Seth Rogen has been bringing the comedy in a big way for over two decades, but over the past year he’s really stood out in a new way, setting Emmy records with The Studio, not to mention The Muppet Show TV special he delighted us with this year. Next up he’ll appear in The Invite, which Olivia Wilde both directs and stars in, and as reviews hit ahead of its release on the 2026 movie calendar, I’m surprised to see it sporting a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score (as of this writing).

Is it shocking to me that Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz are capable of such a rating? Not at all, but scores this high are hard to come by these days for any filmmaking ensemble. Even the critically lauded Toy Story 5 is ranked lower than The Invite at 92%. The year’s biggest shocker Obsession, which is doing unprecedented things at the box office, has 94%. So if that’s the bar that’s been set, what exactly do The Invite reviews say?

Alex Godfrey of Empire rates the movie 4 stars out of 5, warning that it’s not a date movie. As tense and funny as it is, The Invite is also “a sad, incisive, brilliantly drawn study of a failing marriage.” The critic says:

Kate Erbland of IndieWire gives it a B+, saying that Olivia Wilde is fully in control here, balancing the big laughs from the awkward dinner party teased in the trailer with the heartbreaking moments, all while surprising the audience at every turn. Erbland cannot overstate how much fun it is to watch The Invite in a crowded theater, so please, she says: Accept this invite. The critic continues:

Joey Magidson of Awards Radar says that “Olivia Wilde directs the hell out of” the upcoming A24 movie, giving a talky comedy a real visual style. It’s smart and profound but also “a laugh riot.” The quartet of actors are doing top-tier work, Magidson says, rating The Invite 3.5 out of 4 stars and writing:

Siddhant Adlakha of IGN gives it a “Great” 8 out of 10, praising Olivia Wilde’s achievement and joining other critics in saying it’s one of the best of the year. Adlakha’s review of The Invite reads:

Several of the reviews I’ve read had small quibbles, particularly with The Invite’s third act, but because the critics find the overall product so impressive, they’re willing to overlook some things. Jacob Oller of AV Club is a tad less forgiving, giving the movie a B-, writing:

Despite the critiques from the AV Club critic, however, he says Olivia Wilde’s directorial control of her ensemble keeps the awkward dinner party moving through its clunkier courses.

After reading Olivia Wilde’s comments on how sex is portrayed in movies — and her promise that The Invite would be “irreverent” and “playful” — I was expecting the “fun” but possibly not the depth that critics say her direction brings to the movie.

I’m definitely interested in checking out this highly rated film, and we don’t have long to wait, as The Invite hits theaters on Friday, June 26.

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 30 years since Fight Club was released in theaters. The movie has truly stood the test of time over the last three decades and has to be seen as a modern movie classic. It’s the sort of movie that fans have likely watched dozens, if not hundreds, of times, but there are certainly those who have never seen Fight Club. What's more, there are fans who love the movie who have probably never seen it on a big screen.

Fight Club Is Returning To Theaters

That’s set to change as a new 4K transfer of Fight Club will make its debut in theaters this year. Unfortunately, the opportunity to see this will be limited to one day only, April 22. Even event screenings often run for a couple of days, so this one is even more limited than most. Based on showtimes on Fandango, there is only a single showing of the film, so there aren't even multiple options on the one day.

As somebody who did see Fight Club in theaters back in 1999, I can say it was an experience I still remember. Although I’ll admit part of that may be due to not knowing the story or the ending; the Fight Club ending is so well-known at this point that some know it even without ever seeing the film. Which is not to say everybody agrees on Fight Club's ending. Maybe discussing the ending is the reason none of us were supposed to talk about Fight Club.

At the same time, seeing it in a theater full of people who have already seen Fight Club has a lot to be said for it too. The communal experience of watching a classic movie with other people who love it can be a lot of fun as everybody experiences those memorable moments together.

Fight Club Is Getting A 4K Blu-Ray Release Too

For those who miss out on the theatrical exhibition of the new 4K version of Fight Club, or who just want to own it, there’s also good news as pre-orders are now open for a 4K Steelbook version. Plus the movie will also be released Digitally in 4K starting May 12.

Fight Club is one of those movies that seem to generate an endless amount of fan conversation. Does it glorify the toxic masculinity which is presents, or is it a condemnation? The movie maybe hasn’t aged all that well in a few ways, but that may be exactly why the movie is still talked about, as there may be no film from the late 1990s that is more “of its era” than Fight Club.

Tickets for the theatrical return of Fight Club are available now.

Major spoilers for Wake Up Dead Man are ahead! Read with caution, and watch the latest Knives Out mystery with a Netflix subscription.

I get it, connecting the Knives Out movies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's movies feels random and potentially illogical. However, now that we’re three mysteries deep with Benoit Blanc thanks to the release of Wake Up Dead Man on the 2025 movie schedule, a pattern has been created that makes this connection undeniable. So, without further ado, let's talk about the fan theory involving Rian Johnson’s beloved whodunnits and how the MCU plays into their outcomes.

Why Is There A Fan Theory That Mixes Knives Out With Marvel?

Alright, this all starts with the Knives Out cast, including Chris Evans. When that movie came out in 2019, he was the only actor in the ensemble connected to the MCU, and his character, Ransom, killed Christopher Plummer’s Harlan.

Now, cut to 2022. Glass Onion was released, and it featured notable Marvel movie stars Edward Norton, who was in The Incredible Hulk before Mark Ruffalo took over as Bruce Banner, and Dave Bautista, AKA Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy. Notably, the cast also included Kathryn Hahn, who was in WandaVision and Agatha All Along, and Jessica Henwick, who appeared in The Defenders, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. However, those are shows, and this pattern only pertains to actors who starred in MCU movies.

In Glass Onion, Edward Norton’s Miles ended up killing both Bautista’s Duke Cody and Janelle Monáe’s Andi.

So, this all created the theory – which An0nym355 summarized on Reddit – that if a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie actor is in a Knives Out mystery, they will be either the killer or a victim and never an innocent survivor or bystander. An important distinction to make here is that not every victim is an MCU star. Rather, every time a MCU performer has been in one of Rian Johnson’s films, they have either done the killing or been killed. Now, with the release of Wake Up Dead Man, there’s even more merit to this connection.

How Wake Up Dead Man Perfectly Plays Into This Theory

When Josh Brolin and Jeremy Renner were cast in Wake Up Dead Man, I was immediately thinking about this theory. However, I didn’t realize at the time that Glenn Close and Thomas Haden Church were also MCU movie alums.

That’s right, along with Brolin playing the big bad Thanos and Renner portraying Hawkeye for years, Glenn Close played Nova Prime in Guardians of the Galaxy, and Thomas Haden Church was Sandman in both Spider-Man 3 and the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

I will note that they aren't the only actors in Wake Up Dead Man with Marvel connections; however, they are the only four MCU movie stars. Kerry Washington was in 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of Silver Surfer. Also, Jeffrey Wright voices a character in the series What If…? Neither of their characters was involved in the crimes of Wake Up Dead Man. However, neither of them is an MCU movie actor, either. Washington’s Marvel movies aren’t technically in the MCU – even though Chris Evans’ Human Torch does appear in Deadpool and Wolverine. Meanwhile, Wright has only ever appeared in Marvel TV shows.

With all that being said, I thought this third Knives Out mystery would deviate from the potential pattern due to all these muddy Marvel waters. However, it did not at all; in fact, it made the theory even stronger.

In the whodunnit, the four actors with ties to MCU movies were involved in the crime. Both Josh Brolin’s Monsignor Wicks and Thomas Haden Chruch’s Samson Holt died. And the people responsible for those deaths wound up being Glenn Close’s Martha Delacroix and Jeremy Renner’s Dr. Nat Sharp.

So, in the most brilliant of ways, the well-reviewed Wake Up Dead Man played right into this fan-favorite Marvel theory while also making it more complicated and twisty. Therefore, if we ever get another Knives Out mystery, make sure you pay close attention to the cast and their connections to the MCU.

Well, it feels like everyone who has seen Fight Club has broken the first two rules of Fight Club, which are “do not talk about Fight Club.” However, it’s one of the best movies of the ‘90s and a classic in David Fincher’s filmography, so it’s hard not to break them. So, for years, I’ve avoided the film because I knew the admittedly mind-blowing plot twist.

However, I decided to give it a shot recently, even though I knew the biggest surprise about it, and I’m thrilled to report that I was still very shocked by this movie.

Fight Club And I Are The Same Age, And I Couldn’t Avoid The Spoilers

I was born in 1999, and Fight Club came out in October that same year. Basically, the entire time I’ve been alive, this Edward Norton and Brad Pitt film has been around and talked about. Therefore, as a film enthusiast-turned-entertainment-journalist, I couldn’t avoid its biggest spoiler and one of the best plot twists ever.

For years and years, I’ve known that Pitt’s Tyler Durden was Edward Norton’s Narrator. In other words, I’ve known the Ocean’s Eleven star’s character wasn’t real. And I’ve known it was Norton’s character running the whole entire show. Therefore, I didn’t really see the point in watching the film if there was no surprise, especially since I’m not really into this kind of intense, hyper-masculine movie anyway.

However, it’s a classic, it’s one of Norton and Pitt’s best movies, and it felt like not giving it a chance was a disgrace. So, I decided to give it a watch with my HBO Max subscription, and by golly, did it surprise me.

I Was Shocked By The Narrator's Whole Relationship With Marla

The surprises started right at the start of the movie. Obviously, I knew Helena Bonham Carter was in the cast, however, I didn’t know how pivotal her character, Marla, was to the story. I also didn’t realize how wild her plotline was or the bizarre way she met the Narrator.

So, shock number one came when Norton’s character met Marla. The fact that they came into contact because they were both attending support groups that they really had no reason to be at was hilarious and incredibly odd. However, it immediately told me that they were on a similar wavelength, and it developed their connection in a clear and memorable way.

Then, shock number two was sustained throughout the rest of the movie as I watched Marla’s relationship with Tyler grow while the Narrator spectated. Although I knew, and Marla knew, that she was actually with Norton’s character, not Pitt’s, knowing that made these interactions even better and more surprising.

Watching Pitt and Bonham Carter dance in and out of scenes with Norton was masterful, and I was enthralled by the way her relationship with the men ultimately illustrated the plot twist to me. That, my friends, was unexpected.

I Didn’t See The Terrorist Group Coming

Now, I might have known about Fight Club because everyone talked about it. However, I had absolutely no idea it would turn into, essentially, a terrorist group. So, that led to a level of jaw-dropping that likely mirrored the one I could have had at the Tyler reveal.

