A third film in the Marvel Comics-inspired Venom franchise made its way through production last year, shutting down for several months along the way due to the Screen Actors Guild strike. Now the film, titled Venom: The Last Dance, is heading for an October 25th theatrical release – but the first batch of viewers had their chance to see the movie last night, and the reactions that are coming out of that screening are quite positive, with several saying that this is the best movie in the Venom trilogy! Some of the reactions can be seen in the X embeds below.

The first Venom was scripted by Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel. Ruben Fleischer directed that film, which made $856 million. But then Fleischer turned his focus to making Zombieland: Double Tap and Uncharted – so Andy Serkis took over as director on Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Which was written by Kelly Marcel, working from a story she crafted with star Tom Hardy. That sequel earned $506 million at the pandemic era global box office. Serkis said he would be glad to return to the helm for a follow-up – but when Venom 3 actually did come up, he opted to focus on other projects instead. So Venom: The Last Dance marks the feature directorial debut of Kelly Marcel. She also wrote the screenplay, based (again) on a story she crafted with Hardy.

Hardy is reprising the role of Eddie Brock / Venom for this sequel, and he is joined in the cast by Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), Clark Backo (Letterkenny), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Official details on the new characters have not been revealed – but no, Ejiofor is not playing his Doctor Strange character Baron Mordo, since the Venom films are set in a different universe than the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

Here is the official synopsis from the studio: In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance. The marketing has revealed that Knull, the God of the Symbiotes, shows up in the movie – and Marcel has said this is “just the beginning” for the villain. Since this is meant to be the last Venom movie, that seems to give some credibility to the rumors that Knull will carry on into the next Spider-Man movie.

Here’s a sample of the first reactions:

Venom: The Last Dance has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language. Are you looking forward to the film? What do you think of the first reactions? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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A third film in the Marvel Comics-inspired Venom franchise made its way through production last year, shutting down for several months along the way due to the Screen Actors Guild strike. Now the film, titled Venom: The Last Dance, is aiming for an October 25th theatrical release – and with that date just one month away, the final trailer has just arrived online! You can watch it in the embed above.

The first Venom was scripted by Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel. Ruben Fleischer directed that film, which made $856 million. But then Fleischer turned his focus to making Zombieland: Double Tap and Uncharted – so Andy Serkis took over as director on Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Which was written by Kelly Marcel, working from a story she crafted with star Tom Hardy. That sequel earned $506 million at the pandemic era global box office. Serkis said he would be glad to return to the helm for a follow-up – but when Venom 3 actually did come up, he opted to focus on other projects instead. So Venom: The Last Dance marks the feature directorial debut of Kelly Marcel. She also wrote the screenplay, based (again) on a story she crafted with Hardy.

Hardy is reprising the role of Eddie Brock / Venom for this sequel, and he is joined in the cast by Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), Clark Backo (Letterkenny), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Official details on the new characters have not been revealed – but no, Ejiofor is not playing his Doctor Strange character Baron Mordo, since the Venom films are set in a different universe than the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

Here is the official synopsis from the studio: In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.

Are you looking forward to Venom: The Last Dance? What did you think of the film’s final trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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The 2016 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange featured a post-credits scene in which the character Mordo, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, revealed that he was on a mission to whittle down the number of sorcerers in the world. At one time, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was going to open with a scene where Mordo’s mission would lead him to a confrontation with Elizabeth Olsen’s character Scarlet Witch – a confrontation that would end with him losing his head. That scene got dropped, so we never actually saw the Doctor Strange version of Mordo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, even though a multiverse variant of the character did get involved along the way. The original Mordo we met is still out there, and still (we assume) hating on sorcerers. And even though there’s no indication that we’re going to be seeing him again anytime soon, Ejiofor remains positive and excited about his future in the MCU.

