Linda Cardellini is reportedly in talks to play Jason’s mother Pam Voorhees in the A24 / Peacock series Crystal Lake

On Halloween of 2022, it was announced that original Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller – fresh off winning the U.S. copyright to the 1980 film after a lawsuit that stretched on for years – was teaming up with his lawyer Marc Toberoff, franchise rights holder Rob Barsamian, production company A24, the Peacock streaming service, and showrunner Bryan Fuller (whose credits include Hannibal and Pushing Daisies) to develop a new Friday the 13th streaming series called Crystal Lake. Things were moving ahead at a good pace, filming was expected to begin this July, but then the project hit a speed bump at the end of April with the firing of Fuller and his frequent collaborator Jim Danger Gray. Things got back on track in late August with the hiring of a new showrunner – and that person is Brad Caleb Kane, who also serves as co-showrunner and executive producer of It: Welcome to Derry, the It prequel series that’s coming to HBO next year. Now, it looks like the show is in good enough condition to get back to the casting process, because industry scooper Jeff Sneider of The InSneider reports that Linda Cardellini is in talks to play Pam Voorhees, the vengeful mother of Jason Voorhees!

Cardellini’s credits include No Good Deed, Nutcrackers, Dead to Me, Bloodline, Strangeland, Freaks and Geeks, Legally Blonde, Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Brokeback Mountain, Grandma’s Boy, Daddy’s Home, Daddy’s Home 2, Comanche Moon, ER, Mad Men, A Simple Favor, Green Book, The Curse of La Llorona, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Endgame, and Hawkeye, among others.

A while back, an article published by The Wrap sought to figure out why Crystal Lake fell apart just a few months before filming was scheduled to begin. Their sources gave a lot of conflicting information, but it seemed to boil down to concerns about Fuller’s vision, late scripts, a ballooning budget (it was surpassing the $85 million being provided for the first season), unpaid writers… and possibly A24 executives’ lack of TV experience. In that article, it was mentioned that Charlize Theron was being eyed for the role of Pam Voorhees. Industry scooper Daniel Richtman later added, “While they eyed Charlize Theron, Claire Danes had the offer to play Pam Voorhees but she passed. Another interesting bit is that it was only a one-year deal. Meaning the main character would change in season 2.“

In addition to showrunner, Kane will be credited as creator, writer, and executive producer of Crystal Lake. It remains to be seen if he’s using anything from the original Fuller scripts and outlines, or if he scrapped those and started over completely. When he was hired, he provided the following statement: “From the moment I watched Jason Voorhees squeeze a guy’s eyeball out of its socket (in glorious 3D!) at the tender age of 8 years old, I knew my creative path was someday destined to converge with The Man Behind The Mask. Nothing defined my childhood more than growing up in the golden age of the slasher flick, and nothing’s defined the genre more than Friday The 13th. I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to contribute a chapter to this iconic franchise, particularly with such fearless partners as Peacock and A24.“ In addition to It: Welcome to Derry, Kane’s TV credits include Fringe, Black Sails, Lodge 49, Moonhaven, Warrior, and Tokyo Vice.

Fuller’s approach to the material was to make each season a deconstruction of the first four Friday the 13th films. “The series would incorporate lore from several sequels but remix that material in a way similar to Fuller’s Hannibal, which interpolated the Thomas Harris novels for three seasons.” So season 1 would be set “in the immediate aftermath of the drowning of a young Jason Voorhees,” and it would center on his mother Pam as she goes on a homicidal rampage of revenge. That rampage doesn’t turn out well for Pam, opening the door for Jason to return and start his own killing spree. Vincenzo Natali (Cube) and Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) were going to be directing episodes, while Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson was writing an episode that would have been an hour-long chase sequence “set entirely on a frozen Crystal Lake, with the summer camp’s cabins trapped under snow drifts.”

Each episode of Crystal Lake was set to have a budget of $9.6 million, but A24 reportedly wanted to cut that in half. Maybe Kane’s vision will allow them to do that.

