Alongside an amazing new image of Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy hanging upside-down in New York City, the team behind Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse has confirmed that a new trailer will be released on December 13, 2022.

The image was released as part of a Tweet that simply said, "A new view from across the #SpiderVerse coming 12.13."

A new view from across the #SpiderVerse coming 12.13 pic.twitter.com/fPK7WVuavK

— Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (@SpiderVerse) December 3, 2022

While this is hardly the first time Miles or Gwen have hung upside-down, it does bring to mind the iconic "leap of faith" scene from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse where Miles jumps off a tall building in the city and it looks as though he is rising towards it.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will swing its way into theaters on June 2, 2023, and it seeks to 'wow' audiences with six major art styles.

Three of these include one from Earth-50101 that is based on an Indian comic book look, another from Spider-Man 2099's Nueva York that is based on a Syd Mead-style idea of what the future could look like, and the third is a watercolor style on Gwen's Earth-65.

For more, check out our breakdown of the film's first trailer, how Spider-Verse 2's villain is "one of the deepest cuts in Spider-Man's Rogues gallery," and a merch leak that appears to confirm a major Spider-Variant.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The first poster for DC's Blue Beetle movie starring Xolo Maridueña as Jamie Reyes has been revealed at CCXP 2022.

The poster, which you can see below, features the alien scarab that gives Reyes his powers and allows him to become the Blue Beetle.

Blue Beetle is DC Films' first superhero movie to star a Latino character and follows Reyes, who will be the third character to take on the Blue Beetle Mantle in the film's universe.

Blue Beetle was originally developed for HBO Max, but it was then shifted to a theatrical release and will now premiere on August 18, 2023. We still don't know too much about the movie, but we did get a look at concept art for the live-action Blue Beetle suit.

We also know that Academy Award-winner Susan Sarandon has replaced Sharon Stone and will play Victoria Kord, a new character that will serve as the villain of Blue Beetle. Joining Maridueña and Sarandon will be Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Harvey Guillén, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Damián Alcázar, and Raoul Max Trujillo.

Blue Beetle was one of the projects that were deemed safe after Batgirl's cancellation alongside multiple James Gunn projects. Speaking of Gunn, that particular piece of news was announced even before it was revealed that Gunn and Peter Safran would be leading DC Films as co-CEOs.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Margot Robbie's female-led Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff might still be afloat according to franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Last month, Robbie told Vanity Fair that the film was dead at Disney; now, Bruckheimer is walking back the star's comments. In an interview with Collider, Bruckheimer said that the fate of the female-led film is certainly not a foregone conclusion.

“I think that that script will come forward at a certain point,” Bruckheimer said. “We developed two different stories for ‘Pirates’ and the other one’s going forward first, so that’s what we’re working on, to try to get that one made.”

Bruckheimer explained that a different upcoming Pirates project was written simultaneously to the female-led film, but they ultimately decided to put Robbie's film on the back burner as they continue production on the other film.

Not much is known about the upcoming sixth movie, but Ted Elliott and Craig Mazin are attached to write the script together. Elliott previously wrote the scripts for the first four Pirates movies, and Mazin is renowned for his work as the creator of the Chernobyl miniseries.

Robbie's female-led Pirates movie was first announced in the summer of 2020 alongside Elliott and Mazin's reboot. In June 2020, it was confirmed that Robbie would star in the film written by Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson.

Back in May, Bruckheimer confirmed to the Sunday Times that both Pirates projects were still in development at the time. "Yes. We’re talking to Margot Robbie. We are developing two ‘Pirates’ scripts — one with her, one without," he explained. "[Will Johnny Depp be back?] Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided.”

When speaking to Vanity Fair last month, Robbie said: “We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led — not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story — which we thought would’ve been really cool. But I guess they don’t want to do it.”

So, it's still entirely possible that Robbie's movie will hit screens at some point. When that will be and if it will ever come to fruition is only a question time can answer.

Carson Burton is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @carsonsburton.

An injection of horror ensures Christmastime stays interesting. Spike the cocoa, dim the lights, and cuddle around the warming glow of the smart TV you pried from another Black Friday shopper’s mittens for a festive movie night — but ditch Rudolph and that cavity-creepy elf. Why not welcome the darker side of Saint Nick’s toy sack into your life?

Frightfully festive tales dare to challenge shopaholic norms of manufactured cheerfulness draped by overpriced tinsel and frosted snow-white. Horror and Christmas blend with decadence like liquid chocolate and mini marshmallows; a sinful delight. More terror lurks than you think under mistletoes or wrapped by hedonistic helpers. Why not stay safely ho-ho-home for the holidays, or chance sledding into one of the Christmas demons below better trapped on your viewing screens?

If you're not feeling holly jolly, you can check out the best modern horror movies and our pick for the best horror movie of 2021. (Don't worry, the best horror movie of 2022 is coming soon!)

The Day of the Beast

Álex de la Iglesia blends Spanish and Italian horror influences into The Day of the Beast, a 1995 Christmas horror curveball that throws everything but the kitchen sink at audiences. A sinning priest, a metalhead Satanist, and an occult TV show host must band together to prevent the Antichrist's birth. It's wacky, darkly comedic, and filled with hellscapes that boast demonic costumes and wild practical effects. De la Iglesia is known for his extravagant horror concepts, and I'd say a blasphemous buddy comedy about an apocalyptic atypical holiday quest fits the bill.

Deadly Games

René Manzor's Deadly Games (aka Game Over, aka Dial Code Santa Claus, aka 3615 code Père Noël, aka Hide and Freak) was Home Alone before Home Alone ever premiered. The only reason you don't know that is because Deadly Games was stuck in US distribution purgatory until a few years ago. A tech-wiz child obsessed with action movies like Rambo must defend himself on Christmas Eve from a deranged home invader dressed as Santa. There's an emotional oomph behind the kiddo's violent holiday as he fights the madman alone (sans an ailing grandpa), setting elaborate traps throughout his family's mansion. Deadly Games is also frequently comical and thrilling, as the war-painted youth is forced to confront the bleakest realities. It's all just a game to psycho Santa — the most unnerving part.

Silent Night (2012)

Here’s a scalding holiday horror take — Steven C. Miller’s Silent Night is better than Charles Sellier Jr.’s Silent Night, Deadly Night by the slightest length of a pine needle. It’s a despicably naughty slasher that drips with Christmastime decor and repulsive massacres, one of the “last” of its kind by post-2012 horror standards. It’s got everything on your wish list, from Malcolm McDowell shouting about avocado on hamburgers to flamethrowers for chest-and-nut roasts. From mounted antler trophy callbacks to fresh expressions of violence like a poor soul’s run in with a tree farm’s woodchipper. Miller hits on all cylinders in this remake that stands well on its own, empowered by a disinterest in playing nice even by usual horror fan expectations. It’s not a stocking stuffer; it’s the whole present.

Jack Frost

Jack Frost is Child’s Play but with chemicals instead of voodoo incantations and a murderous snowman instead of a killer doll. You’ll recognize a pre-American Pie Shannon Elizabeth in Michael Cooney’s bastardization of Frosty the Snowman, as the titular Jack offs townsfolk in a host of goofily fatal ways. Maybe you’re hugged to death in the shower or strangled by colored Christmas lights before choking on ornament shards. Jack Frost continues his serial spree in Snowmonton, USA — sporting his new frigid form — voiced by Scott MacDonald as channeled through Freddy Kruger and Chucky. Though it’s not exactly appropriate content for the whole family, it scores midnighter points because humor isn’t hidden or ignored — the situation deals more with snickers than seriousness.

Silent Night (2021)

Newer to the holiday horror canon is Camille Griffin’s Silent Night, a sudsy soirée about friends sharing Christmas spirits before the end of humanity. Guests debate whether Mother Earth is finally revolting or the Russians have enacted their master apocalypse plan, but our civilization’s fate is inevitable — toxic gas will engulf each nation. The UK lasts until Christmas, granting characters played by Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and more one last December celebration. Partiers sip on bubbly and debate the ethics of their government’s issued suicide pills to spare “inevitable” agony, as the countdown clock creates enough social distortion to broil a little tension between companions. It’s a twisted take on dinner parties from Hell, marked by themes that go down with an unnerved giggle since Griffin’s command over snark and suspense is tight as a noose.

A Christmas Horror Story

A Christmas Horror Story stands above all other Christmas horror anthologies because of its commitment to unrelenting darkness. William Shatner narrates and serves as our wraparound host playing “Dangerous Dan,” an alcoholic radio DJ whose smooth voice weaves in and out of four chilling chapters. Changelings infiltrate families, abused ghosts possess schoolgirls, and Santa (George Buza) fights zombie elves before squaring off with the professional wrestling version of Krampus (Rob Archer). I don’t want to oversell the “good versus evil” battle that takes place when musclebound Krampus starts swinging his chain in front of a grimacing Santa, but it’s a knockdown jingle brawl. There’s a fortunate amount of grim tidings packed into each segment, all culminating into a psychotic break that sells the macabre vulnerability allowed by Christmas horror catharsis.

Better Watch Out

If you’ve avoided Better Watch Out spoilers thus far, I suggest you stop reading this entry and return once you’ve watched Chris Peckover’s babysitter thriller. There’s a sitter crush (Olivia DeJonge), a lovestruck out-of-his-league boy (Levi Miller), and said boy’s dopey best friend (Ed Oxenbould). The hot lifeguard from Stranger Things (Dacre Montgomery) pops in for some backyard antics. There’s also bloodshed, devious intentions, and cruel Home Alone myth busting that proves traps are much more destructive in reality. I don’t want to reveal much more beyond adoration of the performances at hand — The hows and whys are better left for first experiences.

Anna and the Apocalypse

Has there ever been a more perfect Scottish zombie musical set around Christmas than Anna and the Apocalypse? John McPhail’s seasonal addiction gives a middle finger to High School Musical sugarcoating and pummels the undead as Anna (Ella Hunt) sing-smashes her way through a winter wonderland of zombies. The soundtrack is incredibly catchy from “Hollywood Ending” to “Soldier At War,” while horror elements don’t skimp on ferocity or seesaw beheadings. It captures the hopelessness when holiday cheer mocks around every corner, but not without tapping into later feelings of joy that surge past cynicism. It’s ultimately a feel-good flick that doesn’t lie about the world’s ugliness, presented as one of the more uniquely ambitious horror films — Christmastime or not — since release.

