Cinema isn’t just about the latest Disney/Pixar project or Star Wars spin-off. Memorable storytelling is happening all over the film industry, from Hollywood’s box-office-busting superhero smashes to small, innovative indie experiments. The Verge’s film section is here to help you sort through the latest Hollywood news and reviews, from favorite genres like sci-fi, fantasy, and horror to the independent movies that matter.
Dead Talents Society, Taiwanese director John Hsu’s supernatural comedy about ghosts who have to earn haunting permits and sometimes compete in reality competitions for the deceased, was one of the most fantastic movies out of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. And now that it’s streaming on Netflix, you should do yourself a favor and give it a watch.
After 44 years of being held in Park City, Utah, the Sundance Film Festival is moving to Boulder, Colorado starting in 2027. According to the Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees, Boulder’s “small-town charm with an engaged community, distinctive natural beauty, and a vibrant arts scene,” were part of what sealed the deal.
A mysterious livestream is revealing cast members one at a time — so far including Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, and Anthony Mackie. They’ll appear in Avengers: Doomsday, set to hit theaters on May 1st 2026, with Robert Downey Jr. making his return / debut as Doctor Doom.
It’s taking Marvel 13 minutes to announce each name so far though, so we might be here a while.
Though Final Destination: Bloodlines could have been a full-on reboot, the movie’s new trailer makes it look a proper continuation of the franchise’s original story that will bring back the late Tony Todd’s William Bludworth when it hits theaters on May 16th.
(Well, Fox Searchlight technically.) It’s been over twenty years since Jon Heder starred in one of the most unexpected indie film breakouts, and its success came from a savvy combination of word of mouth and a very online marketing campaign.
[marketingbrew.com]
Seth Rogen’s new comedy series is a scathing and celebratory takedown of the entertainment industry’s madness.
A Death Star is coming together in the latest trailer for Andor’s final season, and every member of the Resistance seems to know exactly what needs to be done to take the thing out.
According to Deadline, Netflix has greenlit and is now looking to cast competitors for The Golden Ticket, Eureka Production’s new Willy Wonka-inspired reality series that “will challenge players not just physically, but mentally as they navigate games, tests, and temptations designed to probe their instincts, resilience, and ability to thrive in chaos.”
Valnet, the Canadian media conglomerate that owns a number of entertainment blogs like Screen Rant, MovieWeb, Collider, and Comic Book Resources, is the subject of a damning new report from The Wrap detailing how some of the sites have been turned into “borderline like almost sweatshop-level” content mills where underpaid employees who speak up about their working conditions often wind up being put on blacklists.
Though Warner Bros. wasn’t interested in selling its shelved Coyote vs. Acme project to any of its streaming competitors, the studio is reportedly in talks with Ketchup Entertainment — the same production company that scooped up The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie — for a distribution deal that would put the film in theaters in 2026.
Neon has dropped a teaser for Together, director Michael Shanks’ upcoming psychological horror about a married couple (Alison Brie and Dave Franco) whose plan to start new lives out in the countryside takes a supernatural turn after they encounter a malevolent presence. The trailer (and title) makes it seem like the pair’s relationship might be the real issue at hand, but we won’t know for sure until the film’s out on August 1st.
The first Ballerina trailer made it seem like John Wick might just show up for a quick trailer, but it’s looking more and more like the spin-off will feature a full-on brawl between Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas when it hits theaters on June 6th.
Netflix’s upcoming remake of Stephen King’s Cujo feels poised to tap into people’s newfound fondness of taking their dogs everywhere, and the film might wind up being directed by Darren Aronofsky according to The Hollywood Reporter.
[hollywoodreporter.com]
Netflix’s terrible adaptation of The Electric State is as soulless as it is uninspired.
John Malkovich’s dulcet tones are the only thing that comes through clear in Mark Anthony Green’s debut feature.
F1 has a new trailer out that makes it seem, you know, like a movie about dudes driving around in circles. The film centers on Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a retired driver whose F1 team-owning friend Ruben (Javier Bardem) pulls him back onto the track to mentor up-and-coming racer Joshua “Noah” Pearce (Damson Idris). It hits theaters on June 27th before it winds up on Apple TV Plus at some point in the future.
The first trailer for The Life of Chuck — an adaptation of a Stephen King short story from Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan — doesn’t show much, but it does a good job at teasing heartwarming post-apocalyptic ghost story (you read that right). The film hits theaters in the summer, but if you’re curious, here’s my review from TIFF last year.
As terrifying as FX’s new Alien: Earth series is probably going to be, it’s going to be so much more alarming if we get to see some of how things go sideways from the perspective of the USCSS Maginot’s pet cat.
A 4K restoration of Princess Mononoke is debuting in IMAX theaters in North America starting March 26th in celebration Studio Ghibli’s 40th anniversary. You can buy tickets now.
Correction: The film is celebrating Studio Ghibli’s 40th anniversary, not Princess Mononoke’s.
To get folks hyped up for the upcoming debut of Andor’s second season on Disney Plus April 22nd, Disney has put the show’s entire first season on Hulu and uploaded its first three episodes on YouTube. Additionally, on March 13th, Andor creator Tony Gilroy will host a live, hour-long rewatch event streamed on YouTube “with select talent,” which better be code for “Diego Luna and national treasure Kathryn Hunter.”
Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 powers through its turbulence to tell a timely story about workers’ rights.
Former Gizmodo EIC Dan Ackerman’s lawsuit alleging that Apple, the Tetris company, screenwriter Noah Pink and others ripped off his 2016 book, The Tetris Effect: The Game That Hypnotized the World, for their 2023 Apple TV Plus movie has been dismissed. Reuters reports Ackerman’s lawyer said he will appeal the decision.
In her ruling, Judge Katherine Failla writes:
Ultimately, the Court finds that Defendants’ Film is not substantially similar to Plaintiff’s Book and that Plaintiff has failed to allege that Defendants misappropriated the way he selected, coordinated, and arranged the facts in his Book.
Where the Book’s tone is informative, the Film’s is suspenseful and dramatic, at times deviating from the true facts underlying the story and going so far as to invent an entire KGB subplot, which takes up significant screen time, to create that theatrical effect.
Jack Kirby, the iconic comics artist who co-created Marvel’s X-Men and Avengers, and originated DC’s New Gods, is the subject of Kirbyvision, a new documentary from director Ricki Stern (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, UFOs: Investigating the Unknown).
According to Stern, the doc is her way of pushing for Kirby to finally receive some of the recognition he deserves as the creative wellspring companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are still drawing from.
Following the debut trailer for Andor’s second season, Lucasfilm has released another brief video, with some behind-the-scenes footage and a few new tidbits — including Diego Luna in some cool sci-fi sunglasses. The show starts streaming on Disney Plus on April 22nd.
Succession may be over, but Jesse Armstrong has written and directed a new feature length project for HBO about “a group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis,” which sounds like the next best thing to the show coming back for another season. The movie stars Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef, and it’s set to debut this spring.
Director Sean Baker started the evening with zero Oscars under his belt, and left with four — for original screenplay, film editing, director, and best picture. (Not to mention Mikey Madison’s win for best actress.) Last fall, The Verge spoke with Baker about how he made Anora’s scant $6 million budget look like a film made for $50 million.