What do you think of the idea of Linda Cardellini playing Pam Voorhees in Crystal Lake? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Addison Rae and Suzanna Son are rumored to have joined Charlie Hunnam in the Ed Gein-themed Monster season 3

The ten-episode series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (read our review HERE) was such a huge success for the Netflix streaming service back in 2022 that Netflix ordered two more seasons of the show from its creators, Ian Brennan and American Horror Story co-creator Ryan Murphy. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was recently released, and has had quite an impact on the real lives of the title characters… and right before that season premiered in September, it was announced that Sons of Anarchy‘s Charlie Hunnam had signed on to play murderer and graverobber Ed Gein in Monster season 3. As it turns out, Monster season 3 (which is apparently called The Original Monster) is expected to reach Netflix by the end of 2025 – and industry scooper The InSneider reports that singer / TikTok celebrity Addison Rae (Thanksgiving) and Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, pictured above) are the latest additions to the cast. Information on the characters they might be playing was not revealed.

When the project was announced, Variety reminded us that Ed Gein, who also hailed from Wisconsin like Dahmer, became infamous in the 1950s when authorities discovered that he not only had killed multiple people, but had dug up graves from a cemetery near his home and fashioned all manner of household items and clothing from human remains. Gein’s case served as an inspiration for several major pop culture characters later on, including Norman Bates in Psycho, Leatherface and his family in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs.

Hunnam is joined in the cast by Laurie Metcalf (Scream 2) as Augusta Wilhelmine Gein, Ed Gein’s mother; Tom Hollander (Feud) as iconic director Alfred Hitchcock, and Olivia Williams (Rushmore) as Alma Reville, Hitchcock’s wife.

When Hunnam’s casting was announced, there were some complaints that he’s too handsome to play Gein, but they seem to have Geined him up well enough, judging by the set pics that have leaked out:

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he’s a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.

Fans have accused Marvel of using AI to create the posters for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but the studio has denied it.

At long last, Marvel Studios has released the first official teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. They also dropped a handful of posters for the much-anticipated Fantastic Four movie, but some fans believe AI was used to create them, citing an inaccurate number of fingers, two people with the same face, and other inconsistencies.

However, a Marvel spokesperson confirmed to The Wrap that AI was not used in the creation of the Fantastic Four posters. You can check out the four posters below. What do you think?

Although Marvel has denied it in this case, the studio has previously been criticized for using AI to create the opening credits of Secret Invasion.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic; Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman; Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. Ralph Ineson plays Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, with Julia Garner playing the Silver Surfer. Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne are also involved in undisclosed roles.

The film will launch Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision) from a script by Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer. Shakman has teased that the movie will be unlike anything we’ve seen from Marvel so far. “It’s different in so many ways,” Shakman said. “I wish I could be specific. I wish I could say more. But we are doing things very differently from a story standpoint, from an approach to the filmmaking standpoint, that really fits the material. I wish I could say more. I would love to, but I can’t. But I think it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve seen before, and certainly unlike anything at Marvel that you’ve seen before.”

The official synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps: “Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/The Thing as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.” The film will hit theaters on July 25, 2025.

It’s been forty years since the release of The Goonies, but Ke Huy Quan “would love” for the long-belated sequel to finally happen.

The Goonies never say die, even when it comes to a sequel. It’s been forty years since the release of the original movie, and there’s been talk of a follow-up for years. Will it ever happen? Who knows, but the cast is certainly game to return.

At Ke Huy Quan’s recent hand-and-footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the actor told Variety that getting asked about a potential sequel to The Goonies is “one of the most asked questions in my life,” but that he “would love for it to happen.” Much of the original cast showed up to support Quan, including Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Kerri Green, and screenwriter Chris Columbus.

Feldman added that he had been developing a potential sequel with Sean Astin a decade ago and had even pitched it to original director Richard Donner, who was excited by the concept but thought it was “too expensive.” Feldman is also down to return for more Goonies. “All I can say is, get us all together.” he said. “Everybody is looking good. Sean’s looking good. Josh is looking good. We’re all looking good still, and we’re all alive. Goonies never say die…There’s hope.“

Nothing is official yet, but last month, it was reported that Columbus was working on a new Goonies project (as well as a new Gremlins movie).

Quan will next be seen in Love Hurts. ” Quan stars as Marvin Gable, a realtor working the Milwaukee suburbs, where ‘For Sale’ signs bloom. Gable receives a crimson envelope from Rose (Ariana DeBose), a former partner-in-crime that he had left for dead. She’s not happy,” reads the Love Hurts synopsis. “Now, Marvin is thrust back into a world of ruthless hitmen, filled with double-crosses and open houses turned into deadly warzones. With his brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu), a volatile crime lord, hunting him, Marvin must confront the choices that haunt him and the history he never truly buried.” The film is set to hit theaters on February 7th.

