While Young Washington probably won’t be breaking any box office records when it’s released this weekend as part of the 2026 movie schedule, I think it’s flown under the radar for most people. There are some reasons, I believe, for that, which I’ll get into, but I’m still excited to see it, even if I’m admittedly a little wary of the production. There are two reasons, as a matter of fact, that have me excited, and one I’m nervous about how good the movie will be.

A Time In Washington’s Life That Isn’t Well Known And A Stellar Cast

What I’m most excited about is the time period that Young Washington is covering. While there are countless movies and TV shows about Washington’s time as the General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and probably just as many about his time as the first President of the United States. Americans are also incredibly well-versed in the early life of George Washington, at least the cherry-tree story (which likely is more fable than fact).

However, there aren’t very many representations of Washington at the beginning of his army service. This historical film covers that, specifically his time as second-in-command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War in the 1750s. Long before he would command the Continental Army against the British in the Revolution, he fought in the British army, famously making his bones on the (then) Western Frontier during the French and Indian War. This is a time period that is often glossed over, and I could be wrong, but I don’t remember a movie about this time.

The other reason I’m excited for the movie is the stellar cast. Washington is played by a newcomer whom I’m unfamiliar with, William Franklyn-Miller, but much of the cast is very well known. Washington’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, is played by Mary-Louise Parker. Robert Dinwiddie, the Brit running Virginia at the time, is played by Ben Kingsley. Andy Serkis is British General Edward Braddock, who was Washington’s superior, and Kelsey Grammer is playing Lord Fairfax, a prominent Virginian at the time. It all adds up to a pretty spectacular cast.

This Could Feel Like An Old TV Movie

I can’t say I’m without some doubt here. I’m specifically talking about the production company and the budget. The movie is produced by Angel Studios, which is a company that has, for the most part, concentrated on movies and TV shows with heavy Christian overtones. Angel’s best-known movie is 2023’s controversial Sound of Freedom, which was heavily criticized for its accuracy and the way it presented the true story of Tim Ballard.

That isn’t what I have an issue with, because not all of the company’s movies are heavy-handed, and I think faith-based stories can be as inspiring as anything else, if done well. What concerns me more (and something I’ve seen in early reviews) is the production quality. I couldn’t find a reliable report on Young Washington’s budget, but at least one review indicated that the CGI wasn’t exactly Avengers-level. I worry that this movie might be aspiring to something it is not. Still, overall, the early reviews have been mostly positive, so I’m excited to see it.

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Wonder Man in its entirety via Disney+ subscription, so be warned!

As the first MCU entry on the 2026 TV schedule, Wonder Man had a lot to live up to, and without the kind of massive global promotions that the studio’s films get to enjoy. Despite that, the Yahya Abdul-Mateen II-led super-dramedy is one of the most critically acclaimed MCU shows to date. It’s funny, it’s introspective, and unlike anything else we’ve seen in that world. But will we see Simon Williams return after that shockingly sweet Season 1 finale?

Unsurprisingly, the general answer across the board seems to be, “We sure hope so,” by way of Wonder Man’s stars and co-creators. Speaking to EW, Abdul-Mateen said he’d “absolutely” love to get another chance to play his powered-up supe, whether it’d be for a second season or as part of another hero’s story. He obviously couldn’t speak to any real conversations that have been had, as not to give away potential surprises. But the actor did address a general desire he has for his character’s next chapter, saying:

I could not agree with that more. While I fully understand the impetus to jump forward in time enough that Simon would logistically be able to convince a high-security guard that he was shadowing him for an upcoming acting role, there’s so much we don’t see during that skipped-over span. From the build-up to the Wonder Man movie’s release to how Simon coped with the early onrush of fame to how it might have changed his family dynamics.

In the scheme of things, it would be an interesting conceit for Season 2 to kick off by jumping back to Simon's initial brushes with fame and fortune, with his misson to break Trevor out of jail not coming until the middle of the season. Because for all that I loved the unpredicable conclusion, I wasn't entirely into the idea that Simon would go from a power-hiding stipulation stickler to someone who could ad-lib his way through living with people he'd never met before. So I would need that shift in personality laid out more directly in full.

Whatever the case, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has no doubts that Simon Williams will keep a steady head on his shoulders, saying:

Considering a lot of things can happen before Simon gets to a point where he's "going to be all right," it seems like a good time to throw out some informed theories about what we could see from Wonder Man next, both in a possible Season 2 and beyond.

Quick Theories About Wonder Man's Future

Wonder Man hit all the notes I’d love the MCU to embrace more, so it probably won't surprise anyone to learn that I don't foresee a second season shifting course to become more of a traditional and streamlined superhero story. Instead, I'm hoping co-creators Andrew Guest and Destin Daniel Cretton lean even further into self-reflective meta narratives and appreciation for the entertainment industry.

Wonder Man Theories

1. Simon is controversially cast as Trevor Slattery in a true-crime project about The Mandarin.
2. After fully outing his super-strength and other abilities, Simon convinces studios to reverse the Doorman Clause, and he starts a union for powered-up stunt performers.
3. Simon and Deadpool meet each other and spend decades trying to adapt the Avengers' heroics into movies.
4. Simon is happy to vacate Hollywood forever so long as he has his good buddy Trevor, but Trevor ruins everything by being convinced to return to acting.
5. Demetrius Grosse's Eric Williams inexplicably becomes the Grim Reaper, since that didn't get any serious nods.
6. Simon will be the most impactful hero in Avengers: Doomsday. Like, by a lot.

Will any of those light theories and hyperbolic predictions come true? Probably not, but the fact that any of them are even vaguely possible is a sign of how interesting and offbeat Wonder Man is. So I'll be holding onto that conjecture for the long haul, and hopefully we'll hear something about Season 2 sooner rather than later.

SPOILER ALERT! This story discusses all eight episodes of the new Marvel series Wonder Man. The entire season is available to stream now with a Disney+ subscription.

There are several highly-anticipated upcoming Marvel movies hitting theaters this year, but thankfully fans don’t have to wait until this summer’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day for their next MCU fix. Wonder Man hit the 2026 TV schedule this week starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley, and not only was I captivated by its fun meta story and MCU bromance, but I was taken aback by two all-time great cameos — especially one that made brilliant use of Marvel’s Disney connections.

Wonder Man centers on Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a superpowered actor who’s desperate to win the titular role of the in-series remake of Wonder Man, and Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), who is also up for a part in the movie, but has ulterior motives in helping Simon. Critics praised these performances — and I agree they were great — but I daresay Josh Gad and Joe Pantoliano threatened to steal the show by playing exaggerated versions of themselves.

Josh Gad Brought Big Humor And Huge Stakes To The World Of Wonder Man

Marvel has slipped some amazing cameos into its films over the years (you may have even needed a rewatch to catch all the surprise appearances in Deadpool & Wolverine) but it’s hard to picture many hitting as hard as Josh Gad and “Joey Pants.” This is especially true with Wonder Man falling under the Marvel Spotlight banner, meaning you don’t have to have watched every MCU movie in order to understand the joke.

Josh Gad appears in the series’ fourth chapter, “Doorman,” which is effectively a bottle episode, shown in black-and-white, as we flash back to the events that resulted in “The Doorman Clause” that plagues Simon Williams. Gad plays himself, the life of the party at the height of his Frozen fame, as he frequents the nightclub that employs DeMarr Davis (Byron Bowers). A bartender teases what’s to come when she tells DeMarr at the end of one shift:

The actor ends up having a huge impact on the series’ story, as after DeMarr uses his new, ooze-enabled superpowers to save the club’s patrons from a fire (more on that later), Josh Gad convinces him to become an actor, hilariously brushing off DeMarr’s protestations by saying:

Josh Gad becomes a tragic figure in this alt-Hollywood, ultimately disappearing inside The Doorman when a stunt goes wrong on set. This results in the creation of The Doorman Clause, which makes it all but impossible for superpowered individuals like Simon Williams to get work in Hollywood.

Before things got dark, though, Gad was responsible for one of the most delightful scenes in the whole series.

Josh Gad Singing ‘In Summer’ At A Raucous Nightclub Was Absolutely Unhinged

It would seem Josh Gad was a regular performer during his visits to the club, regaling patrons with songs by the Frozen snowman who likes warm hugs, and I couldn’t get enough of him fully rocking out to “In Summer.” A club remix of the tune pumps over the speakers as the voice of Olaf sings along and works the crowd by shouting things like:

What makes this scene so great is that it’s not exactly portraying this beloved Disney character in his typical family friendly light, especially as the pyrotechnics accompanying J-Gad’s performance started the fire that would ultimately lead to The Doorman’s rise and fall.

His pouring his drink on that guy (pictured above) was also definitely a choice, and I loved it. I mean, what are you even doing if you’re Marvel and you’re not taking advantage of Disney IP like this?

Joe Pantoliano Was A Hilarious Rival For Ben Kingsley’s Trevor

Before Wonder Man even hit Disney+, fans were excited to see what role Joe Pantoliano would have in the MCU series. Despite playing some of the most ruthless villains in entertainment history, he’s a favorite of both fans and fellow actors — well, except for Trevor Slattery.

Ben Kingsley’s character’s disdain for Joey Pants is established early in Episode 2, “Self-Tape,” when the woman sitting next to Trevor on a plane recognizes him from South Shore Hospital and says she loves Pantoliano. This is met with an eyeroll from Trevor and an exhausted, “Yeah, people do.”

We learn soon after that Joey Pantoliano had Trevor’s character killed off of the medical series after three episodes, so you just know things are going to go down when the Wonder Man wannabes are forced to film their audition tapes at Pantoliano’s house.

The Sopranos star is over the top from the jump, showing off his luxury home, complete with skylights for his indoor tree, a shelf of trophies and a spread of delicacies that include “mozz flown in from Hoboken.” He’s so deliciously charming with his microaggressions, praising the art of the audition process before telling Simon:

But Joe Pantoliano takes it a step too far by telling his former co-star that he’s jealous that Trevor is done acting because he can eat what he wants and not worry about the trades. Simon snaps and delivers the most hilarious takedown, saying:

The use of Joe Pantoliano’s full name twice in that rant is everything, and wow, he goes hard at Baby’s Day Out. Simon and Trevor stormed out of the lavish mansion, but that’s not the last we’d see of “Joseph Trousers,” as Ben Kingsley apparently called the actor on set.

Joe Pantoliano’s Cameo Pays Off In Finale Surprise

In the finale, "Yucca Valley," Trevor returns to prison after taking the fall for an explosion caused by Simon in a fit of rage. We see Trevor film his scenes as Wonder Man without a Barnaby, only to learn via time jump to the movie’s premiere that it was none other than Joe Pantoliano who replaced Trevor in the role.

It was a laugh-out-loud reveal, made only funnier when Simon went to break Trevor out of prison and faced a barrage of questions:

• Trevor: So? Who replaced me?
• Simon: Oh, it's not important.
• Trevor: Pierce Brosnan?
• Simon: Let's not get into it.
• Trevor: De Niro?
• Simon: No.
• Trevor: Antonio Banderas? We always get mistaken for each other.

In so many TV shows and movies, cameos can just be throw-away appearances — fan service through face recognition. In Wonder Man’s case, though, I love how seamlessly Josh Gad and Joe Pantoliano fit into the meta storylines and make major contributions to Simon and Trevor’s journeys.

Relive these great performances by streaming all eight episodes of Wonder Man on Disney+.

Major spoilers for the season finale of Marvel’s Wonder Man, “Yucca Valley,” lie ahead.

After a long wait, Wonder Man has finally arrived amid the 2026 TV schedule, introducing audiences to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Simon Williams. This season saw the character (a super-powered actor) experience highs and lows alongside actor-turned-Mandarin-turned-court jester Trevor Slattery. All of that comes to a head in the finale, which I honestly find incredibly sweet. What’s even more impressive, though is that the show manages to avoid a key trope that’s synonymous with MCU fare.

What Happens In Wonder Man’s Season 1 Finale?

The season’s penultimate episode saw Simon realize that Trevor had been spying on him on behalf of the Department of Damage Control. In his frustration, the ionic-powered Williams then caused an explosion on the set of Wonder Man, the movie in which he and Trevor would play the lead roles. “Yucca Valley” picks up in the aftermath, with Simon expecting to be taken into custody by the DODC. However, to save his friend’s life and career, Trevor reprises his role as the Mandarin, publicly takes credit for the explosion and is arrested.

It’s a bittersweet development, and the positive ramifications really hit when the show flashes forward months into the future. At that point, Simon screens the Wonder Man remake at the premiere with his family and friends and is met with praise for his performance in the lead role. (A returning Joe Pantoliano is also revealed to have replaced Trevor in the role of Barnaby.) Despite his success, Simon still laments Trevor’s arrest, and that concerns leads to what I see as one of the most satisfying moments in this entire season.

Sometime later, Simon tracks Trevor down to a DODC facility in Yucca Valley and manages to get in, thanks to weary and financially strapped security guard Chuck Eastman, who Simon claimed to be studying for a role. Once inside, Simon – who’s now more in tune with his powers – finds Trevor and blasts the two of them out, while Chuck’s wife calls to tell him he can quit his job thanks to an anonymous deposit into their bank account.

This is a sweet ending all around, and the sight of Simon and Trevor flying out of the prison together is truly lovely and puts a fine point on the bromance they forged over the season. Something else needs to be acknowledged here as well.

Why I Was Further Impressed With Wonder Man's Finale In Relation To The MCU

As big a fan as I am of the MCU and am looking forward to upcoming Marvel shows and movies, I’m aware that many of them conclude in similar ways. Those third acts and finales usually involve massive battles with a considerable amount of visual effects. In terms of the TV shows, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Moon Knight, Secret Invasion and even WandaVision (inspired by classic TV shows) all fit that bill.

So I’m pleasantly surprised that Wonder Man co-creators Andrew Guest and Destin Daniel Cretton stick to their lower-scale vision and in the process, break the jam-packed finale trend. What’s more is that this finale makes perfect sense for this particular show, given Simon and Trevor’s friendship is at the heart of it. Not only that, but that final act may or may not also constitute Simon’s first real heroic deed. If that’s not a strong way to end a season of a superhero show, then I don’t know what is.

Kudos to everyone involved for crafting such a low-key, but strong, closing episode. Also, here’s hoping this isn’t the last fans see of Simon Williams and Trevor Slaterry in the MCU. For now, stream Wonder Man in its entirety now via Disney+ subscription.

The first month of 2026 comes to an end this week, and it’s been a month of great streaming movies and an even better month for great streaming TV. Still, some top streamers have been holding onto the best for last, as two highly anticipated series and more get underway this week. Here’s what to look forward to steaming this week.

Wonder Man - January 27 (Disney+)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is already set to have a big year with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday, but it will get off to a much smaller start, if you have a Disney+ subscription, with Wonder Man. If nothing else, the show should be entertaining for the return of Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery, but the show might also be important to the larger franchise. We shall see.

School Spirits, Season 3 - January 28 (Paramount+)

The third season of School Spirits may receive something of a boost, considering that Milo Manheim was recently tapped to play Flynn Rider in Disney’s live-action Tangled. If you haven’t watched until now, your Paramount+ subscription will get you the first two seasons of the afterlife mystery series to catch up on before Season 3 arrives this week.

The Wrecking Crew - January 28 (Prime Video)

It seems terribly wrong that a buddy cop movie with Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa is a thing we’re somehow only getting now. The pair play brothers who are both cops, one by the book, the other not so much. It feels like the setup for a perfectly enjoyable action comedy at the very least and perhaps something truly great. If nothing else, it’s a good reason to have a Prime Video subscription.

Shrinking, Season 3 - January 28 (Apple TV)

Shrinking has always been one of the best reasons to have an Apple TV subscription, but Season 3 has a really big reason to watch, as it will see the return of Michael J. Fox to television. Fox, alongside the likes of Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, makes this a must-watch show.

Bridgerton, Season 4 Part 1 - January 29 (Netflix)

One of the best reasons to keep your Netflix subscription finally returns this week when the new season of Bridgerton debuts. Romance fans will likely be glued to their screens as they binge through the first part of the brand new season, which will focus on Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and his quest for a good match. The rest of the season drops at the end of February.

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You - January 30 (HBO Max)

It’s the perfect week for indie darling If I Had Legs I’d Kick You to become available with an HBO Max subscription, considering that star Rose Byrne just secured a Best Actress nomination at this year's Oscars. If you missed the movie in theaters, now is the perfect time to check it out.

February has some incredible content in store for us. Next month, Disney+ will bring us the return of The Muppet Show, while Hulu brings us the long-awaited return of Scrubs, and that’s just the beginning.

Talking about MCU projects often comes with conversational baggage right out the gate, be it qualifying one’s fandom, addressing successes vs. failures, or supplying backstory exposition. The upcoming Marvel TV series Wonder Man is more than capable of sparking such insights, but to me, it’s not really that kind of show. What Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest crafted is a fun and free-flowing blast that everyone from Marvel newcomers to full-on fanatics should have a great time with.

