“Epic” is an overused word in modern parlance, but it’s a fitting descriptor of Joel Edgerton’s lead performance in writer/director Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams. Without any complex melodrama or massive set pieces, the film tells the simple story about a man living in the Pacific Northwest through the early 20th century, but Edgerton’s work is special, as it’s powerful to see how the protagonist’s hard life changes him/takes a toll over several decades. By the end of the movie, the Australian actor wears some incredible makeup that transforms him well beyond his natural 51 years of age – but in addition to his appearance, one also has to greatly appreciate the actor’s efforts to portray a very specific physicality.

Late last year (prior to it being available for Netflix subscribers), I had the chance to sit down with Joel Edgerton during the Los Angeles press day for Train Dreams, and I made a point of specifically asking him about aging his character over the course of the film. I joked about him one day looking back at playing Robert Grainier and assessing that he looks far better as an old man than his character, but I also asked about the impact of his makeup and his approach. He noted that he greatly relates to his part in the movie, and he made a special effort when it came to understanding how Robert would both look and move in his final years. Said Edgerton,

In the case of Robert Grainier, both emotional tax and physical labor are significant parts of his life. In order to support his family, he spends seasons away from them working as a logger (which is backbreaking and dangerous work) – and events of the film that I won’t spoil here end up shattering his world. He bears a lot of weight both literally and figuratively, and it ends up being specifically reflected in the way he carries himself in his retirement.

Continuing, Joel Edgerton offered great credit to the crew of Train Dreams and the artists who made his aging realistic, and emphasized that his job in making the third act of the movie was to recognize how the totality of his life would reflect on his body:

Also featuring tremendous performances from Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy and more, Train Dreams was voted by CinemaBlend to be one of the very best films of 2025, and it’s now available to stream on Netflix.

We live in a vast and complicated world, and it is easy to feel lost within it. In a population of 8.3 billion people, what is the value of an individual life, and what makes a life significant? In the face of this scale, one can easily develop a sense of purposelessness – but art can be a remarkable eye-opener, and I recently found myself floored while watching director Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams and hearing a very special line of dialogue: “The world needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher on the pulpit.”

Without sharing any spoilers (as it comes from toward the end of the film), the line is delivered by Kerry Condon's Claire Thompson, an agent of the United States Forest Service, to Joel Edgerton's protagonist Robert Grainier, and I was struck by its beautiful philosophy: though you may at times find yourself feeling insignificant, the reality is that each and every one of us have our own part to play in our world. It’s a wonderful and optimistic idea, and I felt compelled to ask the stars of Train Dreams about it when I spoke with them at the film’s Los Angeles press day last month.

In the Golden Globe-nominated film, the aforementioned Robert Grainier is simple 20th century man, living in the Pacific Northwest working as a logger to provide for his wife and child, but Joel Edgerton stressed that he as a seemingly ordinary man is no less extraordinary than the men and women whom our society holds up as heroes or in higher classes. We all have a special and equal part to play in our world, or in his words:

Train Dreams explores the full adult life of its protagonist, seeing him through struggle, bliss, tragic loss, new vocations, age, and societal change. His relationship with the world around him constantly evolves, and co-star Felicity Jones (who plays Robert’s wife) sees his depicted journey as a search for and understanding of purpose. Said Jones,

And one could argue that we are each at our happiest when we feel as though we are contributing to what we view as our purpose.

When I asked Kerry Condon about the special line in question, she added an extra dimension to the idea: understanding one’s own stresses about purposelessness should come part and parcel with understanding the universality of that feeling. Building on Joel Edgerton’s commentary about personally recognizing individuality, she added that there should be an abolishment of judgement. She explained,

There is a beautiful simplicity to the tale in Train Dreams that comes with a somber energy. But its message ultimately isn’t downbeat, and William H. Macy, who plays one of Robert Grainier’s fellow loggers, doesn’t believe that the film is overwhelmed by its darker and sadder moments. He added,

If you haven’t already experienced the amazing film for yourself, Train Dreams is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription, and given the buzz around it, you can expect to hear quite more about it in the coming weeks and months of awards season.

Have you watched Train Dreams yet? It's a sad, albeit worthwhile watch that stars Joel Edgerton. Well, Edgerton has been getting a lot of talk lately for his role as the solemn Robert Grainer in the film, and it’s a memorable performance.

That said, there’s another role of Edgerton’s that is completely different, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I watched the film, and that’s as Gordo “the Weirdo” from the 2015 horror movie, The Gift. For those who don’t know, The Gift was also Edgerton’s directorial debut (making this another example of a director who made a great movie on their first try).

So, if you’re new to Edgerton (He was also great in the social justice movie, Loving), then why not give The Gift a try?

The Gift Is Creepy On So Many Levels

For those who really want to dig into Edgerton’s filmography after watching Train Dreams (which reminds some of us here of other classic movies), they might not be ready for a film like The Gift. For one thing, it’s a horror movie.

Now, it’s not a violent horror movie, like say, the Saw series, but rather, psychological horror similar to something like the Michael Shannon flick, Bug. In the film, a married couple is at first unnerved, and then terrorized by a man from the husband’s past. Said husband is named Simon and played by Jason Bateman, who can be charming in films like Zootopia 2, but is full-on smarmy here. As for said terrorizer, his name is Gordo, and he’s played by Joel Edgerton, who I’ll talk about in greater detail soon.

Well, Gordo reappears in Simon’s life, and throughout the film, we learn more and more about their history together back in high school. Simon’s wife, Robyn, played by Rebecca Hall, thinks Gordo is nice, even though Simon seems strangely uncomfortable around him. However, Gordo starts appearing more frequently, and each time, the viewer starts to feel like something is terribly off. It all culminates in a truly twisted conclusion, which I’ll talk about soon. But first, on to Edgerton.

Edgerton Really Shows HIs Range As Gordo “The Weirdo”

Now, I had seen Edgerton in films prior to The Gift, such as Zero Dark Thirty, Warrior, and The Great Gatsby, but in none of those films did Edgerton seem like he could play creepy. However, in The Gift, which Edgerton wrote AND directed, we get a truly terrifying performance from him, and it’s honestly unnerving.

The thing about Gordo is that you never feel like you’re getting the full story from him. He invites Simon and Robyn to a dinner party he’s throwing, only for him to say that the other couple he invited cancelled, so it’s just him. He also tells them he’s not married, only to later say that it’s his wife’s house.

And, the whole story, we’re just wondering what the actual truth is. When we learn that Gordo might have a good reason to hate Simon, we’re wondering if we should dislike Gordo or if we should detest Simon, and it all leads to a truly shocking climax.

And That Ending!

Now, I’m not going to spoil the ending here, because to do that would really ruin the film, but just know that it truly is shocking. In fact, when I initially saw this movie a decade ago, I literally covered my mouth, and I still have a hard time believing that the film went that route, since it seems incredible that a commercial movie would take such a dark turn.

This is a Blumhouse Production, though, so at the time, I thought I was used to their brand of horror, what with films like Insidious, Sinister, and the Paranormal Activity series under their belt. However, unlike those aforementioned films, which have a sort of fantastical element to them, The Gift feels a lot more grounded and subtle.

Until it doesn’t. It ramps up quickly in its 108-minute runtime, and it has such a dark ending that it truly feels horrific.

The Golden Globe nominations came out this morning, and as an awards-watcher, I can’t say I was all that surprised by most of the nominations. Netflix nabbed two Best Motion Picture nominations, one in drama for Frankenstein, and one in comedy or musical for Nouvelle Vague. Plus a third for Best Motion Picture - Animated for KPop Demon Hunters. While all three are certainly deserving of nominations, I’m disappointed one of my favorite movies on the 2025 movie schedule–Train Dreams–didn’t make the cut.

Train Dreams Is A Beautiful Movie

There isn’t a lot of action in Train Dreams, where Joel Edgerton plays Robert Grainier, a logger in Idaho whose simple life in the late 19th and early 20th century is upended by tragedy. It’s not simply a movie about grief (though there is plenty). It’s also a meditative, contemplative story that is meant to make viewers reflect on life, what it means, and what a legacy is or can be.

That might sound boring to some, but I promise it’s not. It’s one of the most engaging films I’ve watched all year. It’s a movie that I’m still thinking about weeks after watching it. I’ve not had the chance to rewatch it yet, but I very much intend to soon. I love a great action movie, but I also love a movie steeped in philosophy and thoughtfulness like Train Dreams.

It’s Not All Bad News

While Train Dreams did miss out on a Best Picture nomination at The Globes, Joel Edgerton did come out with a well-deserved nomination for Best Actor in a Drama. While the whole cast, which also includes Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy, is wonderful, Edgerton carries the movie. There are almost no scenes that don’t include Robert (in fact, I’ll have to make a note on my rewatch, there might not be any scenes Robert is not in). He’s alone for long stretches, too.

I also think (or hope) Train Dreams will fare better at the Oscars when those nominations are announced next month. Technically, the movie is also a triumph with stunning cinematography and perfect sound design. I expected the movie will successfully grab some nominations in those categories, which the Globes don’t have. Even if it doesn’t, I know Train Dreams, which of course you can watch with a Netflix subscription, will be in my personal top 5 movies of 2025.

James Cameron has never been shy about defending the theatrical experience, but his latest comments lit a fresh fire under an already touchy industry debate. After calling Netflix’s awards strategy “fundamentally rotten at the core” and insisting streamers shouldn’t be in the 2025 Oscar race without a full theatrical run, the director stirred up chatter from Hollywood veterans and streamer loyalists alike. And now one of Netflix’s biggest faces of the 2025 movie schedule, Train Dreams star Joel Edgerton, is pushing back.

At the Gotham Awards, Edgerton addressed the debate in a clip shared by Variety’s official X account. He said Cameron’s position overlooks a major reality of the industry: many filmmakers only get their shot because streamers fund and distribute their work. His response was calm, thoughtful, and grounded:

Cameron’s comments landed last week on The Town, where he argued that films not made for theaters shouldn’t be eligible for the Academy’s top honor. He pointed to Netflix’s ten Best Picture nominations, none of which resulted in a win, as proof that the Oscars lose meaning without a theatrical baseline. With the Academy tightening its eligibility rules for 2025, the tension has only grown.

Edgerton admitted he’d have loved a theatrical run for Train Dreams, but said the lack of one won’t stop him from making the work he believes in. As he put it:

The divide keeps widening. Actors like Stellan Skarsgård back Cameron, arguing that theaters must stay central to awards culture. In contrast, others, supported by audience behavior, note that today’s viewers are increasingly choosing the couch over the box office. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults streamed a new movie at home at least once last year, proving the shift isn’t slowing.

For now, both viewpoints carry weight. Cameron is defending the theatrical experience he’s built a career elevating, while Edgerton is advocating for the filmmakers who thrive because of some of the best streaming platforms. And somewhere between those two perspectives lies the future of the Oscars, still wrestling with what qualifies as a film worthy of its highest honor.

Wherever you land on the debate, Joel Edgerton’s Train Dreams is absolutely worth your time. The new book-to-screen adaptation of Denis Johnson’s acclaimed novella follows Robert Grainier through a lifetime in the forests of the Pacific Northwest as he works the land and watches a new century reshape the world around him. It’s one of the most celebrated releases of the year and an easy recommendation if you already have a Netflix subscription.

As for James Cameron, he has another major theatrical release with Avatar: Fire and Ash, which lands in cinemas on December 19, 2025.

There are some minor spoilers ahead for Train Dreams, which you can watch now with a Netflix subscription.

I was lucky enough to know my great-grandmother. I was a teenager when she died in the 1990s. After watching Train Dreams last week, I spoke with a colleague here at CinemaBlend, and she brought up how remarkable it was that Robert (played by Joel Edgerton) transitioned from a simple 19th-century life to witnessing John Glenn's spaceflight on television. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about my great-grandmother, what she saw in her life, and how it wasn’t completely unlike what Robert experienced.

She Was Born In 1899

Nana was born in late 1899 in a small town in Missouri. She died in St. Louis in 1991. She saw almost all of the 20th century and what came with it. She lived through both World Wars and started a family right as the Depression was about to rock the country. She witnessed the advent of cars, airplanes, rocket ships to space, the radio, television, and even the dawn of the internet. When I think about how different life was when she was born compared to how it looked when she died, it’s astounding.

One story that I keep coming back to in my memories was one she told me when I was probably 9 or 10. She told me of the time that electricity was first installed on her street in her small town. I don’t know what year it was, but sometime in the 19-aughts. She was obviously old enough to remember it, how excited they all were, and how strange they found it. Like Robert in Train Dreams, before that, she and her family were living a life not that dissimilar from how humans have lived for most of recorded history. The advent of electricity changed so much about how we live.

She Outlived Everyone, And Left Her Mark

Nana’s husband, my great-grandfather, died in the late 1960s. He was a salesman for a canned produce company (another 20th-century innovation, at least on a mass scale) and was on the road when it happened. She outlived her only daughter, my grandmother. She outlived almost all of her friends. That was obviously hard on her, but she also got to know her great-grandchildren. Like, really got to know them.

This is where her story differs from Robert's. He outlived everyone he knew, but under more tragic circumstances, and, as the movie points out, he left nothing behind. No children, no family, not really even a home. That doesn’t diminish his story or his existence; it just makes it different. Nana left behind a legacy that many in my family remember, and her stories, like the one about electricity, are still being told to the next generation, her great-great-grandkids.

Train Dreams, easily one of the best movies on the 2025 movie schedule and one of the best things to stream on Netflix right now, is a contemplative, slow-moving, and sad movie, but it won’t leave you depressed. The action is minimal, but the message is universal. It is a movie that really sits with the viewer and sticks with them for days. Sometimes the best movies are the ones that, a week later, you realize you’re still thinking about often, and that’s what this Clint Bentley-directed masterpiece does. My life is nothing like that of an early 20th-century logger in Idaho, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find common ground with Robert.

The holiday season is getting closer, and while there are more than a few brand new Christmas movies streaming this month, we’re going to take a moment to recognize a few things that may not put you in the holiday spirit, but will still make you feel pretty warm inside. From hilarious comedy to deep character dramas to some Epic theme park attractions, here’s what’s streaming this week.

Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks - November 17 (Peacock)

After being previously put on the release schedule for those with a Peacock subscription twice before, only to have the series pushed back (the second time due to tragedy), Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks is certainly hoping that the third time will be the charm. The series promises to be for Universal Destinations and Experiences what The Imagineering Story was for Disney Parks. A look at the history of Universal’s incredible creations, as well as a look at the newest addition, Epic Universe, and maybe, if we’re lucky, a peek at what is to come.

A Man on The Inside, Season 2 - November 20 (Netflix)

In an era where it seems that even incredibly popular streaming shows get the ax after only a single season, a problem that seems worse on Netflix than anywhere else, fans are likely very happy that A Man on the Inside, starring Ted Danson, is back for a second season, and returning less than a year after the first season debuted. I hope you didn't cancel that Netflix subscription, thinking Season 2 would take years.

The Great British Baking Show: Holidays - November 20 (Netflix)

The latest season of The Great British Baking Show is over, and while the televised comfort food that is the show may be done, it’s time for our annual holiday treat in the form of the show’s regular holiday episodes. The Christmas and New Year’s episodes are technically from last year, but if you haven’t seen them, they’re new to you.

The Family Plan 2 - November 21 (Apple TV)

The action comedy The Family Plan with Mark Wahlberg probably wouldn’t have been the sort of movie to set a massive box office record even if it had been released in theaters. That said, it was clearly a massive hit for everybody with an Apple TV subscription. It’s been less than two years since the original film’s release, and the sequel is here, which is an incredibly fast turnaround for any film.

Train Dreams - November 21 (Netflix)

This time of year, cinema fans are always on the lookout for the movies that are likely to be part of the new year’s awards conversation. Considering its strong reception and the Sundance Film Festival and the awards Train Dreams has already locked up, this movie could be there. Train Dreams stars Joel Edgerton as a man trying to help bring the railroad across America, despite the toll it takes on him and his family.

Next week is Thanksgiving, and many streaming platforms will have special programming designed to keep you indoors and watching. Get ready for The Beatles to take over Disney+, and not for the first time, alongside the beginning of the end for Stranger Things.

The time for Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso being in upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows may have likely passed, considering both the characters’ fates in the universe, but the actors did get to link up earlier this week! During the premiere for Jones’ new movie, Train Dreams, she had her first chance to meet the Star Wars legend, and her reaction was the best.

Jones' next film, Train Dreams, which she stars in alongside Joel Edgerton, will be available for those with a Netflix subscription later this month. Edgerton is also part of the Star Wars Universe, given he played Owen Lars in the prequel trilogy and returned for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Apparently, Edgerton and Ford are good friends, and the former invited the Han Solo actor to the Los Angeles premiere. After Jones met Ford on Monday night, here’s what she told Variety:

Edgerton directed Harrison Ford in an ad campaign for Glenmorangie Scotch Whisky, and the pair have apparently become close since. It offered Felicity Jones a rare opportunity to meet one of the original actors in Star Wars. As Jones added during the red carpet interview:

How sweet is this reaction from Felicity Jones? The 42-year-old British actress shared that Harrison Ford was actually a really big influence on her while making Rogue One back in 2015. While Jyn and Han never get to cross paths in the Star Wars storyline, Jyn is very influential to Han’s journey in the original movies since she and her team die to make sure the Death Star plans are delivered to Princess Leia. Without Jyn, Han Solo would have never become the hero that he is.

