When I heard the title Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die for the first time, I assumed the movie would be a blast and a half, and I figured it’d be pretty silly, too. That is all true. However, this film also terrifies me to no end, and that was a surprise. Now, I’ve had time to think about all of this, and overall, I’m thrilled that this outlandish sci-fi adventure that scares me got made.

In Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, a man from the future (Sam Rockwell) comes to a time that’s slightly more advanced than the present we live in to assemble a team of people to save the world from artificial intelligence. However, that team has to be made up of the seemingly random set of folks who are eating at a diner the future man enters. So, with his rag-tag group made up of a couple of teachers (Michael Peña and Zazie Beetz), a woman dressed as a princess (Haley Lu Richardson), a mom (Juno Temple), and a few other diner patrons, he sets out to save the world.

That concept alone proves just how silly this movie is, and the humor laced into it hammers the point home. However, along with this being a goofy story, it also has points to make about our society that genuinely freak me out.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a big silly swing of a movie.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die starts with Sam Rockwell’s character doing a big monologue about the future and his mission to a diner of confused people while wearing a bizarre plastic outfit that makes him look both more technologically advanced than us and homeless. And from his first second on screen, I knew I was in for a good time. Truly, from start to finish, his grisly and slightly unhinged future man is a hoot, and it feels like the Oscar-winner had a wonderful time playing him.

The fun he seems to be having is infectious, and when that mixes with the outlandish plot involving AI that is trying to take over the world, you get a very odd, big swing of a story.

It works for the most part, too, and it is a ride. However, this concept also sets that stage for some serious (and scary) discussions about the world we’re living in.

The social commentary in Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is what legitimately scares me.

I’ve always been a bit squeamish when it comes to movies about the end times; they spook me. However, they really scare me when the cause of said end times is something we’re currently dealing with in the present. It's the sprinkle of social commentary that always leaves me in a spiral, and that’s why Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die horrifies me.

In the case of this movie, that evil is AI. I’m not gonna lie: AI scares the living daylights out of me. So, the fact that artificial intelligence was the problem here immediately made me tense.

But that’s not what really gets me. What truly gets under my skin are two of the issues the various diner patrons deal with. The teachers have to handle students who are so brainwashed by their phones that they cannot function. Meanwhile, after a school shooting, a mom has to grapple with the death of her son and the technology available to help her get him back (in a way). In both cases, most of the people involved are hypnotized by technology and desensitized to the trauma around them.

I worry about how technology is hindering us as a society, and I have concerns about how desensitized we can become to truly awful things. So, to see both fears viscerally portrayed in this movie sent me spiraling a bit, even with the comedic sensibilities paired with them.

However, I think that's a good thing. I love that Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a silly sci-fi quest that also has some dark social commentary in its DNA. It makes for a movie that you’ll have a good time watching, but will also think about afterward. I know it has certainly stuck with me, and that’s 100% because I did have fun, but also left terrified.

Filmmaker Gore Verbinski has been entertaining movie lovers for decades with films like The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean and Rango, but after a couple of flops, he disappeared for a decade. Finally the director has returned with Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, a sci-fi action-comedy that hits the 2026 movie calendar on February 13. Critics have seen the flick and are generally in agreement about this “bonkers” return.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die stars Sam Rockwell as a man from the future who’s caught in a time loop as he attempts to save the world from the A.I.-dominated era he came from. Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Juno Temple and more also star in the flick that’s being celebrated by critics including Kristy Puchko of Mashable, who calls Gore Verbinski’s middle finger to A.I. “earnest and human and utterly bonkers,” writing:

Chris Bumbray of JoBlo rates the upcoming action film a “Great” 8 out of 10, admitting that Gore Verbinski is taking a wild swing with Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, but it’s one of the more “invigorating and original pieces of sci-fi” the critic has seen in a long time. Bumbray says:

Peter Debruge of Variety says Sam Rockwell carries the comedy of the movie, particularly with his character’s exaggerated impatience with a society that needs to be scolded as much as it needs to be saved. Debruge’s review of Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die reads:

Aidan Kelley of Collider also gives it an 8 out of 10, saying this “raucous” sci-fi action flick is filled to the brim with absurdist comedy, creative insults, frenetic camera work and insightful commentary on the state of the world. In Kelley's words:

David Rooney of THR says it’s good to have Gore Verbinski back behind the camera, and Sam Rockwell is great with his “wry balance of doofus, savant and wisea--,” but it falls just short of expectations with a script that isn’t as funny or fresh as it should be. Rooney continues:

Most of the reviews for Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die are positive, with the movie standing at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. If fighting an A.I.-dominated future is at the top of your to-do list (or must-see list!), check out Gore Verbinski’s return to filmmaking starting Friday, February 13.

Paul Walter Hauser isn’t just starring as Chris Farley; he is now fan-casting the rest of the movie in his head. And, when it comes to one of the most important supporting roles in the upcoming biopic, Hauser already has an actor in mind. Hauser specifically knows who he wants to see play Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels in the film, and I give this two big thumbs up.

While speaking with Variety at AFI Fest on Wednesday night, Hauser revealed his pick and made a direct pitch for the role of Michaels. So who did the I, Tonya star pick? Well, the person in question is an iconic character actor with an Oscar under their belt Hauser said in the interview:

He’s not wrong, because that casting makes a lot of sense. Rockwell has the range to nail Michaels’ signature mix of cool detachment and behind-the-scenes power, and his chemistry with Hauser is already proven. The two previously worked together on Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell (which Hauser gave a mid-review of) in 2019, and a reunion in a film like this feels like a no-brainer.

Paul Walter Hauser also told the outlet he’s just received the newest draft of the script, written by 500 Days of Summer duo Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, calling it “the best yet.” Cameras could roll as early as early-to-mid next year, as long as the official greenlight comes through from New Line and Warner Bros.

The Chris Farley biopic, first announced in April 2024, is an upcoming book-to-screen adaptation of The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts. The book is a deeply personal portrait of Farley’s life co-written by his brother, Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby. Plot specifics are still under wraps, but the project promises to explore both the comedy legend’s meteoric rise and his complicated offstage struggles.

Ask anyone to name a standout cast member from SNL’s '90s era, and Chris Farley is bound to come up. His over-the-top physical comedy and unforgettable characters made him a legend on the show and in films, delivering some of the most hilarious quotes. However, his story is also one of deep personal struggle, which makes this biopic especially meaningful. Hauser stepping into the role feels like the right move, and him teaming him up with Rockwell could be a dream come true for longtime SNL fans.

If Sam Rockwell comes on board as Lorne Michaels, the film could have a duo strong enough to do justice to Farley’s legacy, with the heart and humor it deserves.

While we wait to see if Rockwell takes the role or we get more updates on the biopic, there’s no shortage of Paul Walter Hauser’s recent work to check out. For laughs, The Naked Gun is streaming now with a Paramount+ subscription, and for something more serious, catch him in the 2025 movie release, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, currently in theaters.

Two years after Iron Man ushered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turned Robert Downey Jr. into one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors, Iron Man 2 saw his version of Tony Stark clashing with Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer, a rival weapons manufacturer who teamed up with Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko. Rockwell later reprised Hammer for the short film All Hail the King and an episode of the Disney+ subscription-exclusive animated series What If… ?, but we still have yet to see him return as a prominent character in the MCU. Well, that’s not because of a lack of interest on Rockwell’s part of being in an upcoming Marvel movie or upcoming Marvel TV show.

Justin Hammer came up while Sam Rockwell was chatting about his 2025 movie release The Bad Guys 2 with ComicBook. When asked if he was tired of getting asked about his MCU character and the franchise, the actor responded:

Not that anyone was expecting otherwise, but at least now we can officially add the lack of Justin Hammer to the things we know about Avengers: Doomsday. Still, even with so much time having passed since Iron Man 2, Sam Rockwell is absolutely game to return to the MCU. Those kinds of question don’t tire him out because he’s also just as curious, if not more so, about if Justin will ever resurface.

Because What If… ? showed a Justin Hammer from an alternate universe, we haven’t checked in with the Sacred Timeline version of him since All Hail the King was included as a special feature on Thor: The Dark World’s home media release. At the end of the short film, Justin was shown to be in the same prison as Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery and annoyed at how much attention the Iron Man 3 villain was getting. Given the crimes he committed, it stands to reason that Justin is still behind bars, but there’s no reason he couldn’t be broken out.

The question then becomes where it would make sense to include Justin Hammer next, and looking over the slate of MCU projects on the way, none seem to be a good fit for him. There was a time when Armor Wars would have a great platform for Justin Hammer to make his grand return, as the story would follow Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes tracking down people who’ve stolen Tony Stark’s technology. However, these days it’s unclear where things stand with Armor Wars, as it still doesn’t have a release date.

Well, Kevin Feige and the rest of Marvel Studios’ creative heads know how to get in touch with Sam Rockwell if they ever decide to bring back Justin Hammer. For now, catch the actor reprising Mr. Wolf in The Bad Guys 2 starting on August 1 in theaters, and stream his appearance on The White Lotus from earlier this year with an HBO Max subscription.

While actor Sam Rockwell has seen most of his recent notoriety coming from TV, the man’s spot on the 2025 movie schedule with The Bad Guys 2 could expose him to a new audience. It’s also a polar opposite from his televised gig as part of The White Lotus’ Season 3 cast for reasons only the parents can explain to their children while waiting in line for that upcoming kids movie. But for as much as the 2018 Academy Award-winner has done in his varied career, his greatest regret is connected to a good friend: the dearly-departed Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Chatting with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Rockwell shared that this upset comes from something that could have truly been magical. And it’s not just one missed opportunity for the well-regarded thespians to collaborate in their craft; as you’ll read below:

Seeing Sam Rockwell and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in any sort of pairing would have been an event for the ages. And the fun part is, it wouldn’t matter what the opportunity was, as both men are known for skillsets that could tackle anything.

Whether it was a rom-com, an espionage adjacent thriller or even a real life potboiler like Moneyball, you can practically see them matching each other’s energy and really going for it. The Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri performer reflected on what he missed most about his friend, part of which came out of this memory from Hoffman’s untimely death in 2014:

As an admirer of Phillip Seymour Hoffman myself, there have been no lies reported in any of the remarks provided; especially when putting the man's name in such esteemed company as you saw directly above. While most people may remember him from bigger movies like The Hunger Games franchise or even his iconically chilling turn as Mission: Impossible III’s villain, there are tons of movies people may have forgotten he was in - or overlooked outright.

Off the top of my head, two examples of the latter are Before the Devil Knows Your Dead and A Most Wanted Man. But no matter what true cinephile you talk to, they’ll probably have their own handful of Hoffman favorites that need some more love. Which leads us to the ultimate remembrance Sam Rockwell shares in this moment; a factor that could also be applied to his own eclectic resume:

It’s easy for fans to say that the world is all the poorer for not having Phillip Seymour Hoffman in it. But as you can see with Mr. Rockwell’s trip down memory lane, that loss is still very much felt by the friends and admirers he made merely through his work.

While we’ll never get that Rockwell/Hoffman dream teaming we’re all probably wishing we could see, perhaps now’s a good time to revisit the man’s work and discover a new favorite. As for fans of Sam Rockwell, you can hear him at play in The Bad Guys 2, which opens in theaters on August 1st.

Let’s say that you only know two things about Tom Cruise besides his name. One would almost certainly be that he’s the face of the Mission: Impossible movies, and the other, well, that would be that the Ethan Hunt actor always does all of his own stunts. The 2025 movie schedule has now brought us Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, which has, of course, gone to entirely new heights of action and danger when it comes to those stunts. Cruise’s propensity for doing things like extreme wing-walking stunts has always gotten lots of opinions, but I can honestly say that I never thought that Sam Rockwell’s The Bad Guys 2 would enter the convo in such a cool way.

How Did The Bad Guys 2 Comment On Tom Cruise’s The Final Reckoning Stunts?

A lot of actors are fond of doing their own stunts for movies, but few are as committed and (some might say) intense about it as Tom Cruise. The Oscar nominee has pretty much always been one to go the extra mile in that category (which will finally receive Academy Award recognition at the 2028 ceremony), but for nearly three decades he’s devoted himself to learning completely new skill sets just so he can do things like eventually perform an actual space walk.

In a few months, it turns out that we will see yet another stunt-filled spectacular hit the big screen, and these stars got the jump on Cruise by beating him to the punch with that space action. Take a look!

Wowwwwww. OK, I gotta say, I both see and love what The Bad Guys 2 (which had a funny presentation at 2025 CinemaCon) did here! This special look “behind the scenes” of the DreamWorks Animation sequel “confirms” that Sam Rockwell’s Mr. Wolf and his band of reformed merry men (and one Ms. Tarantula, voiced by Awkwafina) took it upon themselves to perform a super-dangerous stunt that involved the crew getting a bit chilly in the void of space before their eventual terrestrial return.

Obviously, Rockwell, Awkwafina and their voice castmates (Marc Maron, Craig Robinson and Anthony Ramos) weren’t involved in any stunts for the making of this animated epic, but no one can deny that this is a great, hilarious way to poke a bit of fun at the Maverick star.

The Bad Guys released in 2022, and though the original received mixed to positive critical reviews, there were some who did think that factors like that awesome voice cast, the intriguing animation style, and the cool heist sequences were all fulfilling reasons to give the film a shot.

If nothing else, the sequel certainly looks to build on those first and third points. The cast has added the talents of Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne, and Maria Bakalova, with Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Alex Borstein and others also returning. Meanwhile, who doesn’t want to see how these creatures survive the vacuum of space? I’m already on the edge of my seat!

As soon as President Trump appointed Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as Interim US Attorney for the District Of Columbia this past week, Saturday Night Live fans started speculating that we’d see a return of Cecily Strong. The popular former cast member played Pirro on a semi-regular basis during her tenure on the show, and it’s widely remembered as one of her most popular impressions. It only made sense for the sketch comedy series to comment on the news and for former long-serving SNL cast member Strong to be the one to play her, but what wasn’t as expected was the second cameo SNL gave us.

This week’s episode was hosted by Walton Goggins. There was a lot of talk heading into Saturday about whether we’d get a cameo from his White Lotus co-star Aimee Lou Wood, given there have been relentless rumors about an alleged feud between the two. She was asked about it on the red carpet of the Met Gala and said flat out it wasn’t happening, but given she admitted she was upset about an SNL sketch that featured her earlier in the season, it seemed like a public opportunity to move beyond both lingering stories. That didn’t happen, but what we did get was a cameo from another of Goggins’ White Lotus co-stars: Sam Rockwell.

Rockwell has hosted SNL before, back in 2018, and his acting career has shown off a willingness to get silly now and again. He leaned into that big time last night, as he appeared in a sketch about a woman, played by Jane Wickline, searching for a baby at the zoo after she finds one tiny shoe. To her surprise, it actually belongs to a fully grown Walton Goggins, who happens to have really small feet. They’re later joined by Rockwell, who somehow has even smaller feet. You can watch the madness below…

I love it when SNL gets weird. There’s just something about a sketch with a really random and/ or absurd premise that speaks right into my soul. I loved the charades argument on the ferry last week, and I can’t get enough of this stupid baby shoe bit either. Not everything needs to be really intellectual or topical or about politics. SNL is at its best when it’s a balance of both.

Fortunately, we got both last night. As mentioned, we also got the cameo from former longtime Featured Player Cecily Strong. The comedienne left the show after a decade back in 2022 and returned earlier this year for the show’s 50th Anniversary special. A lot of fans thought it was a slam dunk she’d be back the second President Trump announced Pirro as the new US Attorney, but I had some lingering doubt, given she just gave birth to her first child, a baby girl, in April.

Prime comedy opportunities don’t have any respect for maternity leave though, and she showed up to the delight of fans, who gave her a big round of applause when she entered. She earned those claps too, as her Pirro impression was as delightful as ever. You can watch it below…

James Austin Johnson’s President Trump impression is, of course, always excellent, but I also need to comment on Colin Jost’s appearance as Secretary Of Defense Pete Hegseth. Jost typically only appears on camera during Weekend Update, but to the delight of fans, he’s randomly shown up in sketches multiple weeks in a row. With his wife Scarlett Johansson as the upcoming host for next week’s season finale, it’s entirely possible we could get three weeks in a row of sketch appearances, which certainly wouldn’t do anything to shut down those questions as to whether he could be leaving the show.

Rumors about who is staying and who are going are a regular fixture at the end of every SNL season though, and as Strong proved last night and we’ve seen throughout this season, the door is always open for best ex-cast members to return any given week.

Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of The White Lotus.

HBO has always been a hub for quality TV content, and those with a Max subscription are currently being treated to The White Lotus Season 3. Just like its predecessors, the twisted dark comedy's stakes have been raising every week, and Episode 5 "Full-Moon Party" saw things get even more wild. While seeing the episode's brotherly kiss was something fans had been anxiously awaiting for, another moment from the episode broke the internet: Sam Rockwell's surprise role and wild monologue.

While some folks out there are figuring out how to watch The White Lotus Season 3, I'm actively tuning in to each new episode on Sundays. The White Lotus Season 3 cast list didn't originally include Rockwell, which is why his role was so surprising. That, and his character's unique sexual proclivities. Tweets responded to this shocking scene, with many using Walton Goggins' reaction to mirror their own. Check it out:

Honestly, no one could have predicted what Sam Rockwell's new character Frank would share with Goggins' Rick. While sharing his experience with sex workers, he revealed an existential crisis that occurred, and resulted in him engaging in new sex activities before finding Buddhism and celibacy. Another funny tweet used footage from Whoopi Goldberg on The View to share their gobsmacked reaction, check it out:

Sam Rockwell appearing in a guest role for The White Lotus was surprising enough, but his comments to Rick Walton Goggins was definitely a shock. And it somehow ended up being tweeted about just as much, if not more, than the kiss shared between brothers Saxon and Lochlan (Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola).

Every episode of The White Lotus has shocking moments that go viral. Last week it was Jason Isaacs' nude scene that came out of nowhere. Although some fans were bummed that Isaacs used a prosthetic for the sequence. This week there's a lot to digest, with one tweet poking fun at just how much happened during Episode 5.

Luckily for us, Sam Rockwell isn't just going to appear in one episode this season. His newcomer was also shown in the trailer for Episode 6, so perhaps we'll get more truly wild and meme-worthy monologues from Frank.

The White Lotus' dark comedy vibe and wild characters are usually fodder for memes, and Sam Rockwell might have gotten the most responses after Episode 5. Another funny tweet used Adele footage to show how confusing and fascinating Frank's backstory was, as they shared:

Walton Goggins has been getting a ton of love for his work on Season 3, and that's seemingly not going to stop anytime soon. His incredulous reaction to Sam Rockwell's monologue is likely going to be used as a meme reaction going forward. As one person Tweeted:

There are still three episodes of The White Lotus Season 3 to go, and it certainly feels like just about anything could happen. Rick is planning murderous revenge, the incestous brother are getting closer, and the conflict between Belinda and Greg/Gary feels extremely high stakes... especially now that the hotel's management is refusing to get involved.

We'll just have to see which moments from the final episodes go viral like this. New episodes air Sundays on HBO and Max as part of the 2025 TV premiere list.

Of all the mysteries of life, one that continues to confound us is what, exactly, lies beyond our planet. After thousands of years of peering into outer space as far as we could, we began to look for those answers in a very concrete way by sending people to the stars, and our movies have reflected our desire to know more, meaning that a number of humanity’s biggest and brightest stars have played space-faring individuals on screen. Here for you now are 32 famous actors who’ve played astronauts.

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Let’s start with one of the more harrowing views of space travel, Gravity, which garnered a number of Academy Award wins after its 2013 release. Sandra Bullock stars as Dr. Ryan Stone, who’s on her first space mission in order to help upgrade a telescope. But, things very quickly go wrong when she’s doing a spacewalk, and debris from a recently deactivated satellite hits the shuttle and leaves her stranded with many of her crew dead, Ryan floating through space, and desperate to find a way back to earth all on her own.

Brad Pitt (Ad Astra)

A space trip that doesn’t go too much better involves Brad Pitt’s Roy McBride in 2019’s Ad Astra. When Roy is tasked with traveling to Mars to see if the crew of a mission that was searching for other intelligent life, which was led 29 years earlier by his father, is still alive, he’s unwittingly thrust into a situation that’s far more dangerous than even standard space travel is known to be.

Ryan Reynolds (Life)

Noted comedic actor and big-screen superhero talent Ryan Reynolds has also donned a space suit for the very much not comedic Life, a 2017 ode to terror in space. After a probe returns to the International Space Station with soil samples from Mars, what is at first a dormant cell quickly turns into, well, life, and begins to cause a lot of horrific trouble for Reynolds’ engineer and the rest of the crew.

Halle Berry (Moonfall)

If you’re starting to sense a theme here, that outer space is dangerous, congratulations, because you really are paying attention. In the sci-fi disaster epic, Moonfall, Halle Berry’s NASA deputy director has to investigate when the moon begins to leave its orbit and come closer to Earth, threatening all of civilization. When she digs deeper into the mystery, however, she finds a government cover-up that goes back many decades and is forced to head back into space with a small crew to take care of the growing problem herself.

Michael Peña (A Million Miles Away)

Considering the incredible number of films we have where those who head into space are prominent characters, there are actually relatively few based on the lives of real people. A Million Miles Away stars Michael Peña as José M. Hernández, a Mexican-American engineer who served as a migrant worker when he was a child and went on to become an astronaut who worked aboard the International Space Station.

Viola Davis (Solaris)

There are many sci-fi films of the mind-trip variety and Solaris is no different. Viola Davis portrays one of the last surviving members of a space station crew orbiting the titular alien world, who must then try to help George Clooney’s visiting psychologist understand the truly strange phenomena that led to the death or disappearance of most of the crew. If you enjoy a twisty ending that leaves you with lots of questions, you’ll enjoy this one.

Mark Wahlberg (Planet Of The Apes)

You know this story; you love this story. Planet of the Apes saw Mark Wahlberg take over the role of an astronaut who crashes on a foreign planet, only to find that apes are now the dominant species, while humans are mostly without speech and used as slave labor. 

Chris Evans (Sunshine)

And here we have yet another space movie where a mission does not quite go as planned. Sunshine features stars like Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh and a pre-Captain America Chris Evans as the crew of a ship that’s been tasked with traveling to our dying sun to deliver a bomb in the hopes of reigniting it so that our planet can avoid another catastrophic ice age.