As someone who is always fully on board with the studio’s more esoteric, post-modern efforts like WandaVision and Agatha All Along — lookie there, I DID qualify my fandom rather quickly — I realize not everyone will be as fully aligned with loving Wonder Man as much as I did. It’s not a straightforward superhero story, and is largely unlike the bulk of Marvel’s efforts thus far, even with Sir Ben Kingsley reprising his maligned Iron Man 3 and Shang Chi role of Trevor Slattery. Think of that as a plus and not a disadvantage, and enjoyment will follow.

Regardless of any big-picture opinions, though, I think Wonder Man's biggest strength is in how many foundational qualities it boasts that Marvel hasn't wholly adhered to with a lot of its cross-media content, for better or worse. To that end, here are several laudable elements from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's latest superhero effort that I wish were more of the norm in other MCU projects. (Perhaps that'll be the case for others hitting the 2026 TV schedule and beyond.)

Episodes Are Short, Light And Extremely Easy To Binge

Few TV shows these days are completely innocent of excess bloating, especially on the streaming side, but Wonder Man's creative team does everyone a blessing by sticking to "30 mins. or less" runtimes. This may be the only Marvel project where every time the credits start rolling, I'm legitimately shocked by how quickly time passed, and it's never been easier to hit play on the next episode, knowing that it'll be just as breezy.

Wonder Man Is More Character Study Than Plotty Superhero Storytelling

Simon Williams is a complicated guy with dreams of becoming a movie star, who also sports a very meticulous way of approaching roles (and life altogether) that makes him somewhat difficult to work with. But even though this is a comedic show, Simon’s mental issues and social behavior isn’t played for laughs, and the main throughline of the show is exploring the character’s finely threaded balance between inner peace and outer chaos.

His dream of starring in a Wonder Man film is in place for an emotionally sound reason, with others wanting to exploit that, and as with past explorations of Wanda Maximoff’s and Agatha Harkness’ respective griefs and grievances, Simon’s journey is easily as engaging as something more conspiratorial and comic book-y.

It's Funny As Hell WIthout All The Usual MCU Snark

It's wild to me that this is Ben Kingsley's third Marvel project, and it's arguably the one that truly turns Trevor Slattery into a three-dimensional character. It's additionally wild that the buddy-hero bromance between Simon and Trevor is as playful and enjoyable to watch as nearly any other Marvel pairings are. Both lead actors are clearly having a great time, and that energy extends to just about everyone they share the screen with. (Including A+ appearances from celebs such as Joe Pantoliano.)

On top of that, Wonder Man's humor is almost always situational and inherent to whatever inadvisable behavior Simon and Trevor are displaying, as opposed to the MCU's usual snark-driven and self-referential humor. Showrunner Andrew Guest has worked on stellar TV comedies like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Community and 30 Rock, so he's well-versed in being funny regardless of context. Thus, even with exceptions, it's the rare MCU show where swapping out Marvel references with generic ones wouldn't necessarily ruin it.

The Scaled-Down Threat Doesn't Put The Entire World In Danger

One of the most-voiced complaints about the MCU, even from longtime fans, is how many times the movies and TV projects center on villains and plots that put the fate of entire cities, countries, and planets at risk. It would be extremely exhausting to be a normal citizen in this reality. So any time Kevin Feige & Co. allow for projects to shink the scale down to something more personal and direct, I always have an easier time buying into the threats.

Wonder Man brings back Succession vet Arian Moayed as Damage Control's Agent Cleary, who'd previously popped up in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Ms. Marvel. Per usual, Cleary isn't a "blow it all up and ask questions later" kind of a guy, and it's clear early on that he's more of a background nuisance than a front-line antagonist. In many ways, Simon's biggest enemy is his own emotional state. It's a very Hulk-esque issue to have, but without the entire U.S. military trying to contain him.

The Ending Is Satisfying Without Going Overboard

Few things are as disappointing as a great TV show or movie that drops or flat-out mangles the ball in the final act, which can often be the case in the MCU when character development and any modicum of nuance give way to giant CGI action sequences and an abundance of destruction. That's not at all the case with Wonder Man, though, which delivers a season finale that is not only shares the same level of quality as the rest of the episodes, but also wraps things up satisfactorily, and doesn't overstep its scale.

To say too much about the end is obviously inadvisable, but I do think it's worth noting that even though Wonder Man exists as a Marvel Spotlight series that isn't meant to be. a major force within Phase 6, there's room for this character to have more adventures and acting auditions down the road. So I can only hope that enough people with Disney+ subscriptions watch the show and help spread the word as I'm trying to do, so that Kevin Feige and other Powers That Be feel confident enough to order another season.

Wonder Man will debut on Disney+ on Tuesday, January 27, with all eight episodes available to stream at once.

We’re just a couple of weeks away from the start of the 2026 TV schedule and the new delights that await us on the small screen, including on a host of the best streaming services. Those with a Disney+ subscription are actually about a little over a month away from being able to watch the upcoming Marvel TV show, Wonder Man, which will see Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Simon Williams and Ben Kingsley’s former pretend-Mandarin, Trevor Slattery, vie for fame in Hollywood in a very meta way: as the stars of a superhero show. Now, Kingsley has revealed what Trevor’s been doing since we last saw him, and it’s surprisingly sentimental.

What Did Ben Kingsley Say About What Trevor’s Been Doing Since Shang-Chi?

What a long, strange trip it’s been for Trevor Slattery. The Marvel movies in order first introduced the down-on-his-luck actor in Iron Man 3, where we eventually found out he was hired to portray terrorist leader, The Mandarin. He was imprisoned for a while and then held captive by the real Mandarin, which we saw in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Through it all, Oscar winner Ben Kingsley has played the ambitious but somewhat addled thespian, and now he’s bringing Trevor back for Wonder Man (which showed off its meta story in a delightfully odd trailer in October). When speaking about the series with Entertainment Weekly, Kingsley opened up about what his character did after deciding to stay in the magical realm of Ta Lo to keep hanging with his Dijiang buddy, Morris:

Wow. Alright, I don’t think anyone could have guessed that a character with such a wild backstory could have such a relatively sweet motivation for any of his actions, but here we are. The Marvel One-shot, All Hail the King, saw some of Trevor’s time in prison after the events of IM3, and revealed his strong connection to his mom, who’d encouraged his love for the theater when he was a kid. However, she passed away in the ‘80s while he was pursuing his career (unsuccessfully) in the United States.

Of course, this means that she missed out on the whole “fake being a terrorist to help cover real crimes” part of her son’s life, so at least there’s that. But, it makes a lot of sense that Trevor, who adored his mom, would still want to try and make good on becoming a successful actor as a tribute to her and how she supported him. It sounds like Wonder Man will see him come as close as he ever has to doing that, but his good fortune will also lead him to some moral conflicts that he might not be able to dodge. This could mean some bad news for Trevor and Simon, depending on how things go down.

This is all pretty deep stuff for a character who’s only been seen three times previously, with one of those appearances being his only leading part in the Marvel multiverse thus far. Luckily, as Kingsley explained, he was eager to revive Trevor to keep exploring his motivations and adventures:

Hmmm…Though I’m certainly intrigued by this “biopic of Trevor in four episodes,” because the series as a whole looks like it’s gonna be pretty wild and “full of surprises,” just like The Thursday Murder Club star teased, now I have a question. We actually know the show has eight episodes, so will Trevor not be around for all of them because this is the end of his road, or just because that’s where the bulk of his history is explored? I suppose we’ll all have to wait until January 27 to find out.

Since the beginning of the Multiverse Saga, Marvel Cinematic Universe has been churning out TV shows that stray from the typical blueprint for the franchise’s fare. From the trippy WandaVision to the fourth-wall breaking She Hulk: Attorney at Law, a number of these shows have been quite unique. The long-awaited Wonder Man promises to be quirky as well and, thanks to the first trailer, fans have a true taste of its meta take on Hollywood. As great as that is, I’m also really loving that this may be the start of a new MCU bromance.

Wonder Man Looks Like It’s Going To Skewer The Entertainment Industry In Fun Ways

Over the years, MCU fans have had a look at the high school experience via the Spider-Man trilogy, explored the realm of politics through the Captain America movies and gotten varying looks at the legal system through She-Hulk and Daredevil: Born Again. So it’s quite interesting that we haven't had a good look at what Tinseltown is like in the shared universe, until now. Wonder Man focuses on Simon Williams (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), an actor seeking to play the show’s eponymous character in a film reboot.

The brief sneak peek that dropped late last week teased the heavy show business vibes this upcoming Marvel series would have, and the new trailer – which premiered during New York City Comic Con expands on that tone. With this new footage, fans get a look at Simon’s experiences, which include auditions, chats with managers and even a heavily desired callback. The sight of Williams also doing acting exercises is also very funny, but also true to what some real-life thespians have described over the years.

Anyone looking for superhero action in this footage may be somewhat disappointed, but I’m really loving the comedic and somewhat satirical approach that’s seemingly being taken here. But, of course, this is an MCU set show, so fans should definitely expect to see some spectacle at some point during this eight-episode show. I’m excited for what lies ahead when it comes to the thrills and the commentary on the inner workings of Hollywood. At present, though, I need to acknowledge a new character duo I think I’m going to love.

There’s A Friendship In Wonder Man That Has The Potential To Be Very Entertaining

Simon Williams won’t be alone as he seeks to earn the part in Von Kovak’s (Zlatko Burić) new, big-screen take on Wonder Man. Joining Williams in his journey will be actor-turned-faux terrorist-turned-court jester Trevor Slattery, who’s played by the returning Sir Ben Kingsley. Audiences last saw Slattery in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and it seems that since the events of that film, he’s jumped back into the acting game proper. In fact, the trailer reveals that Trevor is also in the running to play WM.

It doesn’t seem like there’s any true competition between Trevor and Simon, however, as they seem to be guiding each other through the process, which I love. The MCU has already had some strong bromances between the likes of Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark & James Rhodes and Peter Parker & Ned Leeds. I can’t say I was expecting to see Simon forge a bond with Trevor but, based on the new footage, it’s both funny and endearing. I look forward to seeing the relationship between this pair develop over the course of the show.

There’s reason to be excited about Wonder Man not just because Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley are fronting it but because of the strong creative team behind it. Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton serves as co-creator, director and executive producer and, thus far, Cretton (who’s also directing the upcoming Spider-Man: New Day) has proven he knows how to craft a superhero story. In terms of the cast, the ensemble also includes Demetrius Goose (who plays Simon’s brother), Ed Harris, X Mayo and Arian Moayed.

I’m still eager to see more of this new MCU show, but this first trailer has me excited and intrigued by what’s to come. Here’s hoping the Hollywood vibes, funny character dynamics and other elements translate into a wholly entertaining and compelling piece of TV.

Wonder Man is set to premiere on January 27, 2026, so be sure you have a Disney+ subscription to stream it. In the meantime, check out offerings that lie ahead on the 2025 TV schedule.

Murder mysteries are huge right now, thanks to popular TV shows and movies like Only Murders in the Building and Knives Out, and now a popular novel is being adapted for the 2025 movie calendar. The Thursday Murder Club, based on the book series by Richard Osman, is one of Netflix’s upcoming movies, and critics were able to screen the film ahead of its August 28 release. It’s a fairly straight-forward story, they say, but the response is overall positive.

The Thursday Murder Club movie features a killer cast (bad pun intended) that includes Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie and more, centering around a group of elderly amateur sleuths who get caught up in a real-life murder. Maggie Lovitt of Collider says the mystery is nothing we haven't seen, but the beauty of this flick is in the ensemble, who deliver what may be one of Netflix’s best movies of the year. The critic rates it 9 out of 10, writing:

G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle says it’s obvious both the actors and director Chris Columbus had a blast making this. Pierce Brosnan hasn’t been this funny since Mrs. Doubtfire, says Johnson, who would be game for a dozen more movies in this series. More from the review of The Thursday Murder Club:

Caryn James of THR says mysteries like this one are described as “cozy” for a reason, and anything The Thursday Murder Club lacks in originality is compensated for by its wonderful cast. James writes:

Manuel Betancourt of Variety calls the movie a “film of simple pleasures,” and when it comes to whodunits, this is about as cozy and inoffensive as viewers can hope for. The critic says:

Stephanie Zacharek of Time says director Chris Columbus is one who screams, “Fun!” and this movie is much more about the actors having a good time than forging new ground in the murder mystery genre. Zacharek writes:

While the critics seem to agree that the plot of The Thursday Murder Club is fairly by-the-book, nobody seems upset about it, saying that Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and the rest are the movie’s real treat. At the time of this writing, the film holds an 81% Rotten Tomatoes score from 32 reviews, so it seems like this might be a great option to throw on from the comfort of your own home.

The Thursday Murder Club will be available to stream with a Netflix subscription on August 28, which is (naturally) a Thursday.

The Academy Award for Best Actor has been handed out every year since 1929 — fun fact, it was awarded to German actor Emil Jannings for not one but two acclaimed roles, in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh — and in the near-century since, it's been presented 97 times to 86 actors. But while taking home that coveted statuette is definitely a career highlight for any performer, the honor does add a little extra pressure on the actor's next project. Will it be as beloved and acclaimed as the role that won them the gold? Here are 32 films that Oscar-winning actors did after taking home the Academy Award, and how they were received.

Cillian Murphy

After the enormity of portraying famed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's billion-dollar blockbuster Oppenheimer, and taking home the 2024 Oscar for Best Actor in the process, Cillian Murphy went small for his next film — literally. In the 2024 adaptation of Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These, Murphy returned to his native Ireland to play Bill, a quiet coal merchant and father of five internally struggling with the harsh realities of the infamous Magdalene Laundries. While Murphy didn't replicate the awards dominance of Oppenheimer with SMTLT, his internal and affecting performance was widely praised by critics.

Joaquin Phoenix

After four nominations throughout his decades-spanning career, Joaquin Phoenix finally took home that Best Actor statue in 2020 for his engrossing portrayal of the nihilistic clown Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips' Joker. Following that iconic role, Phoenix next appeared in the 2021 Mike Mills dramedy C'mon C'mon, an improv-heavy performance that saw the actor play a middle-aged radio journalist tasked with babysitting his nephew (Woody Norman) while on the road for work. Phoenix was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance at the Gotham Awards, and the film was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the Top 10 Independent Films of the year.

Will Smith

Will Smith had quite an, um, eventful evening when he took home the Oscar for Best Actor in 2022 for King Richard after two prior nominations (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). Winning an Oscar means that a spotlight is already bright on an actor, but the added publicity from the ceremony means his post-slap comeback would be even more scrutinized than usual. His follow-up was 2022's Emancipation, in which he played a runaway slave in 1860s Louisiana. Though the drama received mixed reviews overall, Smith won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance.

Anthony Hopkins

Though he's garnered six Oscar nominations across his illustrious acting career — with his most recent win being for 2021's The Father — Anthony Hopkins' first Academy Award was for that scene-stealing villain, psychiatrist turned serial killer Hannibal Lector in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. Following up such an iconic performance is no small task and unfortunately, Hopkins' next film, 1992's Freejack opposite Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger, was a sci-fi dud, bombing both with critics and audiences. During an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Hopkins himself called the film "terrible."

Leonardo DiCaprio

Five-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio had a bit of "always the bridesmaid" syndrome where the Academy Awards were concerned, until he finally took home the Best Actor Oscar for his emotionally raw and physically punishing performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2019 Western epic The Revenant. His next big-screen role was, graciously, a bit less cold and blustery, trading the frosty American Midwest for starry Los Angeles in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The latter received 10 Oscar nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including a nod for DiCaprio's individual work.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington had already taken home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing a Civil War soldier in the 1989 war drama Glory, but he got his first big Best Actor win for portraying corrupt LAPD officer Alonzo Harris in the 2001 crime thriller Training Day. His next performance was another memorable Denzel role: as the title character in the 2002 Nick Cassavetes-directed drama John Q, which saw Washington play a desperate father who takes a hospital emergency room hostage in order for his son to receive a heart transplant. Alas, despite some praise for Denzel's performance, the film itself boasts only a 26% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Robert De Niro

Six years after taking home the Best Supporting Actor statue for The Godfather Part II, Robert De Niro got his Best Actor win for his iconic and intense work as boxing champion Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. A year later, De Niro put away the boxing gloves and picked up the Bible to play a Roman Catholic monsignor in 1981's True Confessions, opposite fellow The Godfather great Robert Duvall. Though reviews for the neo-noir were largely positive, the National Review's William F. Buckley, Jr. panned it: "Robert De Niro is badly miscast. He is never entirely convincing."

Matthew McConaughey

After acclaimed turns in 2011's Lincoln Lawyer and 2012's Magic Mike, the so-called "McConaissance" was officially solidified a year later with Matthew McConaughey's Oscar-winning portrayal of Ron Woodroof, a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS, in the biopic Dallas Buyers Club. Despite not having nearly as much screentime, the actor's next performance was just as memorable: a chest-thumping, meme-inducing extended cameo as Mark Hanna in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.