Quan is also set to star alongside Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown in The Electric State. Directed by the Russo brothers, the film is set in an alternate, retro-futuristic version of the 1990s, where sentient robots resembling cartoons and mascots, who once served peacefully among humans, now live in exile following a failed uprising. The film will debut on Netflix on March 14th.

Would you like to see a sequel to The Goonies?

Following the Karla Sofía Gascón controversy, Netflix is changing the Emilia Pérez Oscar campaign to distance itself from the actress.

Emilia Pérez has been receiving numerous accolades, including 13 Oscar nominations, the most of any film this year. One of those nominations was a Best Actress nod for Karla Sofía Gascón, who made history as the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for the award. However, after some social media posts were uncovered which were seen as racist and Islamophobic, Netflix seems to be cutting ties with Gascón and removing her as the face of the Oscar campaign for the film.

Gascón was set to make numerous appearances at Awards shows in the coming weeks, including the AFI Awards luncheon, The Critics Choice Awards, The Directors Guild of America Awards, The Producers Guild of America Awards, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, but THR has heard that she likely won’t be attending any of them. If she does, Netflix won’t be footing the bill as the streaming service is no longer covering expenses for her travel or styling.

Given the millions Netflix has invested in this campaign, tensions between the streaming service and Gascón are said to be rather high. In fact, they are no longer in direct communication and are instead communicating through Gascón’s agent.

Gascón did issue an apology after the controversy broke and booked an interview with CNN en Español to explain everything, but all without Netflix’s involvement. In a subsequent social media post, she said they wanted to “cancel me” and wondered, “How can I move forward?“

The new Oscar campaign for Emilia Pérez has shifted focus to Zoe Saldaña (who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress) and other talent. Given that Gascón plays the title character, her absence is very noticeable. Some Oscar voters aren’t letting a little controversy change their opinions on the film, but others think the damage is already done. “I think it’s going to have a huge effect. It left a bad taste in people’s mouths,” one voter told Variety. “People are allowed to have their opinions, but I don’t want to live in a world where a racist and bigot is highlighted and rewarded. I was going to vote for her because I really did think she was extraordinary, but how could I now? I hope it doesn’t affect Zoe. It really shouldn’t. I don’t think people are that stupid.“

What do you think of Emilia Pérez‘s Oscar chances now?

It’s game day, and once again the ads are crazy, with some of our favorite star-studded spots right here!

The Super Bowl is nearly upon us, and in addition to the battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, the game will also feature movie trailers and star-studded commercials. Some Super Bowl commercials have already been revealed, including a Häagen-Dazs spot in which Vin Diesel reunites with Michelle Rodriguez and Ludacris.

I suppose that will have to tide us over until the next Fast & Furious movie. Diesel posted a video on Instagram of the making of the commercial, and reflected on how far the franchise has come. “25 years ago on the streets of Los Angeles, we created something that became bigger than any of us could have imagined. Not just a movie—but a family that stretches across the globe,” he wrote. “Being on PCH, filming this Super Bowl spot, brought it all rushing back. The same stretch of coast where Pablo and I raced 25 years ago, practical driving, living those moments that would change our lives forever. Now here we are again, Dom and Letty sharing that coastal sunset moment, surrounded by local crew members I haven’t seen in years.” The actor has previously said that they will be returning to Los Angeles for the next installment.

Next up is Ben Affleck’s latest Super Bowl commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts. They’ve been teasing this one all week, and it turns out that the sixty-second spot airing during the Super Bowl is actually only a trailer for a seven-minute long short film featuring both Ben and Casey Affleck (no Damon though), Jeremy Strong, Jay & Silent Bob, Bill Belichick, and many more. Check it out:

Another super cool spot, which was revealed a few weeks ago, is an ad for Hellman’s mayonaise, with reunited the iconic stars of When Harry Met Sally, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. They even got Sydney Sweeney to deliver the classic, “I’ll have what she’s having” line. Check it out:

Ya know, in this era of legacy sequels, I gotta say, When Harry Met Sally 2 is one I’d actually love to see (as long as they can get Rob Reiner to direct). If you need a reminder, the Super Bowl will air tonight. We’ll see more than a few trailers during the game, but a special sneak preview of James Gunn’s Superman will air during the Puppy Bowl.

