For five seasons spanning nine years, Charlie Heaton was a core part of Stranger Things’ survivor squad, portraying the emotionally wavering shutterbug Jonathan Byers. It’s the kind of role the actor will likely always be remembered as, but Heaton won’t be resting on those laurels now that Stranger Things is done. He’s bringing forth a new generation of the Shelby family for a new Peaky Blinders sequel series following the Immortal Man film released in March, and we now know more about his Netflix creature non-feature team-up with Josh Hartnett.

Heaton will be back on the 2026 TV schedule for the upcoming Netflix series Below, which now has an official premiere date of October 8, with a bunch of new details also revealed for Heaton’s character, as well as those portrayed by the rest of the cast. And it sounds like he’ll once again be squaring off against a mysterious and potentially deadly creature that begins terrorizing a small town. Only this show sounds slightly more rooted in reality, with a pronounced lack of demodogs.

The story sounds a bit like Midnight Mass by way of sea creature features like Jaws and Leviathan instead of vampiric lore. The story is set within a small Newfoundland town, and centers on Hartnett's Calvin Penney, a fisherman and family patriarch whose existence has been darkened for decades by the mysterious death of his father. Things take a harrowing turn once the town becomes the terrorized target of an as-yet-unidentified sea creature.

With his big heart and stubborn head, Calvin is the father of three kids (as portrayed by Heaton, Ruby Stokes, and Rohan Campbell), and of course makes it a priority to keep his family safe from whatever's lurking in those waters. To do so, he partners with a marine researcher visiting the area (played by Mackenzie Davis) to figure out what the creature is, and how its existence ties into the island's own dark mysteries.

To be sure, though Below will be chock-full of scares and moments of high tension, it won't be without the innate humor and heart that comes with stories about close-knit families trying to keep their community from being destroyed. Stress can easily make someone hysterical, after all.

It sounds like Charlie Heaton & Co. will have their work cut out for them when the Canada-set series drops. And yes, there will be twists. (I'm calling it now: Josh Hartnett was the real sea monster all along.)

Below is set to cause a splash or two on October 8 via Netflix subscription, and check out all the other upcoming horror TV shows that are on the way.

Of the numerous book-to-screen adaptations arriving in theaters this year, the Verity movie from Michael Showalter has to be one of the most anticipated. The popular (to put it mildly) psychological thriller novel written by Colleen Hoover is a real page-turner, and given this first glimpse of the film (finally!), which shows Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway in the lead roles, it looks like we're about to be on the edge of our seats for this one when it arrives on the 2026 movie schedule later this year. .

What Verity Is About

Verity centers on a writer named Lowen (Dakota Johnson), who's hired to ghostwrite Verity Crawford's book because she's unwell. Lowen isn't just helping out with the writing, she's living with Verity (Anne Hathaway), her husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett) and their child while she sorts through the author's notes. During the process, Lowen comes across a manuscript of Verity's that may be autobiographical and contains some very dark, unsettling content, which leads her to question what's true about these people.

The Teaser Trailer Doesn't Hold Back

As you can see from the teaser trailer, things heat up in this story as Lowen gets to know the people she's living with and working for. The mystery surrounding the manuscript is just part of the drama that unfolds in this mysterious and thrilling tale.

The teaser gives us a glimpse of a spicy moment between Lowen and Jeremy, which turns into a scary, bloody moment between Lowen and Verity, and that's really just the start of the chaos. Darkness ahead... indeed!

The Latest Colleen Hoover Adaptation

Verity is the next in line among the numerous Colleen Hoover adaptations we've seen in recent years. It follows It Ends With Us, Regretting You and, most recently, Reminders of Him, all of which are based on stand alone novels from the popular author. While Verity is also a stand-alone novel, it also stands out among these other titles in terms of the tone. While there is romance involved in the story, Verity is very much a psychological thriller. (I spent every page of the book needing to know what was true and what wasn't, and how it was all going to end. Based on the teaser, I think we're in for a similar experience with the film.)

If we're looking at recent book adaptations, beyond appealing to those who loved Hoover's book, I have a feeling this one will appeal to those who liked the adaptation of Freida McFadden's The Housemaid.

We still have months to go before Verity hits theaters. The film arrives on October 2, 2026. That gives you plenty of time to read the book, if you haven't already!

Warning: SPOILERS for Fight or Flight are ahead!

Sometimes I’ll go into a movie having watched its many trailers and other previews ahead of time, other times I’ll go in almost completely blind. Fight or Flight fell into the latter category for me. All I knew prior to streaming this 2025 movie with my Paramount+ subscription was that it stars Josh Hartnett and Katee Sackhoff, received a decent amount of positive reception, and, you know, takes place on a plane.

Well, after watching Fight or Flight, I can definitely say this has been one of my wildest cinematic experiences of the year. So much so that there are 10 WTF moments that have been living rent-free in my head since watching the movie.

Chayenne Being Awkward As Hell

The first assassin Josh Hartnett’s Lucas Reyes deals with on the plane is Marko Zaror’s Chayenne, who’s seated next to him. He doesn’t waste any time becoming one of those passengers who’s desperate to have a conversation while the person next to them would rather not engage, to the point he asks for Lucas’ opinion on how a dance number he’s planning should end. Of course, this was all just a ploy to get Lucas to lower his defenses so that he could kill him, though it ultimately backfired on him.

The Assassin With The Freaky Eyes

One of the other assassins on the plane stands out for her freaky eyes. I did a slight double take when she took off her sunglasses to show off those distinctive peepers. They’d be distracting in any other job, but as a paid killer, it gives her an air of mystery. This character only ended up serving two purposes. The first was killing the second air marshal, and the second… well, more on that later.

The Clarinet-Playing Assassin

Fight or Flight definitely feels like it was trying to emulate the John Wick franchise with its colorful assassins, but this was just too showy. In the middle of one of Lucas’ many fights, a dude comes out playing a clarinet, only to reveal there was a knife stashed inside of it. I could understand if this had happened out on the street and the assassin was busking as a cover, but on a plane, it’s just unnecessary.

Isha’s Martial Artist Companions

While I can’t say I saw Isha being The Ghost coming, I wouldn’t call it a shocking surprise. What did take me off guard is when it’s revealed that she’d been accompanied by Master Lian and her two students, with them having pledged their devotion to Isha after she helped them out. I don’t have an issue with Isha having three martial artists protecting her, but don’t you think it’d be wise of them to wear more non-conspicuous clothing so they can keep a lower profile?

The Pilots Talking About Sully

There comes a point where Lucas has no choice but to tell the pilots about all the assassins that are out to kill him and The Ghost. With communications out, they have no choice but to keep the plane in the air and eventually land it. That makes them think about Sully Sullenberger, the pilot who successfully that plane in the Hudson River in 2009 after both its engines were disabled. He got a book deal and a movie made about him starring Tom Hanks, so the pilots in Fight or Flight salivate at the idea that the same could happen to them. Guys, there’s a time and a place.

Brunt And Hunter Roasting The People Doing Yoga

Initially Katee Sackhoff’s Katherine Brunt and Julian Kostov’s Aaron Hunter are presented as generic government agents, but it’s later revealed that their operation is connected to a social media app and based out of the company’s headquarters. That’s all well and good, but the reveal of said headquarters comes after Brunt and Hunter are outside and insult some nearby people doing yoga. I’m going to assume those people are employees at the app, but it still feels out of place, especially since the app company reveal would have been accomplished just as easily by tying it back to the device Isha brought aboard the plane.

Lucas Tripping Balls On Toad Venom

When Isha left that vet’s office after being stitched up, she took some sedatives and adrenaline with her. Lucas later takes that adrenaline so that he can still function for the fight ahead, but it turns out it’s actually toad venom in the bottle. Moments later, he starts tripping balls, which makes the fight much more hilarious. I especially cracked up at when Lucas comes face to face with the freaky-eyed assassin and thinks fireworks are spurting from the top of her head, but he actually just stabbed her there and blood starts pouring out like a geyser.

Death By Missionaries

I wasn’t surprised that assassins eventually made it into the pilot’s cabin. What did surprise me was that they were dressed like missionaries and killed the pilots. The first died when he tried to fire a flare at one of the killers, only for it to be deflected, bounce around the room a few times and end up in his eye. The second cause of death was simply assault by Bible, literally.

Lucas Murdering Bad Guys With A Chainsaw

Because of course this movie is so crazy that we reach a point where Isha tosses Lucas a chainsaw that she found in storage. And by the way, this is as he’s still high on the toad venom. There’s really not much else to say other than this level of gore gives Quentin Tarantino a run for his money.

Lucas Waking Up In A War Zone Hospital

The good news is that Lucas Reyes didn’t die from the wounds he sustained on the plane. After he told Katherine Brunt on the phone that he refused to give up The Ghost, he passed out, but Isha was able to get him to a hospital once the plane landed. The bad news is that hospital is in a war-torn area, and immediately after he wakes up, Isha arrives to evacuate him. So his life isn’t about to get any less chaotic. Fight or Flight 2 anyone?

I don’t know if Fight or Flight will end up becoming one of the best action movies, but it definitely makes for an entertaining time. Also there are a lot more WTF moments than just what I’ve listed, so feel free to go to the comments to list ones that caught your attention.

There are a lot of things that I completely get others feel equate with being from the U.S. This includes but is not limited to: corn fields, wearing dumb American flag shorts on the Fourth of July, people assuming one eats pizza and burgers for every single meal, driving pretty much everywhere, and gun ownership. Listen I get it, it’s easy to boil down a population to five or ten general identifiers, but as someone who is now living with his British wife and four kids in Southeast England, Josh Hartnett recently joked about getting roasted by his own kids for being an American. Only, as an American, I did not get this lawn comment.

So, here’s what happened. Josh Hartnett was appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon when the late night host asked him about moving away from the U.S., he told a funny story about how his daughters handle the fact he's not British like them. Spoiler: they are brutal with the dad roasts.

I do know a few people who have hired out lawn services, but where I'm from that is definitely not even close to the average person, and I'm super surprised that's a trope his kids latched onto and that Hartnett is acting like this is just super common? I for a second considered this comment was more about the British lawn than the American lawn, but I'm still not in the loop here.

Hartnett’s been in England for a long time. He met wife Tamsin Egerton all the way back in 2012, and moved to the country shortly thereafter, and he previously spoke about exiting Hollywood on purpose at the height of his fame. It sounds like cutting out a lot of the noise was good for him and his family, even if he doesn’t land all the respect from his kids.

He went on to explain his younger daughter can be even more condescending about the fact he’s not English, and the story is too cute.

Josh Hartnett did recently spend some time back in the States filming the upcoming Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity, which is set to hit the release schedule in 2026. I doubt he was mowing any lawns during this time, though.

Listen, I get some of these tropes aren’t absolute. Most Americans drive everywhere, but I know multiple people who live in Chicago or New York and who don’t drive, period. The lawn thing is probably some coastal thing people of means employ, though Hartnett is originally from Minnesota, where I’d assume a huge swathe of people are still mowing their own dang lawns.

Here in my neighborhood in a suburb of St Louis, I have one neighbor who lives across the street who does employ a lawn service. However, my other four close neighbors would consider their lawns to be a point of pride. In fact, my husband has a little unspoken thing going on with the house next door where one of them is always trying to make sure their grass looks more immaculate than the other's. If my husband is out mowing the lawn at 10 a.m. on a Saturday, you can bet our neighbor's yard will be handled by the end of the same day.

I guess the moral of the story here is that, yes, things are different in the U.K. and the U.S., but things are also different if you live in different places within those countries. Now, excuse me while I brew some sweet tea and watch my husband engage in the total American past time of using the lawnmower.

Back in the late ‘90s/early 2000s, I might have been a little obsessed with Josh Hartnett. Not in an unhealthy way or anything (unless trying to defend Hollywood Homicide indicates otherwise), but let’s just say Blockbuster knew where its copy of The Faculty was. So no one has been happier to see him the past few years making a comeback with Oppenheimer in 2023, Trap last year, and now on the 2025 movie calendar, Fight or Flight.

If you’re unfamiliar with Fight or Flight, you’re not alone. I hadn’t heard much about it or even seen a trailer as it prepares to hit theaters on May 9, so imagine my surprise to see that the upcoming action flick starring Josh Hartnett and Battlestar Galactica vet Katee Sackhoff holds an 88% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

What Is Fight Or Flight About?

So what is the premise of Fight or Flight, and why is it flying under the radar? As for the second part of that question, I can’t say for sure, but the synopsis seems to describe a pretty basic action movie. Josh Harnett plays Lucas Reyes, a mercenary tasked (seemingly by Katee Sackhoff’s Katherine Brunt) with identifying and protecting a wanted criminal aboard a commercial flight.

However, upon viewing the trailer, the movie looks anything but basic. There’s comedy, bloody fight sequences and ridiculously impossible action that definitely piques my interest. Check it out for yourself:

Josh Hartnett and Bridgerton’s Charithra Chandran seem to be quite the comedic duo, and my optimism from the trailer is only bolstered by the reviews that have been published ahead of Fight or Flight’s U.S. premiere.

What Are Critics Saying About Fight Or Flight?

What constitutes a critical success in the movie theater — a good story? Big budget? Complex characters? Laughs and sobs in equal measure? I couldn’t tell you if Fight or Flight has any of those, but many critics seem to agree that one thing it does have is fun.

There’s definitely something to be said for that, too, as John Nugent of Empire gives the movie 3 out of 5 stars, calling it “joyfully silly” and saying Josh Hartnett is having a marvelous time playing a bleach-blonde drunkard. Nugent writes:

Nick Schager of The Daily Beast calls it “breezy and cheesy,” and when he describes it as Looney Tunes meets John Wick, Schager is quick to point out he means that as high praise. The critic writes:

Kate Sánchez of But Why Tho says Fight or Flight is an “absolute must-see.” It leans into its B-movie status and Josh Hartnett’s unhinged performance, resulting in a flick that’s a blast from start to finish. Sánchez continues:

I’m not sure how I missed the marketing for this movie, but after seeing what critics are saying and how high its Rotten Tomatoes score is, I’m fully ready to get my Josh Hartnett action hero on. If you’re also enticed by the action comedy, Fight or Flight will be in theaters starting Friday, May 9.

As more news comes out about the legal drama surrounding It Ends With Us, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, my hope that It Starts With Us will happen someday is dwindling. However, thankfully, Colleen Hoover has a lot of other books, and one of them, Verity, is being made into a film right now with Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett – which is a sentence I never thought I’d write, but I’m happy I did.

While It Ends With Us is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription, and the legal battle surrounding it is making lots of headlines, Verity is in production. This book-to-screen adaptation of Hoover’s 2018 novel is set to star Hathaway and Hartnett, and it’s currently being filmed in New York City, per People.

The images the publication posted showed the two actors running down the street hand-in-hand, looking a bit dishelved while wearing formal attire. From the photo alone, I’m intrigued to see what’s going on, and I can’t wait to watch Hathaway and Hartnett as Verity and Jeremy Crawford, respectively.

If all goes to plan, I’d assume Verity’s release should come sometime in late 2025 or 2026, considering it’s being filmed right now. And thank goodness, because the more I learn about this movie, the more interested I am.

First of all, alongside Hartnett and Hathaway, who will play Verity and Jeremy, the other key character, Lowen, will be played by Dakota Johnson. The names alone have me enthusiastic. However, seeing the Interstellar and Oppenheimer actors together makes me excited about seeing them play a married couple. I also can’t wait to see how Johnson fits into this as Lowen, the woman who comes into the couple’s home while Verity is in a coma.

Plus, I love a psychological thriller, and that’s exactly what Verity is, so sign me up.

On top of all that, Michael Showalter is signed on to direct the film. He worked with Anne Hathaway on The Idea of You (which you can stream with an Amazon Prime subscription) last year, which is a movie I adore. So, we know these two are a match made in book-to-screen adaptation heaven, and it seems like Verity could be a solid and very different follow-up to their last collaboration.

With It Starts With Us looking less likely, this film is a good next step forward for Hoover, too. Based on the many lawsuits at play, it looks like no resolution is in sight between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. While nothing has been said about an It Ends With Us’ sequel, and nothing is impossible, I’ll be shocked if it ever gets made at this point.

So, it’s time to turn our attention to Verity because it’s happening, and as we get more updates, I become more intrigued by this thriller starring Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett and Dakota Johnson.

With one of the most ‘90s-specific ensemble casts imaginable, Robert Rodriguez’s cult hit The Faculty is an era-specific classic sci-fi horror movie that works despite not being so scary. As such, this highly enjoyable high school take on pod-people creatures should ideally exist in solitude without any sequels or further lore-building efforts. So of course, 27 years later, a Hollywood remake is set to join the growing list of upcoming horror movies.

Let's take a quick dive into the details we know so far about The Faculty's remake before addressing my biggest worry about this arguably unnecessary remake.

What We Know About The Faculty Remake So Far

• Director: TBA
• Screenwriter: Drew Hancock (Companion)
• Cast: TBA
• Studio: Miramax
• Production Company: BoulderLight (Barbarian, Weapons)
• Producer: Robert Rodriguez

Obviously we're still in the early days, but the biggest creative force going into the new Faculty project is screenwriter Drew Hancock, who is currently a hot commodity for genre fans as the writer and director of the buzzy new horror Companion, starring Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher. Interestingly enough, Hancock’s prior work is largely in the world of comedy, as he’s written for Adult Swim’s Mr. Pickles, MTV’s Faking It, and Spike’s Blue Mountain State, while also creating the go90 streaming show My Dead Ex.

Beyond Miramax, the main connective tissue between the original film and the remake is Robert Rodriguez, according to Variety. Rodriguez has signed on to return as a producer, though I'd actually be more interested to see how he'd remake his own movie, as opposed to another filmmaker stepping in to take the reins. But it's not really the directing that I'm worried about with this.

I Hope The Faculty Doesn't Utilize A.I. To Modernize Its Story

With so many movies (mostly horror) currently focusing on the rise of A.I. technology, from M3GAN's sequel and its adults-only spinoff SOULM8TE to AfrAId and beyond, I can only imagine how many Hollywood executives are gleefully rubbing their palms together while imagining how to inject artificial intelligence into as many remakes as possible. Something I don't ever need to see: Speed, but with a self-driving bus.

In any case, the fact that Drew Hancock is the one handling the script makes me wary that The Faculty is going to take the alien parasite threat that made life hell for Herrington High School's students and staff and swap it out with an entirely technological threat. The impetus there being Companion's narrative, and how it shines a horrific light on advanced tech, since I'm sure that's a big part of what inspired Miramax bosses to hire him.

Not that I think Hancock is ill-equipped to craft a completely new take on The Faculty that strays far from A.I. remote-schooling screens on wheels and the rest. And I don't mean to pigeonhole him in such a way, but I would be surprised if he wasn't given certain parameters to work with that tap into Companion's story in some way.

I don't even know how the writer would make that work, though I guess if Jordana Brewster was brought in as an android high school teacher, it wouldn't take much to get students to do whatever she says, even if it's implanting chips in their heads that turn them into slack-jawed monsters. We can only hope she's one of several former cast members who get recruited for the new one.

Still one of Robert Rodriguez's best movies to date, The Faculty is currently among the best movies streaming on Pluto TV. For updates about the new remake, don't forget to insert your new brain chip!

After successes with Trap and Oppenheimer, Josh Hartnett is back in the spotlight showing everybody that the former Hollywood teenage heartthrob is still as talented as ever. While some may be wondering if the handsome leading man is single, he most certainly is not. Hartnett has been married to actress Tamsin Egerton since 2021, and they’ve been together since 2012. Apparently, their love was undeniable when they first met, and now Hartnett is sharing the story of their meet cute.

Hartnett recently participated in a profile for Interview Magazine where he spoke to O co-star Julia Stiles. The former scene partners reconnected, and the Pearl Harbor actor opened up about his decision to take a break from big Hollywood productions before re-entering the spotlight. He also got candid about how he met his wife, whom he met on the set of the 2013 movie The Lovers, saying:

Even though the movie may not have worked, their chemistry was clearly there. Many love stories have started on the set of bad movies, like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez on Gigli, and Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds on Green Lantern. Maybe there is something about the bond created when two people make a bad movie that brings them closer together. This cosmic connection between Hartnett and Egerton was so strong, they both left their current relationships to be together, as The Virgin Suicides actor explained:

Talk about a love story! This whole thing sounds like a movie Josh Hartnett would actually star in, and one I would definitely want to see. Even though their previous movie together didn’t work, it’s always fun seeing real life couples onscreen, so maybe this isn’t the end of Hartnett and Edgerton’s cinematic collaboration. A different project may allow their chemistry to shine through their characters and give the audience something to root for. Someone has to put pen to paper and make this happen.