I mean, talk about escalation. I knew this film made comments on the idea of toxic masculinity in a big, bold and violent way. However, going to the extent of starting a cult-like group in that dilapidated house and blowing up literal buildings was something I did not see coming at all.

Terror and rage were two of of the primary emotions I felt when this turn happened. I was overwhelmed by the toxic masculinity, and couldn’t quite believe the lows these men had fallen to. It was sad, horrifying, and lame of them. And I realize that’s what the movie wanted me to feel.

I knew Fight Club had been misunderstood by many when I sat down to watch it, and I knew it was a satire of sorts. That became abundantly clear when Project Mayhem came into the picture. It took the extremes of this movie to a whole new level, and it highlighted how these men had resorted to violent actions because they couldn’t cope with their lives in a healthy and productive way.

Overall, it was a fascinating, disturbing and surprising examination of toxic masculinity through a very extreme and jarring plotline that I didn’t see coming at all.

The Ending, Where He Shoots Himself And Kills Imaginary Tyler But Not Himself, Surprised Me

If you don’t know what’s coming with Fight Club, the scene where it’s revealed that the Narrator and Tyler are one and the same is by far the most unexpected part of the movie. However, if you know that’s going to happen without knowledge of anything else (which was my case), I’d say that the moment where Norton’s character essentially kills Pitt’s character is the biggest shocker.

Now, here’s what I saw: the Narrator got into a battle with Tyler, and then shot himself. We see the bullet go through the back of Tyler’s head, and the Narrator manages to survive, seemingly by shooting the gun in a way that made it so the bullet missed his brain. Then, the film ends with Marla and the Narrator standing hand-in-hand, looking out the window, watching the city explode.

It seems like the Narrator let Tyler go and banished that part of himself from his mind. Then, he faced the inevitable by watching the buildings explode, and he was forced to take in the consequences of his actions.

However, I also can’t shake how ambiguous this all was. Like, how did the Narrator survive? Can he actually kill a figment of his imagination? What happened with his relationship with Marla?

All this and more has kept me thinking about the wild ride that is Fight Club, despite knowing the plot twist before I started watching it. So, in the end, I’m very happy I finally sat down to watch this 1999 classic, because even though I knew the biggest twist, I was still very, very surprised by it.

It’s been almost three years since Olivia Wilde’s viral and buzz-worthy film, Don't Worry Darling (and the drama attached to it), premiered, and now, she’s gearing up for her next big-hitting directorial entry. The Invite seemingly meets at the intersection of adult comedy, offbeat relationship material with vulnerable and intimate details sewn throughout. And if that wasn't enough, the ensemble cast was revealed to be filled with plenty of recognizable names leading the pack.

The future project, which is one of several that Wilde is currently invested in, is based on Cesc Gay's Spanish film Sentimental, and was adapted for U.S. audiences by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, per Variety. As the wheels start rolling for the coming title, she'll pop up in the upcoming 2025 movie I Want Your Sex from Gregg Araki, and has already played a version of herself in director mode on Seth Rogen’s The Studio (which hit the 2025 TV schedule in March). But the newest addition sounds like something that could rival her 2022 flick.

Olivia Wilde's Next Movie Is About 'Unexplored Sexuality'

With Booksmart and Don’t Worry Darling under her belt, Wilde continues to push what genres she opts for, while majorly centering female stories. The filmmaker and actress have also made her opinions abundantly clear about her feelings about female directors in Hollywood–she’s not one to play it safe. And, by the sounds of this movie, she’s staying on brand with the promise of ‘unexplored sexuality.’

The following official, but general synopsis of the coming adaptation of the Cesc Gay directed title describes a normal neighborly event taking an unexpected, explicit turn:

While the teaser is overall vague, production has begun in Los Angeles with FilmNation Entertainment producing. (The studio most recently backed Sean Baker’s Anora and the papal thriller Conclave.) But what has me most jazzed about Wilde’s next endeavor is who she landed to round out the cast.

She's Cast Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz And More To Lead Her Project

The main quartet, including the movie’s director, to fill out the sexually driven The Invite, is as follows:

• Olivia Wilde
• Seth Rogen
• Penélope Cruz
• Edward Norton

What a knockout cast! All are dynamic enough performers to easily blur a couple of lines, so I’m pleased to say the least! I’m going to assume, from the brief overview and these leads, it seems like Wilde and Rogen may be one couple, with Cruz and Norton playing the other, but that could be backwards.

Even though it’s wildly reflective of the star power she had for her sophomore project, just the thought of this foursome emits some good vibes. (Though not necessarily the kind provoked by Rogen’s more notorious habit.)

At the time of this posting, there’s no public projected premiere date, but each of these celebs has plenty going on as they begin filming. As mentioned, Wilde showed up as one of The Studio's impressive cameos–Seth Rogen’s streaming satire (available with an Apple TV subscription). Meanwhile, Norton’s been taking it easy since his work in his Oscar-nominated role for A Complete Unknown. And after Cruz’s appearance in Ferrari, she shifted gears into The Bride! I’m excited to see this unlikely foursome team up to take on this quirky comedy.

Hopefully we'll hear even more casting updates for this Wilde movie soon. I'd say don't worry, darling, but it's probably too early for pet names.

There’s the business of making movies and then there’s the business of marketing movies. Things seem to have gone well on both fronts for A Complete Unknown, as Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan movie is performing well at the box office and earning rave reviews from critics and fans. That doesn’t mean, however, that the stars and the studio were in alignment the whole time, at least when it comes to the marketing.

Edward Norton recently sat down for an interview with Variety to discuss the movie and his stand-out role as musician Pete Seeger, which could earn the acclaimed actor his fourth Oscar nomination. During the conversation, the subject of Chalamet’s performance and how incredibly good it is came up, and Norton dropped a little anecdote about the proposed social media campaign. Apparently the studio wanted to record all the behind the scenes work of him trying to get into character as Dylan, and he was having no part of it, much to the excitement of Norton, who thought it was a terrible idea. You can read a portion of his quote below…

I love this conversation because, to me, this is a subject not talked about enough in Hollywood. We live in the age of the twenty-four hour news cycle. There is a bombardment of information all the time about seemingly everything, and that extends to Hollywood. You can't go a week on the internet without actors talking about the great lengths they went to in order to get into character.

Movies and TV shows compete every single day alongside everything else to try and generate interest, and in the service of that, actors spend a lot of time doing interviews, making appearances and trying to generate publicity so people will get inspired to watch their stuff.

But at what point is that ultimately doing a disservice to the actual work that’s being created? I don’t have an answer to that, and I don’t think anyone has the answer to that. Not knowing how a cinematographer pulled off a camera trick or how a movie pulled a stunt off without anyone getting hurt is fun. It forces you to use your brain and try to figure it out yourself. It’s also fun to have some actors in Hollywood that are mysteries, that are enigmatic in the same way Bob Dylan is.

In the interview, Norton compares Chalamet’s performance to Robert De Niro’s work in Raging Bull and says he just wants people to go into the movie and be shocked at the work. He doesn’t want them knowing ahead of time how long he worked on trying to get the voice down or whatever. I get that.

On the other hand, however, it’s easy to see where the studio was coming from with this proposed social media campaign. A time lapse video of Timothée Chalamet slowly getting better and better as Bob Dylan would have absolutely destroyed. I can imagine him singing something like “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” and having the first few lines be from when he first started practicing, progressing through the last lines being the ones from the movie itself. That would have been a fantastic video to watch, as even the cast has talked about how shocked they were by his voice when production started.

Would it have ultimately been better than just consuming the movie and not knowing any of the backstory though? The answer to that one is blowing in the wind and likely depends entirely on your perspective and how you like to consume movies. Personally, I’d probably prefer to have the video exist and have it come out years later, but that obviously would do nothing to help market the actual movie. That's probably why I love retrospective interviews so much though and why I frequently avoid trailers and try to go into stuff completely blind.

Fortunately, A Complete Unknown is doing quite well for itself. The movie has already grossed more than $35,000,000 at the box office, and it appears likely to generate numerous Oscar nominations when those come out later this month.

Timothée Chalamet’s already had quite a year, with Dune: Part Two hitting the 2024 movie calendar in March, and next up for him is the highly anticipated Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. The highly sought-after actor will star as the singer/songwriter who came to fame in the 1960s when the film is released to theaters on Christmas Day. The trailer appears to show that Chalamet has affected a spot-on impression of Dylan, and after critics were able to catch an early viewing, they were quick to share their own opinions of A Complete Unknown.

It’s promising that despite the movie not being out yet, it’s already drawing acclaim. A Complete Unknown was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama when the 2025 Golden Globe nominees were announced (the awards will air on CBS and live with a Paramount+ subscription on January 5), with Timothée Chalamet and Edward Norton also singled out for their performances. Tomris Laffly of AV Club gives the film an A-, praising both Chalamet and director James Mangold for crafting a brainy but accessible story, energetically told. The critic continues:

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com admits to having some skepticism about the movie, but just as Bob Dylan has done so many times in his career, A Complete Unknown exceeded the critic's expectations. Tallerico gives it 3.5 out of 4 stars and says:

Brian Truitt of USA TODAY is equally as taken by Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, also rating it 3.5 out of 4 stars. Truitt says A Complete Unknown separates itself from other biopics by being an entertaining and magnetic watch. Chalamet’s portrayal feels refreshingly authentic as opposed to annoyingly imitative, the critic says:

Pete Hammond of Deadline says the lead actor “astonishes” as the iconic singer, and James Mangold adds even more for an overall first-rate film. The music alone is worth the price of admission. Hammond writes:

Siddhant Adlakha of IGN gives it a “Good” 7 out of 10, saying the director takes a deceptively straightforward approach to Bob Dylan and the movie works best when its subject is allowed to remain a mystery. Adlakha concludes:

There’s already so much buzz surrounding this movie, and these assessments give a good idea of why. If you want to check out what all the fuss is about, A Complete Unknown will be in theaters starting Wednesday, December 25.

For the last several weeks when celebrities and parties have come up in the same sentence, it’s been a discussion of the parties thrown by Sean “Diddy” Combs that are the subject of a federal indictment against the rapper and mogul. Considering all of that, it's extra sweet to hear about Leonardo DiCaprio’s 50th birthday party, which looks to have been quite the shindig. And it apparently had a guest list that would make the Governor’s Ball at the Academy Awards blush, as it truly featured a murderer's row of celebrities.