Krampus

You can’t talk about Christmas horror without Michael Dougherty’s Krampus. The wicked whimsy of WETA Workshop’s deviant playthings — snarling teddy bears, Jack-In-The-Box fiends that devour children as anacondas would — helps build Dougherty’s yuletide prison of a universe. The madman behind Trick ‘r Treat proves equally proficient at capturing Christmas’ prominent concerns, from consumerism to obnoxious extended family members. A cast including Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner defend themselves against elvish hordes and gingerbread ninjas, as childhood memories turn sour during Krampus’ invasion. The essence of holiday wholesomeness becomes a lesson for those who’ve taken so much for granted, all before an ending snow globe tease that should have given us at least three more sequels by now. What is it about studios not permitting Dougherty the chance to create franchise legacies when they’re so deserved?

The Nightmare Before Christmas

What's this? Stop motion? Jack Skellington? The Nightmare Before Christmas might be kid-friendly, but that doesn't lessen horror influences spilling from Oogie Boogie's burlap booty. There's a sweetness to Jack's uniting of fears and figgy pudding, because everyone deserves to experience Santa's magic at least once. There's also poignance to overall themes of living outside classifiable boxes. The Nightmare Before Christmas is goth-grandiose art design that's become famous throughout pop culture for a reason, along with Danny Elfman's vocal performance as just one of many singers throughout the cast of spooky-silly creations. This one is for the whole family and should be shared no matter what the time of year.

Black Christmas (1974)

Bob Clark — one of the grandfathers of the modern slasher — helped cultivate a genre movement. Black Christmas perfects a stalk-and-stab template to be replicated until human extinction, and yet it’s hardly been outshone. Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and Marian Waldman occupy a sorority house with terrified sisters and caretakers who generate gallons of transmittable fear. Deaths are more about innocence erased than how corpses are gored, because “Billy’s” peering through peepholes or perverse phone calls are always the scariest sounds and sights. It’s Christmas, daughters won’t be coming home to their parents, and no one can determine why — that’s all Black Christmas needs to become genre royalty. A classic case of triumphant execution because every good horror movie starts with an airtight narrative, and that’s a lesson more filmmakers should remember.

Gremlins

Gremlins is the pinnacle of holiday horror in the way charming puppetry animates a gremlin takeover that cackles, reigns anarchy, and chaotically translates cartoonish glee to live-action molds. Gizmo the Mogwai is everyone’s favorite pet they’ll never own; the green-speckled, scaly gremlins are hijinx masters from barroom takeovers to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs mumble-alongs. Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates naturally engage with their prop co-stars, the same way that Joe Dante brings mischievous rubber figures to life through special effects. Gizmo steals your heart with each wide-eyed grin, and Cates demolishes your soul thanks to the most heartbreaking Christmas monolog because Gremlins isn’t only about yucks. It’s endlessly enjoyable, yet never to be underestimated as Chris Columbus’ slicker horror narrative overpowers jokier highlights.

Also check out: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? You voted and the verdict is in.

Spoiler Alert debuts in theaters on Dec. 2, 2022.

In a year of movies about movies (Bardo, The Fabelmans, Empire of Light, and so on), it’s almost refreshing to get one nominally about ’80s sitcoms, even though it’s really about TV journalist Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) telling the story of his late photographer husband, Kit Cowan (Ben Aldridge), who died from cancer in 2015. Then again, Spoiler Alert is only really “about” television in the most passing sense, with brief and tenuous connections made between Michael’s perspective on his field, and his approach to real life. Parsons narrates the story, which slips into sitcom-esque flashbacks on occasion — single-camera with a laugh track seems to be the lens through which Michael views his own life — but director Michael Showalter is seldom interested in telling this tragic romance with much flair or emotional allure.

The result is a deeply plain movie that, though it has a warm and welcome palette, features great performances, and captures the outward shape of a relationship, has very little else to offer.

The title makes little sense when shortened from that of Ausiello’s memoir (“Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies”), but its opening scene fills in the missing gap, showing Michael laying with a terminally ill Kit on his last day alive. The rest of the movie chronicles the 14 years leading up to this moment, casting a dark and unavoidable cloud over its central relationship. Michael, a timid wallflower, reluctantly accompanies his coworker to a gay bar, where he meets the sweet and sexy Kit. A mismatch on paper, they strike an immediate and adorable chord, but the actors rarely have physical chemistry despite their numerous intimate scenes. Part of the blame falls on Showalter, who captures sex and even kissing with a stilted, distant hand — rarely has a queer film felt so safe and conventional — but Parsons and Cowan have enough by way of upbeat energy to sell at least some semblance of a dynamic between Michael and Kit.

It's difficult to gauge who either of them are as people beyond their interactions. Michael has a collection of Smurfs memorabilia that’s played for laughs, but neither man’s perspective — as a journalist and photographer respectively — seem to inform their worldview, and little about their dialogue or behavior suggests they have any kind of depth or history beyond the immediate circumstances of a scene. This is especially unfortunate given the vulnerability both actors put on display, bringing their characters’ respective insecurities to the fore (Kit is still closeted; Michael is afraid he’ll leave him for someone better).

However, Spoiler Alert is concerned, first and foremost, with fitting all 14 years of Ausiello’s tale into its 112-minute runtime. So, while the highs of Michael and Kit’s relationship have just enough spark to be convincing, the lows play more like boxes checked off for the sake of fidelity. This includes extended periods where they’re forced to work through their issues in couple’s therapy, but it’s all reduced to a head-scratching rom com montage that gives their most rigorous and defining romantic moments a mere passing glance.

When they’re visited by Kit’s high-strung parents (Sally Field and Bill Irwin), the situation is mildly awkward until Kit is forced to come out to them, but compared to Showalter’s The Big Sick — which was about the friction between the main character and his future in-laws — Spoiler Alert frames even this vital drama as a gag to be swept under the rug with a quickness. There certainly needn’t be a binary choice between “comedy” and “drama” (The Big Sick deftly blended the two), but Michael and Kit’s story is frequently reduced to the former for most of its chronology.

When things finally get more serious — which is to say, when Kit receives his diagnosis, and when his condition eventually worsens — the movie has no choice but to let the circumstances speak for themselves. The performances elevate the story just beyond the realm of Showalter’s dull non-embellishments, if only for him to find a sprinkle of late third-act panache when it’s least dramatically appropriate, robbing the film’s most touching moments of their power in the process.

Spoiler Alert is just about saved by its cast, especially Parsons and Aldridge. But it’s hard to avoid wondering what kind of work they might have done in the hands of a better director, one capable of molding their physical and emotional dynamic into something deeply felt — rather than simply seen — so that losing it might feel more meaningful.

We’re blasting off once again, as James Gunn reassembles the Guardians of the Galaxy for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The long-awaited-threequel is pitched to round off this cosmic roster of rag-tag rogues, and thanks to the first trailer, we've gotten our first real look at Chukwudi Iwuji's High Evolutionary (not counting the time Ikuji showed up at SDCC 2022 in costume!)

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’s Chukwudi Iwuji appeared as High Evolutionary and crashed the Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/sytaSo8wxi

— IGN (@IGN) July 24, 2022

Fans already knew Iwuji would have a part to play in Vol. 3, with reports indicating he’d appear in the film as a “deeply complex” and “extremely powerful” addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following in the footsteps of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Living Tribunal and Thor: Love and Thunder’s Eternity, this cosmic character from the MCU is a welcome addition. But just who is the High Evolutionary? Let's break down his history and the role he's playing in this upcoming Phase 5 film.

Who Is the High Evolutionary?

Back when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 started casting, many thought the Vol. 2 post-credits tease of Adam Warlock meant the character was the villain of the movie. But now it seems the High Evolutionary, who started off as an obscure Thor foe, will be stepping up as this movie’s de facto big bad.

Introduced in 1966’s The Mighty Thor #133 and #134, the High Evolutionary is also known as Herbert Edgar Wyndham. A scientist with a great interest in, you guessed it, evolution, Wyndham’s mission in life is to artificially accelerate mankind’s evolution.

Who Will Play the High Evolutionary in the MCU?

As noted above, Peacemaker’s Chukwudi Iwuji will play the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In addition to Peacemaker, the Nigerian-British actor has appeared in The Split, Proof, The Underground Railroad, John Wick: Chapter 2, and many other shows and movies.

The High Evolutionary: Powers

The High Evolutionary, who as noted is super into, you know, evolution, has evolved his intellect to the highest point possible for a human. He's a scientist with a mastery of everything from biology to physics to computers. (Yes, he's even an ace IT guy.) He can, among other abilities, evolve and de-evolve other beings, has superhuman strength and durability, can manipulate reality on a subatomic level, has mental powers like telepathy and telekinesis, and can even operate on a cosmic level. He also has an exoskeleton suit that provides protection and can help heal him if he's wounded.

What the Heck Is Counter-Earth?

The first Guardians Vol. 3 trailer opens with the team making another trip to Earth, following up on Drax and Mantis’ last field trip in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. However, something is clearly wrong with this world, and it quickly becomes clear the Guardians aren’t on Earth at all, but Counter-Earth.

Counter-Earth is the High Evolutionary’s other signature creation. This artificial replica of Earth is meant to be a paradise where Wyndham can pursue his unholy experiments, free from the prying eyes and pesky morals of humanity. Counter-Earth is an almost exact mirror of the regular Earth. It even orbits on the exact opposite side of the Sun. The twist is that time moves very differently on Counter-Earth, allowing Wyndham to speed up his evolutionary experiments.

This is also where Will Poulter’s character Adam Warlock comes in. In the comics, the High Evolutionary uses the Soul Stone to help build his new world. After Counter-Earth becomes corrupted by the Man-Beast, one of Wyndham’s rogue experiments, the High Evolutionary bestows the Soul Stone onto Adam Warlock and tasks him with liberating Counter-Earth.

Guardians Vol. 2 teased the debut of Adam Warlock, and it’s probably safe to assume this cosmic messiah is closely tied to the High Evolutionary in the MCU. He may even have been created by Wyndham for Ayesha and the Sovereign. But again, we’ll see just how much of the source material makes the jump to the big screen. Don’t forget that the Soul Stone was already destroyed along with the rest of the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Endgame. Guardians Vol. 3 may have to do some serious tinkering where Adam Warlock is concerned.

An X-Men Connection

The comics tell us that the High Evolutionary took an interest in the works of Nathaniel Essex - better known as X-Men villain Mister Sinister - but he took things even further.

