Ben Schwartz and Sam Rockwell join forces with The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone for the upcoming Searchlight comedy DNA

The Lonely Island‘s Jorma Taccone is in good company for his next directorial project as Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog, Parks and Recreation) and Sam Rockwell (Moon, The Green Mile) board the upcoming Searchlight comedy DNA. News about Taccone joining DNA as the film’s director and producer comes after he recently launched production in Finland for The Trip, an upcoming thriller starring Jason Segel (Shrinking, Freaks and Geeks) and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Guns Akimbo).

Plot details for DNA remain a mystery, though we know Schwartz sold the concept to Searchlight in 2020. Schwartz wrote the script, while Ali Bell, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Taccone produced through their Party Over Here studio. Rockwell gets in on the action as an executive producer alongside Schwartz.

Taconne’s other directorial efforts include shorts and music videos for The Lonely Island, Parks and Recreation, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Miracle Workers, The Last O.G., and Paramount’s Knuckles series. His upcoming thriller, The Trip, revolves around a troubled couple who visit an isolated cabin. Both harbor hidden intentions to eliminate their partner, setting the stage for a thrilling and suspenseful showdown amidst the secluded wilderness. Juliette Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, and Karen Gillan also star in lead roles.

Taccone is also developing MacGruber 2, a sequel to the 2010 cult classic comedy starring Will Forte as MacGruber, a former special operative called back into action to take down his arch-enemy, Dieter Von Cunth, who has a nuclear warhead and is bent on destroying Washington, D.C.

On December 20th, Ben Schwartz races back into theaters as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog for Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The anticipated threequel finds Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunited to battle a powerful new adversary, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance.

Sam Rockwell is reprising his role as Mr. Wolf for The Bad Guys 2, a sequel to the criminally underrated 2022 animated heist comedy. In The Bad Guys 2, The Bad Guys are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys when they are pulled out of retirement and forced to do “one last job” by an all-female squad of criminals.

Will Ben Schwartz, Sam Rockwell, and Jorma Taccone strike comedy gold with DNA? What is the movie about? Do Schwartz and Rockwell play estranged brothers? I have no idea, but I hope we find out soon. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Is there still a chance Johnny Depp could mend fences with Disney and return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise?

Movies returned significantly throughout 2024, but few studios came as close to bringing the box office to its knees as Disney, with releases like Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.3B+), Inside Out 2 ($1.6B+), and the recently released Moana 2 ($404.6M and climbing). That’s a lot of coins for Mickey’s money bin, but could the release of Marc Webb’s Snow White halt the gravy train? Try as they might, promos for Snow White aren’t hitting as hard with fans as Disney would have hoped. Maybe the film lacks anticipation because of Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Rachel Zegler’s political posts, or the terrifying dwarves. Who could say? Disney needs some guaranteed hits if they want to keep the fire stoked, and one franchise that’s always gone well for them is Pirates of the Caribbean. Still, can Pirates succeed without Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow? We might soon find out.

Speaking with Variety, a source close to the next Pirates movie said, “Nothing has been ruled out,” regarding Depp’s franchise return. Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer is developing two versions of the script for the next Pirates movie on parallel tracks, with one calling for Depp to reconcile with Disney. Depp’s Jack Sparrow is the anchor of the Pirates franchise, with many fans showing up for every sequel to see what he’ll do next. What is the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise without Jack Sparrow? It is a risk, to be sure.

If Depp fails to mend fences with Disney after the fallout from his domestic dispute case with ex-wife Amber Heard, the studio’s best option would be to reboot the franchise. Would lightning strike twice? Who could steer the next Pirates movie to the Seas of Success? We live in divided times, and Disney must figure out how to appeal to both sides of the aisle if they wish to remain a box office behemoth. While Snow White could cool the studio’s current hot streak, Mufasa: The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, and a handful of animated sequels, including Toy Story 5, Zootopia 2, and Frozen 3, could remedy a live-action misstep.