Leonardo DiCaprio turns 50 years old today, November 11, but he held his party over the weekend. The guest list was shared by deuxmoi on Instagram, and it's absolutely staggering. From DiCaprio’s fellow stars from his generation to some of the great directors that he's has worked with (and those he almost collaborated with), the guest list included:

• Brad Pitt & Ines de Ramon
• Mark Ruffalo
• Benicio del Toro
• Soleil Moon Frye
• Todd Phillips
• Kevin Connolly & Zulay Henao
• Chris Rock
• Jamie Foxx
• Guillermo del Toro
• Paris Hilton
• Lukas Haas
• Steven Spielberg
• Bill Maher
• Casey Affleck
• Emile Hirsch
• Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom
• Cara Delevingne
• Tobey Maguire
• Robin Thicke & April Love Geary
• Odell Beckham Jr.
• Teyana Taylor
• Edward Norton
• Chuck Lidell
• Dr. Dre

There may have been even more stars in attendance, but this list alone is truly a who’s who of Hollywood. Being there had to be an incredible experience. Leonardo DiCaprio's father and stepmother were the only non-celebrities reported to be in attendance. It must have been a pretty amazing night for them, I'd think.

A few of these names are potentially surprising, but it’s very interesting to see who the Wolf of Wall Street star decided to invite to the event. He and Edward Norton have been friends for a long time. The same goes for DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, who were part of the same real-life poker game that inspired the movie Molly’s Game.

It's also great that Leonardo DiCaprio invited his Catch Me If You Can director Steven Spielberg. The same goes for Guillermo del Toro, who almost directed DiCaprio, as he was originally attached to star in Nightmare Alley before he had to drop out and was replaced by Bradley Cooper. I would have loved to have seen those two meet up at the party. If there’s a chance they could work together down the road that’s a very exciting prospect that they probably talked about.

DiCaprio’s One Upon A Time…In Hollywood co-star Brad Pitt -- along with his serious girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, -- was there, as was his Shutter Island co-star Mark Ruffalo. The Revenant star also invited a couple of people who it looks like he may have gotten to know in his role as a producer. DiCaprio produced Out of the Furnace, which included Casey Affleck in its cast. He also produced Kid 90, the documentary film directed by former Punky Brewster star Soleil Moon Frye.

Needless to say, certainly looks like Leonardo DiCaprio’s birthday party was the hottest ticket in town. Now I just need to figure out how to become his friend before next year.

Sometimes an actor just explodes on the scene with their first movie. Many of the people on this list have even been nominated and won awards for their first roles. Most, of course, have gone on to have long, successful careers, so let's look back at these actors who absolutely crushed it in their first roles. 

Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years A Slave

It didn't take long for Kenyan native Lupita Nyong'o to make a huge splash in Hollywood. After a little time working on movie sets behind the camera, she studied acting at Yale and landed her seminal role in 12 Years A Slave almost immediately after graduating. The performance speaks for itself, and Nyong'o deservingly took home an Oscar for it. Amazingly, three years later, she won a Tony in her Broadway debut in Eclipsed.

Sean Penn - Taps

Sean Penn has had a long, storied career and while many may assume his breakout role came as the stoner Spicoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, but a year before cracking up audiences in that cult classic, he played a very different role as a would-be soldier at a military academy in Taps. Notably, Tom Cruise also made his breakthrough role in the movie alongside Penn. 

Reese Witherspoon - The Man In The Moon

Over the last 4 decades or so, Reese Witherspoon has not only become one of the most acclaimed actresses in Hollywood, but a major force behind the scenes as a producer. It all started for the Nashville native with her debut in The Man In The Moon in 1991. It's always impressive when a newcomer can lead a personal film like this, and Witherspoon showed early how good she is by doing so. 

Natalie Portman - Leon: The Professional

There are a few actors in Hollywood who broke big when they were very young. From the moment you see Natalie Portman on screen in her first role as Mathilda in Leon: The Professional, you know she's going to be big. Yeah, it's an uncomfortable movie to watch for obvious reasons - Portman was just 13 - but seeing how brave she was to take on a complicated role like that, it was clear she was destined for greatness. 

Edward Norton - Primal Fear

Has there ever been a more terrifying and convincing debut performance from an actor than Edward Norton in Primal Fear? It's one of the all-time great grifter films and Norton's performance is the major reason why. He's scary, both in character and in talent. 

Florence Pugh - The Falling

It's hard to believe Florence Pugh made her debut in The Falling in 2014. It seems like the actress has been around forever as she keeps picking amazing roles and crushing the performances, just like her first. 

Kevin Bacon - National Lampoon's Animal House

Every actor in Hollywood is connected to Kevin Bacon, as the game claims, and that's because for more than five decades he's been giving amazing performance and amazing performance. His first movie, the classic comedy National Lampoon's Animal House is certainly no exception as he plays a snobby, snarky, frat boy to perfection. There is nothing he can't do.  

Halle Berry - Jungle Fever

In 2001 Halle Berry became the first African-American woman to win the Best Picture Oscar for Monster's Ball. That was just 10 short years after she made he incredible debut in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever. The former beauty pageant contestant has been one of the most reliably great stars in the years since, starring in some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood including the X-Men, James Bond, John Wick, and much more. 

Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

After finishing seventh in the third season of American Idol, we all knew Jennifer Hudson could sing. When she was cast as Aretha Frankin-like Effie White in Dreamgirls, it didn't surprise anyone. At least, we weren't surprised until we all saw just how her powerful voice was matched by her powerful acting. She took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in her big-screen debut. 

Eddie Murphy - 48 Hrs.

By the time Eddie Murphy starred in 48 Hrs. alongside Nick Nolte in 1982, he was already a bonafide TV star from his time on SNL. Known for his great characters and hilarious lines on SNL, it wasn't clear if he could carry a movie. 48 Hrs. settled that, he definitely could and he's been leading them ever since. 

Marlee Matlin - Children Of A Lesser God

Marlee Matlin has been breaking down barriers since the very beginning of her career. Deaf from the time she was a small child, there must have been many people who told her she could pursue her dreams. Instead, she became not only the deaf actor to win an Oscar in his debut movie, Children Of A Lesser God, but the youngest woman to take home the statue as well. 

Anne Hathaway - The Princess Diaries

From the very beginning, Anne Hathaway has been wowing audiences. Her first movie is still one of her most beloved, The Princess Diaries. She even got to star alongside true film royalty. Julie Andrews. She didn't seem intimidated then, and she never has been since. 

Tim Curry - The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Tim Curry's first movie has become the dictionary definition of a cult classic. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a flop when it was released, but in the decades since, it's become one of the most popular movies of all time with a fanbase that is not just dedicated, but rabid in its love for the movie and for Curry's character, Frank-N-Furter.

Emma Stone - Superbad

Superbad is one of those comedies that very really gets old, especially if you grew up with it as a staple of your DVD rotation. Emma Stone's character Jules is not the kind of character you'd expect to be as funny as she is, which makes Stone pretty much perfect for the role, as she is as effortlessly funny as she is effortlessly beautiful. She's gone on to tackle some characters with incredible depth, but she set the foundation in Superbad. 

Oprah Winfrey - The Color Purple

There is really nothing Oprah Winfrey can't accomplish. She was already on her way to becoming the biggest daytime talk show in history by the time she landed a role in Steven Speilberg's classic The Color Purple. It turns out Winfrey can do a whole more than coax the most out of guests on her talk show, she can act really act, earning an Oscar nomination in her film debut. 

Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins

It's really hard to believe that Julie Andrews didn't make her true film debut until she was nearly 30 years old, when she appeared as the legendary Mary Poppins in the film of the same name. Of course, Andrews was well-established as a stage actor at that point, but still, it was the golden age of Hollywood, you'd think she would have been cast in something well before Mary Poppins. At least we can be grateful she was cast here. 

Alan Rickman - Die Hard

Hans Gruber in Die Hard is, without a doubt, one of the greatest villains of the 1980s. Knowing that it was the film debut of the incredible Alan Rickman makes it all that more impressive. He plays the role with such confidence and panache, that it's almost too much to believe it was his first movie role, but it was. 

Anna Paquin - The Piano

Anna Paquin won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Piano. She was just 11 years old! Anyone who does that deserves a spot on any list like that. She's the second youngest ever to win an Oscar and in the years since she's continued to wow us with her work. 

Jamie Lee Curtis - Halloween

Jamie Lee Curtis basically invented the modern scream queen in horror movies in her debut in Halloween. It's a genre she's only returned to a few times in her long, impressive career, but we're sure glad it's where she got her start. 

Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit

It's a little remarkable how many young girls pop up on a list like this. One of the most recent examples of a teenager just crushing her film debut is Hailee Steinfeld. Not only did she have the pressure of playing a beloved literary character like Mattie Ross in True Grit, but she also had to act alongside legends like Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin. She doesn't just hold her own, either, she steals the movie. She rightly received an Oscar nomination for her work.  

Glenn Close - The World According To Garp

Glenn Close burst on the scene with award-winning performances on Broadway before transitioning to film with her debut on the silver screen in The World According To Garp where she picked up where she left off on the stage, getting nominated for an Oscar. She would earn Oscar nominations (but sadly no wins) for her next two movies as well, The Big Chill and The Natural. 

Robert Duvall - To Kill A Mockingbird

Robert Duvall's career goes all the way back to the 1950s, when he first appeared as Boo Radley in one of the most beloved movies about the American South, To Kill A Mockingbird. He only has a small role, as the character with an outsized effect on the plot who is only seen at the end, but he embodies the character so many kids learn to love when they first read the book in high school. 

John Malkovich - Places In The Heart

There is no question that John Malkovich is one of the finest actors of his generation. He's completely fearless in all the roles he plays and that's true going all the way back to his first role as a blind World War I vet in the Depression-era film Places in the Heart alongside Sally Field, Danny Glover, and Ed Harris. 

Lily Tomlin - Nashville

Though she was already a comedic legend on TV, having appeared on Laugh-In and The Carol Burnett Show, Lily Tomlin showed what range she really had as a gospel singer and mother to two in Nashville. She's continued to show those skills over and over in the decades since. 

Gal Gadot - Fast & Furious

Gal Gadot is best known as Wonder Woman these days, but she made her debut in another giant Hollywood franchise when she appeared in Fast & Furious, the fourth installment of the Fast And Furious series. The ex-Israeli army veteran has impressed fans of the movies in each of her 3 appearances by performing most of her own stunts.  