Much like Essex, Wyndham wanted to perfect human genetics through experimentation, meaning he inadvertently created a race of talking animals called the New Men in his “citadel of science” that was placed in Wundagore. Tying back to the MCU, Mount Wundagore was a major point of interest in Multiverse of Madness, and where we last saw Wanda Maximoff before she may or may not have died (she’s totally not dead, come on). After being abandoned by partner Doctor Jonathan Drew (father of Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman), Wyndham gave himself a suit of silver armor to protect him from werewolves (comics!). This gave the character his signature supervillain look (which Iwuji showcased a variation of at SDCC). The High Evolutionary dubbed his experiments the Knights of Wundagore, and used them to ensure the demonic god Chthon was trapped there (that’s a Wanda Maximoff connection right there).

The High Evolutionary and the Scarlet Witch

The character does have a variety of ties to familiar characters in the MCU. Eventually, he was revealed to be the puppet master behind Pietro and Wanda Maximoff’s getting their powers in the comics. The movie franchise has established that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch gained their abilities via the Mind Stone and experimentation done by Hydra, but this could still be retconned to include the High Evolutionary.

That said, it seems likely the High Evolutionary of Vol. 3 will connect to Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) and her people the Sovereign, who we first met on the big screen in Vol. 2. His evolutionary skills could connect to Ayesha’s creation of Adam Warlock (not to mention any possible revenge plot she might have against the Guardians). Speaking of…

The Adam Warlock Connection

Back in the comics, having had enough with our Earth, the High Evolutionary established Counter-Earth with the New Men, and then bestowed the Soul Stone to Adam Warlock. But with the Infinity Stones seemingly destroyed in the main canon of the MCU, we’ll have to wait and see whether Gunn has adapted this aspect of Warlock’s origin story.

Eventually, the enormously powerful cosmic beings the Beyonders eventually tricked Warlock into murdering the High Evolutionary. With Secret Wars just announced as the current endgame of Phases 4, 5, and 6, this could be a significant fact to remember since the Beyonders were a key part of that comics storyline. Could the High Evolutionary stick around for several phases before buying it at the hands of Warlock in that sure-to-be epic?

Of course, in typical style, death was only temporary. Later issues saw the High Evolutionary try to take over Earth and catch the attention of the Avengers. A super-evolved Hercules was sent to stop him, which again could tie to the post-credits tease of Zeus’ son in Thor: Love and Thunder. Hercules and the High Evolutionary eventually evolved themselves out of existence and were imprisoned by the Celestials. More recently, he battled Ultron and Phalanx warriors who wanted to seize Warlock for themselves. Although it looked like Warlock perished, his consciousness lived on and the High Evolutionary knew he’d survive to lead the “new” Guardians of the Galaxy. Given that Gunn said this is “probably” the last time we’ll see the current team, this all sort of fits into place if we’re looking at a brand-new lineup for a potential fourth Guardians movie.

The Cosmic and the Rocket (Raccoon)

The character also has ties to the cosmic side of Marvel, like Galactus and the Silver Surfer, who of course are tightly connected to the Fantastic Four. An FF movie might seem a long way off, but if the High Evolutionary is sticking around for a little longer, we could see the comics story of him draining the Silver Surfer’s powers for himself.

As for where you might’ve seen the High Evolutionary before, he had a small arc in X-Men: The Animated Series, was in Spider-Man: Unlimited, and was then voiced by Nolan North in Disney XD’s Guardians of the Galaxy series.

In that latter story, he captured Rocket Raccoon. And there's plenty of back-story left to explore with Rocket in the MCU, with the first footage of Guardians 3 from SDCC revealing that we'll be seeing a young version of the character. It seems pretty clear that the High Evolutionary must’ve played a part in Rocket's origin (remember all those cybernetic implants on his body?).

The High Evolutionary has also crossed paths with everyone from Spider-Man’s Dr. Miles Warren (the Jackal) to Hulk, trying to accelerate the latter forward by a million years in evolution. If anything, his abilities as a leading geneticist should at least raise a few eyebrows given a recent X-Men hint in the MCU. The franchise loves a “mad scientist” stereotype, and even if this character’s comic origin isn’t necessarily linked to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn is set to put his own spin on the source material. Whether the High Evolutionary is a one-and-done villain remains to be seen, but either way, fans are ready to welcome Iwuji into the MCU.

What do you hope to see from the High Evolutionary and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Let’s discuss in the comments! And for more on MCU baddies, check out the 25 best Marvel villains in the MCU.

Note: this article was originally published in July 2022 and updated on December 1, 2022 with the latest info about Guardians Vol. 3.

At long last, the first trailer for James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has dropped.

The first Guardians of the Galaxy solo movie since the events of Avengers: Endgame sees Peter Quill, Rocket, Drax, Mantis, and Groot re-unite for one, seemingly final, outing.

Check out the trailer below.

The trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 features Drax chucking a basketball at an alien child’s face, baby Rocket, Adam Warlock, a multi-armed Groot, and so much more. pic.twitter.com/QyjyzW5iTw

— IGN (@IGN) December 1, 2022

The trailer shows the gang on a variety of galactic adventures, battling monsters and accidentally running afoul of an alien suburb. We also get hints of emotional farewells, Rocket's past, and one almighty, "We are Groot."

In addition to the trailer, Marvel released a brand-new poster for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which shows the gang with a galactic sunset in the background — possibly a nod to the Guardians riding into the sunset.

After all, this is likely James Gunn's last movie for the MCU as he has taken the job of co-leading DC Studios where he is apparently putting together a long-term plan that will unite DC movies, TV, and animation. Gunn has called it a torturous and emotional farewell compared to the more festive Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which arrived the day after Thanksgiving.

By comparison, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was more like a company Christmas party, with guest star Kevin Bacon among those talking about how much fun they had on the project.

Be sure to check out IGN's review of Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday special here. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 releases May 5.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts just got its first teaser trailer.

The upcoming Transformers movie sees the war between Autobots and Decepticons rolling on while introducing the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons for the first time.

“For millions of years our world has transformed,” read the ominous title cards. “But something else has awakened.”

The trailer sees the return of legendary Transformer, Optimus Prime as well as fan-favorite, Bumblebee, who recently had its own spin-off film.

Speaking of which, it looks as though Rise of the Beasts is set in 1994, shortly after the events of the spin-off. In fact, the new film is said to be “a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new breed of Transformer – the Maximals – to the existing battle on earth between Autobots and Decepticons.”

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts stars Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime alongside the legendary Ron Perlman as the gorilla-inspired Optimus Primal. Pete Davidson voices Mirage, with Liza Koshy as Arcee, Cristo Fernández as Wheeljack, and John DiMaggio as Stratosphere.

Additionally, we get a glimpse of the other Maximals, Airazor (Michelle Yeoh), Rhinox (David Sobolov), and Cheetor who will be facing off against a new enemy – the Predacons and Terrorcons.

There, you’ll find Peter Dinklage as Scourge, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as Nightbird, and David Sobolov as Battletrap.

Rise of the Beasts will star Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback on the human side of the conflict and is directed by Steven Caple Jr.

The film was first announced in 2021 and was due to be released this year before being delayed a whole year until 2023. Caple celebrated wrapping production on the movie with a rather cool post on Instagram showing him in the driver’s seat of the Optimus Prime truck.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts heads to theaters on June 9, 2023.

Want to read more about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts? Check out how to watch all the Transformers movies in order as well as why Michael Bay wished he stopped making Transformers movies.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which will arrive in theaters on June 30, 2023, has finally received its first trailer.

The trailer debuted at Brazil Comic Con 2022 and gives us our real look at what very well may be Harrison Ford's last run as Indy.

The trailer begins with John Rhys-Davies' Sallah speaking to Ford's Indiana Jones and reminiscing about their past adventures, saying there just may be one more adventure calling their names despite Indy saying, "those days have come and gone."

What follows is quick cuts of footage from the film, and it includes glimpses of a digitally recreated younger Indy, a look at Indy's goddaughter Helena who iss played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and even a classic comedic scene involving whips, guns, and timely dodges.

Lucasfilm also released a new poster for the much-anticipated film, and it's a simple but striking image of Indiana Jones himself.

Developing...

Classic Disney character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit just debuted his first short in 95 years.

Celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary, the studio released Oswald the Lucky Rabbit on YouTube – a new hand-drawn short featuring the legendary character.

“Oswald is such a plucky scamp,” said director Eric Goldberg. “We wanted to bring Oswald back, and in the short, he literally returns to his original home, the movie screen,” says Goldberg. “We wanted to have Oswald do all of the ‘squash-and-stretch,’ ‘rubber hose’-animation style, celebrating that first generation of Walt Disney’s artists.”

Oswald made his debut back in 1927. Created by Walt Disney himself, and co-designed by animator Ub Iwerks, Oswald starred in a total of 27 Disney shorts before the character was sold to Universal.

But in a 2006 deal, the studio successfully obtained the rights to Oswald once more.

“On the eve of Disney’s 100th anniversary, it was such a joy to create the first new Oswald short from our studio since 1928,” said producer Dorothy McKim. “Our hand-drawn animation team – including our hand-drawn legends Mark Henn, Randy Haycock, and Eric Goldberg, as well our wonderful team of 2D apprentices, had a ball animating in the style of Oswald’s era.”

The short itself is black and white, mimicking the classic animation style of Oswald’s earlier appearances, and uses traditional animation techniques throughout.

After Disney lost the rights to Oswald, he was soon replaced with a slightly more memorable character – none other than Mickey Mouse.

Alongside the cool new short, Disney has also launched an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Snapchat lens, allowing users to channel the classic animated character using AR technology.

Oswald was also featured in the 2010 Disney video game, Epic Mickey.

Want to read more about Disney? Find out about the return of former Disney CEO Bob Iger as well as Disney’s recent addition of Doctor Who to its Disney Plus service.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

The first trailer for Cocaine Bear has appeared online and it's as crazy as you can imagine.

Announced earlier this year, Cocaine Bear tells the story of a drug-fuelled rampage by a bear who snaffled a load of cocaine and, incredibly, it’s inspired by real events.

Back in September 1985, a 175lb black bear in north Georgia wolfed down an entire duffel bag full of cocaine that had been abandoned by drug smuggler Andrew Thornton. However, as far as we know, the real-life bear didn’t go on a murderous rampage afterward.

The real-life story is far sadder. Having ingested huge amounts of cocaine, the bear subsequently overdosed and was found three months later next to 40 plastic containers of the drug.

The upcoming horror-comedy is directed by Pitch Perfect star Elizabeth Banks and features Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson Jr, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson alongside Kahyun Kim, Christian Convery, Brooklynn Prince, and newcomer Scott Seiss. The film also stars Ray Liotta in one of his final roles before his death earlier this year.