Mordo came up while Ejiofor was making an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. When asked if Marvel had told him their plans for the character, the actor said (with thanks to ComicBookMovie for the transcription), “Sure, there was sort of broad – like with any of these things that develop over time – ideas which always felt like they would be subject to manipulation, change, or reinvention. … There’s still the opportunity for different aspects of that to come to fruition and, to be honest, there were completely new areas for Mordo that didn’t exist in the conversation at that time which also have all this capacity and potential. It definitely depends, which I think is exciting, on the vision. An individual or the team’s vision for those stories as they move forward. I’m excited about [that]. I feel like there are some extraordinarily engaged and talented people within the context of that. It’s a world that still holds a lot of excitement for me. … I think there’s a beautiful open door there and just finding the moment to tell those stories where it’s genuinely the most exciting part of that story you can tell and focus a light on. I think has the potential to be really remarkable.“

When asked how he felt about playing a different Mordo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, he said, “Like I [said], it was something new. It was something I hadn’t predicted at all. In that context, I thought it was fascinating. I felt like there was something potentially really exciting about where that could go. I like that broadly. I like the idea these characters and worlds can be explored in these really incredible ways.“

While we wait to see when Mordo is going to pop up in the MCU again, Ejiofor has been working on a Marvel Comics adaptation that exists outside the MCU: Sony Pictures’ Venom: The Last Dance, which is meant to wrap up the Venom series and is aiming for an October 25th theatrical release. There was a rumor that Ejiofor’s character might be Orwell Taylor, the leader of the group known as The Jury. 

Are you looking forward to seeing Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mordo return in a future MCU film? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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A third film in the Marvel Comics-inspired Venom franchise made its way through production last year, shutting down for several months along the way due to the Screen Actors Guild strike. Now the film, titled Venom: The Last Dance, is aiming for an October 25th theatrical release – and today, Sony Pictures is starting to build the hype by unveiling the first trailer! You can check it out in the embed above.

The first Venom was scripted by Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel. Ruben Fleischer directed that film, which made $856 million. But then Fleischer turned his focus to making Zombieland: Double Tap and Uncharted – so Andy Serkis took over as director on Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Which was written by Kelly Marcel, working from a story she crafted with star Tom Hardy. That sequel earned $506 million at the pandemic era global box office. Serkis said he would be glad to return to the helm for a follow-up – but when Venom 3 actually did come up, he opted to focus on other projects instead. So Venom: The Last Dance marks the feature directorial debut of Kelly Marcel. She also wrote the screenplay, based (again) on a story she crafted with Hardy.

Hardy is reprising the role of Eddie Brock / Venom for this sequel, and he is joined in the cast by Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), Clark Backo (Letterkenny), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Official details on the new characters have not been revealed – but no, Ejiofor is not playing his Doctor Strange character Baron Mordo, since the Venom films are set in a different universe than the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

Here is the official synopsis from the studio:

In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.

There was a rumor that he might be playing Orwell Taylor, the leader of the group known as The Jury. As ComicBookMovie noted, “that group existed solely to take out Venom, with each member of The Jury outfitted in powerful armoured suits and tech based on Tony Stark’s designs. Throw in the fact that they had sonic blasters and flamethrowers, and it’s not hard to imagine the government tasking this clandestine group with taking out an apparent threat like Venom.” Members of The Jury in the comic book source material include Sentry, Bomblast, Firearm, Ramshot, Wysper, and Screech.

Here’s the official poster:

What did you think of the first trailer for Venom: The Last Dance? Will you be watching this movie on the big screen in October? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Hugh Grant has been expanding on his career beyond his famous rom-coms, having starred in last year’s special effects-laden big-budget films Wonka and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Grant will be returning to his popular franchise with Renée Zellweger for the recently announced upcoming fourth film in the Bridget Jones movies, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. The plot is said to “pick up with Bridget in her early fifties, as she navigates the challenges of modern life while juggling the responsibilities of motherhood.”

Grant recently spoke with the publication People as he teases the next installment in the series. The English actor stated,

It is very moving as well as funny. It’s partly based on Helen Fielding’s experiences of bringing up two children by herself after her husband died. And so Bridget is bringing up two kids and wondering whether she should ever go back to dating. It’s a very good script.”

Universal Studios and Working Title are the studios, with Michael Morris (Better Call Saul, 13 Reasons Why, Bloodline), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Dirty Pretty Things, Serenity), and Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) joining the cast. Zellweger returns as the bumbling yet endearing Bridget Jones, Hugh Grant plays the antagonistic Daniel Cleaver, and Emma Thompson plays Dr. Rawlings. Meanwhile, Ejiofor and Woodall’s characters remain a secret.

