Robert De Niro left us all deeply unsettled with his portrayal of Max Cady in 1991’s Cape Fear — which we at CinemaBlend not only think is one of the best movies of the ‘90s but one of the best horror flicks of all time — and now 25 years later, the proverbial torch has been passed to Javier Bardem for an upcoming Apple TV series. Critics were given 8 of the series' 10 episodes, and reviews are in ahead of its June 5 premiere.

In addition to Javier Bardem, the Cape Fear TV series stars Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson as Tom and Anna Bowden, the husband-and-wife attorneys who Max seeks revenge against. CinemaBlend’s Riley Utley watched Robert De Niro’s version for the first time recently, and still, she said she never could have predicted the show’s wild twists. She said:

For some fans — including our own Hugh Scott — this role appears to be precisely the manic performance we’ve been craving from Javier Bardem since No Country for Old Men, and Richard Roeper of RogerEbert confirms the Oscar-winner is a live wire of conflicting emotions on Cape Fear. In fact, Roeper says Bardem serves up “a combo platter of sexually charged charisma” as Max Cady. He rates the series 3 out of 4 stars, writing:

Daniel Fienberg of THR agrees with the other critics that the strong cast elevates the Cape Fear series — which he admits remains “generally entertaining, if not consistently gripping” throughout. However, Fienberg says he doesn’t feel like this book-to-screen adaptation with two prior movies needed to be stretched into a 10-episode series and says he thinks it’s about four hours longer than viewers will be able to sustain the sympathy and suspension of disbelief they’ll need to get through. His Cape Fear review reads:

Hunter Ingram of The Wrap says adapting the series into 10 hourlong episodes gives director Nick Antosca the time to soak in the dread of Max Cady’s tormenting tactics and the implosion of the Bowden family unit. That’s not necessary for this story, however, the critic says, but being able to watch Javier Bardem play such “deranged perfection” is a gift. Ingram writes:

Nick Schager of the Daily Beast has a wildly different take than the other Cape Fear reviews I read. calling it “TV’s worst movie remake yet.” Apple TV’s remake “unnecessarily and exasperatingly expands, remixes, and overcomplicates its source material,” Schager says, writing:

The critics who enjoyed the first eight episodes of Cape Fear largely admitted to some unbelievability or other nit-picks (though I don’t count “undeniably entertaining trash TV” as an insult), and the negative reviews admitted to high points of the series. Overall, the consensus is that Cape Fear is worth checking out when it premieres on the 2026 TV schedule, as it garnered a Certified Fresh 74% from Rotten Tomatoes’ critics.

The first two episodes drop Friday, June 5, with one episode weekly thereafter. The series can be streamed with an Apple TV subscription.

Following in the footsteps of two all-timer Hollywood legends like Robert Mitchum and Robert De Niro would be intimidating for anyone, but taking on a role like stalker-rapist Max Cady already requires a certain amount of quasi-psycho chutzpah. And hot diggity danger, Javier Bardem is truly embodying beast mode in the first trailer for the upcoming Apple TV series that’ll be the first episodic adaptation of Cape Fear, backed by mega-producers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.

The first trailer seen above is arguably one of the most tense and blood pressure-raising ways to start one’s day, or to end it, depending on when you’re watching. Cape Fear co-stars Patrick Wilson and Amy Adams as attorney Tom Bowden and Anna Bowden, respectively, the parents of Lily Collias’ Natalie and Joe Anders’ Zack. They’re your typical, everyday, affluent AF, Southern family….with some regrettable skeletons in their shared closet.

Enter one such intimidation-minded skeleton, the aforementioned Max Cady, who is newly released from prison and is seems pretty interested in seeking vengeance against those who put him away. It wasn’t exactly an open and shut case, with Tom and Anna responsible for obscuring evidence that likely would have led to Cady going free. Let it be a lesson that the worst people you can possibly try to legally screw over are the ones you already believe are capable of humanity’s worst crimes. I say, I say, are ya taking’ notes, Tom, my boy? (That’s my best Foghorn Leghorn impression.)

It’s not a very complicated set-up, and the TV show looks like it’ll take full advantage of all the extra narrative time to really juice the hell out of Cady stalking and psychologically hounding the Bowden family. Javier Bardem really does look like a natural fit for the part, bringing all of the impulsive and intrusive terror of No Country for Old Men’s Anton Chigurh, but with the most charismatic and engaging personality attached. Not to mention the way his back tattoos seem to follow me no matter where I’m walking in the room.

Cape Fear was one of the best movies of the 1990s — despite not even being Scorsese’s top ‘90s film — so the idea to bring it back as a weekly series for the 2026 TV schedule takes a wild mind behind the scenes. Which makes it a perfect project for creator and showrunner Nick Antosca, whose A-tier anthology series Channel Zero remains my most treasured horror TV ever, and who’s also helped bring other classic characters like Hannibal Lecter and Chucky to the small screen.

Beyond the trio of huge stars fronting this series, the Cape Fear cast is as good as it gets. We have Silence of the Lambs great Ted Levine (who's also excellent in Netflix's Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen), a pair of Sons of Anarchy vets in CCH Pounder and Ron Perlman, The Wire great Jamie Hector, Daredevil: Born Again's Margarita Levieva, Paradise's Patrick Fischler and more.

June 5 is the big day when everyone with a Apple TV subscription can take part in sharing the Bowden family's ongoing dread, as Cape Fear will be dropping the first two episodes of its 10-ep season, with the first directed by The Intimidation Game's Morten Tyldum.

Spooky season is drawing closer, but overall so far the 2025 movie calendar has been kind to those who love the horror genre. Fans of The Conjuring movies are undoubtedly hoping that The Conjuring: Last Rites — the conclusion to Ed and Lorraine Warren’s story — will be the year's next hit horror, and the critics are here to weigh in ahead of the film’s September 5 release to theaters. So what are they saying?

Set five years after The Devil Made Me Do It, the Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are eyeing retirement when they meet the Smurl family, who have come into possession of a mirror whose evil has ties to the Warrens’ daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson). In CinemaBlend’s review of The Conjuring: Last Rites, Eric Eisenberg says the movie brings the series to a satisfying conclusion, but its return to the haunted house narrative doesn’t pack the same punch as previous movies. He rates it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing:

Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting also gives the movie 3.5 out of 5 skulls, saying Last Rites includes a few standout moments of blood-curdling dread while also playing up the sentimentality audiences have developed for the Warrens. The critic says:

Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gives it 3 stars out of 4, writing that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s performances have always been part of what makes The Conjuring one of the best horror movie franchises, and the same is true for their final chapter. Of the movie overall, Seitz says:

Travis Hopson of Punch Drunk Critic isn’t fully on board with the emotional family aspect overshadowing the scares. However, characters from the past movies showing up does remind fans of the impact this franchise has had on the horror genre for so long. Hopson gives the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and says:

Frank Scheck of THR says it’s not just the floorboards that are creaky in the ninth movie on The Conjuring’s timeline. Last Rites offers “stale scares” in director Michael Chaves’ fourth movie in the franchise, which feels like it’s suffering from fatigue. Scheck continues:

Overall, critics seem to be a bit “meh” on the newest offering in The Conjuring franchise, as it’s accumulated just 57% on Rotten Tomatoes from 74 critics. If you’ve been loyal to the Warrens’ story since 2013, however, it’s probably worth checking out Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s swan song. The Conjuring: Last Rites hits theaters on Friday, September 5.

Using CGI to make an actor appear younger than they are has become a not uncommon practice in modern cinema. It’s certainly come a long way in the decades that it’s been in use, and while it’s difficult to argue that it doesn’t still have some problems, it does the job remarkably well. This is likely why Michael Chaves, director of The Conjuring: Last Rites, fully assumed he would be using the technology in the new film.

The opening of the newest and final, Conjuring film includes a flashback sequence that sees protagonists Ed and Lorainne Warren, played in the rest of the franchise by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, as much younger people than we’ve ever seen them. Chaves tells EW that when he originally conceived of the sequence, he knew exactly how he wanted to portray the younger characters, saying:

Not so long ago, the need to have younger versions of your characters in a film meant casting younger actors. There really was no other option. Today, using CGI to de-age an actor is a real choice, and it’s one that a lot of movies go with. While finding a young actor who is believable as a younger version of a character is certainly possible, using CGI can technically create a more realistic version of the character. It also allows the stars of the movie to be on screen more.

It’s not surprising that the film planned to use de-aging to make Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga look younger, but when The Conjuring: Last Rites opens this weekend, that’s not what you’ll see. The movie ended up pivoting and going with actors. It seems that when the director started to look into the actual process of de-aging, he became less sure it was the right way to go. And then he got a call from one of his actors. Chaves explained:

Farmiga’s argument was that using different actors would make the scene somewhat unsettling for the audience, that having the main actors on screen would give the audience a level of comfort you wouldn’t necessarily want in a scene that was supposed to be scary. In the end, the decision was made to pivot and cast the parts rather than use CGI.

Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith were ultimately cast as the young Lorainne and Ed. Overall, it certainly appears that everybody now agrees that going with the younger actors was the right call. And while The Conjuring: Last Rites is set to be the last film in the franchise for Wilson and Farmiga, perhaps this opens the door to prequel stories?

When it comes to superhero movies, Patrick Wilson has built himself a rather cool legacy. He first dipped his toe in the genre playing Dan Dreiberg a.k.a. Night Owl II in Zach Snyder's Watchmen, and he also has the distinction of being one of the few actors with two different roles in the DC Extended Universe: he voices the president of the United States in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and he plays Orm in the two Aquaman blockbusters. Given that history, could he potentially have a future in the blossoming DC Universe?

While nothing can be confirmed on that front, it at least can be said that conversations have been had about that possibility. Wilson has recently been doing interviews promoting the release of the upcoming horror movie The Conjuring: Last Rites, and he was asked by ComicBook.com about whether or not he has had the chance to talk about the DCU with DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn. The actor noted that while he has never met the Superman writer/director, he has worked closely with Gunn's co-CEO Peter Safran (who is a producer on the Conjuring franchise). And with that being said, he's not sure there is a whole lot more that he wants to "say" with Orm as a character:

In support of Patrick Wilson's point, audiences have seen his incarnation of Orm go through a full arc. In the first Aquaman, he is very much the villain, and after his plan to conquer the seas fails, he is thrown in prison. In Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, the character is provided with a full redemption, and he partners with the titular hero to help save the world from a dangerous evil.

But what about other characters? Given that Jason Momoa is playing Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl, the door certainly seems open for that possibility – even as some DCEU carryover has been reflected in Peacemaker Season 2. Patrick Wilson says that he has talked about the possibility with Peter Safran, but for right now, he is looking to step away from the business for a minute:

The good news for Patrick Wilson is that the DC Universe is planning to be around for a while, so when he's ready, it will potentially be ready to give him an exciting part. As of right now, the only two movies on the immediate horizon are the aforementioned Supergirl and the R-rated Clayface, but there are a number of other projects currently in various stages of development.

On the Patrick Wilson front, audiences will next be able to see him in The Conjuring: Last Rites, which will be in theaters everywhere next Friday, September 5. And if you need a dose of the DCU immediately, Max subscribers can watch both Creature Commandos Season 1 and the debut episode of Peacemaker Season 2, and James Gunn's Superman just recently entered the home video market and is now available for digital rental/purchase from all major online outlets.

At the end of 2023, the DC Extended Universe came to a close after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom only made a little over $439 million globally, a far cry from the first movie, which garnered headlines for hitting the billion dollar club. It's not just box office that was its pitfall, but the overhaul by James Gunn and co. of the entire superhero universe. But if you were to ask one major star, it's OK it's all over now, baby blue.

In the sequel, Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry joined forces with Patrick Wilson’s Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master, despite the fact that his half-brother spent the last movie trying to kill him. Fortunately, the two ended on much better terms with each other in the last of the DCEU’s DC movies in order, which is why Wilson is OK with the Aquaman franchise ending. When asked if he hoped the Aquaman film series had lasted longer than two movies, he answered:

The actor shared these thoughts while being interviewed by Variety about his new movie Millers in Marriage, which is now playing on the 2025 release schedule. But in regards to the end of his DC career, he has a point.

Orm starts out in 2018’s Aquaman as a villain, albeit a sympathetic one since he’s angry about how the surface world has polluted the oceans. Then in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, after nearly half a decade of imprisonment, Orm is broken out to help Arthur track down Black Manta and foil his schemes.

There’s a nice evolutionary journey spread across two movies, and the last time we see Patrick Wilson’s character, he’s enjoying a cheeseburger for the first time. What else would there be to do besides just have Orm team up with Arthur again?

Even before it was announced that the DCEU would come to a close and the DC Universe franchise would rise from the ashes, there was never any official indication that Aquaman 3 was in the cards. However, that’s not to say that Patrick Wilson would have turned down appearing in a threequel if it’d come his way. As he put it:

Although some elements of the DCEU are being retained for the DCU, the Aquaman corner of the former franchise isn’t one of them. Case in point, Jason Momoa is playing Lobo in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the upcoming DC movie lined up for summer 2026. Maybe an opportunity will come along for Patrick Wilson to play a different role in the DCU, but for now, he’s comfortable with putting Orm behind him.

If you’d like to revisit either of the Aquaman movies, they can both be streamed with a Max subscription. Otherwise, watch the DCU finally take off on the big screen when the James Gunn-helmed Superman opens on July 11.

With The Conjuring considered to be one of the best horror movies, sparking a long-standing franchise based on two very real demonologists, The Conjuring: Last Rites is set to release in 2025. This fourth installment in the main film series looks like this will be the last entry in Ed and Lorraine Warrens journey. After 12 years of filming together as the Warrens, their time is set to end, and it’s quite an emotional parting.

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are wrapping up the last little bit for The Conjuring 4, with filming having just completed. In a post on the actress' Instagram, Farmiga bids adieu to her fake marriage to Wilson, and described it in her own words as "a hell of an era."

It’s been theorized and hinted at that Last Rites will be the final installment for a while. Director James Wan hasn’t confirmed or outright denied that this will be the last Conjuring movie, but based on the promotional posters and the trailers, it seems like this will be the last time we see Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Ed and Lorraine Warren. Whether the movie ends in victory or defeat is yet to be seen, regardless we will be saying goodbye to Farmiga and Wilson.

While most people come for the chills and thrills, fans of the movie attest that one of the stronger aspects of the movies is the chemistry Wilson and Farmiga have. In the past, the two have shared why they never felt the need to explain the relationship and love that the Warrens share for one another, and the love they have for their daughter as well.

Many fans in the comments have expressed their love and admiration for the duo, and they don't want to say goodbye (myself included). However, all good things must come to an end. Director James Wan even commented on Farmiga’s post, giving his heartfelt goodbye to the pair, he was quoted saying:

The Conjuring: Last Rite is set to open September 5 on the 2025 movies schedule. If you’re new to the franchise or looking to binge, we have a handy dandy guide to the chronological order of all the Conjuring Universe movies, including The Nun and Annabelle. You could follow that, or just start with the main Conjuring installments, and then work your way to the spinoff movies. Either way, they're available with a Max subscription. If you’re a fan of horror movies then you are in for a hell of a time, just maybe watch them with the lights on.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the sequel to the highest-grossing DC movie ever, so all things being equal, expectations for the new film would be high. Things are not equal, however, as we know the current iteration of the DC universe on film is ending with this movie, and based on the critic's response to the new film, it sounds like everybody knew there was no future here.

While Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom isn’t without its charms, the general consensus appears that the movie is largely aimless. While the movie finds its footing, to some degree, later on, the movie struggles in its initial setup IGN’s Amelia Emberwing says… 

The thing that does help the movie pick up steam is when Patrick Wilson’s Orm joins the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom cast, and the pair become an unlikely team. James Wan has said he saw the Aquaman sequel as a buddy comedy, and it sounds like, as one, it works pretty well. Writing for Inverse Hoi-Tran Bui says… 

The strong chemistry between Momoa and Wilson is remarked on by several critics, but in pretty much all cases, the view is that it isn’t enough to save the movie because everything else is a mess. Tessa Smith at Mama’s Geeky writes... 

While the movie may be good for a few laughs thanks to Momoa and Wilson, one of the issues, according to Valerie Complex at Deadline is that the movie is full of too many laughs. Ultimately the movie gets so silly that you can’t take it seriously, even when you should. She explained… 

And while Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, may struggle in the first act, before having some fun in the second act, it all falls apart again for the third act, as the movie’s finale just doesn’t have the weight that it should, due to badly handled stakes. According to THR …

So it looks like the DCEU is going out with a whimper, not a bang. That’s maybe not surprising but it is disappointing. If you want to find out for yourself Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s release date is this Friday.  

The DCEU as we know it is about to end with James Wan's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The long-delayed blockbuster is the next upcoming DC movie heading to theaters, before new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran form a new shared universe. Aquaman 2's trailer showed how important Arthur Curry and Orm's story will be to the overall narrative, with actors Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson reprising their roles as the two brothers of Atlantis. Momoa and company went viral on TikTok for hilariously dancing with a trident, and I'm here for all the love for Wilson.

What we know about Aquaman 2 is fairly limited, but the two brothers will have to put aside their differences in order to battle Black Manta. The pair of actors clearly have great chemistry, as was made evident in a viral TikTok of them dancing, trident in hand. Check it out for yourself below:

I mean, how cute is that? While only time will tell how Aquaman 2 performs at the box office, the marketing campaign is in full affect. And that means plenty of thoroughly adorable moments from its pair of leading actors Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson. Although the latter is getting a ton of love for this viral TikTok.

Wilson has had a long and celebrated career, including plenty of collaborations with director James Wan. Prior to their pair of DC movies, he also appeared in Wan's movies like Insidious and the Conjuring franchise. But it's his dance moves that are getting him attention on the TikTok with Jason Momoa, with a number of commenters sharing love for the 50 year-old actor. Check out some of their comments below:

• I freaking love Patrick Wilson -Steph  
• this made me love Patrick Wilson more 😭 -Star
• PATRICK WILSON MY LOVE -Kiki 
• Not me having a crush on Patrick Wilson since I was 11 cuz of the insidious movies. 😭😂 -Jasper 
•  Patrick’s dancing is giving me big Paul Rudd vibes -Yuri
• And here I thought I couldn't possbily love Patrick Wilson more. I was wrong- Bryce

Given this chatter, hopefully these Patrick Wilson fans actually turn up at the theaters when Aquaman 2 arrives. DC has had a number of box office disappointments lately, with projects like The Flash being a box office failure. Perhaps this is because moviegoers know that the DCEU as we know it is ending, which seemingly lowers the stakes and need to go to the theater. 

But the first Aquaman movie was a huge success, so there was some interest in the underwater franchise. Although years have passed, and might have changed the public's thinking. Case in point: the online petition to have Amber Heard removed from Aquaman 2. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will hit theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Back in 2018, James Wan's Aquaman proved to be a remarkable success. Released in the wake of Justice League, the film was not just a simple box office hit, but still holds the record for being the biggest DC Comics movie ever. It's wild to think that was a full five years ago, but now, at long last, the sequel is almost here, and today we have our first extended look at Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom.

Catching up with Jason Momoa's titular hero, we learn in this debut trailer that the sequel has Arthur Curry balancing life as a new father and being the king of the seven underwater kingdoms. That's a lot of stuff on Aquaman's plate all by itself, but things get far more complicated when Black Manta (Yahya Abdul Mateen II) launches his big mission to try and kill the DC hero. 

The villain this time around is armed with much more than just a high-tech suit, as he is in possession of the ancient weapon known as the Black Trident – a cursed object that is a threat to not just Aquaman's life, but the entire planet. Recognizing this extreme danger, Arthur hopes that a former enemy can become a friend saving the world: his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson).

As featured in the Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom trailer, the new blockbuster is also bringing back Amber Heard as Mera , Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna.

The new film has the distinction of being the fourth DC live-action feature released in 2023, following on the heels of Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, The Flash and Blue Beetle, but even more significantly, it will be the final movie recognized as part of the DC Extended Universe. It's unclear presently if Jason Momoa's time as Aquaman will be coming to an end (earlier this year, producer Peter Safran made mention of "a trilogy" while discussing the DCEU star's future with the franchise), but 2025 will see the release of James Gunn's Superman: Legacy and the start of a new era: the DC Universe.

Fans have been (im)patiently waiting for this Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom footage for a while now, but one of the benefits of a late trailer release is that it means there is less time between the debut preview and actually getting to see the finished blockbuster. In this particular case, we are now just a little over three months away from seeing the film – which will be arriving exclusively in theaters on December 20. Stay tuned for more updates about the movie between now and then here on CinemaBlend, and to learn about all of DC Studios' big plans for the big screen, check out our Upcoming DC Movies guide.

Ever since it’s inception, the DC Universe has had a ton of ups, downs, and behind the scenes shake ups. Recently James Gunn and Peter Safran were named co-CEOs, and formulated a plan to seemingly start things over. But a number of upcoming DC movies were already filmed at that point, including James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. And despite its planned December release, one Aquaman 2 star recently confirmed the movie was still doing reshoots very recently. Here’s what we know.

