HBO has a stacked 2025 release schedule, with “The White Lotus” Season 3, “It: Welcome To Derry,” and a new “Game Of Thrones” spinoff premiering next year. But “The Last Of Us” Season 2 is far and away the network’s biggest 2025 premiere, and now fans get their first look at the new season in a special TLOU Day teaser.

Continue reading ‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2 TLOU Day Teaser: HBO’s Hit Series With Pedro Pascal & Bella Ramsey Returns In 2025 at The Playlist.

Sure, Steven Soderbergh and Steven Spielberg work fast, so does Guy Ritchie, but none of them are 86 years old and Ridley Scott is arguably the oldest director working at the pace he does, a film every two years at least. But that clip has sped up recently. 2021 delivered two films in one year, “The Last Duel” and “House Of Gucci,” 2023 gave us “Napoleon” and Scott returns in 2024 with the long-awaited sequel to “Gladiator” with “Gladiator II.”

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

Twenty four years after “Gladiator” in 2000, Scott has finally cooked up a long-discussed sequel.

Continue reading ‘Gladiator II’ Trailer: Ridley Scott’s New Epic Stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal & More at The Playlist.

Filmmaker Ridley Scott is famously gruff, speaks his unvarnished mind, and is DGAF, but generally, he isn’t one lacking from a big ego. So perhaps it’s in keeping with his style that the filmmaker has claimed that his “Gladiator II” sequel is one of his greatest films.

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

In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, he wasn’t shy about how good his new ‘Gladiator’ sequel is in his mind.

Continue reading Ridley Scott Says ‘Gladiator II’ Is The “Best Film I’ve Ever Made” at The Playlist.

One of the hotly anticipated movies to kick off Phase 6 for Marvel Studios is “The Fantastic Four.” Onstage at San Diego Comic-Con today, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige and director Matt Shakman discussed the upcoming reboot. During the panel, it was announced the film is actually called “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” An additional logo, some footage, and news about Michael Giacchino composing music was also revealed to the excited audience.

Continue reading ‘The Fantastic Four’ Gets New Title ‘First Steps’ [Comic-Con] at The Playlist.

Animated movies about robots are always good. You’re talking about major films like “Wall-E” and “The Iron Giant.” Those are classics. Dreamworks Animation hopes to add “The Wild Robot” to that list.

As seen in the trailer, “The Wild Robot” tells the story of a robot who has been shipwrecked on an island with no hope of leaving. The robot finds itself talking to the animals and connecting with an orphaned gosling.

Continue reading ‘The Wild Robot’ Trailer: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal & More Star In New Animated Adventure From Director Chris Sanders at The Playlist.

Of all the shows to debut last year, you could argue that HBO’s “The Last of Us” was the biggest breakout. Not only was it a faithful adaptation of the Playstation video game series, but it also won over casual viewers as a must-see event. Now, everyone is eagerly anticipating the return of the series for Season 2.

READ MORE: ‘The Last of Us,’ ‘Dead Ringers,’ ‘The Bear’ Among 2024 Peabody Awards Nominees

While we’re still pretty far away from the release of Season 2, HBO has released first-look images of the new batch of episodes, highlighting the two biggest returning names, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, as Joel and Ellie, respectively.

Continue reading ‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2 First Look: HBO Releases Images From The New Season Coming In 2025 at The Playlist.

Ever since “Beau Is Afraid,” horror filmmaker Ari Aster has been touting his next project, a follow-up project that reunites him with Joaquin Phoenix. Describing it as a “Western comedy” set during the pandemic, the cast details are finally out via A24 (see below), confirming several rumors about the project over the past few months. Titled “Eddington,” the film does indeed star Joaquin Phoenix.

Continue reading ‘Eddington’: Ari Aster’s New Road Trip Nightmare Stars Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal & More at The Playlist.

DreamWorks Animation is already behind some of the bigger non-Disney-owned animated film franchises like “Kung Fu Panda,” “Trolls,” and “How To Train Your Dragon.” While “Kung Fu Panda 4” is about to make its way to the big screen this week, the studio is already promoting another film coming out later in the year.

Continue reading ‘The Wild Robot’ Trailer: Lupita Nyong’o & Pedro Pascal Lead DreamWorks Animation’s Next Adventure at The Playlist.