Inspired by Helen Fielding’s popular novels and a previous column she wrote as the title character for The Independent, the Bridget Jones film series revolves around Zellweger’s Bridget Jones, a hapless single woman lost in love who explores a complex web of relationships. The series began in 2001 with Bridget Jones’s Diary, followed by the sequels Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby, debuting in 2004 and 2016. The trilogy was a surprising box office banger with $760 million worldwide in ticket sales.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is being planned to release in theaters and on Peacock on Valentine’s Day 2025.

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It’s finally happening! Renée Zellweger (Empire Records, Jerry Maguire, Chicago), Hugh Grant (Wonka, Notting Hill, The Gentlemen), and Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee, Cruella, Sense and Sensibility) are returning for another chapter in the Bridget Jones saga with Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Universal Studios and Working Title are the studios, with Michael Morris (Better Call Saul, 13 Reasons Why, Bloodline), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Dirty Pretty Things, Serenity), and Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) joining the cast.

Inspired by Helen Fielding’s popular novels and a previous column she wrote as the title character for The Independent, the Bridget Jones film series revolves around Zellweger’s Bridget Jones, a hapless single woman lost in love who explores a complex web of relationships. The series began in 2001 with Bridget Jones’s Diary, followed by the sequels Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby, debuting in 2004 and 2016. The trilogy was a surprising box office banger with $760 million worldwide in ticket sales.

According to Deadline, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy “picks up with Bridget in her early fifties, as she navigates the challenges of modern life while juggling the responsibilities of motherhood.”

Zellweger returns as the bumbling yet endearing Bridget Jones, Hugh Grant plays the antagonistic Daniel Cleaver, and Emma Thompson plays Dr. Rawlings. Meanwhile, Ejiofor and Woodall’s characters remain a secret. The plan is to release Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy in international theaters and on Peacock in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day 2025.

This film is a significant move for Renée Zellweger, who’s acted in a few projects since turning heads with her stellar performance as Judy Garland in Rupert Goold’s biographical drama Judy. Zellweger starred in six episodes of the TV mini-series The Thing About Pam while her next project, The Back Nine, develops. Michael Patrick King and Maria K. Singh direct The Back Nine, focusing on how Casey Jones gave up a golf career for her husband. One morning, she finds her 25-year-old marriage in free fall and her son off to college. She dusts off the clubs she tossed aside years ago and redefines the “back nine” of her life.

Are you surprised the band is getting back together for another chapter of the Bridget Jones film series? Let us know in the comments section below.

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PLOT: The true story of Rob Peace (Jay Will), a promising academic who, in a desperate attempt to raise money for his incarcerated father (Chiwetel Ejiofor) started a marijuana business that put his future in jeopardy.

REVIEW: One of the recurring themes of this year’s Sundance was fatherhood. It’s a theme that cropped up in one of the fest’s most popular documentaries, Daughters, and was also prominent in films like Freaky Tales, Love Lies Bleeding, and Exhibiting Forgiveness. Most of the relationships were depicted as at least somewhat dysfunctional, and Rob Peace, in some measure, follows suit.

It begs the question, what would you sacrifice to save your father? Most movies – when they ask this question – do the reverse. We’re used to seeing stories about parents sacrificing things for their children, but not the reverse. In Rob Peace, which is based on a story that’s all too tragically true, Tulsa King breakout Jay Will plays Rob Peace. A mathematical and scientific genius, he’s a star student at a Christian private school, where one of the teachers in charge, Michael Kelly’s Reverend Leahy, has taken a particular interest. In unison with Rob’s mom, Jackie (played by the always great Mary J. Blige), he encourages Rob to pursue an Ivy League education. Still, Rob’s heart is with his father, Skeet (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who’s in prison for murder. He says he’s innocent, and Rob believes him (his mother isn’t so sure). Rob is willing to jeopardize his future to save his father, even if it means using his mathematical and scientific acumen to sell weed.