Kerry Washington - Our Song

Our Song is an underrated movie that is everything great about independent filmmaking. It's an intensely personal story about a unique moment in time for the characters and the audience. Kerry Washington simply blows audiences out of the water with her powerful and heartfelt performance. It's incredible how good she was in her first movie. 

Dustin Hoffman - The Graduate

So, technically Dustin Hoffman had already had a small role in a film before The Graduate (a movie called The Tiger Makes Out). For all intents and purposes, he introduced himself to the world with an Oscar-nominated performance in one of the most iconic movies in Hollywood history, The Graduate. It's a movie people still love talking about and lauding, even nearly 60 years later. 

John Cazale - The Godfather

The incredible and tragic story of actor John Cazale is well-known among movie buffs. Cazale only starred in five movies before he died of cancer at just age 42. All five of those movies won the Oscar for Best Picture The first, his first, was, of course, The Godfather. Though his character, Fredo, would play a larger role in the sequel, he still established himself as one of the greatest of his generation before we all lost him too soon.  

Gabrielle Union - She's All That

Actor Gabrielle Union has definitely made her mark not only on Hollywood but on the world with her stellar performances and her charity work outside of film. HE burst onto the scene in She's All That and she's never slowed down since. 

James Dean - East Of Eden

The great James Dean is one of the biggest "what ifs" in Hollywood history. Though he did have some uncredited roles in a few movies, the young actor starred in just three movies, including his first East Of Eden. For that role, he would receive an Oscar nomination, though he wouldn't live to see it, as he was killed in a car crash before being nominated. A feat that would be repeated the next year with Giant.

Jason Schwartzman - Rushmore

Though Jason Schwartzman comes from a prominent Hollywood family, that didn't guarantee success. Instead, he went out in his first movie role, in Rushmore, and absolutely embodied his character of Max. It's every bit as impressive as anything his mom Talia Shire has done, and that is no small feat. 

Keisha Castle-Hughes - The Whale Rider

When Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for an Oscar at just 12 years old for The Whale Rider, you knew she was one to watch for. She was, at the time, the second-youngest person nominated for an Oscar and not only was the nomination well-deserved, but she's continued to justify the voters' confidence in her with her roles over the last couple of decades. 

As with many years prior, several upcoming films will bring us tales of joy and woe with animated adventures, heartfelt family films, people overcoming horrific circumstances, fun comedies and more. But, something that many people love to see is a story that focuses either on people who do intriguing work or who have some true magic in their lives. As such, let’s take a look at 32 famous actors who’ve given us that by playing a wizard, witch or magician in some popular movies. 

Nicole Kidman (Practical Magic, Bewitched)

An Oscar winner who’s notably portrayed a witch twice in her big screen efforts is Nicole Kidman. Seeing as how Practical Magic 2 is now being worked on in earnest, you probably remember her 1998 hit with Sandra Bullock easily. But, do you recall her turn as a real witch hired to play a fictional one in the 2005 comedy, Bewitched?

Hugh Jackman (The Prestige)

We actually don’t get as many magicians on screen as one might think, but Hugh Jackman did us all a solid when he starred as one in the 2006 Christopher Nolan movie, The Prestige. If you somehow still haven’t seen this Edwardian London-set thriller, do yourself a favor and track it down. You won’t regret it.

Ian McKellen (The Lord Of The Rings And The Hobbit Trilogies)

This list would be nothing without mentioning maybe the most famous wizard in all of literary history, who made his major motion picture appearances courtesy of Sir Ian McKellen in The Lord of the Rings movies, as well as The Hobbit trilogy. Gandalf the Grey cannot be ignored, and not just because he’s so much taller than most of his traveling companions!

Neve Campbell (The Craft)

Fledgling teen witches count just as much as those who’ve been witchin’ for decades, which is why Neve Campbell’s eventual power-hungry sorceress, Bonnie, is on this list. The Craft is a teen horror classic that’s worth a watch.

Bette Midler (Hocus Pocus)

Here’s another classic movie witch who’s hard to forget. Bette Midler really dialed it up for her performance as Winifred Sanderson in 1993’s Hocus Pocus (along with fellow witchy Sanderson sisters Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker), and the results were so memorable that a Disney+ sequel was made nearly 30 years later.

Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me)

We’ve come to another magician, but Jesse Eisenberg’s modern-day character, Atlas, is an illusionist who works in Las Vegas in a popular group…who are really teamed up to steal lots and lots of money. It was so popular that a sequel followed.

Alexandra Daddario (Mayfair Witches)

If anything, we could trust late horror author Anne Rice to pen an intriguing tale that keeps us glued to the pages of a book. It also turns out that White Lotus star Alexandra Daddario can help turn that story into a can’t-miss TV show, as she’s done by playing witchy lead Rowan on Mayfair Witches.

Cher (The Witches Of Eastwick)

Cher has excelled in pretty much every role she’s ever had, and that includes widowed mother/witch Alex in The Witches of Eastwick. This one gets wild but you’ll never regret watching her (or her co-stars Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jack Nicholson) as things go from weird to worse.

Nicolas Cage (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)

We all know that Nicolas Cage has played a multitude of roles during his decades-long career, so it should be little surprise that he’s portrayed as a user of magic. Before you get too deep into wondering whether or not there’s a real difference between a wizard and a sorcerer, just know that Cage played the latter in this 2010 film that takes some inspiration from a segment in Disney’s animated classic, Fantasia.

Tia And Tamera Mowry (Twitches)

Sure, there have already been people on this list who played witches along with other really famous people, and those co-stars weren’t listed as the main star, but guess what: none of those other people starred with their twin, which is the case with Tia and Tamera Mowry in the beloved Disney Channel original film, Twitches. Did this one get a sequel? You bet it did!

Meryl Streep (Into The Woods)

No one can deny the prowess or ability of 21-time Oscar nominee (and three-time winner) Meryl Streep to deliver an amazing performance. The same can be true for when she played the character known simply as The Witch in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Into the Woods (and, yes, got an Academy Award nomination for her work).

Steve Carell (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone)

And here we have another Las Vegas magician in Steve Carell’s Burt Wonderstone. Instead of watching him steal money, we follow along in this comedy as Burt attempts to reunite with his former partner (Steve Buschemi) so they can gain more traction than a competing magician (Jim Carrey) whose “tricks” mostly involve odd feats of endurance and real pain.

Edward Norton (The Illusionist)

You’d be forgiven for confusing this film with the above-mentioned The Prestige, as they’re both about old-timey magicians and released in 2006. However, this film stars Edward Norton as our…illusionist, and is more of a romantic mystery than Nolan’s thriller.

Lucy Lawless (Salem)

So many evil witches, so little time. The WGN TV series, Salem, was loosely inspired by the Salem witch trials, and focused on a lead who was trying to bring the Devil to earth. But, that wasn’t even the character played by Xena actress Lucy Lawless, as her Countess Palatine Ingrid von Marburg was simply a different and far more evil witch. Can’t anyone use magic to just like, keep everyone’s house clean so we can all have more free time?

Guy Pearce (Death Defying Acts)

It’s actually rather surprising that we’ve gotten this far into the list without coming to someone who portrayed a famous real-life magician, so we can thank Guy Pearce for that. His 2007 supernatural romance, Death Defying Acts, saw him play Harry Houdini.

Angela Bassett (American Horror Story: Coven)

Even for those who don’t follow along with the amazing antics on every season of the anthology series, American Horror Story, it would probably be a little shock to find out that the show has cast several witches during its long run. The subtitle of this 2013 season tells you that it was dedicated to witchy goings-on, and double Oscar nominee Angela Bassett had a notable guest role as real historical figure/Voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau.

Sebastian Stan (The Covenant)

The actor who would come to be known as Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes, Sebastian Stan, played a very different type of super-powered character in 2006, when he played teen warlock Chase Collins in the fantasy film The Covenant. It also features stars like Taylor Kitsch and Chase Crawford, who also get their magic on in the film.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Stardust)

As we’ve seen from the entry on Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer had already played a witchy woman by the time she appeared in the 2007 movie Stardust, as an evil (of course) witch looking to retrieve a fallen star to have ever-lasting beauty and youth.

Debbie Reynolds (Halloweentown)

Here’s another Disney Channel classic, which follows a young witch who realizes she has powers on her 13th Halloween, only to be transported to the titular town where supernatural creatures can live without human interference. The late Debbie Reynolds plays her grandmother (also a witch), and returned for all three sequels.

Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange)

This 2016 MCU entry stars Benedict Cumberbatch as an injured doctor who involves himself in the business of fighting evil with sorcery after losing the use of his hands and heading to a mysterious enclave to look for healing. Cumberbatch has appeared as the character in a number of Marvel franchise films now, including a 2022 sequel to his original solo film.

Mila Kunis (Oz The Great And Powerful)

Here’s a movie filled with magical beings that’s often forgotten. Oz the Great and Powerful saw Mila Kunis, along with Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz, play witches of, yes, that Oz who have to determine if the Kansas magician who’s turned up in their realm is really the “great” wizard they’ve been waiting for.

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone)

This is another actor and portrayal that this list would basically be pointless without. Though Daniel Radcliffe has gone on to portray a wide variety of good and bad guys in the past decade or so of his career, for many he will always be known as the boy wizard, Harry Potter.

Selena Gomez (Wizards Of Waverly Place)

What? Did you forget that Selena Gomez, the Grammy-nominated singer and star of the Hulu hit show Only Murders in the Building, got her first taste of fame on a Disney Channel series? Well, shame on you for not being able to remember that Gomez led Wizards of Waverly Place through a magical four-season run as the supernaturally gifted teen, Alex Russo.

Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)

Do we have yet another MCU stalwart for you? You bet we do! Elizabeth Olsen first took on the role of Scarlet Witch during the post-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, later starring in several more of the franchise films and the critically lauded Disney+ series, WandaVision, for which she received an Emmy nomination.

Sam Neill (Merlin)

While there have certainly been a number of movies and shows that have given us versions of the mythical wizard known as Merlin, NBC’s two-part, 1998 miniseries saw Sam Neill use his recent Jurassic Park stardom to show us an adventurous tale of Merlin’s life before the birth of King Arthur.

Rosamund Pike (The Wheel Of Time)

Many of the portrayals we’ve discussed (and will continue to discuss below) have dealt with book-to-screen adaptations that are based on already incredibly popular novels, and The Wheel of Time is certainly one of those. The Amazon series, which takes its story from the 14-book franchise by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, stars Rosamund Pike as powerful magic user Moiraine Damodred, who takes a group of young adults on a journey to save the world.

