as a prequel to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” though unfortunately, it wasn’t placed online. While initially expected to arrive at the end of 2024, it was pushed back mainly due to the actors’ and writers’ strikes in 2023. But the wait is almost over.

Continue reading ‘Andor’ Season 2: ‘Star Wars’ Series Returns In 2025; Alan Tudyk & Ben Mendelsohn Confirmed at The Playlist.

There’s no doubt that Ben Mendelsohn is one of the best actors working today. In fact, if you want to get more specific, he can play the hell out of a bad guy when given the chance. And if Mendelsohn had his way, the actor would love to tackle another Marvel character, one of the biggest villains in the entire superhero universe. 

READ MORE: Ben Mendelsohn Wants More Krennic But Suggests He’s Not In ‘Andor’ Season 2

Speaking to GQ, Ben Mendelsohn talked about his long career.

Continue reading Ben Mendelsohn Would Give His “Eyes And Teeth To Play Doctor Doom” In An MCU Film at The Playlist.

As many dialed-in fans on social media know, season two of “Andor” has finished shooting. Both Diego Luna and Adria Arjona, stars of the Lucasfilm series, recently posted on Instagram, saying goodbye to their respective roles and confirming that production on the second season of the “Star Wars” spin-off prequel had finished.

READ MORE: Tony Gilroy Discusses Taking ‘Star Wars’ Seriously, The Original 5-Year-Plan, & Where ‘Andor’ Is All Headed [The Rogue Ones Podcast Interview]

A prequel series to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Andor” comes from writer/director Tony Gilroy, who wrote and directed the expansive reshoots of ‘Rogue One.’ “Andor” has already included at least one major ‘Rogue One’ character other than Andor, Forest Whitaker Saw Guerra, an extremist fighter who is so radical that he eventually breaks ties with the Rebellion.

Continue reading Ben Mendelsohn Wants More Krennic But Suggests He’s Not In ‘Andor’ Season 2 at The Playlist.

“These are the tales, the freaky tales,” repeatedly intones Oakland rap legend Too $hort over the interstitials of writer and directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s “Freaky Tales.” This Bay Area anthology film takes its title from the over nine-minute song, which is itself an extended chronicle of prominent personalities the rapper encounters. While the directing duo occasionally approximates something wild in their headrush of 1987 nostalgia, they do not earn the second line of the rap.

Continue reading ‘Freaky Tales’ Review: Pedro Pascal Stars In An Energetic But Overstuffed Bay Area Anthology Loveletter [Sundance] at The Playlist.

How did Christian Dior become a fashion icon? “The New Look” seeks to answer that question by exploring a key period in not only Dior’s life but the fashion industry itself. This Apple TV+ series follows Dior as Paris is ravaged by Nazi occupation; the city, synonymous with fashion and style, is forced to find its way back to glory after succumbing to the horrors of World War II.

Continue reading ‘The New Look’ Trailer: Ben Mendelsohn Plays The Fashion Icon In New Apple TV+ Drama at The Playlist.

As Daisy Ridley waits to reprise her role as Rey in the “Star Wars” universe, she’s broadened her horizons with work like “Sometimes I Think About Dying.” For her next feature, she stars opposite Ben Mendelsohn for the tense survivalist thriller, “The Marsh King’s Daughter.”

In Neil Burger‘s latest, Ridley play a woman with a secret past who ventures into the wilderness she left behind to confront the most dangerous man she’s ever met: her father (Mendelsohn).

Continue reading ‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’ Trailer: Daisy Ridley & Ben Mendelsohn Star In Survivalist Family Thriller On October 6 at The Playlist.

Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” series opens up with a super intriguing line about trust. “Imagine a world where information can’t be trusted,” a disembodied gravely voice says while former CIA agent Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) skulks in the shadows in Moscow. “Society starts to fray,” the voice continues, eerily and alarmingly echoing our own current age of disinformation, division, and distrust.

READ MORE: Summer 2023 TV Preview: 40 Must-See Shows To Watch

“Secret Invasion,” says right off the bat, with all the Earth’s disruption—Thanos’ Blip, five years of half the planet, then the surprise of everyone returning—that the world has plunged into chaos and uncertainty.

