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Cinema isn’t just about the latest Disney/Pixar project or Star Wars spin-off. Memorable storytelling is happening all over the film industry, from Hollywood’s box-office-busting superhero smashes to small, innovative indie experiments. The Verge’s film section is here to help you sort through the latest Hollywood news and reviews, from favorite genres like sci-fi, fantasy, and horror to the independent movies that matter.

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Star Trek: Discovery’s final season is going to have an Indiana Jones vibe to it.

Star Trek: Discovery really found its own voice once it leaped forward almost 1,000 years into the future, but for the series’ final season, showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise say they looked to classic Indiana Jones movies for a new sense of adventure.


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Fresh off some big wins at the Oscars,

Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos is already back with his next film, Kinds of Kindness. The first teaser trailer doesn’t reveal much — aside from a stacked cast — but the movie is described as a “triptych fable” that hits theaters on June 21st.


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The latest SAG-AFTRA AI contracts define voice actors as human beings.

The union’s animation voice actors voted 95.52 percent to 4.48 percent on Friday to ratify contracts that were similar to the deal that ended the actors’ strike last year but didn’t include the same definition, as Variety notes.

The contracts (summarized here) run from July 1st, 2023 through June 30th, 2026, and include pay raises and add limits on the use of AI to replicate voice actors.


*Jar Jar Binks voice* “How wude.”

It’s somehow been 25 years since The Phantom Menace kicked off the Star Wars prequel era, and the film is coming back to theaters for a limited time starting on May 3rd (tickets are on sale now). Those who attend can also get a new glimpse at The Acolyte, along with hopefully a new appreciation for Jar Jar.


A still photo from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Image: LucasFilm
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Another action-packed Monkey Man trailer.

Monkey Man stars Dev Patel as Kid, a man in Mumbai who seeks revenge against society’s elite for the murder of his mother. The movie gives off real John Wick vibes as Kid unleashes “an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.”

Monkey Man comes out in theaters on April 5th.


Netflix will soon stream The Boy and the Heron outside of the US and Japan.

While we already knew The Boy and the Heron would soon be available on Max in the US, Netflix has secured worldwide streaming rights, and announced its plans to debut the movie in the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan), Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America markets in the comings months.


Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli
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If The Sims movie isn’t in Simlish, what’s the point?

A movie based on EA’s The Sims game series is on the way from director / co-writer Kate Herron (Loki) with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap producing. And if the project doesn’t end up being in Simlish, the filmmakers are going to be passing on a chance to do one of the most ridiculously inspired things possible.


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Paramount reportedly got an $11 billion offer for its film and TV studio.

Sources tell The Wall Street Journal that Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm that owns the majority of Yahoo, has put in a bid to acquire Paramount’s studio.

Paramount is also reportedly discussing a deal from Skydance Media, which has offered to merge with the entertainment giant and buy Paramount's parent company National Amusements.


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The first Alien: Romulus trailer has exceptionally terrifying vibes.

After Alien: Covenant, it felt like 20th Century Studios might not have been sure where it wanted to take the franchise. But the nightmarish first teaser trailer for director Fede Álvarez’s upcoming Alien: Romulus standalone film — out August 16th — makes it seem like the studio has a solid plan to get things back on track.


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Verdant greenery isn’t just a dream in Furiosa’s latest trailer.

Because of the water-starved, post-apocalyptic hellscapes the Mad Max movies have been set in, they haven’t really featured all that much greenery outside of mentioning how plant life can’t thrive in toxic deserts.

But there’s an entire fruit-filled forest in the new trailer for George Miller’s Furiosa, and as vibrant as it is, you can be almost certain that we’ll see it all burn down when the movie hits theaters on May 24th.


June the 4th be with you.

Live-action Star Wars show The Acolyte will bring the High Republic era of the franchise to TV for the first time on June 4th.

StarWars.com announced the show’s premiere date with this less-than-subtle bloody lightsaber poster, reading “In an age of light a darkness rises.” Spoooooooky. Also, the site says to expect the series’ official teaser trailer tomorrow.


A picture of a concrete floor with a lightsaber laying on it, a streak of what looks like blood rising from it.
Seems... dark.
Image: Disney
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Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver’s first trailer is even busier than its title.

If it’s been a while since you thought about Sofia Boutella in Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire as Imperium soldier Kora, there’s a solid chance Rebel Moon — Part Two The Scargiver’s new trailer will leave you more than a bit confused about what’s going on.

The movie hits Netflix on April 19th.


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All of Sony’s live-action Spider-Man movies are swinging back into theaters.

You can easily watch most of Sony’s live-action Spider-Man movies on Disney Plus if the mood strikes you. But if you’ve been yearning to see Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland’s Peters Parker back on the big screen, you’ll have a shot at catching all eight of the past Spidey films in select theaters beginning April 15th.


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Animation preservation saves the day.

Famed animator Max Fleischer’s granddaughter, Jane Fleischer Reid, has been supervising restorations of his work, according to the New York Museum of Modern Art’s description of its recent film series showcasing him.