While they lived between houses a lot, as Hartnett says, the couple ended up mainly residing in southeast England, not far from where Egerton is from. This follows the trend of many celebrities choosing to move out of Hollywood and live more normal lives elsewhere. They have four children and travel a lot for their work, considering they are both actors. It’s great that something wonderful came out of a movie that didn’t work, and I’m sure neither of them regret signing on for The Lovers.

Fans of Josh Hartnett can see him in his latest movie, M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, which is currently playing in theaters nationwide. It's one of the buzziest original films of the year, so make sure to check it out on the big screen while you can. For more information on other highly-anticipated titles heading to cinemas this year, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule.

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched one of the 2024 movie schedule’s most anticipated thrillers, M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, so be warned!

The majority of moviegoers are well aware that what they’re watching on the big screen isn’t necessarily meant to reflect reality with precision, but there’s something distinctly enjoyable about questioning the realism behind sci-fi characters and technology or an action movie’s stunts. Today we’re putting our sights on the M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller Trap, which may be the only movie about a serial killer in which no actual murders take place.

The lack of deaths isn’t on the table today, however, but rather Trap’s bizarro way of handling its core setting, an arena concert for the fictional pop star Lady Raven (portrayed by the director’s real-life musician daughter Saleka Night Shyamalan). As someone who has been to all sizes of concerts since my teens, I found myself regularly taken out of the movie largely due to moments and details tied specifically to the concert experience itself. Let’s dig into those nagging elements below, presumably with some poppy bangers blasting on the soundtrack.

The Whole Idea Of An Afternoon Show Is A Huge Stretch

Immediately, Trap set out to confuse viewers. Not with any potentially impending twists, but by taking place at some point during the afternoon, rather than at night when concerts are generally set. The narrative-based explanation is that the Philly show's tickets sold out immediately, so Lady Raven and her peeps chose to add a second show in the city. But instead of having it on a different night, she chose to make it a matinee performance. Which makes next to zero sense.

Not even accounting for the police presence and all the planning involved there, setting up two full-on performances within one arena on a single day is a logistical nightmare. Not only for performers' voices, bodies and mental states, but for everyone working inside the arena itself. It would require a constant influx of food, beverages and merchandise, as well as all of the janitorial duties required for such a stretch. And don't get me started on how parking would work, because it wouldn't.

Trap's Pre-Concert Timeline Is Just Bonkers

If I’m recalling things correctly, Ariel Donoghue’s Riley was rushing her father, Josh Hartnett’s Cooper, ahead of arriving at the fictional Tanaka Arena, seemingly so that they would be part of the crowd waiting to see Lady Raven emerging from her tour bus. I can almost buy that detail being something fans would spread around, despite this seemingly being a one-off afternoon show, and despite the idea that she would almost definitely have arrived far earlier in the day, given all the production details.

Then after that, it was hours of waiting in line outside the arena, right? Nope, the doors were already opened once they walked up, which means they didn’t arrive at the site that much earlier than the show, since venues rarely open up more than 90 minutes prior to a scheduled start time. It’s strange that there wasn’t a bigger push for security upon entry, but I’ll buy that as an attempt to avoid spooking The Butcher.

But then after Riley and Cooper are inside, there’s no sense of real urgency ahead of Lady Raven’s performance, and there are people milling about everywhere at any given point, with the main characters included there. When they go out to their seats, it’s extremely clear just how vacant the arena still is at that point, despite the lack of multiple opening acts serving as a time buffer.

Who Has A Sit-Down Meal And Then More Snacks Before A Concert?

So Riley and Cooper didn’t have a seven-course spread or anything, but they were very much sitting down and eating a legitimate lunch after getting into the arena, which is baffling to me. Even if alcohol isn’t involved, nothing sounds worse than filling my stomach up before spending more than an hour jumping up and down while screaming and sweating.

And then they ate MORE food upon getting to their seats? Sure, it’s just a giant pretzel, but geez. Also, this must have been the greatest concession spot on the entire planet if they were able to go multiple times before Lady Raven even took the stage.

Merch Sellers Are Way Too Busy For Exposition-Filled Conversations With Randos

Now, if we’re talking about a local band playing at a local bar, where a friend of the group is selling vinyl and T-shirts at a table in the back, then yes, it’s easy to buy into a merch booth attendant being able to carry on multiple conversations with someone who isn’t a co-worker. But, uh, this isn’t that.

This is a pop mega-star with a big enough legion of fans to have dubbed them The Flock, so it’s easy to assume that merch table would have been slam-packed for the entire show, leaving Jamie zero opportunities to share key plot points with a nosy bystander. Alternatively, if he did take the time to talk to a random customer, Jamie’s co-workers would have been hollering at his ass too loud for the customer to hear anything else.

Intermissions, Seriously?

Even though he continuously says he wants to be with Riley during the concert, Cooper is constantly walking around the arena as the show is going on, making it hard to gauge exactly how long Lady Raven’s concert is. But considering this part of the show was only inspired by Taylor Swift’s stardom, and isn’t meant to replicate the massiveness of the Eras Tour (which Josh Hartnett attended at one point), it doesn’t seem like the kind of gig that would require one or more intermissions for costume changes and set rearrangements.

The only time I’ve ever witnessed an artist take more than one “turn the house lights up” break, it was for a show that went over 5 hours. Clearly, Lady Raven’s show wasn’t that kind of deal. Perhaps the most annoying thing about this particular element is that the dialogue addressed the intermission, so I’d have been none the wiser if the applicable lines would have been cut.

What Happened To Everyone Who Bought Tickets To The Evening Show?

To circle things back around to the initial issue with this concert happening in the afternoon, Trap doesn't ever seen to address the fact that Lady Raven was supposed to put on a completely different concert later that night. I'm honestly shocked that there wasn't a line about the night performance being canceled once it became a killer-hunting sting operation. Did the pop artist and everyone else really expect to catch a killer and then everything would still play out as if it were a normal day?

If any of Cooper's harmful actions within the arena had ended with the obviously intentional death of an attendee or employee, I have to think the police would have shut things down. Even if they'd just caught him in the backstage area, I can't imagine a scenario where he gets booked and all of the other cops skedaddle in time to properly prep for the evening show.

Maybe the sequel will be about a group of Lady Raven fans who were desperately waiting for that presumably canceled Philly show, and then take matters into their own hands by going after Cooper themselves upon his presumed escape from custody. I'd go see it.

Time will tell if Trap’s box office success is big enough to spark interest for Trap 2. Or if Saleka Shyamalan's music career gets a big enough boost for her actual concerts to make it to the big screen.

Josh Hartnett has had a career full of fascinating roles and unexpected choices. From The Virgin Suicides to his latest film Trap, Hartnett has showcased his range as a performer within many different genres. However, his journey to working with Christopher Nolan on Oppenheimer might be one of his most intriguing stories yet. The Pearl Harbor actor recently opened up about how he landed a part in the ambitious, Best Picture-winning biographical drama, and how they first met to talk about the director’s Batman project in the 2000s.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Hartnett chatted about some of his past movie roles, and how they influenced his acting career. One of these was Oppenheimer, a role that has been credited with “bringing back” Hartnett after the 46-year-old actor stepped away from big Hollywood blockbusters in more recent years. He revealed that the part came to him, and he had been looking for an opportunity to work with Christopher Nolan after they spoke about Batman many years ago. He said:

Rumors have swirled for years that Hartnett turned down playing Batman, but it seems the reality is that he was only being softly considered for the role, and it was never officially offered to him by Nolan. Batman ended up being played by Christian Bale in one of the movie stars' most iconic performances. But even though it was many years ago, Nolan still kept Hartnett in the back of his mind, and reached out to the Black Hawk Down star when it came to casting Oppenheimer, and Hartnett jumped at the opportunity. He said:

Nolan was right to convey how important the character of Ernest Lawrence was to the plot. He was a nuclear physicist who worked with Oppenheimer at UCal Berkeley while the titular figure was a teacher there. He helped introduce Oppenheimer to the Manhattan Project, which is considered the inciting incident in the film. Hartnett was perfectly cast, and he’s wonderful in the movie, truly embodying the warmth that draws Oppenheimer to him, as well as the intelligence.

This was such a successful collaboration, and shows that Nolan doesn’t have a short memory when it comes to actors he was impressed by in the past. Hartnett called the experience “refreshing,” and seems increasingly interested in working with more visionary directors, considering he just worked with M. Night Shyamalan and Guy Ritchie as well. Nolan tends to want to work with the same actors again and again, so hopefully this isn’t the end for this partnership, and fans may possibly be able to see the Sin City star in another big screen ensemble film directed by Nolan in the future.

You can see Josh Hartnett in Trap, which is now in theaters nationwide. Fans can also revisit his performance in Oppenheimer, which is currently streaming for Amazon Prime subscribers. For more information on other exciting titles heading to cinemas or streaming this year, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule.

Michael Bay’s epic war movie, Pearl Harbor, is filled to the brim with major action and true spectacle. But, amid the explosions and aerial-based action, there are also moments of romance. Those mainly come courtesy of the characters Danny Walker and Evelyn Johnson, who are played by Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale, respectively. One of the most notable scenes in the entire film sees the two characters making love. Now, years later, Hartnett is opening up about why that sequence, which he calls one of his “most embarrassing moments” on a set, was so rough to film.

Josh Hartnett – who’s long been pegged as a true heartthrob – has been promoting his latest film, Trap. The fan-favorite star recently sat down with Elle to discuss different aspects of his career. The Ask Me Anything interview (which was shared on YouTube) kicked off with Hartnett addressing one of his most embarrassing moments. After naming the Pearl Harbor sex scene, the star explained that that portion of filming was made awkward due to the presence of some specific visitors:

Filming a love scene with someone on a set populated by crew members and fellow actors sounds awkward on its own. However, the notion of doing that while your scene partner’s real-life partner and child were present just sounds nerve-wracking. Of course, the Oppenheimer cast member is a professional, so he managed to get the job done. Still, I’m cringing just thinking about him pretending to make love to the Underworld icon in front of her kid and her lover.

To Josh Hartnett’s credit, the scene in question (which is on YT) does convey the level of sensuality that was likely desired by the filmmakers. Danny and Evelyn’s romantic encounter occurs after the combat pilot takes his lady flying so that they can watch the sunset on Pearl Harbor. After they return to the air hanger, they passionately embrace while surrounded by parachutes stored in the facility. One could argue that the sex scene still stands as one of the most memorable moments in the entire film.

Of course, as many will probably tell you, Pearl Harbor is far from perfect, and much of the criticism surrounding it has been aimed at the weakness of the screenplay, overuse of special effects and more. Kate Beckinsale’s problems with Michael Bay also came to light years later. The actress explained that the director was hard to work with, in great part, due to his alleged perception of her physical appearance. While promoting the 2001 film, Bay supposedly said that he cast Beckinsale in the role because she “wasn’t so attractive that she would alienate the female audience.”

Most would likely agree that Kate Beckinsale is – and continues to be – one of Hollywood’s most beautiful stars, and she’s arguably a major reason why that love scene is still memorable. I’m just sorry that it was so embarrassing for Josh Hartnett. Nevertheless, it marks just one of many notable cinematic moments within the actor’s filmography, and it’s funny that he can somewhat poke fun at it years later.

Pearl Harbor is currently available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime. Also, be sure to check out Josh Hartnett in Trap, which is now playing in theaters and is one of the key titles on the 2024 movie schedule.

There was a time in the early aughts when Josh Hartnett seemed to be everywhere, transitioning from smaller roles in The Virgin Suicides and other movies to the lead in some of his best movies like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down. Then his rise seemingly fell off and we didn’t hear as much about Mr. Hartnett for years before he spoke about working with Christopher Nolan in Oppenheimer last year. So why did Josh Hartnett disappear from Hollywood? He tells the tale.

Back in 2014 Hartnett was already living a bit in obscurity and he told the now–defunct Details Magazine that fame was really getting to him.

So what did he do? He took a break from Hollywood. And that break from Hollywood led him in a different direction in his career and personal life. It seems like Hartnett has been away from our screens for quite some time, but a new profile in The Guardian indicates he only took 18 months off work. When he came back, it was at a less significant level -- much of which stems from the direction his choices took him as well. He noted:

The actor and his now-wife Tamsin Egerton ultimately settled in Hampshire in the UK where he could live more circumspectly than he would in Los Angeles or New York. He’s able to stay with his wife and four children on a marriage visa, but that also means he’s only allowed out of the country 180 days a year. This in turn means he can take one major project elsewhere, like a movie, or some smaller roles, like his recent stint on FX and Hulu’s The Bear.

He famously said no to Superman. (In fact, he allegedly said “no” to Superman twice.) He took roles in smaller movies you may never have heard of like Stuck Between Stations and The Lovers. For a time between 2014 and 2016 he did star in the more high-profile series Penny Dreadful for Showtime; it was convenient. It filmed in the UK.

Now, Josh Hartnett has landed roles in The Bear and in a 2024 movie release, M Night Shyamalan’s Trap, a leading man gig which he calls a "pivot" from much of the rest of his career. He seems well on his way to becoming a household name again, particularly after his turns in Oppenheimer as a steadfast nuclear physicist and in a memorable Black Mirror episode. It’s Trap that has him front and center once more, however, but whether this is a fluke or the first step in a return to leading man form has yet to be seen.

Josh Hartnett will soon be seen on the big screen, playing a very bizarre and very dark role in Trap. But, before portraying a serial killer trapped at a concert venue, he was part of the stacked cast of Oppenheimer. With that, he worked alongside great stars like, Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. Hartnett was also able to work alongside Matt Damon on the on the Best Picture winner. And, as it turns out, Damon gave Hartnett some hilarious “advice” when he decided to gain weight to play his role in the historical drama.

Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer sees Josh Hartnett plays nuclear physicist Ernest Lawrence, who worked with the eponymous Atomic Bomb creator. While promoting his latest film on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Hartnett talked about spending a lot of time with Matt Damon (a.k.a. “Uncle Matt”), who played Director of the Manhattan Project, General Leslie Groves. During that time spent together on the set, Damon provided some insight on the human anatomy that should've come earlier. During the chat, which is on YouTube, Hartnett explained:

Yeah, "Thanks, Matt!" Unfortunately, that "advice" was received a little too late. It’s unclear if the Black Hawk Down actor was required to gain weight to play Ernest Lawrence or not. But stars like Joaquin Phoenix and Christian Bale have made intense weight loss and gains for movies to help get into character. While the advice didn't come as soon the Sin City alum would've liked, I’d prefer to believe the Good Will Hunting actor was still looking out for his co-star’s best interests after warning him of the struggle of gaining too much weight for a movie.

For all we know, Matt Damon could be speaking from his own personal experience with changing his weight for movies. While promoting Ford v. Ferrari, Damon talked about losing weight for films, such as the time he brought his weight down to 130 lbs for Courage Under Fire. He lost around 60 lbs. within four months for CUF thanks to the help of a bodybuilder and a new diet. Afterwards though, Damon admitted how unhealthy it was to lose that much weight to film flashback scenes only to have to gain all of that weight back three weeks later. I can't even imagine having to deal with such a situation as a performer.

While Matt Damon’s brutally honest wisdom for Josh Hartnett may have been “unhelpful” as far as Oppenheimer goes, Hartnett can still take that knowledge and apply it to his work moving forward. So I'd say that "Uncle Matt" certainly deserves some credit for trying to help out a fellow actor.

You can check out Josh Hartnett, Matt Damon and more by streaming Oppenheimer, which is available to watch using a Prime Video subscription. Also, make sure to catch Hartnett’s latest creepy flick, Trap, which opens on August 2 amid the 2024 movie schedule.

So, I’ve seen the Eras Tour in person before, and I’m going again in November. I’d be lying if I said that after I saw the trailer for Trap, I didn’t get slightly nervous about seeing M. Night Shyamalan's thriller on the 2024 movie schedule before seeing Taylor Swift in concert again. This is because the film takes place at a massive concert, and it follows a killer trying to escape law enforcement. Now, Trap’s star Josh Hartnett has opened up about the similarities between the concert in his movie and the pop star’s massive show, and it’s made me even more scared and excited.

Ahead of Trap’s release, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the concert depicted in the movie is reminiscent of the Eras Tour. The film’s director also told Empire that he pitched his movie as “if The Silence Of The Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert.” Then, Josh Hartnett opened up to Extra about his own experience at the Eras Tour and filming this movie, saying:

He went on to talk about the “fervor” at these concerts, and he noted that Shyamalan “captures” that energy in Trap. The Oppenheimer actor went on to explain that when they filmed the movie all the people who were playing fans were freaking out over the music, and it was wild:

At the time, Hartnett didn’t have the Eras Tour to compare Trap to, so he ended up having the reverse experience of realizing these real-life concerts mirrored his movie, as he said:

Now, as a Swiftie who is constantly looking forward to Swift’s new projects and acts like the fans in Trap at the Eras Tour, Josh Hartnett’s words excited and terrified me.

For me, when I watch a thriller or horror movie, I immediately start to think that what’s happening could happen to me. Obviously, it’s an irrational fear, but it’s a fear nonetheless. So, since Trap targets and experience that I’ve had and love having so closely, I’m incredibly scared.

I have a feeling the next time I’m at a concert I’ll be looking over my shoulder and a little on edge, because based on the actor's comments, his movie shows a concertgoing experience that is very accurate (minus the serial killer part, of course).

On the flip side though, the fact that he experienced both things for himself and felt the similarities is so exciting. I’m fascinated by the film because it taps into a major event and trend that we’ve been following for over a year now, and it’s such a creative way to frame a thriller.

I’ll probably be watching Trap with my hands over my eyes, and I’ll maybe never feel the same when I go to a concert. However, these comments from Josh Hartnett were incredible and they are making me even more hyped about the movie.

To see if he’s right, and to compare the concerts referenced in this story, you can stream the Eras Tour with a Disney+ subscription now, and you can catch Trap in theaters on August 2.

Being a film actor is a job that generally requires a lot of patience. On a set, any given shot has a lot of people performing specific tasks, and there is a great deal of repetition thanks to both multiple takes and multiple angles that ensure the director gets everything they want before taking the material to the editing room. Of course, different filmmakers work different ways, and for Josh Hartnett on the set of Oppenheimer, he was impressed by the efficiency and speed of Christopher Nolan.

Hartnett, best known for movies like The Faculty and Black Hawk Down, is in the midst of a career renaissance, and The Hollywood Reporter recently caught up with him about his recent work. The actor is in The Bear Season 3 (now streamable with a Hulu subscription) and he is in M. Night Shyamalan's new film Trap (in theaters this August), but he also reflected on his experience working with the Oscar-winning Christopher Nolan in the making of Oppenheimer. He told the trade,

It's worth noting that a director knowing exactly what they want can also make things considerably more difficult on set. The classic example, of course, is Stanley Kubrick, who had clarity of vision but was a perfectionist that demanded dozens of takes to get exactly what he wanted. Christopher Nolan evidently doesn't work in that same kind of extreme way.

In Oppenheimer, Josh Hartnett plays Ernest Lawrence, a key nuclear physicist who was a part of the Manhattan Project, and he shares scenes with Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon – two actors who both had prior experience working with Christopher Nolan prior to his 2023 biopic. Harnett recognized the trust that his co-stars had in the director, adding,

Since making his big screen debut in 1998's Halloween H20, Harnett has had the opportunity to work with some notable directors, including Sofia Coppola, Michael Bay, Robert Rodriguez, Ridley Scott, and Brian De Palma. One key thing he acknowledges about the best of those he's worked with is that they are open to collaboration and don't fall too far down the rabbit hole with on-set details. Said Harnett,

How will things work out with Josh Hartnett's collaboration with M. Night Shyamalan? We'll find out soon, as Trap is set for release on August 9 and sees the actor playing a serial killer trying to evade police capture during a pop music concert. And if you're looking to rewatch Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, you can presently stream it with an Amazon Prime subscription.

M. Night Shyamalan’s new project on the 2024 movie schedule, Trap, is already generating buzz. The trailer for Trap depicts a dad, played by Josh Hartnett, accompanying his young daughter to a concert. Things go awry when it's revealed that the entire concert is actually a sting operation. The twist? Hartnett’s character is actually the serial killer the police are trying to catch. What makes this an even more intriguing premise is that it was apparently inspired by a real-life event that the filmmaker put his own spin on.

In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, The Sixth Sense director opened up about his new film, and why he chose to set his thriller at a concert. Shyamalan explained that he had several inspirations: his daughter’s budding pop star career, the fanfare at Taylor Swift concerts, and a bizarre story of a sting operation called ‘Operation Flagship’ from 1985. Apparently, a bunch of fugitives were caught by being offered free NFL tickets, and they were arrested once they arrived at the game. The filmmaker found this humorous, saying:

The difference with Shyamalan’s movie, however, is that Hartnett’s serial killer character finds out about the sting operation while he’s at the concert with his daughter. I guess the audience will have to see if he is able to avoid the police once Trap is released in theaters. The first trailer for this movie seems to reveal the famous Shyamalan-twist already, however, if the filmmaker’s other movies are any indication, there are more surprises to come that the audience will never anticipate.