Warwick Davis’s Leprechaun ranks as one of the most enduring cult horror icons, but of the many movies, which are the best?

Top of the mornin’ to you! It may not be St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s never a bad time to watch Leprechaun movies, and we here at Arrow in the Head decided to go back over the whole Leprechaun franchise to rank them from worst to first. The Leprechaun Movies Ranked list can be seen below – check it out and let us know how you would rank the movies!

LEPRECHAUN: ORIGINS (2014)

This is appalling. Director Zach Lipovsky, writer Harris Wilkinson, and WWE Studios were given the chance to make a new Leprechaun movie, they cast a professional wrestler (Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl) as the title character, and then they just churned out a dull monster movie. I don’t know how anyone involved thought this was a good idea (“You know what we should do? Take everything people liked about Leprechaun and remove it!”) or how Leprechaun: Origins made it through production. The story follows Americans backpacking through Ireland and running across a leprechaun, who is just a hideous creature with no personality. It’s not even fun to watch this thing pick people off. There’s nothing interesting to be found in this movie, although there is some curiosity factor in seeing one of the most wrongheaded reboots ever made. Unfortunately, you have to sacrifice some of your time to do so. (Good thing the 90 minute running time is padded out with 12 minutes of end credits.)

LEPRECHAUN IN THE HOOD (2000)

Around 2000, there was a surge of low-budget horror movies set “in the hood”. Full Moon was in on it, and the Leprechaun franchise joined the trend as well. Directed by Rob Spera, who got help from four other writers in crafting the story and script, Leprechaun in the Hood has its charms. You get Ice-T as a record producer who gained success with the help of a flute he stole from the leprechaun. You get the leprechaun smoking weed, rapping, and mesmerizing a trio of “fly girls”. And of course, you get him killing people while trying to get his flute back from the rap group that has stolen it from Ice-T’s character. (Called Mack Daddy O’Nassas because he was a pimp who “owned asses”.) This one ranks lower just because it doesn’t feel as fun as some of the other entries, despite the weed and the rapping.

LEPRECHAUN BACK 2 THA HOOD (2003)

Writer/director Steven Ayromlooi wanted to make a Spring Break Leprechaun movie, but Lionsgate wanted to send the character Back 2 Tha Hood. Well, at least this repetition is more tolerable than going Back 2 Space would be. This sequel has better production value than the previous Hood entry, some cool action moments, and fun elements like bullets laced with clover and a magic battle between the leprechaun and a fortune teller. On the downside, the characters aren’t very interesting, so it bogs down whenever we have to watch them interact. We get the leprechaun hitting a bong, but he doesn’t give us another rap sequence… which I’m sure was disappointing to fans of the first Hood film. This may be the last time we’ll ever see Warwick Davis starring in a Leprechaun movie, which is a shame. He seemed to have a lot more Lep left in him, but they let the franchise go dormant for too long.

LEPRECHAUN 4 (1996)

Leprechaun 3 director Brian Trenchard-Smith returned to direct Leprechaun 4, which is not on the level of his previous contribution to the series. The fact that it’s set in space isn’t the problem, it’s fitting that the Leprechaun movies helped start one of the most amusing franchise trends. The problem is, it feels like Dennis Pratt just wrote it as a generic Aliens knock-off and then replaced the alien with the leprechaun. He lives on a random planet and is referred to as an alien. At least he’s still obsessed with wealth and power. This movie does get incredibly strange as the leprechaun wipes out a bunch of soldiers and the medical staff on a spaceship, so it has that going for it. This seems to be a love it or hate it entry: it gets too ridiculous for some viewers, while others enjoy that it’s packed with jaw-dropping nonsense.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS (2018)

The leprechaun is a different character in every Leprechaun movie, they all just happened to be played by Warwick Davis. Until Leprechaun Returns, which brings back the leprechaun from the original. Ironically, the first direct sequel is also the first sequel Davis opted not to come back for. So this returning leprechaun is played by Linden Porco, who does a good job, it’s just difficult for anyone to come close to what Davis did. Directed by Steven Kostanski, Leprechaun Returns is an entertaining sequel with an amusing, clever script by Suzanne Keilly – who recently wrote a fun Slumber Party Massacre movie as well. The story finds the leprechaun accidentally being unleashed by a group of sorority girls and proceeding to kill them and their friends one-by-one. Nice and simple. Mark Holton reprises the role of Ozzie from the original film, and the heroine is the daughter of Jennifer Aniston’s character.

