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Reprising his role from the original film, Tim Meadows is back as Principal Ron Duvall, one of many memorable roles from his past. From playing the Athletic Cone in the 1993 film «Coneheads» to Leon Phelps in «The Ladies Man,» he’s been around for a long time.

After appearing on «Saturday Night Live» for ten seasons, Meadows continued to be on television. Audiences may know his face from his roles in «The Bill Engvall Show,» «Mr. Box Office,» «The Goldbergs,» or the game show «Funny You Should Ask.» He also appears in episodes of «Brooklyn Nine-Nine,» «Poker Face,» «The Mandalorian,» and «Miracle Workers.» He also has some voice work on his resume, with roles in the likes of «BoJack Horseman» and «Bob’s Burgers.»

In terms of mainstream movies, Meadows has plied his trade in the likes of «Grown Ups» and «Grown Ups 2,» «Train Wreck,» and «Hubie Halloween.» Notably, he also appeared in the 2011 made-for-TV sequel «Mean Girls 2,» continuing his role as Principal Duvall. As a result, he’s the only cast member to play the same character in all three «Mean Girls» movies.

Robert Downey Jr. appears to be in line for his third Oscar nomination for a supporting role in writer-director Christopher Nolan’s historical epic «Oppenheimer.» Downey’s turn as founding US Atomic Energy Commission member Lewis Strauss has so far earned him a best supporting actor Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations in the category from the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Critics’ Choice Association.

Sandwiched in between the movie blockbusters «Avengers: Endgame» and «Oppenheimer» for Downey, though, was «Dolittle.» The film unfortunately had an underwhelming box office return of $251.5 million worldwide against a $175 million budget.

Downey was humbled by the tepid reception to «Dolittle,» though, which coupled with the complacency he experienced in the MCU, set him up for a valuable lesson to learn in showbiz going forward. «The rug was pulled so definitively out from underneath me and all the things that I was leaning on as opposed to what my understanding of confidence and security was, boy did they evaporate,» Downey told Lowe. «And it rendered me teachable.»

Luckily for Downey, the teacher was Christopher Nolan, and the masterclass the filmmaker was heading happened to be «Oppenheimer.»

«And the crazy thing is they say when the student is ready, the Nolan will come,» Downey explained to Lowe. «I mean, the teacher will come. And that’s what happened.»

Luckily for audiences around the world, Emma Stone — who has been nominated for multiple major awards throughout her career and took home the Academy Award for best actress in 2017 for «La La Land» — also told the audience at the Palm Springs International Film Festival that she has no intention of stopping her marathon any time soon.

«I have so much gratitude genuinely for this moment,» Stone said during her speech. «I’m grateful that I get to keep trying new things and for the opportunity to make choices when it comes to work because I know how rare and fleeting it could be to choose what you wanna do or who you wanna work with as an actor. I am really so thankful for that. I hope for many more years of the chance to take swings and to try new things and to keep this marathon going.»

IndieWire also notes that Stone devoted a portion of her speech to director Yorgos Lanthimos, with whom she’s worked on two films, plus a third on the way in «Kinds of Kindness.» The actor lavished praise upon her frequent collaborator, calling him her «true creative soulmate.»

When «The Whale» came out in 2022, most of the attention was focused on Brendan Fraser’s triumphant performance. While the film’s directing and writing went largely unrecognized during awards season, Fraser won the Academy Award for best actor. He wouldn’t have been able to do it in a vacuum, though, and it’s largely thanks to the film’s supporting players like Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, and Ty Simpkins that he was able to do his best work. 

Simpkins co-stars in the film as Thomas, the Christian missionary who continually dogs Fraser’s Charlie, hoping that he can convince him to embrace the will of God. «The Whale» marked Simpkins’s return to significant parts in big-time Hollywood pictures. 

Aronofsky told Vanity Fair about the process for casting Simpkins as Thomas in 2023. «Right before we were about to start to rehearse, Mary Vernieu, our casting director, was like, ‘Oh, there’s this one guy, Ty Simpkins. He was a child actor,»‘ the director said. «But he hadn’t acted in a while. He was kind of taking a break from it for a while. But he got on tape, and the next day he got on a plane and joined us in New York, where we shot the film, and he was great.» Aronofsky praised Simpkins for his vulnerability and comedic timing in particular.