Tom Hanks

Beyond being one of the most beloved actors of all time, Tom Hanks also holds a piece of cinema history: he's one of only two actors to win back-to-back Academy Awards for acting. Yes, that means after taking home the Best Actor Oscar for his heart-wrenching performance as HIV-positive lawyer Andrew Beckett in 1994's Philadelphia, Hanks struck Oscar gold yet again with his very next performance, as the titular lead of 1995's Forrest Gump.

Rami Malek

Rami Malek belted his way to an Oscar as legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the glossy 2019 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. His first post-award performance also revolved around his voice — voice acting, that is, as Malek portrayed a mountain gorilla named Chee-Chee in the 2020 fantasy-adventure film Dolittle, with his future Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr. as the titular doc. The family-friendly flick received abysmal reviews from critics, with Courtney Howard of Variety writing: "What should have been an awe-filled adventure quickly curdles into an awful one, thanks to a pedestrian formula and the filmmakers' fixation on fart jokes."

Adrien Brody

In 2003, Adrien Brody made Oscar history when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29 for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist, becoming the youngest actor ever to win in that category. Later that year, he followed up his historic win with the musical crime comedy The Singing Detective, about a mystery writer (Robert Downey Jr.) who relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations. The film scored a 39% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx had one hell of a 2004, serving up not one but two award-worthy performances: He took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as soul great Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray and also received a Best Supporting Actor nod that same year for his work in the crime film Collateral. It would be near-impossible for any performer to hit that kind of stratospheric high again, especially with Foxx's follow-up Stealth — the 2005 military action flick co-starring Josh Lucas and Jessica Biel was dubbed a "stink-bomb" by Roger Ebert.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Acting legend Daniel Day-Lewis deservedly holds the record for the most Best Actor awards ever, with three wins out of six nominations, but his first was for playing Christy Brown, a writer-artist born with cerebral palsy, in the 1989 drama My Left Foot. And though he would later follow that iconic role up by playing famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Bill the Butcher, his immediate next performance was as an Irish-American dentist traveling around Argentina in the forgettable 1989 dramedy Eversmile, New Jersey.

Jack Nicholson

The first of three Academy Awards for the legendary movie star, Jack Nicholson's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest performance as Randle McMurphy nabbed him the Oscar in 1976. Later that year, he would star as cattle rustler Tom Logan opposite Marlon Brandon in the Arthur Penn-helmed Western The Missouri Breaks. Coming hot on the heels of not only his own Oscar win but also Brando's for The Godfather, the film was highly anticipated — however, it failed to live up to those expectations and became a notorious critical and commercial flop.

Marlon Brando

One of the most iconic cinema stars of all time, Marlon Brando was nominated for eight Oscars across his decades-spanning career. He won two, the first being for his electrifying role as prizefighter turned longshoreman Terry Malloy in the 1954 crime drama On the Waterfront, widely considered one of the greatest acting performances of all time. His next role as Napoleon Bonaparte in the historical romance Désirée didn't win him any awards, but Variety reportedly called his performance "a masterful exhibition of thesping" at the time.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman had already solidified himself as a vibrant and vital supporting actor with films like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous, Magnolia and 25th Hour, but his Oscar-winning portrayal of author Truman Capote in 2005's Capote officially upped him to leading man status. He would receive another three Oscar nominations in the years to follow, but his very next role was more of a crowd-pleaser than an awards grab: as arms dealer Owen Davian in Mission: Impossible III.

Russell Crowe

Audiences and critics alike were very much entertained by Russell Crowe's performance as Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 Rome-set epic Gladiator, which earned the New Zealand-born star the Best Actor Oscar at the 73rd Academy Awards. Crowe would go up for the same award only a year later, for his portrayal of American mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. in the biographical drama A Beautiful Mind, but he lost to Training Day lead Denzel Washington.

Jean Dujardin

Jean Dujardin rose to international fame with his performance as George Valentin in the 2011 silent movie The Artist — his Oscar win was a historic one, as he was the first French performer to ever take home the Best Actor statue. Despite his newfound Hollywood status, however, the actor-comedian returned to his native France for his next film credit: The Players, a 2012 comedy anthology co-starring Gilles Lellouche, with each man also directing and writing a segment.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage's filmography is a wild ride, from critically acclaimed fare like Raising Arizona, Moonstruck and Adaptation to straight-to-video shlock. Thankfully, his 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas falls into the former category, winning Cage the Best Actor Oscar for his role as alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson. (Funnily enough, it's not one of Nic Cage's favorite Nic Cage movies.) His next movie was the 1996 action thriller The Rock, which also won Cage an award: the Best On-Screen Duo statue at the MTV Movie Awards alongside co-star Sean Connery.

Eddie Redmayne

British star Eddie Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in the 2014 biographical drama The Theory of Everything. But that career high was immediately followed by a career-low: a Golden Raspberry Award — a parody award honoring cinematic failures — for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in the galactically goofy 2015 space opera Jupiter Ascending. Even he admitted his performance was bad!

Sidney Poitier

A movie icon through and through, Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier made history in 1964 as the first Black performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field. A year later, he moved on from that seminal role with the 1965 Cold War thriller The Bedford Incident, as a civilian photojournalist aboard a U.S. Navy ship that gets into some messy business with a Soviet submarine. Though Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "the whole thing transcends plausibility," other critics clearly disagreed — the movie has an 86% Certified Fresh rating.

Sean Penn

After a trio of Best Actor nominations, Sean Penn's haunting performance as a grieving, vengeful father of a murdered Boston girl in the Clint Eastwood-directed neo-noir Mystic River finally got him the Academy Award in 2004. Later that year, Penn starred in yet another crime thriller, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, based on the story of the POTUS's would-be assassin Samuel Byck in the mid-1970s. The latter film didn't share the award-worthy gravitas of Mystic River, though, per Rotten Tomatoes, critical consensus said: "A fascinating true story and compelling Sean Penn performance are worthy compensations."

Roberto Benigni

Few Oscar wins were as memorable as Roberto Benigni's, what with presenter Sofia Loren's passionate declaration of "Roberto!" to Benigni's literal victory lap up to the stage. The Italian actor-director took the Best Actor trophy in 1998 for the Holocaust tragicomedy Life is Beautiful, making him the first honoree for a non-English language performance. A year later, he would appear in a very different movie: French-Italian-German comedy adventure flick Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar opposite Gérard Depardieu and Christian Clavier, which was a box office success.

Al Pacino

One of the most influential actors in modern cinema, Al Pacino was nominated for eight Academy Awards — including for The Godfather films, Serpico and the crime drama classic Dog Day Afternoon — before finally taking home the Best Actor statue for playing Frank Slade in 1992's Scent of a Woman. That Oscar win gave viewers an extra critical eye on his next role, as Nuyorican criminal Carlito Brigante in the De Palma crime drama Carlito's Way, however, reviews were largely positive.

Ben Kingsley

It's a daunting thing playing any famous figure in movies based on true stories, especially when the subject is so famous, that they need only one name. Case in point: Gandhi, the 1982 bio epic about the Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough and performed by English actor Sir Ben Kingsley. Luckily for them, the film won Best Picture and Kingsley took home the Best Actor award. Though his next project, the 1983 film adaptation of Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, didn't get Oscar acclaim, it was well-received by critics.

Humphrey Bogart

It seems surprising that Humphrey Bogart didn't win the Oscar for a role as iconic as Rick Blaine in the 1942 classic Casablanca. No, it would actually be another eight years until ol' Bogie won Best Actor for The African Queen, starring as Canadian mechanic Charlie Allnut opposite Katharine Hepburn's Methodist missionary Rose Sayer. His post-Oscar follow-up was the 1952 noir Deadline – U.S.A.: Variety said "Bogart gives a convincing performance all the way" as a big-city newspaper editor who exposes a gangster's crimes.

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker was ferocious and formidable as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 historical drama The Last King of Scotland, one of his best performances that got the performer a Best Actor Oscar in '07. Later that year, the actor appeared in the ensemble crime drama The Air I Breathe alongside Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy and Brendan Fraser. Though reviews for the film were overwhelmingly negative, several singled out Whitaker's performance. Annabelle Robertson at Crosswalk wrote: "Whitaker, in particular, is extremely sympathetic in his role—a feat that is all the more outstanding after his turn as the evil dictator in The Last King of Scotland."

Dustin Hoffman

After three Best Actor nods, New Hollywood icon Dustin Hoffman received his first Academy Award for playing half of a couple going through a devastating divorce (alongside an equally great Meryl Streep) in Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980. His next movie role is just as much of a classic: as Michael Dorsey-slash-Dorothy Michaels in the beloved 1982 comedy Tootsie, which nabbed the star yet another Best Actor nomination.

Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman was nearly unrecognizable in his prosthetics-heavy performance as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the 2017 historical drama Darkest Hour. The Academy Awards honored the quintessential Oldman role with a Best Actor award, his second nomination after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. His next role was just as transformative, if not nearly as acclaimed: Oldman voiced an artificial intelligence in the 2018 sci-fi thriller Tau, which holds a woeful critical rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Laurence Olivier

One of the most celebrated Shakespearean actors in film history, cinema icon Laurence Olivier starred in and directed adaptations of three of the Bard's best-known words, Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948) and Richard III (1955), and earned a Best Actor Oscar for playing the Prince of Denmark. After portraying one of the most famous characters of all time, Olivier switched it up by cameoing as a no-name policeman in the 1951 drama The Magic Box, a "distinguished" bit of stunt casting that The New York Times praised as a delightful "extravagance."

Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck's devastating performance as a father grieving the loss of his three children in Kenneth Lonergan's gut-wrenching Manchester by the Sea clearly broke the collective hearts of the Academy, which voted to give the Boston-bred performer the Best Actor award in 2017. That year, he would tackle another exploration of love and loss with the supernatural drama A Ghost Story, which was a hit with critics — Richard Brody of The New Yorker included the title on his list of the decade's best films.

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser experienced quite the career comeback when he took the Best Actor Oscar for his acclaimed performance as a morbidly obese, housebound English teacher in the 2022 Darren Aronofsky-directed melodrama The Whale. He kept those high-profile projects going with his next film credit, as attorney W. S. Hamilton in Martin Scorsese's stunning American crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Whether it's in biopics or in other historical movies, playing an important person often leads to some of the most amazing performances put on film. There are far too many to count, much less list here, but we do think you'll agree that this list of 32 actors playing famous people rank among the best. 

Ben Kingsley - Gandhi

The 1982 epic Gandhi starring Ben Kingsley as the revered leader of India and icon to peaceful protestors all over the world is an amazing movie. At the heart is Kingsley's amazing, transformative performance. He looks and sounds just like Gandhi, it's almost uncanny. 

Margot Robbie - Tonya Harding

When the news first broke that Australian Margot Robbie was cast to play controversial US Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, it's safe to say that many were skeptical. It took the actor all of about 30 seconds of screen time in the movie to prove those skeptics very wrong. Robbie is fantastic as the troubled skater with a family life that you wouldn't wish on anyone. 

Paul Dano - Brian Wilson

The Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy seems to have been overlooked by many, but if you're a fan of The Beach Boys, you need to see it. John Cusack plays the older Wilson in the 1980s and it is fantastic. Paul Dano, who plays the Pet Sounds-era Wilson, is simply amazing. He completely disappears into the role. 

Reese Witherspoon - June Carter Cash

Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix are both amazing in Walk the Line as June and Johnny Cash. Really both deserve to be on this list, but we've the honor to Witherspoon if only because she won Best Actress at the Oscars in 2006. 

Robert Downey, Jr - Charlie Chaplin

It took a long time for Robert Downey to win an Oscar, which he finally did for Oppenheimer. More than 30 years before that win, he earned his first nomination for 1992's Chaplin for playing the legendary actor and Hollywood trailblazer. It's a movie that doesn't get talked about much these days, but it's still great. Especially Downey's performance. 

Natalie Portman - Jackie Kennedy

Jackie Kennedy has to be a tricky person to play. She is so iconic and so well known to so many people that the scrutiny would be stressful. Luckily for all of us, Natalie Portman hit it out of the park when she played the former First Lady in Jackie. 

Meryl Streep - Margaret Thatcher

It's hardly surprising to see Meryl Streep's name on any list of great performances. She has been arguably the best actor in Hollywood for 50 years. One of her finest performances came in 2011's The Iron Lady where she played the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher. 

Rami Malek - Freddy Mercury

You knew we couldn't have this list without including Rami Malek's incredible performance as Freddie Mercury in the biopic about the late Queen singer, Bohemian Rhapsody. It's not all about the prosthetic teeth, as Malek nailed so many nuances and mannerisms of the icon rock star. Just as in real life, the performance at Live Aid at the end of the movie brings down the house. 

Val Kilmer - Jim Morrison

If you grew up in the '90s, The Doors was probably a seminal film for you. Val Kilmer blew audiences away as the late Jim Morrison. It was so good you'd swear you were watching the real Morrison as he rose to fame and then burned out quickly before tragically becoming a member of the "27 Club" in 1971.

Denzel Washington - Malcolm X

A powerful personality takes an actor with equal strength to pull off and in Malcolm X, Denzel Washington is more than up for the task. Playing the combative, controversial civil rights leader could not have been easy, yet Washington brings him back to life in every way. It's the reason everyone should see this biopic. 

Faye Dunaway - Joan Crawford

Faye Dunaway gives the performance of a lifetime in Mommie Dearest. It's scary and mesmerizing. Joan Crawford was one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood in the Golden Age in Hollywood, but this movie changed the public's opinion of her forever - and not for the better. 

Jennifer Lopez - Selena

Before played the murdered superstar Selena in the movie of the same name, Jennifer Lopez had had a few roles in movies, but after Selena, she was the legend we all know today. It's a groundbreaking performance. 

David Oyelowo - Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Everyone in America has heard the powerful voice of Martin Luther King, Jr. hundreds of times. His speeches are part of everyone's education. That makes David Oyelowo's turn as the civil rights leader that much harder - and that much more impressive. It's just fantastic. 

Cate Blanchett - Bob Dylan

Okay, we admit, technically Cate Blanchett is playing a character named "Jude Quinn" in I'm Not There, but c'mon, let's be real, she's playing Bob Dylan. It's an uncanny performance as well. There is actual footage of Dylan from that time in his career in the excellent D.A. Pennebaker-directed Dont Look Back. Compare that to Blanchett and you'll realize just how great she was. 

Daniel Day-Lewis - Abraham Lincoln

Of all the amazing performances on this list, Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln just may be the best. It frankly could be the greatest acting performance of all time. There's an argument for it, at least. He's simply incredible and brings the tragic president to life like no one else has before or since, and likely never will. 

Cillian Murphy - J. Robert Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy won a well-deserved Best Actor Award for playing J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer. It's a subtle, smoldering performance, just like the personality of the real Oppenheimer. Playing the scientist in his greatest moments in life and his lowest, it's a fantastic showing by the Irish actor. 

Cynthia Erivo - Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman is one of the most important people in US history, but one that hasn't been explored on film nearly as much as you might expect. Luckily, when someone did decide to finally tell her full story on the big screen in 2019's Harriet, they had the good sense to cast Cynthia Erivo as the former slave-turned-freedom fighter. She's amazing. 

Forest Whitaker - Idi Amin

Forest Whitaker is pretty great in everything he's in. He cranks his talent up to another level in The Last King Of Scotland as the brutal dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin. He's so good there are even moments where viewers might feel compassion for the man, despite his worst tendencies as the leader of the country. 

Jessica Chastain - Tammy Faye Bakker

If you were around in the 1980s, you remember all the insanity around Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Jim Bakker crying on TV with Tammy Faye right next to him is something no one will forget. Jessica Chastain's turn as the evangelical preacher's wife is just as memorable. 

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Truman Capote

it's hard to imagine anyone will ever play Truman Capote as well as the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. The role completely takes control of the actor in the best way. It might as well been the writer himself. You completely forget there is even an actor behind the role. 

Daniel Kaluuya - Fred Hampton

Fred Hampton was a controversial and complicated leader in the Black Panther Party in the 1960s. Casting a Brit like Daniel Kaluuya in the role was a daring choice by the filmmakers of Judas and the Black Messiah, but it paid off brilliantly as Kaluuya nails the role. 

Gary Oldman - Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill has been played on the big and small screen by plenty of great actors. John Lithgow (The Crown), Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm), and Albert Finney (The Gathering Storm) have all garnered praise for playing the legendary prime minister. Gary Oldman, who won an Oscar for playing Churchill in 2017's The Darkest Hour may just be the best. His reading of those famous speeches is just mesmerizing. 

Angela Bassett - Tina Tuner

Tina Turner was a fierce woman, who deserved a fierce performance and she got one with Angela Bassett in What's Love Got To Do With It. Bassett's performance is transcendent and certainly deserved the Oscar nomination she received. She should've won it! 

Austin Butler - Elvis Presley

Austin Butler got so caught up in his performance as Elvis Presley in Elvis that critics of the actor complained that even months later he was still talking like the King of Rock and Roll. he wasn't, but that does say something about how good he was in the Baz Luhrmann-directed bio flick. 

