After being forced to sit out 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marvel Studios returned in a big way in 2021 by not only kicking off its run of Disney+ subscription-exclusive MCU TV shows, but also releasing four movies. The second of those movies was Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Simu Liu as the titular character. I certainly found Shang-Chi’s origin story to be an enjoyable watch, but four years after its release, an internet user made a comment about him that I’ve also been wondering about.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was both a critical and commercial success for Marvel, so there’s no question that this was one of the stronger debuts for an MCU character, especially post-Phase 3. And yet, as X user @brookstweetz so astutely put it:
It’s actually insane Shang Chi has been in NOTHING besides his movie
2025 TV schedule this October. But as far as the main MCU reality goes, i.e. the Sacred Timeline, yeah, I agree it is weird that the skilled martial artist and inheritor of the mystical ten rings previously wielded by his father has not popped up since then. That’s not to say the still-in-development Shang-Chi 2 needed to be released by now, but given Marvel’s habit of having leading superheroes from one project make supporting appearances or cameos in other projects, I can’t be faulted for thinking that Shang-Chi could have gotten the same treatment.
Simu Liu is part of the massive ensemble cast for next year’s Avengers: Doomsday, which has been filming in London since late April. Although Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ mid-credits scene teased that the rings are acting as a beacon for something, it’s unclear if that will be addressed in Doomsday. It also remains to be seen if Liu will also be present in Avengers: Secret Wars, as so far Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four are only confirmed characters for that movie.
Still, it’ll be nice to Shang-Chi back in action come December 18, 2026. It’s been far too long since we spent time with him in a live-action setting, and I look forward to seeing him fight alongside the Fantastic Four, Avengers, New Avengers and X-Men, among others. Meanwhile, Simu Liu’s next movie, the animated In Your Dreams, will become available to stream with a Netflix subscription starting on November 14.
Exhibition giant Cinemark posted strong second quarter revenue and earnings gains on the strength of its summer box office on Friday.
Overall revenue rose 28 percent year-over-year to $941 million, as admissions revenue jumped 27.7 percent to $467.1 million and concession revenue rose 29 percent to $377.7 million. Cinemark posted its biggest domestic Memorial Day weekend ever as tentpoles like Lilo & Stitch and Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning played at its multiplexes.
Cinemark also pointed to a nearly 16 percent increase in attendance to 57.9 million patrons during the three months to June 30, 2025 as other tentpoles like Thunderbolts, Sinners and How to Train Your Dragon passed through its theaters.
“Amid this positive trajectory, Cinemark’s execution stood out once again in the second quarter, with outperforming results that are indicative of our advantaged market position and the continued impact we are deriving from our strategic initiatives,” Sean Gamble, Cinemark’s president and CEO said in prepared remarks during a morning analyst call.
He also talked about plans to add more premium screens to Cinemark’s U.S. and Latin America circuits amid the Hollywood box office recovery. That includes a deal to add 20 high end ScreenX theaters via a partnership with South Korea’s CJ 4DPlex that followed the earlier installation of new D-BOX motion seat auditoriums.
“We continue to lean into growing the volume of upgrades we provide our guests that appeal to audiences who want a further enhanced and differentiated experience,” Gamble told analysts about his company’s individually branded PLF screens.
Asked to discuss a recent media report that Cinemark and rival mega exhibitors were in early discussions about launching a joint premium large format brand to compete against the giant screen experience offered by Imax, Gamble told analysts: “There are numerous fantastic PLF experiences that are available to movie goers across the U.S. and around the world, including Imax, which is a tremendous experience.”
“Clearly, when the industry conversations about PLF have taken place, which aren’t new, by the way, they’ve largely been focused on how to most effectively market all large screen formats to grow the pie and unlock incremental upside, not as a challenge to Imax in general,” Gamble added.
His comments come against the backdrop of Imax riding the premium gold rush at the local multiplex by continuing to roll out Hollywood movies shot with Imax cameras, and backed by the marketing muscle of the major studios. Gamble argued the industry needed to market all premium screen formats, and not get hung up on the competitive challenge from Imax.
