San Diego Comic-Con is going to be a little different this year. Many studios had already dropped out of presenting, including Marvel, Sony, HBO, Universal, and Netflix, and now that SAG-AFTRA has joined the WGA on the picket lines, you can pretty much kiss any panel involving writers or actors goodbye. The official Comic-Con schedule has been updated with a list of cancelled panels, which unfortunately includes Dune: Part Two, The Boys spin-off series Gen V, Amazon’s The Wheel of Time, Lionsgate’s upcoming The Strangers trilogy, and more.

Behind the Scenes with the Cast of Jury Duty: Thursday, July 20 – 1:45pm – 2:45pm

From producers of The Office, The White Lotus, and Bad Trip, the Amazon Freevee Original series Jury Duty chronicles the inner workings of an American jury trial through the eyes of one particular juror, Ronald Gladden, who doesn’t realize that everyone around him is an actor and the entire trial is fake. Get the inside scoop on what was happening behind the scenes during the making of the series from the cast and creative team, and meet San Diego’s own hometown hero, Ronald.

The Wheel of Time: Thursday, July 20 – 2:00pm – 3:00pm

The Wheel continues to turn at Comic-Con, as the cast of Prime Video’s hit series The Wheel of Time gives a sneak peek into the highly anticipated second season. In addition to a discussion about how the show is bringing Robert Jordan’s iconic book series from page to screen, they’ll be revealing exclusive season 2 content, as well as some other exciting surprises for attendees. Season 2 of The Wheel of Time will premiere on September 1.

Cruel Summer Season 2: Thursday, July 20 – 3:00pm – 4:00pm

The stars and creative team behind Freeform’s hit series Cruel Summer take you behind the scenes of season 2 and tease all the twists and turns viewers can expect from the shocking final episodes. Fans will be treated to an exclusive sneak peek of the rest of the season and a conversation with stars Lexi Underwood, Sadie Stanley, and Griffin Gluck, alongside executive producers Michelle Purple and Bill Purple. New episodes of Cruel Summer air Mondays at 10/9c on Freeform and stream next day on Hulu.

Metalocalpyse: Army of the Doomstar: Friday, July 21 – 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Can the Metalocalypse be stopped? The cast and crew of this all-new original animated R-rated movie, based on the hit Adult Swim series, talk all things Metalocalypse, preview some clips from the film, and discuss the new soundtrack and Dethalbum IV. Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar will be available to own on Digital and Blu-ray starting August 22.

Gen V: Friday, July 21 – 4:15pm – 5:15pm

From the world of The Boys, Prime Video reveals its highly anticipated new series Gen V with members of the cast, who will talk about the upcoming college spinoff for the first time. Set at America’s only college exclusively for young adult superheroes (run by Vought International), Gen V explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the school’s top ranking. The series stars Jaz Sinclair, Chance Perdomo, Lizze Broadway, Shelley Conn, Maddie Phillips, London Thor, Derek Luh, and Asa Germann. Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Marco Pigossi recur. Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters, Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Ori Marmur, Pavun Shetty, Ken Levin, Jason Netter, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Craig Rosenberg, Zak Schwartz, Erica Rosbe, and Michaela Starr serve as executive producers. Gen V comes from Sony Pictures Television Studios and Amazon Studios, in association with Kripke Enterprises, Point Grey Pictures, and Original Film.

The Strangers Trilogy Exclusive First Look: Friday, July 21 – 8:30pm – 9:30pm

Actress and executive producer Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale) and producer Courtney Solomon (After) discuss The Strangers and will provide an exclusive first-look clip from their new horror trilogy, which will be in theaters from Lionsgate in 2024.

That ’70s Show 25th Anniversary: Saturday, July 22 – 10:00am – 11:00am

Debra Jo Rupp (actress, That ’70s Show, That ’90s Show) and Kurtwood Smith (actor, That ’70s Show, That ’90s Show) discuss 25 years of the iconic show and its impact on their careers. Debra Jo and Kurtwood will engage in a fan Q&A session following the presentation.

Legendary Entertainment: Saturday, July 22 – 11:00am – 12:00pm

Nothing had been officially announced, but it was expected to feature Dune: Part Two as well as tease the next MonsterVerse movie.