Jesse Eisenberg - Mark Zuckerberg

When The Social Network was first announced, many were confused as to how someone could make an interesting movie about the founding of Facebook. It turns out, that if you get a great writer like Aaron Sorkin, a great director like David Fincher, and someone like Jesse Eisenberg to play the Mark Zuckerberg, you can make it look easy. The movie is great, and Eisenberg's performance is pitch-perfect. 

Leonardo DiCaprio - Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes is one of the most mercurial and odd celebrities in US history. In The Aviator, Leonardo DiCaprio fully embodies everything about the director and businessman. He takes on his greatest triumphs and sinks to the depths of Hughes' despair in the lowest points of his mental illness with the same gusto. 

Charlize Theron - Aileen Wuornos

Serial killer Aileen Wuornos was a terrifying person. A true monster, as the name of the movie about her is called. That's not to say a viewer can't have some sympathy for the circumstances that brought her to the point of murder, but you can't excuse her. Charlize Theron does an incredible job bringing all of that to the role in Monster. 

Sean Penn - Harvey Milk

Milk is one of the great political movies of the last few decades and the biggest reason why, besides the inspiring story, is Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk. Like Penn has done so often in his career, he completely disappears into the character. It is Harvey Milk.  

George C. Scott - George Patton

George S. Patton was a great, and complicated leader in World War II. He was responsible for some of the greatest military gains in the war, and he couldn't keep himself out of trouble with his controversy. George C. Scott's portrayal of the general in Patton is amazing. Even though the opening scene of him making a speech in front of the flag is fictional, it sets the tone perfectly and the movie never lets up. 

Cate Blanchett - Katharine Hepburn

Leonardo DiCaprio is fantastic in The Aviator as Howard Hughes, but he's not the only great performance in the movie. Cate Blanchett as the iconic Katharine Hepburn is, well, iconic. There's just no better word for either. It's not only a spot-on impression, the portrayal nails everything that was great about Hepburn. 

Robert De Niro - Jake LaMotta

Jake LaMotta was one of the toughest prizefighters of all time. His incredible story and Robert De Niro's performance are the two things that make Raging Bull legendary. Scorsese's direction is pretty great too. 

Helen Mirren - Queen Elizabeth II

it's really hard to play a person who has been on television screens all over the world for decades. Helen Mirren takes on that difficult task in Queen Elizabeth II. The late Queen was an icon in every sense of the word and playing her could not have been easy, yet, when you have the talent of Helen Mirren, it looks easy. It surely wasn't. 

Even the biggest and brightest stars of Hollywood have movies that they’d rather not mention being a part of in polite company. And the list you’re about to read has some of the most infamous examples of those types of projects making silver screen history…just not in the way one would have expected.

Tom Hanks - The Bonfire Of The Vanities

While we’ve seen Tom Hanks’ comments on why The Bonfire of the Vanities didn’t work, the movie’s infamy as a box office dud is something he probably doesn’t address all that often. And who could blame him, as the public considered America’s Dad to be the worst casting choice to lead a satire about the amorality of late ‘80s/early ‘90s stockbrokers.

Jamie Lee Curtis - Virus

The film adaptation of Dark Horse Comics’ Virus is uncompromisingly bad, no matter if you’re familiar with the book or not. But the most entertaining thing to come out of it was the fact that star Jamie Lee Curtis has taken every chance to roast this picture with the most cutting of remarks. It’s truly one of the best cases of entertainers who have trashed their own movies.

Michael Caine - Jaws: The Revenge

This is an example of using class and wit to politely stuff a movie like Jaws: The Revenge into the trash bin of life. Actor Michael Caine’s remarks about never seeing the film, but loving its payday, is something that always hits like the best line at a cocktail party celebrating the movies we love to loathe.

Emily Blunt - Gulliver’s Travels

History almost gave us an Iron Man 2 with Emily Blunt playing the role of Black Widow. And then contractual obligations forced Ms. Blunt to pass, in favor of starring in the Jack Black vehicle Gulliver’s Travels. So yeah, maybe it’s best not to mention this one to this star of A Quiet Place, no matter how much you think she might laugh.

Dennis Quaid - Jaws 3-D

All legendary actors have the gigs that make them, and the ones that they took so early in their career that they’d rather not think about them. Dennis Quaid’s role in Jaws 3-D more than likely falls into the latter bucket, as it’s one of the two Jaws sequels that failed to make the cut with even the franchise’s most devoted fans.

Viola Davis - The Help

Academy Award winner Viola Davis scored a nomination for her role in Tate Taylor’s film adaptation of The Help. Despite her performance’s excellence, Davis still maintains her opinion of regretting having taken part in the movie’s production, and the resulting product. 

Bill Murray - Garfield

No cinematic icon is immune to trickery, especially a trickster like Bill Murray. With his infamous Garfield casting story seeing the comedy legend mistake the movie’s writer for one of the Coen Bros, you can kind of see why he’d use his Zombieland cameo in 2009 to poke fun at the film being his only life’s regret.

Mariah Carey - Glitter

Glitter wasn’t enough of a disaster to kill Mariah Carey’s acting career, and to her credit, she went on to deliver some amazing performances in films like Lee Daniels’ Precious. But whoo-boy, does this musical drama still sting to think about from time to time? 

Elijah Wood - North

While there’s an interesting selection of beloved films Roger Ebert absolutely hated, North is one of the flops that the legendary film critic rightfully roasted. Though it definitely wasn’t Elijah Wood’s fault, it’s probably best if you don’t approach him about this one without some sort of care. 

Jennifer Lopez - Gigli

As a legendary turkey in the world of infamously bad movies, even Gigli’s director Martin Brest has pointed thoughts about that epic fail. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s colossal dud of a rom-com has more than earned its place on the bad side of history, and one could bet that even its mere mention would inspire the most withering side eye from J.Lo herself. 

George Clooney - Batman & Robin

If there’s a constant in George Clooney’s career as an entertainer, it’s his regret over Batman and Robin. Stepping in after Val Kilmer bolted on Joel Schumacher’s second Gotham-based tentpole, you can bet the ER heartthrob wishes he could use a time machine to go back and prevent this experience from ever happening. 

Renee Zellweger - Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation

Out of the Oscar-winning pair of Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, it’s a safe bet that Ms. Zellweger would be the one who’d want to keep Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation off the table of discussion. Then again, she might be a bit more relaxed on the subject since so much time has passed. 

Robert Downey Jr. - The Shaggy Dog

Early on in his mid-Aughts comeback, Robert Downey Jr. diversified his acting portfolio with everything from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to Good Night, and Good Luck. And mixed in with the lot was his role as the antagonist in Tim Allen’s remake of The Shaggy Dog. Downey would probably talk about the movie if asked, but one has to wonder what he’d say? 

Emma Watson - The Circle

For someone like Emma Watson, an actor who chooses their projects with a level of mindfulness and message in mind, The Circle must have seemed like a good choice. But the eventual public reaction to the film may have caused the Harry Potter vet to think twice even before approaching source material with names as storied as author Dave Eggers and director James Ponsoldt attached. 

Eddie Murphy - The Adventures of Pluto Nash

The Adventures of Pluto Naash is a habitual punching bag when folks choose to talk about the most infamous disasters in movie history. And thanks to that distinction, even the very open Eddie Murphy wouldn’t be mistaken for keeping this sci-fi/comedy flameout away from the conversation. 

Lucy Liu - Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is an infamous movie without even taking into account that it somehow managed to snag the star power of Lucy Liu into its clutches. Admittedly, so few people remember this one that it doesn’t feel like she’d have to be on guard for random fans mentioning its existence. 

Matt Damon - The Great Wall

You might think that the “white savior” worries of Matt Damon’s character in The Great Wall are the reason he might not want to talk about this massive box office dud. But the fact of the matter is, he’d probably politely decline any discussion on the matter because it was a thundering failure that didn’t really win him any new fans.

Jennifer Lawrence - Dark Phoenix

How much did Jennifer Lawrence distance herself from the X-Men movies by time she made Dark Phoenix? Well, not only was her time in makeup severely reduced/scaled back in quality, but she died quite early in the final X-Men prequel from the Fox days. Maybe that's part of why the two-part structure was abandoned prior to its release. 

Sylvester Stallone - Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

It’s the movie so bad that Arnold Schwarzenegger tricked Sylvester Stallone into starring in it. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is still a punch line for the Rocky franchise star/director, even decades after the film was released and tanked. One has to wonder how awkward some of those Planet Hollywood openings were, thanks to this awkward piece of history existing.

Lily Collins - Rules Don’t Apply

Actor Lily Collins is a talent that has the old Hollywood look down to a tee and isn’t afraid to show it. That confidence is probably what got her cast in Warren Beatty’s misguided rom-com Rules Don’t Apply, and to be fair, she and co-star Alden Ehrenreich are two of the only bright spots in this mostly forgettable throwback. 

Eddie Redmayne - Jupiter Ascending

If anyone is ready to admit Eddie Redmayne’s Jupiter Ascending performance is bad, it’s the man himself. While some might be inclined to give him more credit for his work in the Wachowski’s far-flung space opera, Redmayne’s criticisms of his role do come with some important caveats. 

Jennifer Hudson - Sandy Wexler

Adam Sandler is a talent who’s able to draw a wide range of actors into his orbit, and his Netflix movie Sandy Wexler was no exception. Playing a talent agent who knows a good client when he sees one, Jennifer Hudson is one of the people he rightfully tries to fast-track to fame. By no means does that proper judgment mean that this movie is something she, or most viewers, would even remember.

Hugh Jackman - Pan

Some flops crash and burn with very little trace of the wreckage. Others, like the Hugh Jackman starring Peter Pan adaptation Pan, collapse under ill-fated ambitions that don’t end up adding up in the end. But at least we got Jackman’s Captain Hook singing “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” in a totally bonkers musical number.

Pedro Pascal - Wonder Woman 1984

Pedro Pascal is almost universally recognized as one of, if not the best part of Wonder Woman 1984. That still feels like a far cry from something The Mandalorian star would even want to discuss, as its infamy is something that still echoes pretty strongly so close to its initial execution.

Dame Judi Dench - Cats

You can always count on an acting talent as iconic as Dame Judi Dench to tell it like it is. And whether it was reacting to her Razzie award nomination or the final look of her character in 2019’s Cats, she certainly hasn’t left any of her thoughts to the imagination. 

Daisy Ridley - Chaos Walking

One would probably think that Daisy Ridley would merely not want to remember Chaos Walking because of its unsuccessful bid for box office success. However, the protracted production and crazy amounts of reshoots and edits have probably ensured that the Star Wars vet has actually forgotten the ins and outs of this failed YA franchise.

Ben Kingsley - A Sound of Thunder

You don’t get to be an actor as legendary as Ben Kingsley without logging some seriously wild projects like A Sound of Thunder on your resume. This 2005 sci-fi disaster is so ill-regarded that its Game Boy video game adaptation is seen as a more favorable experience. That’s both terribly unique and just plain old terrible. 

Brendan Fraser - Monkeybone

Brendan Fraser is a lovable actor who knows how, and when, to get goofy. It’s just a shame that a project like Monkeybone never understood how to use those skills to its advantage, saddling The Mummy star with a movie that he more than likely hasn’t thought about for some time. 

Scarlett Johansson - Ghost In The Shell

There are some who might defend the live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson. Considering how much the movie has been rejected by even the source anime’s fans, and the kerfluffle that came from her casting as Major Mira Killian being seen as a bit of whitewashing, this project is probably one that the Marvel veteran would reasonably remain silent on.

Keanu Reeves - 47 Ronin

It’s not Keanu Reeves’ fault that 47 Ronin was a stinker for the ages. Although if one were to mention the movie to him in passing, he’d probably just smile and laugh, charmingly admitting defeat in that particular case of cinematic disaster. 

Will Smith - Gemini Man

What’s worse than a movie failing with one Will Smith in the starring role? Apparently, a technologically advanced picture like Gemini Man, which saw Smith playing against a CGI de-aged younger version of himself. Finally, a movie that rivals Wild Wild West for infamy on Mr. Smith’s resume.

Jack Nicholson - How Do You Know?

Jack Nicholson has been comfortably retired ever since making 2010’s How Do You Know? One has to wonder if he’d be equally as comfortable if he were to be prompted to remember the experience and the fallout that came from its release into theaters. 

As you can see, even the most talented of actors have their potential sore spots in conversation. Maybe they're not as shy about discussing these films as we'd think, and you can get a good story out of the deal. In any case, if there was a class of losers that the best and brightest of Hollywood wished they could forget, this is more than a formidable crop of titles that would fit that bill for good reason.

There are a lot of reasons that a young actor may change their name. Sometimes it's as simple as just wanting a cool new name. Often it's because someone is already in the union was using the actor's real name and they have to adjust. Here's a list of some of Hollywood's biggest stars and their real names. 

Ben Kingsley (Krishna Pandit Bhanji)

The great Ben Kingsley won an Oscar for his role in the great biopic Gandhi. It makes sense he would play the Indian freedom fighter, as Kingsley himself is Indian. Born to an Indian father and an English mother, Kingsley grew up in England and while his father was a practicing Shia Muslim, Kinglsey is not and considers himself a Quaker. He changed his name for that oh-so-common reason, that he feared a foreign-sounding name would hurt his career. 

Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Elaine Johnson)

The story is both hilarious and heartfelt. She was born Caryn Elaine Johnson in New York, but when she started acting, she was accused of being flatulent, so Whoopi "short for whoopee cushion." Her surname came from a Jewish ancestor, Goldberg, so she could celebrate the diversity in her family line. 

Judy Garland (Frances Ethel Gumm)

Judy Garland first started in show business as a singer with her sisters, going by their names, The Gumm Sisters. After they were billed as the "Glum Sisters" for a show, it was suggested they change their name. Judy Gumm took her mother's maiden name, Garland, and the rest is history. 

Martin Sheen (Ramon Gerard Estevez)

Martin Sheen's real name is Ramon Gerard Estevez, but he changed it when he broke into the business for the same reason so many others have made the decision, to be less ethnic, as early in his career they said he looked Irish. One of his sons, Charlie Sheen, chose to use the same screen name, but one of his other sons, Emilio Estevez, chose to use his given name. Sheen's daughter, Renée Estevez, an occasional cast member of The West Wing with her father, also stuck with the family name. 

Vin Diesel (Mark Sinclair)

Vin Diesel took on that name after being born Mark Sinclair when he worked as a bouncer as he tried to break into show business. "Vin" comes from his adoptive surname, Vincent, and Diesel came simply because he wanted a cool name as a bouncer. 

Miley Cyrus (Destiny Hope Cyrus)

Though she was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, Miley Cyrus decided to go by the moniker she's best known as because that was simply what her family called her growing up. Her nickname in the family was originally "Smiley" which was eventually shortened to Miley. Her first couple of professional acting gigs, in the TV show Doc and the Tim Burton movie Big Fish, she was billed by her real name, Destiny Cyrus. 

Cary Grant (Archibald Alec Leach)

Early in his Vaudeville career, the great Cary Grant used his real name, Archibald Leach. When he got to Hollywood, as is so often the case, the studio didn't think the name wasn't "box office" enough, so he changed it to Cary Grant. 

Natalie Portman (Natalie Hershlag)

Natalie Portman's real name is Natalie Hershlag, but unlike so many others, she didn't change it because the name was "too ethnic" or not generic enough. As she explained to Vanity Fair in 2024, it was because she wanted to create a separate identity for her work and personal life. 

Portia De Rossi (Amanda Lee Rogers)

Portia de Rossi's name change came, at least originally, because she simply wanted a more exotic-sounding name when she started acting in her teens. Her given name, Amanda Lee Rogers, was just bland. She later revealed it may have been in part because she was struggling with her sexual identity as well. After marrying Ellen Degeneres in 2008, she changed it again, this time combining her real and stage names, Portia Lee James DeGeneres. Professionally she is still Portia de Rossi though. 

Joaquin Phoenix (Joaquin Rafael Bottom)

The Phoenix family has a fascinating history, one that includes time in the cult Children of God. When the family left that group, they made a collective decision to change their last name to one of rebirth, and Joaquin Rafael Bottom became Joaquin Phoenix.

Jamie Foxx (Eric Marlon Bishop)

Born Eric Marlon Bishop in 1967, Jamie Foxx took his stage name early when he was a standup. He says that he noticed women often got preferential spots during open mics, so he decided he wanted a more androgynous name, choosing Jamie. For his last name, he picked it as a tribute to his favorite comedian, Redd Foxx. 

John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison)

It was a lot more common back in the day for actors to adopt cooler-sounding stage names and that was pretty much the case for Marion Robert Morrison, who ended up John Wayne. It's easy to see why he did it, whether it was a good idea or not. It worked for him. 

Tom Cruise (Thomas Cruise Mapother IV)

Top Gun: Maverick star Tom Cruise didn't change much, but it was a meaningful change. His real name at birth was Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, obviously named after his father, hence the suffix. Cruise had a very difficult relationship with his dad, so when he began his career, he dropped the Mapother in part to distance himself from his then-estranged father. The two later reunited when his father was on his deathbed. 