Getting a massively popular role as an actor is a bit of a mixed blessing. Obviously actors love being appreciated for their work, but after being pushed into the mainstream, some find themselves trapped playing similar roles over and over again. In the past decade, Ryan Reynolds has had some spectacular successes, but that means he’s locked into certain obligations moving forward.

For the foreseeable future, a large chunk of Reynolds’ schedule is going to be taken up by sequels. He’s part of multiple successful franchises like «Deadpool» and «Detective Pikachu,» and a number of his other projects, including movies like «Free Guy,» are all but certain to get a sequel. That’s great news for people who love those movies, but fans of Reynolds who like seeing him in original stories are going to be a bit disappointed.

Luckily, it’s always possible to look backward, and odds are good that most people missed «Coming Soon» when it first came out. The movie definitely plays into some tropes that you’ve seen a million times before, but by and large it manages to tell an original story populated with some really entertaining characters. You’ve probably seen Reynolds in plenty of other comedies, but if you’re sick of seeing him in big action blockbusters, then «Coming Soon» makes for a great change of pace.

While @21xfour’s artwork depicting Jensen Ackles as the MCU’s Cyclops is convincing, fans may wonder whether there’s any realistic chance of the actor getting cast. At the time of this article’s publishing, it’s unknown whether the MCU’s X-Men will even include Cyclops and, if it does, who will play him. Glen Powell has been rumored to be portraying Cyclops, but he pushed back on the idea. Ackles has yet to join the MCU, so it’s possible he could wind up in the X-Men reboot. However, there’s not much evidence out there supporting it.

Previously, various outlets reported that Ackles was considered by Marvel Studios for Captain America — a claim that the actor has since debunked. However, that’s not to say he’s completely opposed to playing such a character. «I think it was an internet rumor that people thought would be a good idea,» he told Men’s Health. «And I guess some people reacted to it and continued to push that rumor along. But in my mind, I was like, ‘I wish!’ I’ve heard that there was a short list of people, and I was one of the names on the shortlist — but it never got to me!»

Of course, Ackles is no stranger to the world of superheroes. In live-action, he portrayed the twisted Captain America analog Soldier Boy in Prime Video’s «The Boys.» In animation, he provided the voice of Batman on several occasions; he also indicated that he’d like to portray the character in the live-action DC Universe.

Finnick Odair seems like a simple playboy at first, when he saunters up to Katniss shirtless and in traditional District 4 garb, and offers her a sugar cube with a devilish grin. After the two escape the arena during the Quarter Quell, though, Finnick becomes a different person … in that he becomes a shell of his former self. The Capitol is holding his true love, Annie Cresta (Stef Dawson), hostage. As Finnick loses hope, he and Katniss grow closer, a bond strengthened by the fact that Peeta is being held alongside Annie.

Eventually, he makes a startling confession to Katniss. In the third book, «Mockingjay,» Finnick and Katniss are working on propaganda films (or «propos») they can use to infiltrate Capitol airwaves, and after Katniss speaks about her love for Peeta, Finnick sits down in front of the camera. Katniss doesn’t know what he’s going to say until Finnick begins speaking. «President Snow used to…sell me…my body, that is,» he tells the cameras. «I wasn’t the only one. If a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them for an exorbitant amount of money. If you refuse, he kills someone you love. So you do it.»

This is a striking moment for Katniss, who, in this moment, seems to fully realize why Finnick is so complicated. «That explains it, then,» she thinks to herself. «Secrets, I think. That’s what Finnick told me his lovers paid him in, only I thought the whole arrangement was by his choice.» Before he finishes, Katniss even feels like she should ask the cameras to stop so she can apologize — which, frankly, isn’t an impulse Katniss feels very frequently.