LEPRECHAUN (1993)

Some horror franchises start out dead serious and slide into silliness. That’s not the case with Leprechaun. Future entries would definitely be sillier, but this concept was ridiculous from the start. Written and directed by Mark Jones, Leprechaun is about a single father and his daughter moving into a fixer-upper home in North Dakota… and quickly realizing there was a leprechaun trapped in the basement and a pot of gold coins the previous owner brought back from Ireland (after stealing it from the leprechaun) stashed nearby. The leprechaun wants his gold back, and is willing to kill people in nasty ways to retrieve it. Jones tries to make moments genuinely unnerving, but while Warwick Davis turns in a hell of a performance and the leprechaun is hideous, he’s still wearing a funny outfit, tossing out one-liners, and getting distracted because he’s compelled to polish shoes. He’s also up against some goofball characters, including Pee-wee’s Big Adenture‘s Mark Holton as a fellow named Ozzie Jones, who’s unlucky enough to have swallowed one of the gold coins, and a rather annoying heroine played by pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston.

LEPRECHAUN 3 (1995)

The idea behind Leprechaun 3, which was directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith from a script by David DuBos, was a really smart one. You have a horror villain who’s obsessed with collecting riches, so what better setting could there be for one of his sequels than Las Vegas? Of course, the movie only had to budget to film in Vegas for one day (the interiors were shot in Los Angeles), but Trenchard-Smith made the most of it. While the leprechaun causes trouble for people who work at a casino, including a terrible magician and a croupier played by genre regular Caroline Williams, we also learn that leprechaunism is an infectious disease when the lead (played by John Gatins, who would go on to earn an Oscar nomination for writing Flight) starts to turn into a leprechaun himself. This was one of the better, most well-crafted entries in the franchise. And you get to see what a handful of leprechaun poop looks like.

LEPRECHAUN 2 (1994)

Every one thousand years, a leprechaun can claim a human bride, and in Leprechaun 2 an evil leprechaun has his mind set on a young woman named Bridget (Shevonne Durkin). With the help of his drunken uncle Morty (Sandy Baron), Bridget’s boyfriend Cody (Charlie Heath) desperately tries to save his love from life with a leprechaun. Directed by Rodman Flender and written by Turi Meyer and Al Septién, this sequel is a step up from its predecessor. It’s quick and fun, with a good sense of humor and very entertaining performance from Baron. It also brings a welcome new addition to the Leprechaun mythology, saying a captured leprechaun has to grant its captor three wishes. Of course, those wishes don’t always work out for the person making them. Warwick Davis was given better material to work with, including a great sequence in which he and Morty have a drinking contest. This one also earns points for being set on St. Patrick’s Day.

Zendaya has moved on from YouTube but her first video from 14 years ago has gone viral once again, showing her on the brink of stardom.

Just as Chani was fighting for her people, Zendaya is fighting for some positive vibes. While Zendaya amassed over 4 million YouTube subscribers during its run (it has been active for seven years), there is one video that fans keep going back to: her first.

In the clip, simply titled “My First video!!!!:)”, shows a then-teenage Zendaya as she was just getting her career going in the mid-2010s. In the clip, she tells her subscribers, “I just wanted to let everyone know that this is my official YouTube channel and this is my very first YouTube video so I don’t really know what to say! So I’m just gonna this is a place for happy, smiley faces and lots of love and dancing! So please enjoy and watch all my wonderful videos that I’ll be having for everyone to watch…Have a great day…” before signing off.

It’s cheesy and has a certain teenage-level of naivety in its message, but it’s also pretty positive and just the sort of video her soon-to-be legions of fans would want to see. As of 2024, 14 years after it was posted, the video stands as one of her most popular on the entire channel, being topped only by official music videos.

Seven years ago, Zendaya even posted a reaction video to this first YouTube post, which pops up every few years. “What the f*ck is that? I was trying to make like this positive environment and trying to be this f*cking ray of sunshine. This is the most annoying sh*t I have ever seen in my entire life.”