Olivia Wilde (Olivia Cockburn)

Actor and director Olivia Wilde's story about why she changed her name is pretty simple. She decided she wanted to stage name, and at the time was acting in Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest, which she loved. So she went with Wilde as a homage to the legendary playwright. 

Meg Ryan (Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra)

It's pretty easy to see why Meg Ryan chose to simplify her name when she started acting. Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra sure is a mouthful, so cutting a 25-letter name down to a seven-letter one makes sense. Meg is short for Margaret and Ryan is the maiden name of maternal grandmother. 

Kirk Douglas (Issur Danielovitch)

In another example of early Hollywood stars fearing their given names would hold them back for sounding too ethnic, Kirk Douglas changed his name from Issur Danielovitch. He told People it was because he feared it would hold him back and it sounded "too Semitic." 

Mahershala Ali (Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore)

Like others on this list, it's easy to see why Mahershala Ali changed his name from Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore. Not only is Mahershalalhashbaz really hard to spell and pronounce, but the Green Book actor also converted to Islam as a teenager, taking Mahershala Ali as his Muslim name. 

Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane Mortenson)

One of the most famous name changes in Hollywood history is Norma Jeane Mortensen changing her name to Marilyn Monroe. There is no big story behind it, it simply was a snazzier name and Monroe was her mother's maiden name. 

Michael Keaton (Michael Douglas)

This one is easy to understand. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas. Obviously with an actor already in the union (Romancing The Stone star Michael Douglas), Keaton had to come up with a new name for billing. He chose the last name out of respect for early Hollywood star Buster Keaton. 

Michael Caine (Maurice Joseph Micklewhite)

If you think Maurice Micklewhite is a bit of a mouthful, you're not alone. English legend Michael Caine thought so too. In 2016, he legally changed his name from Micklewhite to Caine, because, according to the Batman Begins actor says it caused too much confusion at airports. 

Winona Ryder (Winona Laura Horowitz)

This one is a little in dispute - though not really. Charlie Sheen once claimed he gave Winona Horowitz her new name, Ryder, after listening to The Doors song "Riders on the Storm." Ryder says she got it when her father asked if she wanted a stage name while they were listening to Mitch Ryder. 

Demi Moore (Demetria Gene Guynes)

The story of Demi Moore's stage name (changed from Demetria Guynes) is both mundane and unique. Before she started appearing in acting roles, Moore married musician Freddy Moore when she was 18. So while Moore was her married name, it was a new name, just as her career was taking off. Demi is simply short for Demetria. 

Dove Cameron (Chloe Celeste Hosterman)

Dove Cameron has never explained why she chose Cameron as her stage name, but her reason for choosing Dove is bittersweet. Dove was her father's nickname for her and after he took his own life, she decided she wanted to go by that, in tribute to him. 

Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian)

It takes a lot of gall and a lot of talent to decide you're going to go with a one-name moniker, and Cher has oodles of both. It's not hard to see what she did, she simply shortened her first name, Cherilyn, and dropped her last. 

Olivia Colman (Sarah Caroline Colman)

Like others on this list, Olivia Colman couldn't join the actors union with her birth name, Sarah Colman, so she changed it. As she explained in 2013, Colman chose Olivia because it is one of her best friends from college's name and she loved it. 

Carmen Electra (Tara Leigh Patrick)

There aren't many people who can claim the legendary Prince gave them their name, but Carmen Electra can. Way back at the start of her career, when she was working with the Purple One, he decided Tara wasn't good enough and named her Carmen. In 2023, Tara Leigh Patrick officially changed her legal name to Carmen Electra, because who wouldn't?

Lily James (Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson)

Like others here, Lily James renamed herself in honor of her late father, James. Though Thomson was also her father's name, of course, she wanted to do more, deciding taking on the stage name "James" to do so. 

Nicolas Cage (Nicolas Kim Coppola)

Nicolas Cage's first movie role was basically just a background character in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. He is billed in the credits by his legal name, Nicolas Coppola, and yeah, it's that Coppola. While on the set of Fast Times, his co-stars would endlessly quote his famous uncle's (Francis Ford Coppola) movies. He decided then and there he needed to distance himself from his famous family (Talia Shire is his aunt, and Sophia Coppola and Jason Schwartzman are cousins).

Julianne Moore (Julie Anne Smith)

Julie Smith is a pretty common name, and when the great Julieanne Moore hit Hollywood, she soon discovered the name was already taken in the union. She tried different combinations, but they were all spoken for. In the end, she combined her first and middle names, and took her father's name, Moore, as her surname. It's like having to go through dozens of combos to find the right vanity plate, but in the end, it's hard to imagine the actor with any other name. 

Mindy Kaling (Vera Mindy Chokalingam)

It seems Hollywood is still getting people to change their names if they or people around them fear a real name is too complicated or foreign. Indian actor and writer Mindy Kaling is a recent example when she simplified her name from Vera Mindy Chokalingam to Mindy Kaling. 

David Tennant (David John McDonald)

Former Dr. Who and Jessica Jones star David Tennant has a tried and true story as well, his real name, David McDonald, was taken. He explained some years ago on James Corden's show, where he also explained that he chose "Tennant" because he saw the name from a music magazine in an article about Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys. 

Chevy Chase (Cornelius Crane Chase)

Chevy Chase comes from a very blood-blue family who can trace their roots in America back to the Mayflower. Cornelius Crane Chase, the Vacation star's real name, reflects this perfectly. The reason he goes by "Chevy" is because his grandmother started calling him that when he was a kid. So, not much of a story here, but he's real name is just so posh, that we had to include it here. 

Helen Mirren (Helen Lydia Mironoff)

Like others, this one is just a technicality. Helen Mirren was born Helen Lydia Mironoff in London to an English mother and a Russian father. When Mirren was 10 years old, her father anglicized the family name to "Mirren." 

Over the decades, Hollywood has offered up multiple adaptations of Roald Dahl’s work — such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and more — that effectively and authentically capture the iconic stories’ signature whimsical tones and surreal styles. Yet, I do not believe there has ever been a filmmaker better suited to bring the seminal British author’s vision to life on screen than the equally whimsical and surreal Wes Anderson, who first tried his hand at a Dahl adaptation in 2009 with the stop-motion animated Fantastic Mr. Fox, and is now revisiting the author’s world with The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

The primary storyline of this 2023 Netflix original movie follows a wealthy aristocrat — played by Benedict Cumberbatch — who learns of a man who can see without the use of his eyes that seeks to harness this skill for himself to benefit his gambling habit. It is hard to believe that this new 37-minute dramedy marks the two-time Academy Award nominee’s first collaboration with Anderson, and as it turns out, he is not the only member of the Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar cast joining that club here. Let’s talk about who plays who and what other movies and TV shows you may recognize them from in the following breakdown of this esteemed ensemble.

Benedict Cumberbatch (Henry Sugar, Max Engelman)

Starring in the title role of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar — as well as that of another character named Max Engelman — is Benedict Cumberbatch, whose second Academy Award-nominated performance (after playing Alan Turing in 2015’s The Imitation Game) came from his last Netflix original film, The Power of the Dog. This is technically not his first Dahl adaptation, having participated in a remote reading of James and the Giant Peach by multiple celebrity as a Covid-era charity benefit, and most definitely not his first literary adaptation, with title roles in the hit series Sherlock, 2018’s The Grinch, and the Marvel’s Doctor Strange movies being his most celebrated credits.

Before becoming a household name, he also played Stephen Hawking in 2004 biopic for BBC (before serving as his vote for 2010’s two-part documentary, Into the Universe) and worked with director Steven Spielberg on War Horse, and following his fame, voiced Smaug in the Hobbit movies, played the Star Trek movies’ new Khan, are appeared in Best Picture Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave. Some of Cumberbatch’s more recent, notable credits include his Emmy-nominated turn as the title role of Showtime’s Patrick Melrose, a memorable cameo in  1917, and 2021’s Amazon Prime original biopic, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.

Ralph Fiennes (Roald Dahl, Policeman)

For his second collaboration with Anderson after 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, Ralph Fiennes is taking on the illustrious role of Roald Dahl himself — which is not his first time playing a renowned author, having played Charles Dickens in 2013’s The Invisible Woman. It is also not the first time he has played a real person in general, having given a chilling, Oscar-nominated performance as Amon Göth in 1993’s Schindler’s List, played fraudulent game show winner Charles Van Doren in Quiz Show the following year, and starred in another Netflix original, 2020’s The Dig, as archaeologist Basil Brown, to name a few examples. 

Like Cumberbatch, many of the English actor’s best known roles are also literary figures, such as his second Oscar-nominated role in The English Patient, Voldemort from the Harry Potter movies, the most recent “M” from the James Bond movies, or Alfred Pennyworth in The LEGO Batman Movie. Some the iconic characters he has originated including Harry from In Bruges and The Menu cast’s sinister Chef Slowik. 

Dev Patel (Dr. Chatterjee, John Winston)

As Dr. Chatterjee and John Winston, we have Dev Patel, who, curiously has a few things in common with Ralph Fiennes. Dev has also given an Oscar-nominated performance in a Best Pictures Oscar winner (2008’s Slumdog Millionaire), starred in a few movies revolving around hotel setting (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, its sequel, and Hotel Mumbai), and has multiple leading roles in previous literary adaptations — most notably The Personal History of David Copperfield in the title role and the acclaimed A24 movie, The Green Knight, as Sir Gaiman.

Of course, the London-born actor — who made his big break in the original Skins cast — actor also has a few biopics under his belt, namely 2015’s The Man Who Knew Infinity and Lion from the following year. Patel is also know for playing Zuko in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, creator Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom cast on HBO, and is about to make his feature-length directorial debut with another Netflix movie called Monkey Man, which he also wrote, produced and stars in.

Ben Kingsley (Imdad Khan, Croupier)

Playing the guru whose unique skill Henry Sugar covets and a gaming table runner is Sir Ben Kingsley, who is also working with Anderson for the first time here. Though he was in Schindler’s List with Fiennes and, like Cumberbatch, is also part of the MCU thanks to his controversial role as Trevor Slattery in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi. Like most of his The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar co-star, the English actor has starred in many a biopic — most famously 1982’s Gandhi, for which he won a Best Actor Oscar — and many other literary adaptations, such as 2005’s Oliver Twist, Disney’s 2016 The Jungle Book remake, and the hit Martin Scorsese movies, Shutter Island and Hugo.

Crime thrillers are another area where Kingsley has thrived, having stunned in 2000’s Sexy Beast and Lucky Number Slevin from 2006, but you can find him in just about any genre you can think of. He’s done horror with Species, sci-fi with A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, and even low-brow comedy with Mike Myers’ The Guru, to name just a few examples of each category, among others. This is also just his latest Netflix exclusive, following 2017’s political satire War Machine, the platform’s 2018 Watership Down miniseries adaptation, and 2019’s The Red Sea Diving Resort.

Richard Ayoade (Dr. Marshall, Yogi)

Appearing in the roles of Dr. Marshall and Yogi is Richard Ayoade, who last worked with Fiennes in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Kingsley in The Boxtrolls, and Cumberbatch in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. He is best known in the United Kingdom as a presenter for unscripted series like Travel Man (which earned him a BAFTA nomination), hilarious TV comedies like The IT Crowd (which earned him a BAFTA win), and directing many amusing projects, including his 2010 feature-length debut, Submarine (for which he also received BAFTA attention).

American audiences might also recognize Ayoade’s face from the 2012 sci-fi comedy, The Watch, or from the beloved family movie, Paddington 2, as a forensic investigator. However, they may better recognize his voice from the Soul cast, from his  Mandalorian  droid named Zero, as Professor Marmalade from 2022’s The Bad Guys cast, and as the lead in creator Dan Harmon’s Krapopolis, most recently.

Log into your Netflix subscription now to stream The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar on Netflix now. Also, keep in mind, that — according to Tudum — this is just the first of several Roald Dahl-inspired shorts from Anderson and featuring many of these actors that fans can look forward to.

It’s been about a week since SAG-AFTRA officially called for an actors strike, and it’s been sending additional shockwaves throughout Hollywood along with the 2023 WGA Writers Strike raging on too. But as it turns out, not every major actor is sitting things out to walk the picket line, as we’ve learned that stars such as Jenna Ortega, Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and more have been given the go-ahead to resume work on their projects thanks to a loophole of sorts. 

On Wednesday, a list of productions were released by SAG-AFTRA that have signed an “interim agreement” with the Screen Actors Guild that allows certain productions to resume work without violating the strike order. These productions that have signed the interim agreement and are posted on the site are reportedly completely independent – meaning they are not operating under a studio contract. Currently, 45 projects are on that list. 

Among the productions that were approved are projects that star some major movie stars. Death of a Unicorn for one, is an A24 film that is set to star Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter who accidentally run over a unicorn on their way home. The movie was set to start shooting in Hungary from a script by Alex Scharfman, who is also directing, and now will continue to do so. A24 is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which SAG-AFTRA has been in negotiations with, therefore many of the studios productions could resume as scheduled. 

Another movie of note that's been greenlit to continue production is The Rivals of Amziah King, a crime thriller starring Matthew McConaughey, since it's being fully financed by Black Bear Pictures. Additionally, there's David Lowery’s Mother Mary, another A24 movie, where Anne Hathaway will play a fictional musician and Michaela Coel will co-star as an iconic fashion designer. The movie has been described as an “epic pop melodrama” and is being financed by A24 and Topic Studios.

Other movies set to remain in production amidst the actors strike is Owen Wilson’s action comedy Bride Hard, a movie called Dust Bunny starring Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver, and another action comedy called The Killer’s Game with Sofia Boutella, Scott Adkins, Dave Bautista, Ben Kingsley, and Ice Cube. Additionally, the upcoming horror movie The Watchers, which is set to star Dakota Fanning and be the directorial feature debut of M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Ishana Shyamalan, is also set to still roll cameras. 

As actors like Mandy Moore have spoken out from the picket line about not getting residuals for their work, and one report about studios trying to get AI likenesses reminded us too much of a recent Black Mirror episode, it sounds like the independent movie space is getting a chance to resume work as usual at least. Stay tuned for more updates.

Over the years, Netflix has become an exciting place for YA fans to see some inspired adaptations of their favorite books and novel series, with shows like Shadow and Bone, Fear Street, To All The Boys I Loved Before and 13 Reasons Why. That tradition continues with a movie adapting author Soman Chainani’s fantasy series, The School For Good And Evil.

Directed by Bridesmaid’s Paul Feig, the new Netflix original movie follows friends Sophie and Agatha, who attend the School of Good and Evil as classmates and learn about their mysterious pasts and destinies. It also features an exciting, star-studded cast that we will shine the spotlight on now for you. Here is a breakdown of who is playing who in Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil cast.

Sofia Wylie

Playing one of the film’s main protagonists, Agatha, is Sofia Wylie, who has played a Marvel character before – namely Riri “Ironheart” Williams on Disney XD’s Spider-Man series and in a few animated shorts. Her first taste of fame was as a dancer on America’s Got Talent in 2015 and, two years later, being cast on Nickelodeon’s Nicky, RIcky, Dicky & Dawn and Disney Channel’s Andi Mack. Two years after that, was cast as the lead of a short-lived Disney show about dancing called Shook, and as a main character of Disney+’s hit series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. 

Sophia Anne Caruso

As Agatha’s best friend, Sophie (who is placed in the School of Evil), we have Sophia Anne Caruso, who is best known for originating the role of Lydia Deetz for Broadway’s take on Beetlejuice. She had earlier experience with screen acting from appearing in 2008’s Eagle Eye and 2011’s I Am Number Four from director D.J. Caruso (no relation), and she also played Brigitta in NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! in 2013, but The School For Good And Evil marks her first lead role in a film.

Laurence Fishburne

Another cast member with Marvel titles under his belt (2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp) in addition to DC movies (he played Perry White in the DECU) is Laurence Fishburne, whose earlier work includes playing Cowboy Curtis on Pee-wee’s Playhouse, as well as starring in grounded, thought-provoking dramas like Boyz n the Hood. However, the Oscar nominee (for What’s Love Got to Do with It) is best known as Morpheus, whom he did not reprise in the fourth installment of the Matrix movies. However, he did reunite with Keanu Reeves for the last few John Wick movies and will reprise his role as the Bowery King for that franchise’s upcoming fourth installment.

Michelle Yeoh

Reportedly playing Professor Emma Anemone from the School of Good, is Michelle Yeoh – who is also best-known for playing heroic badasses like Jessica Yang in Supercop, Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies, Yu Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, or Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once, more recently. Of course, those are only some of Yeoh's best movies, which also include a couple of MCU films (as a different character in each), some rom-coms (such as when she was in the Crazy Rich Asians cast) and last worked with Paul Feig on Last Christmas), and her recent voice over work in the Paws of Fury cast and in Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Jamie Flatters

The School for Good and Evil will be many American audiences’ first introduction to Jamie Flatters before he appears in Avatar: The Way of Water later in 2022, unless they already caught his last Netflix original movie — the European World War II-set drama, The Forgotten War, from 2020. The English actor debuted on the BBC’s coming-of-age dramedy, So Awkward, in 2015 before landing recurring roles on a more mature British drama called Liar and another dark miniseries from the U.K. called Close to Me.