Patrick Wilson has had a long career, and has ongoing roles in a number of major film franchises. He made his DC debut as the villainous Orm/ Ocean Master in the first Aquaman, and will reprise his role in the forthcoming sequel. And during a conversation with THR earlier this month, he revealed that he’d slipped back into character recently, presumably for the reported Aquaman 2 reshoots. In his words:

Well, that’s interesting. Despite how close we are to Aquaman 2 arriving in theaters, the movie is reportedly far from being finished. That includes some reshoots, and re-editing of the movie as it’s shown for test audiences. And now I’m curious about the latest footage that Patrick Wilson shot as his signature DC character.

The pressure is on for Aquaman 2 to deliver at the box office, especially considering the last few DC movies. Both Black Adam and The Flash failed to deliver financially, despite the celebrities and beloved heroes involved. Although this is presumably because fans don’t know whether or not these characters will stick around in the new version of the DC Universe. 

Whatever is being planned at DC, Aquaman actor Jason Momoa seems psyched about his future in the shared universe. Fans are wondering if he’ll be playing the same aquatic Justice League member, or perhaps portraying another character altogether. Specifically, the hulking DC villain known as Lobo. But it’s relieving to know that Momoa is going to be sticking around the genre regardless. 

Despite Aquaman 2 being released shortly, the movie’s first trailer still hasn’t been released. And as such, there is going to be plenty of speculation from moviegoers for the foreseeable future. There are definitely questions, including how large Amber Heard’s role as Mera might be.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will arrive in theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

When you agree to star in a horror movie, there’s a very good chance you are going to get covered with some grotesque fluid. Usually, it’s blood. Just ask Sissy Spacek about that legendary prom scene in Carrie, one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever made. But it can also be other things. Like vomit. As is what happens to Ty Simpkins in the new horror thriller Insidious: The Red Door. The fifth installment in the Insidious series had a strong box office weekend, taking the top spot over another fifth installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. And if you saw it, you will remember this scene. 

Insidious: The Red Door follows Ty Simpkins’ original Insidious character Dalton Lambert away to college. He’s attending art school, and he can’t wait to get away from his father, Josh (Patrick Wilson, who also was a guest on our ReelBlend podcast). But another thing he can’t avoid is visitors from The Further – that astral plane Dalton and his dad have been able to access using their powers (which have raised all sorts of problems for the Lambert family. 

And that manifests itself in one horrific scene for Ty Simpkins in Insidious: The Red Door. Dalton is hiding under a bed in a fraternity house, having seen an ill zombie creature vomiting in the toilet. Only Dalton can see this creature. And when he turns to run from the room, the zombie is standing right in front of Dalton… and proceeds to projectile vomit all over him. Given the chance to speak with the Insidious: The Red Door cast, I had to ask Simkins about that scene, and the amount of “vomit” he had to endure. And he laughed as he told me that it was late in the day when they filmed it. They’d saved the vomit for the last segment of the day, and probably didn’t start filming until 2 am. As for the vomit, Simpkins says:

The final scene is horrifying. It’s quick, and aggressive, and even though the vomit is made from sweet ingredients, the fact that it comes from the mouth of an undead creature makes your skin crawl. Here Patrick Wilson talking about all that went into the making of this new movie in the latest ReelBlend episode:

We’ve been covering Insidious: The Red Door, from a breakdown of that ending, to where the new movie fits on the franchise timeline. We’ll work on getting it onto our list of Insidious movies, ranked. And keep it locked in here for our look at all of Upcoming Horror Movies coming out in 2023, and beyond.

Before he fought Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry as Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master, in Aquaman, Patrick Wilson left his stamp on the superhero movie genre through Watchmen, where he played Dan Dreiberg, the second Nite Owl. Although Zack Snyder’s adaptation of the same-named comic book miniseries by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons was met with polarizing critical reception, it’s grown a sizable fanbase over the years, and Wilson looks back on that chapter of his career fondly. This is evidenced by the actor sharing some emotional thoughts he had about Watchmen after recently rewatching it.

While promoting Insidious: The Red Door, which sees him both reprising Josh Lambert and making his directorial debut, Wilson spent some time on the ReelBlend podcast talking about Watchmen with CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell and fellow host Jake Hamilton. After Hamilton gave his opinion that the 2009 movie was “too brilliant for its time” and “came out a couple of years too early,” he asked Wilson if he thought Watchmen might perform or be received differently if it came out today, and here’s what the actor/filmmaker said:

With Patrick Wilson apparently being the kind of actor who doesn’t fully rewatch his own movies after they premiere, for him to dedicate time to going through Watchmen from start to finish is high praise. Part of that might have simply been because his son was interested in checking the movie out, but as Wilson explained, he’s still impressed nearly a decade and a half later by how well Watchmen turned out. Not only that, but following along Jake Hamilton’s train of thought, he does think Zack Snyder was ahead of his time, particularly with the visual side of things. Maybe there will come a day when Wilson decide another round with the movie, which saw him starring alongside people like Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Although the superhero movie genre was certainly pretty popular when Watchmen came out, with movies like Iron Man and The Dark Knight having come out the year prior, the MCU was a ways off from becoming the pop culture mainstay it is today, and Man of Steel, another Zack Snyder feature, was still years off from launching the DCEU. On top of that though, Watchmen was fighting an uphill battle by being rated R rather than the traditional PG-13, and it certainly doesn’t follow the standard formula we’ve come to expect from superhero movies. Along with the mixed critical reception, it only made around $185.4 million worldwide. So while not a box office splash, at least its not lacking for supporters, which includes Patrick Wilson. You can watch his full ReelBlend interview below.

If you’re interested streaming Watchmen after reading this story, it can be easily accessed with a Max subscription, which is also how you can view HBO’s Watchmen series, although that serves as a follow-up to the original comic rather than the movie. Those of you interested in seeing how Patrick Wilson fared as a first-time director can see his work in Insidious: The Red Door on display in theaters now as one of the latest 2023 new movie releases.

The Insidious franchise has kept fans coming back for over a decade, with its twisty take on the haunted house genre. The fifth movie in the series, Insidious: The Red Door, picks a decade after the events of 2013’s Chapter 2, with Patrick Wilson reprising his role as John Lambert while also making his directorial debut. The newest addition to the franchise is in theaters now, but critics were able to screen the movie ahead of its release. While they had some positive things to say about Wilson’s turn at the helm, the critics also seemed to agree on the film’s shortcomings.

The Insidious: The Red Door cast also features the return of Ty Simpkins and Rose Byrne as Dalton and Renai Lambert, respectively. From what we know about the fifth movie, Dalton will be forced to return to the Further when demons from his past resurface when he heads off to college. Let’s see what the critics are saying, starting with Leigh Monson of AV Club, who grades the movie a C-, saying The Red Door retreads old iconography and fails to offer anything new to the story’s canon. The critic continues: 

Nick Schager of The Daily Beast calls the flick “a major disappointment,” made worse by its swampy visual aesthetic that looks like it was filmed “inside of a garbage disposal.” This critic also wants to see more from Patrick Wilson as a director, but in terms of The Red Door, he says skip this one: 

Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting rates Insidious: The Red Door 2.5 skulls out of 5, noting that while this supposed final chapter doesn’t provide a sense of finality to the Further or its ghostly inhabitants, it does offer closure to the Lambert family’s story. The critic says:  

Aaron Neuwirth of We Live Entertainment gives the movie a 5 out of 10, agreeing that The Red Door provides some quality ideas, but fails to bring anything fresh to the series. It’s not all that scary, but it tries, the critic says, writing:  

Tom Jorgensen of IGN is more satisfied than the previous critics with the fifth and possibly final installment, rating it a “Good” 7 out of 10, even if it relies too heavily on jump scares. He says:  

While the critics may not think this was one of the best horror movies of all time, they do seem to appreciate Patrick Wilson’s directorial efforts. The Rotten Tomatoes numbers align with the above assessments, with Insidious: The Red Door garnering just a 42% Fresh rating. Meanwhile, the Audience Score was more forgiving, standing at 71% on the day of release. 

That’s sure to change as more people weigh in, so those of you who are interested in seeing where this movie ranks against the other Insidious flicks can check it out now, as it hit the big screen today. Be sure to see what other upcoming scary movies you have to look forward to, and check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to start planning your next trip to the theater. 

Patrick Wilson joins the show to discuss directing Insidious: The Red Door. He walks us through the process of pitching himself for the project, getting help from the likes of James Wan and Leigh Whannell, and the incredible story behind him singing vocals on the film’s end credits track. Stick around after the interview for Sean’s spoiler-free review.

Also this week, we bring a favorite game into the main show with “What Year Was It?” Special thank you to Donovan as always for organizing this awesome game that we’ve come to love. Play along at home and let us know if your score beat ours.

Timestamps (approx. only)

00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:14 - Patrick Wilson Talks Directing Insidious: The Red Door
00:32:52 - Insidious: The Red Door Review
00:38:11 - The What Year Was It Game! 
01:12:55 - Outro

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These days, it has become a common trend for some of the most iconic characters from some of the best horror movies to return for another big scare, but the latest chapter of the Insidious series — a popular franchise from Blumhouse with a unique twist on the haunted house movie genre — marks a particularly special occasion. 

Most of the original Insidious cast are reuniting for this creepy fifth installment for first time since Insidious: Chapter 2 came out a decade ago and with one working behind the camera, as well, this time. There are also a few newcomers to the franchise to note in the Insidious: The Red Door cast, so let’s talk about who they play and what else you may know them from in our breakdown of the new horror movie’s ensemble, below.

Patrick Wilson (Josh Lambert)

In addition to reprising Josh Lambert — a teacher who hypnotically repressed his ability to astral project in the second film — Emmy Award nominee Patrick Wilson also makes his directorial debut with Insidious: The Red Door, which is fitting since this franchise was his first step to becoming a Scream King. 

Playing Ed Warren in the Conjuring Universe, chasing cannibals in the horrifically violent 2015 Western, Bone Tomahawk, and flipping to “bad dad mode” for Netflix’s claustrophobic Stephen King/Joe Hill adaptation, In the Tall Grass, would later solidify his modern horror movie icon status. The upcoming 2023 movie, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, will mark the Moonfall cast member’s latest reunion with James Wan and his latest DC movie (following 2018’s Aquaman and Zack Snyder’s Watchmen). He's not done chasing ghosts, either, with The Conjuring: Last Rites now in the works. 

Ty Simpkins (Dalton Lambert)

Josh’s son, and fellow repressed astral projectionist, Dalton — now studying art in college — is played, once again, by Ty Simpkins, who first played the son of a Patrick Wilson character in one of the best Kate Winslet movies, 2007’s Little Children, but first got a taste of the horror genre with an appearance in Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds at three years old. 

Some of his better-known credits outside of the Insidious movies include his scene-stealing role in Iron Man 3 (which he reprised subtly in Avengers: Endgame), playing another child in danger in 2015’s Jurassic World, and his reunion with writer and director Shane Black for a small part in The Nice Guys. Simpkins more recently appeared in The Whale opposite Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser.

Rose Byrne (Renai Lambert)

Returning to play Dalton’s mother and Josh’s former wife, Renai, is Rose Byrne, who is also known for comic book flicks — namely a couple of X-Men movies as Moira MacTaggert — and a couple of other horror movies (the realistic zombie flick 28 Weeks Later, and apocalyptic thriller Knowing). The two-time-Emmy-nominated star of FX’s Damages has much more eclectic filmography than that, however. 

For instance, the Australian actor is part of the Star Wars universe (as Padmé’s handmaiden, Dormé), has proven her comedic talents in several movies (such as with the Bridesmaids cast and in Instant Family, to name a couple) and TV shows (the Apple TV+ original series, Physical, and her reunion with Neighbors’ Seth Rogen on Platonic), and continues to shine in dramatic work like the FX miniseries, Mrs. America, as feminist icon, Gloria Steinem. More recently, Byrne appeared in the holiday fantasy musical, Spirited, opposite Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds and is lending her voice to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem as Leatherhead.

Andrew Astor (Foster Lambert)

Dalton’s younger brother, Foster, is just about the best-known acting role to date for Andrew Astor, even after making his (credited) film debut as part of the original Hangover cast as Bradley Cooper’s character's son, Eli, and playing a young “Weird Al” in a 2010 short that inspired the Daniel Radcliffe-led, feature-length biopic, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. 

He also played a young Spencer Reid in two episodes of Criminal Minds, which is just one example of his impressive collection of TV guest spots, which includes episodes of ER, How I Met Your Mother, and Mad Men. Save the 2019 short, Infiltration, Insidious: The Red Door is actually Astor’s first acting gig since Insidious: Chapter 2, having turned his interests toward music, which appears to be an activity that Foster has also taken up in the sequel.

Sinclair Daniel (Chris)

Making her feature film debut in Insidious: The Red Door as Dalton’s new college friend, Chris, is Sinclair Daniel, whose first acting gig was a 28-minute short called Cannabitches in 2018, which she followed up with a six-minute short called Teresa before kicking off a streak of guest appearances on TV shows like Madam Secretary, The Good Fight, and Bull. 

In 2021, Daniel appeared opposite yet another Scream King — Evil Dead movies star, Bruce Campbell — in the Hallmark holiday movie, One December Night, and, according to Deadline, she is leading the cast of Hulu’s upcoming series adaptation of Zakiya Dalila Harris’s 2021 novel, The Other Black Girl.

Hiam Abass (Dalton's Art Professor)

Starring as an esteemed instructor who inspires Dalton to broaden his artistic talents is Hiam Abass, who last starred in a long-awaited installment of a great horror franchise in 2022 when she appeared in David Bruckner’s Hulu exclusive reimagining of Hellraiser, having also, previously, appeared in a long-awaited sequel to one of the best sci-fi movies with 2017’s Blade Runner 2049. 

The veteran actor — also known for movies like 2005’s Munich or The Nativity Story from the following year — might be better recognized by modern audiences from the acclaimed Hulu dramedy series, Ramy, as the title character’s mother, or from her role in HBO’s Succession cast as Marcia Roy.

Lin Shaye (Elise Rainier)

The only actor to appear in every Insidious movie is Lin Shaye, who deservingly joined the ranks of the all-time greatest horror movie Scream Queens after playing Elise Rainier. However, her horror experience dates back to the original A Nightmare on Elm Street cast, and when she went on to star in the first Critters movie, 2006’s Snakes on a Plane, Tales from Halloween, the Ouija movies, 2020’s version of The Grudge, and the popular horror video game, The Quarry. 

Some of her most notable credits outside of the horror genre include some classic Farrelly Brothers movies (namely Liar Liar, Kingpin, and There’s Something About Mary), 2021’s true crime biopic, Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman, and the Covid-era ensemble drama, We Are Gathered Here Today.

One of my favorite behind-the-scenes facts about 2011’s Insidious is how James Wan — who was not a father at the time — relied on Patrick Wilson’s own real-life experience as a parent as inspiration when directing the family-heavy scenes. So, to see Wilson at the helm of a sequel in which family is a more prevalent theme than ever could not be a more perfect pairing. 

Journeying into the Further again can be a scary thought, but seeing the talent in the Insidious: The Red Door cast should, hopefully, make it easier.

Among Constant Readers, 2017 is remembered for the Stephen King renaissance in Hollywood, but 2019 was the year where we saw the industry capitalize. On the big screen, fans got to see Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer’s Pet Sematary, Andy Muschietti’s IT Chapter Two, and Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep (next week!), and the executives at Netflix got into the action as well. Having clearly been impressed with the reception for both Flanagan’s Gerald’s Game and Zak Hilditch’s 1922, the streaming service got back into the King adaptation game with the development of Vincenzo Natali’s In The Tall Grass.

The project initially started to get on its feet in 2015 – a rare year that saw the release of zero Stephen King adaptations. It was at that time that Altitude Film Sales started shopping In The Tall Grass, based on the novella of the same name co-written by King and his son, Joe Hill. Natali was attached to both write and direct, his name carrying a great deal of genre cred thanks to credits including Cube, Splice, and episodes of Hannibal, but initial efforts to get the film off the ground at the Cannes Film Market didn’t pan out.

As history shows, it was merely just a tad before its time. Almost exactly three years later (a little more than six months after the release of Gerald’s Game and 1922), the project was back at the Cannes Film Market, and Netflix seized the opportunity to make a new Stephen King movie. While there were early talks with James Marsden about starring that got derailed by scheduling conflicts, Patrick Wilson, Laysla De Oliveira and Harrison Gilbertson were officially cast as production began in August 2018, and a little over a year later In The Tall Grass was offered as a treat to stream just a few weeks prior to Halloween 2019.

There is a considerable amount of the film that sets it apart from its source material, but it’s a case where everything that’s added elevates the original story, and everything from the original story is still honored and treated well. It’s a freaky movie that sports one of the most gruesome moments in the history of Stephen King adaptations, and a fun subject for dissection in this week’s Adapting Stephen King.

What “In The Tall Grass” Is About

In the mid-to-late aughts, Joseph Hillström King – the son of Stephen King – attempted to pull the wool over the literary world’s eyes in Richard Bachman-esque fashion. Wanting to be a professional writer and hoping to avoid any kind of supposition of nepotism, he wrote and published a collection of short stories, 20th Century Ghosts, and his first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, with an abbreviated version of his name. He nixed the “-ström” and the “King,” and the works hit store shelves with the author identified as Joe Hill.

What was not Richard Bachman-esque was how quickly the truth was revealed. While Stephen King was able to publish four novels in about seven years with his secret pseudonym, Joe Hill was outed as his famous father’s son just a month after Heart-Shaped Box’s release in early 2007. Thankfully, the news did nothing to derail Hill’s career, as he has spent the years since becoming a very successful writer in his own right – with a bibliography including books, short stories, comics… and collaborations with his dad.

The first King/Hill team-up arrived in 2009 when the two men co-wrote the novella “Throttle” – which was included in the Richard Matheson tribute anthology He Is Legend – and a few years later the father-son duo got together to pen “In The Tall Grass.” First published in two parts across the June/July and August 2012 issues of Esquire magazine, the story is reminiscent of “Children Of The Corn” in that it explores horrors to be found during a road trip through the vast emptiness of Middle America. Instead of being set in Nebraska, it takes place in Kansas, and instead of the terror coming from a group of murderous, youthful zealots, it comes from miles of seven-foot-tall grass.

Cal Demuth and his pregnant sister Becky are traveling across the country to San Diego to stay with their aunt and uncle until Becky delivers her out-of-wedlock baby, and trouble starts when they are driving past a field and hear the shouts of a young boy begging for help. The kid, who identifies himself as Tobin, says that he and his mother, Natalie, have been lost for days, and he asks Cal and Becky to rescue them by guiding them back out to the road. Believing that the boy and his mom are just a few feet away, the Demuths walk into the grass – but they get separated and immediately get lost. They try to call out to each other, but the location of their voices seems to change at random, and jumping straight up to see over the grass results in them seeing landmarks shift around with each attempt.

The circumstances are dire and terrible, and they only grow worse. Tobin’s father and Natalie’s husband, Ross, is also in the grass and he has gone fantastically mad – and the cause is a massive obsidian rock that sits in the middle of everything and takes influence over anyone who touches it.

How Vincenzo Natali’s In The Tall Grass Differs From Stephen King’s Novella

Stephen King and Joe Hill’s “In The Tall Grass” is officially described as a novella, but that term is perhaps a bit generous as it reflects on the work’s length. Unfortunately, “long short story” is a ridiculous way to label anything, so “novella” is what we’re stuck with.

This is a roundabout way of saying that “In The Tall Grass” is not “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption,” and Vincenzo Natali had to exercise his creative muscles in adding to the material so that he could make a feature-length film.

The basic premise remains the same, with Becky (Laysla De Oliveira) and Cal (Avery Whitted) driving through Kansas and getting lured into the grass by Tobin (Will Buie Jr.) – though the siblings’ reason for traveling is changed, as the intention is to meet with prospective adoptive parents in San Diego instead of relatives. Natalie (Rachel Wilson) and Ross (Patrick Wilson) have roles that mostly reflect their counterparts in the novella, though the former’s role is lightly reduced while the latter’s is expanded.

Inarguably the most significant change that Natali makes with In The Tall Grass is the film’s use of Travis McKean (Harrison Gilbertson), the father of Becky’s unborn child. In the novella, he is only featured in a flashback/dream sequence where he rejects parental responsibilities, but the adaptation turns him into a protagonist. While on the road searching for Becky and Cal, he ends up getting lured into the grass and both meets Tobin and becomes a source of conflict between the siblings (due to the fact that Cal hates him for knocking up his sister). Every scene he is in does not have precedence in the source material.

Travis’ arrival adds more substance to the narrative, and it also ends up adding to the horror of being lost in the tall grass. Vincenzo Natali latches on to the idea of time working differently and sprints with it – turning the field into a realm of nonlinear chaos. Travis ends up somehow arriving both after and before Becky and Cal get lost, and events get repeated and looped back on.