When Edgerton spoke at the Train Dreams premiere about inviting his buddy Harrison Ford, he said that it felt “very special” to see him there supporting the film. He apparently invited Ford specifically because he felt the 83-year-old Hollywood legend might connect to the movie’s plotline about a laborer developing the U.S. railroad while dealing with loss in his family. The actor said Ford “lives out in the wilderness in Wyoming and he’s very connected to nature.”

The movie is among upcoming book adaptations too, given it's based on a 2011 novella of the same name by Denis Johnson that was actually a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. You can see Felicity Jones and Joel Edgerton in select theaters this Friday, November 7, and over on Netflix on November 21.

Acting and directing are two very different skills, and for someone to be able to do both is a mark of a hard-working and talented person. It doesn't always work out for actors, but it's remarkable how often it does. Here are 32 such examples of great actors who became great directors as well. 

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood's career has lasted an unbelievable eight decades. He started humbling with small roles in the '50s and as the decades have gone on, he's only gotten bigger and bigger. After directing his first movie, 1971's Play Misty for Me, he's gone on to helm a remarkable 39 more and has won 2 Best Director Oscars, for 1993's Unforgiven and 2005's Million Dollar Baby.

Ron Howard

Ron Howard has been in the lives and living rooms of Americans since he was just a kid as an actor on The Andy Griffith Show. He went on to star in Happy Days in the 1970s before directing his first low-budget film, Grand Theft Auto, in 1977. He's since gone on to direct such classics as Splash, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and many others. 

Bradley Cooper

If the start of Bradley Cooper's directing career is any indication, you can expect huge things. So far, the actor-turned-director has only helmed two movies, A Star Is Born and Maestro and both have been nominated for Best Picture Oscars. Not a shabby record. 

Penny Marshall

Penny Marshall got her first big break on the sitcom The Odd Couple but became a household name as Lavern in Lavern & Shirley. She didn't stay in TV though, instead, she started directing and made two of the most beloved Gen X movies of all time, Big and A League of Their Own. 

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck might not have been the first actor you picked to become a director, but his stellar career as an actor is matched by his work as a director. In fact, though he's never won an acting Oscar (something that should be remedied), he did win Best Director for Argo. 

Robert Redford

By the time Robert Redford directed his first movie, Ordinary People, in 1980, he was already one of the most legendary film stars ever. The second half of his career is as known for his directing as it is for his acting, with movies like Quiz Show and A River Runs Through It.

Jon Favreau

Jon Favreau's acting career started humbling with supporting roles in movies like Rudy and PCU. After he wrote and starred in Swingers, his star shined a little brighter. That was only the beginning though. Favreau has the honor of directing the movie that launched the most successful film franchise of all time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Iron Man and its sequel. He's since moved on to Disney live-action remakes with The Lion King and The Jungle Book. Oh, and he also directed one of the most beloved holiday movies ever with. Elf.

Mel Gibson

The controversial career of Mel Gibson began with a small movie that made huge waves in his native Australia. Mad Max made him famous and by the late late-'80s, he was one of the biggest stars in the world. He then moved into directing and reached his pinnacle early with Braveheart for which he won Best Director. 

Richard Attenborough

As an actor, Richard Attenborough starred in massive hits across generations with movies like The Great Escape and Jurassic Park. As a director, he helmed some of the best biopics of all time, like Gandhi, A Cry Freedom, and Chaplin as well a the legendary war flick, A Bridge Too Far. 

Regina King

Regina King's directorial career is only getting started, but judging by her first movie, One Night In Miami, the future is bright. So far, the Academy Award-winning actress has mostly directed TV shows, but you can be sure more films will be coming her way.

Denzel Washington

What can we say about Denzel Washington that hasn't already been said? He's a living legend at this point, as a multiple Oscar winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He's also one heck of a director with movies like Fences and The Great Debaters.

John Krasinski

John Krasinski became part of our collective family as Jim on The Office. Who would have thought from that role, his career in Hollywood would reach the point that he is a major power player? Now that he's moved into directing, the sky is truly the limit. The first movie Krasinski directed, The Hollars, made for a humble beginning, but his second, A Quiet Place established him as a force to reckon with and it's since become a franchise.

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks might not have been an actor you'd have guessed would go into directing, like others on this list, but she has in a big way. She has shown she can direct blockbusters like Pitch Perfect 2 and indie darlings like that one about the bear who indulges in some, uh, white powder he finds, and goes on a rampage.

Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig is quickly becoming a voice of a generation. Her direction and writing of Barbie has been praised far and wide for its snappy dialog and heartfelt message. Gerwig's acting career started in the mid-'00s when she was mostly in smaller, supporting roles. Since moving into directing, she's become a huge star.

Jordan Peele

Key & Peele was a huge hit for Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key, and made them both stars. No one expected Peele to turn to directing horror movies, but that's exactly what he did and we should all be grateful for it. With massive hits like Get Out, Nope, and Us, the future is bright for Peele and for all of us too, who will get to watch his work.

Rob Reiner

Though he had a leg up coming from a Hollywood family, Rob Reiner has staked out a claim all his own in the entertainment business. First as an actor on the hit show All in the Family, then as the director of some of the most loved movies of all time. Starting with his first movie, This is Spinal Tap, and running through the '80s and early '90s, he had an unbelievable run that included The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and Misery. Wow!

George Clooney

Not only is George Clooney one of the most bankable movie stars ever, he's also a fantastic director. His acting career is legendary and his directing career, while not quite at the level of his acting, is still fantastic. He's directed TV (Catch-22) and movies (The Boys In The Boat, The Midnight Sky, Good Night, and Good Luck, among others) and you can be sure there will be more from him.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie's directing career hasn't always gotten the best reviews, but I'd say her movies are very underrated. The talented actress has an eye for behind the camera as well, and movies like Unbroken and First They Killed My Father are powerful movies.

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton's acting career came on as a slow burn to fame, but his directing career started with a band. His first film was a masterpiece called Sling Blade. he followed that up with the underrated All The Pretty Horse and a few others, though his pace has slowed over the last couple of decades. Let's hope he finds that directing bug again. 

Ben Stiller

There was a time in the '90s and '00s when it seemed like Ben Stiller was in every movie released. Not only was he working hard in front of the camera, he was killing it behind the camera as well. Starting really with Reality Bites, and moving on to great movies like the controversial but hilarious Tropic Thunder, and the Zoolander movies. 

Jodie Foster

The great Jodie Foster has been an acclaimed actor and star since her teenage years and of course, that talent has translated to directing. Though lately she's done mostly TV work like directing episodes of Black Mirror and Orange is the New Black, she's done a few movies too, like Little Man Tate and Money Monster.

Kevin Costner

In addition to being one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Kevin Costner has never shied away from making epic films. Though he's only directed four movies in his career, they have all been big films. Starting with Dances With Wolves in 1990, he's since directed The Postman, Open Range, and 2024's Horizon: An American Saga.

Tim Robbins

The directing bug caught Tim Robbins in the early '90s and he directed a couple of great movies with Bob Roberts and Dead Man Walking. He's directed a smattering of movies and TV shows more recently, but he's mostly stuck to acting over the last few years. 

Sean Penn

Since the early 1980s, Sean Penn has been wowing moviegoers with his impressive acting chops and diversity. In the '90s he dipped his toe into directing with his first film, The Indian Runner and has directed a good handful of movies since, with his best being Into The Wild in 2007. 

Zach Braff

Acting-wise Zach Braff's big break came as a regular cast member of the hit sitcom Scrubs. As a directed, he burst onto the scene with his very first movie, Garden State in 2004. He's continued directing here and there over the last 20 years, including the great movie about getting older, Going In Style, and a few others, in addition to some TV work. 

Warren Beatty

In the 1970s, there was no bigger movie star than Warren Beatty. By the end of the decade, he had moved into directing as well, starting with 1978's Heaven Can Wait and continuing the '80s and '90s with acclaimed movies like Red and maybe his most remembered, Dick Tracy in 1990.

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton is a force of nature. For decades she's been one of the best and most popular actresses in Hollywood, and though she's only dipped her toes into directing, mostly in TV, she's on this list for one important reason. Keaton directed the music video for "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" by Belinda Carlisle and that is a stone-cold Gen X classic. 

Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh might be as well known for his directing as he is for his acting, and that's really saying something. Not only has he directed some of the best Shakespeare adaptions for the silver screen, but more recently he's been killing it with his Agatha Christie adaptations. 

Leonard Nimoy

Appropriately, Leonard Nimoy's first foray into feature film direction came in the Star Trek franchise when he directed both Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Outside of the iconic franchise he helped make famous he also directed the beloved Three Men and a Baby. 

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone has always been a self-starter. His work to get the original Rocky made is legendary and after it made him a huge star, he wasted no time getting into directing, starting with Rocky II and adding Rocky III, Rocky IV, and 2006's Rocky Balboa as well. Of course, he's also directed in two other franchises he was at the center of with 2008's Rambo and the first Expendable movie. 

Helen Hunt

This one might surprise you, but Helen Hunt has had an impressive career as a director. Most of her work has been on television on shows varying from her own Mad About You and This Is Us. She also has two feature films under her belt with 2007's Then She Found Me and 2014's Ride. 

Joel Edgerton

Joel Edgerton is seemingly everywhere these days, popping up in all kinds of movies and TV shows from Star Wars stuff to Dark Matter. He's also started directing, but his output is limited, with 2015's underrated The Gift and 2018 Boy Erased. Let's hope he finds more time to direct in his busy schedule. 

The Star Wars universe is still trying to find its footing on the big screen, but it has been expanding at a brisk pace on Disney+. We know that Dave Filoni has big plans for The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, but there are many more upcoming Star Wars series set to come out in 2024. One series that we haven’t heard much about regarding its future, however, is Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The Mandalorian Season 4 is on the way. A second season of Andor can't get here soon enough. Another season of Ahsoka seems likely, but we know we'll see more from the title character one way or another. However, a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi is much less guaranteed. As co-star Joel Edgerton recently told Slashfilm, he doesn’t know anything about the future of the show, saying… 

Unlike other Disney+ series that have at least been left open to the possibility of additional seasons, Obi-Wan Kenobi was specifically called a “limited series” in its promotion, indicating that there likely weren’t any specific plans to do more than the initial story. Having said that, if somebody had a story to tell about Obi-Wan Kenobi, it seems unlikely anybody would stand in the way of it, so another series is still certainly possible.

Joel Edgerton has said his role in the Star Wars prequels helped him launch his Hollywood movie career. He has certainly made good on it and doesn't really need to go back to a galaxy far, far away, but the fact that fans want to see more of him is almost certainly a good thing.

Obi-Wan Kenobi certainly could have had many more adventures in between trilogies. Ewan McGregor has said he's interested in doing more, though he's not necessarily in a big rush to do so. Whether or not it means Joel Edgerton would be involved in a theoretical future season, however, is another matter entirely. Although, the actor can guess one thing about the role if it’s ever to return. As he said…

Joel Edgerton is probably on to something here. There’s a pretty good chance that his wardrobe will be limited to brown. But who knows? Maybe in a future story, Uncle Owen would get to actually go on the adventure and get off Tatooine. It's not the craziest idea, and it could help explain why Owen is so against Luke running off.

We may not have more Obi-Wan, but 2024 will bring Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte to Disney+, and it will also bring us one step closer to the next big Star Wars movie, which is currently set for 2025.

Everybody loves a good underdog story — especially when the events being portrayed actually happened — and Daniel James Brown’s 2013 nonfiction novel The Boys in the Boat has been lauded for its inspiring account of the University of Washington junior varsity rowing team’s unlikely rise to the 1936 Olympics. Now that story is being adapted for the big screen, and before it hits theaters on Christmas Day, critics had the opportunity to attend a screening. Let’s see what they have to say about upcoming sports drama.

At one time Kenneth Branagh was attached to an adaptation of the book, but audiences will see a different vision come December 25, as George Clooney serves as the director of The Boys in the Boat. The movie stars Callum Turner as rower Joe Rantz and Joel Edgerton as the university’s coach Al Ulbrickson. Sheri Linden of THR says the movie could have used more of an edge, but just like the titular crew, it gets the job done. The critic writes: 

Tomris Laffly of The Wrap agrees that The Boys in the Boat is tailor-made for the whole family, as the story shamelessly tugs at the heartstrings en route to its rousing finale. Laffly praises George Clooney and screenwriter Mark L. Smith for providing a clear understanding of a rowing team. Their development of the characters as individuals pays off when the rowers come together as a team, she says, continuing:  

Mae Abdulbaki of ScreenRant, however, finds the film lacking in emotion, despite being riveted by the racing scenes. The critic says the overall product would have hit harder if the character arcs delivered the same tension, but instead the result is a passive “snoozefest.” Abdulbaki writes:  

Marshall Shaffer of SlashFilm rates the movie 6 out of 10, echoing other critics in calling George Clooney’s effort “simple studio filmmaking at its least offensive.” The JV rowing team’s ascent to the Berlin Olympics is a thrilling watch — for the team’s brilliance, not the filmmaking, Shaffer says: 

Manuel Betancourt of AV Club similarly grades the movie a C+, saying that George Clooney and Mark L. Smith water down the gripping message portrayed in the bestselling book, writing: 

While it sounds like these critics don’t consider The Boys in the Boat one of the best sports movies of all time, they do agree that the story is thrilling enough to warrant a viewing — especially if you’re hitting the theater this holiday with the whole family. George Clooney’s ninth directorial effort hits the big screen on Monday, December 25, and you can also check out what’s to come in the new year by taking a peek at our 2024 movie calendar. 

In Paul Schrader’s movie on the 2023 movie schedule, Master Gardener, which serves as the third movie in his man in a chair trilogy, we are asked to think about acceptance and forgiveness. In the movie, Sigourney Weaver plays a rich woman who takes in a man who used to be a white nationalist and her niece who has found herself in some drug trouble. As the movie progressed I found myself wondering why her character took in these two people, and ultimately how her decisions led to her giving up some of her power. And for the legendary actress, she found some of her answers to those questions by going back to William Shakespeare’s play King Lear.

Over the course of Master Gardener, we see Ms. Haverhill go from a fairly giving, but selfish, property owner who takes in folks with troubled pasts to someone who aggressively kicks the two main characters out of her home. While talking to CinemaBlend about this shift in her character, and how she ultimately ends up giving her garden to the man she kicked out, Weaver noted how she went back to King Lear to understand her character’s final choice, saying:

Weaver was part of a production of King Lear in 1970 when she was part of a group at Stanford called the Company, the Stanford Magazine reported. The actress played Goneril, the eldest of the king’s three daughters, so it makes sense why she was referencing back to the play for this movie. 

In the case of Master Gardener, it makes sense that Sigourney Weaver kept returning to King Lear for inspiration. The king in Shakespeare’s play values appearances, which is his major flaw, and the moral of the story is that one’s actions always speak louder than words. 

In Paul Schrader’s movie, Ms. Haverhill is someone who deeply values appearance, which you can clearly see when she picks out an outfit for Maya, how she presents herself, and her obsession with her garden. 

Also, the relationship between the two stories gets closer with the moral of the play also being one of the themes of this movie. Actions, like Narvel taking care of Maya or Ms. Haverhill taking both of them in, do speak louder than words because it shows their change, and proves that they’ve been able to grow despite their seemingly unredeemable pasts. 

I find it fascinating how Weaver has used her theater training, specifically when it comes to Shakespeare, to help inform her film career. She spent time doing a lot of plays during her undergraduate time at Stanford, and then she attended Yale’s School of Drama where she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts. The actress even told Vulture that while filming Alien she kept thinking about Henry V, so it seems like she's been able to use Shakespeare in lots of her projects no matter the genre.

These days many of us recognize Sigourney Weaver as a sci-fi legend for her work in the Alien movies, though she said the “ship has sailed” when it comes to reprising Ripley, and the Avatar movies, as she came back for The Way of Water, and will be in the upcoming Avatar 3. However, she also takes on roles in serious dramas, like Shcrader’s Master Gardener, and it was incredibly interesting to learn how she developed her character, and how she worked to understand Ms. Haverhill’s motivations and choices. 

To see Sigourney Weaver’s performance in Master Gardener, it’s currently playing in theaters.  

There are some movie characters so iconic and so strongly tied to the actor who plays them that to recast them with anyone else would be sacrilege. Although many examples of this kind of role exist in the Star Wars universe, that has not prevented such an event to happen to its most beloved characters many times.

However, luckily, many of the Star Wars characters who have been recast have been blessed with people of tremendous talent to carry the weight -- and sometimes to even greater heights than ever before. See for yourself with our favorite examples of live-action characters from a galaxy far, far away who are credited to more than one actor, starting with one who is making a huge comeback with his own series.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness, Ewan McGregor)

We first met Obi-Wan Kenobi years after the fall of the Jedi Order in the original Star Wars: A New Hope from 1977, in which he was played brilliantly by Academy Award winner Alec Guinness. Playing his younger self from padawan to master would be Ewan McGregor, whom fans would cite as one of the best reasons to watch the Prequel Trilogy and later welcome his return on the Disney+ original series Obi-Wan Kenobi with open arms.

Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, Vivian Lyra Blair)

One of Ewan McGregor’s most impressive co-stars on Obi-Wan Kenobi is Bird Box’s “Girl” actor Vivien Lyra Blair, who gives a surprisingly entertaining and heartfelt performance as 10-year-old Leia Organa, who has been kidnapped by the Empire in order to lure the titular Jedi out of hiding. Star Wars fans are very familiar with the character, originally portrayed by the late Carrie Fisher, who portrayed Leia starting from the beginning of the Star Wars saga, up until her final performance in 2017’s The Last Jedi.