“It really boils down to the particular theater, the size of the screen, the market, what’s in the market, the demographics, all those things in terms of what’s the optimal path to choose one (PLF) versus another,” he told analysts. Talk of PLF screens is complicated by mega circuits like Cinemark having their own individually branded PLFs, as well as operating Imax screens and and emerging formats ScreenX and 4DX.
The second quarter financial results came as Cinemark, the third-largest theater circuit in the U.S. behind AMC Theatres and Regal Entertainment Group, continues to recover at the box office coming out of the pandemic and possibly return to pre-COVID levels of releases. Getting there will be helped by new players like Apple and Amazon MGM Studios, as well as independent studios like A24 and Neon, adding more to the overall Hollywood movie pipeline.
Gamble cited the successful recent box office for the Formula One movie F1 being a major theatrical win for Apple Original Films and distribution partner Warner Bros. But he also pointed to no movement as yet by Netflix to grow its occasional short theatrical runs for movie titles: “We don’t have any awareness of their plans to shift gears at this stage.”
Gamble also talked up possible mergers and acquisitions activity to continue growing his company’s market share, indicating Cinemark was actively in the market kicking tires with an eye to potential deal making. “It boils down to what opportunities are out there and what are high confidence types of potential M&A situations,” he argued.
If you love all the best fantasy movies that are out there, then I’m sure you’re probably a fan of Harry Potter. The franchise has been expanding throughout the years, ever since the end of the Harry Potter movies. Now, it feels like it’s bigger than ever.
From a new theme park opening up to plans for more stores in the future to a whole new television show, here is what is new – and upcoming – in the Wizarding World that youhave to look forward to, my Potterheads.
(Image credit: Harry Potter Shop YouTube Channel)
A New Harry Potter Store Opened In Chicago (April 2025)
With the opening of Epic Universe, a new land for the Wizarding World was unveiled to the public in May 2025, with its theme centered on the Ministry of Magic.
If you aren’t aware, the Wizarding World has two sections in two of the existing Universal parks. The first, located in Islands of Adventure, is themed around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. The second, which is in Universal Orlando, is themed around Diagon Alley.
Now, the new section lies between different Ministries of Magic, focusing on aspects related to 1920s Paris, where the Forbidden Beasts films were set, and, of course, the British Ministry of Magic, which we are all well aware of. The section of Epic Universe is now open to the public.
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
official Harry Potter website, a new shop for the franchise will be opening in Harajuku, Japan, in August 2025.
This does make sense, as there isa section of the Wizarding World at Universal Studios Japan, so I could see why they would be opening one there. While the Harajuku store will be a large one, there will also be another Harry Potter store reopening, which will be labeled as Harry Potter Akasaka.
What a time to be a Harry Potter fan across the globe.
Tom Felton is actually going to be back as Draco Malfoy, this time in the Broadway stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, for a several-month run, November 2025 – May 2026. The news was confirmed by the Harry Potter official website.
Honestly, out of the entire Harry Potter cast, Tom Felton has shared his love of the franchise so much, and it makes perfect sense for him to return in the role that really made him big. Tickets are already on sale, and fans are eager to see.
the Harry Potter website. The following two books are scheduled for release in February 2026.
Harry Potter is getting a TV adaptation this time around, and it’s been making some serious headway. The series will premiere on HBO and is set to be a faithful adaptation of the Harry Potter books that we all know and love. Production has begun, and we know that it will be released at some point in 2027, according to the Harry Potter official website.
The cast has been set. There’s a new trio of kids that are all adorable, and several stars are set to play memorable characters. Some standout casting already is Nick Frost as Hagrid, and the incomparable John Lithgow as Dumbledore. We still don’t know who will be playing Voldemort yet, so we have that to anticipate.
Deadline in January 2025.
The show’s first season was hosted by the Phelps twins (Oliver and James, who played Fred and George) and featured several contestants trying to make Harry Potter-themed baking dishes in order to win a significant prize. The series was a success, and it’s no surprise that it’s coming back for a second season. We don’t have an exact date yet, but we’ll be sure to update this as soon as we do.
What a time to be a Harry Potter lover, huh? I think it’s time to have a Harry Potter movie marathon once again.
(Left) Steven Knight attends the ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ New York special screening at Paris Theater on October 30, 2023 in New York City. Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Netflix. (Right) Daniel Craig in ‘No Time To Die’. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures.