Peace’s dilemma is one we identify with. Will plays him perfectly in a role far removed from what he does on the excellent Tulsa King. Rob is a genius and well-liked, with him bonding just as well with his upper-crust white roommate, Benjamin Papac’s Jeff Hobbs, as he does with any of his friends from the old neighbourhood (in real life, Hobbs wrote the book this movie is based on, “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace”). But, you also get why he’d be willing to sacrifice everything for his father, with Ejiofor (who also directed the movie) his charismatic best as his father, who swears he’s innocent.

Ejiofor’s movie never judges Skeet too strongly, even if, as Blige’s Jackie tells Rob, his father would let him destroy himself in order to walk free. It’s a tough question that the movie asks, and you sympathize with Rob’s plight throughout.

One thing the movie does is show how, even if there was drama with his father and plenty of unconscious racial bias at his university, many people were on Rob’s side, including Kelly’s Leahy and Mare Winningham as his scientific mentor. All this makes Rob Peace a real tragedy, as even without knowing his story beforehand, you have an inkling of where this is going right from the start.

Yet, Ejiofor keeps the film entertaining and never too heavy-handed. He has an impressively light touch as a director, eschewing easy melodrama and trying to show there was more to Peace’s life than just tragedy. In that way, it’s a fitting tribute to a person who, if things were different, might have changed the world in a positive way.

Chiwetel Ejiofor

GOOD

7

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A third film in the Marvel Comics-inspired Venom franchise started filming back in June, then had to shut down production when the Screen Actors Guild strike began in July. Earlier this month, that strike came to an end – and writer/director Kelly Marcel and star Tom Hardy quickly got back to work on Venom 3. When filming resumed, Hardy celebrated by sharing an image on Instagram. Just over a week later, he has shared another image from the set, along with a statement… and in this statement, he indicates that he might be leaving the Venom franchise as a trilogy, as he refers to the new film as “the last dance”.

Hardy said, “V3N0M 3. The Last dance. Thankfully we are back to shooting, and I want to take a moment just to thank all the teams thus far on the ride from V1 to here. Aall our fantastic cast and crew- good friends and family – we’ve come a long way. It’s been and continues to be a lot of fun, this journey. There’s always hard turns to burn when we work, but doesn’t feel as hard when you love what you do and when you know you have great material and the support, at all sides, of a great team. Surrounded by talented and passionate departments and when surrounded by people you love and care about, it doesn’t get any better. I want to mention very briefly how proud of my Director, writing partner and dear friend Kelly Marcel I am. Watching you taking the helm on this one fills me with pride, it is an honour. Trust your gut, your instincts are always spot on. First class – I back you 100%. As always. And I absolutely love working with you and watching you take on bigger challenges every time. And to my great friend, face plant chief operator and brother @jaketomuri Jacob you still look f all like me bro. Here’s to a great ride!!!“

The first Venom was scripted by Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel. Ruben Fleischer directed that film, which made $856 million. But then Fleischer turned his focus to making Zombieland: Double Tap and Uncharted – so Andy Serkis took over as director on Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Which was written by Kelly Marcel, working from a story she crafted with Hardy. That sequel earned $506 million at the pandemic era global box office. Serkis said he would be glad to return to the helm for a follow-up – but when Venom 3 actually did come up, he opted to focus on other projects instead. So Venom 3 will be Marcel’s feature directorial debut. She also wrote the screenplay, based (again) on a story she crafted with Hardy.

Hardy is reprising the role of Eddie Brock / Venom for this sequel, and he is joined in the cast by Juno Temple (Ted Lasso) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Official details on Temple and Ejiofor’s characters have not been revealed – but no, Ejiofor is not playing his Doctor Strange character Baron Mordo, since the Venom films are set in a different universe than the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. There was a rumor that he might be playing Orwell Taylor, the leader of the group known as The Jury. As ComicBookMovie noted, “that group existed solely to take out Venom, with each member of The Jury outfitted in powerful armoured suits and tech based on Tony Stark’s designs. Throw in the fact that they had sonic blasters and flamethrowers, and it’s not hard to imagine the government tasking this clandestine group with taking out an apparent threat like Venom.” Members of The Jury in the comic book source material include Sentry, Bomblast, Firearm, Ramshot, Wysper, and Screech.