Owen Lars (Phil Brown, Joel Edgerton)

Another Star Wars prequel trilogy veteran reprising his role alongside Ewan McGregor on Obi-Wan Kenobi is Australian actor and filmmaker Joel Edgerton as Luke Skywalker’s uncle, Owen Lars. The Tatooine moisture farmer would meet a devastating end at the hands of the Empire in the 1977 original film, in which he was portrayed - opposite Mark Hamill - by Phil Brown. Brown also starred in franchises like the Superman movies and one of the Pink Panther sequels, but would always be best known as Uncle Owen.

Beru Lars (Shelagh Fraser, Bonnie Piesse)

Playing Owen Lars’ wife, Beru, was English actress Shelagh Fraser, who gives one of the most heartfelt performances in Star Wars: A New Hope despite her modest amount of screen time. Of course, Bonnie Piesse had even less screen time and less to say as a teenage Beru, but is still a memorable presence in the prequels due to the importance of her role, which is why she has also makes a return on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Mon Mothma (Caroline Blakiston, Genevieve O’Reilly)

Another actress with a modest amount of screen time in the Prequel Trilogy (namely 2005’s Revenge of the Sith) is Genevieve O’Reilly as the future leader of the Rebel Alliance, Mon Mothma, whom she would reprise in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Originating the role was Caroline Blakiston, whose screen time was also quite brief in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, but still memorable and iconic enough inspire such an enduring legacy.

Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch, Daniel Logan, Temuera Morrison)

A character whose legendary status vastly outweighs his screen time is the mysterious bounty hunter Boba Fett, who was first physically played by the late Jeremy Bulloch in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and voiced by Jason Wingreen in the former movie. We met Boba as a young boy in 2002’s Attack of the Clones, as played by New Zealand-born actor Daniel Logan, and his father, Jango, played by fellow New Zealander Temuera Morrison, who would go on to assume the fan-favorite role himself on The Mandalorian and on his own Disney+ miniseries, The Book of Boba Fett. Morrison's Boba has also been heard in Empire instead of Wingreen's since the 2004 edits to the Original Trilogy.

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Sebastian Shaw, Jake Lloyd, Hayden Christensen, Spencer Wilding)

A Star Wars veteran making, arguably, the most exciting return on the Obi-Wan Kenobi cast is Hayden Christensen as the Sith Lord formerly known as Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader - a role he also shares on the series with James Earl Jones, who has voiced the iconic villain since the beginning. David Prowse would usually wear the suit, save when Sebastian Shaw played a reformed, unhelmeted Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi and when Spencer Wilding donned the costume in Rogue One. Jake Lloyd played a very young, uncorrupted Anakin in 1999’s The Phantom Menace before Christensen took over the role to play him as a Padawan and, later, a Jedi Knight in the final two prequels.

Emperor Palpatine (Clive Revill, Marjorie Eaton, Ian McDiarmid)

Younger Star Wars fans likely just know Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine, but those who experienced the original trilogy in its prime remember how different Darth Vader’s boss first looked and sounded in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back when his holographic image was physically portrayed by Marjorie Eaton and voiced by Clive Revill. The role was recast for 1983’s Return of the Jedi with McDiarmid, who went on to reprise him in the prequel trilogy and 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker and was added into the 2004 re-release of Empire.

Han Solo (Harrison Ford, Alden Ehrenreich)

To Star Wars fans of any generation, Han Solo is and always will be Harrison Ford, who was still working as a carpenter when his American Graffiti director George Lucas cast him as the captain of the Millennium Falcon in the first Star Wars. However, the Academy Award nominee himself was said to be very impressed by Alden Ehrenreich’s performance in the title role of 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, which traces the outlaw’s origins from serving the Imperial Army to winning his famed ship in a poker game from another familiar face.

Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams, Donald Glover)

One would assume that no one else could ever play Lando Calrissian - the mayor of the Cloud City and old friend of Han Solo (despite pronouncing his name wrong) - with as much charm and charisma as Emmy nominee Billy Dee Williams. However, Emmy and Grammy winner Donald Glover proved that was not the case by absolutely nailing his portrayal of the smuggler-turned-resistance leader while he still owned the Millennium Falcon in Solo. 

Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew, Joonas Suotamo)

Another actor who would portray a legendary original Star Wars character was Joonas Suotamo, whose tenure as Han Solo’s Wookiee friend and co-pilot, Chewbacca, began when he shared the role with its originator, the 7’3” Peter Mayhew, in 2015’s The Force Awakens. The Finnish basketball player took over the role completely for 2017’s The Last Jedi and reprised him in Solo and The Rise of Skywalker, but the first name fans still associate Chewie with is Mayhew, who sadly passed away at the age of 74 in 2019.

On second thought, there could come a day when Joonas Suotamo is celebrated for his portrayal of Chewbacca just as strongly as Peter Mayhew, just like how Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness are equally praised for their respective performances as Obi-Wan Kenobi. In a franchise as endurable as Star Wars, a dizzying rotation of different people in the same part eventually becomes a necessity, so each actor should be held to the same fair standard. Therefore, in my book, there is not just one Lando, or one Boba Fett, or even one Han Solo (and I say that as a huge Harrison Ford fan), but a wonderful assortment of different depictions to revisit time and time again. 

In the summer of 2021, David Lowery took audiences into the wild, fantastical, and downright weird world of The Green Knight, the director’s unique spin on the Arthurian legend, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and what an experience it was. 

The movie, which stars Dev Patel as the young and unproven Gawain, who becomes trapped in a deadly game with the mysterious knight, is one of the most fascinating releases of the year, and stories behind the making of the transfixing A24 cinematic spectacle are just as, if not more, interesting. Below, we will break down some of the more impressive behind the scenes facts about The Green Knight and how its biggest moments came to be.

David Lowery Decided To Adapt The Green Knight, Wrote The Script, And Started Shooting All Within A Span Of 11 Months

With the scope of the story and level of detail seen throughout The Green Knight, you would assume that it was a project long in the works, and one that went through an extensive pre-production period, but that couldn’t be any farther from the truth. 

In a July 2021 interview with IndieWire, director David Lowery revealed that while he had read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight earlier in life, he didn’t become obsessed with the idea of making an adaptation of his own until 11 months before cameras started rolling. At one point in this process, Lowery considered shooting in Texas instead of across the pond, but as he re-read the poem once more, he knew he had to get as close to original location as possible.

When Planning Out The Green Knight Character, David Lowery Wanted Him To Sound Like A Weed Being Uprooted With Each Movement

One thing David Lowery knew he and his crew had to get right with The Green Knight was the sound design of the titular knight, especially since the character is supposed to be of the earth and not mankind. When sitting down with CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast, Lowery explained that he wanted Ralph Ineson’s character to sound like he was uprooting himself from the ground with each step, and so he went to sound designer Johnny Marshall and asked him to make the Green Knight sound like roots being pulled from the ground.

Ralph Ineson Wore Wooden Contacts To Give The Green Knight An Earthy Look

When he was first planning out The Green Knight, David Lowery considered using puppets or CGI to bring the mysterious knight to life, but eventually decided to cast Ralph Ineson to take on the role. 

In the Boldest of Blood and Wildest of Heart: Making of The Green Knight featurette that accompanied the movie’s home release, it was revealed that Ineson would undergo hours of makeup and prosthetic applications each day during shooting, but that’s not even the craziest part. To make the character look as if he was made from the Earth, Ineson wore wooden contact lenses. And, somehow, Ineson was able to have a spark in his eye when he toys with Gawain during their second and final confrontation.

David Lowery Changed A Core Character From The Original Poem So He Could Contribute To The Talking Fox Lexicon

Even though The Green Knight is a fairly faithful adaptation of the source material, there were several changes made to the story during the planning process. One of those is the inclusion of the talking fox that accompanies Gawain on his journey to the Green Chapel. 

In the Boldest of Blood and Wildest of Heart: Making of The Green Knight featurette, David Lowery revealed that the fox was partially added in as a replacement for the servant character that accompanied the hero in the final leg of his quest, because he thought Gawain should complete the journey alone. Another reason was the fact that Lowery wanted to contribute to the talking fox lexicon, taking inspiration from Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist.

Dev Patel Convinced David Lowery To Have Gawain Behead The Green Knight With King Arthur’s Excalibur

In the original story, Sir Gawain decapitates the Green Knight with the knight’s own axe, but David Lowery changed it in the script so that the hero would use King Arthur’s legendary sword Excalibur to do the deed. During a conversation with Variety, Lowery admitted that he went back and forth with the decision, and at one point was close to going back to using the axe. However, Dev Patel stepped in:

David Lowery went on to say he was instantly sold and made note of Dev Patel’s investment and conviction in the role.

David Lowery And His Production Team Used Matte Paintings To Fill In Certain Shots

Not only was David Lowery inspired by the original text when working on The Green Knight, he also drew inspiration from classic movie making techniques, specifically matte painting. In a Vanity Fair scene breakdown, Lowery revealed that during the Green Knight’s arrival at the Christmas feast, he and his production team used matte paintings to extend the shot beyond what they are able to construct on set. This also included painting in extras, as they didn’t have a lot of actors on set at any given time, and this technique allowed the team to stretch them out.

The Camera Obscura Scene With Gawain Was Pulled Off By Projecting An Image Of Dev Patel Onto A Wall

One of the more fascinating scenes in The Green Knight is the one where the Lady (Alicia Vikander) uses a camera obscura to make a ghostly portrait of Gawain. This scene is even more remarkable when you learn that the production team didn’t use CGI to make the upside down image of Dev Patel’s character appear on the screen, but instead a rather practical technique. 

In the Boldest of Blood and Wildest of Heart: Making of The Green Knight featurette, it is revealed that someone took a portrait of Patel and then projected the image through a hole in the door so that it would shine on the wall and produce the desired effect.

The Christmas Feast Scene Was Filmed Last Because It Took The Entirety Of The Production To Construct The Set

The scenes in King Arthur’s grand hall in the beginning of The Green Knight were actually the last to be filmed, as it took nearly the entire length of production for the set to be built. In the making of featurette, David Lowery and set designer Jade Healy revealed that the full set, which featured the Round Table, high ceilings, stone floors, and faux stone walls, wasn’t actually completed until the day they began shooting the Christmas feast.

Joel Edgerton Watched Clips Of Famous British Actors Drunk On Talk Shows To Prepare For His Role In The Green Knight

Joel Edgerton’s mysterious and strangely affectionate The Lord is one of the most peculiar characters in all of The Green Knight, and the actor’s inspiration for his portrayal makes his performance all the more captivating. When speaking with CinemaBlend ahead of the film’s release, Edgerton admitted he had quite a way of coming up with his preparations:

So, maybe that explains The Lord and why you can never really tell where he stands on things through his brief time in The Green Knight.

The Green Knight Was A Vegan Production And Included Leather Made From Fungus And Tree Bark

There are some impressive costumes featured throughout The Green Knight from the titular knight himself to Gawain’s various robes. These become even more impressive when you learn that every article of clothing seen in the movie was vegan. In the featurette, it is revealed that not only was faux leather used throughout the production, but the costume designers also used leathers made from fungus, and barkcloth, which, as the name suggests, is made from tree bark. 

The Green Chapel At The End Of The Green Knight Was Shot As-Is And Didn’t Need To Be Dressed Up For Shooting

The final confrontation between Gawain and the Green Knight at the end of the movie takes place in the Green Chapel, a building that is slowly being destroyed and consumed by the natural world around it. In the Practitioners of Magic: Visual Effects featurette accompanying the home release of The Green Knight, it is revealed that the scene was filmed in an old church on the side of the road in rural Ireland and that the production team didn’t have to have to make any changes before shooting it as-is. It is also revealed that the location scout initially didn’t want to film the scene there.

David Lowery Made The Green Knight Slower And ‘Weirder’ During The Year-Long COVID-19 Delay

Before the COVID-19 pandemic came and changed practically everything about the world, David Lowery was preparing to release The Green Knight at SXSW in Austin, Texas, in March 2020. When the festival (and countless others like it) was cancelled, so was the premiere, and Lowery was left with more than a year to tinker with what was at one time a finished product. 

When sitting down with CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast, Lowery admitted that the one-year delay actually helped make the movie better, as it gave him an opportunity to make a slower and weirder cut. And, while he admitted that the movie was never going to be a fast-paced action adventure, Lowery was able to extend shots and allow the movie to breathe more.

Well, hopefully this all makes you want to go back and watch The Green Knight for the second, third, or even tenth time. But, before you do that, check out what's left of CinemaBlend's schedule of the 2021 new movie releases.

In a summer of blockbuster films based on comic book properties like Black Widow and The Suicide Squad, or horror stories like The Forever Purge and A Quiet Place: Part II, A24 is doing what it does best and subverting what we’ve come to expect at the movie theaters. Following hits like Uncut Gems and Midsommar, the studio’s latest offering is David Lowery’s The Green Knight, adapted from 14th-century Arthurian legend. So how did moviegoers like the epic starring Dev Patel?

The Green Knight really impressed most critics, including CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg, who gave the movie 4.5 out of 5 in his review and named it one of the “best of 2021.” It also opened No. 2 at last weekend’s box office behind Disney’s Jungle Cruise. Now let’s get to what fans are saying about the A24 release.

The Green Knight Is A 2021 Fan Favorite

Overall, it seems the public is mixed on The Green Knight. It’s the kind of movie you either really vibe with or don’t like at all. On social media, a ton of fans represented the positive end of what the Arthurian legend has to offer, with this Twitter use sharing this:

For context, Little Women came out in late 2019, so this is high praise for the David Lowery film! The fan also shared he is “levitating with joy” about his viewing of The Green Knight. To echo the high praise, another viewer of the film shared his love for the summer release with more rounds of applause:

The Green Knight was also delayed a year by A24 after its initial 2020 release was moved due to the pandemic. But because it debuted in theaters only, those who went out to see it were really keen on the theatrical experience as well. As another fan pointed out, it was their first trip out to a movie since lockdown, and it was worth the price of admission for them.

The A24 movie clearly has a lot of happy fans, but there’s a variety of experiences that were told via social media reactions as well.

So Many People We Confused And Conflicted About It

Then there were the fans who were just trying to figure out what they were watching. The Green Knight is quite the cerebral experience, and everything you see on screen doesn’t matter as much as the themes they represent. It’s not for someone who just wants to sit back and relax without thinking deeply. One Twitter user especially encapsulated the experience watching the A24 film:

One viewer shared an unhinged meme featuring one of the characters from Madagascar to bring across her thoughts on The Green Knight, and the movie apparently had her “losing her mind,” later also adding that the movie made her “feral.”

It’s definitely an interesting movie to check out with a crowd of people because of the many reactions it spawns from viewers. Another fan shared her eavesdropping on other moviegoers, who had a completely different opinion from her seat-mates:

Not unlike the recent horror release Old, The Green Knight isn’t necessarily a movie you can trust another person to assure you that you’ll have the same experience. It’s a wild card. Some people love that kind of moviegoing affair, but it certainly will turn off others too.

The Dev Patel Of It All Was A Hot Sell

The Green Knight is a deep movie, but going out to see it was all about the eye candy for a lot of moviegoers in its first week in terms of its lead actor. As one viewer shared, they are incredibly content to stare at Dev Patel for the entirety of the film:

A lot of people are into Dev Patel. Before the movie even hit theaters, early viewers raved over Dev Patel in particular, with one early viewer sharing that “Dev Patel can cut off my head any time he likes.” A sect of fans have named the season “Dev Patel Summer” in honor of the actor looking absolutely beautiful in his flowing black hair and knight armor:

Even people who didn’t like the movie could enjoy the Dev Patel of it all. The 31-year-old British actor made famous by his 2008 performance in Slumdog Millionaire has become a bit of an icon thanks to The Green Knight.

And there’s a lot of scenes with Dev Patel in The Green Knight. Just about all of them actually. So if you’re a fellow Patel fan, this is the medieval movie for you.

There Are A Lot Of Thoughts About The Green Knight Ending

To wrap up (without spoilers I promise), let’s talk about some of the reactions to the ending, because it’s a huge talking point when it comes to The Green Knight. The A24 movie's conclusion was a make-it-or-break-it scene for viewers of the film, as one Twitter user shared:

For some people, the ending just messed up the experience for them. It’s not your typical ending and it’s definitely controversial. Another person went on to criticize the ending, and A24 as a studio, for going out of its way to “confuse” people:

How you react to The Green Knight’s ending will have a lot to do with if the movie overall worked for you. It’s the point that had a lot of moviegoers giving up on it. At the same time, it’s the kind of ending that’s really fun to dissect with friends after watching it together or go down a Arthurian legend rabbit hole too. To each their own:

As a whole, there are a lot of opinions on The Green Knight. It’s definitely not universally loved or understood, but from a filmmaking standpoint, many can appreciate David Lowery’s vision, even if it seemed too ambitious for some. The Green Knight is playing in theaters now. It’s your turn: have you seen it and what did you think of the movie? Vote in our poll and keep track of what movies are coming next with CinemaBlend’s 2021 movie release guide.

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Epic medieval fantasy films have always been some of my favorites, and honestly, it was about time that one finally came out in the theaters after so long without any releases. The Green Knight fulfills that need for me, with plenty of stars lined up in its cast.

But who exactly are the stars of The Green Knight? From Dev Patel to Alicia Vikander, to Joel Edgerton, it seems that The Green Knight is packed with familiar faces. Here is where you might have seen the cast before.