The trailer itself looks suitably ridiculous – featuring a CGI bear on a cocaine-fuelled rampage while local law enforcement officers look on in sheer terror, trying to make sense of it all.

Of course, it’s not the only highly anticipated bear-based horror to be released next year, following on from the even more ridiculous Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

It’s certainly a good time for scary bears, just make sure you don’t go down to the woods next year. Cocaine Bear is set to debut in theatres on February 23, 2023.

Want to read more about upcoming off-kilter horror? Check out the first trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey as well as our list of the 25 best horror films of all time.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

The Lord of the Rings actor Bernard Hill, who played King Théoden in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, isn’t a fan of The Rings of Power.

During an interview with Metro, the Lord of the Rings star revealed he hasn’t been watching the new Amazon show and has some strong opinions about its creation.

“No, not interested,” he said. “It’s a money-making venture and I’m not interested in watching that or being in it. Good luck to them and all that stuff but it’s not like the real thing.”

Of course, it’s unlikely that King Théoden would appear in The Rings of Power, with the show taking place in an era around a thousand years before Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. But the fact the former King of Rohan isn’t bothered about what happened to his ancestors is perhaps a bit disappointing for some fans.

It’s not just the new series he isn’t interested in, however, as it looks as though Hill wasn’t at all bothered by The Hobbit and its sequels either. Asked whether The Lord of the Rings franchise should have ended with The Return of the King, Hill replied simply: “Completely, yes.”

He continued: “I think they were pushing it when they made The Hobbit. The Hobbit’s a tiny book. They did it well – they did it really, really well. They expanded it, [but] I think you can only stretch a piece of elastic so far. I think they managed it in The Hobbit because there were some really good things in The Hobbit, without a doubt.”

IGN’s review of The Rings of Power gave it 8/10 and said: “The Rings of Power largely succeeds by staying faithful to J. R. R. Tolkien’s themes and tone, if not all the specifics of his canon. Some inconsistent plotting and unnecessary misdirection slows it down, but doesn’t derail the story, and when it reaches its climax in the sixth episode it all comes together brilliantly."

Want to read more about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Find out what Andy Serkis thought of the show as well as the best order to watch The Lord of The Rings films.

Image Credit: New Line Cinema

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

A new Dutch advert for The Super Mario Bros. Movie has debuted some brand-new footage including a gag based on those iconic pipes.

The advert, which appeared online following the special Nintendo Direct, depicts Mario getting to grips with the Mushroom Kingdom’s pesky pipes. A simple job for a plumber, right? Well, not quite.

The clip also features a blin-and-you'll-miss-it glimpse of Builder Toad from Super Mario Maker 2, who was also introduced to Mario Kart Tour.

new #MarioMovie ad 😳

funny pipe shenanigans pic.twitter.com/nCHm4jFi6d

— Carlos (@SomeKirbyFan) November 30, 2022

Another advert in Spanish has also appeared featuring an encounter with a Bramball, but the clips are swiftly being taken offline by NBC Universal due to copyright claims.

These new trailers have appeared after The Super Mario Bros. Movie saw another new trailer released online. This second trailer offered a much more comprehensive look at the movie, with Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, and other classic Mario characters making their debut.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie stars Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario, joined by an all-star voice cast including Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. Additionally, Kevin Michael Richardson will voice Kamek, Fred Armisen will voice Cranky Kong, and Sebastian Maniscalco will voice Foreman Spike.

Also sweet, Builder Toad pic.twitter.com/ZvFQy9wD1f

— Mr. Duby (@misterduby) November 30, 2022

Long-time Mario voice artist Charles Martinez will also appear in the movie in a series of cameos.

The movie’s first trailer debuted in October, giving fans their first hint of Pratt’s Mario voice, which turned out to sound notably like, well, Pratt. The trailer also gave us our first hint of Jack Black as Bowser.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie will premiere in theaters on April 7, 2023, but if you want to read more about it now, check out the official poster as well as which Nintendo franchises deserve to be adapted for the big screen next.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

James Gunn keeps teasing his future plans for the DC Universe, and his latest hint appears to be a wink and a nod to a comic book miniseries, Kingdom Come.

Gunn posted his latest hint on Twitter, with a short and sweet "Making Plans" caption. The origins of the DC image go all the way back to the 90s with the release of Kingdom Come, and that same artwork was also featured as a cover in the four-part series.

Making plans. pic.twitter.com/cubPgga066

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 30, 2022

While Gunn's tweet isn't enough to say there's a strict adaption on the way, it may indicate the next DCU projects will borrow a few ideas from the material. In the original, Superman sits at the center of an older and younger generation of superheroes. As the eras clash, the turmoil between superheroes becomes as big a problem as handling some of the world's villains.

As for the specifics circulating around this image, that's anyone's guess, Gunn hasn't responded to much confirming just what his tweet will mean for future DC projects. However, his most recent replies do include a quick back-and-forth with Guardians of the Galaxy actress Pom Klementieff.

After a fan tweeted their hope Klementieff was part of the plan, Gunn simply responded, "Pom's always a part of our plans!"

Gunn has taken to Twitter to tease a few other ideas around the DCU and where it's headed. Earlier this month, Gunn shared a photo of Mister Terrific with no text; leading fans to speculate Michael Holt will show up at some point. The DC Studios co-CEO also noted new DCU films and video games will share the same canon.

And while DC fans have plenty of high hopes about trending topics like #SaveLegendsofTomorrow and #ReleaseTheAyerCut—Gunn sounds focused on what lies ahead for new entries. Once again, he opened up on Twitter to explain DC's current position, writing: "our initial focus is on the story going forward, hammering out the new DCU, & telling the Biggest Story Ever Told across multiple films, television shows, & animated projects."

Andrea Shearon is a freelance contributor for IGN covering games and entertainment. She's worn several hats over her seven-year career in the games industry, with bylines over at Fanbyte, USA Today's FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@Maajora) or the Materia Possessions podcast chatting about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.

Hollywood's favorite martial arts legend Bruce Lee is getting the big screen treatment at Sony. Ang Lee, renowned for his work on movies like Life of Pi and Brokeback Mountain, is directing the biopic, and his son, Mason Lee, is attached to star in the film as the Chinese American star.

According to Deadline, the film is currently in development at Sony's 3000 Pictures with Dan Futterman adapting the script from Jean Castelli, Alex Law and Mabel Cheung and Wells Tower's earlier screenplays. Futterman's previous writing credits include hits like Capote and Foxcatcher.

“Accepted as neither fully American nor Fully Chinese, Bruce Lee was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Gung Fu to the world, a scientist of combat and an iconic performing artist who revolutionized both the martial arts and action cinema,” Ang Lee said in a statement. “I feel compelled to tell the story of this brilliant, unique human being who yearned for belonging, possessed tremendous power in a 135-pound-frame, and who, through tireless hard work, made impossible dreams into reality.”

Bruce Lee made a name for himself in Hollywood during the 1960's and early 70's before his untimely death in 1973. The star popularized martial arts across the globe with hits like Fists of Fury, Enter the Dragon and The Way of the Dragon. Now, the story behind the legend is coming to the silver screen under the tutilage of an Oscar-winning director.

Ang Lee, whose film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of the greatest martial arts film ever made, is a life-long fan of Bruce Lee. According to Elizabeth Gabler, who is overseeing the project for Sony, the upcoming biopic is a "passion project" for Ang.

“’Bruce Lee’ is a longtime passion project for Ang and a deeply emotional story depicting the triumphs and conflicts of one of the foremost real life action heroes of our time,” Gabler said. “All of us at Sony and 3000 Pictures are proud to help Ang and his filmmaking team create what we believe will be an extraordinary theatrical event.”

Mason Lee has appeared in a few film roles including The Hangover Part II and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Most recently, he starred in the Taiwanese romantic comedy “Stand By Me,” Hong Kong drama “Limbo” and “Who Killed Cock Robin.”

Carson Burton is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @carsonsburton.

The selection of sci-fi films is one of its strongest departments within the larger list of movies on Netflix, and it has a nice mix of classics alongside a number of newer, stranger films. Navigating digital volumes one Netflix can be a little tricky, but the fact is that most of its selection makes for an enjoyable watch. Still, there are always going to be films that skip through the cracks, and that’s why it’s good to seek out recommendations. For a little help navigating that 3500+ Netflix inventory, these are some of our favorite selections.

You can also take a look at our list of the best sci-fi movies of all time for a deeper selection.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Based on Anthony Burgess’s controversial novel, many viewers will find A Clockwork Orange to be a film whose reputation certainly precedes it due to various scandals around both the book and film. Likewise, it’s an especially violent entry on this list, and just about any trigger warning you can think of should be applied before watching.

With that out of the way, the story follows the young Alex, a teenager who delights in causing mayhem with his cronies, seeming to act with inexplicable levels of maliciousness despite a relatively comfortable if stifling upbringing. When he goes too far, he is chosen to be “reformed” by the state, which entails unique tortures all its own. A darkly comical and off-putting look at judicial justice that questions the process by noting its own barbarism, this isn’t often a pleasant watch, but it remains a vital one.

Extinction (2018)

Visions of an apocalyptic invasion plague Peter, and his wife and daughters bear the brunt of his increasing disconnect from reality as a result. Yet, when he goes to seek help, he is warned by an in-patient that he needs to leave because the visions are real and the doctors will only work to convince him otherwise. Shortly, the events that Peter saw in his mind begin happening in real time, which initially gives him and his family an edge in temporarily gaining the upper hand during a home invasion.

However, Extinction is full of twists and turns, and Peter very quickly finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew about the world. Without giving away any of the more shocking moments, this is a top-notch heady sci-fi thriller, ground by top-notch performances from underrated greats Michael Pena and Lizzy Caplan.

Sleight (2016)

Superhero media tends to have a fairly limited view of what the world would be like if everyday people had superpowers, which is why it’s always refreshing to see a take exploring how a unique ability might upend a person’s life. In Sleight, Bo has the ability to control metal, which he uses to perform street magic in hopes of providing for his sister after they are orphaned.

Bo should have been able to go to college to pursue a STEM career, but was limited by a series of circumstances, which led him to become entangled in illegal activities. Getting out of them is a bigger obstacle than he first guesses, and the journey to a more autonomous existence is a major part of the journey. Regardless of his mistakes, Bo is a deeply sympathetic character whose charming dialogue and knack for performance defines the film.