Adam Driver (65)

Ever wonder what Earth was like about 65 million years ago when dinosaurs still ruled the land? Well, that’s what alien astronaut Mills (Adam Driver) accidentally finds out when his ship is struck by a large field of asteroids and crashes on our planet, leading him to have to protect the only other survivor as they flee many dangerous beasts in an attempt to get to a faraway escape pod so they can return home.

Sigourney Weaver (Alien)

It’s possible we’d have far fewer of these “if it can go wrong on a space mission it will” science fiction films without what many consider one of the best horror movies of all time, Alien. The classic stars Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, one of a seven-person crew who unknowingly stumble upon the ultra-dangerous xenomorphs that would go on to become legendary in sci-fi horror, which quickly leads to pretty much nothing but increasingly bad times on their doomed mission.

Tom Hanks (Apollo 13)

We’ve hit upon another story based on some real-life adventures! In Apollo 13, Tom Hanks stars as Commander Jim Lovell who, along with Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), board their 1970 mission to the moon in order to become the third American crew to land there. However, trouble starts almost immediately.

Natalie Portman (Lucy In The Sky)

While not completely a true life story, 2019’s Lucy in the Sky is billed as being “loosely inspired” by the life of NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak. The plot concerns Natalie Portman’s Lucy, who has just returned from her first space mission, which had such a huge impact on her that she no longer feels connected to her family or life here. As she pushes herself to return on the next mission, she undergoes a mental breakdown that sends her life into a tailspin.

Glen Powell (Hidden Figures)

While the amazing biopic, Hidden Figures, focuses on three Black women (Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) who worked as NASA mathematicians during the height of the Space Race in the 1960s, we do still get an astronaut in this film. Twisters star Glen Powell plays John Glenn, who became the first American in orbit in 1962.

Robert Pattinson (High Life)

You’d think a movie called High Life would finally focus on some good times in space, but…nahhhhh. Robert Pattinson is a member of a crew of convicts on death row who’ve been sent to retrieve energy from a black hole, with the experiments of their commander leading to a child being born on board while crew members spiral out of control.

Tom Cruise (Oblivion)

Tom Cruise’s 2013 film, Oblivion, features him in a twisty plot that involves a post-apocalyptic Earth, evil A.I., even more evil aliens, and his character trying to figure out exactly what’s going on with his assigned mission. This is a good one that people hardly ever talk about.

Jodie Foster (Contact)

Based on the 1985 novel by Carl Sagan, Contact stars Academy Award winner Jodie Foster as a scientist who specializes in the search for extraterrestrial life, and finds a big clue toward that goal when she locates a radio signal that appears to be sent from a distant star, and is eventually chosen as the person to make first contact with the alien race behind the signal. Contact is an amazing film that is a must-see for sci-fi and space movie lovers.

Colin Farrell (Voyagers)

This movie is a real (space) trip. Voyagers stars Colin Farrell as the leader of a crew of very young adults who were bred away from humanity and had some of their hormones and emotions suppressed in the hope of keeping them manageable. But, when two of the crew realize what’s been done to them and convince everyone to stop taking the chemical, well, the proceedings get extremely emotional and tension doesn't let up for quite some time.

Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar)

By now, it’s probably pretty clear that our idea of space travel and exploration is mainly one of danger, especially from the unknown, and Christopher Nolan’s wildly successful Interstellar is certainly another addition to the film canon that shows us that. In it, Matthew McConaughey plays a former NASA test pilot who’s chosen to lead a mission through a wormhole that is hoped to lead to at least one habitable planet for humanity, which is dealing with a global famine that’s threatening an extinction event. 

Idris Elba (Prometheus)

Those Alien xenomorphs just won’t leave us alone, will they? In Prometheus, we get their origin story as a crew following an ancient star map searches for the beginnings of humanity, but instead finds…you know, a secret plot and lots of terror. Idris Elba portrays Janek, the heroic captain of the doomed spaceship.

Adam Sandler (Spaceman)

If you’ve ever gotten the sense that space travel can be kind of lonely, Adam Sandler’s Spaceman turns that idea up to 11. His astronaut is six months into a solo mission that sees him missing his wife and the unborn child he left behind, when he realizes he has a stowaway: an alien creature who can communicate telepathically with him, and seeks to understand humans while helping alleviate the astronaut’s loneliness.

Ryan Gosling (First Man)

This biographical drama sees Ryan Gosling play Neil Armstrong, who became the first man to walk on the moon in 1969. The story follows Armstrong, his wife Janet (Claire Foy), and other astronauts and NASA figures as they prepare for the famed Apollo 11 mission that led to Armstrong making history.

Angela Bassett (Supernova)

Even two-time Oscar nominee Angela Bassett has taken a turn at playing a space explorer whose time there does not go as planned. When she and her crew answer a distress call from thousands of light years away during their deep space mission, things go from bad to worse at, well, the speed of light.

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Matt Damon famously starred in one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, playing astronaut Mark Watney, who’s forced to survive on Mars alone after being accidentally left behind when he’s presumed dead by the rest of his crew as they’re forced to evacuate. 

Bruce Willis (Armageddon)

Possibly the best non-traditional astronaut movie ever made, Armageddon stars good guy Bruce Willis as an oil driller recruited to go into space with a team of his mean so that they drill into a massive asteroid, implant a nuke in it and blow it up in the hope of stopping it from destroying the planet and human civilization as we know it. I got excited just writing that!

Laurence Fishburne (Event Horizon)

In space, no one can hear you scream. Unless you’re on a spaceship with other people that’s destined to run into loads of trouble, then, you know, all of those people will probably be able to hear you. There’s lots of screaming in 1997’s Event Horizon, which stars Laurence Fishburne as the captain of a rescue ship that goes to answer a distress call sent by a ship that disappeared several years prior. There’s a vivisection in this one. I’m starting to think we should just leave space alone.

Robert Duvall (Deep Impact)

You must remember Deep Impact, as it was released about two months before the more popular Armageddon, but featured a comet being on a collision course with our precious homeworld. Robert Duvall plays the pilot for the crew that’s dispatched to (you guessed it) drill into the comet and nuke it to smithereens. The mission does not go off without a hitch, and that’s why they call this a disaster movie.

Ethan Hawke (Gattaca)

In a society where most babies are created with genetic altering to make sure they have only the best traits of each parent, a man (Ethan Hawke) who was born without that practice poses as a man who was altered so that he can reach his dream of becoming an astronaut without all of the discrimination that people like him suffer in a society where people are expected to be “perfect” to have the best opportunities in life.

Sam Rockwell (Moon)

Ok, so maybe being in space, in general, isn’t always terrible. But it definitely seems like being alone in space for an extended period could be a bad sign for your future. Such is the case with Moon, where Sam Rockwell plays the lone human operating a mining facility on the titular celestial body, who comes to a startling revelation as he nears the end of his three-year work term.

Clint Eastwood (Space Cowboys)

Clint Eastwood has portrayed a number of (basically) good guys, so it makes complete sense that he would have stepped into the shoes of an Air Force pilot who retired long ago, but ends up leading a mission of other retired pilots to fix an old Soviet communications satellite that’s in danger of crashing to Earth.

Liv Tyler (Space Station 76)

As you’ve likely noticed, there are not a lot of comedies among this bunch, but Space Station 76 is definitely one of them. This “retro-futuristic” parody stars Liv Tyler as the newly arrived station’s co-pilot, who soon comes to realize that the apparently utopian lives of those on board are hiding some very real problems.

Alan Rickman (Galaxy Quest)

Here is another comedy that’s been a cult hit pretty much since its release in 1999. Galaxy Quest focuses on the cast of a fictional Star Trek-like series who are pulled into a hilariously real war between alien races, when the kind, gentle aliens have seen their show and believe it’s a documentary.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Cloverfield Paradox)

The Cloverfield franchise grew with this 2018 entry, which stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as an engineer aboard an orbiting space station where the plan is to test a particle accelerator in the hope of using it to provide the planet with infinite energy. You know what happens, right? Things don’t go as planned.

Many of our finest actors have pretended to travel in space for our entertainment, and this list gives you a number of amazing options should you decide to launch an astronaut movie binge session.

Argylle is one of the most anticipated films of 2024. Between Argylle's killer cast list including Dua Lipa and Henry Cavill and exciting director Matthew Vaughn at the helm, the movie looks like a fun action romp this winter that'll be sure to draw a crowd. Samuel L. Jackson also is a key member of the cast, along with Sam Rockwell who is heavily featured in the Argylle trailer. The Pulp Fiction actor recently revealed that the new movie marks his fourth film with Rockwell, but this one is special for a very interesting reason. 

The Avengers alum recently posted a video on Instagram of himself and director Vaughn gearing up for press for Argylle. Jackson seemed excited to be discussing his latest film with the genre director, and even had on argyle-pattern socks to celebrate the new film. He also posted a number of photos with his Argylle cast members. You can see his post below:

He also shared in the caption that Argylle is his fourth cinematic collaboration with Sam Rockwell, however it will be the first time the two have shared a scene together. He said: 

This seemed too crazy to be true, but it turns out this is absolutely accurate. Both actors have careers that have spanned decades, and although they may share some credits, they have never appeared on screen together. The first time was 1991’s Strictly Business, where both actors has small parts in the Halle Berry-led romantic comedy. The second time was 1994’s The Search for One-eye Jimmy, which was an ensemble comedy where the two movie stars once again never cross paths. The third, and most notable, is Iron Man 2, in which Jackson plays Nick Fury and Rockwell plays the villain, Justin Hammer. While both are essential to the film, they still never interact. 

It’s a long time coming, but based on this post, Rockwell and Jackson will be sharing screen time together in Argylle. While major plot points are being kept under wraps, it seems like both characters are essential to the action/adventure story at the forefront.  Rockwell plays Aiden, an undercover spy who’s story seems to mirror the occurrences written in the Argylle book series. He is one of the essential characters responsible for helping Bryce Dallas Howard’s author character, Elly, figure out why her books are seemingly coming to life. Jackson plays Alfred Solomon, the exiled former deputy director of the CIA, who has information that Elly needs. How Rockwell and Jackson’s characters will interact remains to be seen, but this little Instagram anecdote is a fun fact, and a fun tease of what’s to come in Argylle. 

This may be the first time the two stars have appeared together, but hopefully it won’t be the last. The MCU loves bringing back former characters, so maybe Nick Fury and Justin Hammer could have a scene together in an upcoming Avengers movie. The Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri star has discussed maybe bringing his Iron Man 2 character back, so it's not completely out of the question. In addition, although Argylle as yet be released, plans for an Argylle 2 have already been discussed. We will have to wait to see if this does come to fruition, but any excuse to have Rockwell and Jackson as scene partners sounds like a great idea. 

You can check out Samuel L. Jackson and Sam Rockwell finally reunited in Argylle, which will hit theaters on February 2nd, and available for AppleTV+ subscribers in the near future. You can also see them both on screen separately in Iron Man 2, which is now available to stream with a Disney+ subscription. For more information on other exciting films heading to theaters this year, make sure to check out our 2024 movie release schedule. 

Henry Cavill is becoming a spy in AppleTV+’s Argylle, which is coming to theaters this February. As we look forward to the exciting release on the 2024 movie schedule, the former Superman actor has shared the story behind a rather intense train fight sequence he worked on alongside Sam Rockwell, and it sounds like it was an overwhelming amount of work. 

Argylle takes place in two realities, one of an introverted spy novelist named Elly Conway, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, in her own life, and that of her imagined world starring her protagonist Agent Argylle (Cavill). Early in the film, there’s apparently a sequence that takes place in both of these worlds. In a scene where Elly is being saved by attackers while aboard a train by Sam Rockwell’s Aiden Wilde, she imagines Argylle in his place, which proved to be quite the technical challenge for the two actors. As Cavill shared: 

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Cavill explained that he had to carefully watch the movements of Sam Rockwell in the dual train fight scene and pay attention to mimicking each other’s movements. They decidedly switched off on picking which ways they would do the choreography that would work for each of them. As Cavill continued: 

While the scene seems like it was not easy by any means, it sounds like Henry Cavill welcomed the challenge, and he actually enjoyed getting to work with Sam Rockwell on it. You can see a tease for the sequence in the Argylle trailer below: 

As you can see the Argylle cast is absolutely stacked between Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell acting alongside Bryan Cranston, Dua Lipa, John Cena, Catherine O’Hara, Samuel L. Jackson and Ariana DeBose. The movie comes from director Matthew Vaughn, who made the Kingsman movies, two of the X-Men prequels, First Class and Days of Future Past along with Kick-Ass and Stardust. 

Vaughn has previously described this movie as “very meta” which is proved by Howard playing the author of the book Argylle, Elly Conway, which is so shrouded in mystery that many Swifties have theorized its Taylor Swift under a pseudonym.

Thankfully, we’ll be able to see the dual train fight scene that Cavill and Rockwell both worked so hard on the big screen come February 2. At a later date that has yet to be revealed, the movie will be available to those with an Apple TV+ subscription as well. 

James “Rhodey” Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine, has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since it launched in 2008 with Iron Man, and Don Cheadle took over the role from Terrence Howard in Iron Man 2. While Cheadle has now played/voiced the character in 10 MCU projects, including the Secret Invasion series airing to Disney+ subscribers now, he still has yet to lead his own story, but that will soon change. Initially developed as a show, Armor Wars will now be a movie, and a new rumor has emerged claiming that it’ll bring back a major Iron Man character: Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer, one of the antagonists from Cheadle’s MCU debut.

Let’s set the stage first. Similar to the same-named story comic book arc that ran from Iron Man #225-232, Armor Wars will follow Rhodey having to confront one of the late Tony Stark’s greatest fears when various pieces of Stark Technology end up in the wrong hands. According to The Cosmic Circus, the Department of Damage Control (DODC), which has been chronologically active in the MCU since post-The Avengers, has seized the technology as part of its efforts to start dealing with enhanced individuals and other threats on its own rather than rely on superheroes. That includes using the Stark tech to make an “Iron army,” i.e. putting individuals in Iron Man suits, but this initiative ends up getting hijacked by Armor Wars’ main antagonists. These villains, according to the outlet, are Justin Hammer and Julia Louis Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the latter of whom we’ve already seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and will next be seen in Thunderbolts.

Per this rumor, Fontaine, who’s director of the CIA at this point, is the one pulling the DODC’s strings for her own schemes, and she’s recruited Hammer to “develop this team of Iron Men.” Assuming Sam Rockwell is indeed involved with Armor Wars, this will be his third MCU appearance. After being betrayed by Ivan Vanko and arrested by the authorities in Iron Man 2, he cameoed in the Marvel One-Shot short film All Hail the King, where he was incarcerated in the same prison as Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery (who will next be seen in the Wonder Man series following his return in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). He may not be able to exact vengeance on Tony Stark anymore, but I imagine Hammer would find causing trouble for Rhodey to be a nice consolation prize.

As if a Fontaine/Hammer partnership wasn’t bad enough, The Cosmic Circus also mentioned that Armor Wars may feature rogue AI, and there’s even been rumblings about Ultron somehow being brought back, though it isn’t clear if that’s truly on the table. The good news for War Machine, though, is that he supposedly won’t have to deal with all this on his own, as Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams is said to be suiting back up in this upcoming Marvel movie following her appearances in Wakanda Forever and Ironheart, with the latter series expected to arrive to Disney+ sometime in 2024. It’s also possible that Armor Wars will feature “the potential return of several characters related to the Iron Man franchise,” but that’s unconfirmed for now.

While Armor Wars doesn’t have a specific release date yet, this report claimed that it will be the next movie after Fantastic Four, which would slot it into July 25, 2025. If that or any of the rumored information mentioned in this piece is verified, we’ll let you know. Until then, keep track of what else is coming up in the MCU with our upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows guides.

The whodunnit genre is a comfortable place, if you understand what makes it tick. However, it’s only those who are truly reverent of its charms that can successfully get away with murder when making a movie like Tom George's See How They Run. Half of the familiar formula lands in a film that lovingly delves into real history and classic cinema in an attempt to deliver delightful distraction. Though looking a bit closer at the clues presented, any amateur detective will be able to see that what’s really missing from this enjoyable exercise is a key extra mile.

Using a mixture of fictitious characters alongside real world events and people from 1953, the mystery of this pseudo-fictional story surrounds the death of Leo Köpernick (Adrian Brody), a man instrumental to the potential film adaptation of a successful West End play. Motive and opportunity are abundant as Leo was a bit of a cad, leaving Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) with their work cut out for them. A mis-matched pair, Stoppard and Stalker have to get to the bottom of the case before the killer can strike again. 

Featuring a lot of meta comedy, See How They Run very much understands the basics of murder mysteries.

Between director Tom George and writer Mark Chappell, there’s definitely an appreciation and great understanding of the fundamentals that make a murder mystery. That much is felt throughout See How They Run, as there’s a rich current of jokes that lead the audience to red herrings, false starts, and legitimate foreshadowing of what’s to come. It’s all there from the beginning, as future victim Leo Köpernick tells us, “It’s a whodunnit. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all.”

Were that statement merely the foundation for what happens throughout this mystery comedy, a team could take its audience to some very interesting places. See How They Run takes that meta comedy attitude a bit too far, however, to the point where it plays as an homage to more interesting murder mysteries rather than creating its own intriguing caper. By time the modest, sensible clues are laid out and the solution is revealed, it doesn’t inspire a shocked gasp so much as a shrug of acceptance.

As a comedy, those meta humorous moments do land some laughs, and all involved get their turn to be witty. Without a strong mystery to hang all of these components off of, though, it all feels a bit too cute and winking in the execution. That’s certainly not the fault of the performers, as See How They Run’s all-star cast brings another well worn practice of murder mystery filmmaking to the table.

Amid an impressive ensemble of actors, Saoirse Ronan rises above the rest to make See How They Run her movie.

Murder is usually more fun on the big screen when you have a bunch of well-known faces to throw into the mix. Score another win for See How They Run in this respect, as Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, and Adrian Brody are flanked by the likes of Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, and Harris Dickinson, among others. That assortment of talent performs exactly as you’d hope, but even then Ronan’s Constable Stalker vaults above the lot and steals this movie.

With a combination of quirky crime stopper meets astute investigative mind, Ronan’s character is the surprise anchor of this starry cast. See How They Run pairs Saorise Ronan and Sam Rockwell against each other rather effectively as co-leads, and he performance helps with some of the rockier tonal shifts the script navigates. Though Rockwell's world-weary, beaten down detective is fun in his own right, the material never really pushes him to step too far outside of that basic character outline.

Dramatic precision and comedic timing propel Ronan forward throughout, giving the audience a fantastic surrogate who bounces around the theories they’re formulating in the theater. If See How They Run were to be considered a franchise starter, it’d be Constable Stalker who would carry the brand forward. 

See How They Run is a fun whodunnit, but it lacks madcap energy.

There’s some promising ingredients in See How The Run’s recipe for murderous mayhem. It’s an overall entertaining exercise that has fun with what it’s doing, which is absolutely paramount when creating an entry in such a rich genre canon as that of the whodunnit. That doesn’t make up for another very important shortcoming in this ode to the works of Agatha Christie, which is the lack of madcap energy. 

Usually, a whodunnit is either a mostly serious affair with some comedic edge thrown in, or a race to the finish through absurd complications, wordplay, and occasionally a death. See How They Run never seems to pick a lane as to which of those two avenues it wants to serve. That confusion makes trying to figure out what sort of movie we’re watching the true mystery, leaving the events unfolding on screen to take a backseat at times. 

See How They Run is enjoyable to watch, while being frustrating knowing what could have been. The way that this film is marketed, you’d expect the second coming of Clue or Knives Out, which is completely betrayed by the more serious elements in the script. Die hard genre fans will still find some chuckles, but the public at large might not be slayed by what this killer is trying to accomplish.

You never truly know when any of the numerous characters from the history of Marvel movies are going to show up. In recent years, we’ve seen folks like Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery and, more recently, Tim Roth’s Abomination/Emil Blonsky poke their heads into the MCU after supposedly disappearing. So naturally a lot of people are wondering if Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer could have a Marvel future, and the man himself has an answer that shows off just how good of a dancer he happens to be. 

Our own Sean O’Connell got to speak with Rockwell during the press rounds for Searchlight Pictures’ upcoming comedic whodunnit See How They Run. That discussion turned towards Sam Rockwell's potential future of the MCU, as the franchise has been resurfacing former foes left and right. This was apparently news to Rockwell, as he gave CinemaBlend the following answer to this pressing question:

Well, if that isn’t a wonderful dance around the subject. It’s not surprising, as comic movie veterans of all stripes are usually shy to comment on their potential returns. Before the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, we saw some prime footwork from Kevin Costner, who also politely refused to comment on a similar query about any sort of reprisal of Jonathan Kent. 

However, the recent phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe projects and news has made Justin Hammer’s fate all the more intriguing. As noted previously, Tim Roth’s Abomination has been featured in both Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as well as more recently in an episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Before this resurgence, Roth’s character was last seen in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, which has prompted many a Marvel fan to brush up on Abomination’s place in the MCU.

Though strangely enough, Trevor Slattery from Iron Man 3 bridges both Abomination and Justin Hammer in a fun way. Ben Kingsley's actor/would-be Mandarin also featured in Shang-Chi, but was notably revived in the 2014 Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King; which saw Slattery in the same supervillain jail as Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's past is coming back into focus, and it’s fitting considering how Phase 4 has been acknowledged as the big reset for the future. Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer certainly has room to breathe in this big launchpad to the next step of MCU history. All that has to happen is for Kevin Feige to find the right spot to slot him into the action, and Tony Stark’s nemesis will be dancing again in no time. That is, if he hasn't already done so, and we're just not privy to such a decision. 

In the meantime, you can catch Sam Rockwell leading an all-star ensemble in See How They Run, which brings the whodunnit back to the big screen starting September 16th. For a look at what else is on the horizon at the movies, check out the listing of upcoming movies headed to a theater near you. 

Meanwhile, if you’re trying to keep all the MCU threads in order, you can revisit movies like Iron Man 2, provided you’re a Disney+ subscriber. Though if you’re looking for 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, you’ll need to go to HBO Max at the time of this writing. 

When it comes to animated films, DreamWorks is one of the kings. From Shrek to How To Train Your Dragon, DreamWorks has made some amazing films in its time. My personal favorite has always been the amazing biblical musical, The Prince of Egypt, but now, a new film has come to join that list of awesome animated movies - The Bad Guys. 

Debuting as part of the 2022 movie release schedule, The Bad Guys is the latest DreamWork's venture, which follows a gang of animals who are criminals and try to pull off the ultimate heist, but when they are caught, have to pretend they want to be reformed citizens. Here is the cast of The Bad Guys and where you might have seen or heard them before. 