Dev Patel (Sir Gawain)

Dev Patel, who portrays Sir Gawain, is someone you for sure have seen somewhere in Hollywood at one point or the other. Back in 2008, his breakthrough was playing Jamal Malik in the Academy-Award-winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. Afterward, he went on to star in several different types of films, of all genres, including the romantic comedy, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as well as its sequel, the sci-fi film, Chappie, the biopic film, The Man Who Knew Infinity and portrayed the famous David Copperfield in The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Dev Patel also had a leading role in Aaron Sorkin’s HBO drama series, The Newsroom, back in 2012 until 2014. The Green Knight epic was the perfect way to bring him into the world of fantasy.

Alicia Vikander (Lady/Esel)

Alicia Vikander portrayed Lady/Esel, and has appeared in plenty of things you may have seen. From 2008-2010, she portrayed Josefin Bjorn-Tegebrandt in the drama series, Andra Avenyn, and then went on to make her film debut later on in Pure. From there, she went on to have roles in Anna Karenina in 2012 and portrayed Queen Caroline Mathilde in A Royal Affair.

In 2014, she starred in both Testament of Youth and Ex Machina, both of which helped her achieve more recognition. A year later, she starred in The Danish Girl, a role that would win her an Academy Award. Alicia Vikander has also dipped her toes into the action realm as well, having a supporting role in Jason Bourne, as well as the lead role of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, with a sequel potentially on the way. I can’t wait to see what this actress has coming up next after The Green Knight.

Joel Edgerton (Lord)

I’ve always felt like I’ve seen Joel Edgerton in so many films, and I can assure you, you have as well. Joel Edgerton, who portrays Lord, has been in plenty of popular movies. One of his earlier ones was portraying young Owen Lars in both Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Afterward, he went on to have roles in King Arthur, the Academy-Award winning film, Zero Dark Thirty, the period piece The Great Gatsby, the Netflix original film, Bright, and the action film, Red Sparrow. Most recently, he appeared in the Netflix original film, The King, alongside several of his The Green Knight co-stars.

Joel Edgerton has also been on the small screen for some time as well. Way back in 2001 until 2002, he portrayed Will McGill on The Secret Life of Us. Most recently, he had a role in the limited series, The Underground Railroad, on Amazon Prime.

Edgerton is actually going to be reprising his role as Owen Lars in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ original Star Wars show, so keep an eye out for that if you’re a Star Wars fan.

Sarita Choudhury (Mother/Morgan Le Fay)

Portraying Mother/Mother Le Fay, Sarita Choudhury has been all over the map in terms of films and television. With a career that dates back as early as the 1990s, Choudhury has been in several movies. She made her debut in Mississippi Masala, and then would appear years later in A Perfect Murder, and 3 A.M.

In 2004, she would star in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me and portrayed Anna Ran in Lady in the Water, a thriller film by M. Night Shyamalan. From 2014 to 2015, she also appeared in The Hunger Games franchise, portraying Egeria in both The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2. And she appeared alongside Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King, and the British drama, The Last Photograph.

Choudhury also has had several recurring roles on television, including spots on Blindspot, Homeland, Little Fires Everywhere, and more. She had a main role as Kith Lyonne on the Netflix series, Jessica Jones. I can only imagine where else she will take her talents after The Green Knight.

Sean Harris (King Arthur)

Sean Harris is the perfect actor to play King Arthur in The Green Knight. Sean Harris has been around for some time, but you’ve most likely seen him in several action movies, namely The Mission Impossible series. He had appearances in both Mission Impossible – Rogue and Mission Impossible – Fallout. Harris also starred in Prometheus as Fifield, and Phillip in Possum. He, as well, had a main role in the Netflix original film, The King.

Harris has also had some time on television as well. From 2011 – 2013, he portrayed Micheletto Corella on The Borgias and had a role in the miniseries Southcliffe. After The Green Knight, I can’t wait to see what Sean Harris does next.

Kate Dickie (Queen Guinevere)

Another character from the King Arthur legend, Queen Guinevere, Kate Dickie portrays her in The Green Knight. One of Dickie’s most famous roles prior to The Green Knight was portraying Lysa Arryn in the HBO fantasy series, Game of Thrones, and portraying Lex in the BBC series, Tinsel Town.

However, Dickie has also done plenty in film as well, including roles in Prometheus alongside Sean Harris, Filth, the horror film, The Witch, and a part in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. After The Green Knight, Kate Dickie will be bringing her acting skills to the historical drama, The Northman, so keep an eye out for her to pop up soon in theaters once again.

Barry Keoghan (Scavenger)

Known as the Scavenger in The Green Knight, Barry Keoghan has been in some big hits prior to his portrayal. He’s most known for his role in Dunkirk, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. He also had a role in Calm with Horses, and in the RTE drama, Love/Hate, where he portrayed Wayne.

Keoghan also had a recurring role in the HBO miniseries, Chernobyl, and historical drama serial, Rebellion. Keoghan will have a role in the upcoming The Batman in 2022 and will portray Druig in Marvel’s The Eternals– the best of both superhero worlds. You’ll certainly be seeing more of him soon.

Ralph Ineson (Green Knight)

Ralph Ineson portrays the Green Knight in the titular movie, The Green Knight, and this actor has been around the block for some time. He portrayed William in The Witch alongside Kate Dickie, Dagmer Cleftjaw in Game of Thrones, and had a role in the last three Harry Potter films, where he played Amycus Carrow. He also had a minor role in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy as a Ravager Pilot.

Ineson had a role in the BBC drama series, Goodnight Sweetheart, a part in drama series, Playing the Field, and had a role as Chris Finch in the original, The Office, which is what the American show was based on. Alongside Barry Keoghan, Ralph Ineson had a role in the HBO miniseries, Chernobyl, where he played Nikolai Tarakanov. Ralph Ineson has plenty coming up after The Green Knight, including The Northman mentioned earlier, so it won’t be long before he most likely pops up on your movie screens once more.

Erin Kellyman (Winfred)

While her role isn’t as big in The Green Knight, Erin Kellyman portrayed Winfred, and this young actress honestly has a bright future ahead of her, in my opinion. While she hasn’t done as much as some of her co-stars yet, her resume is still impressive. She had a role as Enfys Nest in Solo: A Star Wars Story and had a recurring role in the British sitcom, Raised by Wolves.

Later on, she went on to portray Eponine Thenardier in the BBC adaptation of Les Miserables. In 2021, Kellyman portrayed Karli Morganthau in the Disney+ Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. After her role in The Green Knight, in 2022, she is going to be in another Disney+ fantasy series, Willow.

This whole cast makes me want to see if they’re going to pop up in any of the movies on the 2021 movie premieres. Which cast member did you enjoy the most in The Green Knight?

Sixteen years after George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith, Joel Edgerton is preparing to make his return to the Star Wars universe. The actor is set to reprise his role as Owen Lars in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+, and while little is known about what we’ll see from the character in the story, fans are generally excited to see him come back. Surely Edgerton himself is anticipating it as well – though as he waits for his first day on set, he has some reservations about the specific way in which the show is being shot.

Like Disney+’s The Mandalorian, the production of Obi-Wan Kenobi will be utilizing the advanced digital backlot called StageCraft, developed by Industrial Light & Magic, and while audiences have been dazzled by results we’ve seen from the nascent technology, Joel Edgerton has some worries about how it might clash with the way he prefers to work. As featured in the video at the top of this article, I recently had the chance to interview the actor during the virtual press day for the new movie The Green Knight, and during our conversation he expressed his thoughts about working on the new Star Wars series. Said Edgerton,

George Lucas used a lot of green screen in the making of both Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith, so Joel Edgerton certainly knows what he is talking about here – but it’s also worth noting that StageCraft is definitely a step above simple chroma key. The setup uses a powerful game engine that allows filmmakers to project environments on LED walls that performers can actually see while on set, and that respond to the angle of the camera. That being said, it’s still not “real,” and actors still have to make special adjustments for the production.

The subject very naturally came up in conversation because Joel Edgerton’s newest movie, David Lowery’s The Green Knight, is one that was shot on-location and was made with a strong emphasis on practical effects. For his part in the Arthurian epic, Edgerton plays the lord of a spectacular manor that transports the viewer back to the sixth century – and being embedded in all of the authentic production design meant that every ounce of the actor’s imagination could be dedicated to his performance rather than be distracted by the environment. He explained,

While Joel Edgerton hasn’t been on set just yet, Obi-Wan Kenobi is now in production, though a release date has not yet been announced. We’ll keep you posted about all of the latest updates as they come in – but in the more immediate future you should do yourself a favor and go see The Green Knight, which hits theaters this Friday, July 30.

As audiences will discover this weekend, it will be a sincere challenge for any new release coming out in the rest of 2021 to match the visual richness of The Green Knight – but it won’t just be the awesome aesthetics that impress. Writer/director David Lowery is a filmmaker who understands the power and potential impact of subtle detail across all aspects of the art form, and it’s what allows his work to shine in many vibrant ways. This very much includes the way in which he works with his actors, and this is perfectly illustrated by the surprising reference material that he gave to Joel Edgerton in the making of the movie.

I had the chance to interview Edgerton and Dev Patel earlier this month during the virtual press day for The Green Knight (as featured in the video atop this article), and my question for the actors at the outset was about the character-centric conversations that they had with David Lowery prior to production. Edgerton, who plays the nameless The Lord in the film, surprised me with his response, and his revelation of where he got inspiration for his performance. Said the actor,

You might not necessarily consider that 20th century talk shows with slurring, venerable guest stars would be specific reference material for a beloved Arthurian legend brought to life on the big screen, but it’s David Lowery’s impressive creative thinking that makes him such an excellent filmmaker, and the choices Joel Edgerton makes in his performance are fantastic.

In the movie, Dev Patel stars as Sir Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur (Sean Harris) and a Knight of the Roundtable desperate to prove his mettle. When a fantastical Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) interrupts a Christmas banquet and offers the room a challenge, Gawain eagerly volunteers and accepts the specific terms: if he is able to land a single blow, he will win the Green Knight’s glorious axe – but in one year’s time he must seek out the man/tree hybrid and receive the same blow in return.

Sir Gawain has multiple encounters on his way to the Green Chapel, the location where he is meant to meet the Green Knight, and this includes a multi-night stay on a palatial estate owned by the aforementioned unnamed The Lord (Joel Edgerton) and The Lady (Alicia Vikander). The Lord is ultimately one of the kinder individuals who Gawain meets on his quest, albeit a bit… silly, and knowing what Edgerton was aiming for as reference only makes his wonderful turn easier to love.

After a long wait caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, audiences will finally be able to experience The Green Knight for themselves this weekend, as the movie is opening in theaters nationwide (and you really should see it, because it’s excellent). Stay tuned for more from my interview with Dev Patel and Joel Edgerton here on CinemaBlend, and check out our 2021 Movie Schedule to learn about all of the films coming out between now and the end of the year.

The Green Knight’s Dev Patel and Joel Edgerton discuss their upcoming A24 film with CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg. Uncover the stars' inspiration behind their portrayals, and why they love filmmaker David Lowery’s incredibly authentic set pieces - even more than a Star Wars set for one of them!

Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

00:07 - Dev Patel and Joel Edgerton’s Inspirations For Sir Gawain and The Lord

01:30 - Dev Patel On What It Was Like Shooting With Such Authentic Arthurian Set Pieces

02:26 - Joel Edgerton’s Concerns About Filming Obi-Wan Kenobi After Working On The Green Knight

You can see The Green Knight in movie theaters on July 30.

From the company that brought us Midsommar, Uncut Gems, Hereditary, and so much more comes The Green Knight, a medieval fantasy film directed by David Lowery. A24’s latest blockbuster is a bold spin of the Arthurian legend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which follows the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew, who journeys to confront the Green Knight, a gigantic tree-like creature and tester of men. The epic features Dev Patel as Sir Gawain, along with Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, and Sean Harris.

We saw reactions of the film from critics on social media last week, and they were overwhelmingly positive. Now critics have started to share their official reviews of the fantasy epic before it arrives in theaters this Friday, July 30, so let’s check out what they’re saying.

Let’s start with the CinemaBlend side, as usual. Eric Eisenberg thought The Green Knight was absolutely stunning, rating it 4.5 out of 5 stars. He was impressed with so many different aspects of the film, from Patel’s “amazing” performance that showcases his incredible talent, to the outstanding ensemble cast, to the spectacular CGI work. Eisenberg gave special recognition to Lowery’s direction and the gorgeous cinematography that transports the viewer into the story, saying:

Hoai-Train Bui from SlashFilm is absolutely singing the fantasy flick’s praises. She, like Eric Eisenberg, also commended Lowery’s “mesmerizing” direction, but she gave more attention to Patel’s performance in her review. She noted that the camera practically “worships” Patel, saying that the movie “knows that Patel is a heartthrob, and if you didn’t believe it before, you would now.” (And people are certainly thirsting over Patel in this film) Bui said:

Dev Patel is certainly gaining a lot of praise for his performance in The Green Knight. Robert Daniels of Polygon considers Patel’s role as Gawain his “career-defining performance.” Daniels also commended Lowery’s grasp on the source material and “dazzling” direction, as well as the cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo. While he did note that the pacing was a little overwhelming at times, Daniels’ review was positive overall, and said:

Matt Donato of WhatToWatch also applauded Lowery’s direction in the epic, noting that he emphasized showing (via imagery) over telling. Donato enjoyed the film overall, but his main critique was that it was simply “too much movie” at times, with too many “directionless” elements that caused the fantasy flick to run too long. Donato said:

Simon Abrams of TheWrap had several things to say about The Green Knight, and not many of them positive. While he did enjoy bits of Palermo’s cinematography and the costume designs from Malgosia Turzanska, he argued that Lowery’s storytelling was too confined. Abrams thought that the side characters were too vague and, contrary to the previous critics, thought Patel’s performance was just “fine enough.” He said:

Overall, reviews for The Green Knight seem to be mostly positive. You'll soon be able to form your own opinion of the A24 epic, as it releases in theaters this Friday, July 30.

In the meantime, check out our summer release guide to plan your next movie-going experience.

While Star Wars fans will still be waiting a while to get our first big look at the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+ – which will be more like new Star Wars than old Star Wars – the company is giving everyone a lot to chew on by way of revealing the full cast list for the limited series. And on top of the already revealed stars such as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen (which still seems like a fever dream come to life), the Obi-Wan series will also bring back the prequel trilogy's Joel Edgerton, while introducing The Eternals Kumail Nanjiani, Godzilla: King of the Monsters' O'Shea Jackson Jr., and many more.

Check out the full list of actors set for Obi-Wan Kenobi below in a fancy image provided by Disney. Not even the Force is capable of holding back excitement for this ensemble.

The biggest reveal in that bunch, of course, is the always great Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse, who portrayed Star Wars' younger versions of Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen Lars and Aunt Beru in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Edgerton was one of many actors whose names were fans bandied about by fans when talking about who might return for Obi-Wan Kenobi, so it's awesome that he's already been confirmed. Beyond that, we have Silicon Valley and The Big Sick's Kumail Nanjiani, who joins the Star Wars universe after having buffed up for the MCU as part of the upcoming feature The Eternals.

There are clearly lots of other exciting names involved too, though. Game of Thrones and Carnival Row star Indira Varma was previously announced to have joined the show in an undisclosed role. Meanwhile, we also have Godzilla: King of the Monsters' O'Shea Jackson Jr., The Queen's Gambit actress Moses Ingram, Homeland vet Rupert Friend, Fast and Furious franchise alum Sung Kang, Reckoning's Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie, one half of the directing duo behind Uncut Gems and Good Time.

Naturally, the fine folks at Disney and Star Wars did not provide lengthy explanations for who or what all these actors will be playing, such as whether or not so we're left to our own imaginative devices until more announcements are made in the future. We obviously know that Ewan McGregor is going to be reprising his role of Obi-Wan, while Hayden Christensen will once again take on the role of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader, and then there's Joel Edgerton and . But will one of those new actresses end up playing Clone Wars' Sabine? My money is on "hopefully yes."

Stay tuned for more about Obi-Wan Kenobi's impending debut and any other details that might be coming out soon.

Medieval fantasy films are a tried and true genre in filmmaking, entertaining moviegoers for decades. Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings franchise was a massive sweeping adventure that dominated pop culture, while Game of Thrones was the most popular show on TV during its tenure on HBO. Now Pete's Dragon director Pete Lowery will put his own spin on the genre with the upcoming blockbuster The Green Knight.

The Green Knight is set in the days of King Arthur, but will follow a different set of characters. Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel stars as protagonist Sir Gawain, Arthur's nephew. He sets off on a mission to find the Green Knight, who is supposed to be a giant green-skinned monster. The movie's first trailer just arrived, check it out.

The tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an ancient story from the 14th century, that's been adapted into film a couple of times before. This new version, The Green Knight certainly shows us a handful of moments that those of us that studied medieval literature in college will certainly remember. At the same time, we also see a lot her that shows this new adaptation will include some fresh elements not present in the original story.

The trailer is really well put together. It's spooky and dark and certainly will have people wondering what's in store for Dev Patel's character.

For those of us that didn't study the story in school Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells the story of the titular Green Knight, who arrives at King Arthur's court at Camelot with a challenge. He dares any member of King Arthur's court to strike him with an axe. The catch is that a year and a day later, the Green Knight will have the chance to return the blow. King Arthur's nephew, Sir Gawain takes up the challenge, and actually beads the Green Knight, but the Green Knight then stands up laughs, picks up his head, and reminds Gawain they have a date for a year and a day from now.