Macaulay Culkin is the type of guy who’s lived many lives, and in one of those, he was married for a brief two years. Culkin and actor Rachel Miner both attended the Professional Children’s School and met when they were 14. In his interview with New York magazine, Macaulay reflected on the first impression he left: «On the first day of school, she said, ‘Hi, my name is Rachel,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, welcome to the school,’ or whatever. She thought I was such a jerk for not saying, ‘And my name is Mack.’»

They eventually began an on-again-off-again relationship in which they broke up three times. To avoid a fourth breakup after getting back together again, Culkin proposed. In 1998, they exchanged vows in a modest stone church in Connecticut at the age of 17. However, the union ended in a separation two years later, finalized by a divorce in 2002. Despite the dissolution of their marriage, a spokesperson affirmed to The Guardian that «they remain the best of friends.» «What can I say?» Culkin told New York magazine. «She was my girl.»

Ultimately, as we all know, Florence Pugh portrayed «the sister» in 2021’s «Black Widow» — more specifically, Yelena Belova, assassin and adopted sister to Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). The first (and only) standalone film for Johansson’s Black Widow delved into her family dynamic for the first time, also introducing Rachel Weisz and David Harbour as Natasha and Yelena’s makeshift parents Melina Vostokoff and Alexei Shostakov. Pugh is fantastic in the role, which is to be expected — the young British actress tends to elevate basically any project in which she appears — but one has to wonder what Saoirse Ronan might have been like in the part as well.

The two performers are equally talented but distinctively different actors, which audiences know because the two worked together before either of them were publicly mentioned in the same breath as the «Black Widow» movie. Though Pugh was announced as a «Black Widow» lead in March 2019, she and Ronan had already finished filming Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of «Little Women» — which arrived in December of that same year. Pugh played the tempestuous, vain Amy March, while Ronan portrayed the headstrong, brilliant Jo March. The fact that Ronan passed on a role that eventually went to her on-screen sister is pretty interesting, and in the end, Pugh was a perfect pick for Yelena.

At this point, Henry Cavill is synonymous with DC. He famously played Superman in the now-defunct DCEU, last donning the red and blue in 2022’s «Black Adam.» Despite this, fans online have pitched the idea of Cavill taking on an MCU role for years. Based on the artwork by @spdrmnkyxxiii, Beast is a good choice for him, but it doesn’t seem he’d want to take it on. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in 2021, Cavill shared that if he were to join the MCU, he’d want to do so as a unique character. «I’m never going to say a Marvel character that is already being played by someone else because everyone’s doing such an amazing job,» he said.

Continuing, he explained that he’s seen the fan castings of him as Brian Braddock, aka Captain Britain, and he’s all for it. «I have the internet and I have seen the various rumors about Captain Britain and that would be loads of fun to do a cool, modernized version of that,» he told the publication, equating his vision for Captain Britain as similar to the MCU’s take on Captain America (Chris Evans). He’d like to tackle a more contemporary version of the character, and it’s hard to argue that the seasoned action star and Saint Helier, Jersey-born actor wouldn’t excel in the role.

With the Multiverse Saga still expanding in all directions, and Cavill’s tenure as Superman officially over, one can only hope he’ll get a chance to shine in the MCU eventually. That said, it could butt heads with Cavill’s plans to help bring Warhammer 40K to the big screen for the first time.

Word from David Ayer about the demise of «Suicide Squad» and his hope for a funeral screening seems somewhat surprising, especially given a hopeful post by the director on X, formerly known as Twitter, in August 2023. In the post, Ayer stressed the better quality of his director’s cut over the original. But he also seemed to understand how pursuing the release of the revamped film may not be a priority for DC Studios co-head James Gunn, who has rebooted the old DC Extended Universe and is starting anew with the DC Universe.

«All I know is my unseen film plays much better than the studio release,» Ayer said in the post. «The interest in my cut being shown seems real and organic. And Gunn told me it would have [its] time to be shared. He absolutely deserves to launch to launch his DC universe without more drama about old projects.»

If Gunn’s alleged promise doesn’t come to fruition and Ayer gets his wish for a private screening of «Suicide Squad,» it wouldn’t be unprecedented. After the studio shocked the filmmakers — if not the entire movie industry — by canceling the release of «Batgirl,» it was reportedly going to be screened by Warner Bros. for the movie’s cast and crew.