We’ve had the BAFTAs and the DGAs, but this weekend is a triple crown of awards shows. Tomorrow, the Independent Spirit Awards and the PGA Awards will hand out trophies back to back, but today? Today is for SAG, aka the actors. Yes, the stars are streaming live on Netflix at the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. And the big winner of the night? “Oppenheimer” which took Ensemble for a Motion Picture, Lead Actor in a Motion Picture (Cillian Murphy), and Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Robert Downey, Jr.

Continue reading ‘Oppenheimer’ Dominates The 2024 SAG Awards Winners Taking Ensemble, Actor & Supporting Actor at The Playlist.

$200 million dollar budgets are usually reserved for Marvel or DC blockbusters. $300 million dollar budgets are typically reserved for “Avengers”-level movies. But Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2”  sequel apparently has a budget that has ballooned up to $310 million, according to a new report in The Hollywood Reporter.

Initially budgeted at $165 million, Paramount insiders insist to THR the net cost of the 49-day shoot was under $250 million.

Continue reading ‘Gladiator 2’ Budget Balloons To $310 Million Amid Reports Of “Runaway” Spending [Report] at The Playlist.

With Pedro Pascal now shooting “Fantastic Four” this summer, Zach Cregger needs a new leading man for the follow-up to his 2022 horror hit “Barbarian.” Well, Cregger may have found him. THR reports that John Brolin is in final talks to star in “Weapons,” one of the buzziest genre films in Hollywood right now.

READ MORE: ‘Weapons’: New Line Announces New Deal For ‘Barbarian’ Filmmaker Zach Cregger’s Next Horror Feature

If Brolin signs on, he’ll star in a sprawling, multistory horror epic that insiders who have read Cregger’s script say is similar in structure to the 1999 P.T.

Continue reading ‘Weapons’: John Brolin In Talks To Replace Pedro Pascal In Zach Cregger’s ‘Barbarian’ Follow-Up at The Playlist.

It’s been one of the worst-kept secrets in Hollywood for months, but it’s finally confirmed. After months of rumors and speculation, the cast of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” movie has been confirmed by Marvel on Valentine’s Day (see the image below). Pedro Pascal, who was already reported to be in the mix, will play Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic; “Mission Impossible” star Vanessa Kirby will play the Invisible Woman; Sue Storm, “The Bear” breakout Ebon Moss-Bacharach will star as Ben Grimm, The Thing, and Joseph Quinn from the last season of “Stranger Things” will play Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch.

Continue reading ‘The Fantastic Four’: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach & Joseph Quinn Confirmed For Marvel Movie at The Playlist.

While “Past Lives” got nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay, there were many who were hoping to see even more love given to Celine Song’s breakout drama. Even still, you can’t help but applaud the young director for her incredible debut feature. Thankfully, it looks like she’s not resting on her laurels and is ready to get the ball rolling on another feature this year, “The Materialists.” And guess what?

Continue reading ‘The Materialists’: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans & Pedro Pascal Eyed For Celine Song’s New A24 Drama at The Playlist.

Who are the winners and losers in the SAG-AFTRA strike post-mortem? It might be a bit simplistic but given the box office for films like “The Marvels” that didn’t have its cast to help promote it, and all the studios that pushed some of their projects into 2024, giving them a bit more runaway to work with, you could argue the winners are all those who waited out the strike. Take Focus Features.

Continue reading ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ Trailer: Ethan Coen’s New Comedy Caper With Margaret Qualley & Geraldine Viswanathan Arrives This Month 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.

Here’s the thing about “The Last of Us” TV series—you can actually just play the two video games and get almost the same experience. The video games are hugely cinematic, and the show has gone to great lengths to replicate quite a few of the pivotal scenes. So, if you want to know what is likely going to happen in Season 2, just play “The Last of Us Part 2.” And many, many people already have, which has been a bit of a blessing and a curse for series showrunners, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin.

Continue reading ‘The Last of Us’: Kaitlyn Dever To Play Abby In Season 2 Of The Massive HBO Post-Apocalyptic Hit at The Playlist.

While he’s already in “Star Wars” in Lucasfilm’s “The Mandalorian” and leads HBO’s “The Last Of Us,” Chilean actor Pedro Pascal is not done taking on prominent franchise roles. The actor is reportedly in talks to join Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” as the lead character Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic.

Continue reading ‘The Fantastic Four’: Pedro Pascal In Talks To Play Reed Richards Lead In Upcoming Marvel Movie at The Playlist.