Having touched the rock at the center of the field, Ross is hooked into this temporal shifting, and it adds to his monstrous behavior, as not only does he kill Natalie (as he does in the novella), but he also strangles and kills Cal multiple times. This ends up creating another change from Stephen King and Joe Hill’s novella, as it means that Cal never touches the rock – which further enhances Ross’ antagonist role.

In the original version of the story, it’s Cal and Tobin who end up feeding Becky her newborn baby (while also sharing in the meal themselves), but in the movie it’s Ross – who appears to Becky as Cal while she is in a hallucinatory state. Travis ends up killing Ross after Ross is blinded by Becky and she dies, and while Becky never touches the rock like her on-page counterpart, Travis does, and he ends up using the experience and the information he gains from it to save Becky and Cal by ostensibly sending Tobin back in time. It’s a wholly original ending.

With the changes that are made by Vincenzo Natali, there are some standout elements from “In The Tall Grass” that don’t get adapted at all. This includes a sequence where Cal tries and fails to light a fire; the dream with Becky escaping the grass and babysitting a young girl; Kansas locals moving the cars into the church parking lot; and the coda ending featuring a group of hippies getting lured into the grass during an impromptu picnic.

Is It Worthy Of The King?

Because it was released in between IT Chapter Two and Doctor Sleep, Vincenzo Natali’s In The Tall Grass isn’t remembered as the standout Stephen King adaptation of 2019, but it can be dubbed the most underrated. It gets a bit sloppy toward the end – with its vague introduction to the idea of “holes” in the grass, and the movie being broken up with a sequence with Becky, Cal, Travis and Cody arriving at an abandoned bowling alley – but it’s excellent and creepy as a claustrophobic cinematic experience.

While Children Of The Corn movies have failed to capture the eeriness of the titular crop, Natali and cinematographer Craig Wrobleski do a tremendous job trapping the audience in the tall grass and giving it powerful and foreboding presence. This is accomplished technically through the camera work and also the fantastic sound design that adds an extra dimension to the work and makes the environment all the more disorienting and haunting. Along with the terrific narrative tools that the writer/director uses to power the eponymous vegetation into a full nightmare, watching the movie will make anyone fear the wild grass they see along the sides of long stretches of highway.

In The Tall Grass isn’t an all-time great Stephen King movie, but it does stand among the best in recent years, and Vincenzo Natali’s treatment of the source material is particularly impressive. He has since added to the history of adaptations further by directing two episodes of The Stand streaming series (look for my column on January 4, 2023), but it would be easy to get excited about him directing movie or TV show based on a book from the canon.

How To Watch Vincenzo Natali’s In The Tall Grass

Like both Mike Flanagan’s Gerald’s Game and Zak Hilditch’s 1922, Vincenzo Natali’s In The Tall Grass was produced as a Netflix exclusive, and a Netflix exclusive it remains. Not only is the movie not available on any other streaming service, but it is not available for digital purchase at any online outlets. Furthermore, for those of you trying to build the Ultimate Stephen King Collection, it remains an irksome title, as it has not been given a release on physical media.

As noted all the way back at the start of this article, next week’s Adapting Stephen King will be doing a deep dive into the cinematic miracle best known as Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep – based on the novel of the same name. Look for the feature in the CinemaBlend Movies section on Wednesday, and between now and then you can discover all of my previous features by clicking through the banners below.

This past weekend co-writer/director Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall debuted at the box office. And depending on who you talk to, it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Playing out like a greatest hits collection from this master of disaster, it’s hard not to get what you’d expect out of this lunar adventure, which clocked in with a second place opening weekend. That’s not an insult in any sense though, as cast members Patrick Wilson and John Bradley agree that throwbacks such as this are still very important at the movies, thanks to that very specific set of thrills. 

Even Mr. Emmerich himself claims that his latest exercise in destruction is a cross between two of his previous films, which is one of the many facts we knew before going into Moonfall. Much like its direct competitor Jackass Forever, this movie was made with very specific audience members in mind, planning its thrills with a steady hand at work. Patrick Wilson discussed that very subject with me, as he was one of the cast members I was able to speak with during the film’s press day. Reflecting on the fun of making a Roland Emmerich movie, Wilson told CinemaBlend that the experience inspired him to think ahead to the fun it would inspire in theaters, even during uncertain times: 

Escapism has definitely ruled the box office, as seen most recently through Spider-Man: No Way Home’s previous domination of the theatrical landscape. This weekend saw two of this year’s new kids taking the top spots by storm, and Moonfall still brought out the fanbase of apocalypse enthusiasts to theaters all over. Acting as one of this year’s first over the top tentpoles, the Halle Berry led ensemble cast has planted a flag for sci-fi thrills and continued blockbuster entertainment. 

Of course, adventures that tear our planet a new one have always been a constant source of joy when heading to the movies. Long before Roland Emmerich was summoning alien invaders, climate change, and prophecies of gloom and doom to knock the Earth down a peg, plenty of genre movies laid the path that he would become so enamored with as a young man. Most notably, Irwin Allen spectacles like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno would pit all-star casts against life or death scenarios with a high amount of property damage. 

Watching that sort of destruction play out on a screen is practically built into the cinematic experience. It’s also a good way for audiences to be presented stories of people from all walks facing almost certain doom. That might be the most valuable piece of the Moonfall puzzle, or at least it’s what John Bradley seems to think, as he laid out why he feels this sort of excitement is still important to be enjoyed: 

Just as Irwin Allen’s works have clearly inspired Roland Emmerich, the Independence Day director has his fair share of imitators as well. Most recently, STX Films saw themselves score a hit of similar intent, thanks to the performance of the Gerard Butler disaster epic Greenland. Proving the market for boom and doom is still pretty lucrative, that film is already in the midst of bringing its rapidly developing sequel Migration to the masses. If the weeks to come are kind, maybe we’ll get to see more action on the horizon, especially since the Moonfall ending contains a pretty massive sequel hook.

You can't be in a bad mood when chunks of the Moon are raining down, taking out major landmarks at a steady clip. Provided, of course, you're safely on the side of the screen that doesn't involve fire and gravity waves. When the credits role, and the lights come up, the comfort of knowing you can still grab a coffee in stable gravity can do quite a bit for the soul if you let it.

If you’re ready to see Moonfall ruin the day of planet Earth, you can head to a theater near you to see the fun in conventional and premium format experiences. After the Moon has fallen, you can check out another one of the upcoming movies that are on the way to entice moviegoers back to their local multiplexes. And don’t forget to listen to the most recent episode of ReelBlend, where Roland Emmerich himself dished about Moonfall and beyond with our hosts. 

Nobody quite makes a modern disaster movie like Roland Emmerich, and the man is back once again in 2022 with Moonfall. The title ultimately says it all, the film is about the moon potentially falling and crashing into the earth, basically destroying all life on earth. So the stakes are pretty high. And since it's Roland Emmerich, you know the Moonfall ending is going to be a spectacle. 

I know what you’re thinking. The ending of Moonfall could not possibly be that complicated. Either the moon does, in fact, fall, or humanity triumphs and prevents the moon from falling. And yes, one of those two things does happen, but if you think that’s all that Moonfall has going on, forget it. It may only be February but Moonfall is likely one of the strangest 2022 movies you will see. Most critics seem to agree on that, and I promise you, going into it, you have no idea how this ends. 

Spoilers ahead! We're about to take a look at what happens at the end of Moonfall, so if you haven't seen the movie yet, consider yourself warned... 

How Moonfall Ends Is Completely Insane 

In Moonfall humanity discovers that the moon is falling out of orbit, and when they send some astronauts up to investigate what’s going on, they discover a strange, technological… thing is up inside the moon causing all this havoc. After every other contingency has failed, we end up with a crew of three left to try and save the world, disgraced astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), head of NASA and former shuttle navigator Jocinda Fowl (Halle Berry) and science enthusiast and “conspiracy nut who turned out to be right” KC Houseman (John Bradley). 

The plan is to go up and set off an EMP device and fry the alien thing, but the plan doesn’t work. Instead, the team of three end up entering the moon and discovers that the moon is actually not a planetary body at all, but is actually an artificial structure. The monstrous thing is trying to destroy the moon, and attempts to kill our heroes as well, but they get saved by the alien tech inside the moon.

When Brian Harper interfaces with the technology inside the moon he learns that it was constructed by humans billions of years ago. They were far more technologically advanced and constructed an artificial intelligence that has become self aware and is trying to destroy all of humanity to punish it for the enslavement it feels it was forced to endure.

The moon’s semi intelligent operating system downloads a bunch of information into Brian’s brain, so that he’ll know how to defeat the AI threat. However, when his fellow astronauts learn he plans to sacrifice himself to do it, Jocinda balks. As the two of them argue over whether or not Brian will sacrifice himself, Houseman jumps into the space capsule in order to do the deed. He believes Brian needs to live because of all the information now in Brian’s head about the precursor human civilization.

Houseman is successful in destroying the AI, which allows the moon to return to its normal orbit. The earth is more than a little worse for wear, having endured a great deal of destruction, but is still ultimately in one piece. In the final moments we see that Houseman’s consciousness has been made part of the moon’s operating system, so he’s still alive, after a fashion. And now it’s time to… go to work?

And The Moon Is Different Now? 

The last time we see the actual moon in Moonfall it looks… different. That’s perhaps not that surprising. Large chunks of the moon were pulled from it due to the gravitational pull of earth as the moon came closer and those pieces didn’t just return when the moon went home.

It appears that the entire outer shell of the moon, the part that we think of when we think of the moon, is gone now. What’s left is the mechanical portion that was previously hidden underneath the rock. The moon now looks less like a planetary body and more like the Death Star.

But what does this mean for earth? As Moonfall quite rightly establishes, everything from tidal forces to gravity itself are in part dependent on the moon. But the moon is now a different size and shape. It would seem that its mass is not the same that it once was. Technically, this should mean that life on earth has permanently changed, as any natural force that the moon influences will now act differently on the planet. 

Could We Get a Moonfall Sequel?

The final moments of Moonfall at least hint at the possibility of a sequel. Digital Houseman is speaking to the operating system of the moon, which has taken the visual form of his mother and she/it says that it is time for them to begin working on something. Houseman asks what is meant by that, but the movie cuts to credits before we get any sort of an answer.

It’s a simple enough tease. The sort of setup that at least leaves the door open to a potential sequel without leaving the movie on such a cliffhanger that it feels like such a thing is needed. If Moonfall does well with fans and the box office, perhaps we could see a follow up film. Although, in this case it will hopefully turn out better, and be released sooner, than Roland Emmerich’s last sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence which most didn’t feel was worth the wait.

And a sequel could go into literally any direction. Patrick Wilson’s character apparently has a brain full of knowledge about what humanity was in the distant past, any sort of story could be built by creating some details about that past civilization. It’s implied that early humans were entirely wiped out by the AI creature, but perhaps not. Or maybe there will be some other piece of ancient knowledge that turns out to be important.

The question is what sort of global destructive threat will end up being part of a sequel. There has to be something, but the moon has already fallen, or nearly fallen and so you can’t do that again. How exactly will Moonfall ever top “the moon is actually an alien artifact created by technologically advanced humans and also it has an intelligence of its own because it’s basically a big computer powered by a star?” 

If we do see a sequel hopefully the impressive Moonfall cast will return for whatever new adventure is in store. 

Roland Emmerich has made more end-of-the-world disaster movies than just about anyone else in Hollywood. And while not every single one of his disaster flicks have been well-received by critics and/or audiences, many have two things in common: they feature insane action set pieces and focus on multiple groups of characters dealing with a bevy of problems as the world is coming to an end around them. We’ve seen it in Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012, and now once again with the  spectacle that is Moonfall.

If you have just watched (or plan on watching) Roland Emmerich’s latest adventure, there’s a good chance you are wondering exactly where you’ve seen the Moonfall cast over the years. Well, worry no more because we’re about to break down all the biggest stars of the sci-fi thriller.

Halle Berry (Jocinda ‘Jo’ Fowler)

Leading the Moonfall cast is Halle Berry, who plays NASA executive and former astronaut Jocinda “Jo” Fowler as she suits up once again to save Earth from a mysterious force that has knocked the moon off its orbit and onto a collision course with the planet that will end life as we know it.

There have been a lot of great Halle Berry movies over the years, including Monster’s Ball (which earned her an Academy Award), John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, and Bruised, a film she not only starred in but also produced and directed. Berry also has some impressive work on the small screen, including The Extant and her Golden Globe-winning performance in the 1999 TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.

Patrick Wilson (Brian Harper)

Patrick Wilson appears on the Moonfall cast as former NASA astronaut Brian Harper, one of the view people on the planet that believes that not only is the moon crashing into the planet but that there is a darker force behind it all.

Over the years, Patrick Wilson has done everything from appear in Broadway musicals like The Full Monty and Oklahoma!, give commanding performances in TV series like Angels in America and Fargo, and show up in movies like Aquaman (and its upcoming sequel), Watchmen, and most notably the Conjuring franchise, in which he portrays paranormal investigator Ed Warren. Wilson also previously worked with director Roland Emmerich in the 2019 military action film Midway.

John Bradley (K. C. Houseman)

Taking on the role of the conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman who first alerts the world to the possible end-of-the-world event in Moonfall is John Bradley, who will seem awfully familiar to those longtime fans of Game of Thrones.

In addition to his career-defining portrayal of unlikely hero Samwell Tarly on the long-running HBO fantasy drama series, John Bradley has shown up on shows like Shameless, Borgia, Robot Chicken, and Urban Myths, as well as movies like Grimsby, Patient Zero, and Anna Karenina.

Michael Peña (Tom Lopez)

Michael Peña shows up in Moonfall as Tom Lopez, the husband of Brian Harper’s ex-wife and a wealthy car dealer, a role that was originally supposed to be played by Stanley Tucci, per Deadline.

When he’s not showing up and stealing scenes as Luis in the Ant-Man franchise, Michael Peña has made a name for himself in movies like Million Dollar Baby, American Hustle, Cesar Chavez, Crash, and dozens of other roles in drama, comedy, and beyond. Expect to see Peña (and hopefully his character’s hilarious explanations) in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Charlie Plummer (Sonny Harper)

Taking on the role of Sonny Harper, Brian Harper’s estranged son in Moonfall, Charlie Plummer, who has built up a healthy filmography over the course of the past decade.

With shows like Boardwalk Empire, Granite Flats, and Looking for Alaska under his belt, Charlie Plummer has been a fixture on the small screen for quite some time. His film work, which is equally impressive, includes All The Money in the World, Not Fade Away, and Dark Was the Night.

Kelly Yu (Michelle)

Kelly Yu appears on the Moonfall cast as Michelle, a college student who finds herself at the center of of the end-of-the-world drama.

The singer-turned-actress has landed roles in a number of different Chinese productions over the years, including So Young, The Ex-File 3: The Return of the Exes, and Back to Earth. She has also released a handful of albums, including the 2021 LP Intermezzo.

Donald Sutherland (Holdenfield)

Donald Sutherland shows up in Moonfall as Holdendfield, a shadowy figure at NASA, who seems to know the dark truths behind the space agency’s most monumental achievements.

A two-time Golden Globe winner (Citizen X, Path to War), Donald Sutherland is one of the most prolific working actors, having appeared in over 140 movies and 42 TV shows throughout his 60-year career. This includes The Dirty Dozen, Animal House, JFK, Cold Mountain, and The Hunger Games movies, to name just a very small portion of his work.

Eme Ikwuakor (Doug Davidson)

Taking on the role of Doug Davison, a military official and Jo Fowler’s ex in Moonfall, is Eme Ikwuakor, who has appeared in an equal number of comedies, dramas, and action movies and shows over the years.

Over on the TV side, Eme Ikwuakor has appeared on Marvel’s Inhumans, Extant, and On My Block, with one-off roles on Silicon Valley and The Comeback. His film work includes Concussion, Ink, and Everything Before Us. He will soon appear in the 2022 Netflix movie The Gray Man.

Carolina Bartczak (Brenda Lopez)

Taking on the role of Brian Harper’s ex-wife Brenda Lopez in Moonfall is Carolina Bartczak, who fans of the X-Men franchise will recognize as Magneto’s ill-fated wife Magda in X-Men: Apocalypse.

Throughout her career, Carolina Bartczak has also appeared in movies like An Audience of Chairs, Brick Mansions, and The Smurfs 2 as well as shows like The Bold Type, Mayday, and Covert Affairs.

This about wraps up the main Moonfall cast. Hopefully all of this saves you some time after you watch Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster artist. If you want to know what else you can expect to see at the theater, check out CinemaBlend’s schedule of all the 2022 new movie releases.

Compared to its DC Extended Universe predecessors, James Wan's Aquaman is a lot of fun. It's a blockbuster that is serious when it's wants to be, but it's also a comic book movie that features an octopus playing the drums. Its flexible tone is arguably a big part of what made it the biggest DC Comics adaptation ever made – so it should not be surprising in the slightest to learn that the upcoming sequel, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, is going to be leaning into that kind of delightfulness even more.

Patrick Wilson will be reprising his role as Orm, the titular hero's villainous half-brother, in the Aquaman follow-up, and he recently told ComicBook.com about what fans can expect from the film's tone. Echoing comments from co-star Jason Momoa, the actor explained that he had a "great time" making the film, and that audiences will see a greater emphasis on the lighter side of comic book movie making in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom. Said Wilson,

Continuing, Patrick Wilson noted that director James Wan created a kind of baseline tone in the making of the first Aquaman movie, and after getting a positive response to what he's doing he made the call to "push" things further with the sequel:

Patrick Wilson clearly loves working with James Wan, as Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom will be their sixth time collaborating as actor and director – and it sounds like the one coming up will be their most fun yet (though it's debatable how much that's saying given that four of those past films are nightmare-inducing chapters from the Conjuring and Insidious franchises).

The last time we saw Orm in Aquaman, he was being hauled away to be imprisoned for his violent ambition, and while we don't know exactly what he's been going through, the first look at the character in the upcoming movie lets us know with absolute certainty that he hasn't been given access to a shaving razor in the place where he's locked up.

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is one of five DC blockbusters that are set to be released in 2022, and it's set up as the grand finale for the end of the year. Following the premieres of The Batman, DC League of Super-Pets, Black Adam, and The Flash, the highly anticipated underwater sequel will be released on December 16.

To learn about all of the films currently developing from DC Comics, check out our Upcoming DC Movies guide, and the Aquaman 2 What We Know So Far feature will tell you everything you want to know about the film. Head over to our 2022 Movie Release Calendar to keep up to date about all of the features hitting theaters and streaming between now and the start of 2023.

After briefly appearing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and then working with his fellow superheroes to defeat Steppenwolf and his Parademon army in Justice League, Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry finally got the cinematic spotlight to himself in 2018’s Aquaman. Like the fictional Aquaman movie helmed by James Cameron in the Entourage universe, the real deal directed by James Wan was a smash hit at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing DC Comics movie with its $1.148 billion haul. So no one should be surprised that Warner Bros. and DC pulled the trigger on Aquaman 2, officially titled Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

With filming on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom finally beginning in June 2021 and concluding the following December, the sequel is arriving at the end of December 20239. While a handful of plot details have been shared with the public (many of which came from the first Aquaman 2 trailer), this space is reserved for discussing who’s making up The Lost Kingdom’s main cast. So let’s go over the familiar and new faces who will be along for the ride.

Jason Momoa

Although he came to Atlantis’ aid during Justice League, Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry didn’t want anything to do with the underwater civilization going into Aquaman, as he thought they’d executed his mother Atlanna for loving a human man and having a half-breed son. However, Arthur was forced to get involved in Atlantis’ affairs when his brother Orm declared war on the surface, putting him on a journey that led him to discovering that his mother was alive and ultimately becoming the new king of Atlantis. 

By the time Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom begins, while Arthur has a firmer grasp on how to be an effective ruler, it also looks like he's still going through some growing pains, particularly coming to terms with not everyone liking him. Either way, he’ll be kept busy with both the emergence of the sequel’s title location and the emergence of enemies both old and new. But hey, at least he has a new costume to wear and is a proud father (although I am worried about that kid's fate).

Amber Heard

Arthur Curry wouldn’t have come to Atlantis’ aid in Aquaman if it wasn’t for Amber Heard’s Mera, who debuted in Justice League and has the ability to manipulate water. The daughter of King Nereus, the ruler of Xebel, was betrothed to Orm Marius, but when she learned about his plans to destroy the surface world, she turned to Arthur to help her stop this scheme. 

During the course of their journey together, Arthur and Mera developed feelings for each other, and now Mera rules by his side as queen of Atlantis. They've also had a child by the time The Lost Kingdom begins. However, we won't be seeing as much of Heard's Mera in the sequel, though director James Wan says it was always the plan for her to have less screen time as a result of the next character on this list being given a bigger role.