Sam Rockwell (Mr. Wolf)

Mr. Wolf is the leader of the “Bad Guys” gang, and he is voiced by the superbly talented Sam Rockwell. Don’t be surprised if that name sounds familiar, as Rockwell is certainly one of those actors you’ve seen or heard many times before. 

In terms of movies, Rockwell has been in a variety of films, both critical and box-office hits. Some of these movies include Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Matchstick Men, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Moon, Seven Psychopaths, Richard Jewel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Stephen King adaptation, The Green Mile, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Way Way Back, Vice, Jojo Rabbit, and many, many others. 

Rockwell hasn’t been as active in television as he has in movies, mainly keeping his talents to the big screen. However, one of his biggest TV roles was voicing the character Vic Reynolds in the animated Netflix TV series, F is for Family. 

Marc Maron (Mr. Snake)

Next up in The Bad Guys, we have Mr. Snake, the second-in-command to Mr. Wolf who's voiced by Marc Maron. Primarily a stand-up comedian, Maron is known for his comedy and many guest-spots on late night shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman or Late Night with Conan O’Brien. However, he has plenty of acting credits that you might recognize him from, as well. 

Maron has had roles in films like 2019’s Joker, Get A Job, Sword of Trust, Stardust, To Leslie, Respect, and more. He has also had experience in television. From 2013-2016, he starred in his own show, called Maron. He’s also had roles in shows such as Harvey Beaks, Easy, the Netflix series, GLOW, and many other small guest roles that you might have seen him in before. 

Anthony Ramos (Mr. Piranha)

Moving on to the next member of The Bad Guys, Anthony Ramos voices Mr. Piranha, who is the youngest of the gang and has a bit of a temper. Ramos has been making a name for himself the last few years with his musical and acting talent, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you have heard of him. 

Ramos was a part of the original cast of Hamilton, which was released on Disney+ in 2020 and gave him even more exposure. Since then, Ramos has appeared in a variety of movies and television shows. He was a part of the In the Heights cast as the lead character, as well as having smaller roles in movies like Godzilla: King of the Monsters, A Star Is Born, Trolls: World Tour, and more. 

Ramos is also no stranger to television. He had a big role as Mars Blackmon in She’s Gotta Have It, as well as a big role in Season 4 of In Treatment, and a guest role on the Starz series, Blindspotting. He’s also going to be in the upcoming Disney+ series, Ironheart, so keep an eye out for this one. 

Craig Robinson (Mr. Shark)

The fourth member of The Bad Guys gang is Mr. Shark, who is a supposed master-of-disguise. He is voiced by Craig Robinson, a hilarious actor and comedian who has been in many movies and television shows that you might recognize him from - or, at the very least, recognize his voice. 

Robinson has appeared in many big screen comedies, including This Is The End, Hot Tub Time Machine, Pineapple Express, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Sausage Party, and more. He’s also done a few dramatic films, with roles in movies like Dolemite is My Name and Morris from America. 

However, I know Craig Robinson originally from his work on television. One of his most prominent characters was Darryl Philbin as part of The Office cast. He’s also had many roles in other shows such as The Cleveland Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, American Dad!, Ghosted, and more. Robinson has also stepped into hosting a little bit, with his gigs on both The Masked Danced and Your Attention Please. Currently, he stars as Craig in Killing It on Peacock. 

Awkwafina (Ms. Tarantula)

Last but not least for the gang members in The Bad Guys, we have Ms. Tarantula, voiced by the talented Awkwafina. I’m sure at some point over the last couple of years you’ve heard Awkwafina’s name, and for good reason, as the actress is so funny and a star. 

Awkwafina has been in many films over the last few years. Some of her best include Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, being part of the Raya and the Last Dragon cast, and a big role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. She’s even going to be in the upcoming The Little Mermaid live-action remake as Scully. 

The star has also had a lot of experience in television as well. Awkwafina stars in her own series called Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, a comedy, but she’s also had other prominent roles as well, including a voice role in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, as well the host of Tawk. 

Richard Ayode (Prof. Rupert Marmalade IV)

Next up, we have Professor Rupert Marmalade IV in The Bad Guys, who is voiced by the talented Richard Ayoade. Ayoade has been in a number of movies and TV shows during his career, so you might have seen him in a couple of things before. 

With movies, Ayoade has appeared in many films such as The Watch, The Double, The Boxtrolls, was a part of the Soul cast, and many more. Ayoade has also been very prominent in television. His biggest role this far was portraying Maurice Moss in the comedy, The IT Crowd, but he’s also appeared in many other shows such as Time Trumpet, The Big Fat Quiz, Strange Hill High, Gadget Man, Travel Man, Apple & Onion, and many others. 

Zazie Beetz (Diane Foxington/The Crimson Paw)

Moving on, we have Zazie Beetz, who voices Diane Foxington in The Bad Guys, otherwise known as The Crimson Paw. Zazie Beetz is a name I’ve grown very familiar with over the last several years, due to her iconic portrayal of Vanessa in the FX series, Atlanta, which just returned for Season 3. 

However, Beetz has done more than just that and has been in many TV shows and movies. Some of her best known work thus far has been playing Domino in Deadpool 2,  Joker, Wounds, Dead Pigs, Geostorm, Lucy in the Sky, The Harder They Fall, and more. She’s also going to be in the upcoming Brad Pitt-led film, Bullet Train. 

Beetz's television works besides Atlanta includes playing Noelle in Easy, having a guest spot on Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone, and voice roles in Robot Chicken. 

Lilly Singh (Tiffany Fluffit)

Tiffany Fluffit, a news reporter in The Bad Guys, is voiced by Lilly Singh, and as someone who grew up watching her, it is so cool to see her in a big-time movie like this. Lilly Singh got her start making sketches on her YouTube channel, Superwoman, but then broke out into the mainstream media when she started to host her own late-night talk show, A Little Late with Lilly Singh. 

Even though she hosted her talk show for two seasons, Singh has also had a variety of television and movie appearances. Some of her movie roles include a voice role in Ice Age: Collision Course, Bad Moms, and more. Her TV appearances include small guest roles in shows such as Life in Pieces, Fahrenheit 451 (which was a made-for-TV film), The Simpsons, Medical Police, and a recurring role in the Hulu original series, Dollface. She’s also a judge on Canada’s Got Talent. 

Alex Borstein (Misty Luggins)

Last but not least, we have Alex Borstein, who voices Misty Luggins in The Bad Guys. I’m sure if you’re a voice-actor fan, you’ve heard of Alex Borstein, who has done an extensive amount of voice work during her career, but one of her biggest roles thus far has been voicing Lois Griffin in the iconic animated show, Family Guy. 

However, besides her big voice role, Borstein has done plenty of other parts as well in both movies and TV shows. Some of her movie work includes Catwoman, Little Man, The Lookout, Killers, Ted, the stopmotion film, ParaNorman, Love the Coopers, Extinct, The Angry Birds Movie, and more. 

Her other TV roles include being a part of MADtv and doing several sketches, guest roles on Gilmore Girls, voices on Robot Chicken, voicing Latoyah in Slacker Cats, portraying Lou Deckner in Shameless, Dawn Forchette in Getting On, Susie Myerson in the Amazon Prime original series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and many others. 

With such a large cast, it’s no surprise that all of these characters are played by such talented actors and actresses. Maybe now you've found a new show or movie to watch because of them. Hopefully they’re not as bad as the Bad Guys gang in their other projects, though. 

We know there are those of you out there who root for the bad guy. DreamWorks Animation must know it too, and their upcoming movie The Bad Guys gives you plenty of them (duh). The trailer for the film, which shows off its A-list cast, makes it look like a pretty fun heist flick, with even some Reservoir Dogs inspiration, but what else can we expect from Pierre Perifel’s feature directorial debut? The critics have screened the movie, and they’re here to help us figure that out.

Voicing the animated bad guys are Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Anthony Ramos, Craig Robinson and Awkwafina. This group of criminal animals who, upon being caught, pretend to attempt to reform themselves as model citizens. However, leader of the pack Wolf (Rockwell), is unexpectedly drawn to change his ways for real. So what’s the verdict? Let’s check out what the critics have to say, starting with the CinemaBlend review of The Bad Guys. 

Our own Eric Eisenberg rates it 3 out of 5 stars, saying while the movie looks fun, it never really tries anything interesting. He says it’s impossible not to notice similarities to 2016 hit Zootopia, and this one doesn’t stack up favorably to the Disney film:

Tom Santilli of Movie Show Plus doesn’t give the film quite as much credit, grading it a D. He says the film’s premise is ripe for fun, but there’s nothing good to be found, and the audience — both the children and the adults accompanying them — deserve better:

However, for some audiences, it’s hard to beat a redemption story, and Danielle Solzman of Solzy at the Movies enjoyed this one, rating it a 4 out of 5. She draws attention to the beautiful animation — which is one point the critics agree on, even in other, less favorable reviews. Solzman says: 

Frank Schek of The Hollywood Reporter says The Bad Guys is “criminally fun” — especially with some older-generation references to Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs for the grown-ups — although the final act devolves into manic vehicular mayhem. This critic especially likes the casting of well-known actors who are actually well-suited to the roles:

Aaron Neuwirth of We Live Entertainment rates it a 7 out of 10, saying The Bad Guys incorporates plot twists, compelling character reveals, and engaging action sequences with plenty of space left for jokes and sight gags:

Josh Spiegel of SlashFilm rates the movie 6.5 out of 10, saying it has its charms but doesn’t quite stand up to some of its Pixar peers, including Luca and Turning Red. He also mentioned the animation style, which he says is a nod to Aaron Blabey’s book series that the movie is adapted from:

It sounds like critics are all over the place on The Bad Guys, but they do agree on the beautiful animation. Many also mention that the film tries to provide enough shout-outs to other movies to keep the adult portion of the audience on their toes while the kids are otherwise distracted by the more expected child-geared humor (yes, I’m talking about fart jokes). 

If you want to check this one out, you can soon. The Bad Guys premieres in theaters on Friday, April 22. While you’re at it, take a look at our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what other films are coming soon. 

Though he may still be working in the world of his Kingman universe, director Matthew Vaughn just can’t pass up a good spy story. After reading a manuscript of mysterious author Elly Conway’s espionage thriller Argylle, Vaughn dedicated himself to shepherding this cinematic take on the project, and took Henry Cavill along for the ride. 

It wasn’t too long before a veritable who’s who of actors jumped on board, and before you knew it Bryce Dallas Howard and John Cena became a part Apple Original Films and Universal's picture, set to debut theatrically on the 2024 movie release schedule. As you’re about to see, the faces who are involved in this particular game are both familiar and intriguing. 

But before we go too far, let's take a look at Argylle's trailer. It's not only a lot of fun to watch, it will also serve as a primer for the dual pronged reality we're about to delve into.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the cast for Argylle. Starting, of course, with the actor whose character lends the film its very name. 

Henry Cavill

After making some trips to the world of espionage himself, thanks to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Mission: Impossible - Fallout, what we know about Argylle has Henry Cavill entering the spy game yet again. This time he’s a bit of a wild card, as our tale starts with this amnesiac protagonist being tricked into thinking he's merely an author of fiction. 

Or at least, that's what we were led to believe originally. Since the release of Argylle's trailer, the narrative seems to have changed. Henry Cavill's Aubrey Argylle is actually the fictional hero of the book that "inspired" Matthew Vaughn's film. Which only further complicates the intention to kick off a new trilogy of spy movies. Though the former star of The Witcher may have his ever busy hands full, Cavill hasn't ruled out James Bond for his potential future.

Dua Lipa

Playing agent Argylle's "elegant and lethal nemesis" Lagrange, we saw Dua Lipa's character pictured in the first official photo and footage of the film’s action. Co-star Henry Cavill hinting in a social media post that trouble was ahead, and the footage that later came along only confirmed as much. 

Everything from Dua Lipa trying to shoot Henry Cavill to being yanked off of a motorbike by John Cena was shown. And for the audience's sake, it appears that Dua's character is present in the fictional book narrative. One final note: while she was originally announced as writing the musical score and title song for Argylle, it seems that the score duties have now gone to Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One composer Lorne Balfe. 

Ariana DeBose

One of 2022's Academy Award winners, Ariana DeBose is also known for her credits in the cast of Hamilton and the Netflix original movie The Prom. Playing the role of "fearless field tech" Keira in Argylle; she seems to be another party present in the fictional Argylle narrative. At least her speeding away from an with Henry Cavill and John Cena in tow would seem to suggest that.

This also seems to indicate that Ariana DeBose looks to be someone we can trust. Which is more than we can say for her casting as supervillain Calypso Ezili in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe movie Kraven the Hunter. I hope we're not winding up for a potential double cross here. 

John Cena

Speaking of heel turns, John Cena is part of this amazing roster of talent as well! The wrestling veteran who became a blockbuster player, Cena has used The Suicide Squad to push his brand of chaos even further. Which leads to his part in Argylle, as Wyatt, a fellow agent (and best friend to) Henry Cavill's Argylle in the book world.

This combination looks to be one that takes full advantage of the Matthew Vaughn line of action-comedy and the Peacemaker star's talents in that realm. Seriously, that bike yank stunt is pretty impressive, as is his over it "man in the van" gag shown in Argylle's trailer.

Richard E. Grant

Rounding out the roster of characters in the Argylle books is celebrated actor Richard E. Grant. Inhabiting the role of Fowler, "a senior member of agent Argylle’s organization," there's a lot of potential for this character on either side of the moral fence. So his current implied alignment on the side of good shouldn't be taken too close to heart.

In terms of Richard E. Grant though, you can take his casting as a sign that Matthew Vaughn is really excited to pack both sides of Argylle's reality with top tier talent. Seen in everything from Withnail and I to Everyone's Talking About Jamie, Grant and his prolific talents have been spotted in blockbusters as of late; most notably as Allegiant General Pryde in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Bryce Dallas Howard

Here's where it all starts to get complicated, readers. Who's the author of Argylle in the reality of us moviegoers? Elly Conway. Who's the character that Jurassic World Dominion's Bryce Dallas Howard is playing in Matthew Vaughn's film, based on Ms. Conway's book? Elly Conway. Apparently, the Kick Ass director's approach to adapting that book he loved so much during those early pandemic days was to co-create a movie with writer Jason Fuchs that gave it a meta spin. 

In the world of Argylle the movie, Ms. Conway is so astute at writing her spy plots that she's predicted real life capers, and attracted the attention of her world's espionage community as a result. So for the purposes of Matthew Vaughn's movie, Elly's world is "reality." Which makes it all the more confusing when trying to figure out how real the still unseen Elly Conway is in our world.

Sam Rockwell

From here on out, we're presumably going to be talking about the people that exist in Elly Conway's world within Argylle. And that's where Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell comes in, as he's playing Aidan, a spy who's trying to protect Elly Conway from forces that are seeking out her supposed skills as an oracle.

A jack of all trades, Rockwell was more recently seen by audiences in the Searchlight Pictures whodunnit See How They Run. Seeing as that movie has its own very meta approach to reality bending, Argylle shouldn't be much of a stretch for his chops; especially after reading how Sam's dual train fight with Henry Cavill really put him through his paces.

Bryan Cranston

Returning to the world of movies for the first time since 2020’s The One and Only Ivan, Bryan Cranston has still been a busy man. Leading up to his casting in Argylle, Cranston has been on stage with productions of both Network and Power of Sail, as well as led the Showtime series Your Honor. 

In the part of Ritter, Cranston seems to have returned to full on villain territory as the head of something only known as "The Division." Think of it as a real life SPECTRE. A spy chief who's been watching Bryce Dallas Howard's Elly Conway, this Argylle figure seems to be the big bad in her reality. And it looks like he'll stop at nothing to get his woman.

Catherine O'Hara

Comedy legend Catherine O’Hara’s best movie and TV roles make her a prime addition to the Argylle cast. Originally, it was theorized that the Schitt's Creek vet would be playing the character of Frances Coffey,“the CIA's most legendary spymaster.” 

However, that was before the truth about Matthew Vaughn's movie revealed that character as a figure from Elly Conway's book. In actuality, Catherine will be playing Ruth, Elly's mother. And from what we've seen in Argylle's marketing, she's pretty frustrated with her daughter's latest installment in the series. 

Samuel L. Jackson

This isn’t the first time that Matthew Vaughn and Samuel L. Jackson have teamed up in the world of cinema. A legendary acting talent, Jackson was also Richmond Valentine, the central villain in Kingsman: The Secret Service. And it seems like these collaborators had so much fun playing together previously, they decided to use Argylle as their big reunion.

Playing Alfred Solomon, the retired CIA deputy director that's helped give Elly Conway stories to write in the Argylle world, Jackson's previous history as the MCU's Nick Fury will probably come into play. Only Alfred doesn't seem to be as uptight as Director Fury ever was. 

Sofia Boutella

No one knows who Saba Al-Badr is working for, so her title as Argylle's “Keeper of Secrets” is even more applicable under that reality. While we'll have to wait to figure out who Sofia Boutella's character is working for, we do know that she's reunited with her Kingsman: The Secret Service director for what looks like one hell of a ride.

Currently Boutella is the face of another would-be franchise of blockbusters. As the functional lead of Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon series of Netflix original films, she's continued to flex her action muscles in bad ass form.  

Rob Delaney

Closing out the currently known cast list is another veteran of the cinematic intelligence community, comedian Rob Delaney. Recently seen in a quick appearance via Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, the man has already proved himself to look good and authoritative in a uniform. 

Delaney’s comedy chops now find themselves put to the test among spies of different stripes, as Argylle marks yet another cinematic appearance by the man who made an impression as Peter in Deadpool 2. Per reporting by THR, Rob's role is "unknown, but it’s understood to be relatively small."

Thanks to Apple teaming with the folks at Universal Studios, this former streaming exclusive is now heading to the movies! Argylle is currently set to make its grand debut on the big screen, on February 2nd. Eventually, those with an Apple TV+ subscription will be rewarded for their patience, as that will be its streaming home.

However, we don't know exactly when that'll happen, as that information is classified. That said, if you want to start your mind bending journey into the world of Argylle, Elly Conway's first installment in the series is currently on shelves; and can be purchased on Amazon, or wherever fine books are sold.

There have been great heist films and there have been animated movies featuring anthropomorphic animals getting in all sorts of hijinks released over the years, but with The Bad Guys, we’ll get the best of both worlds. The upcoming DreamWorks Animation film, which has a voice cast featuring Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos, and other notable stars, will make its debut in Spring 2022, and will hopefully provide an answer for the question: can a bad guy go good?

If this is the first you are hearing about The Bad Guys movie, worry not because we have a whole vault full of information about the animated adventure including its release date, information on the cast, and other great details that will perk up your ears.

The Bad Guys Will Be Released Theatrically On April 22, 2022

The Bad Guys will provide thrills and laughs when it opens in theaters on April 22, 2022. The latest movie from DreamWorks Animation was originally slated to open theatrically on September 17, 2021, but the movie was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and was later pushed back once again, per Deadline.

Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina And Anthony Ramos Lead The Bad Guys Voice Cast

The Bad Guys features one hell of a voice cast that includes Academy Award Winners, Golden Globe recipients, and several of the most respected comedic actors and comedians in show business today.

Leading the pack is Sam Rockwell, who provides the voice of Mr. Wolf, a seasoned thief who will do anything to keep his tight-knit group together no matter the cost. Awkwafina takes on the role of Ms. Tarantula, aka “Webs,” a hacker not too different from her Ocean’s 8 character. Anthony Ramos, hot off In the Heights, portrays Mr. Piranha, the muscle of the group. Marc Maron, of GLOW and WTF with Marc Maron Podcast fame, takes on the role of a safecracker Mr. Snake. Craig Robinson, a fixture of The Office cast, voices the master-of-disguise Mr. Shark.

Other members of The Bad Guys cast include Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Lilly Singh, and Alex Borstein, to name only a few.

The Bad Guys Follows A Group Of Animal Criminals Who Attempt To Fool The World Into Thinking They’ve Gone Good

According to the official plot synopsis by DreamWorks Animation, The Bad Guys centers on Mr. Wolf and his gang as they are finally caught in the act following years as being the world’s most-wanted villains. To keep his crew from spending the rest of their natural lives behind bars, Mr. Wolf brokers a deal: leave behind a life of crime and become law-abiding citizens. There’s just one thing, the fearless bandit has no intentions on being good (or so he thinks).

The Bad Guys Is Based On Aaron Blabey’s Series Of Children’s Books Of The Same Name

The Bad Guys, which was co-written by Etan Cohen, is based on the highly successful series of children’s graphic novels of the same name by author Aaron Blabey. According to a 2018 Variety report, millions of copies of The Bad Guys books have been sold over the years, and the original, released in December 2016, has ended up both the USA Today and New York Times best-seller lists. To date, there have been 14 books released in the series, with several more slated for release in 2022 and beyond.

Making his directorial debut with The Bad Guys is longtime DreamWorks animator Pierre Perifel, who previously worked on titles including Monsters vs. Aliens, Shrek Forever After, Rise of the Guardians, and Kung Fu Panda 2, to name only a few. Etan Cohen’s prior work includes Idiocracy, Tropic Thunder, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and Get Hard, which he also directed.

Production On The Bad Guys Continued Remotely Throughout The Pandemic

Although most live-action productions (save for Malcolm & Marie, which was shot during quarantine) were forced to endure extensive delays during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a great number of animated films were able to continue through quarantine thanks to animators, designers, and voice actors working remotely. The Bad Guys was one of the productions mentioned among films that were being worked on remotely. 

In May 2020, when the pandemic was still in its early stages, Deadline reported that DreamWorks Animation projects like Croods 2, The Boss Baby: Family Business, and The Bad Guys were just a few of the animated projects that were able to avoid major delays in production. This list also included Tom & Jerry, Sing 2, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Soul, all of which have been released at this point in time.

We Could Be Able To Watch The Bad Guys Streaming On Peacock As Soon As 45 Days After Release

In the past few years, studios have turned to different methods of distributing movies to the masses. We have seen it with the Warner Bros. 2021 release model which saw the studio’s slate of films open in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously, while others, like Paramount and Universal, have elected to run with a model in which their major releases end up on their respective streaming services, Paramount+ and Peacock, a certain amount of days after opening in theaters.

According to Deadline, this will be the route Universal takes with The Bad Guys and the rest of the studio’s 2022 slate, which will all end up on Peacock as soon as 45 days after their theatrical and PVOD debut. The article also points out that it is unclear if the studio has plans for any additional day-and-date releases on Peacock like Halloween Kills, which debuted on the streaming service in October 2021.