Earlier this week, Amazon and Netflix started a bidding war over the rights to “Crime 101,” an adaptation of a Don Winslow novella with Chris Hemsworth and Pedro Pascal attached to star. No surprise there, as Pascal is one of the buzziest actors in the industry right now, and Hemsworth’s projects continue to succeed. According to Puck, Amazon has won the “Crime 101” sweepstakes, with a $90 million deal; not quite the projected $100 million from earlier this week, but still steep.

Continue reading ‘Crime 101’: Amazon Outbids Netflix For Rights To Crime Thriller With Chris Hemsworth & Pedro Pascal Attached To Star at The Playlist.

There are very few people on the planet, right now, more popular than Pedro Pascal. After the success of “The Last of Us,” combined with his ongoing success from “The Mandalorian” and a a career full of memorable roles, Pascal is on top of the world. And for one of his upcoming projects, titled “Crime 101,” he’s set to team up with an Avenger. 

Continue reading ‘Crime 101’: Chris Hemsworth & Pedro Pascal To Star In New Crime Thriller Written By Don Winslow at The Playlist.

HBO has another hit on its hands with “The Last Of Us,” with the series breaking all sorts of viewership records for the network earlier this year. And a lot of the show’s critical success comes from its cast, leading man Pedro Pascal in particular. But EW reports that co-showrunner Craig Mazin confirmed he had his eye on another big name to play Joel before Pascal took over the role?

Continue reading ‘The Last Of Us’: Showrunner Craig Mazin Confirms He Briefly Talked To Matthew McConaughey About Playing Joel at The Playlist.

Pedro Almodóvar has never done Westerns. Not unless you count the winks at “Johnny Guitar” in “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (1988) or “Duel in the Sun” in “Matador” (1985). Likely the most American and the most masculine of genres, the Western and the onscreen cowboy are foundational figures of manhood.

Continue reading ‘Strange Way Of Life’ Review: Pedro Pascal & Ethan Hawke Pine For Their Unlived Romance in Pedro Almodóvar’s Terrific Western [Cannes] at The Playlist.

Actor Pedro Pascal is a busy guy. Not only is his HBO series “The Last of Us” a huge hit with audiences and critics, but he’s also got the lead role of Din Djarin in the popular series “The Mandalorian” at Lucasfilm, as well as a supporting role in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2” that shoots over the summer with a stellar cast that features Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Barry Keoghan, and more.

Continue reading ‘Weapons’: Pedro Pascal Tapped To Lead Zach Cregger’s Follow-Up To ‘Barbarian’ At New Line at The Playlist.

Filmmaker Ridley Scott is finally attempting to get cameras rolling on a long-gestating sequel to his Oscar-winning pic “Gladiator.” That movie tells the story of a victorious general from the Roman Empire who becomes a gladiator against his will, only to take down the tyrant that killed his family. Referred to as “Gladiator 2,” Scott is assembling quite the cast for the project, including Irish actor Paul Mescal (“Aftersun“), recent Oscar nominee Barry Keough, and acclaimed Oscar-winner Denzel Washington.

Continue reading ‘Gladiator 2’: Pedro Pascal Joins Ridley Scott’s Roman Empire Epic at The Playlist.

Pedro Almódovar is one of the greatest living filmmakers, and there aren’t many people out there who would disagree. And though his films have captivated audiences all over the world throughout his career, he has only barely dipped his toes into English-language filmmaking, debuting the short film, “The Human Voice,” in 2020. His next English-language project, “Strange Way of Life,” still plays in the short film space, but it finds Almódovar venturing into the world of Westerns.

Continue reading ‘Strange Way Of Life’ Trailer: Ethan Hawke & Pedro Pascal Star In Pedro Almódovar’s Cannes-Bound Short Film at The Playlist.

So, the Coen Brothers have “broken up,” gone their own way, and aren’t making films anymore, right? One imagines the truth is more nuanced and complicated than that. Take Carter Burwell, their longtime composer. He said Ethan Coen doesn’t “want To make movies anymore,” and Joel Coen himself said last year that “none of the decisions are definitive.” It sounds like they’re taking a break from one another in the meantime?

Continue reading Ethan Coen’s ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ Starring Margaret Qualley & Geraldine Viswanathan, Lands Sept 22 Release & Adds Matt Damon & Pedro Pascal at The Playlist.