Abbott Elementary Class in Session: Saturday, July 22 – 12:30pm – 1:30pm

The stars of ABC’s Abbott Elementary take the stage to discuss the breakout hit.

First Look at Orphan Black: Echos: Saturday, July 22 – 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Fans will get exclusive, first-look access to Orphan Black: Echoes (AMC/AMC+).

You can find a full list of cancelled Comic-Con panels on the official site.

“This is obviously an unusual year,” Comic-Con spokesperson David Glanzer told THR. “But that hasn’t diminished the anticipation for Comic-Con.” Although Comic-Con may not have as many of the big studio presentations it’s become known for, there will still be a lot to see, including Paramount Animation’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Starz’s John Wick prequel series, The Continental, AMC’s The Walking Dead franchise, Paramount’s Star Trek universe, and more.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read our Mission Impossible Movies Ranked list. From worst to best, they’re all here.

When Tom Cruise accepted his first mission as Ethan Hunt, I bet the star never thought that he’d still be playing the character nearly thirty years later, with no plans to stop anytime soon. But, as any franchise fan can tell you, not all Mission: Impossible movies are created equal, and we’re going to try to break them down from worst to best in our Mission Impossible movies ranked list!

7 – Mission: Impossible II:

Here’s the thing – many people hate this movie. I honestly don’t know why. Is it the worst Mission: Impossible movie? Sure. But, simultaneously, “worst” doesn’t mean the same thing for this franchise that it does to others. Even if it is the worst Mission: Impossible movie, there’s still plenty to like about it. Arguably, John Woo was the one who transformed Tom Cruise into an action hero, as we’d never really seen him do big action scenes before this movie. While the first hour is dull (it’s basically an unconvincing riff on Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious), and the film relies way too much on the IMF’s mask tech (always my biggest problem with the franchise), the last hour has some dazzling action. This includes (for my money) the franchise’s best mano-a-mano scrap, between Tom Cruise and Dougray Scott. Plus, Thandie Newton is great as Hunt’s love interest in this one, and the score by Hans Zimmer is excellent.

6 – Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation:

Again, even if this ranks closer to the bottom of our Mission Impossible movies ranked list, that doesn’t mean this is a bad movie. Far from it. It’s one of the most influential films in the franchise, as it was the first time Christopher McQuarrie sat in the director’s chair, and it also introduced us to Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust. My only real issue with the movie is that it blows its load too early, with the motorcycle chase so breathtaking that the movie’s conclusion can’t help but feel slightly anti-climactic.

5 – Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol:

While this one has my favourite Tom Cruise stunt of all time (Cruise scaling the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), like Rogue Nation, the ending feels a little anti-climactic, with Cruise’s hand-to-hand opponent (the late Michael Nyqvist) not quite imposing enough. It’s also overstuffed with characters, including Jeremy Renner’s Brant. The reason for this is that, at the time, Cruise’s career was on a downslide, and many thought Renner, who was a rising star, was being poised to take his place as the lead. That said, the second Cruise dangled from the top of the Burj Khalifa; there was never any doubt that the franchise would always be his. Also, director Brad Bird gives the movie a cinematic scope thanks to some well-shot IMAX sequences that cemented the series as a must-see on the big screen. If only Paramount would release the IMAX version of this movie on streaming or Blu-ray!

4 – Mission: Impossible Fallout:

Another massive production that features some staggering action, including a terrific bathroom brawl early on that introduces Henry Cavill as Hunt’s new ally turned antagonist. Unlike many villains in the series, Cavill is a legit physical threat to Cruise, making their climactic helicopter battle a nail-biter. It also gives Hunt a nice full-circle moment with a bittersweet payoff to his relationship with Michelle Monaghan’s Julia. More on her later…

3 – Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One:

This is one of the most perfectly mounted action thrillers ever made, with action sequences so thrilling that, well, if you aren’t having fun, you may not have a pulse. However, the story, where Hunt faces off with an AI called “The Entity,” has yet to pay off, although this may happen in the sequel. Even still, it’s so much fun, with Hayley Atwell a great addition to the franchise. 