The Bad Guys Trailer Offers A Glimpse Of The Action And Humor In The Animated Heist Movie

In December 2021, Universal Pictures gave the world its first look at The Bad Guys and its crew of thieves as they find themselves in one perilous situation after another. The two-minute trailer offers a glimpse at just some of the action and humor that will be featured in the latest offering from DreamWorks Animation while also not giving too much away. See for yourself:

If The Bad Guys is half as exciting as its trailer, there’s a lot to look forward to seeing when it opens in April 2022.

Expect to hear more about The Bad Guys (and hopefully find another trailer) before it opens in theaters (and later on Peacock). In the meantime, now is the perfect time to read up on all the other upcoming 2022 movies.

Dreamworks Animation is about to debut its newest feature film and it looks like a hilarious heist movie. It's also starring an impressive ensemble of voice talent including Sam Rockwell, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Marc Maron, and more. It's called The Bad Guys. Check out the trailer up top. 

Sam Rockwell is the Big Bad Wolf, or as he's called here, Mr. Wolf. He's got a whole crew that he works with to carry off massive scams, that includes Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina). However,  when Mr. Wolf gets a taste of what it's like to be one of the good guys, he decides to change the focus of his team and try to do good instead.

The trailer gives the general rundown on the story, including what appears to be an early caper from Mr. Wolf's team. We see that Ms. Tarantula is the one at the computer keeping an eye on things for the team from a tech standpoint. Mr. Shark is the grifter in disguise. Mr. Wolf seems to have a particular talent as a pickpocket, while Mr. Snake is the safecracker. All your standard heist tropes are here. 

The Bad Guys looks like it could be a great one. It's got the fun style that always comes with a good heist movie. At the same time, it looks hilarious. I'm not quite sure why all these characters seem to spend a large portion of the movie wearing onesie pajamas, but I can't wait to find out. 

You have to love a good heist movie, and The Bad Guys looks to be an exciting adventure while also being a funny comedy. There are clear Reservoir Dogs inspirations here, even the characters' names make one think of the Quentin Tarantino movie, and while the younger audience laughing at this one won't get that joke, it's likely one of many jokes that will be there primarily for the adult audience. 

As with most studios right now, there's a huge focus on franchises and Dreamworks has been trying to build its own with everything from Trolls to Boss Baby. But every once in a while you need to do something new in order to have new franchises to build. The Bad Guys certainly could be that. If the audience likes this adventure, future heists are always possible. 

Dreamworks has put together a remarkable slate of animated features that has been second to Disney in quantity, but the quality is quite usually top notch. From the How to Train Your Dragon adventures to the Kung Fu Panda movies Dreamworks has been able to blend adventure and comedy incredibly well, and The Bad Guys looks like another potential success.

Disneyland is one of the most iconic places in the world. It introduced the concept of the theme park to most people and is still one of the most popular vacation destinations that exists. And now, the happiest place on Earth is going to get its own movie, and that means that somebody, specifically somebody who isn’t Tom Hanks, will be cast to play Walt Disney.

The new movie has been set for Disney+ and will be directed by David Gordon Green. To clarify, this isn't simply a movie about the creation of Disneyland itself, but the story of Walt and Roy Disney, the brothers who started the Disney Bros. Studio, which eventually became The Walt Disney Company. 

Walt Disney was most memorably played on screen previously by Tom Hanks in the 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks. However, it’s been nearly a decade since that movie came out, and the events that led to the opening of Disneyland took place a decade prior to the making of Mary Poppins. Hanks is really too old for the role, and so we need somebody else to step in. Here are some ideas. 

Edward Norton

Edward Norton is currently 52 years old, which makes him right about the same age that Walt Disney was in the years immediately preceding the opening of Disneyland. He probably looked more like Walt Disney when he was younger, but he still has a similar general look. Playing Walt Disney would certainly be a different sort of role than the darker characters Norton frequently plays, but Walt wasn’t entirely without those moments. Norton could probably bring something powerful to the performance as long as Disney was willing to let Walt be portrayed that way. 

Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling is just about to turn 41 years old, which puts him a bit younger than Walt Disney would have been during the prime years that Disneyland was being conceived and designed. But the movie in question doesn’t even have a script yet, so we’re still a few years away from going in front of cameras. As such, depending on just how early in the process of Disneyland's creation this movie wants to start, the age may be much closer to accurate by the time it's actually being filmed. Ryan Gosling is a known fan of Disneyland, so you know he’d give this one his all.

David Thewlis

If we’re going for an actor who can just look like Walt Disney without having to work too hard, then we have to consider somebody like David Thewlis. Thewlis is the oldest person on this list, and slightly older than Walt Disney during the key period, but he could easily be made to look like Walt. He’s a remarkable actor who could be the "larger than life" Walt Disney that we often think about. The rest can be dealt with in makeup.

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell can play just about any role, so why couldn’t he be Walt Disney? Like Edward Norton, Rockwell plays a lot of darker characters, but Walt Disney wasn’t really the Uncle Walt that he portrayed on television. A more “no nonsense” version of Walt, which is more accurate to who he really was, at least some of the time, wouldn’t be out of place here. That's not to say it will happen, as this movie is being made by Disney after all, so there might be an effort to focus on Disney's softer side.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt still looks even younger than his 40 years of age would indicate, but that’s something that has certainly served him well throughout his career. While Walt Disney was in his late 40s and early 50s during the run up to Disneyland, the park’s existence at all shows that the man was still quite young at heart, and Gordon-Levitt could really bring that out. They’ll probably need the makeup department so he doesn’t look too young through the whole thing, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

Dominic Cooper

Howard Stark was basically the Walt Disney of the MCU. That’s my argument and I’m sticking to it. So perhaps the man who played the young Howard Stark in Marvel’s movies could also play Walt Disney. All Dominic Cooper would need to do is turn the volume down, but not off, on the attitude, and I think you have it. 

Matthew Macfadyen

In Succession, Matthew Macfayden plays a terrible person, just like everybody else on that show. But when speaking in interviews, the actor comes across much more down to Earth and relatable than many of the characters he plays. Being able to be somebody larger than life, while also just being a normal man who happened to have remarkable dreams, is the essence of Walt Disney. Also, the true story of Disneyland isn’t without its own business world intrigue, so Macfayden's had experience there. 

Colin Hanks

Ok, so we’ll cheat a bit here. Tom Hanks truly was great as Walt, and while it was ultimately the performance that made the screen version of Walt so great, it wasn’t hard to transform Tom Hanks into Walt Disney physically. Colin Hanks certainly looks a lot like his dad, so that physical transformation should be nearly as easy. There is also something somewhat fitting about seeing son follow father into such an iconic role.

Walt Disney was a remarkable man. He wasn’t perfect, but he certainly was impressive. Disneyland is quite possibly his crowning achievement, since his dream of Epcot never happened. It is, without question, a topic worthy of its own movie. But playing Walt Disney himself will be a tall order for whoever takes on the role.

Walt won’t be the only tough role, as we know that Walt’s brother and business partner Roy will also be key to the story, but Roy will likely be easier to cast simply because most people don’t know him. Roy largely stayed out of the spotlight. Hopefully, by the end of this new movie, the general public will learn just how important he was too. 

David Gordon Green has said there’s not even a script yet for this movie, so we’re certainly a couple of years away, at the least, from this film going before cameras. In that time it’s possible, even likely, that other strong candidates to play Walt could emerge.  But until then, we could do worse than the men listed here.

Booking up streaming releases is becoming more routine for the biggest names in Hollywood as the industry focuses more on the number of successful services that are part of the streaming war. The latest massive streaming deal involves Kingsman filmmaker Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming spy thriller Argylle, which will star Henry Cavill and Jurassic World’s Bryce Dallas Howard.

Apple Original Films is the studio behind a $200 million deal for Argylle, which will introduce “the world’s greatest spy” in a globe-trotting adventure. Deadline has learned that the major streaming deal that is close to being wrapped up was made in the hopes of Argylle becoming a major franchise for Apple TV+.

For years, Henry Cavill has been one major actor fans have named as their favorite for the next James Bond. And even the Man of Steel star shared he would “jump at the opportunity” to be part of the 007 legacy. These days, it looks like Cavill will be part of his own version of a suave spy hero, and the cast is absolutely loaded.

Alongside Bryce Dallas Howard being named up top with Henry Cavill, Argylle also stars Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine O’Hara and John Cena. The movie will also feature Grammy-winning singer Dua Lipa in her first acting project, along with the artist providing the music for the spy film. All the way around, it sounds like it could be a big hit, and here’s what Matthew Vaughn thinks about the big deal:

Argylle is based on a spy novel of the same name by Ellie Conway, which has yet to be released to bookshelves, and from a script by Jason Fuchs, who previously wrote the story for 2017’s Wonder Woman. Matthew Vaughn has launched a number of action franchises in the past, including the X-Men prequels, Kick-Ass and the Kingsman films.

The movie seems like one that could also fare well on the big screen given its scale and price, but it’s unclear whether Apple will send Argylle to theaters or take it straight to its streaming service. Apple Original Films has been doing big business with a few major filmmakers as of late, including Martin Scorsese for his next Leonardo DiCaprio collaboration Killers of the Flower Moon, and Ridley Scott’s movie about Napoleon Bonaparte starring Joaquin Phoenix, Kitbag.

Henry Cavill is continuing to move on from his role as Superman in the DCEU with Argylle and other exciting roles such as Highlander, playing Sherlock Holmes in the Enola Holmes sequel and appearing in an upcoming rom-com. We’ll keep you posted here on CinemaBlend about his turn to play a spy for Apple TV+.

Based on the novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, Jojo Rabbit walked a fine line between comedy and tragedy in its oddly whimsical coming-of-age look at a young boy learning about the realities of his world while living in WWII Germany, accompanied by an unlikely father figure in the form of a wisecracking imaginary Hitler. It's a tricky balance for a dark satire with many dramatic elements, but for many viewers, it proved to be a success. It earned nearly $100 million at the box office worldwide and it turned writer/director/co-star Taika Waititi into an Oscar winner for his adapted screenplay.

In a cast filled with newcomers and established talents, Jojo Rabbit's general success served as a launching pad for its youngest stars, while also proving to be another critical and commercial success for its award-recognized veterans, including Scarlett Johansson, who was Oscar-nominated for her performance. Now that it's been one year since its release, what is the cast of Jojo Rabbit up to now? Let's find out now!

Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo)

As our titular child protagonist, Jojo, Roman Griffin Davis provides Taika Waititi's satire with the inquisitive and comical childlike perspective through which we see the changing landscape of Germany amid the final days of WWII. The lead performance wasn't merely Davis' breakthrough role; it was also his introductory part. And he made a good impression. The child actor received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy. Additionally, Davis won the Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer.

Certainly, given his acutely comedic and emotionally vulnerable work in this Oscar-winning farce, Roman Griffin Davis seemingly has a promising future ahead of him. But, at the moment, the up-and-coming teenage actor has only one additional credit to his name: the forthcoming Christmas comedy Silent Night, which also stars Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Annabelle Wallis, and Lily-Rose Depp.

Thomasin McKenzie (Elsa)

In the role of Elsa, a teenage Jewish girl hiding in Rosie's attic who helps Jojo learn the error of his hateful thinking brought on from a wayward childhood under the Nazi regime, Thomasin McKenzie plays a key dramatic role in this darkly farcical film. The young actress found her breakout role in 2018's acclaimed Leave No Trace, though it's this prominent performance in this Best Picture-nominated movie that propelled her rising career further. Prior to both of these films, McKenzie appeared in New Zealand's soap opera, Shortland Street. Other notable credits on her resume include The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The King, and The Cul De Sac. Additionally, McKenzie appeared in The True History of the Kelly Gang and Lost Girls earlier this year.

Next, Thomasin McKenzie stars in The Power of the Dog, Last Night in Soho, The Justice of Bunny King, and M. Night Shyamalan's Old, which is now filming.

Scarlett Johansson (Rosie)

Playing Rosie, Jojo's good-hearted mother who's secretly hiding a Jewish woman in her home, Scarlett Johansson played an emotional role in Jojo Rabbit. The actress was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for this performance, one of her first Oscar recognitions alongside her Best Actress nomination for Marriage Story that same year. She has also garnered praise for her past performances in Her, Match Point, Lost In Translation, Under the Skin, The Prestige, Vicky Christina Barcelona, and Ghost World.

Additionally, Scarlett Johansson is well-known for her performances in films like Don Jon, The Nanny Diaries, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, In Good Company, The Island, He's Just Not That Into You, We Bought a Zoo, Chef, Lucy, and Ghost in the Shell. Also, she plays a recurring role as Black Widow in the MCU.

Next, as noted here, Scarlett Johansson plays the title role in Marvel's Black Widow and she'll be heard in Sing 2. She'll also star in Bride, an artistic re-imagining of Bride of Frankenstein's lore, and she's expected to star in the upcoming Little Shop of Horrors remake.

Taika Waititi (Adolf)

In addition to writing and directing Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi adopted the role of an imaginary version of Adolf Hitler, who serves as a sarcastic (and poor) mentor figure and loyal companion to our propaganda-believing young protagonist. Now an Oscar-winning filmmaker thanks to this film, his profile only continues to balloon, though he was previously known for directing Thor: Ragnarok, where he also played the part of Korg.

Additionally, Taika Waititi co-helmed What We Do In The Shadows, which he also starred in, and called the shots on Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Eagle vs. Shark. His other acting credits include Green Lantern and Avengers: Endgame, where he reprised his role as Korg. Additionally, Waititi can be heard in Disney+'s The Mandalorian, which he also helped direct.

Next, Taika Waititi co-wrote, produced, and directed Next Goal Wins, which is in post-production. He also has roles in Free Guy and The Suicide Squad. And he's set to direct Thor: Love and Thunder and an upcoming Star Wars movie.

Sam Rockwell (Captain Klenzendorf)

Playing the part of Captain Klenzendorf, the army officer who runs the Hitler Youth camp, Sam Rockwell plays a prominent adult role in this child-based coming-of-age comedy. An Oscar-winning actor for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and nominated for his portrayal of George W. Bush in Vice, Rockwell is also known for Moon, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Matchstick Men, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Choke, Frost/Nixon, Iron Man 2, Seven Psychopaths, Charlie's Angels, Galaxy Quest, The Green Mile, The Way Way Back, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Recently, Sam Rockwell played Bob Fosse in FX's Fosse/Verdon, which he also produced. He was also seen in Richard Jewell and heard in Trolls World Tour and Disney+'s The One and Only Ivan. Next, he's in talks to play Merle Haggard in a biopic. Additionally, he'll be seen in The Heart and heard in The Adventures of Drunky.

Archie Yates (Yorki)

In the role of young Yorki, Jojo's best friend, Archie Yates provided a scene-stealing performance in Jojo Rabbit. Similar to his co-star, Roman Griffin Davis, Yates made his screen debut in his comical supporting role, and even in a cast of proven talents, he was easily among the standouts. Additionally, alongside Davis, the child actor received a Critics' Choice Movie Award nomination for Best Young Actor.

Shortly after Jojo Rabbit's release, it was announced that Archie Yates would frontline an upcoming Home Alone reboot, which would debut on Disney+. Joined by Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney, Yates plays Max, a different character to Macaulay Culkin's Kevin, as this movie tells a separate story in that universe. Written by SNL's Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell, and directed by Dan Mazer, this reboot is currently in post-production. Additionally, Yates was heard in this year's animated short film, Paper Birds.

Stephen Merchant (Deertz)

In the role of Deertz, a Gestapo agent, Stephen Merchant provided a surprisingly menacing role in Jojo Rabbit's midsection. Considering his history as a comedic performer, it was intriguing to see him use his lanky figure to menacing results. Most prominently, Merchant is best known as the co-creator, co-writer, and co-director of BBC's The Office, which inspired the popular American version of the same name.

Additionally, Stephen Merchant was the star, writer, director, and creator of HBO's Hello Ladies, and he also co-created Extras and Life's Too Short. He co-wrote and co-directed Cemetery Junction and, most recently, wrote and directed Fighting with My Family. And he co-developed Lip Sync Battle.

Meanwhile, as an actor, Stephen Merchant starred in Hot Fuzz, Logan, Hall Pass, and The Girl in the Spider's Web. Next, Merchant will write, direct, and star in BBC's The Offenders. He's also filming a role in Lockdown.

Rebel Wilson (Fräulein Rahm)

As Fräulein Rahm, an instructor of the League of German Girls in the Hitlerjugend camp, Rebel Wilson is one of the most famous faces in Jojo Rabbit, though she only has a limited role. Best known for her work in the Pitch Perfect trilogy, Wilson also starred in How to Be Single, Isn't It Romantic?, The Hustle, Pain & Gain, Bachelorette, Bridesmaids, What to Expect When You're Expecting, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Grimsby, and, most recently, Cats.

In addition to these big screen titles, Rebel Wilson created and played the lead in ABC's short-lived Super Fun Night. The actress was also a series regular on The Wedge back in 2006-2007. She now hosts two new reality competition series, Pooch Perfect and LOL: Last One Laughing, as of this year. Additionally, she starred in Les Norton last year. Next, Wilson is expected to star in The Almond and the Seahorse.

Alfie Allen (Finkel)

Playing the part of Finkel, Captain Klenzendorf's second-in-command, Alfie Allen appears frequently throughout Jojo Rabbit. The younger brother of musician Lily Allen, and the inspiration for her 2006 single, "Alfie," the actor has been forging a career for himself throughout the past two decades, but he finally found fame through his long-standing role as Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones, for which he was Emmy-nominated in 2019. Additionally, Allen is known for his antagonistic role in the original John Wick. His other notable credits also include Atonement, The Predator, Elizabeth, The Other Boleyn Girl, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, and Hulu's Harlots.

Most recently, Alfie Allen was seen in How To Build A Girl and the mini-series, White House Farm, which was also known as White House Farm Murders and The Murders at White House Farm, earlier this year. Next, he stars in Night Teeth and La Cha Cha.

Luke Brandon Field (Christoph)

In the role of Christoph, a bully who gives Jojo the nickname that's seen in the title, Luke Brandon Field plays a small-but-distinctive role in Jojo Rabbit. This movie is quite easily the actor's most high-profile, though his other credits include the TV series, You Look Stunning Too, as well as indie films like One Last Night, Bob Thunder: Internet Assassin, American Poltergeist, Blackwood, Magic Boys, Where the Road Meets the Sun, and this year's All for Nikki. He also provided a voice in The Legend of Joan of Arc.

Next, Luke Brandon Field stars in the short film, In the Dark. He's currently filming a role in Whisper and he'll also soon appear in The Other Prince of Wales.

Did you love Jojo Rabbit? Who was your favorite actor from Taika Waititi's award-winning period piece farce? Please be sure to let us know in the comments below.

Coming soon to Disney+ is a new hybrid of CGI animals with a live action setting inspired by an acclaimed book for children. No, I am not talking about a sequel to Dolittle. I am, however, talking about The One and Only Ivan, a new film on the streaming platform as of Friday, August 21, 2020, that boasts an impressive voice cast behind its non-human characters.

Based on a true story that inspired the 2012, award-winning novel from Katherine Applegate with illustrations by Patricia Castelao, The One and Only Ivan depicts a show gorilla’s plan to break a baby elephant out from the shopping mall in which they are both held captive. It stars Academy Award nominee Bryan Cranston as Mack, the owner of Big Top Shopping Mall who raises the title character, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen star Ramon Rodriguez as a custodian named George, and playing his daughter, Julia, is Ariana Greenblatt, a former Disney Channel star whom you may also recognize as a young Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War.

But, for now, enough about the humans. For this piece, we want to focus on the talented names who lend their voices to the real stars of The One and Only Ivan: the animals. From a few Academy Award winners to one of the most popular recording artists in history, here are the nine notable people you can look forward to hearing in this wild heartwarming Disney flick perfect for the whole family.

Sam Rockwell (Ivan)

In his first CGI animal role in a Disney movie since playing a gerbil spy in 2009's G-Force, Sam Rockwell stars as the titular silver back gorilla with a knack for finger painting, but without much memory of his youth in the African wild before Mack (Bryan Cranston) bought him from a group of poachers, took him to the United States, and made him the star of his show. It is not until Ivan meets a baby elephant named Ruby (more on her soon) when he realizes that living in confinement backstage at a shopping mall circus is not an ideal environment for a jungle creature's early years. The One and Only Ivan is the Academy Award-winning actor's second voice role in 2020 after Trolls World Tour, in which he played Hickory, a bounty hunter.

Angelina Jolie (Stella)

Prior to her role in The One and Only Ivan, Angelina Jolie has provided the voice of multiple animal characters, most notably Lola in Shark Tale and the fierce warrior Tigress in the Kung Fu Panda movies, one of which also starred Bryan Cranston. This time, the Academy Award winner, who also has a producing credit on the new Disney film, plays Stella, an elderly, but sharp, elephant with a long history in the circus before a leg injury led her to become part of Mack's show, according to the original novel. In her later years at the Big Top Shopping Mall, Stella becomes a mentor in performing arts and motherly figure to a young animal of her species recently added to the show named Ruby.

Brooklynn Prince (Ruby)

Speaking of which, the driving force of The One and Only Ivan is the young elephant named Ruby, whom the star gorilla is determined to find a more suitable home for following her recent addition to the Big Top Shopping Mall. Voicing the character is Brooklynn Prince, who, at just 10, has quickly proven herself as one of Hollywood's most promising talents, from breaking out in the Oscar-nominated drama The Florida Project in 2017, directing the 12-minute short Colours in 2019, and landing the lead of the Apple TV+ mystery series Home Before Dark in 2020. Ruby is also the second animated animal Prince has provided the voice for after playing pinkish hatchling Zoe in The Angry Birds Movie 2.

Danny DeVito (Bob)

In his last movie with Disney, Tim Burton's live action take on Dumbo, Danny DeVito played the guy who ran the circus, but in The One and Only Ivan, he does not even play one of the circus acts. The beloved, 75-year-old Golden Globe winner is the voice of Bob, a stray dog who makes himself Ivan's roommate and, in some cases, his "hype man," so to speak. Not only is this the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia star's second time playing a dog after 1993's Look Who's Talking Now, but voice acting has practically become one of DeVito's many specialties, bringing his signature growl to the an alien theme park owner threatening the Looney Tunes in Space Jam, Philoctetes in Hercules, the title role of 2012 Dr. Seuss adaptation The Lorax, and, more recently, a yeti named Dorgle in Smallfoot.