Julia Ormond (Witches Of East End)

This Lifetime series, which ran for two seasons from 2013 to 2014, followed the women of the Beauchamp family, witches in a small, fictional seaside town who are led by their mother, Julia Ormond’s Joanna, and have to fight to save themselves and the people of their town from dark magical forces.

Emma Thompson (Beautiful Creatures)

This 2013 Gothic fantasy romance focuses on a teen who will learn on her 16th birthday whether or not her witch tendencies will be for good or ill. Two-time Academy Award-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson plays her mother, Sarafine, who didn’t raise the girl but wants her on that dark side really, really badly.

Tilda Swinton (The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Suspiria)

Considering that Tilda Swinton has played everything from a gender-switching hero in Orlando to the MCU’s version of the Ancient One in the aforementioned Doctor Strange and the archangel Gabriel in Constantine, is anyone surprised to know that she’s played some witches? In both The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe and Suspiria she was very good at playing magical ladies who wanted (or already had and wanted to continue) to do some very bad things, but the latter film has WAY more serious and bloody fun for those who watch.

Jack Black (The House With A Clock In Its Walls)

Frequent funny man Jack Black as a warlock? That’s what the 2018 fantasy The House With A Clock In Its Walls delivers, as the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star portrays a boy’s magic uncle who lives in the house of a dead evil wizard and is trying to discover the location and purpose of a clock the previous dastardly owner hid in the walls.

Jude Law (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald)

While much of the Harry Potter franchise featured either actors Richard Harris or Michael Gambon as the beloved Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, when the prequels were made, a younger Albus Dumbledore was needed and they called in Jude Law to fill the wizard’s very important and legendary shoes.

Julianne Moore (Seventh Son)

Last but certainly not least on our list of famed actors who’ve brought wizards, witches and magicians to life is lauded talent Julianne Moore. The Academy Award winner starred in 2015’s Seventh Son as the evil witch Mother Malkin, who escapes after many years imprisoned and looks to restore her full power by any means necessary.

As you can see, many of our most beloved stars have portrayed wizards, witches and magicians!

As much as we like to see Hollywood as a dream factory, some projects can be total nightmares. Maybe people realize that fact during production, or maybe it’s a big case of hindsight providing 20/20 vision; but eventually there comes a time when an entertainer decides that their own movie is the enemy. For one reason or another, the list we’re about to share with you is a bunch of cases where that sort of takedown was warranted by the talent that had to endure making them in the first place. 

Jamie Lee Curtis - Virus

No matter how many times the 1999 sci-fi horror movie Virus comes up, it seems that Jamie Lee Curtis has a colorful variety of responses that detail just how flat-out horrible the finished product was. And depending on which interview you read, the language can get just as cheeky, so reader discretion is definitely advised. 

Michael Caine - Jaws: The Revenge

If you ever want a lesson in destroying a cinematic turkey with great wit and class, look up Michael Caine’s remarks on Jaws: The Revenge. Simultaneously admitting he’d never watched the film, but loved the personal enrichment that came from it, it’s one of the best moments of Sir Michael’s legendary charm at work.

Charlize Theron - Reindeer Games

How bad is the perennial punchline Reindeer Games? Well, if you ask Charlize Theron like Esquire did back in 2008, the Ben Affleck co-starring film is "a bad, bad, bad movie." So that question's pretty much asked and answered. 

George Clooney - Batman and Robin

George Clooney’s continued Batman regrets will never stop being entertaining. Playing that very DC hero in 1997’s Batman & Robin, the infamously campy Joel Schumacher picture holds a very special place in the ER veteran’s heart; and it’s one of intensely self-deprecating comedy. 

Katherine Heigl - Knocked Up

The story about Katherine Heigl and her apparent lack of love for Knocked Up is one that’s circulated pretty much since Judd Apatow’s 2008 comedy mega-hit landed. However, it seems that years after the star seemed to slam her own movie, Heigl’s 2016 comments on the matter painted a different picture.

Christopher Plummer - The Sound of Music

How an actor like the late great Christopher Plummer could grow to despise a musical like The Sound of Music is still a mystery. Well, it’s puzzling in the sense that his apparent criticism of its sentimental and emotional nature feels a bit rough. Despite his misgivings, the Rodgers and Hammerstein adaptation remains one of Christopher Plummer’s best roles. 

Sally Field - The Amazing Spider-Man

Comic book movies aren’t for everyone, and The Amazing Spider-Man’s Sally Field admitted just that when talking about her role as Andrew Garfield’s Aunt May. Field’s reason for taking the role as a favor to her friend, late producer Laura Ziskin, is still sweet. But digging into Sally’s comments about the Marvel role, it would seem that there isn’t enough money in the Multiverse to bring the Academy Award winner back for any hypothetical follow-ups.

Edward Norton - The Italian Job

One of the most infamous stories of modern movie feuds, Edward Norton’s reluctance to play the villain in The Italian Job remake came down to two words: contractual obligations. As Observer covered in the lead-up to the movie’s production, Norton fulfilled his duties; but did so while taking every chance to put the project down. 

Jessica Alba - Fantastic Four

When your director tells you that CGI tears are better than the actual waterworks you’re providing on set, to say things are problematic is a bit of an understatement. That’s the scenario that Jessica Alba faced on Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which she revealed to Elle Magazine (via Today) as the reason she almost quit acting. 

Bill Murray - Garfield: The Movie

Confusion is something that even a legendary comedian like Bill Murray can admit to falling into from time to time. It just so happens that one of those times saw the legacy cast member of Ghostbusters accidentally assume one of The Coen Bros. wrote Garfield: The Movie. Thankfully for Murray, he only had to make one sequel before the franchise shifted gears to another iteration.

Jennifer Lawrence - Passengers

When Adele tells you to skip a movie like Passengers, that’s a sign you should take to heart. Unfortunately, Jennifer Lawrence ignored this advice, and what resulted was a movie that is as questionable as it is baffling. On the plus side, hearing Ms. Lawrence trash that movie means that the project is technically a valuable source of entertainment.

Channing Tatum - G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

We’ve all kind of known that Channing Tatum despises G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; and rightfully so. But just how horrible was the man’s opinion of this past franchise starter? Well, not only did he pass on this project seven times, but when G.I. Joe: Retaliation came about, Tatum requested to be killed off in that very sequel. 

Viola Davis - The Help

Despite the contemporary hoopla that saw The Help become an Academy Awards darling at 2012’s Oscars, Viola Davis’ opinion on the movie is far from golden. Indeed, the project has become more and more scrutinized as time goes on, and Davis’ upset with the movie has only developed more nuance over time. 

Ryan Reynolds - Green Lantern

Even if you knew nothing about Ryan Reynolds starring in the much-maligned Green Lantern adaptation, his dislike for the picture is legendary. Especially when part of Deadpool 2’s wild time travel-correcting ending saw the Marvel anti-hero icing his reality-bound actor before even getting to make the film. 

Halle Berry - Catwoman

The downside to Halle Berry being in Catwoman is that she, unfortunately, had to actually make the movie. However, the upside to this painful experience is that Berry’s quips and jabs at her unfortunate DC Comics entry continue to show her impeccable sense of humor. 

Oscar Isaac - X-Men: Apocalypse

While Oscar Isaac doesn’t outright disown his X-Men movie, he does express serious regret for taking on the titular role in X-Men: Apocalypse. Though if you were cast to act up against James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, only to have your abilities hampered by an abundance of prosthetics, you’d probably be pretty steamed too. 

Dame Judi Dench - Cats

Not many actors would consider a Razzie nomination entertaining, or even valid. But then again, Cats' Dame Judi Dench isn't "most actors." Proud to have not seen the film, or read its reviews, the famed performer laughed off her own nomination, and even compared her character's final look to a bunch of foxes engaged in some not-so-family-friendly activity. 

Matt Damon - The Bourne Ultimatum

For as much cultural cache as the Jason Bourne movies still have in the world, it’s kind of astounding that the subpar reaction to some of the sequels doesn’t seem to have dampened that pedigree. That’s an especially good question after Matt Damon’s trashing of The Bourne Ultimatum script somehow didn’t prevent the worst sin that franchise has committed, 2016’s Jason Bourne. 

Megan Fox - Transformers

Megan Fox’s relationship with the Transformers franchise saw her putting the Hasbro toy franchise on blast after the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. More specifically, her comments comparing Michael Bay to Hitler allegedly helped distance her even further from the series that she apparently has no particular love for. 

Matthew Goode - Leap Year

In remarks to The Telegraph about his role in the rom-com Leap Year, Matthew Goode fully admitted that the Amy Adams starring vehicle wasn’t exactly ideal for his tastes. Taking a page out of Michael Caine’s proverbial book on silver linings, Goode did admit that one of the reasons he did enjoy being part of the project was the fact that he could go home easily on the weekends. 

Kate Winslet - Titanic

While the world fell in love with Kate Winslet after her role in Titanic, the actor herself didn’t exactly love watching herself put in, what she feels, was a performance full of errors. Even in a legacy interview with CNN, Winslet criticized everything, even her American accent.  

Mark Wahlberg - Boogie Nights

Boogie Nights was a star making performance for Mark Wahlberg, and to this day it’s a role that’s aged well on his resume. And yet, Wahlberg has asked God to forgive him for making the Paul Thomas Anderson masterpiece, regarding it the biggest mistake of his career. 

Michelle Pfeiffer - Grease 2

Allegedly, Michelle Pfeiffer was cited to have chalked up her experience with Grease 2 as a case of being young and not knowing how to pick a good script. While those stories persist, Pfieffer has apparently started to set the record straight, attributing her supposed Grease sequel bashing to misreported remarks that grew a life of their own.

Sir Alec Guinness - Star Wars

While Sir Alec Guinness’ reaction to watching Star Wars was one of being refreshed, his outlook on taking the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn’t as rosy. Actually making George Lucas’ sci-fi opus was a different story, with Guinness’ on-set feelings seeing the legendary actor less than pleased in the middle of production.

Miriam Margolyes - The Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter fans have been a frequent source of discussion for actor Miriam Margolyes. The performer who brought Madame Sprout to live in the film adaptation of the series not only has no personal connection with the franchise but she’s also shared some thoughts on adult Potter fans that have kicked up more dirt than one of her Herbology classes.

Sylvester Stallone - Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot!

The widely reported story of how Sylvester Stallone became the action lead in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot! is thanks to his feud with action star Arnold Schwarzenegger. Apparently, Arnie tricked him into thinking he wanted the movie, which led Stallone to lobby for the part, and win it. His enduring torment can still be heard to this day, and Sly has even suggested the film as a form of interrogation enhancement. Yikes.