Continue reading ‘Secret Invasion’ Review: Marvel’s Nick Fury-Led Spy Series Lacks Intrigue & Engaging Conspiracies at The Playlist.

Who do you trust? Tonight, during ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, the trailer for Marvel Studios’ espionage thriller “Secret Invasion” debuted. The original series premieres on June 21, exclusively on Disney+.

READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2023

In Marvel Studios’ new series “Secret Invasion,” set in the present-day MCU, Nick Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls.

Continue reading ‘Secret Invasion’ Trailer: Marvel’s New Nick Fury & Skrulls Series Debuts June 21 at The Playlist.

Thanks to the massive number of true-crime docs on streaming services, there are a ton of armchair detectives, all thinking they can help crack the case. Well, in the new film, “To Catch a Killer,” an FBI reject gets the chance to prove her worth while tracking down a prolific murderer.

READ MORE: ‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’ Review: Idris Elba Leads A Serviceable Entertaining Thriller That Won’t Reinvent A Thing

As seen in the new trailer for “To Catch a Killer,” Shailene Woodley stars as a beat cop who finds herself in a situation with an unknown sniper taking shots at random strangers from a building.

Continue reading ‘To Catch A Killer’ Trailer: Shailene Woodley & Ben Mendelsohn Are On The Hunt For A Serial Killer In New Thriller From ‘Wild Tales’ Director at The Playlist.

Director Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden made a splash when Marvel Studios hired them to helm “Captain Marvel,” the first MCU film to boast a major female superhero in the lead role. While Fleck and Boden won’t return for “The Marvels,” it looks the duo’s next project will be much more grounded. Deadline reports that Fleck and Boden team up again for “Freaky Tales,” a coming-of-age tale set in late ’80s Oakland.

Continue reading ‘Freaky Tales’ Enlists Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis & More For New Film From Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden at The Playlist.

Marvel Studios was anything but stingy with this year’s Comic-Con footage. New trailers for “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” and, most importantly, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” were released online in a matter of minutes, allowing fans around the world to join in the celebration of all things Phase 4. But Comic-Con was also home to several exclusive trailers for Marvel’s upcoming slate of shows and movies, including the much-anticipated “Secret Invasion,” the Disney+ show that potentially sets the stage for a full-fledged alien invasion of Earth.

Continue reading ‘Secret Wars’ Trailer Description: Marvel’s Alien Invasion Series Promises Cold War-Style Paranoia [Comic-Con] at The Playlist.

In the early days of streaming TV dramas, one of the most underrated series was “Bloodline” on Netflix. Luckily, if you missed it, you can watch it now at your leisure. But if you’re a fan of that series and want to see director Todd A. Kessler team up with actor Ben Mendelsohn again, you’re in luck, as they have a new series, “The New Look.”

READ MORE: Marvel’s ‘Secret Invasion’: Marvel Taps Thomas Bezucha & Ali Selim To Direct Their Skrull Event Series

According to THR, Todd A.

Continue reading ‘The New Look’: Ben Mendelsohn & Juliette Binoche Starring As Dior & Chanel In A New Series From ‘Bloodline’ Creator at The Playlist.

In Hollywood, the holiday season is also the time for musicals. So what does MGM have in store for audiences this Christmas? “Cyrano,” starring Peter Dinklage and directed by Joe Wright, adapted from the same off-Broadway play by Eric Schmidt that had Dinklage in the lead role in late 2019.

READ MORE: ‘Cyrano’ Musical: Joe Wright Directs, The National Does The Music, Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett & More Star

Based on the 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Cyrano” is a fictional romantic saga that stems around the historical 17th-century writer and libertine.

Continue reading ‘Cyrano’ Trailer: Peter Dinklage, Hayley Bennett & Kelvin Harrison Jr. Star In Joe Wright’s Musical Arriving In December at The Playlist.

TELLURIDE – Since it first debuted in 1897, Edmond Rostand’s original play “Cyrano de Bergerac” has been staged all over the world, adapted into numerous films, and seen its ingenious narrative used in almost every form of modern media. For a new version to triumph, it needs to equal or, hopefully, transcend what came before. Attempt to turn Rostand’s work into a musical, and it becomes an even tougher challenge.