Obviously Zendaya has completely blown up, staking her place in music and movies, most notably playing MJ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chani for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films and the co-lead in Challengers, which earned her both acting and producing nominations at the Golden Globes, with some believing she could squeeze into the Best Actress race this year. On the TV front, her work on HBO’s Euphoria earned her both a Globe and an Emmy, with a SAG nomination to go along.

What is your favorite Zendaya performance? When do you think she will get her first Oscar nomination?

The first trailer has been released for director Gareth Edwards’ Jurassic World Rebirth, which is set to reach theatres in July

There’s a new entry in the Jurassic Park / Jurassic World franchise heading our way, with Jurassic World Rebirth set to reach theatres on July 2, 2025. Earlier this week, Universal let it be known that a trailer would be dropping on Wednesday, and now, true to their word, they have gotten the day started by unveiling that trailer! You can check it out in the embed above.

News of the new Jurassic World movie first hit back in January of 2024, when it was revealed that the screenplay had already been written by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, returning to the franchise for the first time since The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The project was assembled in a mad scramble after that, with Godzilla and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards ending up at the helm. This new Jurassic World movie won’t be featuring any returning lead characters from the previous Jurassic Park / Jurassic World movies, so describing it as a “Rebirth” could be accurate. The characters played by Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern are out, as are the ones played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

The new characters are played by the likes of Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer) – all of whom had their roles directly offered to them. Luna Blaise (Manifest), on the other hand, had to (according to Deadline) “beat out a number of actors” to land her role. David Iacono of The Summer I Turned Pretty, child actress Audrina Miranda, Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), and Béchir Sylvain (Diarra from Detroit) are also in the cast… along with a bunch of hungry dinosaurs.

Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) was also offered a role, but he turned it down because he felt his presence in the movie wouldn’t help it. He did say that the script is great, though.

Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley are producing the film for Kennedy/Marshall. Steven Spielberg is executive producing through Amblin Entertainment. Universal’s executive vp of production development Sara Scott and creative executive Jacqueline Garell are overseeing the project for the studio. 

Here’s what we’ve previously heard about the plot: Jurassic World Rebirth sees an intrepid team racing to secure DNA samples from the three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air. Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures within that tropical biosphere hold the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind. Johansson’s character is Zora Bennett, “a skilled covert operations expert contracted to lead a team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world’s three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.” Bailey is playing paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis, with Ali as Zora’s most trusted team leader, Duncan Kincaid. 

What did you think of the Jurassic World Rebirth trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The writer of One of Them Days talks about honoring the original movie while incorporating some humor into the remake.

The writers of the HBO comedy Insecure, Issa Rae and Syreeta Singleton, have announced that they’ve been developing a remake of F. Gary Gray’s heist film Set It Off back in 2019. Little news has been revealed since then and both have gone on to other projects. Notably, Singleton is recently coming off of the comedy, One of Them Days, which our own Tyler Nichol enjoyed as he said in his review, “I tend to be a tough sell when it comes to comedy and One of Them Days managed to really tickle my funny bone. The laughs per minute were high, with several subtle jokes that are easy to miss. It does what any great comedy does: blend comedy with emotional stakes for a fun time.”

Singleton is now giving an update on the state of the Set It Off remake. According to The Wrap, the writer expounded,

It’s going to be a good one. It’s something that we were very careful about, because it’s Set It Off, and we want to make sure we do it right. I feel like it’s a story that people are going to be really, really excited about. We’ve infused a lot of humor into it in an organic way. But it was like, when you get four Black women together, how you not gon’ laugh? Even in the middle of robbing some s–t.”

She would also explain why the film is taking its time to gain forward momentum, “It’s also been a really long process. Interestingly enough, I sold Jungles first and Set It Off probably like a month or so later. So it’s been about six or seven years in the making, and many different iterations of that. But I think we turned in a draft maybe a few months ago now, and they’re all like, ‘This is the version we want to make,’ and I feel really good about it. I have a writing partner on that, Nina Gloster, and we feel really, really good about that story.”

The original Set It Off featured Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise as four women who resort to robbing banks in order to take care of their financial hardships. Friday and Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray would helm the original. “We’ve brought it to life in a way that I think is going to feel fresh, but also really nostalgic at the same time,” Singleton concluded.

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.