Do you think Johnny Depp will return to the Disney kingdom for more Pirates movies? Should the franchise continue the story or reboot itself? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Alicia Witt, Gina Philips, Neal McDonough, and several more have joined the cast of Darren Lynn Bousman’s The Monster

A couple of months ago, we learned that Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place Part II and A Quiet Place: Day One) is set to star in The Monster, a horror thriller that Darren Lynn Bousman will be directing from a screenplay by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer, the writers of Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane. It was announced soon after that Lauren LaVera – who played heroine Sienna in Terrifier 2 and the recently released Terrifier 3 – was joining Hounsou in the cast. Now, Deadline reveals that Alicia Witt (Longlegs), Gina Philips (Jeepers Creepers), Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers), Mia Healey (The Wilds), Michael Lombardi (The Deuce), David Call (Insidious: The Red Door), Victor Del Rio (Precognito), Cedric Benjamin (Luke Cage), Zac Jaffee (Hustlers), Renés Rivera (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Hari Bhaskar (First Shift), Kristina Krasniqi (Celebrity Ghost Stories), and rapper Jacob Lukas Anderson, a.k.a. Prof, are also in the cast.

Details on the characters the actors will be playing haven’t been revealed, but we do know that the story follows two millennials who make quick money by leasing incredible New York City apartments they don’t own to people who don’t know they are being scammed. The con works brilliantly until they run into an apartment owner with a dark secret who flips the game on them. 

Lee Nelson and David Tish of Envision Media Arts are producing the film with Saw franchise producer Mark Burg. Lukas Behnken serves as executive producer, while Jonathan M. Black and Lauren Black co-produce. Bousman has a good deal of experience working with Burg, as he’s best known for directing Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, and Spiral: From the Book of Saw. He has also directed Repo! The Genetic Opera, Mother’s Day, 11-11-11, The Devil’s Carnival, The Barrens, Abattoir, St. Agatha, Death of Me, The Cello, and more.

Burg had this to say about The Monster: “Darren sent me a script with incredible twists and turns and the opportunity to work with him and the brilliant Djimon Hounsou. This movie will be amazing and scare the hell out of audiences worldwide.“

Tish and Nelson added, “We love finding new ways into horror and when we read The Monster we knew it was special. With Djimon and the minds behind one of horror’s biggest franchises, genre fans are in for something fresh and scary.“

The Monster is now filming in Danbury, Connecticut. Deadline also reports that Paramount’s Republic Pictures label has boarded worldwide rights to the project.

Does The Monster sound interesting to you? What do you think of the cast Darren Lynn Bousman has assembled for the film? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Kevin Hart’s plans to become a legit action star go horribly wrong in the Roku Channel’s Die Hart 3: Hart to Kill trailer

All Kevin Hart wants to do is become a bonafide action star, but his unfortunate luck always seems to have other plans. In Season 3 of the Roku Channel‘s Die Hart series, playfully titled Die Hart 3: Hart to Kill, Kevin Hart goes on the run after getting blamed for a crime he didn’t commit. Roku’s Die Hart 3: Hart to Kill trailer is jam-packed with action, big-name stars, laugh-out-loud comedy, and unpredictable shenanigans.

Kevin Hart plays a fictionalized version of himself in Die Hart 3: Hart to Kill, which finds the actor teaming up with Jackson Pepper (J.K. Simmons), “one of the all-time great directors,” for the break Hart’s been looking for. Pepper is game to give Hart his shot, but only under one condition: Pepper wants Hart to put him out of his misery. After the meeting goes awry, Harts goes on the run before the authorities can finger him for a crime he didn’t commit. As he looks for places to hide, Hart pulls new and old friends into his orbit, involving them in his latest life-threatening mishap.

Roku’s Die Hart: Hart to Kill trailer features Kathryn Hahn (Agatha All Along) as Jillian Avery, a recognizable Oscar-winning movie star at the peak of her profession, J.K. Simmons as Jackson Pepper, a force of nature who is serious, intense, thorny, and unpredictable, Tony Cavalero as Agent Fisher, a focused, intense, and easily agitated FBI agent with a profound secret, and Anna Garcia as Pearl, a sweet and clueless aspiring actress, willing to do anything she can to be part of a Jackson Pepper film. The new cast members will join series veterans Kevin Hart and Nathalie Emmanuel.

Hartbeat, the global entertainment company at the intersection of comedy and culture, will produce Season 3 of Die Hart. Kevin Hart, Bryan Smiley, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Jeff Clanagan, Tripper Clancy, Josh Ruben, and Ty Walker serve as executive producers. Tripper Clancy wrote and directed Season 3. Morgan Pichinson and Sabrina Lyall oversee the series on behalf of Roku Originals.