Continue reading Peter Dinklage Can Sing But Joe Wright’s Musical ‘Cyrano’ Fizzles [Telluride Review] at The Playlist.

Director Joe Wright (“The Darkest Hour“) was extremely productive last year during the pandemic and shot a new movie “Cyrano” in Noto, Sicily, with a fantastic cast that includes Emmy-winner Peter Dinklage (“I Care A Lot“), Haley Bennett (“The Magnificent Seven“), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“The Trial of The Chicago 7“), Ben Mendelsohn (“The Marsh King’s Daughter“), and Bashir Salahuddin (“Top Gun: Maverick“).

Continue reading First Look: Joe Wright’s Period Romance Musical ‘Cyrano’ With Peter Dinklage & Haley Bennett Arriving December 31 at The Playlist.

Marvel Studios is taking big risks with their new wave of Disney+ shows. Unlike the ABC, Hulu, and Netflix Marvel series (that now have been effectively rendered non-canon), their new shows will be directly tied into the film side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the TV shows would always reference the MCU, but were rarely if ever reciprocated from Kevin Feige‘s corner of the hard-canon MCU). The new shows will have a direct impact on the plots of future films.

Continue reading Marvel’s ‘Secret Invasion’: Marvel Taps Thomas Bezucha & Ali Selim To Direct Their Skrull Event Series at The Playlist.

As we
pointed out recently, following their
acquisition of Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming 1970s San Fernando Valley
movie, MGM is making movies. Now run by Michael De Luca—a
former New Line Cinema executive who champion filmmakers like David Fincher,
F. Gary Gray, and Paul Thomas Anderson— the MGM chairman is
seemingly setting up a similar shop that includes blockbusters like the Bond
series, but also smart thrillers and art fair directed by award-winning
filmmakers.

Continue reading ‘Cyrano’ Musical: Joe Wright Directs, The National Does The Music, Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett & More Star at The Playlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 819 new members from 68 countries as the ranks of Hollywood’s top club swell to close to well over 9,300. The good news? According to AMPAS, 45% of the 2020 class are women, 36% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 49% international from 68 countries.  This is an impressive result for an organization that announced a goal in 2016 to double the number of women and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities by 2020.

Continue reading Awkwafina, Florence Pugh & Cynthia Erivo Among 819 New Academy Members at The Playlist.

If 2020 manages to match a feature film debut as electrifying, devastating, hilarious, and original as Shannon Murphy’s “Babyteeth,” it will mark one of the strongest years in breakout director discoveries in recent memory. However, it seems highly unlikely. The Australian director and her screenwriter, Rita Kalnejais (making her screenwriting debut with the adaptation of the play she penned in 2012) have crafted a story both supremely relatable and utterly singular.

Continue reading ‘Babyteeth’: Eliza Scanlen & Director Shannon Murphy Talk About The Vibrant Coming-Of-Age Dramedy [Interview] at The Playlist.

As a young person, there are few things as scary as meeting your partner’s parents for the first time. And as seen in the upcoming film, “Babyteeth,” there’s a good reason why this is a situation full of stress.

IFC Films is set to release the highly-anticipated film “Babyteeth” on VOD this week, and in honor of the film’s impending arrival, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at a clip from the film.

Continue reading ‘Babyteeth’ Exclusive Clip: A Young Teen Brings Her Drug Dealer Boyfriend Home To Meet The Parents at The Playlist.

Nothing busts canons quite like living in interesting times. In our ongoing Inflection Point series, we look back at the films that have taken on new relevance due to our ongoing cultural and political upheaval. Some beloved, some undiscovered, these titles deserve newfound consideration as film criticism evolves to meet the moment.

In 2008, at the height of the economic recession, City University of London professor Subhabrata Banerjee popularized the concept of “necrocapitalism.” This theoretical model positioned death and displacement as more than just a byproduct of capitalism; loss of the right kinds of life was, in fact, a driving force behind the success of most capitalistic endeavors.

Continue reading ‘Killing Them Softly’s’ Condemnation Of Corporate America During A Recession Has Aged Perfectly at The Playlist.