With Daisy Ridley returning for another Star Wars movie set after the sequel trilogy, some fans have been hoping that Adam Driver might also come back. Though Ben Solo dies at the end of «Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker,» his unique relationship with Rey as half of their Force dyad hasn’t been explored much. And you don’t even need to be part of a dyad to return as a Force ghost.

However, Adam Driver has emphasized that he’s not interested in working with Lucasfilm on another Star Wars project. In the same interview on the «SmartLess» podcast, he said he’s aware of the studio’s upcoming plans but isn’t involved. «They’re doing stuff … but not with me,» he said. «I’m not doing anything.» Though he didn’t give a reason — one isn’t necessary given his passion for other projects and his character’s death — Driver has spoken before about how stressful it can be to star in such a massive movie.

«When I watched the premiere, I felt sick to my stomach,» the actor told GQ in 2017, referring to when «The Force Awakens» was released. «The people behind me, when the scroll started, were like, ‘Oh my god. Oh my god. It’s happening.’ Immediately, I thought I was going to puke. I was holding my wife’s hand, and she’s like, ‘You’re really cold. Are you okay?’ Because I just knew what was coming — I kill Harrison — and I didn’t know how this audience of 2,000 people was going to respond to it, you know?»

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Vincent Gallo has been a polarizing figure in film for decades now, but the accusations against him regarding the auditions for «The Policeman» are still shocking. Perhaps the director’s biggest controversy besides this latest one was over his 2003 film «The Brown Bunny,» which stars Gallo and Chloë Sevigny. Once called «the worst movie in the history of the Cannes Film Festival» by legendary critic Roger Ebert (though he later redacted that review), the film, which tells the story of a motorcyclist reminiscing about the woman he loved, is nothing if not explicit — which is what makes it so controversial.

Sexually explicit films aren’t exactly novel, but «The Brown Bunny» features a scene where Sevigny and Gallo engage in an unsimulated sexual act. Sevigny has, over the years, defended the scene and overall film, calling it artistic, but in an age where actors are turning to intimacy coordinators more and more in order to feel safe, this is certainly a relic of troubling times past. Gallo’s currently alleged behavior on «The Policeman» used to be something that was kept behind closed doors; now that performers feel comfortable speaking out, it’s likely he’ll be held accountable for making actresses feel harassed and uncomfortable.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In some instances, biopics are more deeply scrutinized than other genres, owing to fans’ emotional investment in the subjects. That’s especially true of Amy Winehouse, whose downward spiral was extensively publicized and whose death still cuts deep. Following the release of the «Back to Black» trailer, Winehouse’s fans took to Reddit to voice their complaints in a subreddit simply titled «Ugh no.» One user, u/Upset-Lychee5038, wrote that the trailer «felt like a parody of Amy’s life» and found it «unsettling.» «The trailer grossed me out,» added u/sireneyesneverlie. «…Feels very exploitive.»

Still, fans agreed that Marisa Abela’s voice is the silver lining to an otherwise questionable project. The original poster conceded, «I did think [Abela] had Amy’s voice down pretty well though.» U/andjason4all concurred, writing, «The only thing I think Marisa nailed really good was Amy’s voice! It almost fooled me at the end of the trailer.»

It’s one thing to gain the approval of anonymous redditors, but more importantly, Abela impressed Winehouse’s former collaborators. «Amy’s original band got back together, and we all went into the recording studio,» Sam Taylor-Johnson continued to Empire. «Dale [Davis] was there, her bass guitarist, and Ade [Omotayo, singer], and we just all stood there and just went, ‘F***!’» Watching Abela embody Winehouse understandably elicited strong emotions in the group, who would come to set just to watch her perform. Added Taylor-Johnson, «It’s such a multi-layer of feelings for the people who were close to her and worked with her.»

Let’s get the most obvious and easiest fit for the iconic film star out of the way, first. Tom Cruise as Hal Jordan is a match made in comic book movie heaven.