2 – Mission: Impossible:

I like this movie so much because it’s the only one that feels like an episode of the show. The action is lower key, the face masks are realistic, and Hunt isn’t quite the Superman he’d become in later instalments. It also has the best-set piece in any of the films, the vault break-in, superbly mounted by director Brian De Palma. My only issue is that it comes up pretty short as far as action goes, and the plot is pretty complicated. Still, it’s a great introduction to Hunt.

1 – Mission: Impossible III:

This brings me to the third film in the franchise. While this was the worst-performing entry financially, it features Cruise’s best performance as Hunt. What’s great about this movie is that it grounds the action by giving Hunt a legitimately affecting love interest, with Michelle Monaghan’s Julia, the doctor he wants to give up the IMF game for. No other entry has mixed drama, romance and action so well, and it helps that Philip Seymour Hoffman is the best villain the franchise ever had. This movie has it all, including a thrilling bridge shootout that remains one of the series’ best action set pieces. It’s by far the best movie J.J. Abrams ever directed.

What do you think of our rankings? Let us know in the comments!

Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at [email protected].

Adventure Time by Angga Tantama

Barbie by Ayhan Göktepe

Black Swan by Abdalla Harris

Death Wish by Ted Hammond

Indiana Jones by Ludo D. Rodriguez-Pascal

Jurassic Park by Alan David

Killer Klowns From Outer Space by Bratzoid

Oppenheimer by Hazem Asif

Snatch by Aleksey Rico

Superman: The Movie by Genzo

The setting, the lead, whether or not Ripley and Weyland-Yutani are on the show… here’s everything we know about the Alien TV series

Earlier this year, director Fede Alvarez went into production on a new Alien film that was originally intended to be released through the Hulu streaming service, but was recently given an August 16, 2024 theatrical release date. (Here’s everything we know about that movie.) And that’s not the only new Alien project we have to look forward to. Fargo TV series creator Noah Hawley has been developing an Alien TV series for “FX on Hulu” for the last couple years, and below you’ll find Everything We Know About the Alien TV Series!

THE SETTING

One of the first things we heard about the Alien TV series – and one of the most surprising things about it – is that it will actually be set on Earth, a couple decades before the events of the first movie. FX chairman John Landgraf has said the show will take place “right near the end of this century”, and a late-2090s setting would place this between the prequel films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Hawley decided to set the show on Earth because “The alien stories are always trapped… Trapped in a prison, trapped in a space ship. I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of ‘What happens if you can’t contain it?’ are more immediate.”

NO RIPLEY

Alien franchise heroine Ellen Ripley, who was played by Sigourney Weaver in the first four movies, will not be a part of the show – and not just because Ripley would be a small child in the 2090s. Hawley never considered putting Ripley in the show because he feels her story has been wrapped up. “She’s one of the great characters of all time, and I think the story has been told pretty perfectly, and I don’t want to mess with it.”

WEYLAND-YUTANI

The Weyland-Yutani corporation has been a villain lurking in the background throughout the franchise (occasionally emerging more into the foreground in some installments), and Landgraf has confirmed that there will be references to Weyland-Yutani in the Alien TV series. For the most part, though, the show will “take place in the territory of a different corporation” that Hawley has come up with. Speaking with Esquire, Hawley said that there will be competing companies in his series. “In the movies, we have this Weyland-Yutani Corporation, which is clearly also developing artificial intelligence—but what if there are other companies trying to look at immortality in a different way, with cyborg enhancements or transhuman downloads? Which of those technologies is going to win? It’s ultimately a classic science fiction question: does humanity deserve to survive? As Sigourney Weaver said in that second movie, ‘I don’t know which species is worse. At least they don’t f*ck each other over for a percentage.’ Even if the show was 60% of the best horror action on the planet, there’s still 40% where we have to ask, ‘What are we talking about beneath it all?’ Thematically, it has to be interesting.”