What do you think about the Roku Channel’s trailer for Die Hart 3: Hart to Kill? Do you think of Kevin Hart as a legit action star? Let us know in the comments section below. Die Hart: Hart to Kill comes to the Roku Channel on December 13th.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Terrifier 3 is set around Christmas, so it’s appropriate that it’s coming back to theatres for screenings on Christmas Eve and Christmas

Writer/director Damien Leone had a budget of around $55,000 to work with on his breakout horror film Terrifier, and a budget of “a little over” $250,000 for Terrifier 2, which was a massive hit when it was released in 2022, earning $15.1 million at the box office. Since the second film did so well, Terrifier 3 has a substantially higher budget. A “couple million” went into this one – and it paid off, as the new sequel was well-received (JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols considers the film to be the best entry in the Terrifier franchise) and proved to be a major box office success, making over $88 million worldwide. Terrifier 3 is set around Christmas, so Cineverse and Iconic Events Releasing have made the clever decision to bring the film back to theatres for screenings on December 24th and December 25th. Coming Soon reports that these special screenings “will include an introduction by filmmaker Damien Leone and an exclusive sneak peek at the behind-the-scenes documentary Art Attack!, which is set to release on Screambox next year.”

Terrifier 3 has the following synopsis: Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve. Here’s some more information: After surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they’re safe, Art the Clown returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe.

David Howard Thornton reprises the role of Art the Clown, a character who was first introduced in Leone’s 2013 anthology All Hallows’ Eve (although Thornton didn’t start playing him until Terrifier). Also in the cast are Lauren LaVera, who’s back as Terrifier 2 heroine Sienna; Elliot Fullam returns as Sienna’s brother Jonathan, Samantha Scaffidi is returning as Terrifier and Terrifier 2 character Victoria Heyes, and Daniel Roebuck, who has been cast in the role of Santa Claus. FX legend Tom Savini also shows up, as do Jon Abrahams, Antonella Rose, Krsy Fox, and legendary character actor Clint Howard. Chris Jericho, who had a cameo in Terrifier 2, is back in Terrifier 3 – but he made sure to let everyone know that his appearance in the film doesn’t last very long.

Are you glad to hear that Terrifier 3 is coming back to theatres for Christmas Eve and Christmas? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Showtime‘s most-streamed series in the network’s history, The Agency, is getting a Season 2 renewal after its stunning debut. The global espionage thriller starring Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Richard Gere garnered 5.1M global cross-platform viewers during its two-episode debut on November 29th, making it a ratings blockbuster.

The Agency features a star-studded cast, including 2x Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender and series regulars Oscar nominee Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, Katherine Waterston, John Magaro, Alex Reznik, Andrew Brooke, Harriet Sansom Harris, India Fowler, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Reza Brojerdi and Richard Gere. Dominic West and Hugh Bonneville are guest stars. The recurring cast includes Adam Nagaitis, Ambreen Razia, Bilal Hasna, David Harewood, Kurt Egyiawan, Ray BLK, Sabrina Wu, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

“The success of The Agency is proof that our new Showtime slate is poised to propel Paramount+ to its next phase of growth,” said Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global Co-CEO and President/CEO, Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios. “This achievement is a testament to the creative power of the team led by George Clooney, Jez Butterworth, Joe Wright and David Glasser and our incredible cast including Michael Fassbender, Richard Gere, Jodie Turner-Smith and Jeffrey Wright.”

The Agency offers a fresh take on the critically acclaimed hit French drama Le Bureau des Legendes. This espionage thriller follows Martian (Michael Fassbender), a covert CIA agent who is ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, real identity, and mission are pitted against his heart, hurling them into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.

Alex Maidy reviewed The Agency Season 1 for JoBlo, scoring 7 out of 10. In his review, Alex said, “The Agency is a drama about the emotional and psychological strain of being an undercover agent. It delivers one of the most blunt and realistic looks at how an intelligence series operates. Do not expect this series to feature a supervillain with a master plan, but you will find yourself wondering how sexy the life of a spy may actually be after you see what it can do to a person. The Agency is an interesting premise with a solid cast that may be a bit too languid for its own good but still manages to be a pretty intriguing series.”