The Discovery (2017)

What would you do if you knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that there would be an afterlife after you died? According to The Discovery, the answer isn’t particularly pretty. When scientist Thomas Harbor announces he’s proven the existence of life after death, there is an enormous global spike in death by self-harm. While Harbor himself appears completely unrepentant, his son Will commits to convincing him to publicly recant his statement, but discovers that instead his father has been busy doubling down attempting to engineer technology that can record a person’s afterlife experience.

The Discovery is a particularly bleak premise, and while it might not have quite the resources at hand to fully address these heavy questions of life and death, it is a beautifully shot, curiosity-driven film that nudges toward the possibilities of an afterlife as limited by the perception of its very human protagonists.

The Mist (2007)

Based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, The Mist was Frank Darabont’s third King adaptation following the success of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. A rare horror film featuring a true ensemble cast, with several recognizable faces stepping in to tell the tale of a town hit by a mysterious storm and shrouded in inescapable fog. Centering on David Drayton, the townspeople are forced to convene in a neighborhood supermarket while attempting to understand what has befallen their town. Significantly moodier than many entries on this list and soundly falling on the “horror” side of sci-fi, the bleak overtone gives way to a study of the desperate things humans do in moments of crisis. An underrated hit among King adaptations, The Mist doesn’t offer any solutions, but it will leave you with many questions.

Don’t Look Up (2021)

This star-studded black comedy introduces us to two scientists that discover a dangerous comet that threatens to destroy the planet. It then shifts focus to public response to their discovery. With a pending extinction event at hand, world leaders refuse to act due to an unwillingness to do anything that would reflect poorly on their public image or campaign donors. As such, you don’t have to stretch too far to find an analogy for current real world anxieties in Don’t Look Up.

Watching these fictional politicians meander and deflect as a deadly comet rockets toward the planet adds humor to some of the more upsetting elements of modern-day life while also assuring us that it doesn’t have to be this way. Not hopeful by any stretch, Don’t Look Up still remains darkly humorous as it warns us of allowing planetary threats to go unchecked.

In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)

In 1988, a Philly cop and his partner are entangled in a bizarre mystery in which four seemingly unrelated people die in various places across the city in the same uniquely gruesome way, united apparently by nothing except the way they died. Though he finds a suspect in a mysterious woman in a hoodie, the case goes unsolved, but in nine years, the exact same circumstances repeat, and the cop finds himself at the heart of a time traveling crime thriller, attempting to uncover how the suspect seems to know so much about him.

In the Shadow of the Moon is a grim thriller that pulls in enough seemingly disparate themes to keep it interesting even during its lulls. The harrowing action sequences and gorgeous cinematography make for a film that is easy on the eyes. Though it doesn’t always completely nail the pacing, its premise sets the bar high, and it raises plenty of questions and keeps the plot reveals flowing.

Bubble (2022)

In this sci-fi parallel to Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale The Little Mermaid, a number of reality-bending bubbles are isolated to the city of Tokyo after an explosion at Tokyo Tower, but they make the city uninhabitable for the general population. Despite the danger, a number of young people engage in high-stakes parkour tournaments, bouncing around the abandoned city with Tokyo Tower considered the ultimate, as of yet unreachable, goal.

A teen named Hibiki is shocked to find a girl who appears to have little to no context for human interactions who he names Uta. As the bubbles become increasingly unstable and threaten all who reside within the city, Hibiki and Uta are forced to act.

Attack on Titan and Death Note creator Tetsurō Araki has created a number of influential anime series, but Bubble hits a decidedly more fanciful note. The central characters are charming, but this is a film that leans into the full action capabilities of parkour and anime combined to weave a gorgeous vision of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo. It might not necessarily break new ground, but it’s a beautiful movie to take in nonetheless, and full of all the bleak overtones one might expect of any proper dystopian film. Read our Bubble review for more info.

The Midnight Sky (2020)

Taking a reclusive work-addicted scientist seeking out habitable planets for humanity should earth become uninhabitable as its central character, The Midnight Sky visits Earth’s very near future to show a planet on which an unspecified disaster has decimated the population. Our protagonist identifies a shuttle returning from Jupiter’s apparently habitable moon K-23, which he himself discovered. The ship’s crew believes it has simply lost contact with Earth, and so it falls upon our hero, isolated in a remote bunker in the Arctic, to tell them not to return home.

Directed by and starring George Clooney, this humanistic view of “the end of the world” shows us a very flawed man who nonetheless finds himself plagued with regret, detachment, and perhaps most terribly, hope for the future. Poignant and occasionally heart-wrenching, The Midnight Sky vacillates between the melancholy and the uplifting to tell a story that isn’t particularly unique, but is telling of our concerns as a species.

Awake (2021)

Jill and her children, along with the rest of the world, find themselves suddenly unable to sleep. Regardless of the impossibility of rest, humanity begins suffering all the known effects of sleep deprivation, including fatigue, hallucinations, mood instability, and an inability to tell the difference between reality and dream. With a deteriorating understanding of consequences, the world rapidly becomes a more dangerous place. Meanwhile, Jill’s daughter is sought after by a government that seeks to use her for experimentations due to her apparent immunity. Not limited to overall societal observations that are par the course for dystopian sci-fi, choosing a single mother forced to extremes to make ends meet before the chaos breaks out adds an extra element of commentary to the bleak feeling of the movie. Though it’s a film that has left critics polarized, to say the least, the level of paranoia and dread that permeates Awake will be catnip for audience members that enjoy sci-fi that goes heavy on the horror vibes. Another film with an A+ cast, including Gina Rodrigez, Shamier Anderson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and many more, this is a well-acted anxiety-driven thriller that fits nicely in the modern sci-fi canon.

Stowaway (2021)

Sporting a legendary cast including Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson, and Toni Collette, Stowaway takes the Bugs Bunny-style concept of our protagonist falling asleep in a rocket to Mars and turns it into a tense sci-fi flick about human resiliency and sacrifice. After our lead is told there’s no way to get him back to safety until the ship has completed its mission, things get even worse as they realize that the oxygen supply is rapidly leaking and won’t last through the trip. For anyone who is a little exhausted by some of the bleaker dystopian themes that sci-fi has long made a home for, Stowaway manages to be heartbreaking and heartwarming all in one go. Focusing on the sense of horror that would come realizing that you’re trapped in space to the escalating fear of hearing you may indeed never get back, it leans into character development amid the high-stakes action and encourages its audience to bond with the cast as they struggle with one no-win situation after another.

See You Yesterday (2019)

While the title might make it sound like this is a run-of-the-mill time travel movie, See You Yesterday is a surprising entry to one of the genre’s favorite tropes. Deceptively light in its opening scenes, the central premise of the story kicks off when teenage scientist CJ loses her brother in a police shooting, leaving her and her family reeling. However, unlike so many that have experienced a similar loss in the real world, CJ can actually change things to ensure it never happened. Implementing her newly discovered secret of time travel, she and her friend Sebastian go back in time to prevent this tragedy from ever occurring. Yet, the cyclical nature of time means that new threats and disasters appear every time she attempts to correct the mistakes of the past.

While staying soundly in the realm of an improbable sci-fi adventure, See You Yesterday deals with some of the heaviest real-world issues imaginable while remaining disarmingly good-intentioned. Full of lovable homages to sci-fi of yesteryear while keeping its feet firmly grounded in the possibilities of the future, this is a remarkable debut from director Stefon Bristol that is braced by impressive performances from lead actors Eden Duncan-Smith, Dante Crichlow, and Astro.

I Am Mother (2019)

Mother is a humanoid robot that tends to embryos in an apparently deserted underground facility. Raising one of these to young adulthood and referring to the young woman as Daughter, the two form an emotional bond that is both unsettling and endearing. When a stranger appears at the base telling Daughter of the genocide that AI like Mother has unleashed on the human population, the once safe (if creepy) world that Daughter has known becomes uncertain and terrifying.

Hinging on its disturbing, horror-infused vibes and solid acting by Hilary Swank and Clara Rugaard along with the collaborative performance of Mother, this is not to be missed by fans that love a good ominous sci-fi film. I Am Mother is one of those stories that is remarkably difficult to describe without inevitably giving away a major twist, but that’s all the more reason for genre fans to seek it out for themselves. Claustrophobic dystopian tales that keep you on your toes until after the credits roll like Solaris (1979) or Moon (2009) will delight in the heady concepts tucked into a roller coaster plot.

The Adam Project (2022)

Encountering serious issues mid-flight, rocket ship pilot Adam flies right into a wormhole that takes him into the “distant past of 2022.” Immediately connecting with his younger self, the two Adams must work together to return the elder to his respective time. Though time travel is a tried and true staple of sci-fi, one of the most intriguing elements of this story is the way it shows how the early trauma in the young Adam has crystalized into a serious lack of emotional connection in later years, giving this one an unexpected punch to go along with the fast-paced action sequences. Fun but not as light-hearted as one might think, The Adam Project leans just as hard into the skill of its actors as it does the kookiness of its premise. Surprisingly providing one of Ryan Reynolds’ most down-to-earth performances after a long series of successes capitalizing on his over-the-top antics, The Adam Project asks heavy questions and never forgets to lead with its heart.

For more of his best work, check out our guide to the best Ryan Reynolds movies of all time.

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Cash Green is forced to take a soul-sucking job as a telemarketer to make ends meet but finds himself struggling in the position until his coworker tells him about using “white voice,” which convinces the people he deals with that they can put faith in him. Suddenly successful, Cash supports union workers through protest and is surprised to find himself promoted, though he feels increasingly conflicted about the interests of the company through which he works. Realizing how corporate interests leak into every aspect of our lives including outsider art, Cash finds himself enduring a series of humiliating scenarios that alternate between hilarious and painful to watch. Like all the best sci-fi movies, the line between fact and fiction is dangerously thin in Sorry To Bother You, and its commentary on the slippery slope of success in today’s corporate landscape can be a little close for comfort, making it an absolute must-watch.

Mobile Suit Gundam (1989)

A compilation film collecting the first part of the Mobile Suit Gundam series that kicked off in 1979, this is on a lot of lists of the best anime of all time for great reason. When humans colonize outer space to solve the issue of overpopulation, some of the furthest colonies branch off and a war begins in which much of the human population on Earth perishes. Enlisting the help of a teen boy named Amuro Ray to pilot the enormous fighter robot RX-78-2 Gundam, the door swings wide open to giant robot fights in space. Yet, by treating the pilots as regular soldiers fighting an ugly war, Gundam revolutionized its genre and became one of the most important anime series ever produced. All the Gundam films are great, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

If you're looking for more like this, take a look at our list of the best anime on Netflix right now.