Of course, this hasn’t stopped fans from trying to figure out where the story is going. Some have delved deep into the Trap trailer, trying to guess other twists that might be in store. Some have hunted for easter eggs that connect to his daughter’s latest film, The Watchers. Maybe this ‘Operation Flagship’ connection could allude to more details from the film that were left out of the trailer. This is all speculation right now, but it shows that the teaser for Trap already has audiences hooked.

Shyamalan is one of the directors right now committed to making original movies, and he doesn’t seem interested in dipping his toe back into cinematic IP at the moment. A lot of his work is self-funded, and he explained how important it was for him to continue doing so. He illustrated his loyalty to the original movie by saying:

Not only is Shyamalan still making original films, but these movies are also still doing well at the box office. His previous film Knock at the Cabin did solid business in theaters, and Old also opened at number one back in 2021. Hopefully, Trap continues the same streak and encourages studios to release more original projects in theaters.

You can see M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap when it hits cinemas on August 2nd.

Of all the upcoming horror movies landing in theaters and on streaming in 2024, few come fully embedded with expectations in the way that M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap does. The serial killer thriller is the director’s follow-up to 2023’s polarizing Knock at the Cabin, though he did executive produce daughter Ishana Shyamalan’s woodsy thriller The Watchers in the meantime. The concert-set Trap sounds like a fairly straightforward high-concept premise on the surface, but its first trailer indicated a more complex game of cat and mouse will be on display.

Now we have the second full promo, which goes all in on showing audiences that Josh Hartnett’s seemingly happy daddy Cooper is the film’s illicit killer, a sorta-twist that the first trailer hinted at. So with that plot point made all the more obvious in trailer #2, seen below, one has to wonder what Trap’s actual twist(s?) will end up being. So join me below in taking a few possibly hyperbolic shots in the dark at guessing what M. Night Shyamalan has in store for us with his latest big screen “experience.”

Twisty Info We Know Already

• There's a killer dubbed The Butcher on the loose, and Josh Hartnett's Cooper very much appears to be The Butcher.
• The concert that Cooper and his daughter are attending is purportedly a massive police sting operation crafted specifically to catch The Butcher.

Both of those details seem like huge reveals for a movie that we didn't know squat about in the months leading up to the first trailer's release. However, it's easy to imagine that any other non-Shyamalan movie would have made those details clear from the jump, which makes it easier to contextualize those as not-entirely-spoilery reveals. Now from those presumable facts we jump into completely speculative territory!

Theory #1: Cooper's Daughter Is In On It

Considering we only for sure know two characters going into the movie, is it that much of a stretch to hypothesize that both of them have secrets? Riley's brief appearances make her seem so blissfully ignorant of her father's evil ways, which just makes me all the more suspicious. Her telling him "You're acting weird," could very well be just performative for all the people passing by. That moment is made to look like she catches him messing with the fire alarm, but there's no way of knowing if that's what actually plays out in the movie.

Theory #2: The Entire Venue Will Be Destroyed Just To Catch Cooper

The concert in Trap takes place in "Tanaka Arena," which is a redressed version of the real-life venue where the movie was filmed: Toronto's Rogers Centre. Why not set the film within a real-world arena with real-world iconography? There are no doubt plenty of reasons, but one might involve something that the real location wouldn't necessarily want to have its name attached to, such as a bombing or some other form of all-out destruction.

Theory #3: The Movie's Title Isn't Actually "Trap"

While I understand it would be a marketing nightmare to have a movie go all the way to release without its actual title being unveiled, but one of the most curious elements of the trailer and textual marketing is the way that pieces are missing from letters. It's most notable when the "T-R-A-P" pop up dramatically before the full title pops up at the end, but it's also prevalent in the middle when M. Night Shyamalan's name and past credits are shown. But why are there parts missing from some of these letters?

As far as I can tell, the shapes don't fit together to make a new word or anything, and the letters that are affected aren't an anagram of anything relevant. I'll easily cop to making an error along the way, but if that's all correct, then the only other outcome I can imagine is that the film's title Trap is also incomplete in some way, and that the true title will only be revealed while watching.

Theory #4: Some Kind Of Plot Point Revolves Around Concert Performer Lady Raven

Soon after Trap's trailer dropped, the sing Saleka (who is portraying Lady Raven in the film) posted news about her upcoming album, which is called Lady Raven and is essentially the movie's soundtrack. At 14 songs, it's definitely more of a legitimate project than curated jukebox soundtracks, and there would be no reason to put all that effort and connective work into making this a full-blown album unless Lady Raven and her music are intrinsic to the plot in a way that isn't just catchy background noise.

I'm also intrigued by Kid Cudi, who guests on the album, appears in the trailer wearing a blonde wig. I hope that character is more than just a background dancer, since the rapper is always fun to watch in scripted roles.

Theory #5: This Is All Just A VR Therapy Simulation

This seems as out there as can be, but has some possible justifications going for it. For one, characters are constantly looking directly into the camera, as if they're speaking to "the audience," rather than another character, and certain moments appear to be fully P.O.V. shots, which is a view gamers are well used to by now. As well, there's a prominent focus on people holding up cell phones and taking pictures/videos, with at least once happening the same kind of P.O.V. style. So while that may not indicate mobile gaming, specifically, it could be connected.

But the trailer also shows that the movie doesn't take place entirely within the arena, showing us different snippets of Cooper's life outside, and he very much looks like someone suffering from one or more mental disorders. Perhaps not on the same heightened level as what went down in Split, but not necessarily so removed from it, either. So we might as well theorize that this is some kind of Inception-style video game where Cooper is led to believe he's taking part in a real situation, but is really just incriminating himself for authorities.

Theory #6: It's A Sequel To The Sixth Sense

To be fair, this isn't really my own theory, but one posited by CinemaBlend's Ryan LaBee, who came away from the first trailer thinking that perhaps Trap is a stealth Sixth Sense sequel by way of someone involved with tracking Cooper at the concert potentially being helped along by one or more of The Butcher's victims. Put more clearly, by someone who sees dead people.

Obviously Haley Joel Osment hasn't been announced as part of Trap's cast, or else this theory would be the biggest one out there. But even if we don't see him return as an adult Cole using his haunting abilities in positive ways, there could be another character who also has the shine, as it were. Danny Torrence, as I live and breathe!

While none of these theories may end up coming true, I can't wait to see if any are even close when Trap hits the 2024 movie schedule on August 2.

Warner Bros. just unleashed the sinister first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming thriller, Trap, and it's got every element you'd expect from the master of twists: a diabolical plot, a gripping setting, and Josh Hartnett as a serial killer lurking at a pop star's concert. But here's where it gets interesting: there's enough in this trailer to make me believe that this newest thriller might just be a secret sequel to The Sixth Sense. Crazy? Maybe. But hear me out, because I think I’m right. 

Trap follows a father-daughter duo, played by Hartnett and Ariel Donoghue, as they attend a concert by pop sensation Lady Raven, portrayed by Night’s real-life daughter, R&B singer Saleka. But as the chilling vibes of the trailer suggest, this isn't just any pop concert. It's a deadly trap. Hartnett's character takes a suspiciously timed bathroom break only to discover federal agents swarming the venue. They're hunting "The Butcher," a notorious serial killer known for his brutal MO. But twist — the trailer reveals Hartnett himself as the Butcher, now ensnared in his own game, trying desperately to escape with a hostage in tow.

The trailer had great, fun vibes while being quintessentially Shyamalan — dark, suspenseful, with an undercurrent of dread. 

Now, why do I suspect Trap might actually be a secret sequel to The Sixth Sense? Consider how the Lady in the Water filmmaker expertly revealed Split as a stealth continuation of Unbreakable—a twist only made clear in the movie's final moments. Similarly, the Trap trailer tantalizes us with the phrase, “Get Ready for a new experience... in the world of M. Night Shyamalan.” This phrase alone sparks curiosity. When the trailer teases "from the world of…" it hints at an exploration of one of his established universes. But which one?

Given Bruce Willis's retirement and the closure provided by Glass, the last of the Unbreakable trilogy, it seems unlikely that Trap would revisit the same narrative universe as Split and Glass–which are killing it on Netflix. So, what other "world" from the Signs director’s oeuvre could be ripe for continuation? While there are a bunch of great M. Night movies, in my opinion, there's really only one that makes a compelling case — The Sixth Sense.

The plot for Trap alone had me asking questions. Like, how do they know the serial killer is going to be in this particular arena seeing this particular concert? If they knew who the killer was, wouldn't they just arrest him? Well, maybe they only have the information to go off of because someone has told them, like perhaps one of "The Butcher's" recent victims. That's right -- a ghost. 

Could Josh Hartnett’s character somehow be connected to Cole Sear, Haley Joel Osment's memorable character from one of the best horror movies of all time? 

Picture this: Cole, now an adult, uses his supernatural abilities to assist law enforcement in tracking down serial killers before they can strike again. It's a wild idea, but isn't that just the kind of unexpected twist M. Night loves to deliver? After all, the last time we saw Cole, he was using his gift to help spirits — like the young girl played by Mischa Barton, whose stepmother was poisoning her — find peace by resolving their unsettled affairs. Perhaps Cole is helping the spirit of one of "The Butcher’s" victims, guiding them toward resolution and peace.

It may seem far-fetched, but it's a theory that fits perfectly with Shyamalan's penchant for mind-blowing plot twists. The Village helmer’s recent switch from Universal to Warner Bros. adds more intrigue. According to THR’s reporting, he described the move as aligning with a studio that cherishes the theatrical experience and supports distinctive filmmakers. With such a supportive backdrop, it’s the ideal time for the Old screenwriter to unexpectedly dive back into his earlier creations and expand his cinematic universe. I am all in for this possibility and eagerly await to see if Night surprises us again.

Trap hits the 2024 movie schedule on August 9, and I'll be there opening night, popcorn in hand, ready to see if my theory holds water. Whether I'm right and Trap is connected to one of the best movies of the 1990s or I’m completely wrong, one thing's for sure: in the world of M. Night Shyamalan, nothing is ever as it seems. 

The first look at M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie, Trap, is here and this time around the legendary filmmaker is setting a horror movie at a pop singer’s stadium concert. As the first Trap trailer unveils, the flick will follow a father and daughter attending a massive show for fictional artist Lady Raven. But as the sneak peek reveals, the whole concert is actually a “trap” to catch an infamous serial killer, who seems to be none other than the father we start the film following. When CinemaBlend spoke to the filmmaker about Trap, he shared insights into the movie’s unique setting. 

I’m a frequent concertgoer who loves the experience of seeing my favorite musicians live in person. So when I had the chance to speak to M. Night Shyamalan in Los Angeles on Monday about his project on the 2024 movie schedule, we talked about how the setting uniquely informs the horror movie. In his words: 

As Shyamalan teased, the entirety of Trap will take place during the events of a pop singer’s concert and go beat by beat through the different elements of shows like these. This even includes those highly-coveted surprise performances, which Taylor Swift’s viral Eras Tour is particularly famous for. Check out the trailer here: 

In terms of the pop singer hitting the stage in Trap, his own daughter Saleka Shyamalan plays a fictional artist Lady Raven. As M. Night Shyamalan continued: 

Saleka is the eldest daughter of M. Night Shyamalan and a classically trained musician who has opened for acts like Boys II Men, Baby Rose, Summer Walker and Giveon. She released her debut album Seance in 2022 and made some music for AppleTV+’s Servant, which had its finale last spring. Ahead of my quick chat with Shyamalan, I attended Warner Bros. “Summer of Shyamalan” event where the filmmaker spoke further about the inception of Trap. 

The writer/director shared that he and Saleka had been itching to work together in a larger capacity for some time. He explained: 

Shyamalan is famous for his twists, and this time around he has brought the twist to us in the trailer itself. It certainly has us curious where the movie set at a concert will go from there! Color me intrigued about how M. Night Shyamalan's concert horror movie will fuse the experience of going to see a pop singer with his famed storytelling techniques. 

Trap hits theaters on August 9. Check out what other upcoming horror movies are coming out throughout 2024 and beyond here on CinemaBlend. 

Josh Hartnett is being celebrated for his portrayal of Ernest Lawrence, garnering a Screen Actors Guild Award alongside his Oppenheimer cast members for the Ensemble in a Motion Picture. Now the actor is setting his sights on an intriguing new venture, a role he calls a “pivot” in M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming movie Trap. The project finds him collaborating with the master of suspense on a role he promises to diverge sharply from his previous work, offering him a chance to delve into an array of complex, darker emotions and character dynamics. Honestly, I cannot freaking wait. 

During a red carpet interview with IndieWire at the SAG Awards, where Oppenheimer was lauded as the evening's standout film, the Penny Dreadful veteran expressed his eagerness for the upcoming horror movie. The Black Hawk Down actor hinted at a departure from his known cinematic persona, suggesting that Trap will unveil a performance that is as unconventional as it is compelling. This pivot toward a darker, more enigmatic role under Shyamalan's direction has Hartnett brimming with excitement. He told the outlet: 

For a while, it became trendy to criticize the director, but there's no denying that M. Night Shyamalan has a collection of great movies. I find myself in agreement with Hartnett's positive assessment of the filmmaker because as time passes and he releases more movies, in my estimation the positives far outweigh the negatives in his filmography. Every time news breaks that the Academy Award-nominated Sixth Sense visionary is working on a new project, my curiosity is instantly sparked. Trap is no exception to this rule, with the inclusion of the Hollywood Homicide star being just a “dark” and “bizarre” cherry on top. 

Josh is well-acquainted with the horror genre, with some of Hartnett's best movies being the likes of Halloween: H20 and The Faculty. While he rarely takes on the role of a villain or a disturbing character, his portrayal of the twisted Hugo in O, the 2001 modern adaptation of Othello, was exceptional, which you can revisit with a Max (formerly HBO Mas) subscription. So, needless to say, it's incredibly exciting to see him going back to his horror movie roots.

You can catch Josh Hartnett in Shyamalan's Trap when it hits the 2024 movie schedule on August 2. Until then, see his latest work, in Christopher Nolan’s 13-time Oscar-nominated historical drama Oppenheimer, now streaming with a Peacock subscription. 

In recent years, Josh Hartnett was one of those actors who had entertainment hounds curious of his whereabouts. However, following his stunning performance as Ernest Lawrence in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer cast (in addition to a few other roles as of late that we will cover), it seems that we can officially say that the Hartaissance is on. Let’s celebrate this new era by exploring his filmography with our picks of the best Josh Hartnett movies and TV shows, along with a tip of where to find them on streaming or as a digital rental, below.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

Two decades after surviving her brother’s killing spree and going into hiding, a California boarding school headmistress (Jamie Lee Curtis) is shocked to learn he has found her. 

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: For his feature film debut, Hartnett had the honor playing the son of one of cinema’s top Scream Queens in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, which was the first of the Halloween movies to reboot the continuity.

Stream Halloween H20: 20 Years Later on Showtime.
Rent or buy Halloween H20: 20 Years Later on Amazon.

The Faculty (1998)

A group of teens from different walks of life must unite when they become some of the few people not affected by an alien parasite causing their teachers, and others, to act frighteningly out of character.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Hartnett seemed well on his way to achieving Scream King status with his second movie of 1998 (and second collaboration with H20 screenwriter Kevin Williamson), director Robert Rodriguez’s The Faculty — a not-too-scary horror classic fusing Invasion of Body Snatchers-esque paranoia satire with the archetypal coming-of-age commentary of The Breakfast Club.

Stream The Faculty on Paramount+.

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Five sisters raised in an extremely sheltered environment become objects of fascination for four young men in 1970s Detroit.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Hartnett first earned serious acting acclaim and a heartthrob reputation as Trip Fontaine in this adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides novel, The Virgin Suicides — Sofia Coppola’s feature-length debut as a writer and director and, arguably, her best film to date.

Stream The Virgin Suicides on Amazon Prime.
Stream The Virgin Suicides on Paramount+.

O (2001)

After his coach (and father) chooses his predominantly white basketball team’s only Black player (Mekhi Pfeiffer) as MVP, a jealous high school athlete (Hartnett) conspires to ruin his life.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Hartnett let out his bad side for the first time as the antagonist of O, which was one of many modernized retellings of William Shakespeare plays — this one being based on Othello.

Stream O on Max.
Rent or buy O on Amazon.

Black Hawk Down (2001)

A U.S. military crew struggles to locate and rescue more than 100 Army Rangers after a pair of helicopter crashes leave them stranded in Somalia.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Also one of the best movies starring the late Tom Sizemore, director Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down is a highly realistic depiction of war inspired by a real incident from 1993.

Stream Black Hawk Down on Netflix.
Rent or buy Black Hawk Down on Amazon.

40 Days And 40 Nights (2002)

Soon after he commits to swearing off all sexual activity for Lent, a young, single man (Hartnett) meets the woman of his dreams (Shannyn Sossamon).

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Amid its raunchy themes, what makes director Michael Lehmann’s 40 Days and 40 Nights an effective romantic comedy movie for its time is its somewhat thought-provoking and heartfelt approach to the material.

Stream 40 Days And 40 Nights on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy 40 Days And 40 Nights on Amazon.

Hollywood Homicide (2003)

Two Los Angeles detectives — one a veteran who sells real estate (Harrison Ford), the other a rookie with acting aspirations (Hartnett) — are thrown together on the case of an up-and-coming rap group’s murder.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: While their characters have trouble being civil, Hartnett claims he and Ford got along fine (despite rumors of the contrary) on the set of Hollywood Homicide — a funny buddy cop flick from Academy Award nominated co-writer and director, Ron Shelton. 

Rent or buy Hollywood Homicide on Amazon.

Wicker Park (2004)

Convinced that he spotted a former lover who left him years earlier, a Chicago advertising executive (Hartnett) tracks her down, leading him down a dangerous path.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Following Hollywood Homicide, Hartnett led a much darker and stranger kind of mystery story called Wicker Park — director Paul McGuigan and screenwriter Brandon Boyce’s English-language update of Gilles Mimouni’s 1996 French thriller, The Apartment.

Stream Wicker Park on Amazon Prime.

Mozart And The Whale (2005)

A cab driver with Asperger’s Syndrome (Hartnett) meets and falls for a woman who is also on the autism spectrum (Radha Mitchell), which proves to create challenging circumstances for their relationship.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Based on the true stories of Jerry Newport and his wife, Mary (according to The Wonderful World of Autism), Mozart and the Whale is an uplifting love story, anchored by Hartnett and Mitchell’s heartfelt portrayals of their characters’ condition.

Stream Mozart And The Whale on Freevee through Amazon.

Sin City (2005)

An anthology of three interconnected stories following the hardened citizens of a grimy urban jungle dominated by crime and corruption.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: For his second collaboration with Robert Rodriguez (who co-directs with comic book legend Frank Miller), Hartnett appeared in the small, but memorably intriguing, role of “The Salesman” in Sin City — a brilliant non-superhero-related comic book movie that brings Miller’s noir-inspired graphic novel series to life with its spectacularly unique visual design.

Stream Sin City on Max.
Rent or buy Sin City on Amazon.

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

A case of mistaken identity causes a young man (Hartnett) to become embroiled in a feud between the two most powerful leaders of New York City’s criminal underground.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: There is more than meets the eye about Hartnett’s titular role in the fun, subversive crime drama, Lucky Number Slevin — also the actor’s second collaboration with director Paul McGuigan and fellow Sin City cast member, Bruce Willis.

Stream Lucky Number Slevin on Tubi.
Stream Lucky Number Slevin on Freevee through Amazon.

Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)

Four uniquely skilled individuals form an alliance to battle unusual, otherworldly phenomena in 19th Century London.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: There is also more than meets the eye about Hartnett’s character — American gunslinger, Ethan Chandler — on creator John Logan’s acclaimed gothic horror series, Penny Dreadful, which was the actor’s most high profile project during its three-season run on Showtime.

Stream Penny Dreadful on Showtime.
Buy Penny Dreadful on Amazon.

Wrath Of Man (2021)

A security guard for a truck company (Jason Statham) arises the suspicions of his peers after foiling an attempted heist with his unusually impressive skills.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: One of Hartnett’s first major movie releases in years was one of the grittier, more earnest, and simply best Guy Ritchie movies in years, Wrath of Man, in which he plays a fellow security guard named “Boy Sweat” Dave Hancock.

Stream Wrath Of Man on Amazon Prime.

Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre (2023)

In order to gain the trust of a wealthy investor suspected of selling a deadly warhead (Hugh Grant), the rebellious leader (Statham) of a ragtag team of secret agents recruit their target’s favorite movie star (Hartnett) as their latest member.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: For his second collaboration with co-writer and director Ritchie and Statham, Hartnett revives his comedic side for his scene-stealing role in the Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre cast, which also includes Aubrey Plaza, Bugzy Malone, and Cary Elwes giving it their all in this hilarious, old school spy flick. 

Rent or buy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre on Amazon.