The majority of the story follows Gawain as he travels to the appointed location for what he assumes will be his death. Without spoiling the ending, one gets the impression from this trailer that things won't quite end up in the movie the way the original story ended. Sir Gawain works best as one piece in the larger canon of Arthurian Legend. As a stand alone story, it will likely need a few changes.

We see the beheading of the Green Knight in the trailer told as part of a puppet show. It's a safe bet that we'll still see the actual event in the film. The movie looks to focus much more on the year and a day period between the two events, which will give us an opportunity to get to know Sir Gawain a bit better in order to establish a strong character arc.

The Green Knight will be in theaters in May.

For movie fans, Joel Edgerton is now a household name, but it wasn't always so. Once upon a time he was just a young, relatively unknown Australian actor before he landed the small part of Owen Lars in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. While that role was so small some of you may have forgot he was even in Star Wars, the actor was able to parlay it into getting big Hollywood meetings, as he explained:

He may have played Luke Skywalker's eventual foster parent, but given that level of hustle you would think that Joel Edgerton was really more suited to be hanging out in the Mos Eisley Cantina. People in Hollywood knew that he was cast in the next Star Wars prequel film, but given the film's level of secrecy, the size of the part was not public knowledge. So as far as most people knew, he had a huge role where he wielded a lightsaber.

Nobody in the industry wants to be late to the party on an up and coming actor who is about to have a breakout role in the biggest film on the calendar. Joel Edgerton knew that, and he smartly let people believe his role was bigger than it was. He chose not to reveal the blink and you miss it nature of his part, as he revealed to Total Film.

He presumably made a good enough impression during the meetings that it was no big deal, but it must have been somewhat jarring for the people in those meetings when the trailers for Attack of the Clones started hitting, and Joel Edgerton was nowhere to be seen. But at that point you've got to admire the actor's moxie.

Just having a part in Star Wars is a huge deal for anyone's career by itself, but Joel Edgerton clearly saw it as the kind of opportunity that you maximize to its fullest potential, likely giving himself a huge leg up as his career moved forward by getting his foot in the door to these kinds of meetings. And he is still forever a part of the Star Wars universe. Maybe he'll even show up again if we ever get a Ewan McGregor Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff film or TV series on Disney+.

Nowadays Joel Edgerton doesn't need to bluff his way into big Hollywood meetings by name-dropping Star Wars; he should be able to get in all on his own just off the strength of his name. From big films like Black Mass, The Great Gatsby and Red Sparrow to smaller films like Loving, Joel Edgerton is a recognizable name that has proved his chops.

Joel Edgerton has also proved that he is a filmmaker to watch behind the camera as well. After making his directorial debut with 2015's The Gift, Joel Edgerton returned this year with Boy Erased. The film is about gay conversion therapy and has received plenty of critical acclaim, including for Joel Edgerton, who both directed and adapted the screenplay for the film.

Boy Erased is now playing, but that's just one of the awards contenders in theaters this holiday season. Check out the others and the biggest blockbusters in our Holiday Movie Guide.

Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased is a powerful depiction of the horrible experience that is gay conversion programs, and it starts in powerful fashion. Before the story kicks in and we learn about the drama that tears a family apart, the audience watches old footage of what is clearly Lucas Hedges' character as a kid, playing around and living a carefree existence. Understanding the idea of "movie magic," you might think that the material being shown is just edited clips of a child actor, but as I recently learned talking with the film's director, that's actually Hedges in home videos cut together by his mom:

Late last month I attended the domestic press days for Boy Erased in Los Angeles, and it was while sitting down with both Joel Edgerton and Lucas Hedges in separate interviews that I learned the surprising behind-the-scenes story about the movie's opening sequence. It began when I asked the writer/director about the evolution of the project from the first draft to the final cut, and he explained that one late addition was the archive footage at the start of the film, which he got to put together thanks to Hedges' old home videos.

In Boy Erased, based on the memoir by Garrard Conley, Lucas Hedges stars as Jared Eamons, the son of a preacher (Russell Crowe) who is coming to terms with his sexual identity. The film doesn't waste any time beginning its primary narrative, starting on the day that Jared is sent to a gay conversion program, but Joel Edgerton figured during post-production that there was a better way to start the movie. He wanted to let the audience know that while what Jared's parents do to their son is ultimately terrible and misguided, their actions do come from a place of love. Edgerton explained,

It was one day after my interview with Joel Edgerton that I had the chance to sit down with Lucas Hedges and talk about Boy Erased, so I followed up on story. I specifically asked about the process of putting that material together, and the actor gave all the credit to his mom for finding the video and providing it to the production:

You can watch Lucas Hedges talk about the home video footage featured in Boy Erased by clicking play on video below!

Would it have also been a nice coincidence if Lucas Hedges had met both Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman when he was a kid and captured it all on video? Sure. But the material that's shown is still pretty great and impactful.

Boy Erased, which co-stars Michael "Flea" Balzary, Troye Sivan, Madelyn Cline, and Emily Hinkler, is now out in limited release, but will be expanding into more theaters this Friday, November 9th. For more from my interviews with the folks behind the title, be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend.

Joel Edgerton is really just starting to forge his way into the directing world -- his debut, The Gift, released in 2015 -- but his experience in the acting world is deep. The 44-year-old Australian has been doing movies and television since the mid-90s, and has delivered some truly awesome performances in that time. At the same time, though, he is finding that the new enterprise has very much started to inform the old one, particularly with his experience working with Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman making his new movie, Boy Erased. He recently told me,

The domestic press junket for Boy Erased was earlier this week in Los Angeles, and I had the immense pleasure of sitting down one-on-one with Joel Edgerton for an extensive discussion about his sophomore directorial effort (which he also wrote and produced). I specifically brought up his work with Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman -- also Australian natives -- and inquired about what he took away from the experience. The actor-cum-filmmaker was clearly impressed with his stars' contributions, and expressed a real appreciation for the depth of their passion.

According to Joel Edgerton, both Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman examined every word in the script that he wrote for Boy Erased, based on the memoir of the same name by Garrard Conley. They grew to have a deep understanding of the roles they were playing, to the extent that they would be compelled to change the smallest of details to properly express themselves in their performance. Edgerton explained,

In Boy Erased, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman play Marshall and Nancy Eamons, devoted parents of their college-aged son, Jared (Lucas Hedges). The story begins with Jared coming to terms with his sexuality, realizing that he is gay, but unfortunately it's not a situation that mom and dad handle well. They are a deeply religious family, Marshall being a preacher at the local church, and they believe that it's a lifestyle choice. In response the decision is made to send Jared to a gay conversion program, where an attempt is made to make the young man someone he isn't, and we learn more about him through flashbacks guided by his introspection.

Both Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman give powerhouse performances in the movie, and their deep character work paid off. I asked Joel Edgerton directly if his work with the two stars is going to influence the way that he personally approaches his roles in the future, and his immediate response was, "Definitely." He makes a point of using his directorial experiences to understand the way other performers think and work, and ultimately applies it to himself:

Continuing his thought, Edgerton noted that part of what he's come to understand is that no two actors are exactly the same. He explained that age and experience plays a certain factor, but also that the good ones can evolve their work overtime. Of course, this also means that each one needs to be treated differently by their director, and that's another learning curve as he's continued his time behind the camera. Said the filmmaker,

On the latter front, it certainly seems like Joel Edgerton is learning fast, as the director/writer/producer/actor is now definitely two-for-two in terms of the titles he's brought from inception to final cut. He's proving to be an exciting voice behind the lens and it's an extra bonus that it likely means that his acting chops are only going to get even better.

Boy Erased, which co-stars Michael "Flea" Balzary, Troye Sivan, Madelyn Cline, and Emily Hinkler, is arriving in theaters this weekend -- set for limited release this Friday, November 2nd. We expect that we'll continue to hear more about the film as we continue through awards season, so be on the lookout for it in your area in the coming weeks, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interviews with the cast and filmmakers behind the movie.

If you've been waiting for a spy thriller to make big news at the box office again, you're in luck with this weekend's Red Sparrow. The Jennifer Lawrence / Joel Edgerton starring espionage flick is going to try and give Black Panther a run for its money, and audiences might be willing to give it a shot. But of course, when you've got a new movie trying to make headlines, there's going to be a lot of discussion around it.

Which is totally our cue to welcome you to another weekend's round of Rate and Discuss -- the place where you, the audience, give us your honest feedback on the big ticket contenders of the week. It certainly looks like an interesting road ahead for Red Sparrow, as critical reaction seems to be a slightly mixed bag. Though the consensus seems to follow closely to what our official review had to say about the film, which was the following:

Of course, you might have some differing thoughts regarding Red Sparrow's quality, and we want to hear from what you thought about the film! With that in mind, we'd like you to consider the following discussion questions as you give us your opinion in the Comments below:

Questions out of the way, it's time rate Red Sparrow on the traditional scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being dead in the water and 5 being a triumph of cinema. Log your rating in the poll below, and don't forget to share your comments on why you feel the film should be rated accordingly!

This poll is no longer available.

Before we leave, we'd like to suggest some further reading for you to consider before completing your evaluation of Red Sparrow. In particular, there's some interesting tidbits about how Jennifer Lawrence decided to do her first nude scene for the film, as well as her particular fast food cravings during the film's production. Though if you're one of those people who's kind of over the phenomenon known as J. Law, she has a special message for you as well. Last, but not least, what discussion about Red Sparrow would be complete without addressing the Black Widow in the room, as director Francis Lawrence (no relation) recently gave his feelings on how he sees the comparison between his film and the Marvel character played by Scarlett Johansson.

That's enough homework for this week. Go out there, see Black Widow... er, Red Sparrow, and come back ready to chat! We'll see you back here at CinemaBlend for another Rate and Discuss next Friday, when we'll be discussing A Wrinkle In Time.

Bright was a major big-budget fantasy movie that would have been at home on the big screen, even though it debuted on Netflix. One of the co-stars in the film thinks it has a relationship with another fantasy film that was on the big screen, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Specifically, the two films are near mirror opposites of each other, in that Bright was embraced by the audience, while being mostly rejected by critics, while The Last Jedi saw a very different response. According to Edgerton...

It's certainly is true that if you compare the reaction to the two films on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Bright and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, are as opposite as they can be. The former film currently sits with an 85% positive audience response but only a 27% positive review score. While The Last Jedi, is at 90% with the critics, but only 48% among the general audience. While there is some question as to the legitimacy of that audience score, it's certainly true that lots of fans didn't love the new Star Wars while critics clearly did.

The reason that Bright was trashed by critics, however, is a more complicated question. Joel Egerton suggests to Collider that the reason had at least something to do with the fact that it was a Netflix movie, and that traditional critics took issue with that. That's a bit hard to swallow since lots of Netflix movies have been received perfectly well by critics.

Joel Edgerton also takes issue with "highbrow" film critics, taking the position of many that some movies are made "for fans" and thus shouldn't be judged in the same way. It seems to assume that all film critics view movies in the same way and that critics themselves are not fans. Neither premise is true. Even if some critics are holding Bright to some impossible standard of highbrow film criticism, nobody is requiring that the audience accept that opinion. It is one perspective among many, and while it may not be the last word, that also doesn't mean it doesn't have a point that is worth at least considering.

The fact that Bright and Star Wars: The Last Jedi had such divergent and opposing responses is just evidence why film criticism is worthwhile, because people are going to naturally disagree about art. While Bright may have been trashed by most critics, more than a quarter of them still thought there was something of value in the film (our review is one of them if you're keeping score), that's not an insignificant number. There will always be a different perspective, that's part of the fun of talking about movies, whether you're a critic, a fan, or both.

If there's one thing that can be said about Red Sparrow, it certainly has impeccable timing. In an era when the United States has serious questions about the intentions of Russia, we get a modern-day spy movie that is clearly designed to remind one of the espionage movies of the Cold War. So much so that one sequence has state secrets being transferred via 3.5" floppy disks. That is a thing that happens.

Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is a ballerina with the Bolshoi Ballet who loses the ability to dance following a tragic accident on stage. Since her apartment and her sick mother's health care are provided by the state-run ballet, she needs to find a new source of income and so she turns to her uncle (Matthias Schoenaerts), a member of Russia's intelligence community. He sends her to "Sparrow School," a place where young Russians learn how to seduce and manipulate targets in order to obtain valuable information for the state. For Dominka's first assignment, she must get close to CIA agent Nate Nash (Joel Egerton) and learn the identity of his informant inside the Russian government. Pretense falls away quickly, however, as Nash quickly realizes who Dominika is, but believes she can be turned into an asset for the CIA. As the relationship grows, a romance appears to bloom.

What follows is a fairly standard espionage thriller, but one dripping with atmosphere. The Russians want their Sparrow to get information from the Americans. The Americans want her working for them, and all she wants is to make sure her sick mother is safe. There are double crosses, hidden agendas, and you never really know what you're supposed to believe and what you're not.

While this works for the spy portion of the movie, it is inexorably intertwined with the romance portion of the movie, and the romance ends up falling flat. Both Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton are playing trained spies, so you'd expect one or both to at least put up a pretense of trying to not get involved in that way. It happens so quickly, and with so little chemistry, that a savvy spy movie fan might assume that one of them must be playing the other. You keep waiting for the twist... but it never really comes.

Jennifer Lawrence performs admirably in her lead role. Her accent isn't even all that bad after awhile. Lawrence shows a vulnerability beneath her tough exterior when she needs to which makes her character feel real. Still, it would have been nice to get a bit deeper into her character. Dominika Egorova seems unusually suited to being a Sparrow as she takes to it nearly instantly, but we never really learn why that is. The movie is ultimately about Lawrence's character breaking free of the control of others, but we never learn where the inner strength required to do so comes from. With as much time as we spend with her we never really get to understand who she is.

This could possibly have been done if the film had spent a bit more time in Sparrow School, which is by far the most interesting portion of the film. Charlotte Rampling is in and out of Red Sparrow all too quickly as the matron of the institution who trains her Sparrows in the art of seduction. She's the only one in the movie who gives the impression she's enjoying herself.

However, for Red Sparrow to spend more time anywhere, it would have only become longer, and at nearly two and a half hours, the movie is already long enough. The movie is paced reasonably well, so that's not so much the issue. What is the issue is that the film's violence is so visceral that the film's extended runtime makes you hope for the end just to see it stop. Red Sparrow contains multiple torture and rape sequences that are not for the faint of heart.

In the end, everything comes together in a conclusion that nearly everybody will predict some of, and some will predict all of, which is not to say it's unsatisfying. Red Sparrow isn't nearly as smart as it thinks it is, but it's maybe just smart enough to keep an audience entertained.

Welcome to the 31st edition of The Cord Cutter Podcast! Netflix has finally debuted its first big-budget (potential) blockbuster, Bright, and it's time for us to dissect it with the same fervor that Will Smith kills a fairy! This week, Mick, Adrienne and their guest, CinemaBlend's own Eric Eisenberg, will tell you everything you need to know about the action-fantasy film and whether or not it's worth your streaming time! Netflix has gambled big on Bright. The Will Smith and Joel Edgerton starrer had a $90 million budget, and the streaming service believes in the final product so much that a sequel actually got the go-ahead before the first film had even hit Netflix.

Now, we're here to go over all the details on Bright, and you can be sure that by the time we finish you'll have all the info you need on the new movie. Is Bright one of the best things that Netflix has ever done, or one of the worst? How does the fantasy world building match up with the story of two cops trying to stop an evil plot, which is the focus of the movie? What does Bright do right, and what does it do very, very wrong? Do fairy lives matter? Did director David Ayer really right the wrongs he made with Suicide Squad? And, just what the hell is up with that damn dragon, anyway? We'll talk about that, and much more! Ready to dive in? Great! Read on to get the lowdown on this week's podcast and then listen for yourself above!

1:24 - News!

9:26 - The Weekly Queue (Wormwood, Pottersville, The Toys That Made Us)

15:35 - Bright discussion begins!

17:20 - Overall opinion

30:15 - What kept you watching?

34:35 - Suicide Squad vs Bright

41:50 - The sequel

44:21 - Bright 2 potential plots

51:47 - Game Time! How Bright Are You?

Now, get in on the fun and have a listen to The Cord Cutter Podcast #31! Join us next time when we talk about some of the exciting new things coming to streaming in 2018! And, be sure to subscribe to The Cord Cutter podcast on iTunes, right here and follow us on Twitter through @CordCutterPod!

Performing as an actor isn't all about reading from a script. It often takes some improv skill, as well as the ability to roll with the punches. That's a talent that Joel Edgerton needed on the set of David Ayer's Bright, as the man behind Suicide Squad pushed him to improvise about some pretty weird topics as Orcish cop Nick Jakoby. In fact, we recently sat down with Edgerton during the press junket for Bright in Los Angeles, and he explained that Ayer even made him improvise about an Orcish dating app called O-Date with co-star Will Smith. Edgerton addressed the weird acting exercise and said:

As a director, David Ayer has become well-known for his work with anti-hero characters in the creation of his films. From Street Kings to Fury and End of Watch, the protagonists of his stories tend to have harder edges and more cynical outlooks on life. That's what makes Joel Edgerton's Nick Jakoby so distinct; he's a soft-hearted man in a nasty world, and those incredibly bizarre moments of "somewhat pathetic" banter and improv helped shape a character who broke new ground for Ayer and Edgerton in their respective careers. The exchange didn't even make it into the final cut of the movie; it was just there to help inform a personality and add a layer of depth.