Sweetheart (2019)

A film that combines survival horror with sci-fi elements to create a disturbing romp, Sweetheart is a great watch for anyone that likes an ominous vibe to their sci-fi. Taking its audience on quite a ride through a handful of tropes while dropping in new twists along the way, this is an underrated great. Following Jenn after her boat capsizes and leaves her stranded, the film puts her face-to-face with a deep sea monster that comes ashore to hunt for prey. Naturally, the scariest part of this is when she encounters her fellow survivors from the wreck and they nearly lead to her death, but the fights between Jenn and the monster remain epic.

What Happened to Monday (2017)

In a dystopian future where the solution to overpopulation is to limit each household to only one child, twins and other births involving more than one child result in euthanization. A grandfather works to hide seven identical girls by having each go out one day of the week pretending to be the same person. Naturally, this goes haywire in this film, and a dystopian sci-fi action movie is born. There is no getting out of this write-up without commending Noomi Rapace’s juggling of the various personalities of each sister. Watching the women interact, it’s easy to forget that they’re all quite literally the same person offscreen. Further, it’s the characterization that makes the story click as well as it does, as each death is meaningful, felt through the other sisters.

AI Love You (2022)

In this futuristic world, AI is powered by human emotion. A worker at an advertising firm named Lana goes on agonizingly bad blind dates, not realizing that she already has a secret admirer. The AI of her office building Dob possesses the body of a particularly bad date and uses him to woo her with its encyclopedic knowledge of the things that she loves. A strange rom-com as well as a sci-fi movie in which a woman quite literally falls for a building, this is custom-made for anyone looking for a little more romance in their science fiction.

Okja (2017)

Fans of Bong Joon-Ho rejoice! This film features a massive cast with many celebrity appearances, and it tells a surprisingly heartwarming tale of a young girl named Mija and her beloved genetically-engineered superpig. Though the corporation that created Okja inevitably wants their creation back at a point, Mija fights them tooth and nail, showing the level of dedication a person can have for their pets.

Bandersnatch (2018)

The Black Mirror TV series is well-known for telling a number of challenging sci-fi tales set in a not-so-distant future where technology is rapidly advancing but humans remain very much the same as we ever were. Surprisingly, when given the opportunity to create a feature-length experience, the series opted to go to the past, looking at the Choose Your Own Adventure style of storytelling as well as the popularization of home video game systems in the 1980s to create this bizarre, sometimes-unpleasant, always trippy take on the genre. Regardless of whether you enjoy Bandersnatch or not, the fact is that there’s nothing quite like it, and it must be experienced to be believed.

Mirage (2018)

Married couple Vera and David move with their daughter Gloria into a house where seriously traumatic effects leading to several deaths occurred years before. One of the dead is a boy named Nico, who, during an electrical storm, appears to Vera through the TV. She urges him to avoid his death, then wakes up to a world completely changed in which her daughter was never born and her husband has married someone else. Haunting and strange, this film leans into the issues of using technology to change the timeline and features some brilliant performances along the way.

Synchronic (2019)

Anyone who loves Anthony Mackie’s portrayal as Sam Wilson in the MCU will be pleased to know that he’s a certified genre star, with break-out performances in Black Mirror, Io, and even Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. One of his best performances, genre or otherwise, remains Synchronic, in which he portrays a paramedic sent out to investigate a number of mysterious deaths. Apparently caused by a new designer drug, he takes the drug and discovers it has time traveling capabilities. An ominous film with likable protagonists, Synchronic is a must-watch in the realm of haunting time-travel movies.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

After an ugly fight between young filmmaker Katie and tech-phobic father Rick leaves her laptop destroyed, he tries to make it up to her by getting the family together in order to drive her to her new college. However, when a soon-to-be obsolete home robot decides to take vengeance upon her creator by launching all of humanity into space, the Mitchells find themselves suddenly on the run and fighting to survive. The Mitchells vs the Machines features an all-star voice cast with the likes of Maya Rudolph, Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, and Eric Andre, this is a story of a family laying down their differences when it matters, but with plenty of chaotic robot fights in the mix.

Spiderhead (2022)

In an isolated prison, inmate Jeff struggles with feelings of guilt and remorse after his drunk driving led to the death of his friend and girlfriend. A charismatic overseer named Steve allows for the prisoners to roam unguarded, but administers experimental drugs daily as part of their imprisonment. As circumstances grow more heated and one drug leads to the sudden death of another inmate, it becomes clear that there is a lot more to Spiderhead than meets the eye.

Unsettlingly taking inspiration from a number of real-world prison experiments, Spiderhead questions control, complicity, and the nature of accidental acts of violence while offering up a top-notch cast. Though criticized for not quite living up to the potential of its own ideas, there’s little denying that the actors fit perfectly into their roles, and the humorous dialogue and character work makes for an entertaining watch.

Take a look at our guide to the best Chris Hemsworth movies for more great films from the Thor actor.

The Platform (2019)

Like many of the entries on this list, The Platform takes systemic injustices to the next level in order to question how much free will any of us truly have when necessities like shelter and food are weaponized against us. Inmate Goreng is dropped into a “Vertical Self-Management Center” nicknamed The Pit which consists of many different levels. A platform filled with food is lowered level by level, with those near the top eating as much as they want while those closer to the bottom end up with little or nothing. The platforms arbitrarily reassign, making it impossible to plan for when or how much one can eat.

Attempting to find new ways to beat the system, Goreng is faced with the truth that an essentially capitalist structure that leans into concepts of “survival of the fittest” is rigged in ways that makes it nigh impossible to get ahead of, making this a disturbing allegorical tale that darkly mirrors our own day-to-day reality.

Advantageous (2015)

A woman who has risen to the top of her field is primed to lose everything due to her status as “lesser” due to race and gender. She is fired suddenly due to simply aging out of the position according to her superiors, and the conditional privilege she experienced immediately vanishes as she fights to provide for her daughter.

As with so many of the best sci-fi films, Advantageous is about a sci-fi premise, but the important part of the story is the human cost. By showing us a mother struggling with a series of complicated decisions she makes in order to protect her daughter while sadly failing to change the future that will require much the same from the child, the lines between reality and fantasy all but disappear.

Best Movies on Netflix by Genre:

• Best horror movies on Netflix
• Best horror TV shows on Netflix
• Best anime series on Netflix
• Best action movies on Netflix
• Best Netflix original movies

Please note: This list pertains to U.S. Netflix subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms. This article is frequently amended to remove films no longer on Netflix and to include more action films that are now available on the service.

The second trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie has arrived, and unlike the brief teaser that we saw in October, this trailer is jam-packed with enough details, references and Easter eggs to sink an airship.

Strap on your helmets and find your nearest Kart or Motorbike, it’s time to break down all of the plot details, and deep-cut references that we found in the new Super Mario Bros. movie Trailer.

Mario Enters the Arena

The trailer starts with a shot of Mario nervously walking out into a crowded arena as the soundtrack references the iconic theme of World 1-1 from the Super Mario Bros. NES Game.

As the crowd chants Mario’s name, we’re reminded of this famous Super Mario Bros 3 commercial, featuring a crowd of Mario Fans so large that they can be seen from space.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Mario and Donkey Kong are standing on a bright-red girder, and in this shot you can see other details, such as a blue ladder, barrels and tires suspended in the air, and more red platforms directly below them. This all emulates the exact level layouts you would see in the original Donkey Kong arcade game where Mario and Donkey Kong made their first appearances.

The Cranky Kong Cameo

Peach and Cranky Kong are here too, making their first appearances in the trailer, and Cranky Kong seems to be presiding over the contest as some sort of ruler or monarch. Perhaps this is a world that is somewhat removed from Princess Peach’s castle and is under Kong rule instead?

More Arena Easter Eggs

There are other references in this arena as well, which point to it being owned by the Kongs, such as the carved bananas in the stands and the audience being filled predominately with more Kongs. Of course, it’s not just DK infrastructure represented in this arena. Mario’s iconic yellow blocks and brick blocks are visible in the background as well. None of these blocks have question marks on them, so Mario probably won’t receive any power-ups in this particular fight.

Super Smash Bros.

This movie looks like it's going to be filled with elements that include a slew of Mario games, and as Mario and Donkey Kong run toward each other, we are reminded of the start of a Super Smash Bros. match. When Mario jumps into the air to hit Donkey Kong, it even looks like his forward air attack from Smash Bros. too.

Speaking of Donkey Kong, Shigeru Miyamoto pointed out Donkey Kong’s new design during the Movie Trailer Direct, stating that this is Donkey Kong’s first redesign since he was made into a 3D model for Donkey Kong Country on the SNES. He has been changed to “give him a more comical personality and design reminiscent of the original character,” which is yet another reference to the original Donkey Kong arcade game.

Bowser Meets Luigi

In this new scene, we’re reintroduced to Jack Black’s Bowser. We also get a much better look at Luigi, who is suspended in mid-air (presumably by Kamek) as Bowser pushes him for more information about his brother.

Bowser's Koopa Army

This cinematic flying shot over Bowser’s army shows much more than just the Koopas we saw in the last trailer. We were able to find Red and Green Koopatroopas and Parakoopatroopas, Goombas, Bob-Ombs, Piranha Plants, Shy Guys, potentially Hammer Bros or their larger Sledge Bro Counterparts, and also the Batlike creatures called Swoops. You can also see a couple of Red Spiny’s and the blue-shelled Buzzy Beetles.

Charlie Day's Luigi Voice

As Bowser pulls on Luigi’s mustache, torturing him for information on Mario, we get to hear Charlie Day’s performance of the much more nervous Mario Brother for the first time.

Mario Bros. Plumbing

While Luigi talks, we see a few brief shots of Mario and Luigi working together as plumbers for their day job, in what seem to be scenes from the beginning of the movie, or potentially flashbacks.

A Mario 64 Cameo

As we move to the interior of Peach’s Castle, you can see that behind Peach is the same stained glass window from Super Mario 64, which can be seen out the front of Peach’s Castle in the game.

The World Map

The Toads here are all gathered around a table showing the different worlds of the Mario universe. We have the Mushroom Kingdom at the bottom, a Sand World on the left edge, a kingdom featuring stone ruins in the center (perhaps this could be the world of the Kongs?), a grassy world on the lower right with mountains reminiscent of Yoshi’s Island for SNES, and… is that two Lava Worlds for Bowser?