Black Mirror: Beyond The Sea (2023)

The relationship between two astronauts (Hartnett and Aaron Paul), who are able to continue living on Earth by logging into mechanical decoys, takes a drastic turn when one suffers a horrifying tragedy.

Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Hartnett gives one of his most captivating performances in years in one of the best episodes of Black Mirror’s sixth season, “Beyond the Sea,” which is also inventive, absorbing, and devastating enough to be called one of the all-time best episodes of the Netflix exclusive technophobic anthology series.

Stream Black Mirror: Beyond The Sea on Netflix.

There are more notable Josh Hartnett movies to find — such as 30 Days of Night, for fans of brutal vampire movies — and more to look forward to as well, as the actor has an action thriller called Fight or Flight in post-production and a crime drama called The Last Draw of Jack of Hearts in pre-production.

I was excited for and proud of David Corenswet when I learned he had joined writer and director James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy cast as the new DCU’s official Clark Kent. However, I also recognize that some will alway see Christopher Reeve as the definitive Man of Steel, and others are still bummed about Henry Cavill’s exit from the role, and I imagine there are many who still believe no one has topped George Reeves since he debuted in 1951.

Of course, as we could say about the lead role in just all the best superhero movies ever made, none of these icons were the first choice to play the Last Son of Krypton and some big names have been approached to don the old red and blues, but never took flight for one reason or another. Let’s take a look back at some of the most notable actors who almost played Superman — starting with one who is no stranger to live-action DC movies already.

Joe Manganiello

Years after playing Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Joe Manganiello joined the DC Extended Universe as deadly assassin, Slade “Deathstroke” Wilson — a role met with “much disappointment,” as he ended up only making brief appearances in a post-credits scene in 2017’s Justice League and a dystopian flash-forward in the Snyder Cut. That was actually not his first disappointing experience with a DC role, as he recalled to ComicBook.com, having previously met with Zack Snyder about leading 2013’s Man of Steel. Unfortunately, the actor claims his contractual commitment to one of Manganiello’s best TV shows, HBO’s True Blood, prevented him from taking the time he needed off for the project.

Brendan Fraser

Speaking of disappointing DC movie experiences, Brendan Fraser’s role as pyromaniac villain, Firefly, was one of the things we wished we could have seen in Batgirl before Warner Bros. cancelled the movie. Yet, as he told Howard Stern, the Academy Award-winning star of The Whale experienced his first disappointment involving a DC character in the early 2000s when he auditioned for a Superman movie that never got made, called Superman: Flyby. While Fraser was, admittedly, intimidated by the idea of the Man of Steel being his definitive role, losing the opportunity with the project’s cancellation was a let down, but at least he can say he got to voice RobotMan on Doom Patrol for Max.

Matt Bomer

Speaking of Doom Patrol, Fraser’s co-star, Matt Bomer, plays Larry “Negative Man” Trainor, who must keep his radioactive skin covered in bandages. However, underneath them is a dead ringer for Clark Kent, which is why it comes as no surprise that — according to ComicBook.com — he was also considered for the lead role of Superman: Flyby, coincidentally. Luckily, the former White Collar cast member would go on to voice a couple of iconic heroes in animated DC movies — namely The Flash in Justice Society: World War II and Legion of Super-Heroes, and the Man of Steel himself in 2013’s Superman: Unbound.

Josh Hartnett

Despite having a couple of non-superhero comic book movies under his belt — Sin City and 30 Days of Night — Josh Hartnett has had more than one chance to be a superhero, being an actor who could have played Batman and Superman, as well. The Oppenheimer cast member revealed to Mr. Porter that he turned down the lead role in 2006’s Superman Returns — which eventually went to Brandon Routh — because he was more interested in projects outside of the mainstream following the major boost in fame he got from starring in Pearl Harbor.

Jude Law

Another actor who was considered for the mid-2000s Superman reboot before Routh was cast was Jude Law. The two-time Oscar nominee recalled to Stephen Colbert on Late Show that he actually tried on the hero’s iconic costume in private and initially enjoyed the experience, but was frightened by the idea of seeing what he saw in the mirror on advertisements all over the world. He would eventually take a supporting role in one of the Marvel movies — Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel.

Sylvester Stallone

An actor who can say he has been in a few of the best Marvel movies and a DC movie, as well, is Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2 and 3) and The Suicide Squad actor Sylvester Stallone. While he would make his comic book movie as the title role of 1995’s Judge Dredd, it could have happened much earlier when he met with director Richard Donner about leading 1978’s Superman. According to the filmmaker’s words to THR, Donner liked the Rocky movies star, but he was against the idea of casting a big name and eventually got his wish when the then-relatively unknown Reeve was brought in.

Paul Newman

Another big name who was considered to for Donner’s Superman before Reeve was Paul Newman, who was in his early 50s when the film was in development. On an audio commentary recorded for the film’s 2006 DVD release, producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler claimed that the future Academy Award winner (for 1986’s The Color of Money) was actually offered the choice to play either Clark Kent, his nemesis Lex Luthor (which went to Gene Hackman), or his father Jor-El (whom Marlon Brando famously played). Newman did wind up starring in a much different kind of comic book movie, Road to Perdition, which, coincidentally, also stars Law.

Will Smith

In 2008, while promoting his own superhero movie not inspired by a comic book, Hancock — in which he plays a cynical, drunken bum with Superman-esque abilities — Will Smith revealed to MTV that he could have been the real thing. He passed on the Superman Returns script, though, because, as he put it, playing Jim West in the 1999 flop, Wild Wild West, convinced him, “you can't be messing up white people's heroes in Hollywood!” The Academy Award winner (for 2021’s King Richard) would later agree to play the anti-heroic Deadshot in DC's Suicide Squad, which turned out to be one of his most financially successful films.

Nicolas Cage

Perhaps the best-known example of an actor who almost played the Man of Steel comes from the story behind one of the most famous (if not infamous) DC movies that never happened — Superman Lives. As he recalled to Variety, in the 1990s, Nicolas Cage was cast in his dream role for the film that was set to be directed by Tim Burton, until it was scrapped after a series of behind-the-scenes issues. However, Cage would eventually receive the honor of playing Superman on two different occasions: voicing him in Teen Titans GO! to the Movies in 2018 and a digitally de-aged cameo in The Flash, in which he fights the giant spider Superman Lives producer Jon Peters requested.

There are several actors our own Sarah El-Mahmoud once thought would be perfect to play Superman after Henry Cavill — such as Yellowstone’s Wes Bentley or Michael B. Jordan, who is producing a miniseries about a Black version of Superman named Val-Zod that we hope still happens. However, as we may come to find out, Gunn and co. choosing David Corenswet, alongside Rachel Brosnahan as his Lois Lane, might work out for the best.

Bette Davis vs. Joan Crawford. Bill Murray vs. Lucy Liu. Tom Hardy vs. Charlize Theron. Josh Hartnett vs. Harrison Ford? Not so fast. In Hollywood, feuds and on-set clashes often make for sensational headlines. And in rare cases, some famous beefs turn out to have some validity to them. But on the other hand, the truth can be far less dramatic when it comes to supposed squabbles among Hollywood's best and brightest. On that note, Hartnett recently set the record straight in regard to his alleged feud with Ford.

The 30 Days of Night actor discussed a range of topics while speaking with The Independent. Among the subjects covered were his venture into space for an episode of the upcoming sixth season of Black Mirror and his recent collaboration with renowned filmmaker Christopher Nolan, which comes twenty years after turning down the role of Batman. However, arguably the biggest revelation arose when the Black Hawk Down actor addressed the longstanding rumors of an alleged feud with the Indiana Jones icon. Clearing the air, the Halloween H20 alum explained:

At the time, the Black Dahlia star apparently gave Harrison Ford a nickname that was referenced in the aforementioned stories. Josh Hartnett explained just whey he gave that moniker to the revered actor:

The supposed feud between the two traces back to their joint outing in the 2003 comedy action movie Hollywood Homicide. In the film, they portrayed an unlikely duo of LAPD partners who juggled their police work with other unconventional jobs while unraveling the murder of a promising rap group. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the film sparked considerable speculation regarding a possible divide between the two actors.

Fast forward 20 years, and the Pearl Harbor performer's perspective on the matter seems to have evolved. However, at the time, reports circulated of the actors intentionally avoiding eye contact on set and engaging in frequent arguments during the film's promotional tour. In a playful exchange, Harrison Ford reportedly referred to Hartnett as "punk," while Josh Hartnett jokingly labeled Ford as an "old fart."

During a 2003 interview with ContactMusic, the Resurrecting the Champ alum provided insights into their dynamic, highlighting moments of uncomfortable silence between takes. Recounting the experience, he shared that there were times when the two of them "would end up just sitting in the car when we were supposed to be doing a scene, and neither of us would say anything for like an hour." Naturally, with the passing of two decades, people often find time to cool down and reassess a situation.

Josh Hartnett fans have an exciting year ahead, as the talented actor is set to appear in Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated film Oppenheimer, slated for the schedule of 2023 new movie releases. Additionally, rumors are circulating that – after previously declining the role of the Caped Crusader – he is in the running for the role of Two-Face in The Batman: Part II. And who knows, maybe another collaboration with Harrison Ford may be in the cards at some point, especially considering that seems to be no bad blood between them.

If there was a Mt. Rushmore created to honor the heroes of the all-time greatest spy movies, I think it would be unanimously agreed that it should include Matt Damon’s title hero from the Jason Bourne movies, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt from the Mission: Impossible movies, and one of the James Bond actors (which one of them it should be is up to you to decide). For my choice of the fourth head, I would like to submit Jason Statham as Orson Fortune in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre.

It may seem a little early to give such an honor to the main hero of this new 2023 movie (which just came out in theaters today), but once you see how fun co-writer and director Guy Ritchie’s old school espionage thriller is, you might find yourself agreeing with me. Of course, Statham’s character is just one reason why the film is so irresistibly entertaining. To get a clear understanding of the other reasons, you could ether check out the official trailer or stick around and take a look at the rest of the Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre cast, starting with the title role.

Jason Statham (Orson Fortune)

Highly skilled (and very picky) special operative Orson Fortune is only the latest character in a Guy Ritchie movie that Jason Statham has played, having launched his acting career at the same time that the filmmaker launched his directing career with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998. The British duo would reunite again for 2002’s Snatch, 2008’s Revolver, the earnest revenge thriller Wrath of Man in 2021, and this film, most recently.

Statham would also earn a storied action star reputation outside of his collaborations with Ritchie as a main player in a few franchises — including the Transporter movies (until bailing on the fourth film), the Expendables movies as Lee Christmas, the Fast and Furious movies (including his own spin-off with Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs) as Deckard Shaw, and creature feature The Meg, which is getting a sequel in 2023. He also appeared in one of the last John Carpenter movies (Ghosts of Mars), played a good bad guy in Cellular, had a memorable cameo in Collateral, and poked fun at the spy genre in 2015’s aptly titled, Spy.

Aubrey Plaza (Sarah Fidel)

As the sharp-tongued and vivacious expert in hacking (among other things) Sarah Fidel, we have Aubrey Plaza, whose charming, dry wit that she brings to the film is what made her an MVP in the Parks and Recreation cast as April Ludgate. She has also stolen the show or led it wonderfully in comedy movies like Funny People, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, and Hulu’s Happiest Season.

Plaza has also been known to show her more serious side, such as when she played the homicidal Cat Adams on Criminal Minds, played a mental patient on FX’s Marvel-inspired series Legion, starred in the 2019 Child’s Play remake, and played the title role of Emily the Criminal, which she also produced. This is just the latest instance of her channeling her more serious and more comedic sensibilities in the same project, following the likes of Safety Not Guaranteed, the darkly comic, romantic horror movie, Life After Beth, and HBO’s The White Lotus Season 2 in 2022.

Josh Hartnett (Danny Francesco)

In order to get close to a target, Orson and Sarah’s crew enlist the help of movie star Danny Francesco, who is played by Statham’s fellow Wrath of Man cast member, Josh Hartnett, who made his debut in one of the more underrated Halloween movies, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, in 1998 — the same year he appeared in another cult favorite horror flick, The Faculty. He would later return to the genre by leading 2007’s grisly vampire movie 30 Days of Night, playing Ethan Chandler on Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, and joining the upcoming sixth season of Black Mirror.

In between then, he starred in acclaimed coming-of-age dramas like The Virgin Suicides and the Shakespeare-inspired O, fact-based war movies like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down, and worked with Bruce Willis in the Sin City cast and in 2006’s Lucky Number Slevin. More recently, he played himself on Quibi’s Die Hart, starred in the 2021 Neo-western movie Ida Red, and will star in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer cast as Ernest Lawrence.

Cary Elwes (Nathan Jasmine)

Nathan Jasmine — the one calling the shots (or struggling to do so) for Orson and Sarah’s crew — is just one of two spy movie characters that Aubrey Plaza’s Best Sellers co-star, Cary Elwes, is playing in 2023, as he is also in the Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One cast, which will mark his second collaboration with Tom Cruise after 1990’s Days of Thunder. Of course, he is still best known for his breakout role in 1987’s The Princess Bride cast as Westley, which led to more fantasy/medieval adventure movies like the criminally underrated ‘90s classic, Robin Hood: Men in Tights (in which he played the title role), the animated Quest for Camelot, and 2004’s Ella Enchanted with Anne Hathaway.

The British actor has also led an impressively versatile career that includes powerful period dramas like Glory, fun modern comedies like Liar Liar, blockbuster disaster flicks like Twister, and quite a few horror movies — most notably the Saw movies as Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Elwes was also on an episode of Seinfeld, worked with Steven Spielberg on 2011’s The Adventure  of Tintin, and, in its third season, joined the Stranger Things cast.

Bugzy Malone (J.J.)

As the fourth member of Orson’s crew — the sharp-shooting J.J. — we have Bugzy Malone, who rose to fame in the U.K. as a rap music artist known for hits like “Out of Nowhere” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is, actually, only his second film credit so far. In fact, Ritchie previously directed Malone (whose real name is Aaron Davis) in his feature-film debut, when he appeared in the filmmaker’s acclaimed return to British crime thrillers, The Gentlemen, in 2020.

Hugh Grant (Greg Simmonds)

Playing billionaire arms dealer — and Number One fan of Danny Francesco — Greg Simmonds is Bugzy Malone’s The Gentlemen co-star, Hugh Grant, who first worked with Ritchie in the filmmaker’s first try at espionage thrillers, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., in 2015. Before then, his main claim to fame was romantic-comedies — such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, and the Bridget Jones movies, to name a few.

However, Grant has also been known to branch out into more challenging and versatile roles, too, such as his multiple parts in Cloud Atlas, the main villain of Paddington 2, U.K. politician Jeremy Thorpe in the miniseries A Very British Scandal, or the voice of the Captain in 2012’s The Pirates! Band of Misfits. More recently, he appeared opposite Nicole Kidman in HBO’s The Undoing, appeared as Benoit Blanc’s husband in Netflix’s Glass Onion, and joined the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves cast for the upcoming adventure epic.

With a title like the one this film boasts — which includes a name-check for the central hero and an exotic phrase following a colon — I cannot help but wonder if it is Ritchie’s intention to launch a new franchise of spy thrillers with this release. If so, I certainly hope the goal proves successful because the chemistry between the Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre cast members is strong enough to warrant another adventure, in my opinion.

Guy Ritchie is starting to become an established name in the espionage genre. Thanks to projects like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and the upcoming The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, his rapid fire wit and action chops have been applied to situations where the fate of the world is in the balance. With Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Ritchie finds himself reunited with collaborators like Jason Statham and Hugh Grant, taking on the world of spies once more with feeling. What results is a seriously funny movie that balances its humor with moments of intense action, carrying both sides of the equation with that trademark Guy Ritchie flair. 

Things start off fast and to the point from the moment the logos fade, as a concerning theft from a research facility has left the British government with great, top secret concerns. We don’t know what’s stolen at first, only that it’s a big enough job that Orson Fortune (Jason Staham) is recruited into action to retrieve the goods and make the buyer. That mission will require a team that Orson can trust (Aubrey Plaza, Bugzy Malone) and the aid of a reluctant movie star (Josh Hartnett) who can help the team get to some key players involved.

Of course, the traditional hang-ups will be present throughout Operation Fortune, as this is a Guy Ritchie movie after all. There will be betrayals, subterfuge, and some cleverly edited flashbacks that provide details we didn’t see the first time out. Though this is a movie where Ritchie is playing around with elements he’s always been comfortable with, the man does so with a lens that’s more serious than you’d think. That approach allows both the laughs and the thrills to land as powerfully as one of Jason Statham’s punches; and you’ve seen how that dude can punch. 

A more comedic take on Mission: Impossible-style spying, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre isn’t as silly as it’s sold itself to be.

On the outside, Operation Fortune looks like it’d be at home with one of Ritchie’s more comedic affairs; especially when promising some well played verbal sparring between Aubrey Plaza and various members of the cast. Though there is a strong current of humor that makes this Mission: Impossible-style caper as fun as it should be, the co-writer/director of this picture doesn’t skimp on serious thrills.

Laughter is only part of the picture here, as the stakes of the catastrophe that Orson Fortune and his team are trying to stop is treated as deadly serious when it needs to be. A scene that sees Jason Statham’s operative engaging in a vital infiltration exercise that’ll put his team ahead of their foes shows just how exacting the tone of Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre happens to be. What starts with Statham’s character getting distracted by a movie on TV shifts into serious thievery, which then finishes with Plaza and Statham debating semantics and architecture. 

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre walks between the tones of humor and peril rather adeptly, and it’s thanks to Guy Ritchie working once again with writers Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. Both collaborators have been on hand to sculpt the plots to Ritchie’s last two movies, The Gentlemen and Wrath of Man, and the confidence of this team shows throughout this latest endeavor. Which, in turn, further highlights the abilities of the crack team of actors put together to take it off the page.

The Guy Ritchie stable continues to flourish with another amazing ensemble and some strong, sharp pacing.

Guy Ritchie’s stable of recurring actors is something that’s always exciting to follow, as he seems to pick up new friends on a regular basis. Jason Statham’s continued work with his Lock, Stock, and Two Smokin’ Barrels helmer was naturally the strongest connection going into Operation Fortune, and their work together once again does not disappoint. The same should be said for Eddie Marsan and Bugzy Malone, both of whom are returning Team Ritchie players that help hold down the fort most admirably. 

Showing off the strong casting game that’s been present throughout his career, Guy Ritchie has really outdone himself by bringing the likes of Aubrey Plaza and Cary Elwes on board. Plaza’s computer expert Sarah Fidel is one of several parcels of comedic dynamite going off in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. Not only does she get to match wits with Jason Statham’s Orson, but she also serves as a comedic foil for Josh Hartnett (whose Danny Francesco is yet another hilarious try hard in the Ritchie-verse) as well as Hugh Grant.

Needless to say, Grant is firing on all cylinders as well, injecting the character of arms dealer Greg Simmons with the right amount of charm and menace to sell any given moment. Mixing sleaze with a more sinister nature, Hugh Grant could be the very pivot point of the dual tones to the story at hand, especially when delivering a Ritchie-esque monologue that gives the third act a nice boost in the middle of all the action. 

Just as the story knows how to navigate the lines of humor and hard action, the ensemble of performers in Operation Fortune read those lines very carefully. At times, this picture feels like it stops on a dime, only to turn in another direction and start zooming away into the distance. The energy is never forced, and in a sense Orson Fortune and his team outdo their spying competition by showing the audience one continued mission, step by step, without ever rushing or belaboring any particular point. 

With Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Guy Ritchie has yet again proven he’s one of the masters working in the espionage genre today.

At this point, everyone probably wants Guy Ritchie to either submit his resume for a Mission: Impossible movie, or even a James Bond adventure. It’s hard not to dream of those scenarios when Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre does so well with pacing its story and providing engaging characters, while also keeping the stakes firmly in sight. 25 years after directing his breakout film with Jason Statham, Ritchie has yet again proven he’s got the spy genre figured out. 

With a structure and team that takes the Mission movies and marries it with some 007 style humor and plottery, Operation Fortune is a welcomed addition to the canon of espionage movies. It’s tempting to want to see a new franchise for Guy Ritchie to return to, as the film does tip its hand towards potential plans for the future, and in a very Man From U.N.C.L.E. fashion. At the same time, it’s the roving nature of his filmography that’s given Ritchie the chance to develop such skilled precision. So something new is just as much of a welcomed prospect. 

It’s at least comforting to know that another Guy Ritchie movie has landed, with all of the entertainment and electricity you’d expect. Growing his stable of acting collaborators, one would hope that Aubrey Plaza and Cary Elwes will start to show up more often, alongside the likes of Jason Statham and the rest of the family that’s come on board through the years. Operation Fortune is a rich spy caper that cashes in every chip it has with such glee that it’s only further evidence as to why Ritchie should continue to play the spy game on a regular basis.