The creation of something like O-Date also lines up nicely with the world established by screenwriter Max Landis. The man behind the Chronicle screenplay has compared the world created by Bright to Star Wars, and much of that comparison stems from the sheer scope and potential in a gritty, hard-R world populated by character ripped from the universe of Lord of the Rings and the Brothers Grimm. It's evident that there's quite a bit of room to continue exploring the Bright world (as shown by the fact that a sequel is already in development), and it's the little details like O-Date that continue to reinforce how deep a filmmaker and his/her crew can go into this realm.

Bright will make its Netflix debut tomorrow, December 22; if you want to learn more about the film, check out our in-depth review and take a look at our review roundup to see what other critics are saying.

Beyond that, make sure to check out all of the crazy fairy tale action for yourself and check out our Netflix premiere guide to see what else the streaming service has in store for the rest of the year. On the theatrical side of the film industry, you can also take a glance at our 2017 movie premiere guide and our 2018 movie premiere guide.

Fairy tales often conjure images of sleek and clean worlds populated by knights riding on horseback and monsters who dwell in caves. It's a well-worn idea, but now the time has come for those myths to come crashing into reality to see how orcs, elves, humans and other beings would operate in the real world. That's the universe created by David Ayer's Bright, and while Netflix's first big-budget blockbuster impresses on a technical, thriller level, its deeper subtext is incredibly heavy-handed and fails to bring anything new or interesting to a profoundly political conversation about cops and race.

We open on Bright to find a world that's not terribly dissimilar from our own. Los Angeles is a mess, as racial tensions and bigotry lead society to a boiling point. However, this isn't just a world defined by black and white; it's a universe in which monsters from the stories of J.R.R Tolkien actually live side-by-side with real humans. Enter seasoned cop Daryl Ward (Will Smith), who finds himself (unwillingly) partnered with the LAPD's first-ever orc cop, Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton). The two don't exactly care for one another, but when they stumble on a rare magic wand and a "Bright" named Tikka (Lucy Fry) who knows how to use it, they realize that they must work together if they want to keep it out of the hands of dark elf Leilah (Noomi Rapace) and survive the night.

Structurally-speaking, Bright feels like a combination of David Ayer's own End of Watch and Walter Hill's The Warriors, and that mission to stay alive over the course of one night is where the story works best. There is proper tension and great action at play here, but the script often betrays those stronger elements with some incredibly on-the-nose observations about police relations with minority communities. From the moment Will Smith's Daryl Ward utters the phrase "fairy lives don't matter today," before killing a sprite-like creature on his porch, it becomes abundantly clear that subtlety is out the window in a movie like Bright.

The best thing that can be said about Bright is that it introduces audiences to a world that's absolutely ripe for exploration. Combining Tolkien with David Ayer's darkly violent and gritty sensibilities creates a fascinating ecosystem, and it's clear that there are great stories that can be told in this universe. Screenwriter Max Landis has even referred to Bright as his Star Wars, which makes sense when we view it as an ever-expanding world that has the potential for stories outside of the two main characters in this first film.

The problem is that this richly-constructed world often comes at the expense of characters. Though Joel Edgerton does a fantastic job performing as Jakoby through his heavy makeup (he's the beating heart of the film, but all too often gets saddled with exposition), Will Smith is more or less on autopilot, doing what everyone pretty much expects from a Will Smith action movie these days. In fact, if the name "Ward" wasn't directly printed on the uniform of Smith's character, we would've just assumed that we were looking at Suicide Squad's Floyd Lawton.

That issue of thinly-drawn characters becomes even more pronounced when we look at Bright's supporting cast. Noomi Rapace delivers a physically impressive and athletic performance as Leilah, but there's nothing to her personality that's even remotely interesting. She's just a broadly evil villain who wants to acquire X so she can do Y. Lucy Fry also isn't particularly interesting as Tikka, more often than not doing an impersonation of Milla Jovovich's Leeloo from The Fifth Element.

As far as saving graces go, David Ayer continues to show that he knows how to present audiences with a gritty and visceral vision of urban life when he's unfettered by studio interference. His action sequences come hard and fast, and there are some genuinely thrilling fights worth checking out throughout the bulk of Bright's runtime. When the bullets start flying, action movie buffs will almost certainly enjoy themselves, but the downtime between those sequences can become a real slog after a while.

So in the end, the main takeaway from Bright is the fact that it's a mixed bag. David Ayer has crafted some legitimately great action sequences, and there's an argument to be made that this is the gritty and hard-hitting movie that Suicide Squad should've been in the first place. Beyond that, the world created by Max Landis feels like a refreshing change of pace from interconnected superhero worlds or galaxies far, far away. On the other hand, all of that good stuff ultimately feels short-changed by a predictable and thinly-drawn A story that relies on coincidence and deus ex machina to even work.

David Ayer's Bright isn't as clever as it thinks it is on a thematic level, but it's a decent buddy cop thriller set in a fascinating world that's worth a weekend viewing. Netflix has already announced plans to move forward with a sequel, so our hope remains high that a more imaginative story can help elevate this cool universe to the less formulaic heights that it deserves.

WARNING: The following article contains some SPOILERS for It Comes At Night. While they don't go into specifics, they give vague hints about its outcome, so you should proceed cautiously.

It Comes At Night is already being talked about as one of the best horror films of 2017. Not only because of just how unnerving and subtly terrifying it is, but because it doesn't pull any punches in just how dark it becomes. But it almost ended in a much more twisted fashion, as Trey Edward Shults originally wrote and shot It Comes At Night with the intention of bringing it to a close with a horrifying dream sequence. However, the decision was ultimately made to go in a different direction, something that its lead star Joel Edgerton firmly agreed with. Joel Edgerton explained:

Joel Edgerton admitted this to me when I recently sat down with the actor to discuss It Comes At Night. I also chatted to Trey Shults about his follow-up to 2015's Krisha, too, and he went into more detail about the alternate ending to It Comes At Night, explaining to me that it would be yet another one of Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr)'s nightmares, but this time it would see him confronting all of the demons he had to battle with in the house. Trey Shults remarked:

Joel Edgerton also added some further details regarding the sequence, revealing that it would have seen Will (Christopher Abbott) returning to the house, and then looking to torture Travis, Paul (Joel Edgerton) and Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), before then burning the entire home to the ground. Joel Edgerton continued:

It took a while for Trey Shults to realize that the scene needed to be cut from It Comes At Night, though. Which probably had something to do with the fact that they actually shot the sequence, which included burning down the home where the movie is entirely set. After showing it to some people, Trey Shults soon realized that the intended conclusion might be a bit too much, before he then finally found a much "simpler" and "effective" way to bring it an end, without jeopardizing his original vision. Trey Shults recalled:

But while Joel Edgerton agrees that Trey Shults was right to get rid of the final nightmare sequence, he is still slightly disappointed that people didn't get to see his performance during it, as he believes that it was some of the greatest work he has ever done as an actor. However, he is still adamant that it was for the greater good of the film, and is ecstatic with how It Comes At Night has ended up. Joel Edgerton remarked:

It Comes At Night is now in theaters, and, as my review attests, I believe that it is truly astounding stuff. So go and see it. And if you already have, go and see it again.

It Comes At Night is an intense experience. It is also moody, gripping and truly unsettling. But despite this darkness, there is one moment of levity in the film that will actually make you guffaw with laughter. I won't go into too many details about the scene, but it involves Joel Edgerton and Christopher Abbott briefly joking about the lack of plumbing in the house, and then immediately taking it too far. It turns out that this moment wasn't actually in Trey Shults' script for It Comes At Night, and was instead completely improvised by the duo. But it was also a vital moment for the film, as it provided some much needed hope that this new community could work. Joel Edgerton explained:

Joel Edgerton admitted this to me when I sat down to discuss It Comes At Night with him earlier this week. The Australian actor made the above remarks when I suggested that even though it is being marketed as such, It Comes At Night isn't just a horror movie. While it does include elements of the genre, and Trey Shults does an incredible job of creating an unnerving mood and fright, it actually feels like an amalgamation of genres. This provoked Joel Edgerton to remark:

It most definitely isn't the latter two. It Comes At Night is set in a dystopian future where a virus has ravaged humanity. Joel Edgerton's Paul lives in a desolate home in the middle of a forest with his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) and their son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). But when Christopher Abbott's Will and his wife and young child suddenly arrive at their abode, Paul immediately begins to question whether he can trust them, and whether or not they should join them in their home. You can watch the trailer for It Comes At Night, and get a sense of its aesthetic and style, below.

It Comes At Night is now in theaters across the US, while you can also read my review for the film.

We know that more spinoff Star Wars movies are on the way and one of the most rumored potential topics has been a film based around Obi-Wan Kenobi. One former Star Wars actor knows exactly what that film should be about. Joel Edgerton played the young Owen Lars, the "brother" of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy, and he thinks that any movie that focuses on Obi-Wan should bring him back as well. According to Edgerton...

There's a good chance that you forgot that Oscar-nominated actor Joel Edgerton was even in the Star Wars prequels. He's got very few scenes and very little dialogue, and he wasn't the star he is now back then, but he is officially part of Star Wars canon, and he tells Business Insider that he'd be more than happy to return to expand on the role.

While the odds of Lucasfilm bringing back Uncle Owen, even if an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie does happen, have to be astronomical, I have to say, I sort of love this idea. One of the things that the spinoffs allow for is for Lucasfilm to make Star Wars movies in different genres than the main franchise, so what about a Star Wars "buddy cop" movie with Ewan McGregor and Joel Edgerton? Obi-Wan Kenobi is the straight-laced Jedi Knight, Owen Lars is the slightly inept buffoon that's along for the ride for some paper thin plot reasons. There seems like some real opportunity there. Star Wars has never been afraid to add comedy to their stories, but they could go full action-comedy with this idea.

Also, as Joel Edgerton intimates, it would add an entirely new layer to Uncle Owen's character in the original Star Wars: A New Hope. Imagine rewatching the early scenes of that movie with the gruff joyless moisture farmer, after seeing a movie where he went on intergalactic adventures alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi. You'd never be able to look at him the same way again. His death would go from being a mere plot necessity to a truly tragic event. Imagine, that the guy who did all that cool shit in space was killed by Stormtroopers like that?

Lucasfilm has stated that their decision for what will be the next Star Wars movie following Episode IX, will likely be decided sometime this summer. Hopefully, they'll consider this pitch, as it is box office gold, without question. Well, maybe there's a bit of a question.

Red Sparrow is a spy thriller about agents from opposite sides who fall for each other. The female half of the pair has already been taken by Jennifer Lawrence. Now, we have an actor in talks to work alongside her. Lawrence will play a Russian agent tasked with seducing a member of the CIA, which a new report claims may be played by Joel Edgerton.

Red Sparrow is based on a novel of the same name and follows a Russian woman who is trained as a seductress in order to get information from a new to the field CIA agent, that had been tasked with collecting Russian intelligence. However, the two begin an actual relationship, which makes things very dangerous for the both of them. Eventually, the CIA agent is actually able to turn the "sparrow" into a double agent herself. While the film sounds like a cold war spy thriller, it will actually be set in the modern day.

Variety reports that Joel Edgerton is in "early talks" to take the male lead of Red Sparrow, so it's difficult to say how much of a sure thing this is. Jennifer Lawrence has been attached to the project for months, but as the film already has a November 2017 release date, the studio is likely looking to get moving fairly soon.

Joel Edgerton has built a successful and varied career over the years. While he's been acting since the mid-1990's, he likely came to the attention of most filmgoers as the young Owen Lars in the Star Wars prequels. Since then, he's gone on to roles in films like Zero Dark Thirty and Black Mass. He played Ramses for Ridley Scott in Exodus: Gods and Kings, and Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrman's The Great Gatsby. His next film will be as the man who, along with his wife, challenged state laws against racially integrated marriages in Loving.

Red Sparrow will also bring Jennifer Lawrence back together with her Hunger Games director Frances Lawrence. Originally Darren Aronofsky was looking at directing the film back when the novel was released, but that never came to fruition.

With a pair of strong leads, Red Sparrow is looking like a substantial film. The only issue the film may have is its screenplay. Originally, the screenplay had been written by Eric Warren Singer, the writer of another previous Jennifer Lawrence film American Hustle. However, that script is now seeing a rewritten by Justin Haythe, the man responsible for the Dwayne Johnson vehicle Snitch and Jonny Depp's The Lone Ranger.

What do you think of the pairing of Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton? Let us know if you think these two will make strong leads for Red Sparrow.

I know it's only July, but studios are already gearing up for Oscar season. Not only were we recently privy to the first footage for Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks' Sully, but now the trailer for the drama Loving has also been released. It's an emotional tour-de-force, too, and in just a couple of minutes it makes it very clear that it has all the ingredients to be a bona-fide awards season contender come the end of next year, especially since its tackling an issue that unfortunately is still so rife in the US today. You can take it all in by clicking on the link below.

Loving tells the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, Virginia natives who traveled to Washington, D.C. in 1958 to marry. In doing so they evaded Virginia's Racial Integrity Act Of 1924, which was imposed to make marriage between whites and non-whites a crime.

After returning to Virginia they were arrested and sentenced to prison in 1958, and, in order for their sentence to be suspended for 25 years, they soon made their home in Washington D.C. However, by 1964 the couple had become frustrated by their inability to travel to see their families in Virginia and they began legal proceedings against the state, which went all the way up to the Supreme Court who found that laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional.

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, Loving's trailer immediately teases superlative and stirring performances from its leading stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, who play the aptly named Richard and Mildred Loving, respectively. This is the second time that Joel Edgerton has teamed up with Jeff Nichols, following their collaboration on Midnight Special earlier this year.

Negga will mostly be familiar with moviegoers because of her work in Fury, World War Z, Jimi: All Is By My Side, and, most recently, Warcraft, while she has been wowing comic-book fans with her performances in Preacher as Tulip O'Hare in the last few weeks after also appearing as Raina in Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

While it remains to be seen whether Nichols, Negga, and Edgerton can carry the film and impress the awards season powers that be -- even though the trailer suggests they'll do just that with ease -- I'm going to predict that Michael Shannon's role as the photographer who shot the family for Life Magazine, Grey Villet, will result in him landing a Best Supporting Actor nod.

And while I was immediately entranced and impressed by the debut trailer for Loving, which was met by a standing ovation at its Cannes screening, I did take umbrage with its use of Carter Burwell's stunning score fromthe 2010 remake of True Grit. Re-using it just feels a little lazy. Still, that's only a minor fault, and I'm certain that come Loving's release on November 4, 2016, its major positives will reduce this to an after-thought.

Over the last few years, numerous streaming providers have been upping their game when it comes to acquiring and producing original content, including feature films. And no one has been more active or aggressive than the big daddy of them all, Netflix. The recent acquisition of Bright, starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, and directed by David Ayer, had a huge price tag. According to the director, however, while the money is nice, the platform provides a better option for this type of R-rated action movie than a traditional studio setting as it allows more artistic license.

A project like Bright, one with a big star in Will Smith and a big name director like David Ayer, is traditionally the type of film that finds a home at one of the major studios. Talking to Deadline, however, the Suicide Squad director said it’s not about budget and a wide theatrical release, but it boils down to creative freedom. He said:

While this allows a director like David Ayer the leeway to make his movie, his way—we’re seeing more and more filmmakers opt for this route for this very reason—this is a big coup for Netflix as well. The streaming giant inked a lucrative deal with Adam Sandler for a number of movies, and they even got into the prestige, end-of-the-year awards game in 2015 with Beasts of No Nation—they were also big spenders at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, snatching up a number of buzzed about titles—but those are all modestly budgeted films. Bright, however, marks their first real foray into potential blockbuster territory.

The deal that landed Bright at Netflix is reportedly worth $90 million, which includes a $45 million shooting budget and an equal amount invested in the talent involved. Directed by David Ayer, written by Max Landis, and starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, the story revolves around a human cop (Smith) who is forced to team up with, no kidding, an orc (Edgerton), in order to track down a powerful wand. It’s been described as a mix between End of Watch and Alien Nation. That sounds awesome.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Bright performs. To qualify Beasts of No Nation for awards consideration, Netflix released it into a limited number of theaters, but it ran into problems because a lot of venues won’t accept movies that don’t offer them an exclusive windows. Though it might be more difficult to deny a potentially lucrative Will Smith/David Ayer team up. Perhaps this will become a more regular occurrence for this kind of mid-range action film.

The cast and crew of Suicide Squad were so chummy together that several of them got matching tattoos to commemorate their time filming. But, having left their indelible marks on each other following their work on Suicide Squad, Will Smith and director David Ayers have decided to re-team for the upcoming film Bright, which is likely to test the bounds of their burgeoning friendship.

News regarding the cop thriller is still in scant supply, but it has already assembled a mightily impressive cast and creative team that suggests it should be a must watch. The Hollywood Reporter has not only confirmed the presence of both Will Smith and David Ayer on the project, but they’ve also revealed that Australian actor Joel Edgerton will star in the film as well.

However, one of the most intriguing aspects of Bright is that, according to The Wrap, either Will Smith or Joel Edgerton will be playing an orc police officer, as Bright includes fantasy elements that sees humans live amongst fairies and creatures of similar ilk.

The script for the peculiar cop thriller has been penned by the remarkably consistent Max Landis, whose screenwriting credits start with 2012’s Chronicle, include 2015’s American Ultra and Victor Frankenstein, while his directorial debut Me Him Her will be in theaters May 11th. Additionally, his action rom-com Mr Right is released next month, and he helped to re-write the Power Rangers reboot too.