Showtime displays significant confidence in The Agency with today’s announcement of a Season 2 renewal. The premise certainly offers a different look at the life of a spy, and according to the numbers, many people want to know what Martian gets up to next.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is set to star in the five-part thriller series Inheritance, which is set in Bristol, U.K. and Jamaica

Yesterday, we shared the news that season 2 of the Apple TV+ thriller series Surface, which stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, is set to premiere on Friday, February 21st. Now, Variety reports that Mbatha-Raw has signed on to star in a thriller mini-series called Inheritance, a Sky Original. Jonny Lee Miller (Covenant), Sheldon Shepherd (Bob Marley: One Love), and Bel Powley (The Morning Show) star alongside Mbatha-Raw.

Written and created by Karla Crome (Carnival Row) from an original idea by Jefferson Bannis, Inheritance is being directed by Storm Saulter (Sprinter) and produced by Snowed-In Productions, in association with Sky Studios. The show is described as being a five-part limited event series that takes place in Bristol, U.K. and Jamaica, and it will tackle the enduring legacy of colonialism. Mbatha-Raw is taking on the role of Claudia, an ambitious young bi-racial lawyer who embarks on a journey to Jamaica to challenge an inheritance claim filed by an unknown local resident, Cudjoe East (Shepherd), against Oliver Connaught (Miller), a wealthy white aristocrat. Claudia’s quest takes an unexpected turn when the contested estate reveals the ominous house that has haunted her nightmares: the Connaught family’s Jamaican plantation, Hope Hill. As Claudia and Oliver investigate, they uncover a chilling connection between historical horrors and present-day injustices.

Powley’s character is named Charlotte. Also in the cast are Nadean Rawlins (Destiny) as Mercy, Sean Gilder (Mary & George) as Tom McKenzie, Olunike Adeliyi (The Fire Inside) as Patsy Dawkins, Richard Dillane (The Crown) as Eugene Desfrienes, Diveen Henry (The Day of the Jackal) as Flora, Jack Bandeira (Happy Valley) as Kenneth Connaught, and Shantol Jackson (Sprinter) as Sarah.

Inheritance will be available to watch on Sky in the UK and Ireland. NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution will handle the international distribution sales. Mbatha-Raw and Miller serve as executive producers alongside Crome, Saulter, Ruth Kenley-Letts, Jenny van der Lande, Neil Blair, Sam Hoyle, and Serena Thompson. The Development Producer is Roxanne Harvey and the Series Producer is Kate Ogborn.

Crome said, “It’s a privilege to see Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jonny Lee Miller, Sheldon Shepherd and Bel Powley bringing my characters to life under Storm Saulter’s evocative direction and I can’t wait to share our work with audiences.” Kenley-Letts and van der Lande added, “Karla’s an extraordinary talent who has unleashed her wild imagination to create thrillingly unpredictable and original scripts.” Meghan Lyvers, Sky UK and Ireland’s executive director of original scripted, had this to say: “We are proud to support Karla Crome and the Snowed In team in bringing this bold, original, and provocative story to screen.“

Does Inheritance sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts on this Guga Mbatha-Raw thriller mini-series by leaving a comment below.

Sienna Miller joins John Krasinski in the upcoming Jack Ryan movie which is in development for Amazon MGM Studios.

THR reports that Sienna Miller (Anatomy of a Scandal) will star alongside John Krasinski in the upcoming Jack Ryan movie which is in development at Amazon MGM Studios.

The Jack Ryan series came to a close last year after four action-packed seasons. Although plot details for the movie are being kept under wraps, it will once again feature Krasinski as the titular CIA analyst. Miller will play an MI6 agent who is essentially Ryan’s British counterpart. Wendell Pierce (The Wire) and Michael Kelly (House of Cards) are also set to return as James Greer and Mike November, respectively. Andrew Bernstein, who served as an executive producer and director on Jack Ryan’s second season, will direct the movie from a screenplay by Aaron Rabin, who was a co-executive producer and writer on the final season.