Gizmodo spotted this pre- and- post-restoration comparison of a clip from the original nine-episode run of Superman cartoons. Fleischer Reid’s Fabulous Fleischer Cartoons Restored group has been posting other samples on X, too.


A24’s Problemista is a surreal fairy tale about finding the people who truly see you

A24’s phenomenal new surrealist comedy feels like a story that only writer / director Julio Torres could pull off.

Behind Ryuichi Sakamoto’s last performance

The legendary Japanese composer wanted to record his final concert. So he asked his son, Neo Sora, to direct it.

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James Gunn is making a Teen Titans movie.

Aside from Batman and Superman, we don’t really know which DC superheroes will make up the foundation of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new cinematic universe of cape projects at Warner Bros. Discovery.

But the studio’s just announced its plans to produce a new live-action Teen Titans movie from writer Ana Nogueira, which — for other films — could portend the arrival of characters like Wonder Woman and the Flash as the larger franchise continues to come together.


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Venom: The Last Dance waltzes into theaters October 24th.

Sony initially had the third Venom movie starring Tom Hardy scheduled to hit theaters on November 8th, but along with revealing the project’s new title — Venom: The Last Dance — the studio has bumped its premiere up to October 24th.


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Robert Pattinson’s Batman won’t be back until 2026.

While Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II was originally slated for an October 2025 release date, Warner Bros. has reportedly bumped the project back by a full year.


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Feast your eyes on Dune: Part Two in AVID timeline form.

You really do have to see Dune: Part Two multiple times to take in all of its intricate details, but if you want to see a cool visualization of just how much work went into the film, this snapshot of its full AVID timeline from editor Joe Walker should do the trick.


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The Boy and the Heron will soon stream on Max.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s longstanding partnership with GKids has given it the exclusive streaming rights to Studio Ghibli films since 2020, and now that the companies have renewed their deal, we can expect to see The Boy and the Heron hitting Max in the next few months.


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Paramount might have another potential suitor.

Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm that owns the majority of Yahoo, is discussing a takeover or asset purchase with Paramount, according to a report from Axios.

Rumors about a potential Paramount merger or sale have been swirling for months. Skydance Media is also reportedly in the running to purchase Paramount’s parent company, while Warner Bros. Discovery’s rumored deal is on pause. Meanwhile, reports suggest Comcast is looking into offering a Peacock streaming bundle with Paramount Plus as well.


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You might just be able to get your hands on those killer Godzilla Minus One shoes.

With all the focus on the Godzilla Minus One creative team bringing their Godzilla action figures to the Oscars, you might have missed the inspired shoes they wore to the ceremony. And while the kicks seemed like they might have been one-of a kind customs, it sounds like fashion brand Hazama is open to the idea of selling them to the public.


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Dev Patel’s cooking in this Monkey Man fight scene.

In addition to co-writing, directing, producing, and acting in Monkey Man, Dev Patel also seems to have found the time to transform himself into a bona fide action star.


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Today I learned there’s an app that tells me when I can run to the bathroom during a movie.

As Jimmy Kimmel said in his opening monologue for the Oscars, “When I went to see Killers of the Flower Moon, I had my mail forwarded to the theater.” If you’re sitting through a three-hour movie, nature may call at an inconvenient moment.

An app called RunPee can help: it alerts you to scenes that are not vital, lets you know how long you have, and summarizes what happened (so you don’t have to irritate your partner with “What did I miss?”). It also tells you if there are any end credit scenes so you can join the bathroom queue as soon as the film ends.


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The Ready Player One-branded metaverse has a new name and a teaser.

It’s going to be hard to believe that Readyverse Studios’ plans for “an immersive multi-genre metaverse” will come together until the company actually puts out a demo, or at least some real gameplay footage. But in the meantime, here’s a teaser starring an avatar from the Ready Player One movie.


Here’s the big one:

it’s Oppenheimer. The film took home a bunch of awards, and the evening culminated with it taking home best picture.


HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: Cast and crew accept the Best Picture award for “Oppenheimer” onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
“Thank you for the gift of a lifetime in Bella Baxter.”

The penultimate award of the evening went to Emma Stone for best actress in a lead role in Poor Things. She beat out Annette Bening (Nyad), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), and Carey Mulligan (Maestro).


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Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
It’s Oppenheimer again.

Just moments after Cillian Murphy was named best actor, Christopher Nolan took home best director, his first time winning the award.


HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: Christopher Nolan accepts the Best Director award for “Oppenheimer” onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
“I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere.”

Fresh off winning the best actor in a leading role award last year, Brendan Fraser presented this year’s award to Cillian Murphy for his performance in Oppenheimer. “I’m a very proud Irishman standing here tonight,” Murphy said.


Irish actor Cillian Murphy accepts the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Oppenheimer” onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 10, 2024. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
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A real Barbenheimer moment.

Ludwig Göransson won for best score with Oppenheimer, while “What Was I Made For” — one of two Barbie songs nominated — grabbed best original song.