Dakota Johnson - Madame Web

Madame Web seems to be an experience that barely anyone enjoyed, even the actors who starred in the movie. Dakota Johnson’s skewering of the finished product, while extremely erudite and empathetic towards herself and the rest of the cast, cuts to the core problems that some feel superhero movies have possessed since day one. 

Daniel Radcliffe - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Out of all the Harry Potter movies Daniel Radcliffe has fronted, the one that comes in as his least favorite is the sixth entry, The Half Blood Prince. Radcliffe called his own performance “one-note,” especially when compared to his own personal favorite: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Jennifer Aniston - Leprechaun

Jennifer Aniston’s performance in Leprechaun makes her cringe to this day. So much so that in a 2019 interview on The Howard Stern Show, she mentioned that she tried and failed to stop her then-boyfriend Justin Theroux from watching the film; much to her dismay. 

Brad Pitt - The Devil’s Own

“20 pages of dog…” You can fill that phrase in for yourself, but Brad Pitt’s Newsweek interview about 1997’s The Devil’s Own said all that needed to be said about the actor’s feelings for the Harrison Ford co-starring drama. 

Sandra Bullock - Speed 2: Cruise Control

Some experience will stick with you, no matter how hard you try. Sandra Bullock’s no-sequel rule was an echo of such a trauma, thanks to her displeasure with Speed 2: Cruise Control. Admittedly, her concerns about a large cruise ship not being as perceptively speedy as a city bus were part of the equation as well, and can you blame her? 

Robert Pattinson - Twilight

Robert Pattinson’s hate affair with the Twilight Saga is as well-documented as the memes that have committed the franchise’s dialogue to memory. Thankfully, the man didn’t develop an aversion to bats, otherwise The Batman wouldn’t have happened; which is probably one of the best things that actually came out of Twilight when you think about it.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this trip in the trenches with stars who had to tell it like it is. Judging by some of the movies mentioned here, it might be safe to say that for the most part, these reactions were spot on. But if you’re ever wondering why a movie you're fond of might be slammed by an actor or entertainer involved, keep these tales of woe in mind, and try not to take it too personally.

Over the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s lifespan, there have been a handful of times where key roles have been recast (not to be confused with actors in the franchise playing more than one role, like how Gemma Chan played Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel and Sersi in Eternals). The earliest example of this was when Don Cheadle succeeded Terrence Howard as James “Rhodey” Rhodes in Iron Man 2, and just in time for the character to suit up as War Machine (although Cheadle denies he “Aunt Viv-ed” Howard out of the role). Not too long after that, though, the MCU switched Hulk actors too, with Mark Ruffalo filling the shoes left behind by Edward Norton.

Even though Ruffalo’s desire to do his own solo Hulk movie has never been fulfilled, he’s nonetheless had an impressive run as Bruce Banner, appearing in eight of the Marvel movies in order, as well as the TV series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. But what was it that resulted in Norton being let go from his Hulk-performing duties and Ruffalo taking his place. That’s what we’re here to go over, but first, we have to wind the clock back to when The Incredible Hulk came out.

The Incredible Hulk Underwhelmed In Theaters

In June 2008, five years after the release of Ang Lee’s Hulk starring Eric Bana, and a month after Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredible Hulk was released. The second independent Marvel Studios production saw Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner clashing with Emil Blosnky, a.k.a. Abomination, and General Thunderbolt Ross’ forces after having been on the run for the U.S. military for several years. Although a Hulk sequel had been discussed, it was ultimately decided to make The Incredible Hulk a reboot, which worked out since it became an early chapter of a continually-growing franchise.

Edward Norton was cast as Bruce Banner in April 2007, but in addition to his acting duties, he also signed on to rewrite the script originally penned by… Zak Penn (sorry for the pun). We’ll talk more about Norton’s duties off camera in a bit, but when The Incredible Hulk was released, Penn was the only credited screenwriter (via Mania). The movie was met with a decent amount of positive reception, albeit more on the mixed side, but it only made a little over $265 million worldwide, establishing it as the lowest-grossing MCU movie for a long time. Nevertheless, talks did begin on making The Incredible Hulk 2, and while that project didn’t see the light of day either, Hulk was brought back for 2012’s The Avengers, and Norton was originally expected to reprise his role.

Why Edward Norton Was Allegedly Let Go As Bruce Banner

There are a variety of factors that come together to explain why Edward Norton never played Hulk again. As far as what the actor himself has had to say about this, in 2010, Norton first stated a Facebook post (via THR) that even though he “sincerely hoped” he could appear in The Avengers, it just hadn’t “turned out as we all hoped.” But by 2014, Norton gave NPR’s Fresh Air host Terry Gross the below alternative explanation for why he never returned to the MCU:

Norton added that he wanted “more diversity” with his career, which is all fine and good. Still, right off the bat, we have conflicting reasons from the same man about why he didn’t come back for a second round as Hulk. But there’s even more to the story beyond those explanations, as evidenced by looking at the statement then-Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige issue about Norton not returning for The Avengers to HitFix:

What was that all about? Well, for one thing, there were differences in creative vision over what The Incredible Hulk was supposed to be between Edward Norton and Marvel. In 2019, the former explained to The New York Times that he wanted to take the character in a direction similar to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Norton alleged that while Marvel was initially receptive to this plan, the company later reversed course. In the book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (via The Direct), Kevin Feige said the Godzilla movies heavily inspired the second MCU feature.

There were a variety of other problems that plagued The Incredible Hulk’s production, but as far as Norton is concerned, it’s also worth mentioning that in a Wizard Q&A, actor Tim Roth claimed that he was rewriting the script “every day” on set. In the end though, as mentioned earlier, the Writers Guild of America gave Zak Penn sole writing credit. Reported Anne Thomas later said on Indiewire that Norton “mostly changed dialogue, filled in gaps of motivation and developed character,” and the WGA felt he “had not considerably changed his screenplay,” with the Guild tending to “favor plot, structure and pre-existing characters over dialogue.”

All that would be more than enough for Edward Norton and Marvel Studios not getting along, but it doesn’t end there. Edward Norton sat out doing interviews for The Incredible Hulk during the promotional campaign. EW reported that this boiled down to a disagreement he had with producers over the movie’s runtime, as Norton wanted a “longer, more detailed” story, and Marvel preferred a “faster, leaner one.”

Additionally, in the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios (via The Direct), Terry Notary, who worked on The Incredible Hulk as the motion capture specialist for Hulk and Abomination, alleged that Edward Norton didn’t put much work into the motion capture side of things, and that he “wasn’t really engaged, as far as the Hulk stuff goes, unless he was transforming from himself into the Hulk.” This led to the VFX team having to manually render all of the Green Goliath’s facial expressions.

How Mark Ruffalo Took Over Playing The Hulk

So things got so bad between Edward Norton and Marvel Studios that in MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, it’s claimed by co-author Joanna Robinson (via Inverse) that Norton is the one MCU actor Kevin Feige has severed ties with for good. So this all explains why Marvel decided to hire a new actor to play Bruce Banner, but how was Mark Ruffalo selected?

Well, funny enough, in 2013, The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier told HuffPost that he originally wanted to cast the Zodiac actor as Bruce Banner, but Marvel told him to pick Norton instead because he was “more famous,” and the powers-that-be at the company pinned Ruffalo as only doing “smart, intellectual movies” at that point. Leterrier and Ruffalo would eventually work together on 2013’s Now You See Me, and a few years earlier, Marvel decided to revisit the actor following the collapse of its relationship with Norton.

It’s explained in MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios (via CBR) that Marvel Studios chose Mark Ruffalo to succeed Edward Norton in the weeks leading up to the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, and the company wanted to lock him down so he could appear at the grand unveiling of The Avengers cast at the event. However, negotiations to bring him aboard weren’t finished until the last minute. According to insiders interviewed for the book:

The rest, as they say, is history. Ruffalo debuted as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the first movie to highlight Earth’s Mightiest Heroes alongside Robert Downey Jr. Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner (among others), and while, again, we’ve never see another solo Hulk movie in the MCU, there’s no denying that Bruce is still one of this franchise’s most important characters, be it as a supporting player in someone else’s movies or as an ensemble cast member in the Avengers movies. 

Edward Norton’s time in The Incredible Hulk and all of Mark Ruffalo’s MCU appearances can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription. Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with this aspect of the franchise’s history, learn what’s coming up by looking through the upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows.

How many times have you watched an incredible acting performance and looked up to see how many awards it won only to find out that the Oscar went to someone else that year? It’s shocking how many times this has happened over the years for some of the greatest actors and actresses of all time. Here are 32 times an incredible performance didn’t win an Academy Award for one reason or another.

Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)

Though he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson’s name wasn’t called at the 67th Academy Awards. This is nothing against Martin Landau’s performance from Ed Wood, but Jackson’s foul-mouthed and righteous hitman is an all-time great character that should have been recognized.

Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver)

Robert De Niro received an Oscar nomination for his career-defining portrayal of Travis Bickle in Martin Scorsese’s 1977 psychological thriller, Taxi Driver, but the unhinged and memorable performance wasn’t enough to win Best Actor. It’s hard to be mad, as Peter Finch’s Academy Award-winning turn in Network is the stuff of legend.

Harrison Ford (Witness)

One of the best actors without an Oscar, Harrison Ford has only one Academy Award nomination to his name, the 1985 crime thriller, Witness. Though not Ford’s most iconic character, his take on Philadelphia detective John Book as he goes to great lengths to protect a young boy is nothing short of amazing.

Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption)

Morgan Freeman gave the performance of a lifetime as Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding in The Shawshank Redemption. If the movie would have come out any other time besides 1994, a year dominated by Forrest Gump, there’s a good chance the aging prisoner and accomplished smuggler would have earned Freeman an Oscar.

Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)

Bill Murray’s portrayal of cynical, washed-up actor Bob Harris in Lost in Translation will forever be one of the comedian’s most beloved roles. While Sean Penn’s performance in Mystic River is more than deserving of an Oscar, it’s a shame the iconic comedian didn’t get properly recognized for a once-in-a-decade showing.

Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple)

Whoopi Goldberg showed off a more dramatic side with her lauded portrayal of Celie Harris-Johnson in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of The Color Purple. It’s absurd that the emotional, dynamic, and powerful performance didn’t win Goldberg a much-deserved Oscar, which went to Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful, instead.

Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List)

Schindler’s List features one of the best Ralph Fiennes performances with his portrayal of Nazi work camp commandant Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s 1993-defining film. And while the movie won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Fiennes’ unforgettable turn was not among them. Instead, he lost out to Tommy Lee Jones from The Fugitive.

Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie)

If you’re looking for one of the best New York City movies, Tootsie has you covered. If you’re looking for a movie featuring an acting performance that should have won an Oscar but didn’t, Sydney Pollack’s 1982 comedy has you covered there as well. Seriously, how Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Michael Dorsey wasn't awarded is something we just don’t get.

Denzel Washington (Malcolm X)

Denzel Washington eventually won a Best Actor Oscar for his unforgettable turn in Training Day, but the actor was robbed nearly a decade earlier after not winning the big prize for his take on the titular Civil Rights leader in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X.

Florence Pugh (Little Women)

Florence Pugh was already a rising star at the time of Little Women’s release, but her portrayal of Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age drama took her to new heights. Though she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, Pugh lost out to Laura Dern from Marriage Story.

Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained)

Here’s something wild to think about – Jamie Foxx not only didn’t win an Oscar for his performance in Django Unchained, he wasn’t even nominated for Best Actor. Admittedly, it was a stacked list of actors – Daniel Day-Lewis, Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Denzel Washington – but not even being named is just something.

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

The Wrestler felt like Mickey Rourke’s big redemption arc, more so than the character he portrayed in Darren Aronofsky’s great wrestling movie. Despite pushing himself to the breaking point from both a physical and emotional standpoint, Rourke lost out to Sean Penn’s take on Harvey Milk in Milk.

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Michael Keaton gave the performance of a lifetime in the 2014 mind-bending drama film, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), one that seemed to channel the actor’s past in such a way it felt like an autobiography. However, stealing the show as Riggan Thomson, a.k.a., Birdman, wasn’t enough, as the prize went to The Theory of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne instead.

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

Saoirse Ronan has been nominated for an Oscar on four separate occasions, but not a single win, which is something. One of the performances that deserved an Academy Award the most was that of Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. The portrayal of a confused high school senior on the verge of entering the next stage in her life lost out to Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Tim Curry (Clue)

Tim Curry’s portrayal of Wadsworth in Clue, a butler or undercover FBI agent depending on which ending you watch, is a role that is beloved by fans of the classic murder mystery comedy. However, it wasn’t recognized at the Academy Awards or other ceremonies, which is the real crime.

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Rosamund Pike’s take on Amy Elliott-Dunne earned the sole Academy Award nomination for David Fincher’s Gone Girl, a nod that was more than deserved. However, the incredibly nuanced and dynamic performance failed to win the Best Actress Oscar, which went to Still Alice’s Julianne Moore instead.

Jimmy Stewart (Rear Window)

Jimmy Stewart is one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors of all time and his portrayal of L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is one of the his top-tier performances. However, his take on an injured photographer who uncovers a murder mystery didn’t even get a nod at the Academy Awards.

Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind)

Kate Winslet gave one of her most powerful and unique performances in the 2004 sci-fi dramedy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Her take on Clementine Kruczynski, a woman who had all memories of her ex-boyfriend wiped from her brain, was rich, beautiful, and iconic, but just wasn’t enough to win Best Actress.

Al Pacino (The Godfather)

Al Pacino put himself on the map with his portrayal of reluctant crime boss Michael Corleone in The Godfather. The gradual evolution of the character over the course of the film’s three-hour runtime should have been enough for an Oscar, but like co-stars James Caan and Robert Duvall, who were also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, he didn’t get the win.

Gloria Swanson (Sunset Boulevard)

Gloria Swanson’s "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." line from Sunset Boulevard is one of the most iconic quotes in all of Hollywood and part of an Oscar-worthy performance. While Swanson was nominated for her take on aging film star Norma Desmond, she didn’t take home the top prize.

Jack Nicholson (The Shining)

Though considered one of Jack Nicholson’s best roles, his portrayal of Jack Torrance in The Shining didn’t result in an Oscar win. In fact, Nicholson wasn’t even nominated for the unforgettable performance. 

John Cazale (The Godfather Part II)

John Cazale’s Fredo Corleone in The Godfather Part II is one of cinema’s great tragic figures as well as one of the late actor’s best characters. What’s even more of a travesty is the fact that the late actor didn’t even receive an Oscar nomination for his efforts. Tragically, Cazale would never receive an Academy Award nomination prior to his shocking death in 1978.

Angela Bassett (What's Love Got To Do With It?)

Angela Bassett received her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Tina Turner in What’s Love Go to Do with It?, but the miraculous turn as one of American music’s most famous and influential figures didn’t earn her a Best Actress win. 

Edward Norton (American History X)

Reformed neo-Nazi Derek Vinyard is one of Edward Norton’s most controversial and complex characters of his career, and the American History X performance earned him a Best Actor nod at the 71st Academy Awards. However, Roberto Benigni from Life Is Beautiful ran away with the top acting prize.

Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca)

Somehow, Ingrid Bergman, who was astonishing as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca, not only didn’t win Best Actress at the 16th Academy Awards, she wasn’t even nominated for her iconic portrayal of a woman caught between two men and two different lives in the 1943 black-and-white classic.

Paul Giamatti (Sideways)

In a perfect world, Paul Giamatti would have won the Oscar for Best Actor in Alexander Payne’s Sideways, but alas, that is not the reality in which we live. Miles Raymond is one of Giamiatti’s best characters and carried the movie about two friends on a wine trip they’ll never forget.

Henry Fonda (12 Angry Men)

An amazing courtroom drama, 12 Angry Men is still arguably one of the best movies of all time. While its star, Henry Fonda, received a Best Picture nomination as a producer, his dynamic and rich portrayal of a juror who insisted on getting things right didn’t earn him an acting nod, which is a real miscarriage of justice.

John Goodman (The Big Lebowski)

You can add John Goodman to the list of great actors who have never received an Oscar nomination, which just doesn’t make sense. It’s especially maddening when you consider his legendary portrayal of Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski, a character loosely based on John Milius, per Far Out Magazine.

Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line)

Joaquin Phoenix has since won an Oscar, but his portrayal of Johnny Cash in James Mangold’s 2005 biographical drama, Walk the Line, was more than deserving of the top acting prize at the Academy Awards. What’s interesting is the fact that Phoenix was beat by his future The Master co-star, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won for his take on Truman Capote in Bennett Miller’s Capote.

Ellen Burstyn (Requiem For A Dream)

A little more 25 years after winning an Academy Award for Best Actress thanks to her outstanding performance in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Ellen Burstyn had another shot at capturing an Oscar with her turn as Sara Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream. Her take on a woman battling unchecked depression, anxiety, and a diet of weight loss pills gave audiences one of the most incredible and sympathetic characters of the early 21st century. Unfortunately, this also happened to be the same year Erin Brockovich was released. 

Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood)

There Will Be Blood is remembered more than a half-decade after its release because of the Academy Award-winning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, but one of the three-time Oscar winner’s castmates was also deserving of recognition. Paul Dano’s Eli Sunday (he also played the smaller part of Eli’s twin brother, Paul) is one of the more fascinating characters of modern cinema, and he should have received an Oscar for his troubles. Dynamic is an understatement for this overzealous, petty, and temperamental preacher.

Robert Shaw (Jaws)

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 summer blockbuster, Jaws, won three Academy Awards – Best Filming Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound – but Robert Shaw, who acted his tail off as the boat captain, Quint, wasn’t recognized. This shameful act by the Academy, especially after watching the USS Indianapolis monologue, still stings nearly 50 years after the fact. That scene alone deserved a Best Supporting Actor nomination and win.

Many of these actors won an Academy Award either before or after these movies and performances we just covered, but it’s just wild to think about how some of these roles didn’t take home the big prize at the Oscars.

It isn’t that uncommon for a director to build a troupe of actors and continually call on them for the latest and greatest projects. Greats like Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Christopher Nolan have done it a lot over the years, working time and time again with the likes of Robert De Niro, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Cillian Murphy, respectively; and so too does Wes Anderson.

In addition to each of his movies featuring a unique sense of style and humor, as well as his signature shots, Anderson’s work has largely featured the same group of actors (though some get off the bus while others get on) taking on various roles. Names like Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson quickly come to mind when this discussion is brought up, but who’s appeared in the most movies directed by the quirky and eccentric filmmaker? Well, funny you should ask… 

Bill Murray - 9 Movies 

In a June 2023 interview with Deadline, Anderson said he “can’t imagine not working with” Bill Murray again, and that the only reason the actor wasn’t part of Asteroid City was because he contracted COVID ahead of production. But, even though he didn’t appear in the movie CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg called a “meta, Looney Tunes-esque delight,” he’s still the most prolific of all of Anderson’s collaborators.

In fact, since first working with the filmmaker for his 1998 sophomore effort, Rushmore, Murray has appeared in all of his movies, both live-action and animated, outside of the aforementioned Asteroid City. This comes to a total of nine films. He doesn’t always have the biggest role, but more times than not, he steals the show.

Jason Schwartzman - 8 Movies

Jason Schwartzman, in addition to being on one of the greatest HBO shows that ended too early, has also been one of Anderson’s most called upon stars, including for Asteroid City. Since first landing the starring role in Rushmore (his feature film debut), the former Phantom Planet drummer has appeared in all but two of the director’s movies: The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Schwarzman isn’t always the main attraction, but more times than not, he serves as a nice addition in films like The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom. And, when he’s not around, the actor’s absence can be felt.

Owen Wilson - 7 Movies

The partnership shared by Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson is unlike any other on this list, as the Loki star has not only acted in seven of the director’s movies, but also co-written several of them. They first collaborated on the 1994 short film, Bottle Rocket, which would be turned into their respective feature film debuts two years later. The future “Frat Pack” member would also receive writing credit for Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, though he didn’t act in the former (maybe his spot in the Armageddon cast got in the way).

Since then, the Texas native has been in every Anderson movie save for Moonrise Kingdom, Isle of Dogs, and Asteroid City. His roles have ranged from the lead in The Darjeeling Limited to small parts in the likes of The French Dispatch.

Adrien Brody - 5 Movies

Unlike the first three actors on this list, Adrien Brody didn’t start working with the director until his fifth movie, The Darjeeling Limited. But ever since appearing in the 2007 comedy about three estranged brothers who embark on a “spiritual journey,” the Academy Award-winning actor has appeared in five of Anderson’s movies, missing only two: Moonrise Kingdom and Isle of Dogs.

Some of Anderson’s best movies have featured Brody in roles ranging from minor parts like Mouse in Fantastic Mr. Fox to unforgettable characterizations in the likes of The Grand Budapest Hotel, and everywhere in between. 