Helen Mirren (Snickers)

In 1995, Helen Mirren made her animated voice acting debut as the title character of The Snow Queen (which is, indeed, an earlier version of the same story that would inspire Disney's Frozen) and, most recently, played Nyra in Zack Snyder's Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. The Academy Award-winning actress plays a fuzzy, white poodle named Snickers who, unlike fellow canine Bob, does have a role in Mack's circus show (primarily riding on Stella the elephant's back) and takes performing very seriously. Well, it is certainly hard to imagine a more fitting voice than the Dame Mirren's post British accent playing a four-legged diva such as this in The One and Only Ivan.

Chaka Khan (Henrietta)

Speaking of divas (and I mean that in the positive sense of the word), perhaps the most surprising name to show up in The One and Only Ivan's cast of animals is Chaka Khan, who plays a chicken named Henrietta. This is not only the voice acting debut of the legendary, Grammy-winning musician, who recently made a cameo as herself on Fox's Empire in 2019, but also her first appearance in a mainstream movie in 40 years, the first time being her small role in 1980's The Blues Brothers as a church choir singer. However, it is, technically, not her first time playing a non-human character after her stint as "Miss Monster" on Season 3 of The Masked Singer.

Ron Funches (Murphy)

In, arguably, the most fun role out of all the film's animal characters is Ron Funches, who plays Murphy, a bunny rabbit whose performance in Mack's show involves him riding around the ring in a miniature fire truck with working water hose. Despite an onscreen career that dates back only nine years, the comedian is probably the most experienced voice acting veteran out of the entire cast, with Murphy being his fourth voice role in 2020 alone, along with his reprisal of Cooper in Trolls World Tour. Previously, the former Undateable star has played characters on animated TV shows such as Adventure Time, Bojack Horseman, Apple TV+'s musical Central Park, and even Netflix's Trolls spin-off series, Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, yet The One and Only Ivan does mark Funches' first role in a "cinematic" hybrid of live action with animation.

Phillipa Soo (Thelma)

Making her voice acting debut in The One and Only Ivan, however, is Phillipa Soo, who first broke out in 2012 on NBC's short-lived tribute to Broadway, Smash, and rose greatly in popularity a few years later with the Broadway production of Hamilton, in which she originated the role of Eliza Hamilton. In the Disney movie, she plays a parrot named Thelma, but we can more than likely assume that, given her Tony Award nomination for Lin-Manuel Miranda's aforementioned musical, she probably speaks in a more soothing manner than squawking sort of way that the tropical bird is often known for. Soo also lends her voice to the role of a princess from folk legend whom an ambitious girl is determined to prove is real in the animated musical fantasy Over the Moon, which is due to premiere on Netflix in the Fall of 2020.

Mike White (Frankie)

You may be more likely to recognize Mike White from the films he has written than the ones he has acted in, even though there is, acutally, quite a bit of of overlap in that category. Among his more memorable supporting roles from films he conceived are as Jack Black's substitute teacher roommate Ned Schneebly in School of Rock, a security guard and devout Christian named Corny in The Good Girl, and as Frankie, the Big Top Shopping Mall's star seal, in The One and Only Ivan. Indeed, White is both part of the voice cast of the film, his first time in such a role, and the same person who adapted the screenplay from Katherine Applegate's book.

Which celebrity voice are you most excited to hear breathing life into the animal cast of The One and Only Ivan? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on the Disney+ exclusive film, as well as even more inside looks at the cast members of your favorite movies and TV shows, here on CinemaBlend.

Trying to keep your kids entertained while stuck at home just became a lot easier now that DreamWorks Animation has released Trolls 2: Trolls World Tour as a digital rental the same day that it was supposed to hit theaters. Back in all that good animated and musical goodness is a voice cast including Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, James Corden, and more actors and musicians than any reasonable parent can keep up with.

For the sake of my own sanity, I've put together a list of the Trolls 2: Trolls World Tour voice cast and why their voices probably sound familiar to you. And before you ask, yes, that is Ozzy Osbourne, and yes that is Mr. Christian Grey himself as the oddly adorable Chaz, the Smooth Jazz Troll. So get out your favorite Troll doll and buckle in because we're going on the wild ride that is the Trolls World Tour character (and voice actor) list.

Anna Kendrick - Queen Poppy

Queen Poppy is the main protagonist is both Trolls and Trolls World Tour, in which the fearless leader of the Pop Trolls who sets out unite all the different Trolls tribes that exist outside her own. Poppy is voiced by Anna Kendrick who is best known for her work in the Pitch Perfect and Twilight franchises.

Justin Timberlake - Branch

Unlike his love interest, Queen Poppy, Branch is a cautious and more grounded Pop Troll who spent much of his life mastering different survival skills before embracing song and dance with the Trolls. The character is brought to life by the singer/dancer/actor/everything Justin Timberlake, who requires no further introduction.

James Corden - Biggie

With a heart as large as his stature, Biggie is a tall and round blue Pop Troll who joins Poppy and Branch on their different adventures. Voiced by everyone's favorite carpool karaoke enthusiast James Corden, this lovable character is nothing but bounds and bounds of fun and joy.

Kevin Michael Richardson - Mr. Dinkles

You couldn't have Biggie without his best friend Mr. Dinkles, a small worm who uses a squeaky "mew" sound to communicate instead of using words. Mr. Dinkles is voiced by acclaimed voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson, whose list of credits includes shows like Samurai Jack, The Batman, and Rick And Morty to name just three of his scores of roles.

Kunal Nayyar - Guy Diamond

Guy Diamond is the glittery silver Pop Troll we all came to know and love in Trolls. The so-called "Life Of The Party," Guy Diamond has an auto-tuned voice and is full of himself more than any other troll. He is voiced by Kunal Nayyar, who you might remember as Raj Koothrappali on The Big Bang Theory.

Keenan Thompson - Tiny Diamond

The son, or at least tiny version of Guy Diamond, Tiny Diamond is a small, silver and glittery Pop Troll with a deep voice and moves like none other. He is brought alive by Keenan Thompson, who you might remember as the longest-running cast member of Saturday Night Live.

Rachel Bloom - Queen Barb

Queen Barb is the main antagonist in Trolls World Tour. The leader of the Rock Trolls, Barb sets out to capture the five strings and destroy all other forms of music played by the other troll tribes. Queen Barb is voiced by Rachel Bloom, who is best known for co-creating and starring in the CW series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Sam Rockwell - Hickory

Hickory is a Yodeling Troll who is best known for his laid-back personality and obsession of country music. Oh, and he's also a bounty hunter. Hickory is voiced by Academy Award-winning actor Sam Rockwell, who you might remember from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, and Iron Man 2.

Jamie Dornan - Chaz

With all the different trolls being introduced in Trolls World Tour, it should come as no surprise there would be a Smooth Jazz Troll by the name of Chaz. Part musician and part bounty hunter, Chaz is a character no one will be forgetting for a long time. This could be thanks to the fact that he's voiced by Jamie Dornan, aka Christian Grey.

Icona Pop - Satin And Chenille

Satin and Chenille are conjoined twins connected by their blue and pink hair. Like any good set of twins in an animated movie, Satin and Chenille can't seem to agree on anything. The twins are voiced by Icona Pop (Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt).

George Clinton - King Quincy

Along with Queen Essence, King Quincy rules over the Funk Trolls. King Quincy is brought to life by the living legend of funk music himself, George Clinton.

Mary J. Blige - Queen Essence

Just like her husband, King Quincy, Queen Essence is the leader of the tribe of Funk Trolls in Trolls World Tour. This funky troll is voiced by Mary J. Blige, who also provides sweet vocals for the leader of the Funk Trolls.

Ozzy Osbourne - King Thrash

King Thrash inadvertently gets everything going in Trolls World Tour when he gives his daughter, Queen Barb the idea of collecting the other five strings. This character is voiced by the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne.

Anderson Paak - Prince D

The son of King Quincy and Queen Essence, Prince D is one of the most accepting characters in Trolls World Tour and is very encouraging to just about everyone, including his twin brother, Cooper. Prince D is voiced by award-winning musician Anderson Paak.

Ron Funches - Cooper

Cooper is the fun-loving fuzzy son of King Quincy and Queen Essence that looks more like a giraffe than anything else. With a long neck and four legs, Cooper is definitely one of the strangest member of the Trolls cast appearing for the sequel. Voiced by Ron Funches, who you might remember the television series Undateable.

Kelly Clarkson - Delta Dawn

Delta Dawn is the leader of the Country Trolls who seems nice at first, but turns out to be anything but. She is voiced by Kelly Clarkson.

Red Velvet - K-Pop Gang

The K-Pop gang are a group of female K-Pop Trolls who are nearly identical save for their hair and outfits. They are based off and voiced by the Korean pop group Red Velvet.

Anthony Ramos - King Trollex

King Trollex is the leader of the Techno Trolls and looks like something out of a pixilated rave than he does a traditional troll. This high-energy neon troll is voiced by singer and actor Anthony Ramos, who you might remember from his brief appearance in A Star Is Born.

The McElroy Brothers - Skyscraper

Skyscraper is rather unique Pop Troll that has four heads that talk in unison. They are voiced by the McElroy Brothers.

Those are just some of the trolls you'll get to know and love inTrolls 2: Trolls World Tour. Did we forget your favorite troll? Sound off in the comments below.

With 20 seasons, Law and Order is one of the longest running dramas of all-time. It spun several spin-offs, including--the still going strong--Law and Order: SVU. Law and Order helped make procedural dramas more popular and it made the cast very recognizable. It even launched the career of some very famous Hollywood names.

In September of 2020, Law and Order celebrates its 30-year premiere anniversary. Part of what made the series successful was its episodic nature. Each episode felt like a contained show, movie, or play. Turn on any Law and Order episode to enjoy actors bringing intense drama, stunning intrigue, and a dash of deception. With Law and Order: SVU still on the air and Dick Wolf’s shows continuing to dominate television, Law and Order remains a coveted gig for up and coming actors.

Claire Danes

In 1992, two years before My So Called Life would air, Claire Danes landed her first major acting gig: an episode of Law and Order. Claire Danes’ Law and Order episode was the Season 3 premiere. She was barely a teen on her Law and Order episode where she played a 15-year-old tied into a secret prostitution ring. Her displaying so much talent at such a young age likely helped Claire Danes’ accelerate her acting career.

The short-lived My So Called Life gave Claire Danes’ career a major boost. She then went on to star in many motion pictures, including Romeo + Juliet, The Hours, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and Stardust. Danes gained even more recognition and praise in 2011 when she landed the lead role of Carrie Mathison in Homeland. But before all of that, she was on Law & Order.

Adam Driver

Adam Driver appeared in Law and Order in 2010, during Law and Order’s final season (Season 20, Episode 15) “Brilliant Disguise.” This Law and Order role came two years prior to him landing his breakout Girls role. Law and Order was one of Adam Driver’s first screen roles. In his episode he played a lab technician accused of murdering a secret escort. He had theater roles before Law and Order, but he had only appeared on one TV show and a short film before the police drama. Appearing on such a massively popular show might have help give him the confidence to audition for even bigger roles.

Since 2009, Adam Driver has taken on a variety of stage and screen roles. He has blended big blockbuster performances, like his role as Kylo Ren in the new Star Wars trilogy, with an array of arthouse film projects like Frances Ha, BlacKkKlansman, and The Report. Adam Driver had a very successful 2019, appearing in the critically acclaimed Marriage Story, and receiving his first Best Lead Actor Academy Award nomination for the same film.

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell played two different characters in multiple episodes of Law and Order. His first episode was Season 2's “Intolerance,” and his second episode was Season 3" 21st episode, “Manhood.” in "Manhood," Rockwell plays an officer who doesn't show up when a fellow officer needs him. This leads to that officer's death and accusations of homophobia on their police force. In "Intolerance," he plays a member of a family accused of murdering a Chinese-American student to help one of the boys win a science award. Sam Rockwell had at least a dozen screen roles before appearing in Law and Order. However, it was still quite early in his career. Rockwell had only been consistently booking gigs for four years when he had his Law and Order premiere.

Since the early '90s, Sam Rockwell has forged a very diverse acting career--appearing in major motion pictures like The Green Mile, Charlie’s Angels, Iron Man 2, and Seven Psychopaths. In 2018, Sam Rockwell won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. He has also appeared in three recent Academy Award nominated movies, Vice, Richard Jewell, and Jojo Rabbit. In 2019, Sam Rockwell also appeared in the limited series Fosse/Verdon.

Sebastian Stan

Sebastian Stan had only appeared in one thing prior to his Law and Order debut in 2003. He appeared in Season 13's “Sheltered.” In the episode, Stan played a boy abducted and raised by his abuser. Modern Family’s Ty Burrell played his abuser. This role led to a steady stream of small roles until he landed his 2007 Gossip Girl role.

Sebastian Stan appeared in the hit TV series Gossip Girl and Once Upon a Time. However, most people know him for his roles in the Marvel movie franchise. Sebastian Stan plays Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier. He’s been playing Bucky Barnes in the Marvel franchise since 2011, and later this year he’ll have his own Disney+ and Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson appeared on Law and Order Season 1, Episode 14, “The Violence of Summer" as Defense Attorney Louis Taggert. He had only made limited television appearances before his Law and Order episode. However, he had already been appearing in films for nearly 20 years before the show. Samuel L Jackson at least appeared in over fifteen films from 1972 to 1992, including films like Do The Right Thing, Coming to America, and Jungle Fever. It was definitely not a career-making role, but it was before Samuel L. Jackson became one of the most recognized names in cinema.

Samuel L. Jackson has appeared in nearly 200 films and television shows. His most famous work includes the Marvel movies, The Incredibles, the Star Wars prequels, Kill Bill II, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Pulp Fiction, and School Daze.

Sarah Paulson

In 1994, Law and Order was Sarah Paulson’s first screen acting gig. She appeared in Season 5, Episode 4, “Family Values.” Sarah Paulson played a teen who claimed that she was having an affair with her murdered mother’s new husband. A year later, she landed a series regular role on American Gothic.

Sarah Paulson appeared in Bird Box, Ocean’s Eight, The Goldfinch, and Glass, but most people know her from her work with Ryan Murphy. Sarah Paulson has appeared in most seasons of American Horror Story and a few seasons of American Crime Story. Ryan Murphy and Paulson also will team up once again for a Netflix series about the infamous One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest character Nurse Ratched.

Ellen Pompeo

Law and Order was Ellen Pompeo’s first TV gig. She appeared in Season 6, Episode 16, “Savior” and Season 10's “Fools for Love.” The first episode involved a case about a man being accused of murdering his wife and son. The Season 10 episode involved a man accused of killing and raping his girlfriend’s sister and another victim. Prior to her first Law and Order episode, Ellen Pompeo had only appeared in one short film. She had a few movies and TV roles before her 2000 return to Law and Order.

Grey’s Anatomy fans best know Ellen Pompeo for her lead role as Dr. Meredith Grey. She has also appeared in Life of the Party, Friends, and Catch Me If You Can.

Allison Janney

Allison Janney had appeared on As the World Turns and Morton & Hayes along with a few movies before making her Law and Order appearances. She appeared in 1992 and 1994. The first episode Season 2, Episode 12, “Star Struck,” and the second episode was Season 4's “Old Friends.” In "Old Friends," Allison Janney plays a character scared to testify about a murder because it could lead to dangerous consequences for her. In "Star Struck," she plays someone interviewed about a murdered soap opera actress.

Allison Janney is an Academy Award and Emmy winning actress. She has appeared on hit series and critically acclaimed movies; her list of work includes 10 Things I Hate About You, The Hours, Finding Nemo, The West Wing, Masters of Sex, I, Tonya, and Mom.

Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum appeared on Law and Order when she was only a preteen. She played a young girl who became the target of a female circumcision. This Law and Order episode, "Ritual," aired during Season 8. This was Emmy Rossum’s first TV acting gig, but the following year she would appear in several screen projects.

Emmy Rossum is best known for her role as Fiona Gallagher in Shameless. She has also appeared in the films Mystic River, The Day After Tomorrow, and The Phantom of the Opera.

Vera Farmiga

Vera Farmiga appeared in Law and Order Season 8, Episode 12, “Expert.” She plays a character accused of trying to murder an expert witness in her father’s case. Prior to Law and Order, Farmiga had only appeared in two other on-screen things. One was a short lived TV show starring Heath Ledger called Roar and the other a TV movie called Rose Hill.

Vera Farmiga is an Academy Award nominated actress, best known for her role as Nora Bates in Bates Motel. Vera Farmiga has also appeared in Up in the Air, The Conjuring series, When They See Us, and The Departed.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman made his screen debut with Law and Order. He appeared in Season 1, Episode 14, “The Violence of Summer.” He plays one of the men involved in a rape case. Samuel L. Jackson also appeared in this episode.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was an Academy Award winning actor who appeared in The Hunger Games movies, The Master, Almost Famous, Doubt, and Capote. He won his Best Lead Actor Academy Award for his role in Capote, and he received three Best Supporting Actor nominations for The Master, Doubt, and Charlie Wilson’s War.

Law and Order is available to rent or buy on most major streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video. Law and Order’s most successful spin-off, Law and Order: SVU, is currently airing season 21 on NBC. Hulu has all seasons of Law and Order: SVU available to stream. Stream it HERE.

Can anyone compare to Clint Eastwood’s film career? Between his acting and directing accomplishments, the 89-year-old is a Hollywood icon and even in his later years he has continued to hustle and deliver some incredible works of filmmaking. Eastwood’s next movie, Richard Jewell is another “based on a true story” drama focusing on backlash befalling on a security guard after saving lives during the Olympic Park bombing.

Along with Paul Walter Hauser starring as Richard Jewell, the movie also stars Jon Hamm, Sam Rockwell, and Kathy Bates (who has now been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe this year). CinemaBlend’s own Jeff McCobb interviewed them at the Los Angeles press day for Richard Jewell, they talked about Clint Eastwood’s memorable body of work. Here’s what they said:

Such starpower! Seeing the three of these talents in one room for a Clint Eastwood movie is a compliment to the actor/director’s legacy in itself. They had some awesome answers to give about why their Richard Jewell director has so many movies that will stand the test of time. Jon Hamm instantly went to the types of stories he chooses to tell. He thinks Eastwood tells them “incredibly well” and patted himself and fellow actors on the back for his casting picks.

Kathy Bates echoed Jon Hamm’s sentiments and complimented the real stories he tells. Sam Rockwell really expanded on their points by explaining how Clint Eastwood “plays with archetypes." He took it back to 1992 Best Picture, Unforgiven. Rockwell talked about how the characters in that movie aren’t black vs. white or good vs. evil tales, but complicated characters that surprise you. Like humans do in real life.

The answers to these questions certainly describe how legendary Clint Eastwood was and still is! Unforgiven is a great example, considering it had the actor returning to acting, directing, and the Western genre, along with becoming his first Oscar wins.

Just one year after The Mule, Richard Jewell tells another true American story. After Jewell clears out many visitors in Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics, he is accused of planting the bomb himself for three months. Kathy Bates plays Richard’s mother Bobi Jewell, Sam Rockwell plays Watson Bryant, the lawyer who helped clear his name, and Jon Hamm plays FBI agent Tom Shaw.

The movie was recently met with controversy concerning Olivia Wilde’s portrayal of Atlanta-Journal Constitution journalist Kathy Scruggs. She is shown to be someone who might offer sex in exchange for information for her article. The actress has responded to concerns, explaining that it was not her intention to suggest this about Scruggs.

Richard Jewell is one of many exciting movies currently in theaters this December to check out.

Taika Waititi is best known to audiences for his unique comedic sensibilities, but what makes Jojo Rabbit such a fascinating movie for the filmmaker is the way in which it balances tonal extremes. Being a satire that features the writer/director playing an imaginary version of Adolf Hitler, there are many incredibly funny scenes, but they are brilliantly intertwined with dramatic and horrific moments of reality that creep in.

What the film does in this respect is fascinating, but that’s not only a viewpoint coming from this audience member – it’s also a sentiment that I recently learned is also shared by really the entire cast:

Earlier this month I went to the Los Angeles press day for Jojo Rabbit, and while sitting down with Scarlett Johansson, Thomasin McKenzie, Roman Griffin Davis, Stephen Merchant, Sam Rockwell, and Alfie Allen one aspect of the movie I asked all of them about was Taika Waititi’s approach to tone. And while they had different perspectives on it, at the end of it all it was an aspect of the film that impressed all.

For Scarlett Johansson – who plays the mother of the titular Jojo, an imaginative, naïve child swept up in the Nazi movement during World War II in Germany – the specialness of Jojo Rabbit and it’s approach to both humor and dark drama was something that she recognized even before production started and she read Taika Waititi’s script. She admitted that just briefly describing the plot of the film makes it sound a bit odd, but that she knew from the start that it was a balancing act that the movie would be able to pull off:

Continuing, she noted that the way that you read a script doesn’t always perfectly translate to what you wind up seeing in the finished cut of any given film, but she never doubted the skills of Taika Waititi to adapt the material. Said Johansson,

In contrast, Stephen Merchant, who plays a committed Nazi who conducts house-by-house searches for Jews in hiding, wasn’t fully sure how it was all going to play out until he actually saw the finished film – but then he was in absolute awe of its genius. He may not have been able to fully conceive of Taika Waititi’s singular vision for Jojo Rabbit when he was on set, but he was floored by it when he saw how it came together:

Further adding to the compliments, Stephen Merchant – who notably co-created the legendary series The Office – and this incredible thing to say about his Jojo Rabbit director:

It really is a stunning piece of work, and one that you can now experience for yourself. Jojo Rabbit is now out in limited release, and it’s definitely one that you’ll want to see.

Oh, to be sad in space! We’ve all been there, or at least felt like we've been there, and know the heavy-breathing clouding astronaut's helmets and tears filling them up. Looking out into the great and beautiful unknown of the stars and far-off galaxy during a long reflection of existentialism. It’s not exactly what Star Wars cracked it up to be, is it? Over the years, lonely space movies have become an intriguing subgenre filled with memorable explorations of humanity, incredible cinematography, visual effects achievements and some of the best showcases from starring actors we've seen in any genre.

In honor of Ad Astra’s recent release, let’s venture through the cold vacuum of space and take a look at the best somber astronaut performances. Each one of these is a solid offering. This was a tough one to rank – you’ll be in good hands and feel all of the emotions with each one of these movies. However, as just about all space movies have taught us, you can never leave with the crew you came with. There can only be one number one. He's a look at the saddest of the sad astronaut performances on the big screen.