SCRIPTS ARE DONE

Neither Landgraf or Hawley have ever confirmed how many episodes the first season of Alien will have, but back in August of 2022 Landgraf did tell Deadline that Hawley had already delivered all of the scripts for the show. So the writers strike isn’t holding up the progress of this one. The actors strike, on the other hand, may be an issue…

THE LEAD

With the scripts in place, Hawley was said to be meeting was the show’s production designer back in January, getting ready to dive into production on Alien as soon as he finished work on the fifth season of Fargo (which will start airing sometime this year). At the start of May, it was announced that Hawley had found the show’s lead: Sydney Chandler, whose previous credits include Don’t Worry Darling and the mini-series Pistol. Of course, nothing about her character has been revealed.

Whoever the character is, Hawley is working to make sure viewers will be interested in what’s going on with her even when the xenomorphs aren’t rampaging across the screen. Speaking with Observer, Hawley said, “If you’re going to make something for television, you’ve got 10 hours let’s say. Even if you have a lot of action, like two hours, then you’re still going to have eight hours left. So what is the show about? As I did with Legion, the exercise is: Let’s take the superhero stuff out of the show and see if it’s still a great show. What’s the show about? Let’s take the alien out of the show. What’s the show about? What are the themes, who are the characters and what is the human drama? Then we drop the aliens back in and we go, ‘This is great. Not only is there great human drama, but there’s aliens!’”

Speaking of the aliens, the rumor is that the special effects on this show will be handled by Weta Workshop, who have worked on the Lord of the Rings franchise, the Avatar movies, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Taika Waititi’s Thor movies, several Zack Snyder productions, and much more.

FILMING WILL TAKE PLACE IN THAILAND – AND WILL BE COMPLICATED BY THE SAG STRIKE

Variety has revealed that Alien will be filming in Thailand. They’ve heard this will be “a large-scale undertaking that’s reportedly booked out multiple Bangkok studios and hired vast quantities of lighting equipment”. Unfortunately, they’re heading into production right as it looks like the U.S. actors union SAG is going to go on strike. While Sydney Chandler is the only cast member announced so far, there have been other hires, and the cast is a mix of SAG-AFTRA and Equity members. Two of the main leads are believed to be SAG members. This means they won’t be reporting to set during the strike, so the production will have to work around their absence.

BLEND OF HORROR AND ACTION

Landgraf has said that Hawley’s approach to the Alien TV series is to be faithful to the ideas and styles of both Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens. He’ll be bringing his own ideas to the table, extending and reinventing the franchise – but at the same time, the aim is to make this show a blend of “the timeless horror of the first Alien film with the non-stop action of the second.”

RIDLEY SCOTT STILL CLAIMS DOMINANCE

Ridley Scott is producing the Alien TV series through his Scott Free banner – but that doesn’t mean he has any expectation that the show will be able to surpass the quality of his original film. When The Independent asked him about the show, Scott simply said, “It’ll never be as good as the first one. That’s what I’ll say.”

Are you looking forward to the Alien TV series? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher has blasted Bob Iger’s remarks about the strike as “tone deaf”, calling for him to be locked behind doors.

As expected, things have gotten nasty amid the news that SAG-AFTRA initiated their strike, with president Fran Drescher coming after one of the biggest CEOs in the game, Disney’s Bob Iger, who himself made disparaging remarks about the strike.

As the SAG-AFTRA strike, Bob Iger patted his own back while also slapping down the actors union, stating in part, “We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business. We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors. There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.” This did not sit well with Fran Drescher.

“I found [his comments] terribly repugnant and out of touch,” said Fran Drescher while on the picket line. “Positively tone deaf. I don’t think it served him well…If I were that company, I would lock him behind doors and never let him talk to anybody about this, because it’s so obvious that he has no clue as to what is really happening on the ground with hard working people that don’t make anywhere near the salary he is making. High seven figures, eight figures, this is crazy money that they make, and they don’t care if they’re land barons of a medieval time.” Fran Drescher isn’t the only one who found Iger’s comments thoughtless, as others have come after the CEO, who had a reported net worth of $690 million in 2019.

Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One is coming in on the softer side of expectations, but strong word of mouth should propel this one in the weeks to come.