With Better Call Saul now in its final stretch, with several big deaths and twists having already heightened the stakes in its sixth season, fans are extremely eager to see how Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul will finally appear anew as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, respectively. But before we can witness what will presumably be another depressing peek into Jesse’s tumultuous life, Paul has landed a new role on another series that has long been known for disturbing the shit out of its viewers: Black Mirror. 

Aaron Paul is currently already in the midst of dealing with hyper-disturbing issues within the fourth season of HBO’s sci-fi thriller Westworld, where he stars as the military vet Caleb. But he apparently hasn’t yet been sated when it comes to taking on complicated and challenging stories in his career, thus his upcoming role in at least one episode of the darkly satirical anthology Black Mirror, where technology is prone to go dangerously haywire even when created under the best of intentions. Which does sound like a pretty solid mixture of Jesse Pinkman and Westworld elements, making Paul a superb addition for the long-awaited Season 6.

According to Variety, Black Mirror’s sixth season is believed to already be in production, with several other new cast members being announced alongside Aaron Paul (as listed below). But for as much as we can celebrate the actor’s presence in the hit series created by Charlie Booker, it’s not yet clear who he will be playing, with all episode and storyline details being kept behind locked doors and such. But considering Black Mirror’s biggest stars each season tend to be the ones invested in the most disturbing situations, I doubt we’ll see a whole lot of Paul’s charming smiles during the installment.

Aaron Paul already has ties to both Netflix and Black Mirror at this point, which further makes this casting addition a solid one. For the Season 4 premiere, "USS Callister," Paul provided a vocal cameo as an online gamer. That episode was co-led by Jesse Plemons, whose creepy AF character Todd notoriously put Paul's Jesse through hell in both Breaking Bad and the Netflix-housed feature spinoff El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. To bring it all together, Paul also played a character named Todd for the streaming service, though for the animated neo-classic BoJack Horseman.  

All The Black Mirror Season 6 Cast Members Announced

Let's take a look at the other cast members who were announced besides Aaron Paul, with the obvious understanding that we also don't know who any of these talents will be playing in the new season.

• Kate Mara (House of Cards, Pose, A Teacher)
• Danny Ramirez (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Top Gun: Maverick, Tales of the Walking Dead)
• Josh Hartnett (Penny Dreadful, The Fear Index, Oppenheimer)
• Anjana Vasan (We Are Lady Parts, Killing Eve, Cyrano)
• Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You, Gangs of London, Anne Boleyn)
• Clara Rugaard (Love Gets a Room, The Rising, Press Play)
• Auden Thornton (This Is Us, Doubt, Palm Trees and Power Lines)

All of the cast members listed above are reportedly set to star in the first three episodes of Black Mirror's sixth season, with more cast members expected to be added and revealed in the near-ish future. In other episode news, the upcoming season will allegedly have more episodes than the critically maligned Season 5, which comprised three 2019 installments. (Including the one with Miley Cyrus.)

So it's definitely been a while since the last time we've been disturbed by Black Mirror's dystopian takes on society and our tech-heavy obsessions. But now we can take comfort in things going forward with stellar new stars. And since Aaron Paul has long been known to be tech-averse himself, and famously doesn't use a cell phone, he may very well be the hero this show deserves.  

While waiting to see how Paul's episode ranks among the 10 best eps of Black Mirror so far, stay tuned to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are popping up soon.

Having previously explored World War II for 2017’s Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan will delve into a different aspect of that conflict for his follow-up to the time-twisty Tenet. The filmmaker is making a biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who played an integral role in developing the atomic bomb for the Manhattan Project. Based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, this will be Nolan’s first movie since Insomnia that’s not being housed at Warner Bros., with Universal Pictures instead financing and distributing the biopic.

We are closely approaching the highly-anticipated release of Oppenheimer on the big screen, for which Nolan and his team have assembled a top-notch cast. Let’s go over the actors who have been brought aboard for the biopic, starting with the man who was selected to play the title character.

Cillian Murphy (J. Robert Oppenheimer)

Cillian Murphy and Christopher Nolan go way back, with the former starring as Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. Scarecrow, in 2005’s Batman Begins. In addition to Murphy briefly reprising Crane in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, he also appeared in Inception as Robert Michael Fischer, followed by Dunkirk as a shell-shocked shivering soldier. Now he gets to take center stage for a Nolan movie by playing J. Robert Oppenheimer, who’s been called the “father of the atomic bomb.” Outside of Nolan’s sphere, along with leading the TV series Peaky Blinders, Murphy was also recently seen as Emmett in A Quiet Place Part II, which is where he worked with the next actor on this list.

Emily Blunt (Katherine Puening)

In the role of Oppenheimer’s wife, Katherine Puening, we have the second actor announced to star in the biopic, Emily Blunt, who previously played a woman heavily involved in a war in the classic time loop movie, Edge of Tomorrow. Her character of Evelyn Abbott and her children crossed paths with Murphy’s character during the chaotic events of A Quiet Place Part II, but if horror isn’t your thing, maybe you’ve seen the actress in Disney flicks like Mary Poppins Returns and Jungle Cruise, or in 2006 in her breakout performance in The Devil Wears Prada. 

Robert Downey Jr. (Lewis Strauss)

While it was initially unclear whom Robert Downey Jr. would play when his casting was reported, we’ve since learned he scored the role of Lewis Strauss – the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Chairman who frequently clashed with Oppenheimer post-World War II over a number of issues to the point where he questioned the scientist’s patriotism and got his security clearance revoked in 1954. Anyone who follows along with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is a fan of Iron Man, especially, doesn’t need to be told who this Oscar nominee (for Chaplin) is, but others may recognize him from Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies and should keep an eye out for his upcoming Max original series, The Sympathizer. 

Matt Damon (Lt. General Leslie Groves)

At the same time Downey’s casting was announced, Matt Damon (who had a surprise role in Interstellar) was revealed to be joining the Oppenheimer cast and eventually confirmed to play Manhattan Project director, Lt. General Leslie Groves, who was one of the few people confident in the titular scientist’s abilities. The Academy Award winner (for co-writing Good Will Hunting) has kept a steady presence on the film front in recent years with Ford V. Ferrari, No Sudden Move, Stillwater, The Last Duel, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (the latter of which saw him reprising his Dogma character Loki), and Amazon Prime’s Air.

Florence Pugh (Jean Tatlock)

Cast in the role of Jean Tatlock – a Communist Party member Oppenheimer had a romantic connection to – is Florence Pugh. In recent years, the Midsommar actress has been getting more on-screen attention than ever as Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (which earned her an Oscar nomination), Yelena Belova in the MCU, and leading the Don’t Worry Darling cast alongside Harry Styles.

Benny Safdie (Edward Teller)

According to Deadline, acclaimed writer and director Benny Safdie stars in Oppenheimer as Edward Teller – a theoretical physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project and is known as the “father of the hydrogen bomb.” Arguably best known for making movies like Uncut Gems with his brother, Josh, he’s also been assembling an acting resume that includes playing opposite Robert Pattinson in Good Time (which he and Josh also co-wrote and helmed), Licorice Pizza as politician Joel Sachs, and Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi cast in the brief role of a Jedi in hiding.

Dylan Arnold (Frank Oppenheimer)

Playing Robert’s younger brother, Frank Oppenheimer, is Dylan Arnold. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe you’ll recognize him as Cameron Elam in 2018’s Halloween and its sequel, Halloween Kills, or from his recurring stints in the short-lived The Purge series and Nashville, or his starring role in the You Season 3 cast for Netflix. 

Michael Angarano (Robert Serber)

Playing Robert Serber, another member of the Manhattan Project, in his biggest movie in a long time (or, arguably, ever) is Michael Angarano. Those of you who were kids/teens in the 2000s likely remember him as Will Stronghold from Disney's non-Marvel or DC superhero movie, Sky High. Others may remember him better in his younger years recurring as Elliot on Will & Grace or from his more recent work, which includes starring in Cinemax’s The Knick and Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, along with recurring on This is Us. 

Danny Deferrari (Enrico Fermi)

Another important member of the Manhattan Project who will be present in Oppenheimer is Enrico Fermi – creator of the world’s first nuclear reactor and nicknamed “the architect of the nuclear age” – whom Danny Deferrari has been tapped to play. Some may remember him as Andrew Madoff in ABC’s 2016 miniseries, Madoff, the acclaimed 2021 indie Shiva Baby, or appearances on Chicago Med, Blue Bloods, and Ray Donovan: The Movie.

Josh Peck (Kenneth Bainbridge)

In Oppenheimer, Peck will play Kenneth Bainbridge, who worked on cyclotron research and directed the Manhattan Project’s Trinity nuclear test in 1945, which was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. A good chunk of you reading this likely grew up watching him on The Amanda Show and/or Drake & Josh on Nickelodeon in the 2000s or remember him as the voice of Eddie in the Ice Age movies. He more recently starred in short-lived shows Grandfathered and Turner & Hooch, landed a recurring role alongside Hulu’s How I Met Your Father cast, and other big and small screen projects. 

Emma Dumont (Jackie Oppenheimer)

Emma Dumont will appear in Oppenheimer as Jackie Oppenheimer, a UC Berkeley economics student and Communist Party member who marries Frank Oppenheimer, despite the protests of his older brother. If you’re an X-Men fan, you might have seen the actor bring Lorna Dane, a.k.a. Polaris, to life in the short-lived Marvel TV show, The Gifted, or play Brenda in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza. 

Gustaf Skarsgård (Hans Bethe)

Another scientist who will be represented in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is Hans Bethe, who was head of the Theoretical Division at the Los Alamos laboratory, where he helped in calculating the critical mass of the atomic weapons and developed the implosion method used at the Trinity test and the “Fat Man” bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Bethe will be played by Gustaf Skarsgård, whom Vikings fans will recognize as Floki. Skarsgård also recurred on five episodes of Westworld and played Merlin in the short-lived Netflix series, Cursed.

Devon Bostick (Seth Neddermeyer)

Devon Bostick is slated to appear in Oppenheimer as Seth Neddermeyer, the physicist from the Manhattan Project who discovered the muon elementary particle and later championed for the Implosion-type nuclear weapon. In his younger years, Bostick starred in three of the live-action Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies as Rodrick Heffley and, on TV, he chiefly impressed as Jasper Jordan four seasons on The CW’s The 100. 

Rami Malek (David Hill)

Working  with Nolan for this first time is Rami Malek as physicist David Hill in Oppenheimer. Along with having starred as Eliot Anderson in the TV series Mr. Robot, Malek has impressed with his Academy Award-winning performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, as well as for antagonizing Daniel Craig’s James Bond as Lyutsifer Safin in No Time to Die.

Josh Hartnett (Ernest Lawrence)

Playing Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist and close friend of Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence (according to The Daily Mail), finally gives Josh Hartnett the opportunity to work with Nolan after he turned down the role of Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins. The actor is no stranger to war movies, having appeared with Ben Affleck in 2001’s Pearl Harbor and led the cast of Black Hawk Down, but film fans may also recognize him from Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, the Sin City cast, or as Ethan Chandler/The Wolf Man in Penny Dreadful. 

Dane DeHaan (Kenneth Nichols)

As Kenneth Nichols -- District engineer of the Manhattan Project -- we have Dane DeHaan, who first broke out as Andrew Detmer in the acclaimed found footage thriller, Chronicle, before playing Harry Osborn/The Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The actor would more recently build up a crime and horror following thanks to projects like A Cure for Wellness, The Stranger, and Lisey’s Story. DeHaan more recently starred in Max’s The Staircase cast, but Oppenheimer marks his first movie since starring as Billy the Kid in the 2019 Western, The Kid. 

Jack Quaid (Richard Feynman)

Jack Quaid confirmed on his Instagram that he is playing theoretical physicist Richard Feynman in his first Nolan Project. The son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, who got his start in the first Hunger Games movie cast, is another Oppenheimer star with superhero cred thanks to playing Hughie Campbell in The Boys, as well as a Scream King for playing Richie Kirsch in the fifth Scream movie, and a sci-fi veteran having voiced Brad Boimler in Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Matthew Modine (Vannevar Bush)

According to ScreenRant, Matthew Modine is playing the head of the U.S. Department of Research and Development, Vannevar Bush, in his first collaboration with Nolan since playing Peter Foley in The Dark Knight Rises. He rose to fame by starring in movies like Full Metal Jacket and Pacific Heights, but fans of Netflix’s Stranger Things cast will recognize him as Dr. Martin Brenner.

Olli Haaskivi (Edward Condon)

If you didn’t catch Olli Haaskivi’s recurring roles on shows like The Sinner, The Deuce and Manifest, maybe you’ll know him as the face of Dr. Wilfred Nagel, the man who recreated the Super Soldier Serum, in the MCU series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Haaskivi is also set to play Phil Knight in HBO’s Winning Time, but fingers crossed that his role as Edward Condon in Oppenheimer paves the way for him to appear in more high-profile movies.

Alden Ehrenreich (Senate Aide)

Alden Ehrenreich made his first big splash in Hollywood as Hobie Doyle in 2016’s Hail, Caesar!, but more people undoubtedly know him as young Han Solo in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. Since then, Aldenreich has starred in Peacock’s Brave New World series, appeared in Elizabeth Banks’ 2023 horror-comedy, Cocaine Bear, and is, sort of, taking a cue from his Oppenheimer co-star, Robert Downey Jr., by joining the Ironheart cast for Disney+'s upcoming Marvel TV show. 

David Krumholtz (Isidor Isaac Rabi)

David Krumholtz shared an Oppenheimer still of himself with the caption “Isidor Isaac Rabi” on Instagram, indicating that he is playing the Nobel Prize-winning physicist known for discovering nuclear magnetic resonance. Some of you may know the actor best as Head Elf Bernard from the first two Santa Clause movies, while others may be more familiar with him as Charlie Eppes on CBS’ Numb3rs or remember him fondly as Goldstein from the Harold & Kumar movies. Regardless, these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the man’s resume, with some of his other notable TV credits including Serenity, This Is The End, The Good Wife, The Deuce and The Plot Against America.

Kenneth Branagh (Niels Bohr)

For his third time working with Christopher Nolan, having previously starred in Dunkirk and Tenet, Kenneth Branagh stars as Danish, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Niels Bohr. From early work like Henry V to his outings as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, Branagh has taken part in all sorts of cinematic endeavors, both in front of and behind the camera. Regarding the latter, he won the 2022 Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, Belfast. 

David Dastmalchian (William L. Borden)

Christopher Nolan is an especially important person in the professional life of David Dastmalchian, who plays executive director of the United States Congress Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, William L. Borden, in Oppenheimer. The director cast him as Thomas Schiff in The Dark Knight, his first movie, where he shared screen time with Christian Bale’s Batman and Aaron Eckhardt’s Harvey Dent. Since then, Dastmalchian has racked up major credits like Prisoners, the first two Ant-Man movies, Blade Runner 2049, The Suicide Squad, and Dune.

Jason Clarke (Roger Robb)

As Roger Robb -- an attorney who participated in a hearing regarding Oppenheimer's security clearance -- we have another person who’s working with  Nolan for the first time: Jason Clarke. You’ll recognize him from movies like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Terminator Genisys, Mudbound, Chappaquiddick, First Man, the Pet Sematary remake, Netflix’s The Devil All the Time, and HBO’s fact-based basketball drama, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

Louise Lombard (Ruth Tolman)

As American psychologist Ruth Tolman, we have Louise Lombard, who was arguably best known film-wise for 2004’s Hidalgo, but now fans of the After movies are well acquainted with her as Trish Daniels from the last three installments. Her TV resume, on the other hand, is much longer, with some of the bigger shows including the BBC’s The House of Eliott, CSI, Grimm, and Lethal Weapon. Now she’s taking part in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which is unquestionably her biggest cinematic appearance yet.

James D'Arcy (Patrick Blackett)

As British physicist Patrick Blackett, we have James D'Arcy,  whom Marvel fans will remember as Edwin Jarvis in the Agent Carter TV series and Avengers: Endgame, while others may know him better from shows like Broadchurch, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and The Hot Zone. Oppenheimer marks the actor’s second time being paired with  Nolan, with the two of them first working together on Dunkirk, in a career that also includes movies like Cloud Atlas, Hitchcock, Jupiter Ascending, and The Snowman.

David Rysdahl (Donald Hornig)

Starring as chemist and explosives expert Donald Hornig is David Rysdahl, whom fans of the Hulu horror movie No Exit will recognize as Lars -- one of the four suspects at the rest lodge. Rysdahl also made a name for himself in the independent film world with appearances in Nine Days and Dead Pigs, the latter hailing from Cathy Yan, who would go on to direct Birds of Prey. Oppenheimer is a major cinematic credit to add to his filmography and, perhaps, will open the door to him appearing in more mainstream fare.

Guy Burnet (George Eltenton)

Fans of the Chicago Fire cast might remember Oppenheimer's George Eltenton actor, Guy Burnet, for his recurring role as Grant back in Season 5, while others might know him from multiple episodes of shows like Hand of God and Counterpart. On the film side of things, Burnet has appeared in Asher, Mortdecai, Pitch Perfect 3, and the 2022 horror flick, Bed Rest, starring Scream’s Melissa Barrerra.

Harrison Gilbertson (Philip Morrison)

Looking over the resume of Harrison Gilbertson -- a student of Oppenheimer's whom he recruited onto the Manhattan Project -- among the big things that pop out are his role as Pete Coleman in 2014’s Need for Speed, as well as playing Travis McKean in Netflix’s adaptation of the Stephen King/Joe Hill story, In The Tall Grass. Also prior to being brought into the Oppenheimer family, Gilbertson recurred alongside The Peripheral cast for Amazon’s sci-fi series hailed from Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan (Christopher’s brother) and Lisa Joy. 

Matthias Schweighöfer (Werner Heisenberg)

As influential German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg, we have Matthias Schweighöfer, who popped up in the Tom Cruise-led political thriller Valkyrie back in 2008, but it wasn’t until 2021 that a lot of American moviegoers got to know him. Schweighöfer starred as Ludwig Dieter in Netflix’s Army of the Dead cast for writer and director Zack Snyder, and months later, reprised that role for the prequel, Army of Thieves, which he also directed. He is keeping his run with the streaming platform going with Gal Gadot’s 2023 Netflix movie, Heart of Stone. 

Alex Wolff (Luis Walter Alvarez)

Prior to being cast in Oppenheimer as Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Luis Walter Alvarez, Alex Wolff hit the entertainment scene in his youth as one of the leads of Nickelodeon’s The Naked Brothers Band, and younger moviegoers will recognize him as Spencer Gilpin from the recent Jumanji movies. As far as Wolff’s more “adult” work goes, his film appearances include, Hereditary (one of the best A24 horror movies), The Cat and the Moon, Bad Education, Pig with Nicolas Cage, and M. Night Shyamalan’s Old. 

Gary Oldman (Harry S. Truman)

The Dark Knight Trilogy’s James Gordon actor, Gary Oldman, is reuniting with  Christopher Nolan to play President Harry S. Truman in Oppenheimer, according to Esquire. This will be the second time the chameleonic actor has portrayed a notable WWII-era political figure after his Academy Award-winning turn as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. 

Trond Fausa (George Kistiakowsky)

Playing Ukrainian chemist George Kistiakowsky is Trond Fausa, whose credits largely consist of Norwegian productions, but some might know him from Lilyhammer -- the Norwegian-American TV series Netflix provided as its first exclusive offering in North America. Fausa also lent his talents to the later Netflix series, The Innocents, which only lasted a season.

Christopher Denham (Klaus Fuchs)

According to The Digital Fix, Klaus Fuchs – a German scientist who shared information from the research effort with the Soviet Union as a spy, as a New York Times article recalls – will be portrayed in Oppenheimer by Christopher Denham. Fans of the Showtime series Billions will recognize the actor for playing Oliver Dake, while on the movies side of things, he’s popped up in Shutter Island, Argo, and, most recently, the Being the Ricardos cast, to name a few. Coincidentally, Oppenheimer won’t be Denham’s first time acting in a project focused on the Manhattan Project, as he played Jim Meeks in the short-lived WGN series, Manhattan. 

Josh Zuckerman (Giovanni Rossi Lomanitz)

The majority of Josh Zuckerman’s acting work before playing American physicist Giovanni Rossi Lomanitz in Oppenheimer has been on TV, from guest stints on series like House and The Big Bang Theory, to recurring on shows like Desperate Housewives and 90210. That being said, you might recall Zuckerman appearing in Austin Powers in Goldmember as a young Dr. Evil, the independent sci-fi horror comedy, Useless Humans, or Paramount+’s The Offer cast (which chronicles the making of The Godfather).

Olivia Thirlby (Lilli Hornig)

As Czech-American scientist and feminist Lilli Hornig, we have Olivia Thirlby, whom some may also recognize as Judge Anderson in Dredd. In more recent years, the Juno star appeared on TV in shows like Goliath and The L Word: Generation Q, had role in the Y: The Last Man cast for its short time on FX, and starred alongside Oppenheimer co-star Jason Clarke in another historical drama called Chappaquiddick.