You’ll notice that while there have been a lot of shots of an ice world in the trailers, it doesn’t seem to be on the map. Well actually, it is. If you look at this second fiery island on the right, it has icy edges. This shot clearly takes place after Bowser conquers the Ice world of the Penguins, and the map reflects the Ice World's destruction.

More Mushroom Kingdom Cameos

In this shot of Peach and Toad walking toward the camera, we can see multiple references. To start with, the paintings on the wall seem to be of other Toads and the Castle that they are standing in, but we were still reminded of Super Mario 64’s magic paintings. Princess Peach is also wearing a suit similar to what she wears when riding Motorbikes in Mario Kart.

Toad then whips out a frying pan, which he may use himself, or he may just have at the ready for Peach for when she needs it, as she normally uses a frying pan for one of her smash attacks in Super Smash Bros.

Mario's Training Course

Outside, it seems Peach has constructed an obstacle course in order to train Mario for the difficulties that lie in store for them. This course is chock full of references to traditional, 2D Mario levels. It's mostly constructed out of Yellow Blocks, Brick Blocks and Pipes, but we also see Bullet Bill Cannons, Mechanical Piranha Plants, Spike Traps, Falling Platforms and even the iconic flagpole marking the end of the course.

We also get a close look at these rotating circles, which are stand-ins for the normal rotating fire hazards from most 2D Mario games, as well as a very close look at a Bullet Bill when Mario gets stuck to it.

The Cheep Cheeps

We saw Cheep Cheeps in the original trailer, but here we’re getting a way better look at them. One even tries to eat Mario’s face. This scene also appears to be a direct nod to the many times Mario has run across a bridge in the original 2D games while avoiding the jumping Cheep Cheeps.

The Tanooki Suit

Here we get some brief footage of Mario using the Tanooki Suit to gain the ability to fly. It seems like he’s racing this fireball that’s headed towards Peach’s Castle, and as he gets closer to the ground, you can see a Banzai Bill in the distance chasing after him as well.

The Fire Flower

Here is another classic Power-up in this field of Fire Flowers. We see Peach demonstrate how to use their power, as her clothes change color and she gains the ability to wield fireballs, just like Mario can in most of the games.

A Stampede of Yoshis

This looks like an entirely wild region, which is full of stampeding Yoshis, and there are so many different colors! We can even see a single green Yoshi in the pack as well. Are these Yoshi all running towards something? Or are they running away from Bowser’s Castle?

Super Mario Galaxy?

At one point, Peach says “There’s a huge universe out there, with a lot of galaxies.”. While this is little more than a name drop, this does seem to be a not-so-subtle reference to Super Mario Galaxy, where Rosalina introduced Mario to the many different galaxies in the universe. Maybe she’ll make an appearance in this movie, too?

Immediately afterward, we see Mario and Luigi tumbling through this colorful nebula. As Luigi is wearing the same bag of tools that we saw during the plumber scenes, it’s pretty safe to assume that the pair accidentally find a warp pipe while on the job, and this whole area is what the inside of warp pipes looks like (You can even see these streams of light coming in and out of other Warp Pipes in the distance). This is likely where Mario and Luigi get separated as they travel from their world to the Mushroom Kingdom, seeing as we know Mario arrives there alone, as per the first teaser trailer.

Super Mario Kart

You saw that right, this is Mario in his Kart! While there are many spin-off Mario games, including Super Smash Bros and the various Mario sports titles, none of them are quite as popular as Mario Kart, so it makes sense that we’re going to see it in this movie.

When Mario lands his Kart, it’s on the iconic Rainbow Road, which is a track that has been included in every Mario Kart title. This particular road is wide and straight, and while the Rainbow Road courses in-game are known for being particularly challenging to drive on and are the peak of Mario Kart difficulty, it’s still nice to see it included.

More Kong Cameos

In this final shot of the trailer, we get to see other characters riding alongside Mario. We see Peach on her Bike in the same Bike outfit from before, as well as Toad, Donkey Kong and even Cranky Kong on this Tricycle. There are some other exciting characters that we haven’t seen yet as well. Beside Cranky Kong is what seems to be Funky Kong with his reflective sunglasses and bandana. Also, on the far left of the frame, there is an almost child-like Kong in front. Is this perhaps Diddy Kong without his signature cap? Or the more obscure Kiddy Kong, who was introduced in Donkey Kong Country 3?

Even if this isn’t Diddy Kong in the shot, we have reason to believe that characters like Diddy may be in this movie, as a number of official character posters were revealed alongside the trailer’s release. In Donkey Kong’s poster you can see the stands of the arena from the start of the trailer, and way in the back, besides what seems to be Cranky Kong, are the smaller Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong. Hopefully, we'll get to see them have a role in this movie as well. They also seem to be standing next to Swanky Kong from Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3. How many Kongs are there in this movie?!

Finally, we get 3 iconic Mario actions to end the trailer. Mario hops in his Kart to start a drifting turn, and we hear the classic Mario jumping sound from the NES games. Then, Mario drifts around the road, gaining speed, very similar to how the Mario Kart games, before delivering the signature Mario “Wa-hoo!”

We tried our best to find as many details as we could, but this is such a full trailer that we may have missed something! Let us know in the comments if there were any other easter eggs or references that we missed. We’ll be covering every little bit of news about the Mario movie as we wait for its release in April of 2023, so be sure to keep up with all of the newest details about gaming’s favorite plumber right here on IGN.

For more on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, check out more of Jack Black’s Bowser voice and find out why John Leguizamo isn't thrilled with the movie's casting choices.

Women Talking opens in limited theaters on Dec. 2 before going into wide release on Dec. 23.

To say that a film feels like a Twitter thread is rarely a good thing — see also: the middling Harvey Weinstein exposé movie She Said — but Sarah Polley’s Women Talking makes a meal out of the concept. Based loosely on Miriam Toews’ eponymous novel, it takes aim at patriarchal structures, and the ensuing philosophical gridlocks emerging from a society where sexual assault is all too common, and women have finally begun to speak out. The story unfolds in an isolated Christian commune, where a series of attacks have forced its oppressed female population to gather, vote, and debate on how best to proceed — whether to forgive their rapists as their faith dictates, to stay and fight to create a better culture, or to up and leave entirely — but the film’s non-stop dialogue avoids straying too far towards the didactic. This is owed, in large part, to Polley probing at what lies beneath every facet of this ongoing conversation, which can manifest in the public sphere in reductive ways, whether through new media or more traditional streams. Women Talking tries to pick up the broken pieces of those debates and put them back together. While its theatrical staging does occasionally give way to an inorganic ebb and flow (alongside some awkward shifts in tone when the film attempts levity), it’s hard not to be taken in by its incredible ensemble, who deliver stellar performances across the board.

Its opening text reads, “What follows is an act of female imagination,” though its most imaginative qualities are all in its staging and dramaturgy. The story itself is rooted in the painful reality of a Menonite community in Bolivia, the Manitoba Colony, whose real-life case Toews adapted for her novel set in Ukraine (Toews herself grew up in a Menonite town in Manitoba, Canada, which she left when she was 18). Polley further transposes the film to the United States, where the timeline isn’t fully clear at first — the simple costumes and rural production design make this commune feel stuck in time, and out of time; both trapped in the past, yet timeless and prescient — but a few references begin to slowly clue us in on the “when” of it all. The text’s westward cultural translation speaks to the story’s theatrical nature; it feels distinctly like a blackbox stage play, unfolding mostly in a barn in secret, via spoken dialogue first and foremost. It’s the kind of under-the-radar tale that would benefit from being localized, given how it lives in the delicate space between broad generalities, with regards to gender, and specificities of time, place, and language — or lack thereof, where the latter is concerned. As one of the film’s illiterate victims describes, she was taught little about her own body, and what could be done to it.

However, despite its theatricality, Women Talking discovers its most affecting moments when it briefly cuts away from the barn, to flashes of memory. These interludes illustrate what the women inside are actually discussing, resulting in distinctly cinematic depictions of the emotions underscoring their words (whether the brutality wrought upon them, or their more abstract hopes and dreams for their children in the future). After the colony’s women vote in secret — with “X”s marked alongside illustrations, since they can neither read nor write — they arrive at a deadlock between fleeing and fighting. And so, under the guidance of a minor character played by Frances McDormand, the women from two specific families are chosen to hash things out, and come to a collective decision.

The kindly elders of each family, Agata (Judith Ivey) and Greta (Sheila McCarthy), conceal their burdens with accepting smiles, but they harbor wry wisdom too. Agata has two daughters: Ona (Rooney Mara), who’s pregnant from her assault and who thoughtfully considers each option, and Salome (Claire Foy), whose youngest daughter was raped, and who harbors an unquenchable fury; she’s determined to stay and fight, though what that truly means is something the women still need to decide on. Rounding out the leading trio is Greta’s daughter, Mariche (Jessie Buckley), whose abusive marriage has convinced her that leaving is the best (and only) option. Mariche and Salome are at constant loggerheads, and their understandable hair-triggers result in frequent explosions amid the debate.

The lulls between their skirmishes, however, see the dramatic baton passed to a rich array of supporting characters. Not only Agata and Greta, but Greta’s niece Mejal (Michelle McLeod) — who quietly considers the conversation from a corner, as she dulls her resurgent traumas by smoking — and the film’s two teenagers, Salome’s niece Neitje (Liv McNeil) and Mariche’s daughter, Autje (Kate Hallett). Rather than following Salome and Mariche’s adversarial lead, they’re best friends who quickly grow tired of the process. However, their performances are so finely tuned that the two teens never blend together, despite having to share almost the entirety of their limited screen time; as the debate intensifies, McNeil grows more quietly disaffected, while Hallett begins to slowly crack and crumble.

Rounding off the main cast is Ben Whishaw as the sensitive schoolteacher August, who’s in love with Ona, and whose function is to take the minutes of the meeting. He’s also asked for his input on occasion; his mother was once excommunicated from the commune for challenging their beliefs, so the way he was raised makes him willing to assist the women in ways the colony’s other men may not.

The movie’s desaturated palette stands out right from its opening frames, and while Polley and cinematographer Luc Montpellier don’t play with light and color much beyond this, it sets the stage for the unfurling of a particularly bleak story. The unusually wide 2.76:1 aspect ratio certainly adds to the stage-like quality, but it also helps frame multiple women and multiple perspectives unfolding alongside each other simultaneously, as opinions and tempers fly, and the debate about leaving versus staying deepens to the point that several characters end up 180’ing entirely. Ona is frequently the catalyst for these changes; where Mariche and Salome rage at one another (and at practically everyone else), Ona’s pregnancy keeps her keenly aware of the future and its fragility, so she asks pragmatic questions about where exactly each path might lead the women, should they either stay or leave.