Patrick Wilson

Having already worked with James Wan on two Conjuring movies and two Insidious movies, Patrick Wilson came aboard Aquaman to play its chief antagonist, Orm Marius, a.k.a. Ocean Master, Arthur Curry’s younger half-brother. Following the death of his father, Orvax, and with Arthur wanting nothing to do with Atlantis, Orm was crowned king of the underwater nation, but that wasn’t enough for him. Despising the surface world for polluting the oceans, he attempted to establish an alliance between the other underwater kingdoms so that they could eradicate humanity. 

Had Mera and Willem Dafoe’s Vulko not sought Arthur’s help, Orm might have succeeded, but in the end, he was vanquished. Arthur decided to spare Orm’s life, and during Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the two brothers will have to join forces in order to defeat a familiar big bad. Wan has described the sequel as a "bromance action-adventure movie."

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s David Kane was already on a bad path when we met him in Aquaman, as he was part of a group of pirates led by his father, Jesse Kane. However, with Arthur Curry foiling their hijacking of a submarine and indirectly causing Jesse’s death, David vowed revenge. Thanks to Orm (who hired the pirates for the hijacking), he was provided Atlantean technology to craft his first Black Manta suit, but that still wasn’t enough to for him to defeat Arthur. 

Fortunately, David was later rescued by Dr. Stephen Shin, and the mercenary agreed to show the marine biologist where Atlantis was located in exchange for his help in exacting vengeance on Arthur. As was long suspected, David will be The Lost Kingdom's main antagonist, and along with wearing a new Black Manta suit, he'll be armed with the powerful Black Trident. With his added firepower and minions, he'll attempt to exact vengeance on Arthur and unleash destruction across Atlantis.

Dolph Lundgren

Although King Nereus was Mera’s former betrothed in the main DC Comics continuity, he was reimagined as her father in the DC Extended Universe. Like his comic book counterpart though, Dolph Lundgren’s version of the character also rules Xebel, which enjoys a better relationship with Atlantis in this reality. In Aquaman, Nereus was tricked by Orm into joining his campaign against the surface world and even arranged Mera to marry Orm. 

But upon learning the truth of Orm’s machinations and witnessing Arthur Curry control an army of sea creatures, including The Trench, in the movie’s climactic conflict, Nereus' allegiances shifted. He is now a loyal follower of King Arthur, and with his daughter now queen, it’s hard to imagine him not still supporting them in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Nicole Kidman

Arthur Curry discovered during the events of Aquaman that his mother wasn’t murdered like he believed. When Nicole Kidman’s Atlanna returned to Atlantis following her time with Thomas Curry, she went through with her arranged marriage to Orvax, and together they had Orm. Years later, Orvax discovered she’d had an illegitimate child with a human and sentenced her to be sacrificed to The Trench. 

Atlanna avoided being torn apart by going through an underwater wormhole which took her to the Hidden Sea, but the downside was that she remained trapped in this other realm for decades. Luckily, upon being found by Arthur and Mera in the present day, she was finally able to escape imprisonment and reunite with Thomas. In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Atlanna will take over as Arthur's main advisor in place of Willem Dafoe's Vulko, who will not appear, as James Wan informed EW.

Temuera Morrison

Lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry, played by Temuera Morrison, saved Atlanna from perishing in a storm in 1985, and they quickly fell in love and had a son together. However, when Atlanna left her family behind to keep them safe from Atlantean forces, it broke Thomas’ heart, and he would go out every day to see if Atlanna returned. Thomas wasn’t involved with Aquaman’s main events beyond being caught in one of Orm’s attacks in the surface world, but he got a happy ending upon reuniting with Atlanna. 

I won’t lie though, I’m concerned about Thomas’ well being in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In the comics, Thomas died of a heart attack during a confrontation with Black Manta, and with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s version of the villain more desperate for revenge than ever, he could easily put Morrison’s Thomas in his crosshairs. This is strengthened by a moment in the Lost Kingdom trailer where Thomas looks badly injured.

Randall Park

Randall Park only had a minor role as Dr. Stephen Shin in Aquaman, mainly appearing on TV as a marine biologist fired from the United States Institute of Marine Science for his conspiracy theories about Atlantis. It wasn’t until the mid-credits scene that Shin became an important player in the wider Aquaman saga, as he rescued Black Manta after he was defeated by Aquaman. 

Realizing that Manta was using Atlantean technology, he asked the antagonist if he could lead him to Atlantis. David Kane agreed if Shin would help him find Aquaman. So expect Shin to play some kind of role in whatever sinister machinations Black Manta has planned, though if he’s like his comic book counterpart, he may eventually experience second thoughts.

Vincent Regan

Within the DCEU mythology, Atlan was the first king of Atlantis, and led his warriors in battle alongside humanity and the Amazons when Darkseid’s forces invaded Earth millennia ago. However, while running an experiment with his powerful trident, Atlan accidentally sunk Atlantis. Guilt-ridden over what happened, Atlan exiled himself to the Hidden Sea, and before he died, he decreed that only the person capable of properly wielding his trident could “unite all our kingdoms above and below.” 

Atlan was played by The Hobbit trilogy’s Graham McTavish in Aquaman, but Vincent Regan from Clash of the Titans is taking over the role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. While Atlan was resurrected as an icy monstrosity in the New 52 continuity, it looks like Regan’s Atlan appearing solely through flashbacks, just like McTavish’s version. His scenes will shed light on the "curse" that the Black Trident left upon Atlantis' seven kingdoms.

Indya Moore

So far only one new established DC Comics character has been confirmed for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and weirdly enough, it’s not someone closely tied to Aquaman’s corner of the DC universe. Oh sure, as a tiger shark mutated by nuclear waste, Karshon would be right as home in Arthur Curry’s rogues gallery, but this villain is traditionally seen fighting Green Lantern. Nevertheless, The Lost Kingdom is bringing Karshon into the fold, and they’ll be played by Pose’s Indya Moore. There still aren’t any details about what we can expect from this version of Karshon, though I suspect the nuclear waste aspect of the character won’t be depicted on film.

Jani Zhao

Usually in comic book movies, most of the starring characters are people who are from the comics, but there’s still some room for brand-new people. In the case of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Jani Zhao has been tapped to play someone named Stingray, and it’s unclear if this will be an ally or enemy to Arthur Curry. With a name like Stingray though, it’s probably safe to say this is someone from one of the Atlantean kingdoms rather than a surface dweller.

Pilou Asbæk

Before Jason Momoa’s fame skyrocketed from his time in the DCEU, he was arguably best known for playing Khal Drago in Game of Thrones. Well, another alum from the hit HBO series is taking part in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: Pilou Asbæk, who played Euron Grejoy. Unlike everyone else who’s previously been mentioned though, we don’t even know the name of Asbæk’s character in the Aquaman sequel, so it’s anyone’s guess for now how he fits into the picture.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to make a splash in theaters on December 20, and we here at CinemaBlend will keep you informed about more casting details as they come in. Don’t forget to also scan through our upcoming DC movies guide to learn what else this corner of the superhero movie market has on the way.

Every moviegoer (or, at least, ones who enjoy horror movies, I should say) has a great, lasting memory about seeing a creepy classic at the theater, and 2011’s Insidious is one such fun and frightening experience I will never forget. I would even call the story of a school teacher (Patrick Wilson) and his wife (Rose Byrne), taunted by relentless, malevolent spirits after their son (Ty Simpkins) mysteriously falls into a coma one of the best horror movies to ever come from director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell (the duo also behind the original Saw). 

Some of the Insidious cast would go on to become genre mainstays (if they were not already) and are confirmed to appear in the upcoming fifth installment of the franchise. We will name who as we dive “further” into their career highlights, starting with a bonafide “Scream King.”

Patrick Wilson (Josh Lambert)

Leading the Insidious cast would take Emmy-nominee Patrick Wilson (already acclaimed for the Oscar-nominated Little Children, for instance) to new heights, especially after reteaming with James Wan in 2013 for the first of several Conjuring movies as Ed Warren. That would lead to plenty more horror thrillers that range from grounded (such as the brutal 2015 western Bone Tomahawk) to crazy (like Netflix’s In the Tall Grass in 2019). 

Wilson will branch out into cosmic horror in 2022 with Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall, reunite with Wan again for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (his third DC movie after the 2018 original and 2009’s Watchmen), and will make his directorial debut with Insidious 5, in which he will also reprise Josh Lambert.

Rose Byrne (Renai Lambert)

Another superhero movies star from the Insidious cast is Patrick Wilson’s onscreen wife Rose Byrne - not that Moira Mactaggert in the X-Men movies is the Aussie’s defining role. In fact, the two-time Emmy nominee (for FX’s Damages), who also had thrillers like 28 Weeks Later and a Star Wars installment under her belt previously, is capable of doing everything from comedy (2011’s Bridesmaids, both Neighbors movies with Seth Rogen, and plenty others), drama (FX miniseries Mrs. America as Gloria Steinem), and a mix of both (2018’s Instant Family and Physical on Apple TV+). 

She will continue expand on her talents by producing and acting in the musical-comedy Seriously Red and leading the tense fact-based drama They Are Us, but there is currently no word on if Byrne will appear in Insidious 5.

Lin Shaye (Elise Rainier) 

Confirmed for Insidious 5, unsurprisingly (despite her onscreen death at the end of the first movie), is Lin Shaye for her fifth time playing medium Elise Rainier - the role that propelled her to much deserved Scream Queen status at 68, after already appearing in classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Critters, and Snakes on a Plane (if you want to count that one). You might also recognize the star as Cameron Diaz’s mother in There’s Something About Mary or, more recently, from Penny Dreadful: City of Angels in 2020. 

Surprisingly, most of Shaye’s next projects (outside of Insidious 5 and Jackson Hole, which releases in December 2021) are not horror movies, including writer and director Sean Patrick Flanery’s crime drama Frank and Penelope and We are Gathered Here Today - a story inspired by Covid-19.

Barbara Hershey (Lorraine Lambert)

An Insidious cast member who previously dealt with an insidious spirit in 1982’s allegedly fact-based thriller, The Entity, before playing Josh Lambert’s mother, Lorraine, is Barbara Hershey, who is better known for lighter dramas like The Natural with Robert Redford or Hannah and Her Sisters. 

However, the Oscar nominee is not without her dark roles outside of the Insidious franchise, such as in Black Swan, in the Once Upon a Time cast, on the Omen sequel series Damien, and, more recently, the Amazon original haunted house flick Manor. The actress will next appear in the crime thriller Nine Bullets, which is currently in post-production.

Ty Simpkins (Dalton Lambert) 

Playing the young, unwitting astral projectionist Dalton Lambert marked the second time Ty Simpkins played Patrick Wilson’s son after Little Children. However, after starting out on soap operas such as One Life to Live when he was just an infant, it was Insidious that made him one of Hollywood’s most promising child stars, later appearing in Iron Man 3 in a role he would subtly reprise in Avengers: Endgame, as one of two brothers struggling to survive in Jurassic World, and in his recent return to horror with Where’s Rose in 2021. 

In addition to playing Dalton again in Insidious 5, the now 20-year-old will next appear in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, is filming the comedy The Re-Education of Molly Singer, and plays the title role in the dramedy, Growing Up Gorman, which also stars another frequent James Wan collaborator: Madison Wolfe of The Conjuring 2 and Malignant fame.

Andrew Astor (Foster Lambert) 

Before playing Dalton’s younger brother, Foster, in Insidious, Andrew Astor made his credited feature-film debuts part of the Hangover cast as Bradley Cooper’s son, following an impressive early career of guest spots on TV shows like Mad Men, Criminal Minds (as a young Spencer Reid in two episodes), ER, and How I Met Your Mother. 

The only other theatrically released movie the young actor has appeared in is Insidious: Chapter 2, reprising his role as Foster Lambert, but I would not count on seeing Foster Lambert in Insidious 5 as Astor’s main job these days is producing music. 

Angus Sampson (Tucker)

Australian actor Angus Sampson made his American movie debut in another cult horror flick (2003’s Darkness Falls) before playing Hot Pocket-munching paranormal investigator, Tucker, whom he has played in every Insidious movie, while also popping up in the likes of Mad Max: Fury Road as The Organic Mechanic or the Helen Mirren-led haunted house thriller Winchester in between. 

You may have seen him in a recurring role in the Fargo Season 2 cast, as a series regular on Hulu’s Shut Eye, in an episode of CBS’ The Stand remake, or in 2021’s Mortal Kombat remake as the voice of Goro most recently. Whether or not he will appear in Insidious 5 is up in the air for now, but you can see him next in co-writer and director Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, and CBS’s upcoming series adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer.

Leigh Whannell (Specs)

Tucker’s partner in ghost hunting, Specs, was played by fellow Aussie Leigh Whannell, who also wrote Insidious and its three sequels (making his directorial debut with Insidious: Chapter 3), after he and director James Wan broke into the mainstream with Saw, which he also acted in. Despite starting off in the business as an actor (such as on Australian soap opera Neighbours and The Matrix Reloaded as Axel), and also appearing in recent films like Aquaman as a favor to his buddy Wan, Whannell is better known from behind the camera, having later written and directed Blumhouse’s brilliant remake of The Invisible Man in 2020. 

He has two more remakes currently in the works (Wolfman with Ryan Gosling and an update of John Carpenter’s 1981 cult classic Escape from New York) and is working on a TV series adaptation of his 2018 sci-fi gem, Upgrade.

Joseph Bishara (Lipstick-Face Demon) 

Leigh Whannell was not the only one pulling double duty on camera and behind the scenes for Insidious as the film’s composer, Joseph Bishara, also made his acting debut as the Lipstick-Face Demon - the terrifying main antagonist with a strong resemblance to Star Wars’ Darth Maul. The musician has since become, essentially, the John Williams to James Wan’s Steven Spielberg, as well as the Doug Jones to his Guillermo del Toro, collaborating with Wan on many film scores (such as most of The Conjuring movies, Malignant, and the trench sequence from Aquaman), and playing heavily-made-up evil entities for him (such as The Conjuring’s Bathsheba or as the demon possessing the titular doll in Annabelle). 

He most recently did both for 2020 horror flick Dreamkatcher, composed the score for an upcoming thriller called The Free Fall, and I hope he returns in either capacity for Insidious 5.

Philip Friedman (Old Woman) 

Another creepy, spiritual threat in Insidious who is especially possessive of Josh Lambert is the Old Woman, who was revealed to be the ghost of a cross-dressing serial killer (a la Ed Gein) in Insidious: Chapter 2. The ominously silent character was played originally by Phillip Friedman, whose earlier and most notable roles include “Customer” on a 2000 episode of 7th Heaven, “Older Doctor” on the short-lived ABC drama Eli Stone, and Sonny Klankman on Nickelodeon’s True Jackson V.P. with Keke Palmer. 

Friedman most recently appeared in another horror movie called The Lady of the Dead (not as the title character, to be clear) and, as much as I would love to see him return for Insidious 5, his character’s later recasting and conclusive arc in Chapter 2 makes that reprisal unlikely.

Speaking of which, I would actually consider Insidious to be a bit of an unlikely success, being a horror film based on a completely original (and quite inventive) idea and making almost 100 times its budget worldwide. It is also usually unlikely for me to anticipate the fifth installment of any series, but with Patrick Wilson taking over one of the most popular horror movie franchises, I have never been more amused by the idea of returning to the Further.

Some of the best horror movies to me have always been the supernatural kind, the ones that get under your skin and create crazy, unexplainable moments that will have anyone jumping in fear. One of the films that has best defined that is The Conjuring, a supernatural horror movie that came out in 2013. 

While The Conjuring spawned a whole entire The Conjuring universe, the first film, to me, will always be the best, with some of the best cast. But now, eight years after the original film released, where is The Conjuring cast, including Vera Farmiga? Look no further, because we have the answers you’ve been looking for right here. 

Vera Farmiga (Lorraine Warren) 

Playing the real-life Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring can be a heavy cross to bear with how much she did for the supernatural community, but Vera Farmiga rocked the role and created a memorable horror character that stands out to this day. Since The Conjuring, Farmiga has been active in Hollywood pretty consistently. 

For film, she reprised the role of Lorraine Warren several times in The Conjuring universe, including the latest, The Devil Made Me Do It. But, other than her adventures into horror, Vera Farmiga has appeared in the monster movie, Godzilla: King of Monsters, The Judge, The Front Runner, and the HBO Max film, The Many Saints of Newark. 

With TV, Farmiga received acclaim for her role as Norma Bates, the mother of Norman Bates, in Bates Hotel. She also portrayed a lawyer in the Netflix miniseries, When They See Us, earning her further acclaim, and appeared in a guest role in Halston. Coming up, she will appear in the Disney+ original series, Hawkeye, and has a role in the upcoming miniseries called Five Days at Memorial, so keep an eye out for this talented actress. 

Patrick Wilson (Ed Warren) 

The husband of Lorraine Warren, Ed Warren was just as important to the story as she was in The Conjuring, and Patrick Wilson portrayed the second half of the famous supernatural team. Since The Conjuring, Patrick Wilson has appeared in both TV and film. 

Wilson returned to horror after The Conjuring, appearing in the Insidious franchise (also directed by James Wan). But, besides scary movies, Wilson also appeared in Stretch, Zipper, Bone Tomahawk, The Founder, the DCU movie, Aquaman, the Netflix original film, In The Tall Grass, the war film, Midway, and many others. 

Patrick Wilson has also made strides in TV, appearing in the HBO series Girls in a guest role, and played the part of Lou Solverson in Fargo. In the next couple of years, he will again be reprising his role in Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom, and appear in a film called Moonfall. 

Lili Taylor (Carolyn Perron)

The matriarch of the Perron family, Carolyn Perron had to put up with a lot of crap in that house to try and keep her family alive, and I have to give her credit where credit is due. Carolyn was played by Lili Taylor in The Conjuring, and she's kept active in both TV and film since her role. 

Taylor had a role in the Dylan O’Brien-led movie, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, Leatherface, Eli, The Evening Hour and many others, but television is really where she shined. Lili Taylor had a major role in the horror series, Hemlock Grove, Almost Human, and had a starring role in the anthology series, American Crime. She also appeared in Chambers and Perry Mason in 2020.

Ron Livingston (Roger Perron) 

Roger Perron was the patriarch of the family, and was the aid to Carolyn in keeping their family alive despite the terrifying haunting that was happening. Ron Livingston has had plenty of success after his role in The Conjuring. 

Livingston has appeared in several films, including Parkland, the comedy, Vacation, Digging for Fire, the sci-fi film, The 5th Wave, The Professor and more. Television has also been huge for him, appearing in a big role in the HBO original show, Boardwalk Empire, as well as Search Party, he holds a lead role in Loudermilk currently, and a recurring role in A Million Little Things. He also had a supporting role in Holly Slept Over. 

Ron Livingston is also going to be entering the DC universe soon, portraying Henry Allen in the upcoming The Flash, so be sure to check that out when it releases in 2022. 

Shanley Caswell (Andrea Perron)

One of the many children in the Perron family, Shanley Caswell was one of the eldest, played by Andrea Perron. Caswell has had some success in film, with a couple of short movies released as well as a role in the horror movie, Haunting of Fraternity Row. However, television is really where she showed off her skills. 

Her biggest role thus far was a recurring stint on NCIS: New Orleans, starting in 2014, one that she kept for several years. She’s also appeared in shows like Vegas, The Night Shift, The Resident, and others. Currently, she’s part of the main cast of Power Book III: Raising Kanan. 

Hayley McFarland (Nancy Perron)

Another one of the children, Hayley McFarland played Nancy Perron, and has had major success in television since her role in The Conjuring. 

She’s appeared in the film Agnes, but had a guest part in Mad Men, a recurring role in the FX drama, Sons of Anarchy, and a guest stint on the medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy. Soon, she’s going to appear in a new film called Out of Exile as Dawn Russell, so hopefully it won’t be long before you get to see her up on movie screens again. 

Joey King (Christine Perron)

Third child is up for the Perron family, this time being Christine Perron, played by Joey King. Arguably, Joey King has had the most success out of all her sisters in the Perron family in The Conjuring, appearing in not only several TV shows but movies as well. 

With television, King appeared in shows like Fargo and The Haunting House: The Series, and even had guest appearances on shows like The Simpsons and Nailed It!, but her biggest television role was playing Gypsy Blanchard in the Hulu original series, The Act, a role she received critical acclaim for. 

King has also appeared in a variety of films, including, but not limited to, the stop-motion film, The Boxcar Children, the sci-fi film, Independence Day: Resurgence, and the action film, White House Down. She also made a return to horror with The Slender Man. However, King’s biggest role in film has been playing Elle Evans in the The Kissing Booth series, most recently as part of The Kissing Booth 3 cast. Soon, she’ll be in Bullet Train, alongside Brad Pitt, in 2022, so it won’t be long before she’s on movie screens again. 

Mackenzie Foy (Cindy Perron)

Next up we have Mackenzie Foy, who played Cindy Perron in The Conjuring. Foy has appeared in a couple of parts on television, in two made for TV movies called The Cookie Mobster and Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise, but has mainly stuck to the big screen. 