Preview:
‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight is the write the next Bond movie.
Denis Villeneuve is in the director’s chair.
There’s still no word on a new Bond.
The pieces appear to be quickly falling into place for the new James Bond outing, the first since stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson formally handed creative control to Amazon MGM Studios.
We already know that ‘Dune’ director Denis Villeneuve will be the filmmaker charged with bringing 007 back to screens following the effective slate wipe that was Daniel Craig’s final outing, ‘No Time to Die’.
Now, Deadline reports that Steven Knight, creator of TV drama ‘Peaky Blinders’ and writer of movies including ‘Locke’, ‘Eastern Promises’ and ‘Maria’, has taken the scripting job.
“The mission that changes everything begins…”
Knight is a fascinating choice –– while he has produced some truly great (and occasionally Oscar-nominated) work, he’s also had a few whiffs, such as ‘Serenity’ and ‘Locked Down’. But he is certainly an interesting person to work alongside Villeneuve on Bond.
Related Article: Why Denis Villeneuve Is A Solid Choice To Direct The New Bond Movie
Steven Knight talks the Bond gig
(L to R) Cillian Murphy and Steven Knight are reunited on set as production officially starts on the upcoming Netflix film.
Interviewed on BBC Radio 5 about the new job, Knight had this to say:
“It has always been on my bucket list, and it’s fantastic to be invited to do it — I can’t wait to get started. I’m hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that’s the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.”
He also admitted that he had no idea why producer Amy Pascal wanted to meet him until the big announcement that she and ‘Harry Potter’ veteran David Heyman would be shepherding Amazon MGM’s Bond efforts:
“I very quickly discovered what it was about and became very excited and hopeful. And then the process is…you do some meetings, you discuss some ideas, and then you find out you’ve got it. I found out a while ago, but it was announced last night, which is great. It’s a high pressure job, but you’ve just got to do what you do, do it as well as you can.”
That’s the next big question that fans are looking to answer.
We’ve had a wealth of names speculated about since Craig hung up his holster and downed his last martini (and, er –– spoiler alert for ‘No Time to Die’ –– let’s not forget was blown up by a missile).
In that time the likes of Idris Elba, Theo James, Richard Madden, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Henry Cavill have all been mooted, with Tom Holland, Harris Dickinson and Jacob Elordi among the current crop of candidates.
Yet the main name in the mix seems to be Aaron Pierre, who has impressed in ‘The Underground Railroad’, ‘Foe’ and particularly ‘Rebel Ridge’ where he proved his action/drama chops.
Pierre will next be seen in DC/HBO series ‘Lanterns’.
When will the new Bond movie be on screens?
With Villeneuve currently busy preparing to make the third ‘Dune’ outing (that one is scheduled for December 16th, 2026), we wouldn’t expect to see a new Bond much before 2027 at the earliest.
Some films scare me, and then some movies horrify me, and one of those just happens to be Hereditary. For years, I’ve praised this film as one of the best horror movies out there, and I still fully believe that. I think when it comes to both of Ari Aster’s horror films – Hereditary and Midsommar – you really can’t get much scarier than that.
However, for some reason, I decided to torture myself one day and rewatch Hereditary. It had been some time since I last saw the film, and since Aster has announced he’s working on another horror movie (according to The Big Picture podcast), revisiting the one I enjoyed so much would be a fun experience. Surprisingly, the scene I thought would gross me out and scare me this time around didn’t – it was a completely different scene.
(Image credit: A24)
The Ending Scene Used To Be What Did Me In, But Now, Peter’s Seizure At The School Is What Made Me Turn Away
Hereditary ending is honestly the part that scared me the most. Ironically, Charlie’s beheading didn’t really get me this time around. I think mainly because that scene has become so prominent within the horror community that I’m desensitized to it.
by gross Walking Dead deaths or maybe gruesome deaths on Game of Thrones, but this one – it was so violent, and wicked, and terrifying that it stuck with me for a couple of days. Each time I sat at a table, there it was.
upcoming horror movies to look forward to, as well as some new upcoming horror TV shows. But I think Hereditary is always going to have a place in my horror-loving heart – and it now has a new king of terror when it comes to its movie scenes.