10. Keir Dullea, 2001: A Space Odyssey

Yes, the benchmark space flick of space flicks is at ten. Remember, this list is based on acting performances. If the judgement was on the film itself 2001: A Space Odyssey may have a place at the tip top. But, Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 incredible filmmaking and ideas is the star of this classic and unforgettable film. Now Keir Dullea, who plays Dr. Dave Bowman plays a role in executing his vision, but another actor could have done the job. Still, Dullea’s moments probing defiant HAL robot and transcending space and time are nothing short of epic.

9. Robert Pattinson, High Life

Earlier this year, future Batman star Robert Pattinson delivered one of the best performances of his career with a really weird sci-fi film to remember him by. At its heart, High Life shows Pattinson playing a young father raising his daughter in space. It also highlights his immense talent in ways that far outstretch his Twilight days. His performance stands out among the movie’s shocking twists and turns led by French filmmaker, Claire Denis’ twisted direction. If you like a compelling performance, try out this vastly underseen space ride.

8. Jodie Foster, Contact

Robert Zemekis’ 1997 space flick Contact is based on a book by a legendary astronomer of television, Carl Sagan. The movie follows Jodie Foster’s Dr. Ellie Arroway as she finds evidence of life outside of Earth and travels to the great beyond to find its source. It poses grand questions to the audience about science, religion and humankind, all while Foster comes out on top with a convincing performance – even with some not-so-great effects by today’s standards.

7. Matt Damon, The Martian

The winning element of Ridley Scott’s The Martian is Matt Damon’s on-screen charisma as his astronaut character is stranded on Mars. He makes a dire and complicated situation into a highly engaging and entertaining one. He’s a sad astronaut for sure, but he uses a flair of sarcasm and wit to elevate the often-somber genre into something with more levity. Damon’s performance has a deft touch as he sits with the audience, explaining the science. You'll be with him the entire way.

6. Brad Pitt, Ad Astra

Space’s newest recruit is Brad Pitt in James Gray’s Ad Astra (alternative title Sad Astra). The sci-fi drama explores a new corner of the genre as the slow-burn visual spectacle shares a message focused on someone’s personal mental health journey. Pitt’s character ventures “to the stars” when his famous astronaut father is said to be the cause of a universe-threatening surge. Brad Pitt gives an expertly-restrained performance where little needs to be said in order for the audience to understand his pain and realizations.

5. Tom Hanks, Apollo 13

“Houston, we have a problem.” Those words alone are enough to send us back to the memorable performance of America’s Sweetheart, Tom Hanks in Apollo 13. Ron Howard’s 1995 movie is a crowd-pleasing classic that really is that good every time. In it, Hanks plays Astronaut Jim Lovell, alongside Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon’s real-life portrayals of the space mission gone wrong when the spacecraft suffers internal damage and threatens their ticket home. The Hanks performance is both memorable and emotional enough to land it smack dab in the middle of this list.

4. Ryan Gosling, First Man

In stunning contrast to the standing ovations and supbeat soundtrack of Apollo 13 is Damien Chazelle’s First Man. The solemn drama tells the story of famous figure Neil Armstrong by delving into the man he was, and what the history books never filled in for us. Ryan Gosling disappears in the role as an awkward astronaut quietly grieving the loss of his young daughter. Gosling’s heartbreaking performances reveals Armstrong’s personal journey to the moon that redefined the previously romanticized space mission.

3. Matthew McConaughey, Interstellar

Christopher Nolan’s venture into the world of space sci-fi may have involved a confusing time-traveling bookcase plot, but Matthew McConaughey was the 2014 film’s secret weapon. McConaughey showed off a different side to his typically laid-back on-screen persona as Interstellar’s unwavering hero: a NASA pilot and engineer. The actor gives an emotional performance as his character Cooper greatly feels the stretch of space and must leave his children behind. It’s a stunning study on parenthood and is among Matthew McConaughey’s best work.

2. Sam Rockwell, Moon

Coming at runner-up for the best sad astronaut performance is Three Billboards Oscar winner Sam Rockwell for 2009’s Moon. The indie film was made on a really low budget of $5 million and made just under $10 million in movie theaters, but wow is it an impressive entry to this genre. Rockwell carries the film on his own in a weighty role revolving around a man who has spent three years completing a mission on the moon. For all its grand twists and scientific questions, Sam Rockwell is the heart of the movie and expertly pulls on the audiences’ heartstrings.

1. Sandra Bullock, Gravity

At number #1 is Sandy Bullock in Alfonso Cuarón’s seven-time Oscar winner, Gravity. It’s a no-brainer really. She’s incredible in this role. Take away the breathtaking visuals of this once-in-a-lifetime moviegoing experience and we’d still be talking about her acting achievement. She says a lot with so little to work with in a way that transcends all other performances like this. When Ryan Stone becomes stranded alone in space on her first mission, she takes us along in her moments of sadness, hope and exhaustion. It’s perfect.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite performance starring a sad astronaut? Leave a comment below and vote with our poll!

This poll is no longer available.

NBC's iconic Saturday Night Live is heading into Season 43 for the 2017-2018 television season, and while the show will be very different this year without any major elections to cover and some notable cast departures, you can bet that those behind the long-running, Emmy-nominated sketch series are working hard to guarantee that there's a solid parade of celebrity guest hosts and musical acts scheduled to perform on the program every week.

While we don't yet know about all the surprises that will await us in Season 43 of SNL (what fun would that be, anyway?), we can probably bet on a few new cast members to fill in for Sasheer Zamata, Vanessa Bayer and Bobby Moynihan, who all left the late-night staple after Season 42. And, with many interesting developments in politics happening on an almost daily basis, we're likely guaranteed continued impressions of those in our top offices as the new season gets underway. We've even already heard that the team at SNL and Alec Baldwin, who has been lauded for his Donald Trump impression, are (wisely) not planning to give that popular part of the show up any time soon. Baldwin has noted that, even though he's got several projects in the pipeline, he is game to be around for as many Trump sessions on Saturday Night Live as possible this season.

While we wait for word on new not-ready-for-primetime players and when we can expect Alec Baldwin to hit the SNL stage again, the show is (finally) starting to let us in on who will be hosting and performing on each live episode. Be sure to check this guide regularly to see when your favorites will be appearing on the show, as we'll update it when SNL releases new information. Read on to see who you can watch this season!

Upcoming Episodes

May 5 - Donald Glover With Musical Guest Childish Gambino

Alright, technically SNL is pulling double duty on this one, because when actor/writer/comedian Donald Glover hosts the show on May 5, he will also appear as musical guest under his hip hop moniker Childish Gambino. Glover has become a force to be reckoned with in the years since his star-making turn on the comedy Community. He created and writes, produces, directs and stars in his hit FX show Atlanta, and will be seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story when it opens on May 25. As a rapper/singer, he's released three studio albums, with the most recent, Awaken, My Love!, scoring several Grammy nominations.

May 12 - Amy Schumer With Musical Guest Kacey Musgraves

Comedian and actress Amy Schumer will return for her second hosting stint on SNL on the May 12 show. The Trainwreck and Snatched star will hit the stage a few weeks after her new film, I Feel Pretty, opens in theaters. Country singer/songwriter Kacey Musgraves will appear as musical guest in support of her third studio album, Golden Hour.

May 19 - Tina Fey With Musical Guest Nicki Minaj

Wrapping up Season 43 of Saturday Night Live will be frequent host and former head writer/cast member Tina Fey. The 30 Rock and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot star launched the Mean Girls musical on Broadway in October 2017. Rapper Nicki Minaj is set to tear up the stage in support of her upcoming fourth studio album that same night.

Previously Aired

September 30 - Ryan Gosling With Musical Guest Jay-Z

The Season 43 opener will see actor Ryan Gosling host for the second time. Gosling, also known as the guy every dude's girlfriend is not-so-secretly in love with, was most recently seen in the Oscar winning film La La Land, for which he was nominated for Best Actor. His next movie is the highly anticipated sequel Blade Runner 2049, with Harrison Ford and Jared Leto, which opens on October 6. Jay-Z, who's performed three times previously, will be along to promote his recently released 4:44 album.

October 7 - Gal Gadot With Musical Guest Sam Smith

The first Saturday in October will see Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, host SNL for the first time. She is, of course, coming off a major summer when her solo outing as the hero wowed audiences and critics alike. Her appearance on the show comes a little over a month before the November 17 debut of Justice League, in which Gadot also stars. The night's musical guest, Sam Smith, will be taking the stage in his second stint on the show. The Grammy winner has been working on his second album, and just released a new single, "Too Good at Goodbyes," earlier this month.

October 14 - Kumail Nanjiani With Musical Guest Pink

Also making his SNL debut during Season 43 is Kumail Nanjiani, who stars on the HBO comedy Silicon Valley. He recently gained even more praise for writing and starring in the film The Big Sick, which came out earlier this year. Singer/songwriter Pink, also the winner of multiple Grammy Awards, is due to release her seventh album, "Beautiful Trauma," on October 13.

November 4 - Larry David With Musical Guest Miley Cyrus

SNL will launch its November episodes with Larry David hosting the show for only the second time, with his first stint being back in February 2016. David, who is best known for helping to create Seinfeld and guide the show to the heights of comedy over many of its nine seasons, as well as for creating and starring in his (recently revived) HBO hit Curb Your Enthusiasm, appeared on Saturday Night Live several times during the election cycle to play candidate Bernie Sanders. Miley Cyrus, who hosted in 2011 and then took on both hosting and musical guest duties in 2013 and 2015, will return to perform and promote her most recent album, "Younger Now."

November 11 - Tiffany Haddish With Musical Guest Taylor Swift

The breakout star of the summer hit film Girls Trip, comedian Tiffany Haddish will get her first go 'round as an SNL host when she steps on stage for the November 11 episode. Haddish is also known for her work in Real Husbands of Hollywood, The Carmichael Show and in the film Keanu, and has several new projects currently in development. Taylor Swift will appear to perform songs from her new CD, "Reputation," and has been on the show several times before, including a 2009 stint where she served as both host and musical guest.

November 18 - Chance the Rapper With Musical Guest Eminem

Also marking his first stint as host in November will be Chance the Rapper, who's made several appearances as musical guest over the past few years. His third mixtape, "Coloring Book," was released in May 2016 and won three Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album. It is also the first streaming-only album to get a Grammy nomination and win. Chance was also nominated for an Emmy this year for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "Last Christmas," which was written for and performed on SNL. Eminem will perform on the show to promote his new album, "Revival," which debuts on November 17.

December 2 - Saoirse Ronan With Musical Guest U2

SNL's December kicks off with two-time Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan hosting the comedy. Ronan, who received nominations in 2008 and 2016, is once again getting Oscar buzz for her role in Lady Bird, which was released in early November. U2, which has won a whopping 22 Grammy Awards, will perform on the show to promote their soon-to-be-released CD, Songs of Experience.

December 9 - James Franco With Musical Guest SZA

Jack of all trades James Franco takes on SNL hosting duties for the night of December 9. He's currently starring in the HBO drama The Deuce and can be seen on the big screen in The Disaster Artist. R&B singer SZA will make her debut on Saturday Night Live that evening. The five-time Grammy nominee will perform to promote her debut studio album, Ctrl.

December 16 - Kevin Hart With Musical Guest Foo Fighters

Making his third appearance as host, actor/comedian Kevin Hart will hit the SNL stage on December 16. His film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will be released on December 20 and he has five projects coming up soon. Seven-time musical guests Foo Fighters will rock the show once again, this time in support of their new CD, Concrete and Gold.

January 13 - Sam Rockwell With Musical Guest Halsey

Actor Sam Rockwell is primed to host SNL for the first time when the show returns from its holiday break on January 13. Rockwell is currently gaining much praise for his role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, having been nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance, which is also getting Oscar buzz. Singer Halsey will be hitting the SNL musical stage for the first time to promote her most recent CD, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.

January 20 - Jessica Chastain With Musical Guest Troye Sivan

Molly's Game star Jessica Chastain takes on hosting duties for the first time when she hits the SNL stage on January 20. The actress, who received Oscar nominations for her work in The Help and Zero Dark Thirty, has become a force to be reckoned with on screen. Since 2010, she's gotten a remarkable 110 nominations for her roles in films like Miss Sloane, A Most Violent Year and Take Shelter. Troye Sivan will perform on the show for the first time to promote his debut studio album, Blue Neighbourhood.

January 27 - Will Ferrell With Musical Guest Chris Stapleton

Funny man Will Ferrell hits his old stomping grounds again when he returns to host Saturday Night Live for the fourth time. After making a name for himself with impressions of personalities like James Lipton, George W. Bush and Alex Trebek, Ferrell, of course, went on to take his wacky characters to the big screen in films like Anchorman and Talladega Nights. Grammy-winning country artist Chris Stapleton will make his second appearance on the show to promote his third solo album, From A Room: Volume 2.

February 3 - Natalie Portman With Musical Guest Dua Lipa

Hosting for her second time as the comedy moves into February is Oscar winner Natalie Portman. After being most recently seen in Jackie and Song to Song, Portman's next big screen effort, the sci-fi thriller Annihilation, debuts on February 23. Singer Dua Lipa makes her first appearance as musical guest to promote her self-titled debut album, which features the hit single, New Rules.

March 3 - Charles Barkely With Musical Guest Migos

March will bring NBA legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley back to SNL for his fourth hosting gig. The Emmy winner can be seen as an analyst for TNT's Inside the NBA and NCAA March Madness coverage on CBS. Hip hop trio Migos will head to the show for their first stint as musical guest, and will perform in support of their new album Culture II, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

March 10 - Sterling K. Brown With Musical Guest James Bay

This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown will make his hosting debut on March 10. The Golden Globe, SAG and Emmy winner can currently be seen on the big screen in Black Panther, and will be back in theaters later this year in The Predator. Singer/songwriter and three time Grammy nominee James Bay will hit the stage for the first time to support his upcoming sophomore album that night.

March 17 - Bill Hader With Musical Guest Arcade Fire

Emmy winner and Saturday Night Live vet Bill Hader returns to the show for his second hosting gig on March 17. Hader's HBO hitman comedy Barry, which he is the creator/executive producer/director and star of, will premiere on March 25. Arcade Fire will join the show for their fourth appearance as musical guest during the broadcast. Their single, "Everything Now," from the album of the same name, recently became their first to hit No. 1 on any Billboard chart.

April 7 - Chadwick Boseman With Musical Guest Cardi B

SNL decided not to let Season 43 pass by without a visit from everyone's favorite Black Panther, as Chadwick Boseman will hit the stage for his first hosting gig on April 7. Known around the world for his part in the massive hit Black Panther, Boseman will next be seen on the big screen in Avengers: Infinity War when it opens on April 27. Cardi B will appear as the musical guest to promote her debut studio album Invasion of Privacy.

April 14 - John Mulaney With Musical Guest Jack White

Comedian and former SNL writer John Mulaney will make his first appearance as host on the April 14 episode. Mulaney is best known for helping write all those insane Stefon sketches with Bill Hader and he sometimes popped up on the Weekend Update segment of the show during his time there. Jack White will perform to promote his third solo studio album Boarding House Reach.

Remember, be sure to bookmark this guide so you can stay up to date on all the hosts and musical guests Saturday Night Live has to offer in Season 43. For an in depth look at what else you can watch this fall, take a look at our fall premiere schedule and Netflix premiere schedule, as well.

Best Supporting Actor is always one of the funnest categories at the Academy Awards. It's where the greatest unsung character actors finally get the recognition they deserve, and it's always a delight to revisit the fantastic performances through the collection of nominees. This year was no exception, as Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Plummer, and Richard Jenkins all put on spectacular turns in 2017 - but it was Sam Rockwell who walked away with the Oscar, and it's impressively well-deserved after 29 years of brilliant work.

Facing stiff competition, Sam Rockwell triumphed this evening thanks to his amazing work in Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, playing a somewhat controversial role. In the movie, the actor plays Dixon: a lazy, dumb, ignorant cop with a racist past who undergoes some serious change while dealing with Frances McDormand's Mildred Pierce - a mother who wants justice for her raped and murdered daughter. Rockwell is given a tremendous arc to play out in the film, one that you never expect from where the role starts, but it's honestly amazing to see him totally convince the audience to view Dixon in a totally different light. It's absolutely an Academy Award-winning turn, though it's worth mentioning that Rockwell has been killing it for years now.

With the exception of bigger titles like Iron Man 2, Charlie's Angels, and A Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Sam Rockwell has mostly stuck to smaller movies over the course of his career, but has consistently been a scene-stealing star in those projects. His breakout was arguably as the psychotic killer Wild Bill' Wharton is Frank Darabont's The Green Mile, but that very same year he was cracking-up a growing cult audience with his part as the perpetually-terrified Guy Fleegman in Galaxy Quest. Given a lead role for the first time, he's remarkable as game show host/spy/dancing fool Chuck Barris in George Clooney's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; and one year later he was back killing it in the supporting position opposite Nicolas Cage in Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men. And while they didn't really make any money, both Clark Gregg's Choke and Duncan Jones' Moon prove that he really can play the lead actor game.

Also deserving special mention is Seven Psychopaths - which was the project that brought him together with Martin McDonagh for the first time. Playing an equally fantastic part, Rockwell is Billy - the best friend of Colin Farrell's alcoholic screenwriter character, Martin, who truly will go above and beyond and do anything to try and help his pal finish his script. It's a movie that proved that there was greatness in the collaboration between Rockwell and McDonagh, and tonight we saw it earn Hollywood's highest honor.

Over the years, Sam Rockwell has shown himself to be both an immensely talented performer, and a likable human being, so tonight's win at the Academy Awards is absolutely worth celebrating. And if you haven't seen his turn in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri yet, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of the Blu-ray, which is currently on sale.

The heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are undoubtedly the stars of the show, but the movies have built up a long line of villains in its 10 years. Truth be told, not all of them are very good, but there are some standouts amongst the lineup. One of the most underrated of those villains is Justin Hammer, who was played by Sam Rockwell in Iron Man 2. Most of Iron Man 2 is pretty forgettable, but Justin Hammer is a definite highlight. For his part, Rockwell is open to coming back to the MCU. Here's what he said.

It's been quite a few years since we've seen Justin Hammer. For those who need a refresher, Justin Hammer is kind of the evil version of Tony Stark, but if he didn't have a suit of armor and wasn't as smart. Hammer was the CEO of a rival tech company that was trying to build their own Iron Man suit. One attempt twisted a man in half, so Hammer broke Ivan Vanko out of prison so that he could build a fleet of suits for Hammer. It was a pretty bad idea that blew up in his face spectacularly, landing Hammer in prison where he's been to this day. The last time we saw the character was a cameo appearance in the All Hail the King one-shot about Trevor Slattery aka "Not The Mandarin" in prison.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sam Rockwell said that he was definitely interested in returning to the MCU as Justin Hammer should the offer ever come. He's got lots of friends in that franchise, and there's probably few better opportunities for actor buddies to hang out than in an MCU movie.

As for whether or not Justin Hammer will come back or not, only the top brass at Marvel know. Should he come back? I think so. Hammer is a fun villain and Rockwell is really entertaining in the role, so if there's an organic way to bring him back then I say go for it. An opportunity for that likely won't come until Phase 4 and it's still a mystery what the Iron Man franchise will look like after Avengers 4. However, the MCU is so intertwined now, Hammer doesn't have to only appear in Iron Man movies. Just as long as he's dancing, I don't care where he shows up.

We don't know if Justin Hammer will ever find his way back into the MCU but stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated. In the meantime, check out our Marvel movie release guide for all the upcoming Marvel movies.

Warning: The following story contains spoilers for Mute, so stop reading this now, go stream it on Netflix, then come back.

Duncan Jones (Warcraft, Source Code) has been saying for some time that his latest sci-fi thriller Mute is a spiritual sequel to Moon, the pioneering space-set pulse-racer he delivered back in 2009. And for those of you who watched Mute already, you probably caught Sam Rockwell's astronaut, Sam Bell, and his numerous clones on a TV screen in a scene with Alexander Skarsgard's mute hero, Leo. Sam Bell is confronting Lunar Industries, the company that stranded him aboard his moon base in the 2009 movie. But when we spoke with Jones ahead of Mute's release, he said that he shot plenty more with Rockwell that didn't make it into the final cut of the movie. Jones revealed:

So, it's not like Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) was ever going to confront Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) in that awesome American diner, or bowl a few rounds with Duck (Justin Theroux). But from the get go, Duncan Jones wanted to make it clear that the story of Mute took place on the same timeline as Moon, and that Sam Bell received some closure because audiences now know that he got home, and managed to confront his diabolical employers.

For this reason, Duncan Jones tells CinemaBlend that he has been planning Sam Bell's part in Mute basically from the minute that Moon wrapped shooting. He explains:

It really is a funny scene that, even though it lasts seconds, probably took longer to film than you realize. It's part of the detail that makes Mute special, and worth a watch. The movie is on Netflix as we speak. Check out our review, then head over to the streaming service and see what has become of Sam Bell.

The Oscar race is a marathon, not a sprint. And along the way, there are mile markers that tend to point in the direction of the final Academy Awards outcome. While we're nowhere near ready to declare the race over -- or to even nominate a clear-cut frontrunner -- the Screen Actors Guild awards winners can go a long way to pointing out who's likely to take home an Oscar when the 2017-18 campaign draws to a close.