Foy had a role in the Matthew McConaughey movie, Interstellar, a voice role in The Little Prince, had the starring role in the fantasy film, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, appeared in the Disney+ original film, Black Beauty, and many others. I’m sure with how talented this young actress is, we’ll be seeing her again real soon. 

Kyla Deaver (April Perron)

The last of the Perron children, Kyla Deaver played April Perron, and has had a nice career in television since her role in The Conjuring. She appeared in Drop Dead Diva, Masters of Sex, and a couple of other shows. 

Deaver has popped up in movies, as well, appearing in Before I Wake, Tell Me Your Name, and a couple of others. 

Shannon Kook (Drew Thomas)

Drew Thomas is another character that regularly makes appearances in The Conjuring universe, played by the talented Shannon Kook. 

Kook has had success in film since his first appearance in The Conjuring, having roles in The Dependables, Dark Places, Goliath, and a couple of others, but he’s really shined in a few of his television roles. Kook had a recurring role in the series, Carmilla, appeared in Shadowhunters, and portrayed Jordan Green on the CW show The 100 for two seasons. 

In 2021, he’s appeared in Nancy Drew, portraying Grant for a few episodes, and reprised his role from The Conjuring again (after The Conjuring 2), in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, so I have a feeling this won’t be the last we see of Shannon Kook any time soon. 

John Brotherton (Brad Hamilton)

Playing Brad Hamilton in The Conjuring, John Brotherton has appeared in a variety of film and television shows. For movies, he had a minor appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy, and had a role in the movie, Precious Cargo. 

With television, he’s had plenty of guest appearances, including sitcoms like 2 Broke Girls and Modern Family, and even an appearance on the Hulu original show, American Horror Stories. He also had a recurring role as Matt Harmon in the Netflix original series, Fuller House, a spinoff of the comedy, Full House. 

Sterling Jerins (Judy Warren)

Lastly, we take a look at Judy Warren, the daughter of the Warrens, played by Sterling Jerins, who has had a successful career post The Conjuring. Like her onscreen parents, Sterling Jerins has appeared in several of The Conjuring films after the original, but has also had roles in movies like the zombie film, World War Z, No Escape, and more. 

In terms of television, Jerins also had a main role in the HBO series, Divorce, alongside Sarah Jessica Parker. She also had a recurring role in the series Deception, and in the drama series, Almost Family. Keep an eye out for this teen actor, because I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of her in the future. 

Just talking about The Conjuring has me excited for all the upcoming horror movies that are coming our way. I’m eager for some scares and for popcorn to go flying - just as it made mine go flying back in 2013 when the movie first came out.

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The DC Extended Universe most recently expanded thanks to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, but there are a number of highly anticipated projects currently coming down the line. Chief among them is James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is currently in production. And Oceanmaster actor Patrick Wilson is rocking a wild new beard for the DC sequel.

Patrick Wilson’s Orm was the primary antagonist of the original Aquaman movie, and he was defeated but kept alive after the final battle. Wilson is one of the actors expected to reprise their roles in The Lost Kingdom, and Oceanmaster is looking a bit worse for the wear. Check out a set photo of the actor alongside James Wan below.

Is this Aquaman 2 or Castaway? Patrick Wilson is looking ripped for his return to the DCEU, but it looks like his signature villain might not be doing so well. And this long beard might indicate that we’ll be dealing with a time jump for the upcoming blockbuster.

The above image comes to us from filmmaker James Wan’s personal Instagram account. In it we see Wan alongside Patrick Wilson, while filming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The set is (unsurprisingly) a beach, although it still looks like Orm could use a shower. We’ll just have to wait and see how the antagonist factors into the sequel’s plot.

The DCEU has found its streaming home on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Wild beard side, Patrick Wilson does look pretty fit in this set photo from James Wan. The Conjuring actor has been sharing footage of himself working out for months, and it seems to have certainly paid off. But he isn’t the only one; Amber Heard and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have also been open about their respective fitness journeys. If I was sharing the screen with Jason Momoa in Aquaman 2 I’d certainly do the same.

The plot of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is currently a complete mystery, with James Wan and company keeping the movie’s secrets in the midst of principal photography. But seeing new looks from both Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson seem to hint at a much different story. Luckily Wan is back at the helm, and has teased that history will dive deeper (lol) into his underwater pocket of the DC Extended Universe.

The DC Extended Universe has largely been staying away from crossover moments, allowing filmmakers to craft their own capsulated stories. But it should be interesting to see if Warner Bros. goes back to serialized storytelling. Patrick Wilson’s Oceanmaster was part of Zack Snyder’s five-film vision for the DCEU, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem like a Justice League sequel is coming anytime soon. Regardless, Jason Momoa’s time as Aquaman seems limitless, especially given how successful the first movie was.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is currently expected to arrive in theaters on December 16th, 2022. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

While there probably isn’t a soul who is tired of seeing Jason Momoa shirtless for Aquaman 2 (or for literally any reason, ever), his on-screen half brother Patrick Wilson has now joined in on the shirtless fun while filming the sequel to the DC film. Wilson has shared a workout photo in the midst of filming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom that’s giving us a whole new outlook on how he defeated all those demons as Ed Warren in The Conjuring franchise.

Who knew a simple run could cause so much sexual frustration? Whether he meant to or not, that’s exactly what happened when Patrick Wilson posted a shirtless workout photo to his Instagram. The mid-run photo is basically a thirst trap for fans, as they have gone a little buck wild in the comments. You can check out the post for yourself below:

Well, Patrick Wilson is absolutely ripped - who would have thought? It definitely makes sense that his Aquaman 2 character King Orm would have some seriously chiseled abs and leg muscles, but I don’t think fans were ready to see Wilson as such a hard body.

The comment section of Patrick Wilson’s post are full of fire emojis and all-caps exclamations. A number of fans are referencing his past horror work on The Conjuring franchise, saying there’s no wonder his character Ed Warren was more than capable at defeating some serious evils. James Wan, who works on Aquaman 2 and has posted his own content with Wilson, is in the comment section saying it may be time for Wilson’s King Orm to don some sneakers and walk the surface world.

Fans are definitely used to seeing Aquaman star Jason Momoa shirtless, but this is a very different type of content that fans are used to from Patrick Wilson. While he has posted some seriously sweaty workout photos before, he hasn’t posted a shirtless one before and fans couldn’t make out any of the incredibly solid muscles they can in his newest photo. Wilson’s mid run photo screams power worthy of a king, and is definitely getting fans hyped for his return in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Patrick Wilson recently starred in The Conjuring 3, where he donned his typical ‘70s and ‘80s sweater vest and suit. He’ll be putting on a space suit for his most upcoming film Moonfall, though, opposite Halle Berry that has finished filming and is set to release February 2022 of next year. Clearly the current filming of Aquaman 2 has Wilson changing direction once more as he returns to the sea, fully ripped and shirtless. We’ll be able to see the product of his hard work on the DC film next year, when it releases next December.

In 1969, NASA accomplished what seemed to be impossible: they landed humanity on the Moon. It’s been some time since we’ve been back, but thanks to director Roland Emmerich, “in 2022, the moon will come to us.” Though as we see in the first teaser for the Independence Day director’s latest film, Moonfall, it won’t be coming in peace. And all that stands between Earth and mysterious destruction is Academy Award winner Halle Berry.

Moonfall starts out by invoking President John F. Kennedy’s iconic pledge to visit that celestial body, from his “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort.” But the visuals soon shift to exactly what you’d expect from a Roland Emmerich movie, in this trailer released by Lionsgate. Concerned control rooms, a raging ecosystem, and a very shocked Michael Peña all play out the drama that comes from a movie from a man that helped reintroduce the world to a full and proper invasion.

And it definitely looks like an invasion is afoot in Moonfall. The central plot revolves around Halle Berry’s “NASA executive and former astronaut” Jo Fowler, who discovers the fact that something’s knocked the Moon out of its normal orbit and into a collision course with Earth. Some think it’s a conspiracy, but the evidence starts to mount, as an unexpected lifeform looks like it’s behind our planet’s worst day since Independence Day: Resurgence.

Which is an odd enough comparison when you take a look at both Roland Emmerich’s legacy-quel and Moonfall’s teaser trailer. The latter includes a stoic presidential speech as background to unidentified life forms potentially taking over the likes of Midway’s Patrick Wilson, not to mention the ensuing environmental madness that comes from the Moon heading towards us like a planetary cue ball. With that approach in mind, take a look at the teaser for 2016’s Independence Day: Resurgence:

This isn’t a knock on Roland Emmerich, but rather a note that the man has a particular style. It’s that style that Moonfall is clearly operating within the parameters of, and to be honest, it’s kind of comforting. Every now and then, the Earth needs to be knocked down a peg in a movie such as this, so that Halle Berry can stand up, glare at the Moon in the most heroic way possible, and help save humanity. It’s a concept that’s arriving at the right time, both in terms of the box office calendar, as well as the recent wave of blockbuster action that Berry has been riding.

Good, old fashioned, world destroying fun is headed our way once again, and in only a couple of months, as Moonfall comes to our planet on February 4th, 2022. So it’s not too early to check out that 2022 release schedule, just in case the Moon starts to look a little funny in the days to come. You never really do know what’s out there in the vastness of space.

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After a year of delays, the film industry has seemingly bounced back-- and a number of highly anticipated blockbusters are currently in production. This includes James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will see the hulking actor Jason Momoa reprise his role as Arthur Curry. And another Aquaman 2 actor is getting ripped ahead of filming with the Game of Thrones icon: Patrick Wilson aka Ocean Master.

Patrick Wilson made his DCEU debut in the first Aquaman movie, playing Arthur Curry’s antagonist brother Orm. Rather than being killed off, Orm was taken in by Jason Momoa’s title character, opening the door for more appearances. Wilson has been getting jacked for his next DC appearance, check out the video proof below.

I don’t know about you, but it looks like Patrick Wilson is ready to kick ass and take names in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. It’s unclear how his signature villain will factor into the story, but the Watchmen actor is looking swole ahead of his return to Atlantis.

The above video comes to us from Patrick Wilson’s personal Instagram account. As the caption reveals, he’s been training for months to play Orm/Ocean Master. Considering the extensive wirework and action sequences he’s sure to engage in, this makes a great deal of sense.

DC fans can re-watch the original Aquaman on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Of course, Patrick Wilson isn’t the only Aquaman actor who is getting into tip top shape to film The Lost Kingdom. Amber Heard has been posting a ton of videos as she trained to play Mera once again. So while Jason Momoa might be the muscle of the operation, it’s clear that the entire cast is training hard for the DC sequel.

The contents of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom are a mystery, but filmmaker Jason Wan did plant a few narrative seeds at the end of the original movie. In addition to the return of Orm, the credits scene revealed that Black Manta was alive, and had a new ally in Randall Park’s Doctor Stephen Shin.

DC fans are thrilled that director Jason Wan is back behind the camera for Aquaman’s sequel. The horror legend used innovative technology to give the cast a weightless appearance for underwater scenes. And while the Trench spinoff has been scrapped, there’s no telling how he’ll expand that corner of the DCEU.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is currently expected to arrive in theaters on December 16th, 2022. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

After five years in the dark, Ed and Lorraine Warren are back on the big screen for another Conjuring movie, and a ton of horror fans have been tuning in. The latest installment in the Warner Bros universe James Wan began back in 2013 explores the true story of a 1981 exorcism and the first American murder trial to claim demonic possession as a defense. So what did the fans think of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It?

Before we get into the social media reactions of the people who have been watching it in theaters and on HBO Max across the past week, it should be noted that critics were mixed overall about The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg called the film a “middle-of-the-pack” entry into the horror franchise. Now let’s get into what fans are talking about the most regarding the new release.

Fans Were Caught Up In The Warren’s Love Story

For starters, it sounds like a ton of fans were just happy to be back in the world that started with The Conjuring’s Ed and Lorraine Warren. Despite the story itself not being as chilling as the first two movies directed by James Wan, people really held onto the relationship at the core of the franchise played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson:

The American paranormal investigators are based on a real couple, and they once again prove to be the strongest link through the Conjuring trilogy with The Devil Made Me Do It. In the movie, Ed and Lorraine share some adorable sequences together that showcase their love story, which even has some fans taking notes:

Watching the couple’s shared chemistry and shared love for one another really struck a chord with fans of the franchise. One fan even felt like the romance element of the movie overshadowed the horror of it all. It goes to show how important good casting is. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga really sell the Warren’s story with their performances, and no matter what, some fans are solely hooked as long as they are the stars:

Ok, ok… but what about the scares! Did audiences make it through it?

Conjuring 3 Just Wasn’t Scary Enough For Many Fans

The first two Conjuring films were always going to be a tough act to follow. Both films were incredibly scary and unforgettably so. When it came to The Devil Made Me Do It, fans of the franchise were disappointed by how tame it was when it came to the scare factor. Much of it acts as more of a mystery thriller than anything else, as the Warrens track down clues during the investigation into the haunted house.

You certainly won’t leave the film without being exposed to the demonic possession, satanic curses and creepy moments with the Warrens. Even so, quite a number of people cited being pretty unamused or not scared enough by the events that take place throughout the film:

To each their own obviously. What may scare me may not scare you, but as a whole, it seems pretty clear that in the scope of Conjuring movies, audiences have seen some more terrifying stuff:

The Conjuring 3 attempted to tackle something new with its vision, and it didn’t rub everyone the right way, but some fans were definitely still freaked out by the summer release.

Screams Were Still Had During The Devil Made Me Do It

Now either the people above were lying or there’s a huge split regarding Conjuring 3 being scary enough. Some fans started the movie at home and just couldn’t take the suspense. One fan admitted to turning it off out of fear about where it was going:

Hey, if it got you, good! That’s why we step into horror movies, isn’t it? Lots of other fans shared their real time reactions to the flick, one sharing all the screaming they went through because of it:

I know, talk about some whiplash over here from Conjuring fans, but it goes to show that even if it wasn’t scary enough, it still earned its stripes in the horror genre. It’s definitely a bit more muted and mysterious than the previous chapters, but it even kept some people up the night they watched it:

Hey, so if you haven’t seen it yet, this is your fair warning to maybe not press play too late in the evening. Perhaps bring a friend/date when you go out to see it or keep a comfy critter by your side.

The End Credit Footage Freaked Everyone Out

While the scariness of the movie overall is debatable, one element of The Conjuring 3 that was definitely terrifying was the end credits. When the credits roll after the actual movie, an audio recording from the true events the movie is based on is on full display. Audiences can hear people talking to a demon, demanding that it leave their young son alone. Fans are making sure people know about the chilling movie highlight:

During the recording, you can also hear the boy who was apparently under demonic possession laughing maniacally and talking in a creepy deep voice. We’re used to seeing exorcisms play out in movies, but an actual recording is super unsettling. As one fan said:

Those who were not exactly moved by the content of the movie were definitely shaking in their boots over the audio footage, and it redeemed the scare factor for them. An element such as this could be disappointing when you’re indifferent about the events of the film, but then the end credits freak you out the most. Perhaps they should have drew more from the events and/or hit us with that clip earlier:

Lots of discourse around The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It this past week! Where do you stand regarding the movie? Vote in our poll below and check out what other movies are next this summer with CinemaBlend’s 2021 movie release schedule.

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While the main draw of the movies in the Conjuring Universe may be the demon-centric scares, what makes the franchise exceptional is the presence of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. As Ed and Lorraine Warren, the two actors have spectacular chemistry – their characters’ work as paranormal investigators being a regular demonstration of love conquering evil – and that has been a key component to the series standing out during what has been a terrific era for the horror genre. They make it look effortless… and it turns out the reason for that is because it really is.

As featured in the video at the top of this article, I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga recently during the virtual press day for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. This now being the fourth time that they’ve played the Warrens on screen, I asked them about the conversations that they have about their characters’ relationships while preparing for filming, and the short answer is that they don’t really have any. As Farmiga explained,

Following up on Vera Farmiga’s comments, Patrick Wilson acknowledged that there is a special quality to the relationship between Ed and Lorraine Warren on screen in the Conjuring movies, and a lot of that comes from little moments and gestures shared between the two characters. Some of them come right from the script, and others come from ideas conceived on set, but Wilson says that they aren’t accidental:

Anyone who has seen a Conjuring movie can attest that Ed and Lorraine Warren have seen their relationship tested by evil and death, but, as Patrick Wilson continued to explain, their bond isn’t simply forged in crisis. There are more dimensions to it, and that’s something that is not only important to have in a romance at the heart of a horror movie, but any romance in any story. Said Wilson,

Fans of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga will be able to see the two stars back in action as Ed and Lorraine Warren, as Michael Chaves’ The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It will be arriving in theaters nationwide and streaming on HBO Max starting tomorrow, June 4. This time around the two protagonists won’t be creeping around another haunted house, but instead will be on an investigation, and it is arguably the darkest chapter in the franchise yet.

Horror fans, are you ready? The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the eighth installment in the Conjuring universe franchise and the third Conjuring movie, is almost here. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise their roles as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Based on the real-life trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes the Warrens beyond anything they’ve ever seen before, to mark the first time a murder suspect claims demonic possession as a defense. The supernatural flick was directed by Michael Chaves and the cast also features Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, Julian Hilliard, and John Noble.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It releases in theaters and simultaneously on HBO Max on June 4. We already saw critics’ reactions on social media, but now they’ve started releasing their official reviews, so let’s check them out.

Let’s start, as always, with the home team. CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg rated The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It three out of five stars, enjoying some aspects of the movie while not enjoying others. He praised the lead duo of Wilson and Farmiga, calling them “effortlessly charismatic” and “phenomenal,” and also applauded the truly scary aspects of the horror flick. But he argued that the problems with the film revolve around the unfocused plot. Eisenberg said:

Kate Erbland from IndieWire echoed Eisenberg’s praise of Wilson and Farmiga, noting that the duo’s dedication nearly makes up for the lack of human drama elsewhere. Erbland criticized the muddling and messy story, and though she did enjoy a few “smart” scares, she argued that the different locations and experiences in the movie are so obviously scary that they, in fact, become boring instead. She said:

Anna Bogutskaya of Little White Lies also enjoyed that The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It featured a lot of the lead duo portraying the Warrens, but she thought the actual horror aspect of the horror movie was lacking. Bogutskaya said that it’s hard to care much about the characters being affected by evil (unless it’s the Warrens) because we don’t get to know those characters enough. She said:

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter had a few more positive things to say about The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. He praised Farmiga and Wilson (definitely sensing a pattern), as well as Joseph Bishara’s score and Michael Burgess’ cinematography. But he, like other critics above, argued that the story became too messy and silly. He thought that the script failed to build the plot from a solid center, and it became too busy, with too many competing elements. Rooney said:

Deadline’s Pete Hammond enjoyed The Conjuring 3. He, like every aforementioned critic, praised the superb chemistry between Farmiga and Wilson, as well as O’Connor’s performance as Arne Johnson. He also commended the genuine horror that held his attention throughout the whole film. Hammond said:

Well, there you have it, folks. Critics are praising the lead couple of Farmiga and Wilson across the board, and I for one can't wait to see them in action. Will audiences enjoy their performances as much as these critics have? We only have a few more days until we find out, since The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It releases in theaters and on HBO Max this Friday, June 4.

In the meantime, plan the rest of your summer movie-going experiences with our summer release guide!

While there are presently more than a dozen upcoming Stephen King movie and television adaptations in the works, few (if any) are more anticipated than director Edgar Wright’s announced remake of The Running Man. As great as the 1987 version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is, it’s a film that deviates from the source material in some extreme ways, which makes the prospect of a more faithful big screen take potent with potential. Having only been announced a few weeks ago, it’s a project that is still very much in its early stages, but that fact certainly isn’t stopping my brain from spinning and imagining what it could be.

That being said, I figured I might have some speculation-driven fun thinking about the cast of the new movie – and just as I did for the upcoming remake of Firestarter with Zac Efron, I’ve challenged myself by only considering actors with past experience in Stephen King adaptations. The result is an ensemble that I definitely feel could do justice to The Running Man, so read on for my picks, and my arguments for why each of them should land their respective roles.

Jovan Adepo (The Stand) As Ben Richards

I previously wrote a feature detailing my argument as to why Ben Richards should be a Black character, so in an effort to not repeat myself I’ll just focus on why Jovan Adepo is the right pick to play the protagonist of The Running Man – a destitute and desperate citizen of a horrible future who agrees to be the contestant on a televised nationwide manhunt so that he can afford medicine for his wife and dying child. This is a role that requires an actor who exudes fortitude and resilience, and Adepo has proven consistently that he both has those qualities, and is one of the most talented up-and-coming stars in the industry. 

From his portrayal of Larry Underwood in the recent The Stand miniseries, to his remarkable turn as young Will Reeves a.k.a. Hooded Justice in HBO’s Watchmen, Adepo clearly has the skills to play a version of Richards who deeply contrasts with the Arnold Schwarzenegger version and deliver a dark and powerful performance as the hero.