Kit Young

The School for Good and Evil is only the latest Netflix original title based on a series of YA fantasy novels to star Kit Young, following his breakout role in the Shadow and Bone cast as Jesper Fahey. He made his acting debut alongside The Handmaid’s Tale cast member O-T Fagbenle in the 2008 made-for-TV military biopic, Walter’s War, and has appeared in stage productions of classic Shakespeare plays that were filmed and distributed by National Theatre Live — namely Julius Caesar in 2018 and A Midsummer Night’s Dream the following year.

Peter Serafinowicz

Peter Serafinowicz has a lot in common with his fellow cast members. He has starred in comic book adaptations (Guardians of the Galaxy and Amazon Prime’s live-action reboot of The Tick, for instance), Simon Pegg movies and TV shows (most notably Shaun of the Dead and Spaced), John Wick: Chapter 2, and a number of Paul Feig movies (including Spy and the aforementioned Last Christmas). However, none of his co-stars can claim to be the first actor to voice Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.

Rob Delaney

Yet another comic book movie veteran (Deadpool 2) in The School for Good and Evil cast is Rob Delaney, who is also part of the Fast and Furious movies universe (he was in the Hobbs and Shaw spin-off), worked with Charlize Theron in the Bombshell cast, worked with Paul Feig on Last Christmas, and was in Netflix’s The Bubble cast with Peter Serafinowicz. The creator and star of Amazon’s Catastrophe also had an especially busy year in 2021 with the live-action Tom & Jerry movie, Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man, the futuristic animated feature Ron’s Gone Wrong, and Disney+’s Home Sweet Home Alone.

Mark Heap

The School of Evil counterpart to Michelle Yeoh’s character, Professor Bilious Manley, is played by Mark Heap, who is no stranger to fantasy, having starred in 2007’s Stardust, and who is also known for movies like 2002’s About a Boy. However, he is best known for his scene-stealing main role on Spaced and would reunite with the hit British sitcom's star/co-creator (Simon Pegg) and director (Edgar Wright) for the apocalyptic comedy The World’s End in 2012. 

Patti LuPone

Another The School for Good and Evil cast member with a theater background and a role in a Paul Feig Movie (Last Christmas) is the legendary Patti LuPone. Her first major role in a feature film was in Steven Spielberg’s 1941, which she would follow up with more acclaimed hits like Witness in 1985 and 1989’s Driving Miss Daisy, for instance. Also in 2022, she returned to the American Horror Story cast for Season 11, which is only her latest time working with producer Ryan Murphy after her recurring role on Pose and in the Netflix miniseries, Hollywood.

Rachel Bloom 

Rachel Bloom’s connections to the rest of the School for Good and Evil cast include a comic book adaptation (she leant her voice to Batgirl in 2019’s Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and starring in a recent Disney+ movie (Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers from 2022). The Emmy-winning star and co-creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend can also be seen playing a Hulu-employed comedy writer in the platform’s Reboot cast and, years earlier, had a brief role on How I Met Your Mother in Season 7.

Kerry Washington

As the Dean of the School for Good, Professor Clarissa Dovey, we have Kerry Washington, who was part of The Prom cast for her last Netflix movie and has been in Marvel films – namely two Fantastic Four movies as Ben Grimm’s girlfriend, Alicia. She became a household name, however, when she was cast in her Emmy-nominated role as Olivia Pope in Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal in 2012 – the same year she reunited with her Ray co-star, Jamie Foxx, in Django Unchained. In 2020, Washington won an Emmy for executive producing Live in Front of a Studio Audience: “All in the Family” and “Good Times” and was also nominated that year for her performance in Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere.   

Charlize Theron

As the Dean of the School for Evil, Lady Lesso, we have Charlize Theron, who is -- like Michelle Yeoh -- usually known best for playing heroic badasses like Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, Lorraine Broughton in Atomic Blonde, or Andy in her last Netflix movie, The Old Guard. However, she has gone bad to play serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (for which she won an Oscar), the royally evil Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman and its sequel, and Cipher in the Fast and Furious movies. The South African native – who broke out in Tom Hanks’ That Thing You Do! cast  – also received Academy attention for 2006’s North Country and 2019’s Bombshell, and recently joined the MCU as Doctor Strange’s love interest, Clea.  

With a director as versatile as Paul Feig at the helm and a star-studded ensemble like this, we could be looking at the next Harry Potter — in terms of being a successful franchise based on a series of YA fantasy books. Stream The School for Good and Evil on Netflix, if you have not already, to see for yourself.

In the lead-up to Iron Man 3’s release in 2013, it was believed that Trevor Slattery was starring as The Mandarin, one of Tony Stark’s most dangerous enemies from the comics. However, it was revealed in the Marvel movie that Kingsley was actually playing Trevor Slattery, an actor who’d been hired by Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian to portray The Mandarin as a front for his terrorist activities. Nearly a decade later, Kingsley reprised Trevor in last year’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and now it’s been revealed that he’ll be popping back into the MCU for a surprising project.

Word has come in that Ben Kingsley will appear in the Disney+ series Wonder Man, which was revealed to be in the works back in June. This will mark Kingsley’s third MCU appearance, as along with the aforementioned movies, the actor also starred in the Marvel One-Shot short film All Hail the King, which provided details on Slattery’s background while he was in prison following the events of Iron Man 3. Kingsley is the first actor to be unveiled for Wonder Man, and according to Variety’s sources, he will “play a major role,” although it’s unclear how many episodes he’ll appear in.

On the one hand, Ben Kingsley’s involvement in Wonder Man makes sense given that Destin Daniel Cretton, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ director, is the series’ co-creator and executive producer. That being said, of all the places in the MCU for Trevor Slattery to appear next, Wonder Man is a curious pick. For those unfamiliar with the character, Wonder Man was originally Simon Williams, who gained control of Williams Innovations following his father’s death, but then weathered the company’s profits falling due to competition from Stark Industries. Simon subsequently tried to embezzle funds from his company, but was caught in the act and arrested. Blaming Tony Stark for his misfortune, Williams agreed to undergo experimentation at the hands of Baron Heinrich Zemo to gain superpowers, and as Wonder Man, he initially started out as an Avengers villain. Years later though, Simon changed his ways and became one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The above details alone don’t provide any hints on how Trevor Slattery could fit into the Wonder Man series, but here’s another key piece of information: in addition to his superhero activities, Simon Williams is also a Hollywood actor. To that end, Variety’s report mentions that Wonder Man is “intended to be a Hollywood satire,” and since Trevor Slattery is a down-on-his-luck actor, that’s enough groundwork laid for him to be pulled into the Marvel TV show. When we left off with Trevor in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, he was still in Ta Lo with his hundun buddy Morris after having been imprisoned for years by Tony Leung’s Xu Wenwu, a.k.a. the real Mandarin.

Wonder Man is reportedly expected to begin filming in early 2023, so it’ll likely be a while until we learn any specific plot details, including specifically how Trevor Slattery fits into the picture. Until then, break out your Disney+ subscription to watch/re-watch all of Ben Kingsley’s past MCU appearances.

SPOILERS are ahead for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, now playing exclusively in theaters.

Remember that Iron Man 3 Mandarin fakeout? Yeah... that happened. Back in 2013, the Marvel movie led us to believe we’d see the supervillain face off against Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark, only to learn that Ben Kingsley’s role was all bells and whistles. The Academy Award winner was not playing a menacing villain. He was nothing but a laughable actor named Trevor Slattery. Eight years later, with the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Trevor has returned, but more importantly, we've now met the real Mandarin, and it finally does right by the character.

When “The Mandarin” first appeared in the MCU, it became one of the most controversial storytelling decisions the comic book universe made, especially when the far less legendary Aldrich Killian turned out to be the movie's real villain instead. Not unlike Marvel previously making use of the despised Thor: The Dark World in Avengers: Endgame, the character of the Mandarin has been cleaned up with Shang-Chi, and we need to break it down:

How Iron Man 3’s Ben Kingsley Fits Into Shang-Chi

Many of us had an inkling Ben Kingsley might return for Shang-Chi, but to my own surprise, it was much more than a cameo. While Simu Liu and Awkwafina’s characters are in the home of Shang-Chi’s father, they come across Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery, who is hanging out in a dark dungeon-like room, still as jolly as can be despite the conditions. As Trevor explains it, he’s somewhat of a jester to Tony Leung’s Xu Wenwu who often has monologues ready to entertain the leader of the Ten Rings.

Trevor has an adorable friend in the faceless furry DiJiang that he believes is part of his imagination and has named Morris. From there, Trevor Slattery ends up venturing with Shang-Chi, Katy and Xialing to the mystical land of Ta Lo because he is the only one who can communicate with the creature originally from the land. Ben Kingsley’s Trevor continues to be just as funny in Shang-Chi and is welcome thanks to the comedic relief he brings to the adventure.

Who Is The Real Mandarin In The MCU?

Shang-Chi builds upon Iron Man 3's Mandarin fake-out by revealing the real Mandarin to be Tony Leung’s Xu Wenwu, who is also Shang-Chi’s disturbed father. He is a very old character who has been in the fabric of the MCU for thousands of years, with Mandarin being one of his many names over the centuries. Xu Wenwu is the leader of the Ten Rings, an army that toppled governments throughout history. The actual Ten Rings Wenwu wears grant its user immortality and great power, and he uses them storm Ta Lo, as he believes his late wife is still alive there, though we eventually learn her voice is actually coming from the soul-consuming Dweller-in-Darkness, which is basically an all-powerful demon.

Tony Leung’s Wenwu is absolutely the most intriguing character in Shang-Chi. He may be a villain, but he’s one with an established purpose and a lot of humanity and complexity within him. Although as audiences we cannot relate to living thousands of years or recruiting a massive army, we do understand the desire to bring a loved one back and how disillusionment can be dangerous to cloud one’s judgement. Shang-Chi take the opportunity to tell the story of Mandarin in a way that three-dimensional and much deeper than some misguided origins the comics portrayed.

The Origins Of The Mandarin

The Mandarin is a classic Marvel villain who made in comic book debut in 1964's Tales of Suspense #50. The character came from a wealthy Chinese family whose home is taken during the Communist revolution. He discovered the Ten Rings and became an incredibly powerful being and supervillain. However, in the comic books, the Mandarin depicted racist Asian stereotypes, including his plan to destroy the Western world and dominate the globe.

If Marvel had done a straight depiction of The Mandarin, it would have been harmful and offensive to the Asian community. Shang-Chi's Mandarin is depicted as a villain, but one who was changed by love,and then tarnished by loss and power. Oh, and the inclusion of Tony Leung’s Xu Wenwu also allows Marvel to rewrite the origins of Shang-Chi’s father, who was originally Fu Manchu, a character also marked by being a racist Chinese villain. As Leung told Elle, he sees his character as a “sociopath, a narcissist, a bigot” based on a lifetime of experiences rather than a MCU character defined by simply being the bad guy.

Why Uniting Both Mandarin Stories Matters

Marvel Comics has been around since the ‘30s (going back to its Timely Comics roots), and clearly a lot has changed in the past 80 years and will continue to with big-screen depictions of these characters. It’s great to see the MCU tackle these controversies head on, especially with the right creatives behind it. The new “Mandarin” calls out people naming him after a “chicken dish.” It’s something to laugh at while we watch, but though the movie’s Asian creators, director/co-writer Destin Daniel Cretton and co-writer Dave Callaham, they have a chance to take back the story into a more worthwhile story and version of The Mandarin.

Adding in Ben Kingsley was clever because he’s the association audiences had with The Mandarin thus far. Seeing both Trevor Slattery and Tony Leung’s Xu Wenwu in the same movie gives as a chance to remember the Mandarin’s fake-out introduction in Iron Man 3 and connect it with the actual story Marvel wants to told about the character. It also allows the people who were disappointed that Tony Stark never got to have that showdown with Mandarin to find perspective in knowing that Shang-Chi was the absolute right time for the villain to finally get the true MCU treatment.

There are a lot more Marvel introductions to come in 2021 alone with Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home, among the upcoming MCU films and shows like Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel coming to Disney+.

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Considering how much the comic book genre has been dominating pop culture, a ton of A+ talent has made their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man 3 was no exception, as Sir Ben Kingsley had a role as the Mandarin. Well… sort of. And now he’s broken his silence on his return to the MCU with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The Ten Rings are a terrorist organization that goes back to the very first MCU movie. They imprisoned Tony Stark in Iron Man, leading him to create his first armored suit. The organization and the real Mandarin are expected to appear in Shang-Chi, although fans were delighted to learn that Sir Ben Kingsley would also be reprising his role as Trevor Slattery. Kingsley spoke to this return for the first time, saying:

Well, there you have it. While it’s been a number of years since Iron Man 3, it seems that Sir Ben Kingsley is happy to return to the MCU with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. We’ll just have to wait and see exactly how he factors into the story of the new Marvel blockbuster.

Ben Kingsley’s comments come from a conversation he had with ET at the world premiere of Shang-Chi. While he didn’t actually reveal the contents of his role in Simu Liu’s starring vehicle, the inclusion of his character Trevor Slattery should provide some closure to the loose ends from Iron Man 3. And smart money says the Ten Rings won’t be happy about him posing as their leader.

Marvel fans can re-watch Ben Kingsley’s time in the MCU on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Indeed, the real Mandarin will finally be revealed in Shang-Chi, played by the great Tony Leung. And while the blockbuster will feature a ton of new characters, the MCU is going back to the beginning by finally exploring the history of the Ten Rings. And just like that, the shared universe is getting just a bit larger.

With Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings mere days away, anticipation for Destin Daniel Cretton’s movie is at a fever pitch. Even Marvel favorites like Chris Hemsworth are psyched about the arrival of this new hero, and fans can’t wait to see Simu Liu’s title character crossover with other heroes.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will hit theaters on September 3rd. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

Lip Sync Battle constantly gives viewers something they've probably never seen before, be it Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Clark Gregg destroying a Britney Spears impression or Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco...also destroying a Britney Spears impression. The Season 3 contestant list has been announced, and it's both full of excellent entertainers and also presented through a lip-synced remake of Michael Jackson's "Beat It." Check out the trailer below to watch Lupita Nyong'o, Don Cheadle and more Marvel actors, as well as many other awesome celebs.

The first two seasons of Lip Sync Battle were pretty damned impressive when it came to who answered the call of performance duties, but Season 3 already feels like it's going to be absolutely perfect. In the first place, we've got four of the most captivating actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the aforementioned Don Cheadle and Lupita Nyong'o, as well as T.J. Miller and Sir Ben Kingsley. (No Mandarin jokes.) I'm trying to think about all the songs I want to see them perform, but I'm having trouble keeping my finger from hitting the play button again to see them all rocking out as the King of Pop.

Another specific grouping seen here includes four actresses from Netflix's Orange is the New Black. We have Laverne Cox - who I have little doubt will crush whatever songs she goes with - as well as Uzo Aduba, Ruby Rose and Samira Wiley. We've seen Lip Sync Battle use different cast members from the same series/movie before, and it's great that the show is carrying on with that casting path, and they couldn't have picked a better show to pick from.

Other than those folks, we've got the talented roster of Wanda Sykes, Craig Ferguson, DeAndre Jordan, Jeff Dye, Milla Jovovich, John Cho, Rob Riggle, America Ferrera, Sarah Hyland, and Regina Hall. Dammit, now. Not a dullard in the bunch, and now all I can think of is Riggle and Cho in a movie about two dueling Michael Jackson impersonators, and in the twist ending, they're both beaten by Ferrera's hair.

And while I love that Jay Leno is going to give it his all on the debauchery-familiar stage of Lip Sync Battle, he didn't look like he was completely aware of what was happening. In any case, there should be an alarm clock that works like this.

I'm so into this trailer, my skin is slowly turning into red leather. Both the "Beat It" track and video are personal favorites of mine, as are the "Weird" Al Yankovic parodies, so this had a lot to live up to, even if no one involved was aware of my expectations. And when it was over, all I wanted to see was the same group take on "Thriller" and "Black and White," because that face-morphing part would be stellar. Plus, why hasn't Macaulay Culkin done this show yet?

Lip Sync Battle will make its return to Spike for a fantastically star-studded Season 3 on Wednesday, October 12 at 9 p.m. ET. To see when you can mouth along to everything else in primetime, check out our fall TV schedule.

Here’s a sentence you should be quite used to hearing at this point: Netflix is putting together a fantastic sounding series that a cast of superstars have signed on to join. In this particular case, it’s a miniseries adaptation of the classic novel Watership Down, and the four actors with their names and voices in the hat are Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ John Boyega, Iron Man 3 villain Ben Kingsley, X-Men leader James McAvoy, X-Men beast-man Nicholas Hoult, and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters’ Gemma Arterton. Feel free to stand there with your mouth gaping open for a while.