When you start to hear the same names revealed over and over at ceremonies like the Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards and the SAGs, you begin to conclude that these same names will triumph at the Oscars. If that's the case, then your current Best Actor and Actress frontrunners appear to be Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour and Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. McDormand's co-star, Sam Rockwell, has been cleaning up on the path for Best Supporting Actor nods. And Allison Janney is parlaying her venomous turn as Tonya Harding's stage mom into awards gold for I, Tonya. Let's break down the key awards each has won up to this point:

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Critics' Choice: Best Actor

Golden Globes: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

SAG: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics: Best Actor

Iowa Film Critics: Best Actor

Nevada Film Critics: Best Actor

New York Film Critics Online: Best Actor

NC Film Critics: Best Actor

Oklahoma Film Critics: Best Actor

Online Film Critics Society: Best Actor

Southeastern Film Critics: Best Actor

St. Louis Film Critics: Best Actor

Washington D.C. Film Critics: Best Actor

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Critics' Choice: Best Actress

Golden Globes: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

SAG: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Detroit Film Critics: Best Actress

Las Vegas Film Critics: Best Actress

St. Louis Film Critics' Association: Best Actress

Toronto Film Critics' Association: Best Actress

Washington D.C. Film Critics' Association: Best Actress

Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Critics' Choice: Best Supporting Actor

Golden Globes: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Southeastern Film Critics: Best Supporting Actor

Online Film Critics Society: Best Supporting Actor

Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics: Best Supporting Actor

Florida Film Critics: Best Supporting Actor

Houston Film Critics: Best Supporting Actor

Las Vegas Film Critics: Best Supporting Actor

San Diego Film Critics: Best Supporting Actor

Washington D.C. Film Critics' Association: Best Supporting Actor

Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Critics' Choice: Best Supporting Actress

Golden Globes: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

SAG: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress

Detroit Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress

Florida Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress

Houston Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress

Nevada Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress

New York Film Critics Online: Best Supporting Actress

Philadelphia Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress

Phoenix Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress

San Diego Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress

As you can see, the SAG winners from Sunday fit into a pattern, and we expect all four to be named as Oscar nominees when those are announced on Tuesday morning. Will that make them frontrunners? Right now, because no one else has consistently stepped up and interfered with their clear path to victory, I'd say that they are close to being the Oscar winners we expect to hear on March 4. But a lot can happen between now and then, as final Oscar ballots aren't even due for another month.

Still, I'd feel better throwing some more weight behind a Shape of Water or The Post upset if Sally Hawkins, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep or Richard Jenkins had surprised us with a one-off victory at one of these precursor awards programs. But right now, we are hearing the same four names. Will we hear all four of them again on March 4 at the Oscars? Or are one of these four vulnerable to an upset? Let us know in the comments.

The Golden Globes are typically a rather raucous affair, with actors and filmmakers using the show to drink a bit too much and get silly. That wasn't really the tone of the 2018 proceedings, with the run of recent news out of Hollywood casting a shadow over the event, but that didn't stop some legitimately funny jokes from being told, and hilarious moments from going down. Seth Meyers was sharp in his opening monologue, and the talented folks populating the event brought the giggles.

There were many laugh-out-loud moments from tonight's show, but below and across the next few pages we've highlighted our five favorites. Read on, and tell us what you think were the funniest bits of the 2018 Golden Globes in the comments section below.

The Harvey Weinstein In Memorium Joke

Nowadays, Harvey Weinstein's name might as well be a curse word in Hollywood, and Seth Meyers treated it as such at the Golden Globes. He rightly pointed out that it's going to be a long, long time before Weinstein is mentioned at any awards show for years to come. Specifically, it will be 20 years from now during the In Memorial reel... and receive a round of boos. As noted by Meyers, the joke got a reaction from the audience that accurately predicted what it will sound like then -- but it just got laughs here at home.

Willem Dafoe Reacts To His Own Name

In recent months, distressing news has been erupting from Hollywood regularly, with actors constantly being called out for their absolutely horrible and horrific behavior out of the public eye over the years. It's gotten to a point where a context-less mention of any male star in public conversation will immediately illicit some worried requests for more details. Seth Meyers recognized this current atmosphere in his opening monologue, using a namedrop of "Willem Defoe" as an example -- and it turned out to be a perfect choice. The look on Dafoe's face was priceless, and gave us one of the funniest moments of the night.

"I've done a lot of indies and it's nice to be in a movie people see."

Sam Rockwell has a handful of $100 million movies on his resume, including Iron Man 2, The Green Mile, and Charlie's Angels, but the bulk of his career has been spent making smaller features with smaller budgets. This has resulted in him never really getting a ton of mainstream attention... but that changed majorly tonight. Winning the Best Supporting Actor prize for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Rockwell took home his first major award, and helped earn one of the best movies of the year a lot of positive attention (the wins for Best Actress -- Drama, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture -- Drama didn't hurt either). Of course, the big funny here is that Three Billboards has only made $25.3 million to date domestically - though that number could certainly grow much bigger in coming weeks if Fox Searchlight continues to put it in more theaters (as it did this past weekend).

Seth Rogen Describes His First Experience With The Room

There are plenty of movies that wind up with odd distribution methods, utilized in order to qualify for awards season, but the way The Room found its way to audience was far stranger than anything even remotely similar. Writer/director Tommy Wiseau funded a billboard campaign that had his phone number on it, allowing people to call and ask for tickets, and apparently Seth Rogen was one of the people who actually dialed the number. Rogen told this story while preparing the crowd for a preview of Best Picture -- Comedy/Musical The Disaster Artist, and just reflecting on the absurdity of it all made for one of the most smile-inducing moments of the entire show.

James Franco Keeps Tommy Wiseau Away From The Mic

As anyone who has seen The Room or The Disaster Artist can attest, Tommy Wiseau is a bit of a wild card. An enigma in every sense of the world, you never really know how he is going to act or what he is going to say at any given moment. Because of this, it's definitely best to keep him away from any live microphone, and that's exactly what James Franco did this evening. While the Best Actor -- Comedy/Musical winner was giving his acceptance speech, Wiseau made his way to the stage and tried to say something about the moment himself, but Franco made the wise decision to stop him. We may never know what he was going to say.

There are few filmmakers out there today as exciting as Martin McDonagh. The Irish playwright first got into the game with his Oscar-winning short Six Shooter in 2004, and since then has delivered two movies that can be called nothing short of genius: 2008's In Bruges, and 2012's Seven Psychopaths. Now he's back with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and the trailer makes it look like yet another piece of dark comedy gold.

This debut trailer was posted online by Fox Searchlight, and after watching it I feel the need to see the film immediately. The incredible ensemble alone is enticing (Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, John Hawkes, Abbie Cornish, Caleb Landry Jones, Peter Dinklage, and more), but this footage also includes multiple laugh-out-loud moments... and not all limited to McDormand kicking teenagers in the crotch.

Based on an original script by McDonagh, the movie picks up months after the death of a young girl named Angela Hayes. The case has gone cold and the police have all but completely stopped investigating, but Angela's mother, Mildred (McDormand), is not willing to stand by and do nothing. Her first act of rebellion is to purchase ad space on three local billboards, not only loudly asking why her daughter's murder hasn't been solved, but also directly calling out Sheriff Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson). Soon a full blown conflict erupts as Mildred does everything in her power to keep the cops' mind on finding her child's killer.

In addition to having some wonderful familiar faces from Martin McDonagh's past work (Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, and Zeljko Ivanek were all in Seven Psychopaths), what really makes this movie sing is just the writer/director's auteur voice. Few filmmakers use profanity quite so elegantly, and Frances McDormand's delivery is simply perfect. We may not get a better line this year than "This didn't put an end to shit, you fucking retard; this is just the fucking start. Why don't you put that on your Good Morning Missouri fucking wake up broadcast, bitch?"

Truly the only disappointing part of this Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri trailer is the fact that it doesn't feature the movie's release date - but that's mostly tied into the fact that Fox Searchlight hasn't announced one yet. We're likely seeing this trailer now because Woody Harrelson stars in Fox's Wilson, which is out this weekend, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the film is coming out soon. McDonagh's past features have been released in February and October, respectively, so there's no real pattern to grasp on to there. If there winds up being hope that the movie could bring home a few Academy Awards, it's possible that we may not get to see the dark comedy until some point in the fall.

Are you as excited as we are for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri? Hit the comments section below with your thoughts, and be on the look out for release details.

In the realm of comic book movies, few actors have become quite as inextricable from their roles quite like Robert Downey Jr. The actor -- once a controversial choice for the role of Tony Stark -- has become an instant icon during his tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he will undoubtedly prove nearly impossible to recast if (and when) he steps down. However, it turns out that another actor nearly took his place from the very beginning. It seems that, early on in Iron Man's development, Jon Favreau expressed interest in possibly giving the role of Tony Stark to Sam Rockwell.

In a somewhat older interview with The A.V. Club that has started to make the rounds again thanks to Reddit, Sam Rockwell explained that he was actually in the running to portray Tony Stark during the early stages of Iron Man's development. Jon Favreau approached him about potentially screen testing as the titular billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist, and was ready to offer him the chance to audition for the role of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first hero. Let that revelation sink in for a brief moment.

As you already know, that didn't pan out. Robert Downey Jr. eventually beat Rockwell to the punch and absolutely knocked it out of the park in his own audition. I would almost call it a missed opportunity if Robert Downey Jr. wasn't so damn good as Stark. It's a screen test that has actually become legendary online for how quickly and easily he slipped into the role. Check it out below to see for yourself:

Jon Favreau clearly saw something in Sam Rockwell, because he eventually returned to the actor two years later for the role of smarmy industrialist Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2. If you ever wonder what Sam Rockwell's Tony Stark could've looked like, then look no further than Hammer; apparently Favreau and Rockwell approached the villain by crafting him as a sleazy mirror image of Stark -- albeit with less charisma and worse tech. In the end everything may have worked out for the best; although Iron Man 2 is generally considered a weak moment for the MCU, Rockwell's Justin Hammer is undoubtedly one of its best qualities.

What are your thoughts on this revelation? Do you think Sam Rockwell would've made a good choice for Tony Stark, or do you think he's far better as a villain like Justin Hammer? Let us know what you think in the comments section to keep this conversation going!

CinemaBlend will bring you all of the latest and greatest Marvel news as more information becomes available to us. Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark will make his next appearance during the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming, which will hit theaters on July 7, 2017.

“They’re here.” The new Poltergeist trailer gives a major nod to the most widely quoted moment from the 1982 original. We’ve already seen some snippets of the remake, but this footage is all new and has far more ghostly shenanigans, especially that one nightmare-inducing clown. Who needs another version of Stephen King's It when we have this?

“This isn’t just a few pissed off spirits,” explains Jared Harris, playing the all-knowing priest come to help the terrified family. "It’s a poltergeist.” Horror fans know the classic story well: a suburban family home is terrorized by an angry spirit. After a slew of paranormal activity occurs, it snatches their young daughter and holds her hostage in the supernatural realm. As we hear in the Poltergeist trailer, the entities are “trapped and desperate, and Madison is their ticket out.” The parents must cross over to the other side if they ever want to save her.

The problem is that these spirits know what scares this family — and us! The mysterious, floating house of cards, the flickering, fuzzy television set, and the Paranormal Acitivity-esque child snatching are nothing compared to the freightening visage that is the clown doll. No matter where we go we'll see its haunting, cackling face. The poster was one thing, but this moment alone will give us nightmares. 

Tobe Hooper directed the original, but the remake is under the helm of Gil Kenan, the guy behind Monster House and City of Ember. Sam Raimi is also contributing to Poltergeist as a producer. Populating the cast, too, are Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie Dewitt as the loving parents, while younger Saxson Sharbino and Kyle Catlette have the wonderful task of playing the children who will be scarred for life. Though the daughter is one ubducted, Rockwell said previously that this version of Poltergeist will focus on the 10-year-old boy. In this sense, he called it a "kids' movie," which is backed by the film's PG-13 rating. While it may have less gore than R fair, there are bound to be an onslaught of jumps. The Lazarus Effect had the same rating and still managed its barrage of pop-outs -- even though it had its fair share of critics.

Poltergeist, however, seems like it'll be well worth the price of admission, given this new trailer. The film will hit theaters on May 22.

The original Poltergeist stands as one of those horror classics from our youth (if you are of a certain age), and you’ll never look at snow on a television set the same way after you have seen it. Remaking classic properties doesn’t always sound like the best idea, but the central conceit of a haunted house always works, and the new trailer for Gil Kenan’s Poltergeist reboot has some legitimate scares in it. Watch it below:

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… and I don’t just mean, "In the 1982 version." A family (led by Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt) move into a suburban house. They deem it to be a fixer-upper, but their young kids love it, so they try to make it feel like home. One night, a strange force in the bedroom closet pulls in young Madison (Kennedi Clements) – not Carol Anne, you purists! – plunging the family into a supernatural nightmare that will bury deep into all of their souls.

If anything, this reboot of Poltergeist doesn’t sound as much like Tobe Hooper’s original film as it does James Wan’s Insidious, which had a father diving into another realm to retrieve the child he thought that he had lost. Some of the effects in the trailer for this movie call to mind the first Insidious, which was a terrifying thrill ride.

Then again, this Poltergeist also has scary clowns… which might mean I’ll have to wait to watch this at home, where I can keep all of the lights on.

Try unseeing that tonight when you are going to sleep!

Here are three reasons I think we can get behind this Poltergeist reboot… even though the "R" word has become a curse in Hollywood. For starters, the cast is great. Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt will get me in a theater, but adding Jared Harris as a priest combating the poltergeist? Great call. Secondly, Sam Raimi serves as a producer on this film. I wonder if he actually directed it, the way Steven Spielberg allegedly helmed the original Poltergeist in ’82.

Finally, Gil Kenan – the director of this reboot – helmed the amazing and genuinely scary animated movie Monster House, so I’m hoping he is able to translate some of those chills to this live-action thriller. Poltergeist scares up tickets on July 24. Are you willing to give it a shot?

If you've been under the impression that the upcoming Poltergeist movie is going to be one of the scariest films of 2015, I have some bad news for you. It turns out that this new film isn't necessarily that focused on being that frightening, and has been described by one of its stars as being more of a "kid's movie."

That quote comes directly from Sam Rockwell, who recently discussed his work on the movie in an interview with Collider. Discussing the approach that the new version of Poltergeist is taking, the actor explained that there is a bit of a perspective change and that the resulting film is perhaps going to be a bit lighter than horror fans may be expecting. He explained,

Further proving this point is the fact that the MPAA has actually already certified the new Poltergeist. It has been rated PG-13 for "intense frightening sequences, brief suggestive material, and some language." To hear Sam Rockwell tell it, however, those aforementioned sequences won't exactly have you screaming in the movie theater. The actor told the site,

Beyond the already established rating, certainly one element that has long hinted towards Poltergeist skewing younger is the fact that it's being directed by Gil Kenan. The filmmaker made his first feature with the animated Monster House in 2006, and despite its horror title, it too was much more kid friendly than scary. Kenan continued to speak to a young audience with 2008's City of Ember, and now it appears that 20th Century Fox brought him on-board to do something similar with this remake

We've been hearing about this Poltergeist redo for so long now - dating back to 2011 - that it's actually kind of amazing it's actually almost here. Based on a script by David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), the film has a rather fantastic cast that, in addition to Sam Rockwell, also includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, Nicholas Braun and Jane Adams. The film won't be arriving until summer time, scheduled to come out on July 24th, but it shouldn't be too much longer before we get our first look at some footage in the form of a debut trailer. It will definitely be interesting to see what kind of tone it takes.

Quirky and cute, Anna Kendrick has proven herself to be a great leading lady with roles in movies like Up In The Air, 50/50 and Pitch Perfect. Now she's readying to sink her teeth into a romantic comedy with a serious dark side, and Sam Rockwell will be her Mr. Right.

Deadline reports Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell have both signed on to star in Mr. Right, which is based on a script by Chronicle scribe Max Landis. An off-kilter rom-com, the film centers on a woman whose streak of losing at love finally seems at an end when she meets a man who is everything she dreamed of. There's just one problem: he's also a reformed hit man. When his past comes back to haunt him, this new couple not only has flesh and blood enemies to take down, but also their own trust issues.

Basically it sounds like the final act of Grosse Pointe Blank. But that's not a bad thing. Mr. Right's premise looks like one that Kendrick and Rockwell can have a lot of fun with, and the casting seems spot on. She's great as the smart girl who is easily infuriated by the way the world disappoints her, and falling in love with a former hitman is just the kind of thing her niche character would do. As for Rockwell, he's at his best when he's playing a morally offbeat eccentric. Lest we forget, let's revisit one of his most recent role as a whacked out killer in Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths (Warning: NSFW for language, gore, and nudity.)

Mr. Right will be directed by Spanish director Paco Cabezas, who is an unknown Stateside. He made his directorial debut back in 2000 with the Spanish sci-fi comedy Invasion Travesti. A couple of Spanish-language films followed, beginning with the horror-thriller The Appeared, then ending with the crime-comedy Neon Flesh. From there Cabezas made a leap to English-language cinema with the $25 million dollar Nicolas Cage vehicle Tokarev. Never heard of it? Me neither. It's a home invasion thriller that hasn't yet opened in the U.S. But you can get a taste of its tension in the trailer below:

Presumably, Mr. Right's producers have seen Tokarev, and were impressed enough to back Cabezas in his follow-up. While we wait for word on when Tokarev might open in the U.S., Mr. Right is planning to roll into production this fall - meaning it should open in 2015. In the meantime, look for Anna Kendrick in a pair of upcoming musicals The Last Five Years and Into The Woods. Sam Rockwell will resurface Valentine's Day 2015 in the Poltergeist remake.

There were a lot of promising pieces in place for The Heart, an action-comedy written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, Oscar winners for The Descendants. They had Kristen Wiig attached to star alongside Sam Rockwell, two names in a film where a broke woman has to travel cross-country with a stranger to deliver black market organs. Allison Janney was also aboard the $18.5 million-budgeted film, financed by Indian Paintbrush. Suddenly, however, the studio is having buyer’s remorse.

The Wrap reports that the studio attempted to shop the project to distributors but received very little interest, suggesting that they are the only ones who don’t know they have a bomb on their hand. Now they’re examining their options, one of which involves dropping the budget down to a more manageable $13 million. Another, however, involves finding a different financier to take the project off their hands completely. And to think, you toil away at a screenplay for months, finding a way to put the pieces together, only for people to play hot potato in regards to who wants it less.

In the current film economy, mega-blockbusters with name recognition and no-budget genre pictures are really the types of movies studios want to make. The reason for this is marketing: for most studios, it costs even more to advertise a film than it does to produce it, provided it’s not a costly tent pole. In addition to this, comedies don’t always translate well to other countries, and a mid-level joke fest like this, which actually combines genres, is a tough sell to international regions weaned on action-heavy 3D imports from America. Particularly female-centric: The Heat (hey, similar title!) ultimately grossed only 30% of the $229 million global gross overseas.

Add to that the fact that some are perceiving The Heart as damaged goods. Apparently, the project came together with the likelihood of Michael Fassbender playing the Rockwell part. Apparently, Fassbender has huge worldwide recognition, probably due to Prometheus and the X-Men franchise. Rockwell, sadly, does not have that sort of exposure: he’s really been relegated to indies since showing up in Iron Man 2 in 2010 and Cowboys And Aliens in 2011.

But apparently Wiig ain’t so hot either. Studios would have gambled on her majorly after Bridesmaids was a big hit. But afterwards, she rejected a Bridesmaids sequel and ventured into the indie world, starring in non-performers like Girl Most Likely and the recent Hateship Friendship. Her biggest film since then was The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, which was ultimately poorly received by critics and audiences.

Looking at these facts, it seems fairly stupid to write off Wiig as not being bankable. Studios consider low profile bombs to be bad news for some actors, disregarding the fact that if they get only tiny releases people don’t even notice them. And Mitty barely acknowledged Wiig in its marketing campaign, which actually might have been a mistake. She’s diversified her brand with stuff like the silly miniseries The Spoils Of Babylon but audiences generally regard her as "that lady from the bride movie" who "used to be on SNL." People really only go to the movies four or five times a year, and to them, Bridesmaids was only 15 or 20 movies ago. Bankability remains something that studios treat as concrete fact when it’s actually sort of an ethereal concept reliant on marketing. Indian Paintbrush is exploring their options as of now. Kristen Wiig remains bankable.

The fervency with which fans have taken to HBO's original series True Detective is nothing short of impressive. The series' striking visuals, gripping storyline, and incredible acting have helped turn this show into can't-miss TV of the grandest variety. But given the series format — it's an anthologized, like American Horror Story — and the fact that Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey's story ends after the finale next month, some minds have turned to casting season two. And we've got some ideas of our own.

When it comes to HBO’s most popular and inventive drama (at least until Game of Thrones returns in April), there’s a seriously ravenous audience that loves (nay, obsesses) over its every hypothetical scenario — just look at Patton Oswalt’s Twitter feed. Nowhere was that more evident than in the immense popularity of the hashtag #TrueDetectiveSeason2 this week, wherein folks cast (mostly jokingly) dynamic duos to take over the starring vehicle.

We thought we’d do them one better, though: what if, instead of joking, we took a serious look at some pairs of killer actors who’d take on the impressive mantle of the series and do it justice? We've already done it for dream directors, so why not the cast? The result was 10 pairings we’d really love to see on the Nic Pizzolatto series. So we decided to share them with you. Feel free to leave your own serious contenders in the comments. After all, the more to deduce from, the better.

Winona Ryder and Elisabeth Moss

With Ryder’s steely, confident brand of crazy and Moss’ impressive investigative seriousness (as evidenced in Top of The Lake), these two could potentially hit it out of the park, so to speak. Just imagine: a dusty, dried up town somewhere in middle-of-nowhere California? Ryder as a down on her luck cop stranded in a hometown she wants nothing to do with and Moss as her following-in-the-family-footsteps partner. Admit it: you’re into it.

Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor

This one may be mostly selfish: these two astoundingly impressive and incredible actors need to be in something together, STAT. Elba already has the impressive-cool detective stylings down thanks to his work on Luther, and Ejiofor just commands the attention of any scene he’s in. Imagine: a season set against the backdrop of Detroit’s disintegrating-but-trying urban landscape with these two and just try and pretend you’re not wholly on board.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Joaquin Phoenix

Now, here the question is obvious: would Phoenix act opposite the sometimes perma-bubbly JGL? Methinks he could, and the unexpectedness of it all would work in both of their favor. Just imagine it: small town, maybe out in Utah somewhere. Devious dealings with a local Mormon religious figure? Phoenix harboring a secret tie to the man’s empire and Gordon-Levitt hot on that connection’s tail — only to find it brings him more compassion for his crooked compatriot than originally anticipated? You’d watch the shit out of that, don’t play.

Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Banks

Any excuse to get more Cranston on your television, right? The levity that would infiltrate the season with the addition of Banks might be just the sort of reengineering the series needs to ensure it doesn’t become stale. Both intelligent and competent actors, we’d love to see Banks in something serious after her domination in the comedy game. And who better to bring that sort of brooding brilliance out of her than Cranston? Something tells us a small town outside of Seattle would do well to have these two detectives.

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Parker Posey

Parker Posey as a seriously off-center but broodingly dark detective? Gyllenhaal besting her brother’s performance in Prisoners? These two women are phenomenal actors, and no doubt an unfolding mystery on par with this season’s True Detective would do well in their care. Something tricky, psychosexual, and absolutely bonkers would be the perfect fit — maybe out somewhere in Kansas? In the backwoods of New England? Either way, we’re into it.

