Category: Movie

Unless the property in question has already been established as a shared universe where everything is connected, the inter-franchise crossover can often have an air of desperation surrounding it. On many occasions, it feels like the studio throwing everything and the kitchen sink into the mix, hoping that combining at least two iconic characters in the same movie will yield increased box office returns to keep the brand alive just that little bit longer.

2003’s Freddy vs. Jason was a great example of this, after it marked the first big screen appearance of the titular icons for a decade in a modern-day setting, discounting the futuristic Jason X. It wound up earning $116 million at the box office on a $30 million budget, which at the time was the most money either A Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th had ever seen, proving that these mashups are almost always profitable.

Daniel Craig isn’t an idiot, so he’ll be fully aware that the rest of his career will find him fielding questions about the James Bond franchise any time he hits the press circuit for his latest project. It comes with the territory, and even though predecessor Pierce Brosnan has admitted that he’s long since grown tired of it, he’s resigned himself to the fact it’s part of the package when you play a cinematic icon.

No Time to Die arrives in international theaters today, and the early reactions to Craig’s swansong as 007 have been encouraging. The 25th installment in the series is tracking for a bumper opening weekend at the box office, but once the dust settles, the focus will immediately turn to what comes next for cinema’s premiere secret agent.

The Suicide Squad still hasn’t managed to recoup its $185 million budget at the box office, but that hasn’t stopped James Gunn from continuing to talk up his future with Warner Bros. and DC Films. Obviously, the writer and director is back at Marvel for the time being as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 gears up to head into production, but HBO Max spinoff series Peacemaker is only three months away.

The second outing for Task Force X may have flopped in theaters, but it’s performed admirably on HBO Max, and both Gunn and the studio appear open to working together again in the future. Once Vol. 3 ends his association with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s no reason why we won’t be hearing constant rumors revolving around a third Suicide Squad.

Quentin Tarantino has had such a huge influence on modern cinema that his name long since became an adjective, with any crime thriller featuring a sprawling ensemble cast, back-and-forth dialogue laden with pop culture references and a fractured timeline being described as ‘Tarantinoesque’.

Of course, very few of the pale imitations can come close to matching one of the most distinctive filmmakers of our time, who gifted audiences with a string of classics dating back decades including Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, the two-part Kill Bill saga, Django Unchained and more.

Outside of Rosario Dawson, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, no other talent on either side of the camera has been officially announced for Star Wars Disney Plus series Ahsoka, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from throwing all sorts of names out there.

One of the more recurring slices of scuttlebutt we’ve been hearing since the project was first revealed to the world is that Lars Mikkelsen will reprise his animated role as Grand Admiral Thrawn in live-action, with Aladdin‘s Mena Massoud reportedly set as fan favorite Ezra Bridger.