Patrick Wilson (In The Tall Grass) as Dan Killian

Patrick Wilson is an impressive talent who has regularly proven that he can play heroes just as well as villains, but Vincenzo Natali’s In The Tall Grass definitely took advantage of his ability to do the latter, and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man would do well by casting him as Dan Killian to do the same. Killian is the head producer of the titular dystopian television program, and gives off classic smarmy executive vibes while also being charming enough to be persuasive. Wilson is a star who could easily take material like that and use it to run chills up and down the spines of audiences.

Jharrel Jerome (Mr. Mercedes) As Bradley Throckmorton

Bradley Throckmorton is one of the most important characters in Stephen King/Richard Bachman’s The Running Man. While Ben Richards has his own axe to grind, it’s Bradley who helps open the protagonist’s eyes to some big truths about the horrors of the world – specifically dealing with pollution in lower income urban neighborhoods and the bogus nose filters that offer zero protection. Thinking about this, I found myself reflecting on the dramatic scene in the second season of Mr. Mercedes when Jharrel Jerome’s Jerome Robinson talks about how life is wholly different while attending Harvard, and in doing so realized he would be a great choice as Ben’s vital resource who helps him better understand the realities of the world and figure out how to survive while on the run.

Jeremy Ray Taylor (IT/IT Chapter Two) As Elton Parrakis

When describing Elton Parrakis in The Running Man, Stephen King/Richard Bachman repeatedly remarks on his “baby face,” and while technically IT/IT Chapter Two star Jeremy Ray Taylor is too young for the part (in the book he’s a full grown adult who works in vending machine maintenance), he just fits the bill too well to not be the choice for this feature. Like Bradley, Elton is another resource that Ben goes to as he continues to evade his pursuers, but while he has great intentions, he also has some liabilities – the most significant being…

Adrienne Barbeau (Creepshow) As Virginia Parrakis

While Ben Richards has enough charm and perseverance to get help from people when he really needs it, some individuals are too wrapped up in the evil fictions spun by The Running Man television show to believe him, and they turn on him when they get the opportunity. Virginia Parrakis is one such individual, and also happens to be Elton’s mother, who lives with him in his house in Portland, Maine. Adrienne Barbeau, who memorably plays the grating Wilma “Billie” Northrup in “The Crate” segment of Creepshow, could do fantastic things with the part, and while she would perhaps be a touch too old to play Jeremy Ray Taylor’s mother, Virginia could easily be changed to be Elton’s grandmother.

Julianne Moore (Carrie/Lisey’s Story) As Amelia Williams

Following her turn as Margaret White in the 2013 remake of Carrie, Julianne Moore will soon be returning to the world of Stephen King adaptations playing the lead role in the Apple TV+ miniseries Lisey’s Story – but it would be amazing to see her add another title to that specific filmography by playing Amelia Williams in Edgar Wright’s The Running Man. Though she arrives late in the story, Amelia is a major player in the third act of the story, as she starts off as Ben Richard’s carjacking victim/hostage and slowly begins to trust him as threats begin to close in. It’s a fascinating character because you’re never quite sure what move she is going to make – be it to turn on Ben or help him – and Moore could do wonderful things with that kind of enigmatic personality.

Kiefer Sutherland (Stand By Me/A Creepshow Animated Special) as Evan McCone

Kiefer Sutherland has already played one of the best villains in a Stephen King adaptation, delivering a terrifying turn as Ace Merrill in the classic Stand By Me, and while he recently returned to the author’s material with a role in 2020’s A Creepshow Animated Special, The Running Man would be an opportunity to play another awesome antagonist. Evan McCone is the leader of a group known as the Hunters, who have a specific role to play on the eponymous reality program tracking down and eventually killing the contestants. It’s a character brimming with both authority and menace, and Sutherland’s presence and famously gritty voice could make him a sincerely scary individual.

With The Running Man remake still only in the early stages of development, it can’t be said for certain when we’ll start hearing about actors actually being cast in the film – but that news is being anticipated with bated breath. You can be sure that CinemaBlend will have all of the information about the movie as more updates are announced, so stay tuned!

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The DC Extended Universe is constantly growing, and there are a number of highly anticipated projects coming down the line. Fans are eager to dive back into the underwater Aquaman franchise, especially after the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. James Wan’s upcoming Aquaman sequel is coming, and actor Patrick Wilson recently shared a sweaty photo ahead of reuniting with Jason Momoa.

Patrick Wilson has had a long and successful film career, and he returned to the world of comic books as Aquaman’s villain Orm/Ocean Master. He’s expected to reprise his role in the mysterious sequel, and it looks like he’s been hitting the gym to get back into supervillain shape. You can check out the evidence for yourself below.

It’s a good thing that Aquaman 2 is set underwater, because it definitely looks like Patrick Wilson needs to cool off. And who can blame him? It’s not easy to have scenes opposite the hulking Jason Momoa-- especially if the Game of Thrones alum is shirtless.

The above image comes to us from the Instagram of actor Patrick Wilson. While the Watchmen actor isn’t actually shown in the post, we see the outline of his body in the form of sweat. Looks like Wilson will be coming back to the DC Extended Universe with a vengeance.

Aquaman is currently available on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Exactly what James Wan has in store for Aquaman 2 remains a mystery, but the acclaimed horror filmmaker clearly had plans for Patrick Wilson’s Ocean Master. Rather than killing off the villain, he was put into an underwater prison. So his return to the big screen was an inevitability.

While plans are moving forward for Aquaman 2, unfortunately the underwater world James Wan created did recently hit a set back. The spinoff The Trench has been scrapped by Warner Bros. alongside Ava DuVernay’s New Gods.

Aquaman 2 has already faced some drama, despite not even starting filming yet. A petition has circulated around the internet, calling for Amber Heard to be removed from her role as Mera. Regardless, there’s been no indication that this shake-up is actually happening. What’s more, Heard reprised her role for the limited reshoots of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

The next installment in the DCEU is The Suicide Squad on August 6th, arriving in both theaters and on HBO Max. Be sure to check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

It's a good time to be a horror fan. The past few years have been a renaissance for the genre, with plenty of new projects being met with critical and box office success. Many of these modern classics have come from Blumhouse, including Get Out, Happy Death Day, and the Insidious movies. The latter franchise get be getting a fifth movie, and the recently announced director will make fans very happy.

The Insidious franchise began back in 2010, and hasn't been far from theaters since. The original movies starred Patrick Wilson and Rose Bryne as Josh and Renai Lambert. Wilson will be back for Insidious 5, this time making his directorial debut behind the camera. Blumhouse announced this on social media, check i tout below.

I mean, how cool is that? Patrick Wilson is a horror legend in his own right thanks to his collaborations with James Wan in the Insidious and Conjuring franchises as well as Netflix's In The Tall Grass. And now his place in horror history will be further cemented as he helms Insidious 5 for Blumhouse. And he's probably going to scare us in the process.

The above announcement comes to us from Blumhouse's official Twitter account. Patrick Wilson seems like an awesome choice to helm Insidious 5, since he played the role Josh Lambert in the first two Insidious movies. And while he's had a break from the horror property, Wilson obviously understands James Wan's original vision better than nearly anyone.

Following the events of Insidious 2, James Wan stopped directing and the franchise shifted its focus on Lin Shaye's character Elise Rainier. There's no telling what Insidious 5 will be about just yet, but Patrick Wilson's involvement as a director is sure to build anticipation until more details about the developing project become public.

This news about Insidious 5 is just the latest exciting news to come from Blumhouse. The horror studio is currently in the midst of its Blumfest event, where plenty of exciting updates about future projects are coming. Insidious hasn't been in theaters since 2018's Insidious: The Last Key, so fans will likely be excited to dive back into The Further.

The original Insidious movie helped to cement James Wan as a true horror visionary. After kickstarting the Saw and Dead Silent franchises, the first Insidious movie came in theaters to absolutely terrify audiences. The story was eventually expanded in four sequels, and it'll be interesting to see how the lore continues to grow with the next movie

As for the future of Blumhouse, there are a variety of very exciting projects coming down the line. The Craft: Legacy was just released straight to homes, while Halloween Kills was delayed a full year. And with Insidious 5 coming down the line, the studio isn't slowing down. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Yesterday's DC Fandome event proved to be a real treat for DC fans, providing looks at exciting upcoming films like Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, The Flash, Shazam!: Fury Of The Gods and The Batman, but just because Aquaman 2 is the furthest DC feature out currently on the release schedule doesn't mean that it didn't have some cool knowledge to drop as well. Director James Wan and actor Patrick Wilson teamed up for an intimate discussion about their experiences making the first underwater adventure, and during the conversation essentially promised that the developing sequel will introduce audiences to whole new worlds.

Still being about a two-and-a-half years away from its release date, Wan and Wilson didn't have too much to say about the development of the follow-up, and in addition to officially confirming that Wilson's Orm will be back in the mix, they also revealed that Aquaman 2 will take characters to parts of the ocean that were left previously unexplored:

As established in the first Aquaman, there are seven underwater kingdoms (with Atlantis being one of them), and while the first adventure showed us a number of the different cultures – particularly through Orm's machinations to become Ocean Master – there is clearly a whole lot that we haven't seen yet. The enthusiasm that James Wan and Patrick Wilson share for that element of the sequel is certainly exciting.

We previously learned that David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who was a co-writer on the first Aquaman, is writing the script for Aquaman 2, and while nothing about the plot has been confirmed yet, we can draw some pretty solid conclusions simply based on where the last story left off. Specifically, Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry a.k.a. the titular hero is going to have to deal with all of the responsibilities that come with being the King of Atlantis, and simultaneously have to deal with the plot being developed by Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park) and Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) as they try to expose the secrets of the underwater kingdom to the world.

James Wan also spoke to the tone of Aquaman 2, and noted that there is going to be a bit of a deviation present in the sequel. While the previous movie was primarily an adventure movie in the vein of Romancing The Stone, the second chapter is going to be going to some darker places. Said the director,

While James Wan is clearly working to be purposefully vague here, it's hard to imagine that he's referencing anything other than the way that humanity treats the environment in our modern world, especially the ocean. These kinds of issues have been present in Aquaman comics for decades, regularly creating tension between the land and undersea worlds, and we got a bit of the rhetoric from the war-hungry Orm in the first movie, but it's exciting that we'll get to see that conflict potentially expand in the next one.

Given how far away its release date is, and the fact that there are a number of other massive DC projects on the way in the coming months and years, it may be a minute before we start to see the gears start to seriously turn for Aquaman 2, but you can be sure that we'll be keeping our ears to the ground for news and updates to share with all of you.

Series creator Damon Lindelof has made it clear how much HBO’s Watchmen draws from the original comic series, and it definitely shows, especially for fans who aren’t familiar with the source material. The TV show is obviously not the panel-specific adaptation that Zack Snyder's film was, but Watchmen movie star Patrick Wilson is actually loving the HBO series.

When a beloved comic book property gets several live-action adaptations, it’s hard not to start drawing comparisons about which one was better. However, it’s safe to say that Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen is a vastly different take that is getting more screen time to flesh out its connective tissue. Patrick Wilson, who played Nite-Owl in the 2009 movie, has no hard feelings or anything negative to say about the new HBO series. In fact, Wilson says he’s quite the fan.

Patrick Wilson is no stranger to comic books or their live-action adaptations, having also appeared in last year’s Aquaman as the villainous Orm. And like so many other fans, the actor is surely picking up on all the comic book references, especially from Episode 5, which heavily paralleled the comic book’s own reflective fifth installment. But, it turns out that’s not the only reason Wilson watches Watchmen.

The actor told Hollywood Reporter that he gets a kick out of seeing his former Fargo co-star Jean Smart in the role of Laurie, formerly played by Malin Åkerman, the love interest opposite Patrick Wilson’s Dan Dreiberg in the Watchmen movie. (Note that Smart's Laurie takes on the surname Blake, while the film kept the comic's Laurie Jupiter intact.) In Wilson's words:

Patrick Wilson, who can currently be seen in the upcoming film Midway, has had a long career making fan-friendly movies like Watchmen. It’s great that he has such fond memories of his days playing one of its iconic vigilantes, and that he can watch the show as a fan.

The actor isn’t the only one watching Watchmen, either. The HBO series is doing pretty well for itself in terms of Live+Same Day viewership, as well as in delayed viewing. The series is currently all the rage on HBO, especially when compared to the little-discussed His Dark Materials series, which debuted a couple of weeks ago.

Watchmen airs every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. If you’re still behind on fall TV, be sure to check out our complete guide to every new and returning show premiering through the end of the year and play catch-up before all the midseason finales.

While it’s been a few years since The Conjuring 2 came out, we actually saw Ed and Lorraine Warren on the big screen this summer in Annabelle Comes Home. The paranormal investigators played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga returned for the Conjuring Universe spinoff but many horror fans are still eager to see the duo back in a proper Conjuring movie. They’ll get their wish because The Conjuring 3 is on the way next year, and star Patrick Wilson teases, it will be a ‘different beast.’ The actor said:

Well folks, there are a couple of ways to take Patrick Wilson’s comments to The Hollywood Reporter, and both of them portend very cool and interesting things for The Conjuring 3. The threequel is now in post-production, and it sounds like Patrick Wilson had a really good time making it with Vera Farmiga and director Michael Chaves, who has taken over for James Wan. In addition to the new director, Patrick Wilson teased that the new movie has a very different feel.

What that means in practice, we’ll have to wait and see, but it seems that The Conjuring 3 will not simply be more of the same for this franchise. The Conjuring 3 is going to change things up in some way that results in it having a different feel to what came before. There may be certain perceptions of what a Conjuring movie is, but it seems this third film will be a very different beast, which is an exciting prospect.

Lest anyone worry that the franchise is departing from what worked so well in the first two entries, Patrick Wilson assured THR that The Conjuring 3 is still a Conjuring film. It will contain those obvious quintessential elements of Ed and Lorraine, but it will challenge the duo in new ways and take the series where it hasn’t gone before.

So what does a Conjuring movie that is a different beast look like? Well, Patrick Wilson, who is currently starring in Roland Emmerich’s Midway, seemingly offered up a not-so-subtle hint at the direction of The Conjuring 3 by saying that the pun is intended when talking about the movie as a ‘different beast.’ Although not definitive, that certainly sounds like werewolves (of a sort) will be a part of this third movie.

James Wan, who will remain on as a producer, addressed the possibility of werewolves in The Conjuring 3 years ago, and it seems like that idea could finally play out, even though the plot for the film has yet to be confirmed. The real Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated a man named Bill Ramsey, also known as The Southend Werewolf, so it seems likely Michael Chaves’ film will draw some from that case.

Combined with Vera Farmiga’s comments about how massive this movie will be, there’s a lot for horror fans to be excited about.

The Conjuring 3 opens in theaters on September 11, 2020. Check out our guide to see all of next year’s most anticipated horror movies.

Aquaman is the highest grossing movie that DC has ever seen, so it was far from a shock when a sequel was given the green light. Aquaman 2 may be on the way, but it's still a pretty long way off, so there's little we know about it beyond the fact that Aquaman will be in it. However, it looks like the first movie's main antagonist could be returning as well.

Aquaman saw Arthur Curry defeat his half-brother, Orm, also known as Ocean Master. However, while most comic book movie bad guys end up dead by the time the credits role, Orm was only taken prisoner by the new king. That means that actor Patrick Wilson has much greater odds than your average big bad of returning in the sequel, and it seems that could very well happen, as Wilson recently revealed he's been talking to Aquaman director James Wan about the sequel and Orm's place in it. According to Wilson...

Patrick Wilson may only be "slightly briefed" on what's going on with Aquaman 2, as he tells THR, but the fact that he's briefed at all is telling. If information related to the character of Orm is even being considered it means there's a pretty good chance Patrick Wilson will be back in Aquaman 2. He could return as the sequel's main villain or simply appear in a cameo, but one way or another, it sounds like he'll appear.

It shouldn't be too shocking that Patrick Wilson might find himself back in the Aquaman franchise. Wilson and director James Wan are frequent collaborators, having been involved in the Conjuring franchise before Aquaman. One wonders if Ocean Master would have survived the first Aquaman if he'd been played by anybody else. By keeping him alive, Wilson and Wan can work together on yet another movie.

For some reason I'm having flashbacks to something like Thor: The Dark World when I think about how Ocean Master could fit in a sequel. Perhaps Aquaman and Orm will find themselves in an uneasy partnership in the next movie. Some new threat comes along that Arthur Curry, having not lived below water, isn't equipped to deal with, but Orm has information or abilities that Aquaman needs to fight the threat.

Of course, it will be some time before we have any idea what we're going to get from Aquaman 2. The sequel is set for a December 2022 release date, so it's going to be three years before we actually see what James Wan comes up with, and there's plenty of time for that plan to go through a lot of changes.

Director Roland Emmerich’s Midway follows events from the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 through the pivotal Battle of Midway in 1942, which proved to be a turning point in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The film tells its story through the eyes of the leaders and soldiers involved. Playing those leaders and soldiers is an all-star cast that includes, among others, Dennis Quaid and Patrick Wilson, who faced some very specific challenges during filming. In an exclusive interview with CinemaBlend at the Midway junket, the pair of actors spoke about the most challenging scenes they had to film for the war epic. Take a look.

Dealing with other people is truly life’s greatest challenge and as Patrick Wilson and Dennis Quaid joked here, the most challenging scenes to film in Midway were the ones with Woody Harrelson in them. Three-time Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson plays Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in the film, and his co-stars ribbed about the difficulties working with him, including a hilarious remark by Patrick Wilson that Woody Harrelson “smells of something.”

It’s a not-so-subtle reference to Woody Harrelson’s well-documented affinity for marijuana, a recreational substance that he gave up for a time, but recently went back to after hanging out with Willie Nelson (yup, I imagine that would do it). It would seem that smell could provide a unique set of challenges for filming a movie with Woody Harrelson.

Patrick Wilson and Dennis Quaid clearly had a lot of fun together working on the movie that landed in first place at the box office over Veterans Day weekend. After addressing the primary challenge to filming Midway, they eventually addressed to some others scenes that proved difficult, specifically any shot where they had to react to visual effects that they hadn’t seen.

As Patrick Wilson, who plays Edwin Layton in Midway, explained, having to react to something that you haven’t seen is particularly challenging. It requires you to use your imagination to paint a picture of what you are looking at and craft your performance accordingly.

And in a war epic like this, the majority of the battles obviously had to be done using visual effects. That meant that Patrick Wilson and Dennis Quaid had to react to planes flying, things blowing up and battles unfolding, using only their imaginations. That’s an extra layer of difficulty than it would be if you had the thing you were reacting to actually unfolding right in front of you.

This answer shows that as an actor, you aren’t just adopting a generic emotion or reaction to look surprised, sad, elated or whatever. Patrick Wilson wants to know what his character is physically looking at, which is a real challenge. He notes that it’s helpful when there is some pre-vis that he can look at to show him what will literally be happening in the film to help him paint that picture and guide his performance.

Dennis Quaid, who portrays William ‘Bull’ Halsey, also mentioned the infamous tennis balls on sticks that we often hear about from actors who are filming movies that require a lot of VFX and green screen work. Those tennis balls may help with your eyeline, but as Dennis Quaid said, it’s difficult to create the necessary emotion in your head when that is your reference point.

This isn’t the first time we have heard about the difficulty of working on VFX heavy films where the actors spend a lot of time in front of a green screen. In this computer-generated age, this practice is increasingly common, requiring today’s actors, or at least those acting in VFX-heavy blockbusters, to adapt. It’s basically a necessary skill to have at this point, but that doesn’t make it easy.

Midway is now playing. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the movies heading to theaters this holiday season.

In 2018, James Wan’s Aquaman became a remarkably surprising smash hit. Nobody really knew what to expect from it given that it was following the disappointing release of Justice League, centered on a character who had never had his own live-action solo movie, and was facing stiff competition at the box office in the form of Mary Poppins Returns, Bumblebee, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. To everyone’s shock, however, the film not only became a billion dollar hit, but now stands as the biggest worldwide earner in the history of DC Comics adaptations.

Naturally, the excitement that the project generated immediately led Warner Bros. to solidify a future for the franchise, and within a few weeks of Aquaman’s release we learned about their plans to develop an Aquaman 2. But what will the project be about? Who will be making it? When will we actually get to see it? These are all major questions that we’re here to discuss. We’re going to break down all of the information that’s currently available about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and provide you with all of the most recent news that we’ve heard about the project. So, without further ado, let’s dive in!

What Is The Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Release Date?

It’s typical for Hollywood studios to try and produce sequels as quickly as they possibly can. After all, they don’t want to let the heat of a burgeoning franchise die down, and the more time that passes means there’s more opportunities for audiences to be distracted by other big properties. That being said, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – like a few other upcoming DC movies – is taking an extra minute to find its way to theaters and, according to Deadline, is currently scheduled to be released on December 20, 2023.