Tom Conti (Albert Einstein)

We know from a recent teaser for Oppenheimer that Albert Einstein will be depicted in the film and we know from a Variety article that the influential German scientist is portrayed by Tom Conti. The Academy Award-nominated actor (for 1983’s Reuben, Reuben) previously worked with Nolan when he played one of Bruce Wayne’s fellow prisoners of the Pit in The Dark Knight Rises.

Casey Affleck (Boris Pash)

Reuniting with Nolan on Oppenheimer for the first time since he appeared in Interstellar is Casey Affleck as Boris Pash, who was put in charge of security at Los Alamos. The actor is best known for starring alongside his brother, Ben -- whose marriage to J. Lo he missed, unfortunately -- and fellow Oppenheimer star, Matt Damon, in Good Will Hunting and his Academy Award-winning performance in the 2016 drama, Manchester by the Sea.

Can you recall another movie with an ensemble this large and exploding with renowned, high-profile names? The stacked Oppenheimer cast is just one of the many reasons why Nolan’s latest became one of the biggest 2023 movies. 

On December 28, 2001, Ridley Scott released one of the loudest, most violent, and most realistic  war movies with Black Hawk Down. The military epic, which is based on the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, is filled with some of the best actors of the time, with everyone from seasoned acting veterans like the late Sam Shepard to up-and-comers like Tom Hardy portraying actual Army Rangers and Delta Force operatives as well as characters based on the likeness of others.

A lot of time has passed since the Black Hawk Down cast provided engaging and sometimes harrowing performances in the tense and hectic war drama, and you may be curious to know what they’re up to now. You have come to the right place if that’s the case.

Josh Hartnett (Matt Eversmann)

Josh Hartnett was one of most bankable young stars in Hollywood by the time he joined the Black Hawk Down cast as Staff Sergeant Matt Eversmann in 2001, with movies like The Faculty, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and Pearl Harbor under his belt.

More recently, Josh Hartnett has continued to find success on both the big screen and small screen, with everything from Wrath of Man to Ida Red and Paradise Lost to Exterminate All the Brutes coming out since 2020. The former teen heartthrob will next appear in The Long Way Home and The Fear Index.

Eric Bana (Norm “Hoot” Gibson)

Already a massive star in his native Australia by the time Black Hawk Down came around in December 2001, Eric Bana got one of his first big breaks in Hollywood with his portrayal of Delta Force Sergeant First Class Norm “Hoot” Gibson.

In the years following the release of Ridley Scott’s gritty war drama, Eric Bana appeared in Hulk, Troy, Munich, and Star Trek, and has continued to remain a busy actor with recent movies like King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, The Dry, and Back to the Outback. He’ll next appear in the upcoming drama Blueback.

Ewan McGregor (John “Grimesey” Grimes)

Ewan McGregor gave a tremendous performance as Army Rangers Specialist John “Grimesey” Grimes in Black Hawk Down, a movie that came out in the middle of one of the Scottish actor’s most successful runs (the film was released between Moulin Rouge! and Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones).

No surprise here, but Ewan McGregor has remained just as successful and just as prolific in the two decades since he went from a desk clerk to combat soldier, with Doctor Sleep, Birds of Prey, and The Birthday Cake all coming out since late 2019. McGregor will also take on the role of his famous Jedi master once more in the upcoming Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Tom Sizemore (Danny McKnight)

Just a few years after Saving Private Ryan and only months following the release of Pearl Harbor, Tom Sizemore tried his hand at the military drama genre with his portrayal of Colonel Danny McKnight in Black Hawk Down. 

Despite extensive legal trouble over the years, Tom Sizemore has remained one of the busiest figures in Hollywood (he appeared in 28 movies between 2017 and 2018), and has continue to appear in multiple film and TV projects like Twin Peaks, Adam, and Central Park Dark.

William Fichtner (Jeff Sanderson)

Following successes like Heat, Armageddon, and The Perfect Storm, William Fichtner went on to portray Sergeant First Class Jeff Sanderson in Black Hawk Down.

Here more recently, William Fichtner has shown up in everything from 12 Strong to The Space Between on the film side of things with appearances on TV including Mom, Veep, and Corporate. At some point in the near future, Fichtner will try his luck again at the small screen with the upcoming Peacock series Joe Exotic which is to feature the actor as the Tiger King’s former producer Richard Kirkham.

Sam Shepard (William Garrison)

The late Sam Shepard, who found a great deal of success as an actor, playwright, author, and director, portrayed Major General William F. Garrison in Black Hawk Down.

In the years prior to his 2017 death at the age of 73, Sam Shepard appeared in Midnight Special, Never Here, and Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (though the film wasn’t released until 2019). He also appeared on the Netflix series Bloodline shortly before his passing.

Jason Isaacs (Mike Steele)

Jason Isaacs, who made a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s leading villainous actors with The Patriot and later the Harry Potter franchise, showed up in a less evil role in Black Hawk Down as Captain Mike Steele.

More recently, Jason Isaacs has appeared on Star Trek: Discovery, Sex Education, and Castlevania, as well as movies like Mass, Scoob!, and Hotel Mumbai. Isaacs has multiple projects in the works, including Spinning Gold and Henry VIII: Man, Monarch, Monster.

Ewen Bremner (Shawn Nelson)

One of the many actors who appeared in both Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down, Ewen Bremner shows up in the latter as Specialist Shawn Nelson.

Over the course of the past five years, Ewen Bremner has appeared in T2 Trainspotting (reprising his role from the 1996 original), Wonder Woman, First Cow, and Creation Stories to name a few. He will soon appear in the upcoming HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death.

Orlando Bloom (Todd Blackburn)

Just as he was becoming an overnight sensation with the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Orlando Bloom took on another memorable role as Private First Class Todd Blackburn in Black Hawk Down.

Since the December 2001 release of the violent war drama, Orlando Bloom has become an international superstar with franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Hobbit (where he reprised his LOTR role). Bloom is currently one of the leads on the Amazon series Carnival Row.

Tom Hardy (Lance Twombly)

Not long after he found a place on the Band of Brothers cast, Tom Hardy stuck with military dramas as Specialist Lance Twombly in his feature film debut. 

Since then, Tom Hardy has become and remained one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood balancing comic book adaptations like The Dark Knight Rises and Venom with dramas like The Revenant and Dunkirk. Hardy will next appear in Gareth Evans upcoming crime thriller Havoc.

Kim Coates (Chris Wex)

Already an established name in show business by the time he joined the Black Hawk Down cast as Master Sergeant Chris Wex, Kim Coates has continued to find success in film and TV in the past 20 years.

The Sons of Anarchy and Prison Break star has recently appeared on shows like Tangled: The Series, The Crew, and Van Helsing, as well as movies like Fantasy Island, See for Me, and Donkeyhead.

Ioan Gruffudd (John Beales)

Ioan Gruffudd had already appeared in movies like Titanic and Another Life by the time he was cast as Lieutenant John Beales in Black Hawk Down, but his career would take off even more years after with Fantastic Four (and its 2007 sequel), King Arthur, and W.

More recently, Ioan Gruffudd has appeared in movies like The Professor and the Madman, Buttons, and Ava, as well as TV shows like Liar and Harrow.

Hugh Dancy (Kurt “Doc” Schmid)

Hugh Dancy made his feature film debut in Black Hawk Down as Sergeant First Class Kurt “Doc” Schmid, but it certainly wouldn’t be his last.

Following the success of The Jane Austen Book Club, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Martha Marcy May Marlene, Hugh Dancy landed roles in more recent film productions like Late Night and the soon-to-be-released Downton Abbey: A New Era. Dancy will also appear on Law & Order Season 21 in early 2022..

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Gary Gordon)

Before he became known for his portrayal of Jaime Lannister on Game of Thrones, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau took on the role of Delta Force operative Master Sergeant Gary Gordon in Black Hawk Down.

Since completing his role in the divisive Game of Thrones Season 8, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has portrayed the titular character in a 2020 production of Macbeth, The Silencing, and A Taste of Hunger, with several upcoming projects on the way including Against The Ice and God is a Bullet.

Jeremy Piven (Clifton Wolcott)

Though more associated with comedic roles, Jeremy Piven showed up in Black Hawk Down as Clifton Wolcott, the pilot of the doomed Super 61 helicopter. 

In the years following the release of Black Hawk Down, Jeremy Piven would land one of his most iconic roles when he was cast as Ari Gold on the HBO series Entourage (and the 2015 film adaptation). Recently, Piven has shown up in Last Call, American Night, and the soon-to-be-released All-Star Weekend alongside Jamie Foxx.

Ty Burrell (Timothy A. Wilkinson)

And then there is Ty Burrell, who has a brief appearance as Technical Sergeant Timothy A. Wilkinson in Black Hawk Down.

In the years following the film’s release, Ty Burrell would find success, first in Zack Snyder’s 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake and then on a much larger scale as Phil Dunphy on the long-running Modern Family. Since the landmark series completed its run in 2020, Burrell has voiced Jack Harris on the animated series Duncanville.

This is just a little more than a dozen of the actors who appeared on the Black Hawk Down cast, as including every single name would take a very long time. If it has been forever since you watched Ridley Scott's Academy Award-winning war drama, now's the perfect time as it is one of the best movies on HBO Max.

Guy Ritchie loves to flirt with spy movies that pair an unlikely team of players to get the job done. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. did it well in the past, and now his latest film is going to do it again. Even with that precedent firmly set, Jason Statham taking snark from Aubrey Plaza is the buddy action team-up I didn’t know I needed, in the trailer for Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. 

That lack of knowledge was thankfully cleared up by STX Films, who released this first look at Statham and Plaza’s characters getting into the action. The mission is pretty familiar, as arms dealer Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant) is looking to sell something rather nasty that shouldn’t be on the open market. In a play to get close to Grant’s criminal enterprises, our agents need to enlist his favorite Hollywood actor (Wrath of Man’s Josh Hartnett) to make it all work. 

Just when you thought Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza snarking each other was enough of a thrill, now both of them get to put Mr. Harnett through the paces of their wit and spy skills. Rounding out Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’s sterling cast is Bugzy Malone, who reunites with Guy Ritchie after playing a part in last year’s action/comedy hit The Gentlemen, and Cary Elwes, who seems to be the spy chief in this adventure. As far as quips and barbs are concerned, it’s a target rich environment that’s just waiting to go off.

But of course, there has to be some action to balance out the comedy of this overall affair. There’s even some gags that go hand in hand, as a montage of Jason Statham’s chops is accompanied by his being labeled with credentials of “a particular set of skills” by Elwes’ character. It’s a dry gag, but Taken references are always welcome when you want to show someone’s ready to fight. 

As the year of movies that was 2021 comes to a close, looking into the future becomes all the more important with each passing day. Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is promising another fun venture into Guy Ritchie’s bespoke sense of humor and violence just brightens 2022’s box office picture even further. Statham or Plaza may wage a battle of wits, but in the end, it looks like the audience is the ultimate victors.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre gets ready to play a game of spies and snark in theaters in 2022. Check out the rest of the competition through 2022’s release schedule, which is already shaping up to be quite exciting. There might even be a dinosaur movie on the calendar too!

Usually, the job of comic book movie actors is to smoothly transcend their character away from the pulpy graphics and bring them into the real world. However, that was not quite the case for Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Alexis Bledel, and the rest of the Sin City cast, because Frank Miller and co-director Robert Rodriguez did more than just adapt his series of gritty, noir-inspired graphic novels into a film. They brought them to life.

The critically acclaimed 2005 hit stays remarkably faithful to the source material - not just to the stories and character motivations, but also (and most importantly) the minimalistic, grayscale aesthetic that results in one of most refreshingly original and visually stunning films of its time. Many Sin City cast members would later appear in more straightforward superhero movies, including Rosario Dawson and Benicio del Toro, to name a few. To see what else the star-studded ensemble has been up to, read on.

Jessica Alba (Nancy Callahan)

After rising to fame with the 1999 horror-comedy Idle Hands and the sci-fi series Dark Angel, Jessica Alba played Nancy - a club dancer with a disturbing past - in Sin City the same year she starred in the first of two Fantastic Four movies as Invisible Woman. She would re-team with Robert Rodriguez for 2010’s Machete, the fourth installment of the Spy Kids movies in 2011, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, in which she returned as Nancy. 

The mother of three and founder of The Honest Company more recently partnered with Gabrielle Union on the Bad Boys movies spin-off series, L.A.’s Finest, and is currently starring in and producing the upcoming thriller Trigger Warning.

Bruce Willis (Det. John Hartigan)

Also appearing in the Sin City sequel, once again as Det. John Hartigan, was Bruce Willis, who seems to be busier now than ever. He already released six titles in 2021 alone (such as Midnight in the Switchgrass with Megan Fox), with three coming out later in the year (including Fortress, which already has a sequel in the works). 

The Die Hard movies star also had a busy and successful 2019, reprising David Dunn in Glass, playing Edward Norton’s mentor in Motherless Brooklyn, and playing himself in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and Between Two Ferns: The Movie. Willis has five 2022 movie releases scheduled, including A Good Day to Die (not to be confused with A Good Day to Die Hard) which also features his Cosmic Sin co-star, Frank Grillo.

Devon Aoki (Miho) 

“Deadly little Miho” was recast in the sequel with Jamie Chung, but was portrayed in the original Sin City cast by Devon Aoki. She broke through two years earlier as Suki in 2 Fast 2 Furious before playing one of the four main teen heroes of D.E.B.S. in 2004. 

In 2006, she played another samurai-sword wielding warrior in the video game movie D.O.A.: Dead or Alive, had a small role in the lighter comic book movie, Zoom, appeared alongside Jason Statham and Jet Li for War in 2007, and entered a future war in Mutant Chronicles the following year. After 2009’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead, the model and mother retired from acting, but has appeared in a few music videos - most recently one for her half-brother, Steve Aoki.

Benicio Del Toro (Lt. Det. Jack “Jackie Boy” Rafferty)

Miho’s most memorable kill in Sin City would have to be the crooked cop known as “Jackie Boy,” played by Academy Award winner Benicio del Toro in his comic book movie debut. Years later, he appeared in the Marvel movies as “The Collector,” whom he reprised most recently on Disney+’s What If…? in 2021. 

That same year, he re-teamed with Traffic director Steven Soderbergh for HBO Max’s No Sudden Move, and worked with Wes Anderson for the first time in The French Dispatch. Del Toro has a couple of dramas in the works (including White Lies from Oliver Stone), a comedy from writer and director Jamie Foxx called All-Star Weekend, and a Cuban Mafia biopic called The Corporation.

Rosario Dawson (Gail)

Also part of the MCU (if Netflix’s Marvel TV shows still count) is Rosario Dawson. She actually made her comic book movie debut with Josie and the Pussycats four years before playing Old Town’s Gail in Sin City. 

The “Geek Goddess” has since become especially prolific for comic book character roles, including Wonder Woman in several DC animated movies, Barbara Gordon/Batgirl in The LEGO Batman Movie, Catwoman in HBO Max’s Batman: The Audio Adventures podcast, and Ava DuVernay’s upcoming DMZ series adaptation. The Dopesick cast member is is re-teaming with Kevin Smith for Clerks III and will soon lead her own Ashoka Tano TV show - a miniseries spun-off from The Mandalorian - on Disney+.

Clive Owen (Dwight McCarthy)

Gail’s lover - the mysterious, hard-nosed Dwight McCarthy - was first played in the original Sin City by Academy Award nominee Clive Owen. He has probably never played a more badass character, even though his earlier role in The Bourne Identity and later performance in Inside Man offer worthy options. 

After returning to comic book adaptations with 2017's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and playing the enemy of two Will Smiths in 2019’s Gemini Man, the British actor reunited with his Children of Men co-star Julianne Moore for Apple TV+’s Stephen King-inspired miniseries Lisey’s Story in 2021 and, that same year, joined the Impeachment: American Crime Story cast as Bill Clinton. Owen is reportedly planning to head to France to shoot a new TV series called Monsieur Spade, on which he will play Humphrey Bogart’s famous detective character from The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade.

Alexis Bledel (Becky)

One of the more notably younger Old Town girls is Becky, played by Alexis Bledel - who was best known at the time as Rory from the Gilmore Girls cast, and from her debut film Tuck Everlasting in 2002. This past year, she reprised her Emmy Award-winning role as Emily Malek in The Handmaid’s Tale cast for Season 4 and will reportedly reprise her character from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies in a third installment.

Jaime King (Wendy/Goldie)

The twin sisters who led Old Town in Sin City, Wendy and Goldie, were both played by Jaime King, who would also star in another visually unique comic book movie from director Frank Miller called The Spirit. A year later, 2009’s 3-D My Bloody Valentine remake made her a bit of scream queen (further proven by her lead role on the Netflix original zombie show Black Summer). 

Of course, the model and actress is also known for lighter roles, such as Lemon Breeland in the Hart of Dixie cast or in 2018’s Ocean’s Eight as herself. King recently reunited with Bruce Willis for the 2021 action movie Out of Death and will play the title role in the upcoming assassin thriller Banshee. 

Mickey Rourke (Marv)

Moments before her untimely death at the beginning of Sin City’s first segment, Goldie captured the heart of an extremely tough, but compassionate, criminal named Marv. I would personally rank this character right underneath Mickey Rourke’s Academy Award nominated role in director Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler on a list of his strongest performances. 

After returning to comic book movies with 2010’s Iron Man 2 and the Sin City sequel in 2014, the Angel Heart star would also return to horror movies, such as the Shudder original anthology Nightmare Cinema in 2015 and upcoming titles like The Seeding and She’s Still Here alongside Dexter: New Blood cast member Jennifer Carpenter. Of course, his biggest role in recent memory would have to be on The Masked Singer Season 4 as Gremlin. 

Carla Gugino (Lucille)

Marv’s parole officer, Lucille, is played by Carla Gugino in her fourth collaboration with Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez. She also did several comic book adaptations directed by Zack Snyder, including Watchmen as Sally Jupiter and all of his DCEU installments as the voice of the Kryptonian ship. 

The Jett star is best known lately for appearing in several projects from Mike Flanagan, including Gerald’s Game, his Haunting Collection on Netflix, and a brief cameo in the Midnight Mass cast as a judge. The Gunpowder Milkshake cast member’s next project, a TV series thriller called Leopard Skin, is now in post-production.

Elijah Wood (Kevin) 

Giving one of Sin City’s creepiest performances (without saying a word) as the cannibalistic Kevin is Elijah Wood. The former child actor became an icon as Frodo in the Lord of the Rings movies, a sitcom star with FX’s surreal American remake of Wilfred, and a horror movie actor (i.e. his inventive 2012 remake of Maniac) and producer (i.e. the brutal revenge tale Mandy from 2018 starring Nicolas Cage). 

In 2021, he played the FBI analyst to whom Ted Bundy revealed the details of his crimes in No Man of God and leant his voice to the video game Psychonauts 2. Speaking of video games, he has a movie about the dark side of video game programming called L.A. Rush in the works, along with his upcoming Toxic Avenger remake.

Nick Stahl (Yellow Bastard)

Perhaps the creepiest and undeniably grossest character in Sin City, however, is Roark Jr., otherwise known as “Yellow Bastard” due to his unique complexion, who is played by Nick Stahl. Also a former child actor who made his film debut in 1991 with Mel Gibson’s The Man Without a Face, he is best known as John Connor in 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines or as the lead of HBO’s Carnivale cast. 

In 2021, he joined the Fear the Walking Dead cast in a recurring role and made a guest appearance among the ruthless Animal Kingdom characters on the TNT drama. He is currently filming a live action adaptation of the hit anime, Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, expected for 2023.

Josh Hartnett (The Salesman)

The first character we meet and the one who first refers to the film’s setting as “Sin City” is the mysterious, deadly “Salesman.” He is played by The Faculty cast member Josh Hartnett, who would star alongside Bruce Willis in Lucky Number Slevin in 2006. 

The following year, he appeared in a more brutal comic adaptation called 30 Days of Night and then, after an acting break, became the lead of the Penny Dreadful cast. After playing himself on Quibi’s Die Hart in 2020, Hartnett appeared in two cool 2021 thrillers (Wrath of Man and Ida Red), and is now working on the TV series The Fear Index.

There are many Sin City cast members who have, unfortunately, passed away in the years since the film was released - including Powers Boothe (Senator Roark), Michael Clarke Duncan (Manute), Rutger Hauer (Cardinal Roark), and Brittany Murphy (Shellie). However, they will forever be seen as a bright, delightful memory from an otherwise beautifully bleak and deliciously dismal masterpiece. 

Even though a sequel to Mortal Kombat hasn’t been announced as being in the works, everyone has an idea of who they want to play Johnny Cage. Fans, entertainment sites and even the cast and crew that worked on director Simon McQuoid’s fighting game adaptation all have their favorite prospects in reaction to the big sequel tease at the end of the potential franchise starter. But somehow, some way, Wrath of Man star Josh Hartnett’s name has gotten into the mix, and upon asking for his thoughts, I learned that naturally, he’s totally up for playing the role.