The subject of forgiveness is also broached, both as a religious concept as well as one with a collective social function. But these intellectual musings, while no doubt engaging, are eventually set aside in favor of its emotional strengths. The film, though it features few male characters beyond August — and a trans man in the community (August Winter), who was also raped and impregnated — harbors a constant awareness of the ways in which men and boys play into this dynamic, especially when the topic of leaving is considered more seriously. Which of their sons would the women bring with them? What’s the cutoff age? And are the women even equipped to teach their sons, and help them unlearn cruelty? Of the numerous cutaways to disjointed flashbacks, the images concerned with these questions are perhaps the film’s most moving. The women ask August his thoughts on his young male students; he answers in words, elucidating ideas about kindness and curiosity, but Polley matches his statements to both images of innocent, boyhood frolic, and of the haunting loneliness and emotional isolation imposed upon the boys. Even as children who don’t play a major role in the story, the boys’ diverging paths —should they stay or leave — are laid out clearly through poetic, abstract implications. Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir ties a neat bow on this sequence with some of her most moving film music to date. One moment in particular stands out, where held strings accompany a fleeting closeup of a tween boy staring right down the lens, causing time itself to stand still as his future hangs in the balance.

While not quite as polished as Todd Field’s Tár, Women Talking pairs surprisingly well with it, as an extrapolation of power dynamics (“Don’t we all want some sort of power?” Mejal asks at one point, to which Ona responds: “I think so, but I’m not sure”). But rather than exploring the way power hurts the powerless, the film instead lingers alongside that hurt, long after it has taken hold, as the women figure out ways to escape its dulling grasp. But where the movie ultimately succeeds is not just in its cinematic presentation of ongoing debates on power and gender, or even the rhythms with which each blistering performance is crafted (kudos to editors Christopher Donaldson and Roslyn Kalloo). Rather, its key success lies in its ability to follow the ripple effects of these conversations along distinctly emotional trajectories, tracing each implication as it arrives at some new hurdle to be painstakingly jumped, even at the point of exhaustion. It’s about what could, or should, come after the yelling, the screaming, and the desperate venting — which is to say, the difficult task of healing and rebuilding.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish hits theaters on Dec. 21, 2022.

Puss in Boots has always been a bit of an outsider in the Shrek movies; darker, more serious, but still fitting with the goofy tone of the films when needed. The first solo Puss in Boots movie felt like a breath of fresh air, a proper adventure rather than just a pastiche, and now, over a decade later, Puss in Boots returns once again to breathe new life into the Shrek franchise with one of the best animated movies of the year. There are pop culture references and needle drops, but they are in service of a rather mature and complex story about facing death and embracing life as it follows an adventurer at the tail end of his life. Make no mistake, this is the Logan of the Shrek franchise we didn't know we needed.

After countless death-defying stunts and adventures, Puss in Boots is at the top of his game. The cat feels invincible and constantly brags about his exploits in song, and puts himself in unnecessary danger — that is, until he discovers he's on his last life and it can all end at any moment. Worse yet, he's being chased by death incarnate, Big Bad Wolf (a fantastic and terrifying Wagner Moura). His only salvation? A mythical wishing star that can grant him his lives back, if he gets to it before a collection of fairy tale characters beats him to the treasure.

Like Logan, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is heavily inspired by westerns in its depiction of an old cowboy confronting his own mortality after a lifetime of great tales and adventures. From the vast plains, the use of Spanish in both music and dialogue — with the film putting its Hispanic cast to great use, adding to the authenticity — you can easily replace Puss' sword for a gun, and his cape for a poncho and think it's a kids' version of Clint Eastwood's The Man With No Name.

It’s one of the darkest and most mature movies DreamWorks Animation has done in years, with themes about confronting death and reckoning with some hard truths — like the fact that people you love can betray you, and that you can end up alone. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as the story comes off as rather life-affirming with an uplifting message about embracing every day like it's your last.

The Logan comparison is not just in tone, but in action too, as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has some of the best action you’ll see in a Western-animated film. The camera movement is dynamic, unafraid to shift to inventive positions or give us unusual angles to place us right in the middle of the action, which at times feels like a big-budget anime. The film even plays with frame rate like Into the Spider-Verse did, shifting between 24 and 12 frames depending on Puss' confidence. In the first action scene in the movie, where Puss fights a stone giant, the animation is fluid and fast paced, as Puss feels invincible. Later, when fighting Big Bad Wolf, he is animated on twos (12 frames per second), slowing down, losing his confidence, realizing he can be beaten. Also like Into the Spider-Verse, The Last Wish is a technicolor marvel, using a painterly style to give the film a fairy tale look.

It’s also a rare American studio-animated film where the stakes feel real. Any time Moura's Big Bad Wolf is on screen, you feel the tension thanks to his blood-red eyes, his ominous whistling, and black robe. He is truly death incarnate, and he is scary.

Granted, this is still a DreamWorks movie, so there's still a lot of jokes. Thankfully, it never pulls a Shrek 2 with a montage of movie references that were already a few years old by the time of release. Instead, The Last Wish has a few contemporary references — a kid rejoicing that Puss stepped on his face — while most are just timeless gags and jokes, most of them involving Harvey Guillén's Perrito, the true star of the film. If you're expecting more Shrek-like humor, you might be disappointed. But if you recognize that hearing Antonio Banderas deliver his own eulogy with no one else around him sounds rather hysterical, this is the movie for you.

Speaking of the cast, Western studio-animated movies tend to focus a lot on big-name actors that sound more like, well, the actors themselves than the characters they’re playing. Here, however, the cast doesn't distract from the story, but adds to it. From Wagner to Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, and even John Mulaney — arguably the most recognizable voice of the bunch — they work in the context of the story and justify their A-list casting. In true Shrek fashion, they play fairy tale characters you may recognize, but in uniquely twisted ways, with the best one being a small role for The Talking Cricket from Pinocchio, who tries to be the bad guy's conscience but fails miserably at convincing him to not just murder people.

With gorgeous visuals that pop out of the screen, animation that blends 3D and 2D in exhilarating ways to deliver thrilling action scenes, and a poignant yet life-affirming story, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is one of the best animated movies of the year, and a great return to form for the franchise.

Violent Night hits theaters on Dec. 2, 2022.

It's the month before Christmas that brings Violent Night, a rowdy skull crusher that dons fierce action might. Director Tommy Wirkola honors Die Hard and Home Alone with care, with hopes that a barbarian Santa would — just kidding, rhymes stop here. There's no reason to distract from my enthusiasm for a smashup of Hallmark holiday traditions and gore-slathered fight sequences from the filmmaker behind both Dead Snows and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Violent Night sells its gingerbread-scented hostage scenario with the tongue-in-cheekiness of winter wonderland innocence, then jacked old Saint Nick goes warrior-berserk with a sledgehammer.

David Harbour is seemingly having a blast as Santa Claus, currently suffering a crisis of faith due to civilization's increasingly naughty habits. Another year flying around the world, gifting bratty kids electronics that'll be outdated in weeks — Santa's Christmas spirit is fading. His next stop? The Lightstone residential compound where matriarch Gertrude (Beverly D'Angelo) once again hosts her son Jason (Alex Hassell), daughter Alva (Edi Patterson), accompanying family, and all the hired catering help. Santa cracks into homemade cookies and vibrates in a luxury massage chair, living the good life until he hears gunshots. Enter John Leguizamo as a Christmas-hating criminal ("Mr. Scrooge," he calls himself) in search of Gertrude's vaulted millions, blasting his handgun and threatening even Jason's wee daughter Trudy (Leah Brady) — which Santa doesn't approve of.

Violent Night darkens your average syndicated Christmastime drama with coal residue by introducing the Lightstones as dysfunctional elites who've lost the jolly with their holly. Alva is a catty alcoholic, her husband Morgan (Cam Gigandet) is a D-list action star wannabe in search of producers, and Gertrude's introduction includes metaphorically roasting a senator's chestnuts without remorse. Violent Night takes Michael Dougherty’s Krampus approach of teaching wholesome holiday lessons with heavy doses of danger, except Violent Night swaps horrific creatures for mangled henchpersons standing within Santa's reach. No jack-in-the-box monsters, only whirring snowplow blades, icicle spikes, and sharpened ice skates as Santa's makeshift arsenal.

Pat Casey and Josh Miller's screenplay is aggressively on the nose, calling out influences and storytelling beats like Rudolph pointing to his blinking red schnoz. Scenes don't just cheekily recreate Home Alone — characters will say how much a sequence resembles Home Alone aloud. Violent Night lives to entertain by turning famous Christmas carol lines into badass Santa catchphrases during battle or by bastardizing Trudy’s yuletide innocence. The script can read as initially corny since momentum takes a few beats to start snowballing, but then the decapitations begin, and Wirkola's brutal sensibilities usher in primetime seasons beatings.

Harbour's transformation into a grizzled, tattooed Santa shows an actor loving every second on screen. Santa's not invincible, nor are choreographed fight sequences fantastically outmatched. Harbour stands Redwood-thick in his red leather outfit, using everything from electrified star toppers to glittery garland for an upper hand against Scrooge's hired psychopaths (each with cute seasonal codenames like Frosty and Jingle). It's the John McClaneisms like calmly lying exhausted next to dead bodies or hearty laughter as soldiers explode after he stuffs a grenade in their "stocking." Beverly D'Angelo, Cam Gigandet, and the rest are playing cemented stereotypes, while Harbour reinvents Santa Claus as a brawny action hero with only twinkly nose magic, an endless toy sack, and a readable scroll with "naughty" enemy names. The reset is all Harbour translating precious holiday imagery into rough-and-tumble mercenary punishment.

With a zippier opening, Violent Night would’ve reached a rung higher. When Harbour's off camera, there's less to be enthusiastic about. Leguizamo can easily pull off the bah-humbug bulletstorm persona, but not all his supporting baddies carry the same presence. Harbour's the not-so-secret weapon of Violent Night, which becomes apparent when Wirkola stages a game-changing combat sequence set to another radio-friendly Christmas hit that elevates intensity and sets a new standard moving forward. That's when Violent Night locks into overdrive, when gory tidings erupt and the naughtiest are shown no mercy, the same way 1989's Deadly Games morphs from a “playful” Christmas thriller into suspenseful December warfare.