However, while movie nerds will be intrigued by the fact that Max Landis has written the script, the main appeal to Bright is the fact that it reteams Will Smith and David Ayer. The pair is surely hopeful that movie studios feel the same way too, because the hunt is now on the find a home for Bright.

One of studios that’s bound to take interest in the project is Warner Bros., the studio behind Suicide Squad, and its likely sequel. Especially since the reaction to Suicide Squad’s trailers has been so hugely positive that anticipation for the blockbuster is, arguably, more fervent than it is for Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

It’s also a good sign that Joel Edgerton has decided to hitch his wagon to Bright too. Over the last few years Joel Edgerton has forged an compelling career path, which last year alone saw him star in the James Deen biopic Life, the Whitey Bulger gangster epic Black Mass, as well as writing and directing The Gift.

Before Bright, we’ll see Joel Edgerton pop up in Midnight Special later this month as well as Loving. But it’s hard not to look forward to the orc cop thriller, which will hopefully find a home soon so that we can start counting down the days until its release.

The following story is going to have to get into spoilers for The Gift, so stop reading now if you haven’t yet seen the film.

Joel Edgerton’s feature-length directorial debut, The Gift, was a taut little exercise in psychological manipulation and long-play revenge. But Edgerton’s best gift to his fans was the open-ended mystery he provided in the closing minutes. We have a baby, but we have no idea who the father might be. We even dedicated an entire feature to debating the possibilities. The answer, it seemed, was in the eye of each audience member.

When I ran in to Joel Edgerton at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he was promoting Black Mass, he told me that he actually shot alternate endings to The Gift that would make the answer more abundantly clear. Now, we’re thrilled to be able to show you one of those endings, which will be part of the movie’s DVD release:

Edgerton told me that part of the reason why he didn’t go with these options as his ending is because he viewed them as too cut and dried, and he wanted to leave some ambiguity to his finale. I couldn’t agree more. When The Gift concludes, we’re stuck in the same unenviable position as Simon (Jason Bateman), wondering if the man that he picked on for years had actually impregnated his wife (Rebecca Hall), meaning that Simon’s child isn’t really his own. It might be Gordo’s.

The above scene takes the movie one additional step, showing Edgerton – as Gordo – removing his mask but NOT having sex with Rebecca Hall’s character, Robyn. It lets the movie audience off the hook, and doesn’t land with the same impact as the ending that Edgerton ultimately chose for his theatrical cut.

The Gift was a surprise hit for Joel Edgerton and STX Entertainment. It had a reported budget of $5 million, but fantastic reviews and strong word of mouth helped power the disturbing indie thriller to a robust $53.2 million worldwide gross. Edgerton continues to make his bones as a stellar actor, holding court opposite Johnny Depp in Black Mass or Natalie Portman in the upcoming Jane Got a Gun. But The Gift showed that he absolutely has a future as a gifted storyteller behind the camera, once he’s ready to dedicate more time to that aspect of the business. We can’t wait to see what he directs next.

The Gift DVD/Blu-Ray is available on Oct. 27.

It’s no small compliment when I tell you I believe Scott Cooper’s Black Mass can run with Scorsese’s mob trilogy of Goodfellas, Casino and, especially, the South Boston-flavored The Departed. It's that dirty, nasty and compelling.

Can you remember how commanding Johnny Depp was in Donnie Brasco, or how captivating he was in Ed Wood? Do you recall when Depp owned the screen in movies like Blow, Edward Scissorhands, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and, yes, even Pirates of the Caribbean. (The first one, at least.) He’s that good in Black Mass, larger than life and barely contained to the screen as he turns true-life Boston crime lord James "Whitey" Bulger into a menacing, intimidating and dangerously unpredictable snake in the grass.

Bulger’s story is a classic American gangster tale, the stuff that essentially writes itself for the screen (no disrespect to Black Mass screenwriters Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, who wring tension and fear out of Bulger’s criminal reign). From the early 1970s until 1994, Bulger and the sadistic members of his Winter Hill Gang lorded over South Boston’s tight-knit neighborhoods – feuding with Italian rivals and manipulating local law enforcement. But Bulger also made a deal behind the scenes with the FBI in 1975 to serve as an informant, and it’s this seedy relationship that gives Black Mass its spine.

Depp isn’t asked to hoist Black Mass on his back and carry it the distance, though. On the FBI’s side, Cooper casts the fantastic Joel Edgerton as John Connolly, a childhood friend (and fellow Southie) of Bulger’s who puts his neck on the line and convinces his superior (Kevin Bacon) that a deal with the crime boss can be beneficial to the Bureau. And for a short amount of time, it seems to be working. Bulger gives the FBI information about his rivals, then operates his own criminal operations under the "protection" provided by having assistants in law enforcement. Nothing sticks to Bulger, so it’s damn-near impossible to bring him down – even though he’s involved in everything from drugs and racketeering to murder.

Black Mass is a rock-solid, well-structured and brutal crime drama. It covers so much blood-soaked ground in Bulger’s sketchy history, but doesn’t shortchange the audience from understanding the man’s impact and influence. If Cooper’s approach to the genre differs from Scorsese in one important way, it’s that there are no rock-music cues or bouts of uncomfortable, dark levity to break the tension. Black Mass is cutthroat and mean. It looks dirty and angry. But you can’t take your eyes off of it.

It’s also an actors’ showcase. Depp and Edgerton are so in sync as unlikely "brothers" in a criminal alliance that everyone else in the star-studded cast rises to meet the bar they collectively raised. Huge names fill relatively small roles, and they all deliver – from Bacon to Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Sarsgaard to Dakota Johnson, Corey Stoll to Juno Temple, Julianne Nicholson to Jesse Plemons.

The one thought I kept having during Black Mass is that my father, a retired New York Police officer who loved seedy crime dramas, would adore the hell out of this one. That’s high praise.

This review was filed during the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Warning: Spoilers for The Gift are in play. If you haven’t seen the film yet, and you totally should, please bookmark this page and wait until you’ve seen it before reading. Unless spoilers are your thing, in which case have at it.

With all of the makings of a sleeper end-of-summer hit, Joel Edgerton’s The Gift had a pretty good second week at the box office. Part of that is probably because of strong word of mouth, but a huge portion of its success should be attributed to Edgerton’s darkly beautiful efforts not only as a co-star of the film, but also as a writer and first time director of a film that explores bullying in a truly Hitchcockian fashion – right down to the devastating ending that clouds the film’s events in a shroud of ambiguity.

The Gift’s ending drops a huge question as to whether or not the baby born to Jason Bateman’s Simon and Rebecca Hall’s Robyn was fathered by Robyn’s husband, or by her would-be rapist, Gordo (Edgerton). While we’re shown extremely compelling evidence in favor of Gordo's possible status as the father, there are clues spread throughout the film’s narrative that suggest that the stalker is merely screwing with Simon’s head – as retribution for the rumors Simon had circulated years prior which lead to his many hardships. So who’s the baby daddy, and who’s gonna be mad? Prepare to unwrap the truth with us, as we open The Gift’s biggest mystery.

Scenario 1: It’s Gordo’s Baby

The case for Gordo’s surprise foray into fatherhood is what the film leans very heavily on in its third act, so let’s first break down the scenario that proves that he did the deed. In the gift package left for Simon as he returns home from the hospital, there are three items: a key to the house; an audio recording of Simon and Robyn’s conversation in Gordo’s "home," which lays out his supposed plan to steal Simon’s wife and get her pregnant; and the video recording of Gordo’s intrusion.

While Robyn was indeed drugged, and the footage shows Gordo entering the home – clad in a monkey mask, just to scare Simon even more – entering the house and climbing on top of Simon’s unconscious wife, the footage cuts out before any sort of sexual activity can occur. This leaves a lot of doubt in the case for Gordo’s parentage for the young one born in The Gift’s third act. However, if context clues are to be weighed as evidence, then Gordo’s conversation with Robyn could be the smoking gun, as he tells her "good things happen to good people."

If Gordo is as much of a creeper as Simon believes he is, then this line is meant to be an admission of guilt, and proof beyond reproach that Gordo took Robyn in an unconscious state and gave her the "gift" she and Simon had been struggling to achieve – that of a newborn child. But taking a look into Gordo’s character, another narrative begins to unravel throughout the entire film’s central mystery. Let's explore the alternatives.

Scenario 2: It’s Simon’s Baby

On the surface, The Gift paints Gordo as a raving psychopath. Yet, the film does as much work building a case for those who would defend him as it does for those who would condemn him. Most stories would paint the bullied as becoming the bully. Joel Edgerton’s writing doesn’t let the audience off that easily. A specific case in point is Gordo’s actions during the parking lot confrontation between himself and Simon, then the latter comes to "apologize."

While Simon characteristically bullies Gordo, and eventually causes physical harm upon him, Gordo does nothing to fight back against his assailant. Even throughout the preceding two acts of The Gift, we don’t see Gordo do anything out of sorts – except for the drugging of Robyn. Tabling that act for the moment though, the most Gordo ever does -- from a menacing standpoint -- is issue a foreboding warning to Simon that he should have thought before he acted. It all comes down to the fact that Gordo, while being victimized all of his life, never devolves into the total monster people would expect to see based on the trailers The Gift issued to promote its film.

If anything, Gordo seems like the type of person that perseveres through the slights dished out against him, and he does so with his faith in "good things" happening to "good people." Through this lens, his remarks in the hospital aren’t an admission of guilt, but rather a justification of faith. Robyn is a good person, so her wish for a child was granted; whereas Simon’s not-so good behavior has now saddled him with the thought that flesh and blood may not be just that.

With both sides of the equation out in the open, it’s time to evaluate the facts and reveal where we stand.

Final Ruling

From where the current facts stand, as well some other questions the film leaves in its narrative, it’s a safe bet that Gordo is not the father to Simon and Robyn’s child. The argument hinges on one moment in the film’s overall narrative – and that is the supposed rape of Robyn. Again, viewing his outlook on life, as well as the pattern of behavior that he established throughout The Gift, Gordo is the type of person that believes in justice through superior moral standing. Which means he can be as good of a manipulator as he wants, but he’ll never influence a person’s actions with behavior as dirty as their own. In my opinion, anyway.

Now, as the film previously stated, the reason for Robyn and Simon moving to his old stomping grounds is that of Robyn’s history with substance abuse – which could be the assumed cause of her miscarriage. Which begs the question: if Robyn were drugged by Gordo, would that be enough of an event to screw with her body chemistry in order to prevent a successful pregnancy? Surely, the havoc caused by reintroducing such foreign substances into her body could have set her body chemistry back. More importantly, we previously saw Robyn taking drugs stolen from her neighbor’s medicine cabinet, and as she stated to Simon, she had an incident where she fell down.

Considering that Simon took this story as a common occurrence, and she was doping at the time, Gordo would have to have the aim of El Rey from Planet Terror and some sort of magical DNA to get past the pollutants in Robyn’s system at the time. Again, that’s if Gordo even violated Robyn in the first place, which I don't believe happened. But even if Gordo snuck into the house, drugged and had his way with Robyn, and she didn’t report him – it wasn’t until an undisclosed amount of time later that she had become pregnant. That doesn’t make his actions right, by any means. It just doesn’t make him the father.

Of course, a case can be made for either side of The Gift’s central mystery. Evidence can easily be refuted, and new evidence can be submitted to counter whatever is left standing. But considering Joel Edgerton’s hard work and lack of narrative shortcuts in The Gift, it feels like when all the facts are reported and accounted for, Gordo isn’t as much of a weirdo as Simon painted him to be. He’s just an odd soul who’s had his day against the bully that took his place in a chain of figures that tried to completely ruin his life.

Which means, it’s now time for us to turn the debate over to you guys: whose baby do you think Robyn gave birth to? Is Gordo a daddy-o, or is Simon the father? Deliver unto our comments section your own truthful gifts, and feel free to debate our claims. While you’re at it, feel free to revisit The Gift in theaters now – be it alone, or with a group of friends who haven’t seen it! Oh, and make sure that you’re squared with your friends in terms of anything you need to say sorry about. Remember, "you may be done with the past, but the past isn’t done with you."

This poll is no longer available.

This summer’s line-up of blockbusters has provided amazing car chases, giant dinosaurs, superheroes, and action of every variation – but some of the best thrills of the season are packed into one of the smallest movies. The Gift, the directorial debut of actor Joel Edgerton, is a fantastic thriller that will keep you guessing at every turn – and I recently had the opportunity to sit and chat about it with the filmmaker and stars Rebecca Hall and Jason Bateman:

Before you ask: no, you’re not seeing things. A couple weeks ago, I was invited to go to the very same house that was featured in Joel Edgerton’s The Gift, and it was while sitting around the actual dining table featured in the movie that I had the opportunity to ask the group about the process of making the new film, and how they went about getting into their characters.

Based on an original screenplay that Edgerton wrote himself, The Gift begins following a happily married couple, Robyn (Rebecca Hall) and Simon (Jason Bateman), as they move from Chicago to Los Angeles – close to the neighborhood where Simon grew up. It’s while out shopping that they run into Gordo (Edgerton), an odd, introverted guy who claims that he grew up and went to school with Simon. This reunion starts pleasantly enough, with Gordo dropping off gifts and coming by to help Robyn around the house, but after a few strange incidents Simon decides that it’s best to cut off contact with the guy. What isn’t immediately apparent, however, is that there are dark and big secrets being kept by all of the characters, and it isn’t long before the truth starts coming out and people begin to reveal who they really are.

Without giving away answers to any of the movie’s big mysteries (of which there are many), my conversation with the three stars of The Gift focused on the ever-twisting nature of the narrative, and how they each saw their roles evolving over the course of the film and how their characters changed. Plus, you’ll learn an interesting tidbit about why Joel Edgerton both felt the desire to write the screenplay, and take the prime role of Gordo for himself.

The Gift will be arriving in theaters nationwide this weekend, and it’s most definitely worth a trip to your local cinema. Unlike most modern thrillers, it will keep you wondering what's going to happen next every step of the way - and even if you think you have it figured out, I can promise you that you do not. Do yourself a cinematic favor and check it out.

Later this week, the mystery thriller The Gift arrives in theaters. Aside from getting fantastic reviews, the film also marks the feature directorial debut of actor Joel Edgerton. He’s helmed at couple of shorts, but this is his first go round in the big chair for a full-length movie. (Edgerton also wrote the script, but has more of a history with that side of things, including coming up with the story for the 2014 post-apocalyptic joint The Rover.)

With this release, Edgerton joins the long list of actors who have moved from in front of the camera to behind. As The Gift is getting high marks from critics (our own review gave the film four out of five stars) and looks like it’s going to wind up being well regarded, we thought we’d take the opportunity to look back and examine the directorial debut of some other actors who killed it their first time out of the gate.

Tom Hanks—That Thing You Do

After starting out in comedies like Bosom Buddies, Bachelor Party, and Splash, Tom Hanks went on to become one of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood. With multiple Oscars in his trophy case, just adding his name to your movie increases the prestige factor a few degrees. In 1996, he made his feature directorial debut with That Thing You Do (which he also wrote). Following a small town band on the road to success in the 1960s, the film turns a critical and satirical eye on show business, wrapped up in a light and fluffy story about friendship, and Hanks manages to skirt cliché and deliver a sweet, delightful debut. He only has one other directorial feature to his name, 2011’s modestly received Larry Crowne.

Robert Redford—Ordinary People

By 1980, Robert Redford already had 20 years of on-screen acting credits on his resume, but he had long harbored the desire to direct. Well, he got his chance with Ordinary People, a drama about the dissolution and disintegration of an upper-middle-class family, the Jarretts, after the death of their son. And what at debut it was. Not only was the film heralded as one of the best movies of the year, it walked away with a nice assortment of Oscar hardware, including a statue for Redford as Best Director. Though he continues to direct, and act in movies like All Is Lost and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, not to mention he founded the Sundance Film Festival, none of his subsequent efforts have topped that first one.

Charles Laughton—The Night Of The Hunter

Though it was not a critical or popular success when it was first released in 1955, Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter has continued to grow in esteem and find new fans who recognize it as one of the most viscerally frightening movies of all time. Which isn’t bad considering that Laughton, making his debut behind the camera here, would never direct another film, though he did go on to appear in more, including Spartacus, before his death. With an influence that is still felt today, Hunter is a combination of Expressionist horror and film noir stylistics that still features one of the all time great villainous performances in Robert Mitchum’s Reverend Harry Powell.

Rob Reiner—This Is Spinal Tap

Starting off your career as a director with a movie that has become renowned as one of the funniest, most original comedies of its time, one that has spawned countless imitators, has to be a pretty good feeling. That’s just what happened to former All in the Family star Rob Reiner (he’s come so far from his days playing Meathead) and his initial foray into directing, the mock rockumentary classic This is Spinal Tap. The improv heavy movie follows over-the-top exploits of the eponymous hard rock act comprised of Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, and though this was his first, Reiner has gone on to churn out beloved movies, including Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally, among others.

Dennis Hopper—Easy Rider

As an actor, Dennis Hopper was a countercultural icon, and his directorial debut, Easy Rider, showed the not-always-pretty, free-wheelin’, on-the-road lifestyle. A touchstone for an entire generation, and beyond, the image of Hopper, who also starred, and Peter Fonda living life on their choppers came to symbolize freedom. The film caught the attention of the nation and dug into the cultural landscape of the late 1960s, including the rise and fall of the free love generation, drug use, communal living, and the tensions that were at war within the culture at the time. Hopper would go on to direct notable movies like The Last Movie and Colors, and not-so-notable movies like Chasers (yeesh), but he would never again hit the same highs as Easy Rider.