In my recent interview with Mr. Hartnett on behalf of Wrath of Man’s launch this weekend, it was a good time to bring up this dream casting. Responding to the notion with humble surprise, but definite enthusiasm, Josh Hartnett was at first taken aback by the Mortal Kombat suggestion. Overall, here’s what he had to say.

While it was suggested that Mortal Kombat’s Kano himself, Josh Lawson, had brought up Josh Hartnett’s name, it looks like his interview saw him touting friend and fellow video game movie veteran James Marsden as his pick. But no matter where Josh Hartnett’s name came from, it’s hard not to think of his role as Boy Sweat Dave in Wrath of Man as a sort of audition to play the mega star-turned-kombatant. This is especially true after watching Mr. Hartnett’s latest role, as his character lives up to his nickname with comedic precision.

Even Josh Hartnett himself acknowledged Boy Sweat Dave as the ultimate try hard, so he already has the chops to show those moments when Johnny doesn’t exactly live up to his brand of hype. That makes it a perfect opportunity for Hartnett to comedically riff on his time as one of Hollywood’s go-to guys for major castings. But besides Mortal Kombat being a fun, franchise gig, it’s also has potential for the Wrath of Man star to reconnect with a childhood favorite, as he admitted to a personal history with the Midway/NetherRealm Studios gaming franchise:

If anyone is looking for a Johnny Cage type to come out and play in Mortal Kombat’s big sequel push, Josh Hartnett sounds like a pretty fun candidate to slot into the auditions. While Wrath of Man’s action is focused on gunplay and harsh language, it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to picture Hartnett slipping on some $500 sunglasses and dusting it up in the Outworld. Try and picture that for yourself, as Wrath of Man is currently in theaters, should you feel safe enough to venture out to the movies.

This weekend, Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham finally reunite for the new action-thriller, Wrath of Man, an English-language remake of 2004's French drama-thriller, Cash Truck. Having collaborated with the brooding action star with Lock, Star, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Revolver, fans are hoping that this star-driven action vehicle will be a return-to-form for its lead actor and hard-working co-writer/director. It's too early to know whether or not that's the case, but we do know that Ritchie has assembled another strong cast for this latest Statham project. Co-starring Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett, Eddie Marsan, Scott Eastwood, and Post Malone, among several more recognizable faces, you've been acquainted with these heavy-hitting actors, and if you're wondering why they look familiar, we're here to help. Here's where you've seen Wrath of Man's cast before.

Jason Statham (Harry “H” Hill)

As Harry "H" Hill, a cold and mysterious stranger hired to transport hundreds of millions of dollars around Los Angeles each week, Jason Statham plays our rough-and-tumble protagonist in Guy Ritchie's Wrath of Man. This is the fourth collaboration between Statham and Ritchie. Previously, the actor stole the show by playing Bacon in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Later, Statham starred in Snatch and Revolver. Next, the action star and the writer-director will make their fifth collaboration with the upcoming action-thriller that's reportedly titled Five Eyes, which Statham produced.

Elsewhere, Jason Statham played Frank Martin in The Transporter trilogy. He also played Chev Chelios in the Crank movies. Statham's other notable starring vehicles include The Bank Job, Chaos, War, Death Race, In the Name of the King, and the Mechanic movies. Additionally, the action star frontlined Homefront, Parker, Wild Card, Blitz, Killer Elite, Safe, Redemption, and The Meg. Statham might soon star in a splashy sequel to the latter movie.

Additionally, Jason Statham played Lee Christmas in The Expendables movies and Deckard Shaw in Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious. Later, he reprised this role in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. The actor also earned acclaim for his comedic role in Spy (which might get a sequel as well). His other notable supporting credits include The Italian Job, Collateral, Ghosts of Mars, and Cellular. Prior to acting, Statham worked as a model. Additionally, he was a member of Britain's national diving team.

Holt McCallany (Bullet)

In the role of Bullet, H's supervisor who takes a liking to our lead character when he's a rookie, Holt McCallany plays a mentor figure in Wrath of Man. Most notably, McCallany was known for playing FBI Special Agent Bill Tench in Netflix's Mindhunter. His other television credits include CSI: Miami, Blue Bloods, Heroes, Freedom, Lights Out, Golden Boy, and Law & Order.

Outside of television, Holt McCallany can be seen in Fight Club, Three Kings, Alpha Dog, Sully, Alien 3, Creepshow 2, Men of Honor, and Vantage Point. Additionally, the actor appeared in The Losers, Shot Caller, The Peacemaker, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, The Perfect Guy, and Justice League. Most recently, the actor appeared in Greenland last year. Next, McCallany is set to be seen in Guillermo Del Toro's Nightmare Alley and Netflix's The Ice Road. He's also signed on to star in 61st Street and Our Summer of Song.

Jeffrey Donovan (Jackson)

Playing the part of Jackson, a violent personality with a link to our main character, Jeffrey Donovan is a threatening character in Guy Ritchie's Wrath of Man. Most notably, Donovan had a starring role as Michael Westen in USA Network's Burn Notice. Additionally, the actor starred in Believe in Me and Come Early Morning. Furthermore, Donovan played Robert F. Kennedy in J. Edgar and John F. Kennedy in LBJ. His other notable film credits include Hitch, Changeling, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, Bait, Sleepers, Shot Caller, Villains, Lucy in the Sky, and the Sicario movies. Most recently, Donovan appeared in 2020's Honest Thief and Let Him Go. Next, he'll be seen in Surrounded.

Away from film, Jeffrey Donovan played a recurring role as Charlie Haverford in FX's Fargo Season 2. He also played a main role in Hulu's Shut Eye. Additionally, Donovan appears in Touching Evil, Crossing Jordan, and Law & Order. He was also heard in Amazon Prime's Invincible. Outside of acting, Donovan directed Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe.

Josh Hartnett (Boy Sweat Dave)

As Boy Sweat Dave, Josh Hartnett plays a splashy supporting character in Wrath of Man. Most notably, Hartnett starred in Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Lucky Number Slevin, O, The Black Dahlia, and 30 Days of Night. He can also be seen in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, The Virgin Suicides, the '90s horror movie The Faculty, Robert Rodriguez's Sin City, Here on Earth, Wild Horses, and Town & Country. Last year, Hartnett was seen in Inherit the Viper and Most Wanted. Next, he'll be seen in Ida Red, Valley of the Gods, and Guy Ritchie's Five Eyes.

Away from film, Josh Hartnett first found fame through his lead role in ABC's Cracker. Most notably, he played a lead role in Showtime's Penny Dreadful. Last year, the actor played a main role in Spectrum Originals' short-lived series, Paradise Lost. Next, he'll be seen in Exterminate All the Brutes later this year.

Laz Alonzo (Carlos)

In the role of Carlos, Laz Alonzo can be seen in Wrath of Man. Most notably, Alonzo played Tsu'tey in Avatar and Fenix Calderon in Fast & Furious. More recently, Alonzo took on the role of MM in Amazon Prime's The Boys. His other notable film credits include Jarhead, Miracle at St. Anna, Detroit, This Christmas, Constatine, Stomp the Yard, Just Wright, and Captivity. Additionally, Alonzo can be seen in Straw Dogs, Battle of the Year, Traffik, The Last Stand, and Jumping the Broom. On television, Alonzo starred in NBC's Deception and appeared in Southland, The Mysteries of Laura, L.A. Finest, and Power Book II: Ghost. He was also seen in A Black Lady Sketch Show earlier this year.

Raul Castillo (Sam)

Playing the part of Sam, Raul Castillo fills in a supporting character in Guy Ritchie's Wrath of Man. Most notably, Castillo took on the role of Richie Donado Ventura in HBO's Looking. He reprised this character in Looking: The Movie. Additionally, the actor received notice and acclaim for his lead performance in We the Animals. His other film credits include Special Correspondents, Unsane, Knives Out, El Chicano, Permission, Cold Weather, and Amexicano. Additionally, earlier this year, Castillo played a supporting role in Little Fish. Soon, the actor will be seen in Army of the Dead, Night Teeth, iGilbert, and Mother/Android.

Additionally, away from film, Raul Castillo had a recurring role in Netflix's Atypical. He also played a regular role in the streaming service's short-lived series, Seven Seconds. His other TV credits include Nurse Jackie, Law & Order, Gotham, Damages, All My Children, Easy, Riverdale, and Blue Bloods. Furthermore, Castillo played a role in 2020's horror podcast, Ghost Tape.

DeObia Oparei (Brad)

As Brad, DeObia Oparei can be seen in a prominent supporting role in Wrath of Man. Previously, the actor played Gunner in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Dikembe Umbutu in Independence Day: Resurgence, Rongo in Dumbo (2019), and Gromm in Jumanji: The Next Level. His other notable film credits include Alien 3, Your Highness, Dredd, Thunderbirds, Dark City, Dirty Pretty Things, The Four Feathers, and Moulin Rouge! He can also be seen in Doom, Death Race 2, The Presence, Mr. Nice, Thick as Thieves, The Foreigner, 7 Seconds, and Green Street 2: Stand Your Ground.

Additionally, away from television, DeObia Oparei played Areo Hotah in HBO's Game of Thrones and Mr. Effiong in Netflix's Sex Education. He can also be seen in The Orville, Santa Clarita Diet, and Proof. Furthermore, the actor can be heard in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth.

Eddie Marsan (Terry)

In the role of Terry, Eddie Marsan plays a notable character in Wrath of Man. Most notably, Marsan received acclaim for his standout performance in Happy-Go-Lucky. Some of his other film credits include Mission: Impossible III, War Horse, Hancock, The World's End, V for Vendetta and the Sherlock Holmes movies. Additionally, Marsan can be seen in The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Concussion, Deadpool 2, Vice, White Boy Rick, Jack the Giant Slayer, Me and Orson Welles, The Illusionist, 21 Grams, Gangs of New York, Filth, and Miami Vice. More recently Marsan played roles in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, The Professor and the Madman, Abigail, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. He also previously collaborated with Guy Ritchie on last year's The Gentlemen. Earlier this year, he appeared in The Virtuoso. Next, he'll be seen in Flag Day, Violence of Action, and Vesper Seeds.

Away from film, Eddie Marsan played Terry Donovan in Showtime's Ray Donovan. He was also seen in Criminal Justice and Get Well Soon. He'll soon be seen in The Thief, His Wife, and The Canoe.

Scott Eastwood (Jan)

Playing the part of Jan, a hot-headed personality with a dark side, Scott Eastwood takes on a sinister character in Wrath of Man. Previously, the actor starred in The Longest Ride, Overdrive, Mercury Plains, Diablo, The Perfect Wave, Walk of Fame (both of which he produced), and last year's The Outpost. Additionally, the son of Clint Eastwood can be seen in Flags of Our Fathers, Gran Torino, Invictus, and Trouble with the Curve. His other notable supporting credits include Suicide Squad, Snowden, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Fury, and The Fate of the Furious. Furthermore, Scott Eastwood can be seen in Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Forger, An American Crime, and Pride. Next, he'll star in Dangerous and I Want You Back, which is currently filming.

Outside of film, Scott Eastwood played Officer Jim Barnes in Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. Also, Eastwood made an appearance in Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams" music video.

Austin “Post Malone” Post (Robber #6)

As a character known as Robber #6, rapper Austin Post, i.e. Post Malone, continues to build his screen resume with Guy Ritchie's Wrath of Man. Better known for his hit singles like "Rockstar," "Psycho," and "Circles," to name only a few, Post Malone began his acting career with a voice role in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, where he also contributed "Sunflower" alongside Swae Lee. Last year, the musician made his live-action screen debut with a supporting role in Netflix's Spenser Confidential.

Rob Delaney (Boss Blake Halls)

In the role of Boss Blake Halls, Rob Delaney is also seen in Wrath of Man. Most notably, Delaney is the Emmy-nominated co-writer, co-creator, and co-star of Channel 4's acclaimed dramedy series, Catastrophe. The actor can also be seen in shows like Key & Peele, Burning Love, Cougar Town, Trust, and The Michael J. Fox Show. Outside of TV, Delaney memorably played Peter in Deadpool 2. He also played Agent Loeb in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and Gil Norman in Bombshell. Furthermore, his other film credits include Last Christmas, The Hustle, Life After Beth, and this year's Tom & Jerry. Next, Delaney will appear in The Good House, Home Alone, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, The Bubble, and Mission: Impossible 7 and 8.

Additionally, Rob Delaney is signed on to appear in Showtime's The Man Who Fell to Earth. He will also be seen in Amazon Prime's The Power and he'll narrate Meet the Meerkats. Delaney has also lent his voice to Birdgirl, The Great North, and No Activity.

Wrath of Man premieres in theaters on May 7, 2021.

Looking back on the history of Guy Ritchie’s film resume, it’s only reinforced that the man has a knack for characters. Quirky nicknames, rapid fire dialogue and colorful words most wouldn’t utter in polite society give a certain texture to the world he creates. Though Wrath of Man is a more serious Ritchie caper, those hallmarks are still present, thanks in part to the inclusion of characters like Josh Hartnett’s “Boy Sweat Dave.” What’s most impressive about Hartnett’s particular example, though, is the fact that Dave wasn’t as fleshed out in the original script, leading to one hell of a Guy Ritchie experience.

I spoke with Josh Hartnett on behalf of Wrath of Man's release this week. With a name like “Boy Sweat Dave” given to his character, there’s some serious Guy Ritchie vibes coming off of his mere presence. That led me to wonder what the most Ritchie day on set was for someone like Hartnett, and as you can tell from how his character was built, the entire production qualified for that distinction. Here’s how Hartnett explained the crazy eleventh hour nature of his role, and how it ultimately convinced him to take the part in Wrath of Man:

Creating a character like Boy Sweat Dave on the fly is something that’s totally nerve shredding, but at the same time a creative coup. Wrath of Man’s blank page of a character gave both Guy Ritchie and Josh Hartnett a lot of leeway to create a character that the Jason Statham vehicle really needed. In that context, the ability to add a wildcard character like Boy Sweat Dave is one of the assets Wrath of Man used to its full advantage.

In co-creating this character, Josh Hartnett got to imagine a backstory for Boy Sweat Dave, which confirms everything you’ve thought about him. According to the backstory that Hartnett put together, Dave wanted to do one of two things in life: become a soldier or movie star. He sucked at both, which landed him in a gig as an armored car guard who’s a bit of a chicken. It might not sound like your typical Hartnett role, but as he admitted in our interview, that was part of the charm, and the importance, of Wrath of Man’s resident wimp:

If you look back on Josh Hartnett’s career and imagine Wrath of Man being made around the time Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham were on a break from collaborating, you could totally imagine this as a Hartnett-led vehicle. With his smolder and status as a Hollywood star in the early '00s, the same traits that landed him movies like Pearl Harbor and Sin City could have made Hartnett another generation’s H, Statham's Wrath of Man character. Even in the here and now, that very casting would have played like a charm, though it probably wouldn’t have been as exciting for Hartnett or the audience.

Watching Josh Hartnett’s Boy Sweat Dave get worked up in any given Wrath of Man scene is a joy for even his most ardent fans. That “something new” that he mentioned is a Hartnett where he’s not guaranteed to be in the right, or even merely capable of his job. It’s an unpredictability that helps fuel the center of Wrath of Man’s mystery plot, as you’re never quite sure what to expect from Dave. That spontaneity is the final gift that Hartnett took from his time with Guy Ritchie, which he mentioned as he rounded off his statement about the entire shoot:

Wrath of Man feels like an anomaly since it's R-rated product with no major franchise backing in a market that increasingly seems to depend on such projects. But Josh Hartnett and Guy Ritchie’s process of creating Boy Sweat Dave on the fly only further puts this film in rarified company, as an entire person was built, from the ground up, as the movie was shot. The results have to be seen to be believed, and you can do just that when Wrath of Man opens this Friday, only in theaters.

Back in the late '90s and early 2000s, the young, up-and-coming Josh Hartnett skyrocketed to Hollywood fame almost overnight. Next to the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck, he was one of the hottest stars around. And then he disappeared for a while. Now he’s given a little bit of insight into why he decided to take a break from acting in Hollywood.

At the height of his fame, Josh Hartnett was the kind of actor you figured would be around for a while and would be making huge blockbusters for years to come. But that's not how it all went don. He changed course from his Hollywood career, taking a hard turn in another direction then what the studios had planned for him, and he never looked back. He recently told The Guardian why:

This makes sense. In his earliest days, Josh Hartnett hit the ground running with films like The Faculty and The Virgin Suicides. But it wasn’t until Pearl Harbor that he reached a new level of fame that put him on an entirely different trajectory.

Suddenly, Josh Hartnett was being approached for possible lead roles in Batman and Superman. He’d had one conversation with Christopher Nolan about Batman Begins and decided to do another project instead. He also admitted that his sudden fame had been overwhelming and he didn’t know who he could trust. So he hunkered down in Minnesota to be with friends and family instead.

The Superman role was a little different. He had been given a straight-up offer to play Superman, but walked away from that as well when his idea of what that character would be was in stark contrast to the studio's. It was at that point that he planned his escape route, and the powers that be were reportedly not very happy.

After appearing in the lead role for the horror film 30 Days of Night, Josh Hartnett was seen too often in big roles, disappearing from the public eye. He only did smaller film projects from that point on. That is, of course, until recently.

He started coming back on the scene with TV shows like Penny Dreadful, Drunk History, and Paradise Lost. In the film world, he’s teamed up with James Franco in the movie The Long Home and will work with Guy Ritchie on his upcoming film Wrath of Man with Jason Statham. Only time will tell if we see a Josh Hartnett renaissance, but if that does happen, something tells me it won't be like what happened his first time around.

For over two decades, Josh Hartnett has been a presence on the big screen. Despite a long career in movies, however, Hartnett has only had a few television roles with his most notable stint happening on the beloved Penny Dreadful. That's all about to change, as the actor will soon take over television with a slew of new shows coming down the pipeline.

The most recent series Josh Hartnett has joined is HBO's Exterminate All The Brutes. Deadline reports this docu-series, which will talk about the brutal effects of European colonialism, will be broken up with archival footage and scripted scenes. Hartnett will star in the scripted portions of the four-part series that will be directed by Raoul Peck. Hartnett's role in the series is unspecified, but would presumably have some weight to it given his name being thrown out with the series announcement.

Around the same time as that announcement, news also broke that Josh Hartnett will have a part to play in an original series headed to Quibi. Die Hart, which stars Kevin Hart playing a fictionalized version of himself, will show Hartnett and Hart in the "world's greatest action star school," which is run by a "total lunatic." Hartnett's exact role in the comedy is unknown, though the press release mentioned him as an alumnus of this fictional school. It should be cool to see him in an action-packed series, even in a humorous light.

Josh Hartnett will also star in the upcoming Spectrum Originals series Paradise Lost. The actor will play Yates Forsythe, who returns home with his wife Frances (Bridget Regan) and exposes her to a "very old community." As mysteries about his community come to light, Yates will have to choose between his past and present going forward. This is a 10-episode series, and was made in partnership with Paramount Network.

It's quite a lineup for Josh Hartnett, especially considering the actor only has three television credits in his long career. Besides his more current role in Penny Dreadful, Harnett was also in the late 90s series Cracker where he played Michael Fitzgerald. Then he played Clark Gable in an episode of Drunk History, and that sums up all of what we've seen from Hartnett in television up to this point.

So why is Josh Hartnett suddenly stepping it up with television roles? The actor told Deadline back in 2019 that he was initially reluctant to jump into television due to his misunderstanding of the "open ended story." He has since bought in, which may be why audiences will expect to see much more of him going forward on the small screen.

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Josh Hartnett’s career has always been a little unpredictable. At first, he took on some huge roles, in films like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down. But he’s also consciously taken a step back from the spotlight. For years, there were rumors that he turned down three separate roles in major superhero franchises. But now he’s setting the record straight about one of the biggest misconceptions about his career -- and making it clear that he only turned down one.

With several projects set to be released, 2020 may end up being a big year for Josh Hartnett. And the actor spoke to Variety about his career thus far -- including the conscious choices he’s made to take on projects he’s passionate about. During the conversation, interviewer Ramin Setoodeh recounted a story he’d heard about the actor turning down the roles of Batman (in The Dark Knight Trilogy), Spider-Man (the Tobey Maguire version), and Superman (played, in that instance, by Brandon Routh). And Josh Hartnett had a surprising response:

Ah, the Hollywood rumor mill. Josh Hartnett did clarify that he at least had a discussion about taking on the Bruce Wayne role that eventually went to Christian Bale. But it didn't go very far, and he made it clear that it really wasn’t a very important moment in his life:

It should go without saying that Josh Hartnett’s career would have looked a lot different had he taken on any of these roles -- though, in some cases, it’s probably a good thing that he didn’t. Still, he seems to have no regrets about the way his career has turned out. It’s clear, by now, that he’s focusing on spending time with his family in London and seeking out projects that fit his idea of what his career should be.