This new take on Watership Down, which will be told across four hour-long installments, will be a co-production with the BBC, which explains why this whole cast comes from across the pond. It also implies that the subject matter will be treated with staunch maturity, lest anyone fear this project would resemble the Dreamworks Animation spinoffs that Netflix is fond of picking up. It’s hard to imagine this classic story being told with anything less than steely-eyed seriousness.

Published in 1972, Watership Down is author Richard Adams’ powerful tale of anthropomorphized rabbits navigating the dangers of the surrounding world in escaping the impending demolition of their warren. This new take will be written by My Big Fat Diary’s Tom Bidwell and directed by 300: Rise of an Empire helmer Noam Murro. The novel was famously made into the somewhat disturbing 1978 feature from Martin Rosen, as well as an animated TV series, so it’ll be interesting to see how this version will compare and if it will be worth the effort.

A badass in live-action, John Boyega will get on with more of the same in animation as Bigwig, named for his fluffy appearance. He is the rabbit who knows how to fight better than most, and his size is a big help there. If you want someone to take on a tough job, you call up Bigwig.

James McAvoy will handle main character duties as Hazel, a leader among bunnies whose talents aren’t limited to getting others motivated and inspired to further the cause. Something that someone who plays Charles Xavier should have no problem with.

Hazel’s younger brother Fiver will be voiced by Nicholas Hoult. Fiver is the one who sees the trouble coming to the Sandleford warren. With his visions comes wisdom, as well as the feeling of responsibility for the things that he sees.

No stranger to playing villains, Ben Kingsley will take on voicing the antagonist General Woundwort, the Chief of Efrafa whose single-mindedness helps him capable of seemingly anything he wants. His reputation precedes him, and his efforts will not be taken lightly.

As the soft Angora rabbit Clover, Gemma Arterton won’t be playing a character as important as the rest, but her role has changed from one adaptation to the next. The fact that Arterton is voicing her probably means the Hutch rabbits will play a decent enough role in the story.

There were other castings as well. According to TheWrap, Broadchurch star Olivia Colman will voice Strawberry, English comedian Miles Jupp will play Blackberry, Victor Frankenstein’s Freddie Fox will voice Captain Holly and Suffragette’s Anne-Marie Duff will take on Hyzenthlay.

Netflix has been busy lately. Earlier today, the streaming giant ordered up another season of Wet Hot American Summer, and there are roughly a billion shows coming in the future. It’s not clear exactly when we’ll get to see Watership Down hitting the binge-ready service, but we imagine the animation will take a while. At least there are only four hours, though. And considering how rarely Netflix likes to end shows, we can probably expect an announcement for a Tales from Watership Down adaptation coming in the future.

Now that Ryan Reynolds has partially taken over the world with the massive success of Deadpool, he can do damn well whatever he wants. One thing that the 39-year-old Canadian actor has a penchant for doing on screen is swapping bodies with other actors. He’s done it a number of times over the course of his career, including in the upcoming action thriller Criminal.

Maybe he has some self-esteem or identity issues, or perhaps, as an actor, he simply enjoys pretending to be other people and likes to up the ante by playing other people playing other people. With Criminal just dropping a trailer the other day, and with the success of Deadpool, we thought, what better time to take a look at the people Ryan Reynolds has swapped bodies with on screen.

Traylor Howard, Two Guys A Girl And A Pizza Place

Ryan Reynolds’ first time swapping bodies with a costar wasn’t on the big screen. Instead, it came in 1999 during an episode of the sitcom Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place. During the episode, "Halloween 2: Mind Over Body," his character, the simple-minded Mitch "Berg" Bergen, has his brain traded with Traylor Howard’s Sharon Carter by a mad scientist who lives in the basement of their apartment building. That’s going to happen sometimes, it’s unavoidable.

Jason Bateman, The Change-Up

Who knew that drunkenly peeing into a public fountain could have such life changing effects. Unless you wind up on one of those lists where you have to awkwardly introduce yourselves to your neighbors. But in The Change-Up, it caused Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman to trade bodies and lives, with Bateman’s brow-beaten married family man taking the place of Reynolds’ free-wheeling bachelor friend who has a penchant for naked pregnant women.

James Hong, R.I.P.D.

Ryan Reynolds is a tall, handsome, well-muscled white man. And he’s a 39-year-old Canadian. James Hong is a short, 86-year-old Asian man. Aside from their gender, the two have relatively little in common in a physical capacity, but in 2013’s comic book adaptation R.I.P.D., when Reynolds’ murdered police officer, Nick Walker—now a kind of spectral law enforcement officer—is out and about in public, he looks like James Hong in a floppy hat and a beige jacket wielding a banana. No one would ever suspect.

Ben Kingsley, Self/less

If you’re going to swap bodies with someone, Ben Kingsley isn’t a bad choice. The guy has an Oscar and has had a legendary career, after all. And that’s exactly what happens in 2015’s sci-fi thriller Self/less. Kingsley plays an aging billionaire tycoon who, when diagnosed with cancer, has his mind inserted into the body of Ryan Reynolds. If you’re getting on in years and your own body is breaking down, that’s a hell of an upgrade. Things take a turn, however, when Kingsley’s mind starts seeing Reynolds’ memories.

Kevin Costner, Criminal

Kevin Costner is also not a bad persona for an actor to take over. Sure, his star had dimmed some in recent years, but like Ben Kingsley, he, too, has some awards hardware and was once one of the biggest celebs in the world. In the new suspense thriller Criminal, Ryan Reynolds plays a dead CIA agent whose mind, memories, and skills are implanted into the body of a sociopathic criminal and death row inmate (Costner) in a last-ditch attempt to stop a nefarious plot that will kill tons of people. There’s also an insane cast with Gary Oldman, Gal Gadot, Tommy Lee Jones, Alice Eve, and Michael Pitt, maybe Reynolds can occupy one of them before the day is done.

After months and months of teasing the fulfillment of The Mandarin/Ten Rings storyline first hinted at the start of the franchise, Iron Man 3's revelation that The Mandarin was actually just an act portrayed by a washed up stage actor either pissed you off or really entertained you. Regardless, the character that we thought was the head of the Ten Rings terrorist organization turned out to really only be a threat to himself, and he (real name Trevor Slattery) was thrown in jail for his connection to Aldrich Killian's evil plans. While we presumed the story ended there, the Marvel One Shot Hail To The King changed our perceptions yet again, revealing that the real Mandarin was still out there somewhere. The twists and turns keep coming, and you should prepare for more, as we now have yet another knot of uncertainty.

IGN has Sir Ben Kingsley on record as saying that Trevor Slattery could be a creation of The Mandarin after all, thus suggesting that the Oscar winning performer could come back as a much less silly version of his "evil" character. At least, that's what Sir Kingsley himself seems to think. Said the actor,

While Sir Ben Kingsley's works and personality are of the highest order (save for some films we'd rather forget he was involved with), the last fragment of this interview says a lot both about him as a performer and about how the industry perception towards comic book movies have changed. Kingsley is a well respected actor ready to play in the Marvel sandbox once again, and really who can fault him? The attitudes of talented, award winning actors like Robert Redford and Benicio Del Toro have evolved from the early days of comic films That said, while I would imagine that Marvel Studios would love to keep Sir Ben Kingsley on staff, it seems like Trevor Slattery's days are numbered, just given everything seen in both Iron Man 3 and All Hail The King.

For the few of you who seem to be bummed out by that last sentence, you can blame Kevin Feige and Drew Pearce, as Feige has also gone on the record in the past stating that Iron Man 3 was "always" supposed to set up the decoy Mandarin. Whether it really was always in the cards, or if the angry fans forced Marvel Studios' hand in the matter, it's highly unlikely that Trevor Slattery is the true Mandarin. Which means it's the perfect time to surprise everyone and make him turn out to be the actual Mandarin, is it not?

Iron Man 3 is available on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as the 67 showings Starz and its many off shoots have scheduled for the coming week. Sir Ben Kingsley will next be featured in the stop-motion animated The Boxtrolls, which will be released in theaters on September 26th.

We’ve known for some time that Spike TV has wanted to get back into original programming. The network made the first big push when it announced a Tut event series, and now it seems the station has landed a pretty big name to star. On Monday, Spike TV announced that veteran actor Ben Kingsley has joined the project.

Kingsley’s age rules out his ability to actually play King Tut. Instead, he’s set to play Ay, the leading advisor to the young Egyptian ruler. Ancient Egyptians actually had awesome names for people in positions of power, and Ay’s actual title is “Grand Vizier.” We’ve known for a little while that Tut would follow the ruler’s rise to power and would include a colorful population of advisors, lovers and friends all scheming to earn their own wealth and power. Kingsley is the first big hire for Tut, and it’s certainly a great addition for a network that has been out of the original programming game for the better part of a decade. In fact, Kingsley should even have a little practice playing an Egyptian, having signed on to play a pharaoh in Night at the Museum 3.

Spike seems to know they nabbed a great actor for the part, with Executive Vice President of Original Series Sharon Levy even mentioning a tidbit about the part in her nod to Kingsley.

In recent years, Ben Kingsley has been mostly known for his movie and theater work, but occasionally he does take on challenging roles in television, appearing in Coronation Street and Orlando many decades ago when his career was just starting out. During his lifetime, he’s nabbed an Academy Award, two BAFTA awards, two Golden Globes and even more nominations. In short, he should bring a few eyeballs to Spike TV’s historical series.

Tut has been pretty quick to come together. Back in May, the network announced the series was getting off the ground and would be shot partly in Morocco and partially in Canada. Instead of going through a pilot process to determine whether or not the show would be a good fit, Spike TV ordered Tut straight to series, signing on for six one-hour segments chronicling the life and times of the boy-king. Tut is being billed as an event series.

With production expected to begin on Tut this fall, and with Spike TV shooting for a 2015 premiere, it’s highly likely that we’ll be hearing more news about Tut very soon. I’m not sure any of the castings will be able to compete with Kingsley, but we’ll keep you posted, nonetheless. Suffice to say, Tut is off to a very good start.

Jon Favreau has been collecting A-list stars left and right to join the cast of his upcoming adaptation of The Jungle Book. The process began back in March when Idris Elba was hired to play the story's central villain, Shere Kahn the Tiger, but the production has since kept busy by adding both Scarlett Johansson and Lupita Nyong'o as Kaa, the hypnotic python, and Rakcha, the wolf mother who raises Mowgli as her own, respectively. Now the Walt Disney Company has announced yet another big casting coup for the project, revealing that Academy Award-winner Ben Kingsley has signed on to provide the voice of Bagheera, the friendly black panther.

What makes this casting just a tad bit strange is that the Jungle Book continues to keep plucking players involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Favreau, of course, directed both Iron Man and Iron Man 2, Elba plays the Asgardian Heimdal in the Thor movies, Johansson plays S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanov, and Kingsley appeared as The Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Nyong'o is the only actor signed on so far who doesn't have a contract in place at Marvel Studios. Instead, she's busy working on another one of the Walt Disney Company's other big franchises: Star Wars.

Based on the classic story written by Rudyard Kipling and adapted by screenwriter Jason Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li), The Jungle Book will tell the story of a young boy named Mowgli, his adventures with various animals in the rainforest, and, presumably, his reintroduction to human society. Bagheera is classically one of the good guys, having spent years as Mowgli's protector and ward. Disney's classic animated version of the story from 1967 featured the character voiced by British performer Sebastian Cabot, also known for being the narrator in 1977's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh:

Jon Favreau is currently coming off a return to his indie routes with his recently released Chef, but The Jungle Book promises to be his return to big budget filmmaking. While we don't know who will be playing any of the humans yet, the film will be a mix of both live-action and animation. The film is actually one of two Jungle Book adaptations currently in the works in Hollywood - the other one set up at Warner Bros. with Andy Serkis set to helm - so you can be sure that Disney is working hard to get this movie made as quickly as possible.

The Jungle Book will be in theaters on October 19, 2015.

One of the classic tropes that has been a part of Hollywood filmmaking for decades and decades is casting British actors to play villains opposite American heroes. It's hard to say exactly how the tradition started - perhaps its ultimately just a call-back to the days of the American Revolution? - but it's hard to deny its efficacy, as actors from the UK have given us some of the best sinister turns in the history of the medium. For their big commercial set to air during this year's Super Bowl game, the car manufacturer Jaguar has put this classic cliche in the spotlight, and has enlisted the help of stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Mark Strong, and Tom Hiddleston to do so.

While I can't say that that I like this commercial all that much - I'm not entirely sure I fully get the link between being a villain and driving a Jaguar - whoever did the casting absolutely nailed it. Kingsley, Strong and Hiddleston don't always play villains, but one could argue that all of them are at their best when they do. I will personally always think of Kingsley in his role as Don Logan in Jonathan Glazer's Sexy Beast:

How about Strong's role antagonizing the titular hero in Sherlock Holmes?

And Hiddleston, of course, will always and forever be remembered for his run as Loki in Thor, The Avengers, and Thor: The Dark World:

This certainly won't be the last star-studded commercial we see popping online over the next week or so. Companies have been known to pull out all the stops when it comes to getting A-list talent to star in Super Bowl ads, and in recent years those spots have found their way online days early just so that corporations can be sure that they're getting their money's worth. Stay tuned here on Cinema Blend as more of them come our way.

Last summer, Ben Kingsley blew our minds as The Mandarin in Marvel's spectacular Iron Man 3. But even though his bold baddie was in police custody by the film's final curtain, this was not the last we'll see of Kingsley's conniving character. Earlier this month, Kingsley delighted fanboys and fangirls alike with his reveal that he was reuniting with Marvel for a secret project, and Latino Review has followed up with some crucial details.

When Kingsley first teased us with his character's return, we broke down the possibilities, which ranged from a reprisal in an upcoming Marvel movie, a cameo on the spin-off TV series The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a post-credits sequence appearance or a role in Marvel's One Shots. Latino Review says it's definitely a One Shot, meaning Kingsley reteamed with the Iron Man 3 crew to create a short film that will be a self-contained story that can also set up world-building for future Marvel projects. But before we get to what story The Mandarin's got brewing, a warning: from this point on we will be discussing the specifics of Iron Man 3. So spoilers ahead for one of the biggest movies that's opened this year.

At the end of Iron Man 3, Tony Stark bursts into the top secret facilities of the infamous international terrorist The Mandarin only to discover he's a front for the evil machinations of Stark rival Aldrich Killian. Basically, "The Mandarin" is a cover-up embodied by a drug-addled actor named Trevor Slattery.

While some moviegoers (including some of us at Cinema Blend) loved this twist on the old Iron Man villain, others were outraged. And that latter group will be pleased to hear LR's report that the true Mandarin will surface in this One-Shot. Yup, The Mandarin is real, and he's pissed off that Killian and Slattery have made a mockery of his name and legacy. He will rise "to set the record straight." How remains to be seen. But it looks like bad news for the cowardly Slattery.

From here it'll be interesting to see who is cast to play the true Mandarin. While we wait for Marvel to comment on this story, feel free to tell us in comments who you'd like to see take the role.

Next up from Marvel Studios is Thor: The Dark World, which hits theaters on November 8th. Captain America: The Winter Soldier will follow on April 4, 2014. Then a new cast of Marvel heroes will surface on Guardians of the Galaxy, set to open on August 1st, 2014. And finally, May 1st, 2015 will bring the return of Earth's Mightiest heroes in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Ridley Scott appears to be pulling out all the stops when it comes to casting his upcoming film Exodus. While the film already has Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton attached to play Moses and the evil Egyptian pharaoh Ramses, today it's been revealed that the movie will actually be an incredibly impressive ensemble. Deadline is reporting that Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Sir Ben Kingsley, and John Turturro are all either set or in negotiations to star in the new biblical epic.

Scripted by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Steve Zaillian, whose previous credits include Schindler's List, Moneyball, and Gangs of New York, the film will tell the story of how Moses was able to successfully free the Jewish people from bondage and slavery in Egypt and lead a pilgrimage to the Promised Land in Israel. According to the source, Paul is in talks to play Joshua, "the Hebrew slave who leads the people into the promised land after Moses"; Weaver is set to play Tuya, Ramses' mother; Turturro is set to play Seti, Tuya's husband and Ramses' father; and Kingsley is in talks to play "a Hebrew scholar." Variety says that cameras are currently scheduled to start rolling next month and that the production will be doing a bit of globe-trotting, set to shoot in England, Spain and Morocco.

Paul has spent the last five years giving audiences heart attacks playing Jesse Pinkman on the soon-to-end series Breaking Bad, he's getting prepped to make a major splash on the big screen soon. In addition to Exodus, next year we will also see him play the lead role in the video-game adaptation Need For Speed - which will be out in March. He has also wrapped on the Pascal Chaumeil-directed dramedy A Long Way Down, which co-stars Rosamund Pike, Imogen Poots, Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette and Sam Neill.

Weaver, who previously worked with Scott on both Alien and 1492: Conquest of Paradise, has also been doing a good bit of television work recently, playing the lead in the miniseries Political Animals, but she also recently signed on for the Mortal Instruments sequel (which may or may not happen after the first film's less-than-stellar opening at the box office this past weekend). She is also still attached to star in James Cameron's Avatar 2, which is currently scheduled to hit theaters in 2016.