Opening in theaters on August 1st is ‘The Bad Guys 2’, DreamWorks Animation’s sequel to the 2022 original, with Pierre Perifel back directing and JP Sans as co-director for this one.
The returning voice cast includes Sam Rockwell (‘Moon’), Marc Maron (‘The Order’), Craig Robinson (‘This is the End’) and Awkwafina (‘Crazy Rich Asians’) with new recruits including Natasha Lyonne (‘Poker Face’), Danielle Brooks (‘Peacemaker’) and Maria Bakalova (‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’).
Related Article: San Diego Comic-Con 2025: ‘The Bad Guys 2’ Steals Attention at Hall H
DreamWorks Animation is not a company to let a successful first movie get away without spawning a franchise. We’ve had swathes of ‘Kung Fu Panda’ outings, various ‘Madagascar’ entries (plus spin-offs) and numerous ‘Shrek’ films –– another is on the way next year.
Of course, then, ‘The Bad Guys’, which managed to delight family audiences in 2022 when the box office was still feeling the lingering ill effects of the pandemic, is back for another go-around.
And fortunately, this one is a largely positive catch-up with some very entertaining characters that has a few flaws here and there, but overall works.
The screenplay for animated movies is always a moveable feast, with ideas dropped in or ripped out at the storyboard and even animatic stage. This movie’s script comes courtesy of Yoni Brenner (a veteran of the ‘Rio’ and ‘Ice Age’ franchises), Etan Cohen (‘Holmes & Watson’), both taking loose inspiration from the ‘Bad Guys’ kids’ books by Aaron Blabey.
We’re re-introduced to our animal crooks with a prologue set during the height of their heisting days for a fun sequence that mashes up the likes of the ‘Fast & the Furious’ films with ‘Mission: Impossible’ as the team steals a priceless car from a billionaire (Omid Djalili).
From there, we head to the present day, where the lifestyle of Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell) and the rest is far from glamorous –– they’re struggled to make ends meet as they continue their quest to live a legal life. A chance to help track down a new criminal threat is curtailed when they’re blackmailed by a team of even sneakier crooks into pulling off (you guessed it!) one last job.
‘The Bad Guys 2’s story moves along at a decent enough clip, though it does suffer from pacing issues, going from frenetic action moments to long-winded bouts of exposition that are largely carried by the vocal work.
Still, once the true mission of the “Bad Girls” is revealed, things certainly take off.
Directorially, Pierre Perifel and his artists largely keep what worked about the original, with a winning blend of animation styles that calls to mind the ‘Spider-Verse’ movies without directly aping it. When you consider that the first ‘Bad Guys’ shifted how DreamWorks handles the look of (some of) its output, it’s easy to see why they chose to stay in that lane.
The vocal work on the movie is once again solid, with Rockwell in particular delivering his trademark charm as Mr. Wolf. He pairs well with a returning Zazie Beetz, who is his equal as Diane Foxington, the reformed criminal-turned-governor. The pair shares the most flirtatious animated dynamic since Disney’s ‘Robin Hood’.
Elsewhere, the other “Bad Guys” get a decent amount to do, with Marc Maron’s Mr. Snake handed the best storyline –– his romance that turns out to have a connection to the Bad Girls is always entertaining, and his work opposite Natasha Lyonne as his paramour is great.
Other new arrivals fare perhaps less well; Danielle Brooks is fine as Kitty Kat, the mastermind behind the other criminal crew, while Maria Bakalova is largely left to be support as hench-pig Pigtail (though she’s still good value).
It might not hit the heights of the first movie, but ‘The Bad Guys 2’ is a decent follow-up to that movie, with a fresh new dynamic that largely sidesteps the repetitive pitfalls of sequels.
And while there is comedy competition at the box office, its family target should equal a solid launch.
“Back in badness.”
Showtimes & Tickets
The now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good, but instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, globe-trotting heist, masterminded by… Read the Plot
What’s the story of ‘The Bad Guys 2’?
Featuring the return of the crackerjack crew of animal outlaws, the now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good.
Yet they instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, globe-trotting heist, masterminded by a new team of criminals they never saw coming: The Bad Girls.