Josh Hartnett does have several projects lined up for 2020, so keep up with everything heading to the big screen this year with our 2020 movie release date schedule.

It is tough to believe, but it's been three years since Penny Dreadful ended its run on Showtime. The Victorian-era horror series ran for three seasons before coming to an unexpected end in 2016. Josh Hartnett starred opposite Eva Green and Timothy Green in the fan-favorite show as the brooding gunslinger Ethan Chandler, and it appears Hartnett wasn't too upset by the show ending.

Penny Dreadful did not leave fans hanging with a cliffhanger that left fans wondering what happened to its canvas of richly drawn character, and instead had more of a rounded conclusion. When asked if he wished there were more seasons of Penny Dreadful, Josh Hartnett told Variety:

Josh Hartnett and (at least some of) the rest of the cast were ready to move on after those first three seasons, considering they weren't all used to the long schedules that prestige cable shows can have. But at least Penny Dreadful did not end before everyone thought it was time for it to end. As Hartnett points out, the cast was comprised of a lot of film stars, and a television show is a totally different medium. (Interestingly enough, Timothy Dalton has since taken on another TV series in DC Universe’s Doom Patrol as Niles Caulder/ The Chief.)

I guess Penny Dreadful fans can probably rule out an Ethan Chandler spinoff series in the near future. As someone who thought Josh Hartnett did some of his best work playing the character, I cannot help wishing he would get to reprise the role at some point. That said, Penny Dreadful did have a beginning, middle, and end that left viewers with a sense of closure.

By the time the show had ended, Ethan and the remaining cast of characters seemed poised to tell even more stories from gothic horror history; at least, it seemed to this fan that more storylines were teeming below the surface. Showtime later explained the reason behind the show’s surprising ending was that Penny Dreadful’s creator, John Logan, had always envisioned the show having a three-season run. So it all made sense, even if it left fans wanting more.

Thankfully, those who did not initially get a chance to watch Penny Dreadful currently have a chance to on Netflix. (It's a great companion binge to The Witcher as fans await that series’ return.) Those wishing for more seasons of Penny Dreadful can take heart, however, as the show’s universe will live on very soon.

There is a spinoff premiering soon entitled Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, which is set well after the original series, in 1938 to be specific, and it's set in another country. As its title suggests, City of Angels will take place in Los Angeles, California. Lady Bird's Daniel Zovatto will lead the cast, which also includes Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer and perennial scene-stealer, Nathan Lane.

Given that the spinoff is set so far into the future from the original series, I do not think there is much hope of the original cast putting in an appearance. Of course, there is always a chance of a doppelganger or long-lost relative showing up. Even though Josh Hartnett was ready to move on from Penny Dreadful a few years ago, maybe he'd be ready to make a return in the sequel series.

You can stream Penny Dreadful in its entirety on Netflix along with other newly arrived 2020 content. While you wait for Penny Dreadful’s spinoff to premiere, you can catch up on this winter’s premieres to keep you entertained, and stay tuned for CinemaBlend's coverage of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels coming out of the Television Critics Association's winter press tour.

Josh Hartnett has been doing a lot of TV and indie movies in recent years, but there was a time when he was a Hollywood heartthrob and was landing a-list opportunities. Among those opportunities was the potential to play Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, an offer that Hartnett ultimately passed on. He recently revealed it wasn't a dislike for superhero films that kept him out of the project; instead, he simply had another offer on the table he like better. The actor said:

So, the idea of potentially harnessing a major moneymaking movie and playing an iconic character just didn't interest Josh Hartnett as much as playing a character in a much quieter movie, in terms of budget and press, etc. Mozart and the Whale ended up costing around $12 million to shoot and the movie only brought in a paltry $84,447, but Josh Hartnett still seems pretty happy with the decisions. If you don't have the Batman bug, I guess you really shouldn't be doing a Batman-centric movie.

He also told the AP that he does have regrets about passing on Batman Begins, most notably that he wasn't able to develop a relationship with Christopher Nolan, who has made a slew of other popular movies including Inception and Interstellar outside of his Batman trilogy.

At the time, I guess Josh Hartnett could have been a big enough name to take on a role like Batman. More recently, he had a role in Showtime's wonderfully gothic Penny Dreadful series, but back when Batman Begins was coming together around 2005, he was building a career out of prominent movies like Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor. Hartnett reveals in the past that he had conversations with the studios to play both Spider-Man and Batman, but he was getting tired of the pressures of tentpole movies and fame at the time. He wanted to do something else. So he did Mozart and the Whale.

Instead of Hartnett, Christian Bale famously went in and tried on Val Kilmer's Batsuit and did the gruff voice that has now made his version of the character iconic. The rest is history. You can catch the latest incarnation of Batman back in action when Justice League hits theaters this November. Here's more on Ben Affleck's take on the character.

Before Christian Bale donned the black cape and mask to become Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight, there were a bevy of actors up for the role. Even our current Superman, Henry Cavill, made it to the final round of auditions, along with Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy and Hugh Dancy. Josh Hartnett was apparently also in the mix, but unlike the other candidates, he made the fatal error of turning down the now iconic part.

The Penny Dreadful star recently spoke with Playboy for an interview, during which he revealed the understandable but unfortunate reason for saying no.

Because he bailed on Batman, he missed out on the other films that came as a result of the Dark Knight ripple effect. As he told Playboy, after Nolan selected Bale to be the new Caped Crusader, the filmmaker then cast him in The Prestige, which also featured Hartnett’s girlfriend at the time, Scarlett Johansson. He learned that "relationships were formed in the fire of that first Batman film," and if he only had realized the potential of the role and the director at the time, he could have played a major part in that. If you recall, this isn't the first time Harnett totally missed out on a major superhero role. He said in a previous interview that he was afraid of being typecast, which is why he also turned down opportunities to play Spider-Man and Superman for Sam Raimi and Bryan Singer, respectively. If only he knew that superhero movies would've become international sensations.

Every actor has their regrets, whether it’s the crucial audition they bombed, or the connections they wish they made, or the films on which they wish they took chances. But this one is staring Josh Harnett in the face year after year. This awful reminder came with The Prestige (2006), again with The Dark Knight (2008), again with The Dark Knight Rises (2012). And now that Bale is in Nolan’s circle of trust, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this relationship further develop over time.

At this point, it’s crazy to think of anyone else in the role of Christopher Nolan’s Batman, let alone Josh Hartnett. But, of course, we’ll have to get over that when Ben Affleck debuts in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The first teaser leaked online and sent the online sphere into a tizzy, but fans are no doubt eager to see what direction Zack Snyder will take the character next.

We like to think the career trajectories of actors and actresses are directly linked to the opinions of the general public, but in actuality, there are a ton of factors that can determine what roles people are being offered. Some actors are hard to get along with. Some actors have random connections and relationships with studio heads, and some up and decide to move to Minnesota because they’re sick of playing the game. That last scenario is apparently what happened to Josh Hartnett and can probably be cited as one of the primary reasons he’s not a thing anymore.

Hartnett is still working, of course, but he revealed in an interview with Details Magazine that he was so paranoid about being typecast or defined by one role for the rest of his life that he turned down the possibility of playing Spider-Man, Batman and Superman. It’s not a guarantee he would have gotten any of those roles, of course, but it sounds like he would have been a finalist. His refusal to pursue those opportunities didn’t sit too well with his agents, and they eventually decided to sever their business relationship.

The stressful fiasco left a pretty sour taste in Hartnett’s mouth; so, he decided the best course of action was to move home. He just up and left for his hometown in Minnesota and started spending time with people who he knew had his back, including his high school girlfriend.

Looking back, Hartnett is convinced what his absence did, more than anything else, was forfeit his ability to land any role he wanted. Now, he’s still able to get his foot in the door. He’s still able to get his hands on all of the best scripts, but he needs to actually audition and pitch himself. Now and again, Josh Hartnett admits that process is a little bit frustrating, but apparently, it makes the wins all the more rewarding.

Moving forward, the 40 Days And 40 Nights star can next be seen in Showtime’s newest series Penny Dreadful. Early buzz is great, though that shouldn’t shock anyone since Josh Harnett is actually a really good actor. We tend to forget that about really beautiful people. We just assume they got famous for eye candy purposes. Sometimes that’s true, but in select cases, the fame is every bit deserved.

Here’s to hoping Harnett keeps doing his thing, whether that means reading for superhero movies or not.

Penny Dreadful is slowly turning itself into one of our most anticipated new series to uncover. The latest, fullest (finally!) trailer for the Showtime series gives us a bit more than the creeps — and, at long last, actually gives us a look at the full cast (Look! There’s Reeve Carney! I spy a Billie Piper!) and horrifically unsettling storyline we're about to encounter. Things are about to go bump in the night.

“Do you believe there is a demi-monde? A half world between what we know and what we fear? A place in the shadows, rarely seen but deeply felt,” the now-familiar voiceover begins. But this time, things are different. “Where some unfortunate souls are cursed to live always.”

Twisted, contorted bodies, secret passageways, and devilish red eyes — all of it points to a “yes” to the question posed earlier. At least in the world of Penny Dreadful — and what a hyper-visual world it turns out to be.

Bugs, threesomes, portraiture (hey, we are dealing with Dorian Gray — Carney — after all), priests, creepy children, contortionism, spiders, possession, crawling adults, mystical-looking symbols, old-timey cameras, biting, sex, blood (so much blood), screaming, wolves, rain, high-pitched ringing, pale people, and vampire teeth (OK, maybe that last one’s a bit less scary at this point): also known as everything unsettling to ever happen in creepy storytelling, maybe ever. This series is kitchen-sinking it on the scary front — and, hopefully, with all that stuff a crafty and creepy story will arise.

Slated for a May 11, 2014 release, Penny Dreadful, is a horrific, dramatic look at some of literature’s most famous and terrifying characters — including Dr. Frankenstein and his little friend, Dorian Gray and his creepy portrait, and even some of Dracula’s buddies — as they become involved in some decidedly unsettling Victorian London doings. It stars a veritable smorgasbord of impressive actors, including Rory Kinnear, Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Reeve Carney, Billie Piper, and more. It was created, written and executive produced by John Logan and executive produced alongside Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris, with direction from J.A. Bayona (The Impossible) for the first two episodes.

For those who’ve missed out on the previous trailer-teaser incarnations, we’ve included them below.

The teasers themselves are here and here.

Also seriously worth your time are the behind-the-scenes videos detailing the show’s visual intricacies and horrific delights, which you can check out here.

The amount of work that goes into a television series is truly awe-inspiring. There is so much more at play than just the actors, writers, and directors involved, as evidenced by Showtime’s latest production blog for their upcoming series, Penny Dreadful. Truly, a show this intricately placed in time, with the added pressure of being accurately creepy and unsettling takes many hands. And it’s a totally radical sight to see, especially after that über-unsettling trailer.

The series’ fourth production blog hit the Internet earlier this week, highlighting the artisans involved in the series’ set. From the props to the actual sets, it’s thrilling and awe-inspiring to see the level of detail that goes into each and every element of the Penny Dreadful look and design. If you didn’t already have an immense amount of respect for the behind-the-scenes aspects of television makery, prepared to have your mind boggled and delighted. A good TV show is so much more than just its cast (even one as impressive as this) — and that artistry deserves a bit of recognition.

Three other blogs detail the series’ other impressive aspects, which are also worth watching:

And to top it all off, here’s the full description for the series, courtesy of Showtime:

Penny Dreadful premieres Sunday, May 11th at 10PM.

Showtime’s upcoming psychosexual literary horror mash-up Penny Dreadful is one of the more promising projects currently in preproduction stages, given the brains behind it are Academy Award-nominee John Logan and Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes. The network announced at the Television Critics Association’s Summer 2013 Press Tour that two of the series’ leads have been cast, and while you probably never could have predicted it, Eva Green and Josh Hartnett have signed on. Catching one actress in the uphill swing of her career and one actor whose commercial appeal has waned. If only we’d all have caught the wacky ass Bunraku in theaters!

According to ComingSoon, Green will star as Vanessa Ives, a Victorian London seductress whose beauty is only matched by her secret knowledge, and Hartnett will be playing a charming American, Ethan Chandler, for whom London becomes a waking nightmare. You see, this is a reimagining of the city as if the characters from horror novels were an actual part of the history, and the show’s more normal character have to deal with all the monstrous beings. We’ll get Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray, Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein and his creature, as well as characters from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Had this horror mishmash been a theatrical release that Hartnett and Green joined, I don’t think I’d be quite as intrigued, but Showtime has a way of taking things to the extreme that I like.

It was announced last month that the first two episodes of this eight-episode series will be directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, the Spanish director whose talent for awe-inspiring visuals was apparent in both of his features, 2007’s densely atmospheric horror The Orphanage and 2012’s harrowing tsunami flick The Impossible. To have a director like that working with Logan, who wrote and created the show (while Mendes is executive producing). Logan and Mendes worked together on Skyfall and will be doing so again for the next Bond film. That said, it doesn’t seem to be the kind of project that will gather an awards collection. But hey, look at what American Horror Story has been doing. Maybe Hartnett can find his inner Jessica Lange for this.

Hartnett has taken it slow since 2007’s 30 Days of Night, appearing in films like Girl Walks Into a Bar. He’ll next star in Roland Joffé’s time-and-continent-crossing romantic adventure Singularity and in Brian Horiuchi’s troubled couples drama Parts Per Billion.

Green, no stranger to James Bond herself, was in last year’s disappointing Dark Shadows and is making herself very familiar with CGI filmmaking with upcoming roles in Noam Murro’s 300: Rise of an Empire and the Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller sequel Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For.

Looking to fill the horror void that Dexter will leave once this season is over, Showtime will begin production on Penny Dreadful this fall, with plans to air the show some time in 2014.

A couple of weeks ago we saw the first trailer for the hyper-stylized modern/western-influenced Bunraku, a movie that looks like what you’d get of you put Sin City in a Shake & Bake baggies with a pack of crayons. Even on a pretty slim budget of $25 million, newbie director Guy Moshe managed to nail down some high enough profile actors that might actually get this movie some traction, like Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, and Ron Perlman just to new a few.

A new poster has been released for the film over at Yahoo! Movies and it kind of misses the mark that a film of this style should be trying to hit. It feels very standardized, like it was simply a Photoshop “Movie Poster” template that the marketing team just switched some elements out on and then put it out. With a movie that has this pronounced a visual style, they had a lot of freedom to get away with some bonkers stuff, but instead they released what isn’t a terrible poster, but a really boring one.

Bunraku itself looks really cool (check out the trailer HERE), so don’t let this poster sway you away. Giving interesting movies that do things differently a chance is the best way for us to prevent movies like Battleship from happening, and that should be priority one for film goers. Scope out the weak poster below, but follow the above link for a much better representation of what the film has to offer.

I’ve just watched the trailer for Girl Walks Into A Bar, and it’s somehow more bizarre than I expected. Hip, with a classic vibe, smart, with a dash of naked ping pong, and sexy, with a whiff of dangerous, the teaser is like Get Shorty meets Chicago crossed with The Ten. Think of it like making soup when you’re drunk. You add broth to the basic ingredients and then you just throw shit in. Most of the time it sucks, but every now and again, it’s like a whole new world opened up. Of course chicken noodle soup tastes better if you substitute chicken for smoked sausage! How could I have missed this combination for years?

Girl Walks Into A Bar is the story of a dentist putting out a hit on his wife. Overly frugal and not content to let the whole thing play out he intercedes, mucking up not only the assassin’s plan but the evenings of a whole host of Los Angeles residents spread across ten different locations. It stars Danny DeVito, Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, Carla Gugino and Zachary Quinto. Also, it’ll be available for free on the internet come March 11th. Here’s a look at the trailer…

It remains to be seen whether this online distribution experiment will work, but with ready access at a mouse click, it seems likely most cinema fans will check this out. There’s certainly a level of intrigue here. How do all of these people get mixed up in one murder for hire? Further, are all of the stories interconnected or loosely connected? I am prepared to watch at least fifteen minutes of this come March 11th. If it’s awesome, I’ll stick around.

The Toronto International Film Festival is home to screenings of many Oscar hopefuls, foreign language films too obscure to see release, and documentaries about the soul of man or whatnot. But it also hosts the fantastically intertwining Midnight Madness series, 10 nights of movies mean to thrill you, scare you, or just let you witness something totally awesome. Falling into that latter category more than any other in this year's program was Guy Moshe's Bunraku, a pop-up book of a movie about a man with no name (Josh Hartnett) wandering into a town run by a ruthless gangster (Ron Perlman) and vowing revenge.

The look of the film is some crazy combination of puppet theater, video games, comic books and Hong Kong action; the added fact that this is all taking place in a world with no guns means there's pretty much no limit to how someone can be killed, and with what instrument. I talked to Moshe the day after the film premiered and picked his brain as to why an independent, relatively unknown filmmaker would spent three and a half years putting together a film that was super complicated to make, and how he got Hartnett on board with some of the bigger action set pieces, including a single-take fight in which he takes on 20 or so bad guys.

If you want to catch Bunraku in theaters right now, it's playing at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas this weekend. Beyond that, the movie is still looking for distribution.

Last night's midnight screening seemed like exactly the right crowd to see this with.

I couldn't tell if it was an audience that would have wished for more gore. It's strange. I don't know if this is exactly what they were signing in for.

This is clearly such a passion project for you. There are much easier movies to make. Why did you feel like you had to make it?

Regardless of the ultimate reception of the movie, there's nothing more rewarding than trying to do something new. You might not succeed, you might fall on your face, but the attempt is what you live for. My life is waking up and making movies; it's what I do. I challenge myself as a filmmaker to try and bring something new to the table that hopefully the audience will appreciate because it's something new. If I can make that happen, if it works, phenomenal.

You say you want to make something new, but the story is the most classic story of all, the stranger coming to town.

Exactly. You could do exactly the opposite, set it in a very simple setting and then you could complicate the story a little more. I thought something in this movie needed to be simple and safe enough so the audience could grab hold. This is a very dense experience, it's an audio-visual spectacle. The story should be simple and classical enough so people can follow and understand what's going on.

You look at the action genre-- what is the action genre? You take two characters, one character, and your job is to lead them through as many obstacles as you can so they fight and shoot and beat up somebody. I'm a fan of these films. But part of my fascination was, why is this classical story so successful? We're suckers for the idea of personal responsibility, seeing a man detached from the community who seemingly doesn't have to do anything for anybody find in himself the urge to help the common man. The Man With No Name is the classical character who stands up to these people.

The one really original thing you do is set this story in a world where guns are banned, and it makes the violence even worse. Did you want the chance to use other weapons, or what?

To me martial arts films that are set up in contemporary settings are slightly ridiculous when you think about it. Guns are faster than people, and there's not much you can do about that. I also like the idea of the musical analog. Those obstacles you take your characters through are like musical numbers. The idea that violence could be as beautiful as a dance. You could do it with gunfights, you could do it with swords only.

How long did it take to choreograph that single-take staircase fight, where Josh Hartnett takes on all the bad guys on all the different levels?

Josh trained for the movie for about four months, he had so many fight sequences. He came very prepared. It was more about timing the camera. It's very difficult to shoot a scene like this, because most punches it's easier to sell from the back, and I had to shoot it from the side. Everybody had to be in the perfect place, and the camera has to be in the perfect place.

In addition to the bunraku art form and comic books you take a lot of influence from video games here. Why did you want to include that as well?

To me all of these things are coming from the same core. I think video games in their essence are simplistic, very graphic, and have a very clear visual direction to them. And I think when you look at a comic book, the way comic books are being laid out, there's a lot of playfulness. To me video games are the way of the future. There's a new medium coming. I'm as certain of it as I was certain of cell phones being invented when I was younger. At some point there will be a new medium that will join cinema and video games into one. I don't know what it's going to be , but I want to be in the forefront of it. Certainly audiences today are probably capable of processing information in different ways. That's what gave birth to cinema at the end of the day, 100 years ago.

This movie reminded me in some ways of Scott Pilgrim, and it seems like both of them are so fast-paced and dense because they assume that we can all process information now better than we could in the past?

Obviously what's similar about this and Scott Pilgrim, is probably the approach. I love Edgar Wright, I think he's a super talented director, but in Scott Pilgrim he's taking our contemporary environment and he draws it into a surreal universe, where Bunraku is set up in a world of its own creation. But both of these films are dense, and they try and engage you on multiple levels.

And both really do make you feel like we're heading somewhere different with how audiences respond to cinema.

On that level, absolutely. There are filmmakers out there like Edgar Wright, like David Fincher, any film they make, I don't care how good or bad their last one is, I will always be in line to see their next movie. Ultimately that's what I hope to be. You don't have to love everything I do, but you can bet your ass I'll give it everything I've got.