So, why is the Aquaman sequel coming out so long after its predecessor? For starters, producer Peter Safran has noted that the filmmakers behind the movie did not feel the need to rush the project and there were already a number of exciting films in the pipeline for the larger DC brand at the time. The release date actually jumped back and forth for a while, initially set for more than a year earlier before being moved to March 2023, followed by a delay to Christmas Day before it was pushed up just five days.  

Jason Momoa Reprises The Role Of Aquaman

After first winning a lot of people over with his charismatic turn as Arthur Curry in Justice League, Jason Momoa got to be the star of his own DC movie and is now returning to the title role for its sequel. He will also be joined by most of the original Aquaman cast, including Amber Heard as Mera (despite rumors of the contrary, as reported by EW), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David “Black Manta” Kane (which he confirmed to Uproxx), and Patrick Wilson, who previously hinted that Orm is not the “big bad” this time.

Returning members of the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom cast also include Dolph Lundgren (who confirmed his reprisal of King Nereus on Instagram) and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe as Vulko, who was listed among the cast in a report by Collider. That same Collider article confirmed Nicole Kidman and Temeura Morrison are also set to play Arthur Curry’s biological mother and father once again and we know from a different Collider piece that Marvel star Randall Park is coming back to play Atlantis-obsessed marine biologist, Dr. Stephen Shin, supposedly to team up with Black Manta as the last film’s post-credits scene teased.

Ben Affleck Joins The Aquaman 2 Cast As Batman

We can expect to see a number of new faces in the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom cast, including one who is not new to the DC Extended Universe canon, but is new to the individual Aquaman movies. Following his appearance alongside Michael Keaton in the same role in The Flash, Ben Affleck is coming back to play Batman for the sequel – which Momoa revealed in an Instagram post – and, supposedly, for the last time.

Among the newcomers to the DCEU also appearing in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Vincent Regan joined the cast as a younger version of the Atlantean king, Atlan, who was previously played by Graham McTavish. The THR same piece also reports that Indya Moore is starring as the shark-like DC villain, Karshon, and Jani Zhao is playing an original role known as Stingray. A different THR article mentions that Game of Thrones star Pilou Asbæk will also appear in an undisclosed role.

The Sequel Will Pair Aquaman With An Unlikely Ally

In 2021, Warner Bros. (via ScreenRant) released an official synopsis for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, hinting that the story would involve our title hero being forced to team up with someone you would not expect him to play nice with. As reported by Deadline, it was officially confirmed that Patrick Wilson’s Orm would be reluctantly joining forces with his half-brother to take on Black Manta when a first look at the sequel was revealed during CinemaCon 2023 in Las Vegas.

The footage also featured Amber Heard as Mera, whose level of involvement in the new film had been a subject of much speculation until then. The sneak peek did not offer enough detail to confirm how much of  the story focuses on her, but did depict her in some amusing action sequences.

James Wan Returns To Direct Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom

Aquaman marked director James Wan’s first foray into the comic book movie genre having launched his career with horror flicks like the first of the Saw movies, before developing the worlds of Insidious and The Conjuring. Of course, he would begin to switch gears into other genres  by helming one of the Fast and Furious movies (2015’s Furious 7), but also revisited his roots for 2021’s Giallo-inspired Malignant before he was confirmed to be returning to the world of Atlantis.

However, as we know from an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Wan would take inspiration from his favorite genre when helming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – specifically citing a campy, Italian sci-fi flick from 1965 called Planet of the Vampires as an influence. Making his Aquaman sequel somewhat horror-inspired sounds like a good consolation for his scrapped Trench spin-off idea.

David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick Pens The Script

On the writing front, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has the co-writer of the first film, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, holding the pen. According to an interview with Jason Momoa published in Esquire, the movie star was also heavily involved in developing the story of the sequel at the beginning.  

Johnson-McGoldrick has a bit of sequel experience on his resume already, having written Wrath Of The Titans, The Conjuring 2, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. It seems that Warner Bros. trusts him with the responsibility of structuring a proper follow-up to the biggest DC Comics adaptation ever.

Where Is The First Aquaman Movie Streaming?

With there still being plenty of time before Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters, it's understandable if you have a bit of trouble keeping your excitement for the sequel contained. That being said, one of the best ways to satisfy your craving for King Of Atlantis action on the big screen is by watching previous Aquaman and the other canonically related DC movies! 

The even better news: it's really easy to do that as all of the DC Extended Universe titles – including the first Aquaman solo film – are currently available to stream with an HBO Max subscription. You can always rent or purchase all of the titles digitally at all major outlets, or find them in Blu-ray or DVD form.

Stream Aquaman on HBO Max.
Rent/buy Aquaman on Amazon.
Buy Aquaman on Blu-ray Amazon.

We’ll keep updating this feature as we get closer and closer to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, so be sure to occasionally come back, and stay tuned for all of the latest updates about the production here on CinemaBlend!

Annabelle 3 is called Annabelle Comes Home, and the official trailer brings Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) back into the mix. The trailer is also a 2 minute, 24 second warning not to make friends.

Friends will go into the room in your home that you told them not to go in. They'll touch things they shouldn't touch. They'll free a creepy doll named Annabelle. And they'll let that doll become a beacon for other spirits. Those creepy spirit friends will crash at your house and torture you with jumpscares. Then your parents will have to jump in and save the day -- again. Behold the trailer:

Mckenna Grace! She is everywhere. Maybe that should be the next Conjuring movie -- The Warrens realizing that Mckenna Grace has been cloned and that's why she's in every movie and TV show these days.

Mckenna Grace plays 10-year-old Judy Warren in Annabelle Comes Home, the seventh movie in The Conjuring Universe. It's a sequel to the 2014 movie Annabelle, which was a spinoff from The Conjuring. This movie also follows the prequel Annabelle: Creation.

James Wan, who directed the first two Conjuring movies, produced Annabelle Comes Home. Because the Warrens are in this film and the doll returns to their home, Wan said the movie feels like a new Conjuring film.

Here's the synopsis from New Line Cinema:

In addition to McKenna Grace (Captain Marvel) as Judy -- who appears to have inherited her mother's gifts; Madison Iseman (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) stars as Judy's babysitter, Mary Ellen; and Katie Sarife (Supernatural) plays Judy's troubled friend Daniela. This appears to be Daniela's fault, since she touched everything in the artifact room and set this all in motion. Then again, you could also blame the Warrens for keeping all that dangerous supernatural stuff in their own home.

Gary Dauberman -- who wrote the previous Annabelle films, IT, and The Nun -- made his directorial debut with this movie.

The Conjuring Universe is pushing movies out as fast as the DCEU and MCU these days. Before we see Annabelle Comes Home this June, we have the sixth film in the Conjuring Universe -- The Curse of La Llorona. That one is only tangentially connected to the world, but it does have an Annabelle link.

After Annabelle 3, we have The Conjuring 3 coming out in September 2020. That is being directed by Michael Chaves, who also directed The Curse of La Llorona. Aquaman director James Wan is now too busy to direct Conjuring movies, but he's still a producer in this world. After Conjuring 3 comes out, we should get more updates on The Crooked Man, which should be next.

Annabelle Comes Home will open in theaters (and IMAX) on June 28, 2019, as one of the many films to look forward to in 2019.

Spoilers ahead for DC's underwater adventure.

DC's live-action universe has had a fascinating life in theaters, full of peaks and valleys. While hope seemed lost in the wake of Justice League, Warner Bros. had turned it around quickly, with a ton of exciting releases coming down the pipeline. James Wan's Aquaman proved how great the DCEU could be, providing the first critical hit since Wonder Woman. A spinoff and sequel are already being worked on, although we'll have to wait a number of years before the latter project arrives in theaters in December of 2022.

Aquaman 2 is expected to reunite the starring cast with director James Wan, and further expand the vast underwater world of the series. Patrick Wilson played the villainous King Orm/Ocean Master in the first film, and ended up making it through his quest alive. As such, he's expected to return in some capacity during the sequel, but Wilson doesn't think that he'll be the big bad of the developing project. As he recently explained,

While Orm and Arthur Curry have plenty of issues to work through in the Aquaman sequel, Patrick Wilson doesn't think he'll end up playing the film's primary antagonist. That being said, the Watchmen actor seems all too happy to dive back into the underwater world of Atlantis.

Patrick Wilson's comments to SyFy Wire shows how intimately the actor understands his character, and the Aquaman franchise in general. The familial issues and resentment between Orm and Arthur Curry motivated the villain's actions throughout the first film. But when Nicole Kidman's Queen Atlanna was revealed to be alive and well, it was enough to stop Orm's attack, and allow him to be taken into custody. This all but guaranteed we'll see him again, although Wilson doesn't think his character will be Aquaman's main villain in the sequel.

Of course, Aquaman's post-credits scene seemingly set up the narrative of the next film. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Black Manta was shown alive from his conflict with Mera and Arthur Curry, after being rescued by Randall Park's Dr. Stephen Shin. Shin wants to prove that Atlantis is real, while Black Manta simply wants another crack at Aquaman. It's likely this duo who will be the hero's main adversaries in the developing sequel.

Aquaman 2 is currently set to arrive in theaters on December 16th, 2022. The spinoff The Trench is expected to arrive sooner. Be sure to check CinemaBlend's 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Warning! The following contains spoilers for Aquaman. Read at your own risk!

Aquaman has seen great success in theaters, and with the news that Warner Bros. was already looking ahead to future films before its premiere, a sequel seems all but certain. With that said, here are some directions DC took Aquaman in the comics throughout the decades that I'd love to see brought to life -- or at least played with -- if Aquaman 2 goes into production.

Orm And Arthur Could Reconcile

Orm and Arthur's feud was mainly rooted in the death of their mother, who Orm later learned was still alive. The brothers still had their other differences, of course, but with Atlanna alive and Arthur sparing Orm's life, it's possible that Ocean Master could mellow out a bit in prison. After all, the two weren't always on bad terms in the comics, and there were even times Arthur deferred rule of Atlantis to him.

We're not sure DC will take things that far with the two's relationship in Aquaman 2, but it does feel as though the ending of Aquaman did allow for Orm to find redemption. Orm definitely knows more about Atlantis than Arthur, and while his actions were extreme, his thoughts on the surface dwellers' abuse of Atlantean seas weren't hard to rally behind. If he could be less radicalized, Orm could be a great asset to Arthur in future adventures.

The Trench Creatures Could Be The Main Antagonists

Aquaman's journey into The Trench was perhaps one of the most tense scenes of the feature, and a testament to James Wan's ability to make scary moments happen. The scene was brief, however, and really only gave viewers a fleeting amount of time with the race when compared to their comic book debut. These creatures are deadlier than they seem, and could really do some damage to the world if left unchecked.

As mentioned, James Wan's extensive horror experience makes the prospect of a Trench-centric Aquaman 2 incredibly exciting. Of course, plans for Aquaman 2 are likely still in infancy, and James Wan confirmed to Variety he hasn't signed on for any sequels just yet. If he does, let's hope he's already read up on Geoff Johns' series on them and is already working out a way to introduce the Trench King and Queen in what could be a terrifying adventure.

Arthur Could Lose His Hand

Some initially speculated Arthur would lose his hand during Aquaman, but James Wan quickly dismissed that notion ahead of its premiere. It feels as though it's only a matter of time before that major moment happens, as the Atlantean king's harpoon hand served as an iconic look for the character for some time. Additionally, It's safe to say there are those want to see this look return in Aquaman 2. But will it?

It's hard to say, and even if Arthur lost a hand, he's had numerous things replace it. This includes a magical water hand he received from the "Lady of the Lake," which gave him additional powers similar to that of Mera in Aquaman. He also had a mechanical hand and a golden Atlantean hand that changed shape. Honestly, a harpoon hand is the least interesting of those, so if Arthur does lose a hand, I'm gunning for one of them.

Mera And Arthur Could Have A Son

Mera and Arthur seemed to be keeping things casual at the end of Aquaman, but DC fans know the two eventually become husband and wife in the comics. Should their relationship progress much further between Aquaman and Aquaman 2, it would be great to see the two welcoming the Aquababy, Arthur Curry Jr., into the world. Superhero films are thin on babies as is, although Arthur Jr.'s story might be why.

The reasoning behind introducing a baby is a bit dark and grim, but necessary for one of Aquaman's most notable and dark storylines. The death of Aquababy solidified Black Manta's supervillain status and would be a way for Manta to settle his score with Aquaman. Of course, the story is so well known, it's a question of whether it'd even be worth doing. Perhaps the team could find another spin on it, and introduce the baby as a red herring?

Vulko Could Betray Arthur

Vulko's role as Arthur's mentor and backer in Aquaman made him seem like a good guy, but it also makes him appear rather manipulative. Vulko does a solid job at keeping close to Orm's side and directing Mera as they keep in contact with Arthur, and the only reason he sought him out was due to Orm going against what he thought was good for Atlantis. Would Vulko also turn on Arthur to protect Atlantis?

DC Comics has had Vulko manipulate Arthur in the past, all in order to make the hero do what he felt was right. With that type of background, it makes sense why Warner Bros. settled on an actor who is no stranger to morally ambiguous roles like Willem Dafoe to portray him. I'd almost prefer Vulko turn evil in Aquaman 2 if only to see if Arthur is capable of running Atlantis without his guidance.

Aqualad Could Be Introduced

DC hasn't been too big on bringing super sidekicks into its latest batch of DC films, but that could change if Aquaman 2 brought in Aqualad. Kaldur'ahm is already a utilized character on Young Justice, though. So at the risk of Warner Bros. getting rid of him, as it has done with other television characters it wants on the big screen, it might be better if the Garth Aqualad was used in a sequel.

Plus with Atlantis' history being already touched on in the first Aquaman, Aquaman 2 could expand on it with the tragic tale of King Thar and Queen Beera. Like Arthur, Garth was raised as an outcast away from Atlantis, which could give him the courage to return when he learns a guy raised like him is now king. This admittedly feels like a longshot character for DC to introduce, but he would be welcomed all the same by many.

Aquaman is now playing in theaters, and according to our recent report, a feature that should be enjoyed in 3D. For more on the film and some easter eggs those who saw it may have missed, read up on one possible reference to Man of Steel that some noticed

We're about to get into some pretty big Aquaman spoilers, so now's a good time to bail on this article if you haven't caught the movie yet. When I say spoilers, I mean immediate spoilers.

Given Orm is still alive and around at the end of Aquaman, it's not a surprise that someone asked Patrick Wilson if he might make a comeback with another villain in an upcoming movie. If you were hoping Orm might eventually team up with some other DC villains, Patrick Wilson has revealed it might be difficult, but he would eventually like to see how that would pan out. He said he "would" like to work with other villains, explaining more about why it didn't pan out this time around:

Granted, Aquaman does essentially feature a team-up between Orm and another DC villain. Black Manta is involved in the plot after Jason Momoa's Aquaman leaves Black Manta's father to die in a hijacked submarine, causing Black Manta to seek revenge. This eventually leads to a post-credits scene that reveals Black Manta is still around for potential future projects. However, in the case of Orm, the Atlantean never really makes his way to the surface or has moments with people outside of Atlantis in the same way that Mera does in the movie. That's something that Wilson could see playing out down the line.

The actor also told Heroic Hollywood that it might be difficult for Orm to pull off more villainous team-ups given the fact he doesn't see Orm as a total villain. (In the movie, Orm settles down at the end after Atlanna reappears and after Arthur Curry shows him mercy, leaving his future uncertain.)

In the comics, there is some precedent for Orm to work with other villains. He's teamed up with the likes of Penthiselea to cause problems between the Atlanteans and the Amazons in print. That's a villainous plot that could eventually incorporate Wonder Woman, whom Jason Momoa has already said he would love to see Aquaman onscreen opposite again.

Although DC and Warner Bros. have spent the last several years releasing a slew of movies to entice fans, we're just now approaching the point where there is getting to be some cohesion in the universe. Villain team-ups really do look as if they could be a thing of the future, especially if there's another hero team-up like Justice League 2 that eventually gets made down the line. (Although that project is currently on hold.)

However, with Orm's mom Atlanna back in the picture and Arthur Curry installed as the new guy in charge underwater, perhaps Orm will be able to take a break from the villainous shenanigans for a little while. If a sequel happens, perhaps we'll just get him in a fun bickering-with-Arthur capacity.

Patrick Wilson has worked with James Wan previously in the Conjuring franchise films and so joining Aquaman was a no-brainer for the actor. In fact he previously said he had such implicit trust in Wan that he signed on before he had even seen the script for the movie.

It all seems to have worked out pretty well for Patrick Wilson and everyone else involved with the DC blockbuster. Currently, Aquaman has made a boatload of money worldwide and is expected to be approaching $500 million soon. After opening this weekend domestically, the movie is expected to win the box office here as well. It's also running positively on Rotten Tomatoes and fan reviews for the film seem even higher, proving there is an appetite for a dude who can communicate with fish out there.

After a few lackluster releases from DC starring some major heroes, the spotlight has been on Aquaman, so it's a big deal that the movie really seems to be resonating with fans. Warner Bros. needed a superhero win to get people excited about the universe and proving that Aquaman can go toe-to-toe with other heroic characters should pave the way for other lesser-known or oddball heroes to also get their own projects. If Aquaman does well overall, perhaps we'll see an Aquaman 2 sooner rather than later. If that's the case, I'd expect Orm to at least be involved somehow.

While we wait to see how Aquaman ultimately pans out at the box office, DC and Warner Bros. are already gearing up for Shazam!--another interesting pick for a solo movie--and more hero projects in 2019. You can take a look at what is coming with our full guide. Or take a look at the full schedule to see the entire list of projects coming to theaters in the next year.

In Aquaman, Patrick Wilson plays King Orm, the Ocean Master and Arthur Curry's half-brother who is the main antagonist of the film. If you've seen the trailers, you know that Orm gets to wear some really badass-looking Atlantean armor over the course of the movie. One of those costumes underwent a last minute change that Patrick Wilson really loved, as he explained:

Patrick Wilson was wearing practical costumes for his role as King Orm in the film, and by and large they allowed him to move freely. But once the armor came on, in particular the shoulder pads, his movement became limited-- making it difficult to mime swimming. So as Patrick Wilson told CinemaBlend's own Sean O'Connell in an exclusive interview at the Aquaman junket, to compensate for that, they just put tracking marks on instead of the shoulder pads.

The assumption was that the shoulder armor would then be added digitally in post, but they ultimately decided not to. Although this went against the film's original design for his character, Patrick Wilson loved this choice and thinks that it was probably done because it makes the swimming look better.

The actors were suspended by wires and swam through air for the swimming in this film, so it is not real swimming. By having his shoulder's unobscured by shoulder pads, physical or digital, Patrick Wilson was able to not only move freely, but you can actually see the range of his movement. The end result makes the swimming look more natural and real. And for a movie called Aquaman, it is important that the swimming was up to par.

You can check out Patrick Wilson's full discussion with Sean about Orm's costumes in the video below:

It would be interesting to hear if what Patrick Wilson surmises is the actual reason that the shoulder armor was not inserted digitally, or if it was a happy mistake. Whatever the reason, it seems that they went with a less is more approach for Orm's costume in the film. This is a choice Patrick Wilson, who is no stranger to superhero costumes after playing Nite Owl in Watchmen, is on board with.

There is also something to be said for a villain that isn't necessarily covered in armor and a hulking brute, but is instead lithe and strong. It's a more minimalistic approach, and still coming off as imposing and deadly.

It also in a way makes him look more like Aquaman himself, and shows Orm doesn't doesn't need all these advantages to be the hero's physical equal and rival in combat.

You can see Patrick Wilson's King Orm when Aquaman dives into theaters on December 21st. After you've seen the film, be sure to come back and read our breakdown of the post-credits scene. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule for all the biggest movies looking to make a splash next year and for more exclusive movie news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

My man Aquaman just took over Times Square! Jason Momoa, director James Wan, and the Aquaman cast surprised lucky fans at a screening of the film in New York.

The movie officially opens December 21, but critics and certain fans have seen the movie early at premieres and screenings. So far, the reaction has been very positive. That said, director James Wan spent more than two years on this film, and he recently admitted he's nervous about the stiff competition at the box office this holiday season.

The cast and director were all smiles at this New York City screening, though, and it looks like one young fan probably got a classic "My Man!" from Jason Momoa himself:

As you can see, co-star Amber Heard (Mera) didn't wear the most striking outfit in the room, for a change. Instead, she got to pose with other costumed characters, along with costars Patrick Wilson (Orm/Ocean Master) and Willem Dafoe (Vulko).

In the photo below, you can see director James Wan at the mic, addressing the fans in the audience. Jason Momoa probably got tired of holding that trident. Then again, he may be used to it by now.