Sony Pictures is aiming to get Venom 3 into theatres on November 8, 2024. Are you looking forward to the film? What do you think of Hardy referring to this production as “the last dance”? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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A third film in the Marvel Comics-inspired Venom franchise started filming back in June, but production had to shut down when the Screen Actors Guild strike hit in July. That strike finally came to an end earlier this month, and as Sony Pictures prepared to get Venom 3 back into production, they announced that it’s now aiming for a November 8, 2024 theatrical release. The project has now resumed filming – and star Tom Hardy has celebrated the return to production by sharing an image from the set! You can check it out at THIS LINK.

As you can see, this image gives away nothing about the filming. But at least it lets us know that cameras are rolling again.

The first Venom was scripted by Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel. Ruben Fleischer directed that film, which made $856 million. But then Fleischer turned his focus to making Zombieland: Double Tap and Uncharted – so Andy Serkis took over as director on Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Which was written by Kelly Marcel, working from a story she crafted with Hardy. That sequel earned $506 million at the pandemic era global box office. Serkis said he would be glad to return to the helm for a follow-up – but when Venom 3 actually did come up, he opted to focus on other projects instead. So Venom 3 will be Marcel’s feature directorial debut. She also wrote the screenplay, based (again) on a story she crafted with Hardy.

Hardy is reprising the role of Eddie Brock / Venom for this sequel, and he is joined in the cast by Juno Temple (Ted Lasso) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Official details on Temple and Ejiofor’s characters have not been revealed – but no, Ejiofor is not playing his Doctor Strange character Baron Mordo, since the Venom films are set in a different universe than the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. There was a rumor that he might be playing Orwell Taylor, the leader of the group known as The Jury. As ComicBookMovie noted, “that group existed solely to take out Venom, with each member of The Jury outfitted in powerful armoured suits and tech based on Tony Stark’s designs. Throw in the fact that they had sonic blasters and flamethrowers, and it’s not hard to imagine the government tasking this clandestine group with taking out an apparent threat like Venom.” Members of The Jury in the comic book source material include Sentry, Bomblast, Firearm, Ramshot, Wysper, and Screech. 

Are you looking forward to Venom 3, and are you glad to hear it has resumed filming? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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A third film in the Marvel Comics-inspired Venom franchise started filming back in June, and at that time Sony Pictures was aiming to get Venom 3 into theatres sometime in October of 2024. Production had to come to a halt when the Screen Actors Guild went on strike in July – but Sony was obviously confident that the strike was going to be wrapped up quickly when they announced that same month that they had moved Venom 3 up to a July release. But the strike only came to an end last night, and as Venom 3 gears up to head back into production, Deadline reports that Sony now has it scheduled to reach theatres on November 8, 2024.

November 8, 2024 is a date Sony always had reserved for one of their Marvel-inspired properties… they just didn’t expect Venom 3 to be the film that would land on that date.

The first Venom was scripted by Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel. Ruben Fleischer directed that film, which made $856 million. But then Fleischer turned his focus to making Zombieland: Double Tap and Uncharted – so Andy Serkis took over as director on Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Which was written by Kelly Marcel, working from a story she crafted with Hardy. That sequel earned $506 million at the pandemic era global box office. Serkis said he would be glad to return to the helm for a follow-up – but when Venom 3 actually did come up, he opted to focus on other projects instead. So Venom 3 will be Marcel’s feature directorial debut. She also wrote the screenplay, based on a story she crafted with star Tom Hardy.

Hardy is reprising the role of Eddie Brock / Venom for this sequel, and he is joined in the cast by Juno Temple (Ted Lasso) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Official details on Temple and Ejiofor’s characters have not been revealed – but no, Ejiofor is not playing his Doctor Strange character Baron Mordo, since the Venom films are set in a different universe than the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. There was a rumor that he might be playing Orwell Taylor, the leader of the group known as The Jury. As ComicBookMovie noted, “that group existed solely to take out Venom, with each member of The Jury outfitted in powerful armoured suits and tech based on Tony Stark’s designs. Throw in the fact that they had sonic blasters and flamethrowers, and it’s not hard to imagine the government tasking this clandestine group with taking out an apparent threat like Venom.” Members of The Jury in the comic book source material include Sentry, Bomblast, Firearm, Ramshot, Wysper, and Screech. 

Are you looking forward to Venom 3? What do you think of its new November release date?

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