Sarah Polley—Away From Her

Still likely best known for her acting roles in films like Go, Splice, and Dawn of the Dead, Canadian born Sarah Polley has made waves as a director. Her first effort, 2006’s drama Away From Her, based on an Alice Munro short story and chronicling the struggles of an older couple being torn apart by the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, won tons of critical praise, and marked Polley as a director to keep in eye on. She followed that up with the dramatic comedy Take This Waltz starring Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams in 2011, and the acclaimed documentary Stories We Tell in 2012, which dug into the secrets and storytelling and mythmaking inherent in her own family. She has a long future ahead of her behind the camera, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.

Harold Ramis—Caddyshack

If you turn out just one movie as beloved as Caddyshack in a career, you’re doing pretty well. After all, we’re still watching Harold Ramis' debut and quoting it with our buddies 35 years later. However, the former National Lampoon and SCTV performer wasn’t done with his directorial output, not by a long shot, and though we lost him too soon last year, he left a trail of comedy classics in his wake. He followed up his Saturday Night Live alum-stocked golf comedy with National Lampoon’s Vacation, Groundhog Day, and more, not to mention that he also continued to act, showing up in movies like Ghostbusters (you may have heard of that one) and even small roles in recent films, including Knocked Up and Walk Hard, connecting with a whole new generation of comic filmmakers he helped inspire.

Kevin Costner—Dances With Wolves

Remember that year Kevin Costner won all the Oscars? Remember when his directorial debut, 1990’s Dances With Wolves, beat out Goodfellas for Best Picture? Goodfellas! And not only did Kevin Costner beat out Martin Scorsese for Best Director, check out the rest of his competition that year, you may recognize some of these names: Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather Part 3), Stephen Frears (The Grifters), and Barbet Schroeder (Reversal of Fortune). Not only did Costner decide to direct his first film, he decided to kick everyone’s ass while he was at it. Though he made a splash right out of the gate, his follow-ups haven’t fared so well. In 1997 there was the post-apocalyptic mailman saga The Postman, which has largely been remembered as a punch line, and 2003’s western Open Range, which is a solid gritty genre picture, if not widely recognized. Fortunately for Costner, he still has his lucrative acting career to fall back on.

Danny DeVito—Throw Momma From The Train

Most recognized as an actor in the likes of Taxi, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and recently It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Danny DeVito kicked off his new career as a director in 1987 with the blackly comic riff on Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, Throw Momma from the Train, in which he co-starred with Billy Crystal and the late, great Anne Ramsey. From there he went on to a varied career behind the camera with the dramatic comedy The War of the Roses, family film Matilda, and even the crime biopic Hoffa, not to mention the criminally underappreciated Death to Smoochy. Lately he’s mostly been directing shorts, though he does have a thriller called St. Sebastian in post-production, and we can always watch him as Frank on reruns of It’s Always Sunny when we need a fix.

Ben Affleck—Gone Baby Gone

Though he has gone on to greater success for helming The Town and the Oscar-winning Argo, Ben Affleck’s first feature film as director, 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, laid the groundwork for a successful side-career just in case that whole playing Batman thing doesn’t work out. And he got to put his little brother, Casey Affleck, in a movie. That has to earn him some points in the successful Hollywood version of a mother telling you to "let your brother play, too." The neo-noir crime story, based on the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name, Gone Baby Gone won a slew of awards, gathered near universal critical praise, and wound up on a bunch of best-of-the-year lists. Not only did it mark Affleck as a talent in a third area of filmmaking—in addition to his acting accolades, he also won an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting—he used it as a stepping stone to even bigger things, including the upcoming Live by Night, another Lehane adaptation, and he’ll reportedly take the helm on an as-yet-untitled solo Batman film. Not bad for a kid from Boston.

We all have a friend who's extremely giving, be it with their time, their patience, or even a gift here and there. But what happens when that generosity becomes awkward and out of place? That's what the trailer to The Gift explores, and you can enjoy the ice cold creepiness for yourself below.

STX Entertainment shared the trailer for the latest offering from thriller juggernaut Blumhouse Productions. What separates The Gift from any typical Blumhouse offering is the fact that co-star Joel Edgerton not only wrote the film's script, but he also took the director's chair for the first time in his career to bring it to the screen. The Gift is about a married couple (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall) who become friends with Gordo (Edgerton,) a figure from the past of Bateman's character. At first, Gordo seems friendly enough. He drops by to have a chat and a laugh, and he's very generous with the gifts that he gives the lovely couple.

Unfortunately, what starts as a friendship in bloom fast turns into a dark and twisty series of increasing stakes, centered around a secret so big that it obviously can't be shown in the trailer . While the Blumhouse banner has made its bones mostly through microbudgeted horror pictures, it's branched out into film such as the Academy Award winning Whiplash, showing that the company isn't just about genre fare. It also helps that Joel Edgerton's talents behind the camera look as good as the ones that he shows off in front of it. The Gift looks like a interesting thriller, with style and atmosphere permeating every mysterious frame we're shown in this trailer.

Still, that secret is going to drive the internet crazy if the right amount of people watch The Gift'strailer. What could Jason Bateman be hiding in the past that Edgerton's Gordo just has to terrorize him in order to keep it quiet? Was there a murder? A prank gone wrong? An initiation rite that drove a rift between the two, thus bringing about the apocalypse? Maybe he just knows about the golden thong from Exodus: Gods And Kings. Your guess is as good as ours, but seeing the way The Gift plays with teasing the reveal, it wouldn't be all that disappointing if the film decided to not reveal the secret by the end of the film's story.

While the summer is going to be filled with parallel universes, superheroes galore, and a handful of comedies and dramas to balance things out, it's nice to know that The Gift is ready to bring taut and thrilling mystery to the screen. If this movie lives up to half of the potential it's shown in its trailer, there's a good chance that Joel Edgerton could become more of a directorial threat than anyone could have ever imagined. We'll see if this bet pays off when The Gift opens on July 31st.

Suicide Squad will be a major step for Warner Bros. and its developing DC cinematic universe, the first movie to arrive in a post-Batman v Superman world that could – according to rumors – set the stage for several future projects, including a solo Batman movie for Ben Affleck. But it is a work in progress, a fact made clear by the constant casting shuffles that we have been reporting on. Recently, the role of Rick Flag has been in flux, as names like Tom Hardy and Jake Gyllenhaal distanced themselves from the part. But two replacements just crossed our desk, and they are both incredibly intriguing, for different reasons.

A source with knowledge of the project has told us that Suicide Squad is now looking at Joel Edgerton and Jon Bernthal for the role of Rick Flag. Bernthal’s name actually was floated for a possible role in the ensemble feature in November, so it’s possible that director David Ayer has just continued to lobby for him. Ayer worked with Bernthal on the WWII tank drama Fury, which came out last year. If Ayer was going to bring anybody along with him, Bernthal would make sense.

Joel Edgerton is another intriguing name who is always floating around tentpole opportunities, waiting for his huge break. Though he recently shared screen time with Christian Bale in Exodus, he also held down the role of Uncle Owen in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, contributed to Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, and played Tom Hardy’s brother in the outstanding and VASTLY underrated Warrior.

Both names make a ton of sense, for this reason. The Rick Flag role, from what we have been hearing, will not be a focal point in the story. The main roles belong to Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared Leto, who will play The Joker. Both Edgerton and Bernthal are more than capable to elevating genre material, and they are dependable actors who don’t have to be "stars," pulling focus away from the likes of the big-named three I just mentioned. No word on which actor has the edge, just that these are the names currently being looked at for Rick Flag.

This same source was able to confirm a rumor that just broke (via Latino-Review’s elmayimbe), that Criminal Minds star Gary Sinise has landed a role in Suicide Squad, but they do not believe that he is playing either General Eiling or Deathstroke. At the moment, we are being told that Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike) is in contention to play Deathstroke in the film, but that is unconfirmed at the moment, so take it with a grain of salt.

Casting on David Ayer’s Suicide Squad will have to button up soon if the movie wants to maintain its August 5, 2016 release date. For now, what do you think of either Joel Edgerton or Jon Bernthal as Rick Flag in the movie?

Move over, The Interview. You aren’t the only movie in theaters capable of whipping antagonists up into a frenzy because of your seemingly controversial content. Sir Ridley Scott’s sweeping Biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings continues to meet resistance as it marches through theaters, and this current turn has the Old Testament blockbuster fleeing from Egyptian multiplexes for one obvious reason.

BBC News has the story, reporting that Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings has been banned from movie theaters in Egypt because it is riddled with "historical inaccuracies." Among the problems raised by the head of the censorship board in Egypt? They dispute the claim that the enslaved Jews built the Egyptian pyramids, and also state that an earthquake caused the infamous parting of the Red Sea, and not an act of God, as Exodus -- and the Bible – claim.

I spoke with the cast of Exodus: Gods and Kings during a recent press event in Paris, and we spoke at length about the creation of the Red Sea sequence in Ridley Scott’s movie. They never once mention an earthquake.

The BBC goes on to report that the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre initially approved of the film, which opened in the U.S. on December 12. Since that decision, though, officials have backtracked and now have banned the movie from being screened. This decision reportedly came down one day before the official premiere in Egypt.

This isn’t the first conflict facing Exodus as it worked its way to theaters. The movie was the target of a vicious, lengthy campaign against its casting decisions, with the term "whitewashed" tagged to the production because of its lack of Egyptian actors. Roles like Moses and Ramses went to British and Australian actors such as Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton. It’s possible that this perceived slight played a part in Egypt banning the movie, because I would imagine that multiple films with historical inaccuracies make it to theaters in Egypt. Exodus isn’t advertising itself as a documentary. Will the Egyptians shut down Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, as well?

So far, Exodus: Gods and Kings has earned an estimated $107 million worldwide. It will continue to roll out to foreign territories, though you can scratch Egypt off its world-tour schedule.

More than 50 years ago, Charlton Heston and the great Cecil B. DeMille staged Moses’ parting of the Red Sea as the centerpiece of the epic The Ten Commandments. Decades later, and with a bevy of different technical tools at his disposal, Sir Ridley Scott attempts to replicate the Biblical miracle for Exodus: Gods and Kings. But when I sat down across from the men who helped Scott stage this massive endeavor, I wanted to know what they recalled about those days of filming, and how they’ll remember the effort five years from now. I think you’ll enjoy the answers provided by Aaron Paul, Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton.

The thing about the Red Sea sequence is that it competes with several eye-popping visual events in the rest of the movie. Sir Ridley Scott embraces his epic blockbuster side when bringing the size and scope of the story of Moses to the big screen. Rivers run red with blood (thanks, in part, to rampaging alligators). Locusts and frogs invade the kingdom of Rhamses (Joel Edgerton). And in one disturbing sequence, the first-born child of every Egyptian family is murdered in their sleep… all before Rhamses leads an army of Egyptians into the fading waters of the Red Sea to retrieve Moses (Christian Bale) and his people. It’s a massive undertaking, and one that seems to have impressed the men in Scott’s cast.

There’s a follow up to the end of Edgerton’s story, though. He may throw Christian Bale under the bus for messing up with a sword while on horse back. But when I told Bale that Edgerton is sharing this story, he had one of his own to tell. I’ll let you hear it.

Exodus: Gods and Kings shares the Old Testament story of the journey of Moses – a one-time Egyptian leader who has to turn against the only family he’s ever known when he begins to hear the summoning voice of God. It’s a large-scale epic painted on a bigger-than-usual canvas. In addition to Bale, Edgerton and Paul, the large ensemble lined up for Ridley Scott’s epic includes John Turturro, Ben Kingsley, Ewen Bremner and Sigourney Weaver (Alien reunion!) The Blockbuster opens in theaters on December 12.

We have heard of "period authenticity" when it comes to making an historical epic along the lines of Exodus: Gods And Kings. And then there is the great length to which Joel Edgerton reportedly went to while playing the Egyptian king Rhamses. All I had to do was mention to Edgerton’s co-star, Christian Bale, that his co-star was talking a little smack during the recent junket for Sir Ridley Scott’s blockbuster, and Bale was happy to explain just what Rhamses kept hidden beneath his gold skirt!

"The golden thong, which he insists on wearing underneath... oh, he didn't tell you that? He didn't tell you that now, did he? He went as far as the underwear!" Christian Bale explains about his Method co-star. Truthfully, though, you really have to hear Bale tell it. Look at how animated he is in the following clip!

Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings focuses on "brothers" torn apart by destiny – one, Rhamses (Joel Edgerton), a king lying in wait; the other an adopted son of a great Egyptian king (played by John Turturro) who is born to lead… but to lead a different group of people. It’s very serious business. Biblical, even. But speaking with the men behind the massive spectacle, it’s clear that they did what they could to keep things light on the set. In fact, while interviewing Edgerton about the scale of the picture, and Ridley Scott’s use of multiple cameras to capture the vast action on screen, he talked to me about stopping in the moment and reminding yourself, "It’s just a movie."

It’s refreshing to hear that the cast of Exodus blew off steam by poking fun at each other. Christian Bale is saddled with this reputation for being seriously serious, though any interaction I’ve been lucky enough to have with the Oscar-winning actor (and former Batman) contradicts this notion. He’s dedicated to his craft, and his commitment usually helps create memorable screen presences that command attention. His Moses is no different, leading an army of Jewish exiles on a pilgrimage across harsh terrain as they fled from Rhamses, and sought passage to their beloved Holy land.

Exodus: Gods and Kings opens in theaters later this week. One scene that stands apart from the rest is the parting of the Red Sea – a sequence that still holds water (pun intended) from the days of Charlton Heston. I’ll have more on the making of that incredible scene as the week progresses. For now, I thought I’d start with Golden Thongs, and the sight of Sir Ridley Scott giggling like a schoolboy.

Exodus opens everywhere on December 12.

Joel Edgerton has forged out a pretty impressive Hollywood career for himself. The Australian thespian has appeared in the likes of Animal Kingdom, Warrior, Zero Dark Thirty and The Great Gatsby to critical acclaim. But for Star Wars fans he will always be thought of as Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith’s Owen Lars. And now turns out that Edgerton has pretty big plans if Uncle Owen is included in a possible spin-off Obi-Wan movie... but only if he can be more than a "nerdy moisture farmer."

Edgerton explained to ComingSoon.net that the Owen in Episode IV had "been through some shit," and it became clear that the idea of an Obi-Wan solo film might find room for Edgerton's character. As the conversation continued, the actor became more enthused, and he even declared:

Despite the brevity of his role, Joel Edgerton was a key figure in the series as he shared the final shot of the prequels with his on-screen wife, Beru Lars, played by Bonnie Piesse. The pair held on to baby Luke Skywalker after Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi had delivered him to his new step-family, which is where he leaves him until the time is right to fight against the Empire. You can check out the final moments below:

Of course, both Owen and Beru are killed at the start of A New Hope by stormtroopers, but Edgerton has now revealed that he thinks there is more to explore with his character. Edgerton made the comments during a chat to promote his police drama, Felony, and after being informed that McGregor would likely play Obi-Wan in a film that covered the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Edgerton declared, "Well then I definitely have to be there, right? Or they’re gonna get someone else? Am I too old for that now?"

He also noted that even though Obi-Wan and Owen seem to be fine with each other at the end of the third installment to the series, by the beginning of the fourth there has clearly been a little drama between the duo. Owen even says of Obi-Wan, "That wizard’s just a crazy old man."

Of course, Joel Edgerton’s slate is pretty full right now, as he has only just finished work on Ridley Scott’s upcoming biblical epic, Exodus: Gods and Kings, opposite Christian Bale. But Star Wars is still Star Wars. And if the offer to play Owen comes around again he’ll surely take it. Especially since he has such great ideas for the part.

20th Century Fox unleashed the first full trailer for Sir Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings this morning, and the two terms that come to mind, appropriately, are "Epic" and "Biblical." Starring Christian Bale as Moses, Exodus tells the Old Testament story of the great leader’s exile in Egypt, and his struggle to win back his holy home land from Rhamses (Joel Edgerton).

So what do we get in the trailer? Locusts. Frogs. Fire and brimstone. A screaming Christian Bale, trying to out-Heston the greatest on-screen Moses the industry has ever seen. And we get a towering Red Sea, ready to crash down on all who dare part it. So yeah, this is Ridley Scott dialing it up to Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven levels, with a pinch of Robin Hood, for good measure.

If I’m surprised by anything in the Exodus trailer, it’s full-on embrace of God from a film industry that has shied away from such verbage. (Remember how Noah danced around the issue back in March?) The conclusion of this massive trailer tries to run through the highlights of the Moses story, delivering rivers of blood:

Frogs raining down from the heavens:

Those pesky locusts:

And, of course, the final confrontation in the middle of a parted Red Sea-GI:

But when you hire Sir Ridley Scott to direct your Old Testament drama, this is what you expect, right? Sweeping desert vistas, with passionate (over)acting from stoic leading men, set against a backdrop of busy, green-screened carnage. I mentioned the touchstone films on Scott’s resume that serves a visual cues for Exodus: Gods and Kings. Ridley Scott rode Russell Crowe to success in this genre multiple times, for Gladiator and – to a lesser extent -- Robin Hood. Can he do it again? Exodus: Gods and Kings opens in theaters on December 12. Does this trailer get you excited?