All four seasons of Jack Ryan were huge for Prime Video, with the show ranked as one of the top three most-watched series on the streaming service. Our own Alex Maidy was a big fan of the series, although he certainly wanted more by the time the final season came to a close. “I am still shocked this series ends as early as this, especially without a tighter ending to the story, but I am glad we got the four seasons we have,” Maidy wrote in his review. “John Krasinski has become the definitive Jack Ryan, even if he will always be overshadowed by Harrison Ford’s brilliant and far different take on the character. This series has accomplished something that two prior attempts to adapt this character failed to do. I hope that someday we will see more of this version of the franchise continue in one capacity or another.” I think we know who will be first in line to check out the movie when it’s released. You can check out the rest of Maidy’s review right here.

Sienna Miller was most recently seen in Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga. Although the film was a box office bomb and received mixed reviews, Costner remains hopeful that he’ll be able to complete the four-movie saga.

Virginia Madsen pays tribute to her Candyman co-star Tony Todd: “I will always be proud to have been his Helen.”

We were all shocked to learn of Tony Todd’s death last month, and Virginia Madsen has penned a lovely tribute to her late friend and Candyman co-star.

“I believe Tony is one of the iconic greats, up there with Dracula — and when you think about the power they have, it’s not strength. It’s seductive and romantic and draws you in,” Madsen wrote. “On top of that, he had the most beautiful voice. He could just say ‘Hi,’ and it would resonate through your whole body. I remember when ‘Candyman’ came out some people asked me what they did to his voice to make it so smooth and powerful. I was like, ‘No, it’s just like that!’“

Madsen continued, “I first met Tony at a lunch. I was originally going to play Helen’s best friend, Bernadette. Bernard’s wife at the time, Alexandra Pigg, was going to play Helen. But she got pregnant and they felt it was too grueling for her, so I stepped in as Helen. I think this lunch was a kind of chemistry read, or maybe we were just meeting because we were going to go through a lot together. He walked in and he was so tall and handsome and he had that wonderful smile. And I just knew he was 100 percent the right guy. And he was so kind. He could have dismissed me as some little starlet, but he treated me like an equal from the start.“

The actress also recalled how Todd tricked her for many years over one of his other famous roles. “He had a great, sly sense of humor. I remember someone on set mentioning he played Wharf’s [sic] brother on ‘Star Trek’ and he said, ‘No, that’s not me, that’s my twin brother,’” she wrote. “Now, I am gullible but he’s also such a convincing actor that for years I thought he had a twin brother. Like, when I saw him, I would ask about how his brother was doing! It was only years later, thanks to Google probably, that I realized it was a joke.“

Madsen knows that Todd will always be remembered as a great actor, and she treasures the time they got to spend together, adding, “To get to start out with someone you respect and appreciate so much and remain in touch with years later — it’s a rare thing in this business.” You can check out the rest of her tribute right here.

Paapa Essiedu is being eyed to play Professor Severus Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series being developed for HBO.

THR reports that HBO is considering Paapa Essiedu for the role of Professor Severus Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series. The outlet’s sources say the actor has already been offered the part, but it’s unclear if negotiations have begun.

HBO wouldn’t confirm or deny, but did release a statement: “We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.” If Essiedu does take on the role, he will be stepping into the shoes of the late Alan Rickman, who brought the devious potions master to life in the Harry Potter movies.

Essiedu is best known for his appearances in Murder on the Orient Express and Men and TV series such as Gangs of London, I May Destroy You, The Lazarus Project, and Black Mirror.

There’s been no official casting on the Harry Potter TV series yet, but Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) is said to be close to signing on to play Albus Dumbledore. The casting process for the three main kids has begun. An open call was put out for children who are residents of the U.K. and Ireland and will be between the ages of 9 and 11 in April 2025 to play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Succession‘s Francesca Gardiner will serve as a writer and showrunner on the series, while Mark Mylod signed on to executive produce and direct multiple episodes. The project was originally developed for Max but made the leap to HBO (along with a variety of other Max shows) in June.

Each season of the Harry Potter TV series is said to cover one of Rowling’s novels, for a total of seven seasons. While the movies were able to fit quite a lot in, there were plenty of moments cut from the novels that the TV series will finally be able to bring to life. Last year, the studio released a statement saying, “Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.“

Could you see Paapa Essiedu as Professor Snape?