Sam Rockwell and Michael Fassbender

Of all the pairings, this might be our favorite. Two genius actors that have yet to do television would make serious waves if cast in season two. Like Fassbender, Rockwell has incredible range and commitment — he inhabits characters with such convincing aplomb you’re almost terrified of him. Naturally, the sort of duality both men charismatically possess would ensure a terrific season of television. Put them somewhere bleak and expansive — the Dakotas, maybe even middle-of-nowhere Nevada — and watch the electricity fly.

Kevin Spacey and Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordon as a green detective with a jaded outlook on life, paired up with old-timer Spacey (who recently lost his partner under curious circumstances), a bubbly and seemingly benevolent believer in the old guard? You want to see that. Nay: you need to see that. Put them in some deeply southern town with a lot of dark patches in their history — perhaps somewhere swamp-laden? — and you’ve got a clash of cultures as well as a seriously charismatic leading duo.

Anne Hathaway and Michael C. Hall

We know, we know: you might think this one is weird, but just hear us out. Hathaway would play a goody-two-shoes sort, assigned to work with Hall on her first-ever detective-ing endeavor. A quiet girl with a mysterious and foggy past that she won’t discuss, Hall and Hathaway are teamed up to investigate a series of child abductions and suspected murders in upstate New York. Only what comes to pass is that Hathaway has a lot more insight into the case than her 15-years-on-the-job partner. You like it, eh?

Aaron Paul and Jimmi Simpson

Imagine this one taking place in Washington, DC and stay with me. Two genius detectives in the US’ cyber crimes become embroiled in a plot to infiltrate and destroy the government from the inside. With House of Cards hacker Simpson’s brilliant technological mind and Breaking Bad star Paul’s charisma and keen intuition, the duo source out who’s at the heart of the attacks and unfold an even bigger plot that’s in development across the world.

Bradley Cooper and Dustin Hoffman

Last but far from least, we have Cooper and Hoffman. Can you imagine a more dynamic old/new guard pairing? Between Cooper’s unhinged electricity and Hoffman’s quiet brilliance, we see a seedy underbelly story rife for the solving with these two actors on board. Perhaps somewhere in Iowa? Both men not only have the gravitas it takes to carry a series, but they also play extremely well with others in a more ensemble setting. Put these two in charge of season two and we bet you’d be hard-pressed to find a story they couldn’t make engaging.

Horror movies don't typically attract the highest of A-listers for whatever reason, but thus far the upcoming remake of Poltergeist seems to be two for two in terms of casting. Late last month we learned that Rosemarie DeWitt was in negotiations to play the movie's female lead, and now The Wrap has learned from sources that Sam Rockwell is now in early talks to star in the Sam Raimi-produced film as well.

Based on a script by David Lindsay-Abaire, who most recently wrote the script for Raimi's Oz The Great and Powerful, the movie tells the story of the Bowen family and their battle against evil spirits when their youngest daughter Madison is abducted by supernatural forces. As you may have noticed, the premise of the movie has remained the same, but the names from the 1982 original have changed (the daughter's name in that film was Carol Anne and the family name was the Freelings). Gil Kenan, who last directed the 2008 adventure film City of Ember and broke out with the animated feature Monster House, is helming the project, and while there's no start date mentioned in the recent report, if they are casting it means they will probably be shooting fairly soon.

While the addition of Sam Rockwell to any cast is a slam dunk, apparently this deal isn't set in stone just yet. The actor is Kenan's top choice for the part and Rockwell has shown an interest, particularly due to Raimi's involvement. He is also "weighing several movie offers," so it's possible that he could just choose to do something else instead. Should he decide to sign on, he will be the "patriarch of the Bowen family, basically the role played by Craig T. Nelson in Tobe Hooper's movie.

We've already seen a bit of Rockwell earlier this year, starring in the Sundance coming-of-age movie The Way, Way Back, but he has plenty more in store for later this year as well. In September he'll star alongside William H. Macy, Ted Levine, Kelly Reilly and Jason Isaacs in the thriller A Single Shot; then he'll reunite with Choke writer/director Clark Gregg on Trust Me; and finally there's Kat Coiro's romantic comedy A Case of You with Evan Rachel Wood and Peter Dinklage. While the latter two don't have release dates just yet (both premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Festival), you can watch the trailer for A Single Shot below.

The actor has also completed work on the dark comedy Better Living Through Chemistry, the Adam Rapp-directed Why Now?!, and Lynn Shelton's drama Laggies. Even if Rockwell decides not to star in Poltergeist at least we'll be seeing plenty of him at the movies.

Character actor Sam Rockwell has built his career on wild man roles that just get better with age. Last year he played a psycho-killer/aspiring screenwriter in Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths, and this summer he follows it up with as a goofball manager of a family waterpark in the coming-of-age dramedy called The Way, Way Back.

The film that made waves at this year's Sundance Film Festival marks the directorial debut of screenwriters Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who won the Academy Award for Best Adapted screenplay for The Descendants. Liam James from TV's The Killing stars as 14-year-old Duncan, a teen who escapes vacation obligations with his well-meaning mother (Toni Collette) and her bullying boyfriend (Steve Carell) to a water park where he finds a fun-loving friend in manchild Owen (Rockwell). While James plays the pic's protagonist, Rcokwell's is one of the performances that has earned the most buzz for its playful swagger and outrageous one-liners.

I recently had a chance to sit down with Rockwell. And after offering me my pick of candies (Skittles, M&Ms, mini candy bars, and gummy bears), he shared with me his thoughts on what made this screenplay a standout, how the production was a bit of a jolt to his improvisational methods, and how he regards the legacy of his life's work.

In The Way Way Back, you play sort of the savior of Duncan's summer, the adult he doesn't feel like a freak or failure around. Was there someone who inspired in you in your portrayal of Owen?

Sam Rockwell: Well, the obvious one is Bill Murray in Meatballs but there were many other real people, like people in my life, friends of my mother and father, this guy named John Gyler, and Tom Edwards. There was a teacher I had named Wayne McDonald. And the obvious sort of prototypes, for like Walter Matthau in Bad News Bears, Richard Pryor in a movie called Bustin' Loose, and other movies I grew up watching. But Bill Murray of course is a big (influence). It's pretty obvious that the relationship between Duncan and Owen is very similar to that relationship (in Meatballs). So that's hard to avoid that. You know what I mean? You have to sort of embrace that it's been done already. Most things have been, and just how can you change it or get a different perspective on it?

I think to ignore the fact that it was done well is kind is a little pompous and ignorant. It's kind of like if you're going to play Hamlet, you know some people don't like to watch all the Hamlets. I like to watch all the Hamlets, and steal little bits and pieces from Nicol Williamson and Campbell Scott and Laurence Olivier and whoever. So that's just the way I work, but some people don't work that way. They want to tune that stuff out and they want to start fresh. And I understand that 'cause you don't want to do like carbon copy of a carbon copy. But it's important to draw from real life and documentaries and stuff.

I hear you guys shot on an water park that was open while you shot.

Yeah! Yeah it was. It was indeed.

What was that like?

Well, some people would look in the lens and we'd have to tell them not to. But it was kind of cool. We had instant extras and they were real. Central casting! We didn't have to put costumes on these people; these were the real deal! That was sort of cool. It must have been a nightmare for sound, although I don't remember looping very much. So, they pulled it off, but I guess we just used all that ambience.

There was a funny moment, I have to say. I don't usually have anecdotes, but I do have an anecdote on this one. There's a scene where I was talking into the microphone and embarrassing Duncan's character about talking to the girl. Me and Nat (Faxon) are standing there, busting his chops. So, I tend to get a little more rated-R with my adlibs. And so I went a little too far and Nat and Jim would always pull me back and make sure I was in the right movie. But I went a little too far, and one of the heads of the real staff of the water park, a woman, came by and kind of scolded me and the rest of the people in charge, and said, "You can't talk like that!"

That's too blue for our water park?

Yeah, I forgot that this speaker was—people were—

You're actually being projected all over the water park?

Yeah! And I was saying like "herpes" and this and that, you know. (I laugh.) And she was saying, "There's families here! You can't do that. There's kids here." And I felt bad; I apologized. So that was kind of interesting.

It sounds like guerilla theater almost.

A little bit! Like, "Oh wow, we don't have a lock up on this park. We got to kind of (watch ourselves.)" So that was funny. That was interesting.

So I heard Nat and Jim wanted to have a phone meeting with you about the film to convince you to sign on but you basically said yes instantly. What about the script made you decide before you met them that you were just onboard?

I just felt that it was a no-brainer. It was just a great script and a great part and it was just like, "Okay. Yeah. Why wouldn't I do this?" You know what I mean? It was just one of those things.

Often you'll attach your name to something and then—I'm still attached to like four things right now that I don't even know if they'll ever get made. So you kind of like say, "Yeah, I'll do it." And then four years later…So Allison Janney and I were attached. I think we were the first ones attached. And then we didn't hear shit for a while. And then I Nat and Jim went and got the Oscar? And then all of a sudden Steve Carell and Toni Collette are doing the movie, and it's like, "Oh! Oh, it's on! We're doing it. It's happening. And this is real. It's a real movie." So when that happened it was really exciting. And they said, we got to do it in this timeframe and I said I couldn't do it then. I was doing two other movies and they had to work out the (scheduling.) And so I did three in a row, and that was the last one. I got a 10-day break.

What were the first two?

I did a movie called A Single Shot, and I had about a week break, not even. And then I flew to New Orleans to see my girlfriend and then I went to Annapolis and did a movie called Better Living Through Chemistry, and then pretty much had like then days in between that and this.

I heard a lot of the actors on this film rented house on the same block for its production. Were you amongst that?

No, I went to a hotel because I needed a gym that was within walking distance. I'm not big with the cars. I just stayed in this little motel. (Playfully) I like to be isolated.

I don't want to know anyone I'm working with.

(Smiling) I don't want to know anyone else, yeah. Besides those guys were having way too much fun.

You've earned a reputation for being a real risk-taker when it comes to projects, whether its playing villains or doing something really heady like Duncan Jones'Moon, which turned out to be amazing. But I was wondering is there a movie of yours that felt deserved a better reception—either from critics or audiences—than it got?

That's funny I was just saying that my whole career is after life. You know, my whole career has been after life. All my movies have great—not all of them—but a lot of them have had great life. Moon actually did very well when it was out, better than I think a lot of people think. In fact, that's the joke is that people come up to me and they're like, "I love Moon; I wish more people had seen it." But a lot of people come up to me and say that, and a lot of smart people.

It's actually the number one movie that people approach me with. So it actually was seen by a lot of people, but maybe not immediately. It had an afterlife. The same thing happened with Galaxy Quest and even The Green Mile. We thought it was going to be Best Picture and all this stuff, and then came along a movie called American Beauty and knocked us out of the ball park.

That your co-star (Allison Janney) was in!

Yeah. (Playfully scowling) Yeah that's right! So, Seven Psychopaths is having an after life. Now people are seeing it. So, my whole career has been that way. I've had a couple of hit movies, like Charlie's Angels, and I think Iron Man 2 did pretty well you know like opening weekend. But that doesn't really mean too much to me because you know a lot o great movies (don't do well at the box office)—like Big Lebowski flopped. And now it's got this cult following. Safe Men has a kind of a cult following.

So for you it's more about how they kind of grow, their legacy?

Yeah, yeah exactly. I don't think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid got any awards. Like there's a lot of instances like that. Raging Bull flopped when it first came out, so…

That's interesting. You don't hear a lot of actors talking about the long view of these films.

Yeah, I think that’s the main thing. Assassination of Jesse James did not do great but now people consider it a great western, one of the great westerns. So, yeah.

The Way, Way Back opens July 5th.

In 2011, writer-director David M. Rosenthal won notice at the Tribeca Film Festival with his music-fueled feature Janie Jones, which starred Abigail Breslin and Alessandro Nivola in an unconventional family drama. This year he's returning to the fast-approaching fest with A Single Shot. Matthew F. Jones adapts his own crime novel into a seemingly chilling thriller that stars Sam Rockwell as a desperate man.

Last spring when Rockwell signed on to play John Moon, a role Michael Fassbender was formerly slated to play. Moon is an impoverished poacher whose hunting skills keep him in trouble but free from starvation. However, hunting off-season can be dangerous for reasons beyond crossing paths with forest rangers. With the titular single shot, Moon kicks off a chain of events that bring more heat on his tail than he'd ever imagined.

A Single Shot boasts an incredible supporting cast that includes Jeffrey Wright, Jason Isaacs, Academy Award nominee William H. Macy, and Academy Award winner Melissa Leo. In short, this is an indie to watch out for.

I'll confess. Right now, Katey and I are strategizing which of the many enticing titles we'll be seeing at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. With a cast like this one, A Single Shot was on my shortlist of should-sees. But this trailer has rocketing near the top of my must-sees. How does the sorrow-filled voiceover of an unseen woman factor into this narrative? What has John Moon done and what will he have to face? What's the deal with the money he's shouting about? Inquiring minds need to know!

A Single Shot will make its North American premiere on April 26th.

Since her breakthrough with 2009’s mumblecore bromance Humpday, writer/director/actress Lynn Shelton has kept herself busy, directing some television in and around her features, including Your Sister’s Sister and the upcoming “massage therapist with a sudden aversion to touching people” dramedy Touchy Feely. But her next project already sounds like it will be her most interesting one yet - if the all-star casting is any sort of proof.

It’s been in the works for quite some time, but it looks like Laggies is finally on the fast track to production with Anonymous Content producing. Deadline reports negotiations are being finalized to add Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Chloe Moretz (Hugo), Sam Rockwell (Seven Psychopaths) and Mark Webber (The End of Love) to the cast. Even if this were a cat food commercial, these performers would guarantee it to be the greatest cat food commercial to ever exist.

From a script written by Andrew Seigel, Laggies tells the darkly comedic story of a late-twentysomething (Hathaway) caught up in a state of arrested development. When her boyfriend (Webber) proposes marriage, she flips out and tells everyone she’s going on a work retreat for a week, but actually spends her time hiding out with a 16-year-old (Moretz), her new best friend. Rockwell’s character would be an older guy named Craig, though it's not quite clear how he fits into the story (though we expect him to steal the show).

Films are often clunky when they pass off friendships between people separated by an age gap, but given that this is a comedy and not an emotional drama, Shelton seems like a perfect fit for the job.

As many films as there are that have come out of Sundance with expensive distribution deals on their way to becoming massive hits, there are just as many cautionary tales of movies that cost a studio a fortune up in the mountains, then landed with a thud when back at sea level. That's scared a lot of distributors from making multi-million dollar deals in the past years, each of them wanting to find the next Little Miss Sunshine but not wanting to pay the $10 million to get it.

But this year, apparently, there's a movie so similar to Little Miss Sunshine that the same studio, Fox Searchlight, was inspired to pull out their biggest checkbook. Jaws dropped here in Park City when the news broke that Searchlight had paid $10 million to acquire The Way Way Back, the light comedy that shares so much DNA with Little Miss Sunshine it's even got Steve Carell and Toni Colette in the cast. And even though critics technically don't care at all how much a film sells for, that kind of price tag gets attention-- and may have raised the expectations a hair too high at the film's press screening yesterday.

Because while The Way, Way Back is often very funny, and contains what might be the best scene-stealing Sam Rockwell performance yet, it's slighter and less emotionally resonant than that $10 million might suggest. The script from the Oscar-winning duo of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (who also have very funny small roles) isn't quite able to juggle the huge cast of characters, leaving the likes of Amanda Peet and Maya Rudolph to turn in delicate performances that don't quite go anywhere. There are acres of emotional territory to be explored in this coming-of-age story, but the film is content to only cover a few of them, toss in some good jokes, and leave the audience happy but unchanged. But again, that's not a bad thing, and perhaps expectations need to be lowered quite a bit before The Way Way Back makes its theatrical debut.

Starring Liam James as Duncan, a 14-year-old trapped on family vacation with his mom (Toni Collette) and her overbearing new boyfriend (Steve Carell), The Way Way Back gets its most interesting relationships from Duncan's hunt for a father figure in the wake of divorce. Trent, the new boyfriend, is a controlling and egotistical type trying in all the wrong ways to get Duncan to open himself up to the world. Bored and unwanted practically everywhere at Trent's beach house, Duncan rides his bike to the local water park, where the energetic and childlike Owen (Rockwell) quickly offers him a job and takes him under his wing. After a fortuitous moment of breakdancing (seriously), Duncan becomes part of the water park family, while back at the beach his actual family is already starting to fall apart.

Though Colette and Carell set up an interesting dynamic, and Allison Janney is aces as their blowsy, nosy neighbor, the water park scenes are where The Way, Way Back actually comes alive. Rockwell's spark plug performance makes the whole run-down place feel like a kid's fantasy, but his character's sadness at being stuck in life comes through, and though it's underdeveloped, his stalled romance with Maya Rudolph's character feels authentic and sad as well. The water park scenes could easily make up their own movie-- though then it would pretty much just be Greg Mottola's Adventureland-- and their charisma makes it trickier to return to the more traditional story of Duncan's home life, where Trent is already such an unappealing figure that it's not at all surprising to see Duncan's mom start losing interest.

The entire film is deliberately filled with anachronisms, like the station wagon that Trent drives (and gives the film its title), and seems like it was originally written to be set in the 70s but updated to modern day for budget reasons. That's the only evidence of the much-dreaded Sundance style quirk, but it's a little irritating, one of the many ways in which The Way Way Back doesn't quite get there. This movie will be everywhere when it heads toward theaters this summer. See it for the Sam Rockwell performance, but keep your expectations in check while you're at it.

For our full lineup of Sundance coverage-- it's still happening!-- click here.

If you haven't already (and you're over 18), I highly recommend that you drop whatever your doing right now and go see Choke. The directorial debut of Clark Gregg - best known as the beloved and dearly missed Agent Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - the film is a terrific adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's book of the same name and features some awesome performances from cast members like Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald and Brad William Henke. Unfortunately Choke didn't exactly explode at the box office and it's been four years since Gregg was behind the camera, but now he's ready for his sophomore effort and has already brought a great group of actors together for it.

Rockwell, Amanda Peet, Allison Janney, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Paul Sparks, Molly Shannon, and Niecy Nash have all signed up for parts in Trust Me, the new dark comedy being directed by Gregg. According to The Wrap, the story follows a former child actor (Gregg) who becomes an agent and then finds a "prodigal young actress" that he wants to turn into a star. Saxon Sarbino will play the girl, but no character details are given for the other characters. Gregg wrote the script himself, just as he did with the adaptation of Choke. Gregg will also be a producer on the film, making the movie under his new Savage Bunny label. Production on the movie actually began last week and UTA will be handling the sale of domestic rights.

All of you Avengers fans who were sad to see Coulson go will hopefully back Gregg on this endeavor. The guy is so likable you can't help but wish him success.

While his latest comedy effort, Seven Psychopaths, collects plenty of praise at the Toronto International Film Festival, Sam Rockwell is gearing up for his next role, opposite Marisa Tomei in the low-budget laffer Why Now. Last summer, the Oscar-winning actress reminded audiences what a sharp sense of humor she has, deftly playing a oversexed schoolteacher in Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's wild ensemble comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. But while she's stolen scenes in funny flicks from Slums of Beverly Hills to What Women Want and Cyrus, she hasn't fronted a comedy since Happy Accidents in 2000. But paired with the ever-incredible Rockwell, the talented actress who has proved a solid match to John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Joe Pesci seems sure to deliver a cutting and satisfyingly funny performance.

Screen Daily offers a few details on the project; sadly none of them include a plotline. We do know Why Now will be helmed by actors turned writer-directors Michael Godere and Ivan Martin, who've written roles for themselves within the feature. Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) has also signed on to the indie comedy, which is slated to shoot this November in upstate New York. And when I say low-budget, no joke Why Now has a reported budget of around $500,000, suggesting Tomei and Rockwell were intrigued by the material rather than a hefty payday.

But before Why Now rolls into production, Rockwell and Tomei will being doing press rounds at TIFF to promote Seven Psychopaths and the politically charged thriller Inescapable respectively. So, now that the cat's out of the bag on this pic, hopefully they'll dish some more details.

When word hit that playwright turned filmmaker Martin McDonagh's follow-up to his directorial feature debut In Bruges was titled Seven Psychopaths, those familiar with his work were instantly intrigued. Beyond being a pretty excellent title that evokes a sense of grand storytelling and frenzy, the name promised at least seven new additions to McDonagh's catalogue of often violent but always humorous characters. And with CBS Film's release of individual character posters, you don't need to wait for the film to hit theaters to get to know these psychos.

Psycho number one is played by Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, who shares her poster with the pup at the film's center. Once her beau kidnaps the Shih Tzu of a Los Angeles crime lord, the lives of all seven psychopaths are thrown into spin. Image courtesy of Coming Soon.

Curiously, Christopher Walken's psychopath #2 is called the non-violent one. A dognapper who has gotten on the wrong side of organized crime, he did face down a gun toting baddie in the film's first trailer by—well—by just being Walken. Image courtesy of EW.

In Bruges star Colin Farrell is seemingly normal one, and psychopath #3, a screenwriter whose best friend's unconventional schemes put his own life on the line while offering some killer inspiration. Image courtesy of Fandango.

At last, the leader of this wacky dog-abducting syndicate is played by Sam Rockwell, who memorably co-starred with Walken in the Broadway production of McDonagh's The Behanding in Spokane. In Seven Psychopaths, he is number 4, boyfriend of 1, business partner of 2, and troublemaking best friend of 3. He also favors knitted caps that resemble raccoons. Image courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes.

Sucker Punch's Abbie Cornish is psychopath #5, whose favored weapon is passive-aggressive behavior most often wielded against her struggling screenwriter beau, #3. Image courtesy of MTV.

The most intriguing poster features psychopath #6, a mysterious man with a rabbit played by Tom Waits. Little is know about this strange figure but the bunny seems a callback to to McDonagh's Oscar-winning short Six Shooter, and so doesn't bode well for #6's sanity. Image courtesy of Hitflix.

And finally, Woody Harrelson stares us down as #7, the gangster whose dog—that he loves as much as Zombieland's Tallahassee loved his "pup"—has been snatched. So obviously, there will be blood. Image Courtesy of Vulture.

And there you have it: the seven psychopaths of Seven Psychopaths. The film will make its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival; a theatrical release will follow on October 12th.