Well… I may have gotten a little over-zealous with my predictions! I had just seen Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One and thought it was absolutely fantastic, couple that with the fact that it has been getting great reviews (including the 9/10 from our own Chris Bumbray), nearly completely sold out showings at my local theater and a solid A cinemascore from audiences, and I thought this one was going to hit higher in its opening weekend. Right now the 3-day for Dead Reckoning Part One is coming in around $53 million, making it the fourth highest 3-day in franchise history after Fallout (61.2 million), Rogue Nation ($55.5) and M:I-2 (57.8). It still has a chance to take down the 5-day record which currently sits with M:I-2 at $78.8 million, but Saturday numbers will have to hit harder for it to achieve that.

The good news for Dead Reckoning Part One is that the films tend to have great longevity at the box office due to great word of mouth. Of course M:I-2 and Fallout didn’t have anything near the competition Dead Reckoning Part One is facing as M:I-2 faced off against Big Momma’s House in its second weekend while Fallout saw the new releases Christopher Robin, The Spy Who Dumped Me and The Darkest Minds in it second weekend. Dead Reckoning Part One is going up against Barbenheimer! But fear not, this is no Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Yes, both films carry near $300 million price tags, but international audiences will help propel Dead Reckoning Part One to success. In its third week, Dial of Destiny has amassed $260.5 million worldwide, that is give or take what Dead Reckoning Part One will accumulate in just its debut weekend.

I do still think the film has the potential to hit higher than what is currently projected (per Deadline), but in the long run, Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One will be just fine. I am reminded of Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. Both films had openings under what was expected and legged out to be two of the biggest movies ever made.

Second place will belong to the Jim Caviezel fronted film Sound of Freedom with what is looking like a $20-$22 million weekend as the film hurtles toward the $100 million mark. I will be honest, two weeks ago I had never even heard of this movie, and now it seems to be all anyone can talk about because of how it is dividing audiences. As I have said in the past, these articles are strictly about the box office numbers. Any political or other type of topics are for other people to debate. With that said, I can only talk about the dollar and cents and in that regard this movie is absolutely killing it and may very well end its run as one of the biggest independent released films of all time. You can check out Chris Bumbray’s 6/10 review here.

Insidious: The Red Door is looking to take a horror movie standard 55-60% drop with an estimated $13-$14 million weekend for a running domestic total near $60 million and a worldwide around $100 million. Pretty impressive when you consider the entire franchise, all five films, carry a cumulative budget of $43.5 million and have pulled in over $642 million worldwide. I will have to look into it but this may very well be one of the most lucrative franchises ever created. 

Fourth and fifth place are rounded out by a pair of Disney releases with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny dropping what is looking like 53% for around a $13 million third weekend and a running total nearing $150 million and $260.5 million worldwide. With the slowdown in full effect, this one may hit slightly above its reported $300 million budget, but will not come close to hitting its budget plus marketing costs. It really is a shame such an iconic character is going out like this, but we have seen it before: does anyone remember Rambo: Last Blood?!

Rounding out the top five is Elemental as it continues its strong word of mouth campaign with an additional $8-$9 million which represents another small decline of around 12%. It’s domestic total by the end of day on Sunday will be over $125 million which will officially launch it past Pixar’s 2022 misfire Lightyear. Of course, with that $200 million budget, Elemental has a ways to go before it can actually be considered a success, but anything is better than just dropping these films directly on Disney+. 

What do you make of Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One’s opening numbers? Do you think the good word of mouth the film is earning can ultimately propel it to be a solid money maker the way the other films of the franchise have? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check back tomorrow when we have a full rundown of this weekend’s box office numbers.

Variety’s list of the 50 best action movies ever skips some classics, includes films outside of the genre and snubs the Shaw Brothers.

In the pantheon of the best action films ever, many of the same worthwhile titles come up: Die Hard, Speed, Aliens…And of course there’s Predator, The Killer, Runaway Train – well, not according to Variety, at least, who made some glaring omissions and curious inclusions on their list of “The 50 Best Action Movies of All Time”.

This ranking of the best action movies has, expectedly, come under scrutiny, with many readers wondering, Where’s this movie? and Where’s that movie? Of course, even with the prestige of Variety, this list of “The 50 Best Action Movies of All Time” is still just opinion. Still, we can’t help but notice a few things here…