Aquaman tells the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry, and follows him on his journey to be both a king and a hero. The movie also stars Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, King of the Atlantean tribe Xebel; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the vengeful Black Manta; Nicole Kidman as Arthur's mom, Atlanna; Ludi Lin as Captain Murk, Atlantean Commando; and Temuera Morrison as Arthur's dad, Tom Curry. The final trailer for Aquaman was already released, but new still photos from the movie recently came out, giving better looks at characters like Nereus and Black Manta.

Box office projections for the PG-13 DCEU film are all over the map. Initial tracking was on the lower end, $40M-$60M, and then expectations rose to possibly over $100 million for the opening weekend. No pressure, though! We'll get an official tally for Aquaman when it opens here on Friday, December 21, which for many people is a very long weekend before Christmas. Here's what else is coming out in 2018, and ahead in 2019.

As the first horror cinematic universe, The Conjuring franchise is bound together by two key characters: Ed and Lorraine Warren, based off the same-named, real-life paranormal investigators. The main Conjuring movies have focused on two of the couple's famous cases, while the Conjuring spinoffs have delved deeper into the backgrounds of the some of the entities they've faced. Up to this point, the Warrens themselves haven't appeared in any of these spinoffs, but that's finally going to change with the upcoming Annabelle 3.

This past summer at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Annabelle 3 would see the eponymous doll ending up in Ed and Lorraine's hands and not just terrorizing their daughter, Judy, but also having an effect on the house's other cursed objects. At the time, it was implied that this would mean the Warrens would appear, and Deadline has now confirmed that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson will reprise their respective characters.

This will mark Ed and Lorraine Warren's third appearance in the Conjuring franchise, as The Conjuring 3 isn't arriving until September 2020, a year after Annabelle 3. However, rather than being the main characters like in their earlier appearances, the Warrens will be supporting characters in Annabelle 3, as this their daughter's time to shine.

The Annabelle doll was introduced at the beginning of The Conjuring (set in 1971), where we learned that the Raggedy Ann doll was possessed by the spirit of a girl named Annabelle Higgins. The first Annabelle spinoff, simply titled Annabelle, wound the clock back to 1967 and showed the doll targeting John and Mia Form, the next door neighbors of Annabelle Higgins' parents, who are swiftly killed by their daughter and her boyfriend at the beginning of the movie. Annabelle: Creation then jumped back even further to 1955 and depicted the doll and Annabelle Higgins' origins.

With the Annabelle doll's past thoroughly covered the first two spinoffs, it makes sense for Annabelle 3 to reestablish ties with the Warrens. That said, Annabelle 3 will still be somewhat of a prequel, because it's set after the beginning of The Conjuring, but before The Conjuring 2. So Ed and Lorraine Warren will be just fine, as will Judy, played by Mckenna Grace. However, Judy will be joined by her cousin and teenaged babysitter (played by Madison Iseman), so their fates are still up in the air.

Directed and written by Gary Dauberman, Annabelle 3 will scare its way into theaters on July 3, 2019. The latest Conjuring Universe installment, The Nun, came out last month, and a spinoff centered on The Crooked Man is also in the works. Make sure to also see what the next 12 months and beyond have in store theatrically by looking through our 2018 and 2019 release schedules.

The DCEU is about to take off in some fairly significant ways. With Justice League having hit theaters in late 2017, the stage is now officially set for an army of iconic DC heroes and villains to take center stage in their solo movies. One of the most intriguing characters of the bunch is Jason Momoa's Aquaman -- who will finally step into the light almost four years after Zack Snyder first revealed his character to the world. As Arthur Curry has not taken the spotlight in live-action too many times over the years, (at least compared to his DC contemporaries like Batman and Superman), Aquaman will represent his first real opportunity to make a legitimate and profound impression on audiences all around the world.

On that note, we have gone through all of the news and developments that have materialized over the course of the last couple of years to compile a list of everything that we currently know about James Wan's upcoming Aquaman movie. Take a look at our handy guide for this aquatic DC adventure and let us know how excited you are for the film in the comments section below. Now, without further ado, let's kick this guide off with one of the greatest revelations of all: the movie's most recent trailer.

What Have We Seen From Aquaman?

While it seems like it took forever to get some footage from Aquaman, late July 2018 finally offered up a trailer, which, as you can see from the video above, featured a wondrous look at the action, underwater world, characters and costumes in the movie. It also gives fans a pretty good taste of the main storylines, proving that we should be in for quite a treat when the film hits theaters.

What Is The Aquaman Movie Release Date?

Like numerous other entries in the DCEU, Aquaman has experienced a number of shifts and changes to its release date since it was first announced. That said, the film has managed to remain far more stable than other DC projects currently on the horizon. The film was originally slated to hit theaters in summer 2018 but was subsequently pushed back to fall and then winter. Now the film will hit theaters on December 21, 2018, and (barring a major, unexpected setback) it doesn't look like that is going to change anytime soon. That said, this IS DC, so anything can happen at any time.

What Is The Aquaman Movie Rating?

Although it was recently revealed to The Wrap that the folks at Warner Bros. are genuinely considering the possibility of an R-rated DC movie -- particularly after the success of Logan -- it doesn't seem likely that Aquaman will be that film. It seems far more likely that a villain-centric movie like Suicide Squad 2 or even Gotham City Sirens will receive that particular honor. An Aquaman movie is a globe-trotting, big budget VFX adventure, and that stylistic choice inherently lends itself to a more sanitized story. Arthur Curry is one of DC's more brutal and badass heroes (and Jason Momoa has already sold that idea), but you shouldn't expect Aquaman to go any further than a PG-13 rating when it finally hits theaters in winter 2018.

What Is The Aquaman Story?

We still don't know all the particulars of the plot for Aquaman's solo film, but we do have an idea of some of the things the movie is planning to touch on. First and foremost, with the casting of his parents and two actors who will be playing younger versions of the character at different stages, we do know that the movie is going to dig into the character's history. Aquaman will detail how Arthur was left by his Atlantean mom on land to be raised by his father, how he discovered his special abilities and how he never quite felt at home on land or in the sea. As for the modern day portion of the story, at least some of it will focus on ocean pollution, a conflict between those who live in the sea and those who live on land, and the need for Arthur to bring the two worlds together peacefully. And, it's been confirmed that a whopping two-thirds of the action will take place underwater, which should make for a very different superhero adventure.

Who Is Working On The Aquaman Movie?

This is one particular area where the Aquaman solo movie has actually fared better than most DC films. Despite the fact that most other DCEU films have suffered through a wide variety of director losses over the course of the last few years (The Flash being a prime example of that phenomenon) Aquaman has managed to comfortably keep James Wan locked down in the director's chair to shoot a script written by Gangster Squad's Will Beall. Given Wan's knack for shooting practical monster effects in The Conjuring horror series, as well as his proven ability to shoot coherent action sequences in Furious 7, all eyes are on him to produce one of the most expertly crafted DC films to date.

Who Is The Villain Of The Aquaman Movie?

Aquaman has quite a few iconic villains that he could potentially square off against in his first ever solo movie, and James Wan decided to go with two of his most legendary foes for his first film. The 2018 Aquaman solo film will see Arthur Curry go head to head against the one and only Black Manta -- arguably the most well-known member of the King of Atlantis' rogue's gallery. Known for his iconic black suit (and its easily identifiable manta-inspired helmet) Black Manta is a villain with a tragic backstory as an autistic child who can only find comfort in cold water, and he has a personal feud with Aquaman after murdering Arthur Curry's son. To put it simply: he's one of the most badass and imposing bad guys in the entirety of DC lore.

However, although Black Manta will be among the antagonists of the first Aquaman movie, he won't be the main bad guy. It appears that the upcoming film will also do quite a bit of world-building as well, and will use Aquaman's half-brother Orm (also known as the evil villain Ocean Master) as the film's Big Bad. According to Patrick Wilson, who plays Orm, the character will butt heads with Aquaman due to his desire to start war with the surface world over the pollution of the oceans, something that the half-human Arthur Curry, obviously, doesn't want to happen.

Where Does The Aquaman Movie Fit Within The DCEU?

Despite the fact that not much is currently known about the main plot of the Aquaman solo movie, it does sound like it will take place after the events of Justice League -- which apparently is also the case for The Flash solo movie as well. However, DC producer Charles Roven also recently made it abundantly clear that future DC films may follow the example set by Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman and include a number of flashback sequences to flesh out the overall mythology of the live-action DC universe. On that note, while the main Aquaman story will take place after the central team of DC superheroes has assembled to take down Steppenwolf, the film will also include flashbacks to a time when the world didn't actually know about the undersea realm of Atlantis.

Jason Momoa As Aquaman

Of course, as many of you already know, Aquaman will put Arthur Curry front and center for the very first time, and Jason Momoa will step into the role to headline the film. Momoa's version of Arthur Curry already made his first appearance in the DCEU during the events of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice when Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) went through Lex Luthor's (Jesse Eisenberg) files about metahumans, and the character also took a more prominent role when he made his Justice League debut.

Casting an actor like Momoa currently seems like nothing less than a stroke of genius on the part of the folks at DC. The Game of Thrones alum has developed a reputation as one of the most ferocious and physically imposing actors in Hollywood, so bringing him in to portray a more badass version of Arthur Curry will go a long way towards making people forget about their preconceived notions towards Aquaman as a hero. That said, Justice League has already made quite a few jokes at the character's expense ("I hear you can talk to fish") so it seems that the DCEU will maintain a certain sense of humor to complement Aquaman's newfound ferocity.

Amber Heard As Mera

Behind any respectable King is a Queen keeping him in line, and Aquaman's Queen will take the form of Amber Heard's Mera. An iconic DC hero, and badass warrior in her own right, Mera already made her proper debut in a Justice League cameo, and now she'll take on a much more substantial role when the Aquaman solo movie finally debuts.

Although we've only seen a little interaction between Arthur Curry and Mera (in Justice League), everything that we have heard about their dynamic in his titular film promises something that's equal parts hilarious, romantic, and downright cool. These two characters are incredibly hard-headed and self-reliant, and as such they will have to learn to work with one another over the course of their first scenes within the DCEU. Heard has gone on record saying that Mera and Arthur make quite the "unlikely duo," but their partnership will create a "nuanced relationship between them" that leads to a strong bond. James Wan has actually likened the overall tone of the solo Aquaman film to that of Romancing the Stone, which means we can reasonably expect a romantic adventure to play a central role in the aquatic DC movie.

Willem Dafoe As Nuidis Vulko

When the announcement came out that Willem Dafoe would play a character in the DCEU, fans began wildly speculating as to which character he could potentially portray. As a guy known for some truly outlandish roles, it could've been anyone. That said, Vulko seems like a perfect choice. A major member of Aquaman's supporting cast, Nuidis Vulko is a scientific and political advisor to the King of Atlantis, and one of Arthur Curry's closest confidants as he rules the seven seas.

Like Amber Heard's Mera, Vulko was supposed to make his initial debut during the events of Justice League before making a full introduction in Aquaman -- in a move likely somewhat similar to the introduction of Marisa Tomei's Aunt May in Captain America: Civil War. Unfortunately, Dafoe's work on the film had to be cut when it was realized there just wasn't enough time to include the scenes he'd filmed. How he will explicitly factor into the overarching narrative of the Aquaman solo movie remains to be seen, but considering the fact that we absolutely love everything Willem Dafoe does, we have a feeling that Vulko will be one of the standout characters from the DCEU.

Patrick Wilson As Orm

One of the most delightful revelations to come out of the DCEU in recent months is the reveal of Patrick Wilson as Aquaman's half-brother Orm. Also known as Ocean Master, Orm is a full Atlantean who grows resentful of Arthur Curry when his brother returns and rightfully dethrones him. Think Loki and Thor, only with more water. After being unclear exactly how much of a villain Orm will be in Aquaman for quite some time, we now know that he is the film's main antagonist. So, instead of the movie only planting the seeds for him to break bad in a future story, Orm will be an out and out antagonist during this first undersea adventure. And, the epic conflict between these half-brothers should be something to see.

Oddly enough, Patrick Wilson has technically already appeared in the DCEU -- albeit as little more than a voiceover cameo. He is credited as "POTUS" from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice on IMDB, which means that he is technically the one who ordered a nuclear strike on Superman. With his upcoming role as the villainous Orm, we can tell that his resume of dastardly deeds in this universe is only going to get longer and more diverse as time goes by.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II As Black Manta

Stepping into the role of a character that has never been depicted on the silver screen is a major responsibility -- particularly for an up and comer like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. However, considering the young actor's work on Baz Luhrmann's The Get Down on Netflix, all eyes are on him to pull of Black Manta in exemplary fashion. Not much is currently known about how Black Manta will explicitly factor into Aquaman's overarching narrative, but Yahya Abdul-Mateen II certainly has a look and the physicality to portray Manta in a way that should make fans of the DC lore very happy.

Of all the confirmed members of Aquaman's supporting cast, he is the one we know the least about. While we will have to wait and see how James Wan handles him as more information becomes available to us, we do know that this iteration of the character plays an important part in the story, and is also "part mercenary but full-time pirate," according to Abdul-Mateen. If that description doesn't get you eager to watch him on the big screen, it's possible nothing will. But, from the look of the character in full, comic book costume that we got in the trailer (along with the glimpse of his laser beam-eyed helmet) it seems like just getting to see Black Manta in live action will be worth the wait.

Nicole Kidman As Queen Atlanna

Late January 2017 brought some casting information related to Aquaman which raised the distinct possibility that the film wanted Nicole Kidman for the role of Atlanna. Luckily, by early April of the same year, Kidman had agreed to take part in the film. Not much is currently known about how Atlanna could potentially fit into the Aquaman story (because not much is known about the plot itself yet). That said, the presence of Aquaman's mother in the film's narrative will go a long way towards reinforcing the thematic idea that Arthur Curry is a man stuck between two worlds. Kidman has said that her friendship with James Wan, along with the opportunity to play "a mermaid warrior" are what led her to accept the role. Oddly enough, this isn't Nicole Kidman's first go-around in the DC universe, as she previously portrayed Dr. Chase Meridian in Joel Schumacher's (underrated) Batman Forever back in 1995.

Randall Park As Dr. Stephen Shin

April 2018 brought Aquaman reshoots and the confirmation that an addition to the cast had been present all along in the form of Fresh Off the Boat and Veep actor Randall Park. According to James Wan's tweet, Park is taking on the role of Dr. Shin in the new film, and while we don't know just yet exactly what his character will be like on the big screen, because this is a character who was important to Geoff Johns' work on the comic during the New 52 era, we do have some idea of what he could be doing. In the comics, Arthur's father took him to Dr. Shin, the world's foremost expert on Atlantis, and he helped the youngster develop his special skills. But, later, when Arthur refused to tell Shin where Atlantis was, the doctor tried to kill him. Eventually, though, Shin did become an actually ally to Arthur again, so, it'll be interesting to see how Aquaman uses him.

Michael Beach As Jesse Kane

After months of speculation that actor Michael Beach, of The CW's The 100, might be involved in Aquaman in some way, it was finally confirmed that he'll be playing Jesse Kane in the film. Kane will be part of a group of "high seas hijackers" in the movie, and his membership in that group will somehow lead him to have whats being called a "fateful interaction" with the underseas hero. These details have lead many fans to speculate that he will actually be the father to Black Manta, since that character was a treasure hunter in the comics, but neither Beach nor anyone else associated with the film have confirmed that at this point.

Dolph Lundgren As King Nereus

In an effort to flesh out the underwater world of Atlantis, Aquaman will be bringing in another character from the comics, and that will be Dolph Lundgren's King Nereus. In comic lore, Nereus is the ruler of another aquatic kingdom, Xebel, which is where Mera is actually from. While Mera and Nereus were former lovers in the comics, for the purpose of this movie, their relationship will, instead, be as father and daughter. The character is quite villainous historically, but James Wan has gone on record noting that this version of Nereus will be "not quite a villain," so we'll see how the character works within the narrative of the film when it hits theaters.

Ludi Lin As Murk

Well, after talking a lot about all the villains or potential villains that Aquaman will introduce, we've come back around to the side of the good guys. Actor Ludi Lin, who is best known in the United States for his role as the Black Ranger in the most recent Power Rangers film, will be playing Murk in the movie. The comic version of Murk is the leader of the Men-Of-War, the main army of Atlantis, and also serves as a close ally to Aquaman. The character was just introduced in the comics a few years ago, though, so the film will have a lot of leeway with how Murk is characterized.

Djimon Honsou As Fisherman King

Djimon Honsou's appearance in Aquaman was a bit of a surprise, as we only heard of his role in the movie during the summer of 2018. It turns out that his character is going to be somewhat important, though, as Orm will go to him to seek support in declaring war on the surface world. Apparently, his kingdom is one of the ones that evolved after Atlantis fell, and the community is now mostly comprised of poets, philosophers and other cerebral, artistic types. Would these guys really be willing to help out with a major war effort? We'll just have to wait and see.

With the recent release of the Aquaman trailer at San Diego Comic-Con, fans not only got a taste of how the origin story of Arthur Curry will look on-screen, but also a good look at the character the underwater hero will be facing against. Patrick Wilson is set to play the role of Aquaman's half-brother Orm (also known as the Ocean Master) with a war to wage against the surface world for polluting the Seven Seas. While adapting the Aquaman origin story to the silver screen comes with challenges, Wilson didn't hesitate to sign on to play Orm. He recently commented that he didn't even read the Aquaman script before he signed on, showing his complete confidence in director James Wan, who he has worked closely with on the Conjuring films.

Wilson's faith in Wan isn't blind; the Conjuring franchise became a monstrous success following the 2013 highly-acclaimed blockbuster he first starred in. Spinoffs after spinoffs have been released, with more in the works. Let's not forget that Wan also created the long-running Saw franchise, so maybe Aquaman will mark the beginning of another lasting success? All in all, Wilson's comments to The Hollywood Reporter about signing on to the project might be refreshing to fans who are unsure about the adaptation of the King of the Seven Seas. He is also no stranger to bringing to life a previously untouched comic-book character when in 2009, Wilson played Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl in Watchmen under the helm of Zack Snyder.

Past hesitations to add Aquaman to the likes of big-screen superheroes may have come from the lore's underwater setting, which brings about technical. Two-thirds of the upcoming Aquaman film will take place underwater, and Wan previously said they used a mixture of practical and digital effects to achieve the incredible setting.

While Orm's appearance as the main villain could be a rerun of Thor and Black Panther's plot points, having an experienced franchise director onboard does sweeten the deal. Orm's gripe with humans' corruption of the oceans could make for a much-needed reminder of the flaws of mankind. Villains who hold a bit of validity in their causes make for engrossing characters if executed well. Orm will share a bit of the spotlight with Aquaman's two other opponents, Black Manta / David Kane (played by Yayha Abdul-Mateen) and Jesse Kane (played by Michael Beach), a member of a group of "high seas hijackers." These secondary villains are speculated to be related since they share a last name.

With Aquaman's powerful line-up of opponents, audiences will finally get to witness the strength of the seven seas the superhero has to offer when it hits theaters on Dec. 21.

Aquaman doesn't have a particularly big rogues gallery in the comics, but his two greatest enemies will be making their big screen debut later this year when the water-dwelling superhero's movie finally makes a splash. Yesterday, we got our first look at Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Black Manta, who, when fully suited, is quite visually distinctive. But it will be Patrick Wilson's Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master, serving as Aquaman's main antagonist. Like in the comics, Orm is Arthur Curry's half-brother, but unlike his heroic sibling, Orm has a bigger beef with the surface world for continuing to pollute the seven seas. Wilson explained:

While Arthur Curry was raised on the surface by his human father, Thomas (played by Temuera Morrison in the movie), Orm is entirely Atlantean, so he has no emotional attachment towards surface dwellers, i.e. humans. That would be fine, but because humanity keeps dumping waste and trash into the oceans, Orm has had enough, hence why he wants to attack the surface during Aquaman. This portrayal is similar to the New 52 version of Ocean Master, who attacked humanity in the Throne of Atlantis storyline in retaliation for an aircraft carrier attacking Atlantis (though what Orm didn't realize was that the carrier had been sabotaged). In the DC Extended Universe, however, it sounds like Orm's anger towards the surface world has been building for a long time, and now he's ready to take action by uniting the seven underwater kingdoms to declare war, which Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry does not want to happen.

As for why Patrick Wilson was cast as Aquaman's Ocean Master, director James Wan, who previously worked with Wilson on the Insidious and Conjuring movies, explained to EW that he was looking for an actor that wouldn't make Orm look like an outright villain. As Wan put it:

This year in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we've seen Black Panther's Erik Killmonger and Avengers: Infinity War's Thanos depicted as villains whose actions were intended to serve the greater good, and clearly Aquaman is taking a similar approach with Ocean Master by painting him in a somewhat sympathetic light. Unfortunately for Orm, he's not the one sitting on the Atlantean throne, and even if something jeopardizes Arthur's position as king, you can guarantee he won't stop trying to prevent Orm and his allies from laying waste to the surface.

Aquaman dives into theaters on December 21, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates about the underwater blockbuster.