Of all the stars that have been added to the Exodus cast Kingsley has been the busiest on the big screen in 2013. In addition to some smaller projects, the Oscar winner starred in Shane Black's Iron Man 3 back in May and will soon be seen in the anticipated adaptation of Ender's Game, which will be coming out on November 1st.

Lastly there's Turturro, who just recently directed the upcoming comedy Fading Gigolo, which stars both himself and Woody Allen. While the movie doesn't have a release date just yet, it will soon be showing at the Toronto International Film Festival, and you can watch the first trailer below,:

Can we talk openly about Ben Kingsley's actual role in Iron Man 3 yet? When the giant summer blockbuster first opened Kingsley's performance was one of the biggest surprises, especially for a film that felt like it had been marketed so heavily that there were no surprises left. Kingsley's Mandarin is revealed in the middle of the film to be a drunk actor named Trevor Slattery, a front put on television by Guy Pearce's true villain, Aldrich Killian. And as you can see in this deleted scene from the film, revealed today by USA Today, he was originally supposed to be lending his menace to the screen for even longer.

This brief scene, immediately after Happy Hogan is injured in the explosion outside Grauman's Chinese Theater, would have made the link between The Mandarin and the attack all the more clear-- though it's hard to argue that director Shane Black really needed this scene to keep the plot moving. The best thing this clip does is give us another look at Kingsley's deeply weird performance, with that unplaceable accent and growl that makes him inscrutable, and only a little more coherent than good old muffled Bane. Of course, in Iron Man 3, the actual content of Mandarin's threats turned out not to matter, so he could sound as muffled as he wanted without confusing the audience.

Back when Iron Man 3 we spent a ton of time talking about Kingsley, going over how "the Mandarin" punked the Internet, how it either brilliantly adapted the Mandarin character from the comics or totally ruined it, depending on who you ask. But we couldn't stop talking about it, which of course, was part of the point. Iron Man 3 pulled off a rare thing in modern superhero movies: a total, game-changing surprise. Future Marvel movies will be hard-pressed to match that kind of expert reversal-- but you'd better believe they're working on it as we speak.

For more deleted scenes like this and plenty of other extras, you can pick up Iron Man 3 on Blu-ray starting September 24. As we learned just before Comic-Con it will be jammed with features, from an audio commentary with writer Drew Pearce and writer/director Shane Black to the new Marvel One Shot Agent Carter, which has Hayley Atwell reprising her role from Captain America. Check out the full specs for the Blu-ray set below.

PACKAGING & BONUS FEATURES:

3-Disc 3D Super Set (Blu-ray 3D+Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy+Music Download)

Bonus Includes:

• Marvel One Shot: Agent Carter
• Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Look Marvel's Thor: The Dark World
• Marvel's Iron Man 3 Unmasked
• Deconstructing The Scene: Attack On Air Force One
• Gag Reel
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Audio Commentary With Drew Pearce & Shane Black
• And more!

2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack with Digital Copy (Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy)

Bonus Includes:

• Same as the 3-Disc 3D Blu-ray Super Set above

2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray+DVD)

Bonus Includes:

• Same as the 3-Disc 3D Blu-ray Super Set above

1-Disc DVD + Digital Copy

Bonus Includes:

• Deconstructing The Scene: Attack On Air Force One
• Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Look Marvel's Thor: The Dark World

High-Definition & Standard Definition Digital

• Bonus offerings vary per select digital retailers

It’s been a busy day for Ender’s Game fans. Earlier, we learned that the first official trailer for Gavin Hood’s sci-fi adventure will arrive roughly a week from now, on May 7. Then, EW.com shared the first look at Sir Ben Kingsley in character as war hero Mazer Rackham in the anticipated adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel.

On creating the character, Kingsley says:

As the story goes, Rackham was a pivotal figure in the early battles against the Formics, a race of extraterrestrial creatures that wage a protracted war with our civilzation. Rackham will train our planet’s next great hope, Ender (Asa Butterfield), during the young soldier’s time spent at Command School. Kingsley isn’t Ender’s only tutor. Harrison Ford plays IF Commander Hyrum Graff in the film adaptation, and we saw a side-profile shot of the actor in costume much earlier. We’ll likely see a ton of the entire cast when the trailer drops next week.

As for Kingsley’s look in the character, he is half-Maori, and the markings on his face are tattoos that pack more meaning than casual audiences might realize.

We expect to have a lot of our questions answered by next week’s trailer, and we’ll certainly bring you that as soon as it arrives. For now, Ender’s Game reaches theaters on Nov. 1. What do you think about Kingsley as Rackham?

It’s amusing to look back at director Brad Anderson’s career and notice that even though his earliest films, mostly comedies, contained a few actors that would eventually become marquee names, his first thriller, 2001’s psychological creepfest Session 9 had all the star power of David Caruso behind it, and it still managed to be one of the scariest films in the last twenty years. Since, he’s worked with some of the best talent in Hollywood on both the big and small screen, having last directed Halle Berry in the recent modest hit The Call. And he’ll soon be working with two more Academy Award winners in his next project.

Deadline reports Sir Ben Kingsley and Sir Michael Caine have been added to the cast of Eliza Graves, Anderson’s adaptation of an early Edgar Allan Poe story titled “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.” The prestigious actors will be joining stars Jim Sturgess and Kate Beckinsale in the psychological thriller, which is written by Joe Gangemi. Mel Gibson is even on board as a producer.

And it’s not a plot that readily brings to mind actors like Caine and Kingsley. The story concerns a young doctor (Sturgess) who arrives at a mental institution for an apprenticeship and finds that the patients have taken over, and the doctors have become imprisoned. The doctor eventually falls for one of the patients (Beckinsale), and weird complications arise. The site doesn't mention what roles the two new stars will be playing, but I have to assume Caine and Kingsley would play two of the hospital's reputable staff members.

Caine is coming off of last year's The Dark Knight Rises and will next be seen in the magician heist flick Now You See Me. Kingsley, who worked with Anderson on 2008’s excellent Transsiberian, is set to have a huge year, appearing as The Mandarin in Iron Man 3 and as Mazer Rackham in the anticipated adaptation of Ender’s Game.

Eliza Graves will begin production on June 24.

The sunglasses. At the moment, I can’t quite get past the faux aviator sunglasses worn by Sir Ben Kingsley as he plays the uber-enemy The Mandarin in Shane Black’s Iron Man 3. Marvel continued to roll out its character posters for the upcoming sequel, landing on Mandarin in a one-sheet shot we’re happy to share below:

What else do we know about The Mandarin, as portrayed by Kingsley? Not much, to be honest, and that’s surprising given the amount of information we’ve already perused about Iron Man 3. Just about every shot we’ve managed to see of Kingsley in character has him sitting. Will there be action shots of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) versus his archenemy? One would assume, but it’s possible that this version of the classic Marvel villain is more of a behind-the-scenes manipulator, a string puller who uses other adversaries to make Tony Stark’s life miserable.

The camouflage pants also are catching my eye. When I think of The Mandarin – thanks to a childhood spent reading Iron Man books – I think of long flowing robes and Asian mysticism. Kingsley and Black seem to be adding a military complex to Kingsley’s character … which would fall in line with Stark’s character arc from the standalone Marvel movies. But this shot just makes The Mandarin seem more modern than I was expecting. Again, it’s the sunglasses. They’re really throwing me for a loop.

In case you missed it, here's the Iron Man 3 trailer, complete with ominous Mandarin voice-over...

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Disney and Marvel will drop Iron Man 3 in theaters on May 3. In addition to Kingsley and Downey, Don Cheadle returns as James Rhodes, Gwyneth Paltrow is back as Pepper Potts, Paul Bettany still voices Jarvis, and you know Stan Lee will be in there somewhere with a cameo. New to the Iron Man franchise is Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen.

Iron Man 3 is going to kick-start the summer blockbuster season in a big way. What do you think about this Mandarin poster? Let us know in the comments below.

For the past week Marvel has been teasing the release of the first trailer for Iron Man 3, and the strategy seems to have worked since it's now all anyone can talk about. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the footage itself was also fantastic, offering up endless things to discuss from writer-director Shane Black's darker tone to the vocal theatrics of Sir Ben Kingsley as the main villain Mandarin.

Kingsley's voice is something, I hear a southern drawl (and saw someone on twitter mention Reverend Lovejoy from The Simpsons), but let's not forget his looks since he could also comfortably pass as one of the 13 dwarves in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. Hm. Rings do feature prominently in both stories, maybe a crossover? Nitpicking aside, his overall appearance, which I'm sure I'll find less comical in context, is perhaps not as interesting as one specific physical feature prominently displayed in the trailer. First spotted by our pal Da7e Gonzales, it seems Mandarin is sporting some rather interesting ink. Check out the neck tattoo...

Looks an awful lot like Captain America's shield with the Avengers' 'A' in the center. Could Mandarin's history somehow overlap with Cap's? Or lead into the upcoming sequel The Winter Soldier? Perhaps he has a history with Nick Fury in a previous incarnation of the initiative? But then why would he be coming after Tony and not the either of the other heroes? He is obsessed with technology, so Mr. Stark might just be the first step in his master plan, accumulating the firepower needed to go after the bigger fish. Some are speculating that the 'A' actually looks more like the Anarchy symbol, which would probably fit better with his character but not within the center of the red and blue rings. Speaking of rings...

You can also see that he's not wearing the Ten Rings of Power in either of the shots that show the tattoo, which could simply mean he doesn't have them yet or, another theory, that it isn't actually him at all. But if it isn't Mandarin, then who is it? It's worth noting that in the 70s, Mandarin's minions in the comics became known as his 'Avengers' or 'Avatars' so that could be one of his branded cronies. Others think it's Tony in disguise and, if you look closely, the person is wearing some kind of headpiece (or glasses) similar to the thing he's wearing while talking to Pepper. At this point I'm just going to assume it's Mandarin and he's got a hard on for the Avengers after the events of New York.

At some point we'll be able to stop writing about Iron Man 3 every hour, but today does not seem to be that day. With the film's first trailer coming tomorrow, Disney and Marvel are pulling out all the promotional stops, revealing new images, a teaser for the trailer, and now a teaser poster in quick succession. You can check out the new teaser poster below, and below that, our first-ever look at Ben Kingsley as the fearsome villain, Mandarin.

The teaser poster comes straight from Marvel Studios, while the Mandarin image debuted at Entertainment Weekly, where there's an accompanying article that suggests a lot of the Mandarin lines we saw in the Comic Con footage will be repeated in tomorrow's trailer.

But while we continue to wait for that, let's focus on the teaser poster, which features the same gallery of Iron Man suits that were featured in the first set photo and also made the journey to the showroom floor at Comic Con. They're clearly really into this image of all the previous generation Iron Man suits in one place, and whether that's because they'll play an integral role in the film, or just because they want to focus on the legacy of the previous two Iron Man movies, I'm not sure. After all, this will be the first film in the franchise not directed by Jon Favreau, so it's possible they're trying got build up a strong link between the first two and this new one, directed by Shane Black. Or maybe there's some credence to this rumor about the film's finale including 40 different Iron Man robots fighting evil.

We probably won't get a hint about that in the trailer tomorrow, but hopefully plenty will be revealed. We'll have it here for you as soon as it goes live, so keep coming back!

Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was so successful it's amazing that nobody has thought to make a sequel to it before, but now it would appear that a prequel is getting into full swing and its even courting its first Oscar winner. Sources close to the production are saying that Sir Ben Kingsley is currently circling the upcoming film Mary Mother of Christ, which is being directed by Australian filmmaker Alister Grierson.

Should Kingsley sign on The Wrap says that he would play the role of King Herod, who will be the villain in the story as Mary defies him in order to project her son, Jesus. The script was written by Benedict Fitzgerald (who co-wrote The Passion of the Christ with Gibson) and Barbara Nicolosi, and the cast already includes Odeya Rush (The Odd Life of Timothy Green) as Mary, Peter O'Toole as Symeon, and Julia Ormond as Mary's cousin, Elizabeth. The producers are also said to be interested in casting both Dame Judi Dench and Hugh Bonneville as Anna the Prophetess and Satan, respectively. Joel Osteen, a televangelist from Texas, is serving as an executive producer on the project, along with Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment and Shawn Williamson of Bright Light Pictures as producers. It doesn't seem that Gibson is involved in any way.

The Passion of the Christ made $370 million domestically on a $30 million budget and $241 million overseas. Lionsgate has signed on to distribute the film, but the latest report doesn't mention when the project will go into production or when they are targeting the movie for release.

Marvel Studios is proving why they are the top dog when it comes to Hall H presentations (and why Robert Downey Jr. is the undisputed King of Comic-Con). Downey took to the stage to present Iron Man 3 footage, which Eric will recap in great detail in his live blog (it looked amazing), there was one huge news: Sir Ben Kingsley is playing The Mandarin.

The explosive footage that they showed concluded with shots of Kingsley’s hands wearing the rings. Then it pulls back a little bit further to show the actor stroking his grey beard. Then he cocks a handgun, even though he’s sitting in an Oriental chair. It’s very quick, but it confirms what we expected. Kingsley is The Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

“We’re halfway done,” Black confirmed on the shoot, then calling Kingsley “lovely” and doing a great Sir Ben impersonation. “This guy is The Mandarin.”

We’ll have plenty more on Iron Man 3. Stay tuned.

With Iron Man 3 now in production in Wilmington, North Carolina, Marvel Studios is probably pretty eager to lock the lid down and keep any more story details from coming out until much closer to the movie's May 3 release date next year. And yet, there's been a trickle of information coming out anyway, a lot of it thanks to the folks at Latino Review, who just dropped a few tidbits of information in a new post. As always, these ought to be treated as rumors for now, and that goes double for what they're saying about the movie's villain, since it goes directly against what Marvel has been saying for months.

When Ben Kingsley was first brought on to play the villain, it was with the specific denial that he was playing The Mandarin, one of the most famous villains in the Iron Man universe. But the Mandarin rumor stuck around, and Latino Review says it's for good reason-- Kingsley is indeed playing The Mandarin, but Marvel is going to continue denying it. And you won't be seeing as much of him onscreen as you might think-- Guy Pearce's scientist character Aldrich Killian will be the face of the organization that creates the Extremis virus, and Kingsley's Mandarin will be the veiled threat behind the scenes.

So, again, there's pretty much on confirming this until the movie gets closer to release-- I'm betting that when the first Iron Man 3 trailer comes out, we'll get a pretty clear sense of how Pearce's and Kingsley's villains fit into the world. But if you've been sticking to your guns believing that Kingsley really is playing the Mandarin, you've got Latino Review-- and their well-connected sources-- on your side. If I had to put my money on it, I'd say you're all right-- how else to explain all the time they'll spend filming in China this summer?

They say art is timeless. That may not always be true, but we can probably say this much: all art eventually becomes timely again. Case in point, Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House, which is being adapted and set amongst the modern economic crisis by writer/director Charles Huddleston. He's already lining up a hell of a cast, as well: Variety reports that Ben Kingsley, Julian Sands, and Jena Malone are on board for the film.

Ibsen's play, originally premiered in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1879, centers around a family struggling with financial troubles and secrets that threaten to split them apart. Huddleston adapted the play along with Michele Martin (who previously co-wrote Dadgum, Texas with Huddleston). Martin is also acting in A Doll's House, playing the lead female role of Nora Helmer. Kingsley and Malone will be taking on the roles of Dr. Rank and Christine Linde, friend of Nora's. Sands will be playing a moneylender named Nathan Gynt.

Huddleston says that he believes the play is more relevant than ever today, when recession and faltering economies fill every nightly news broadcast. He told Variety that "by bringing [A Doll's House] into today’s world I’m going to heighten the characters’ emotional turmoil and send them on a frightening journey where their deceptions and financial decisions threaten not only their social standing but their lives.” There's no question the story will hit all too close to home for many potential moviegoers, but I hope nobody goes into it hoping to be cheered up...

Kingsley has several interesting projects on the horizon, in addition to this new one. He's appearing in Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator alongside an eclectic cast including John C. Reilly, Anna Faris, and Megan Fox. He's also on board for The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which follows the ill-fated ship that carries Dracula's coffin from Transylvania to England in Bram Stoker's infamous novel.

When you consider who the director is, we've heard and seen very little about Martin Scorsese's Hugo Cabret. In fact, we haven't written an article directly about the movie since Emily Mortimer and Michael Stuhlbarg were added to the cast back in July. A family film from the director of Taxi Driver and Goodfellas, it's hard to know what to expect from the project, but now we have a few set photos to guide us.

Posted on the Hugo Cabret Facebook page, the snapshots give us our first look at Chloe Moretz, Ben Kingsley, and Sasha Baron Cohen in their decidedly bizarre costumes. I'm not quite familiar with the book that the film's based on, written by Brian Selznick, but I'm sure there's a reason behind the the incredible number of hairclips and handlebar mustaches.

Check out some of the images below and head over to Facebook to see the rest.