As USAF pilot Hal «Highball» Jordan, Cruise would have plenty of time to fly around in the planes he loves before the story takes him out of the stratosphere. From there, Cruise could bring «Green Lantern» back to the light and become one of Sector 2814’s most beloved ring-slingers. But at 61, is he too old for the role? If reports of DCU plans are to be believed, he might be just the right age.

The upcoming Max series, «Lanterns,» is said to spotlight one of Earth’s other Green Lantern Corps members, John Stewart, with his predecessor, Jordan, hanging back as support. Sure, it might sound like a space-aged «Top Gun: Maverick» on the surface, but the heroes’ space opera setting would be enough to break away from overt comparisons.

More importantly, if specific story beats from «Green Lantern» history are applied, Cruise’s stint as the greatest Lantern of them all might be interrupted by the evil entity, Parallax. This would be an excellent opportunity for one of Hollywood’s biggest heroes to venture into the dark side and be a bad guy for a change.

There’s no shortage of «Mean Girls» hate online from people not realizing the movie is a musical. And that’s resulted in another common type of post: people who are dumbfounded by audiences who don’t do their research before going to see something. 

X user @mjarbo is curious whether the added attention could benefit the film: «I’m loving all the [TikToks] of people not realizing it was a musical. T[h]at kind of marketing will either hurt it or help it lol.» Others called out all the «Mean Girls» haters far more directly. On X, @XOEricDaDiva posted multiple clips from the trailers showcasing intricate dance choreography and characters singing. They further commented with a Google screenshot that classifies «Mean Girls» as a «Comedy/Musical.»

Even if audiences were unaware that «Mean Girls» had a Broadway adaptation, easy access to the internet means there’s an endless supply of information at most people’s fingertips. And @HarrisonCoffman thinks this whole thing says more about the general public than the movie itself: «Listen, #MeanGirls (and all musical films) should be advertised as musicals, but I’ve worked in the ticketing industry long enough to not feel an ounce of sympathy for someone who gets mad about the ticket they bought without doing an ounce of research on what they were buying.» 

Chalk this up as another case study of how people are somehow less informed in the digital age than ever. But maybe it’ll be good in the long run, encouraging viewers to do their due diligence before spending money on a movie ticket. 

The co-screenwriter of «Star Trek Generations» and its sequel «Star Trek: First Contact,» Brannon Braga, shared similar remarks about William Shatner’s desire to return as James Kirk in «The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams.» He stated that Shatner’s suggestion had the potential of cheapening the character’s death, something he wanted to avoid. «It would have been disastrous to kill Kirk in the first movie, and then bring him back in the second. It would have just been chintzy and would have taken away any kind of credibility we’d tried to establish,» said the screenwriter.

Shatner, however, suggested he was aware Kirk — or at least his version of the character — would not reappear in his 1998 «Biography» episode. He stated that he was contacted by Paramount executives, who explained they would not cast the first series’ stars in new projects following «Star Trek Generations» due to their age and high salaries. «They said, ‘We’re going to make movies with that [new] cast and we’re not going to use you guys anymore. ‘Cause, well, you guys are getting older, and top-heavy with salaries and we’re going to make a transitional movie. And so you can come and die or not,’» recalled Shatner with a laugh. 

The actor stated he chose the latter and requested a significant sequence focused on his character’s passing. «I decided to die. Pay was good. Tried to get a good scene in there, a dying scene,» said Shatner.

Whispers of a third «Top Gun» film appeared on the radar within days of the release of «Maverick.» Tom Cruise’s co-star, Miles Teller, even admitted to having brief chats with the iconic wingman following the film’s release. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the actor stated, «I’ve been having some conversations with him [Cruise] about it. We’ll see.»

Since then, Cruise has been busy riding bikes off of cliffs and climbing out of biplanes for his final «Mission: Impossible» movie, and he might still have some work to do there before he feels the need for speed again.

Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, «Mission: Impossible 8» halted production and had its release date pushed back from June 2024 to May 23, 2025. What that might mean for scheduling a third «Top Gun» film is unclear, but with both these movies and whatever mystery projects Cruise is lining up with Warner Bros. Discovery all on the star’s plate, there’s obviously a lot of work in Cruise’s immediate future.

Now, who’s up for some beach volleyball?