Anjelica Huston - 5 Movies

Anjelica Huston, with her Oscar, Golden Globe, and collection of other accolades, is another prolific collaborator of Anderson’s. Since playing Etheline Tenenbaum in 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums, the actress appeared in four additional movies, the most recent being The French Dispatch, which featured her as the narrator for the movie’s introduction.

It should also be noted that Huston does appear in the Isle of Dogs cast, even though she plays a character listed as “Mute Poodle,” as Anderson couldn’t find a proper speaking role for the talented actress. 

Bob Balaban - 5 Movies

Although he is best known for his appearances in Christohper Guest’s movies, Bob Balaban is also a frequent collaborator with Wes Anderson, appearing in a total of five movies over the years.

Ever since he provided the narration in Moonrise Kingdom, Balaban has had some kind of role in Anderson’s films, including the 2023 release of Asteroid City. He’s not the first actor you probably think of when discussing the filmmaker’s work, but Balaban is prolific nonetheless. 

Edward Norton - 5 Movies

Just like Balaban and the actress who follows just below, Edward Norton has appeared in all five of Wes Anderson’s most recent films dating back to Moonrise Kingdom. These appearances have been all over the place, with the talented actor playing every type of character from a boy scout leader in the 2012 coming-of-age comedy to an inspector from a fictional European country in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Norton most recently appeared in Asteroid City, in which he played Conrad Earp, the legendary playwright who crafted the stage production at the heart of the movie. 

Tilda Swinton - 5 Movies

Including her portrayal of a tenacious and determined social services worker in Moonrise Kingdom, Tilda Swinton has had a sizable role in five of Anderson’s movies. The talented Academy Award-winning actress has helped bring to life some of the filmmaker’s most unforgettable characters during that stretch, including writer J.K.L. Berensen in the first of three main stories in the 2021 comedy film, The French Dispatch.

Swinton brings a fun and unique energy to each of her performances in his movies, which is probably why the director continues to call up on her as often as he does.

Willem Dafoe - 5 Movies

Willem Dafoe first worked with Wes Anderson in 2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which just happens to be one of the actor’s best movies. Since he played Zissou’s deeply devoted first mate, Klaus Daimler, nearly 20 years ago, Dafoe has gone on to appear in four additional Anderson pics, the most recent being Asteroid City.

Though his characters have been all over the spectrum of good and evil, Dafoe has been consistently great in each of his portrayals, creating some hilarious, heartfelt, and unforgettable moments, even when he doesn’t get a lot of screen time.

Jeff Goldblum - 4 Movies

And then there is Jeff Goldblum, who has appeared in a total of four Anderson movies. The partnership started with 2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and has continued sporadically over the years. 

The iconic actor most recently appeared in Asteroid City, but we won’t go into the identity of his character so that we don’t spoil anything for those who have yet to see the movie.

These are Wes Anderson’s most prolific collaborators, but there are many other actors who have appeared in his various releases for the past quarter-century or so. Luke WIlson (3), Tony Revolori (3), Liev Schreiber (3), Fisher Stevens (4), Frances McDormand (3), Jeffrey Wright (2), and countless others have worked with the director on more than one occasion. We can expect this list to change in time, especially with The Phoenician Scheme on the way.

The fractured continuum of rights in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has, over time, allowed all of the studio’s far flung children to eventually return home. One of the last missing pieces to the MCU collection on Disney+ has been 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, which was at the time produced and owned by Universal. Well enough time has passed that while we may still be waiting for the upcoming Marvel movies to return to theaters, we can revisit Edward Norton’s time as Bruce Banner real soon.

Disney made the announcement through its Twitter, with a simple graphic that revealed June 16th as the date for fans to look out for. Much like the announcement of several Spider-Man movies going to the platform, it was a quick info dump that is intended to get the crowd excited to return to an old favorite. Though there is another reason that this addition to the MCU’s digital library should be celebrated.

As we’ve seen with the cast for Captain America: Brave New World, as well as through other Marvel Studios projects in recent past, characters from director Louis Leterrier’s solo entry into the Marvel canon have slowly been returning to the fold. Starting with the late William Hurt’s General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in Captain America: Civil War, MCU projects have integrated pretty huge figures from what seemed to be a movie destined to be retconned. 

What we know about Captain America 4 tells us that Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross and Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns/The Leader are both on deck for resurfacing as well. As the loyal Marvel fanbase is going to want to go back to The Incredible Hulk during any marathons for prep, this long held gap being filled is fantastic news. 

As is the fact that with one Disney+ subscription, Brave New World prep is easier than ever. Since the original series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is also available on that platform, and is just as vital to the road ahead, being able to get ready for the future is now easier than ever.

There are still some obvious gaps in the Disney+ MCU collection, particularly where the Spider-Man franchise is concerned. Just like The Incredible Hulk, the fact that another studio distributed this title is more than likely the holdup that’s held movies like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse from making things complete. 

As we’ve seen here, time apparently heals all wounds, or at least the ones tied to contractual obligations. The waiting game may be far from over, but it's incredible to see this big green piece of the puzzle fall back into place.

Per the gigantic and recent Disney release date reshuffle, you’re going to have to wait a little longer to see Captain America: Brave New World. Anthony Mackie’s cinematic debut as the new Cap will now be opening on July 26th, 2024; with Deadpool 3 picking up the slack in its new May 3, 2024 debut. Meanwhile, you can enjoy The Incredible Hulk on Disney+, starting June 16th. 

When it comes to Apple TV+, they’ve been coming out with hit after hit, whether it be the famous Ted Lasso, or the award-winning Severance, there’s plenty on the streaming service to love. And now, they’re back with the latest ensemble series, Extrapolations. 

The TV show is an anthology drama series that shows the effects of climate change across the world, from different characters that are somehow all connected. In any show like this, there are many stars that you have probably seen somewhere before. Here is where you might have spotted the Extrapolations cast. 

Kit Harington (Nicholas Bilton)

First up on the list is Kit Harington, who plays Nicholas Bilton in Extrapolations. Harington is primarily known for his role as Jon Snow in the Game of Thrones cast, but he’s also had roles in shows such as Gunpowder, and was in movies like Pompeii as well as Eternals. 

Daveed Diggs (Rabbi Marshall Zucker)

Daveed Diggs portrays Rabbi Marshall Zucker in Extrapolations, and the actor has been on a grind recently with his shows and movies. While Diggs is primarily known for his role in the Hamilton cast, he’s the star of Snowpiercer, and was also in big movies such as Soul and Blindspotting. 

Sienna Miller (Rebecca) 

Next up is Sienna Miller, who plays Rebecca. Miller has been in films such as The Lost City of Z, Foxcatcher, American Woman, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. She was also in the TV film, The Girl. 

Meryl Streep (Eve)

Portraying Eve in Extrapolations is Meryl Streep, a name that I’m sure we are all very familiar with. Streep has been in so many movies that it’s hard to even keep track sometimes. I’m sure that somehow, someway, you have heard of her, so let’s go over some of her best roles and where you’ve seen her before.  

Streep got started back in the 1970s on the stage, but later on moved into movies and TV with films such as Julia, Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, Out of Africa, Death Becomes Her, The Bridges of Madison Country, The Post, Little Women, The Devil Wears Prada, Into the Woods, The Hours, and more. If you want to hear something crazy, she holds the record for the most nominations by an actress for the Academy Awards – 21. 

Besides movies, Streep has done a lot in television, as well. She had a lead role in the miniseries, Holocaust, as well as a starring part in the second season of Big Little Lies. She was also a part of the miniseries, Angels in America, which won her a Primetime Emmy award. 

Michael Gandolfini (Rowan)

The son of James Gandolfini, Michael Gandolfini portrays Rowan in the series. He’s been in films such as Ocean’s 8, and portrayed the younger version of Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark on HBO Max. He is also going to be in Beau is Afraid, coming out later in 2023.

Heather Graham (Hannah)

Moving on, we take a look at Heather Graham, who plays Hannah. She’s been in many films that you might recognize her from, such as Six Degrees of Separation, Boogie Nights, Bowfinger, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Horns and more. She also had a supporting role in Twin Peaks, and was in the shows Scrubs and Californication. 

Tahar Rahim (Omar) 

Tahar Rahim portrays Omar in Extrapolations, and this actor has already been all over in movies and television. Rahim is mainly known for his role as Judas in the film Mary Magdalene, as well as his big part in The Looming Tower, but he’s also been in movies such as The French Prophet, and the miniseries, The Serpent.

Matthew Rhys (Junior) 

Moving on, we take a look at Matthew Rhys, who plays Junior. Rhys is primarily known for his starring role in the famed drama, The Americans, but he’s also been in films such as The Edge of Love, The Post, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and more. He’s also the titular character in Perry Mason, and has done voice work in the underrated animated show, The Owl House. 

David Schwimmer (Harris Goldblatt) 

Harris Goldblatt is played by David Schwimmer, and I’m pretty sure most of us are aware of Schwimmer from his time as part of the Friends cast. However, he has plenty of movie work under his belt, including the Madagascar series, Nothing But the Truth, The Pallbearer and more. He was also a part of Band of Brothers, and was one of the stars of The People vs. O.J. Simpson. 

Diane Lane (Martha)

Next up is Diane Lane, who plays Martha and has been in many, many movies. Some of her biggest hits have been Man of Steel, The Cotton Club, Streets of Fire, The Lady Beware, and Hollywoodland. 

Edward Norton (Jonathan) 

Edward Norton plays Jonathan, and he has been around in the film industry for some time. Recently, he was a part of the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery cast, and was also the lead in The Incredible Hulk, but has starred in many other movies, like Fight Club, Bourne Legacy, and The Grand Budapest Hotel, among others. 

Mia Maestro (Mariama)

Moving on, we have Mia Maestro, who plays Mariama in Extrapolations. Maestro is primarily known for her role in shows such as The Strain and Alias, as well as her parts in The Twilight Saga, and her role in Frida.

Indira Varma (Gita) 

Indira Varma plays Gita and was also a part of the Game of Thrones cast, but has been in other television roles such as on Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Amazon original, Carnival Row, Luther, Human Target and more. She was also in movies like Silent Hours and the Disney+ original movie, The One and Only Ivan. 

Adarsh Gourav (Guarav)

Next up on the list is Adarsh Gourav, who plays Guarav in Extrapolations. The actor is primarily known for his work in Bollywood, as he’s appeared in many Hindi films, but he was also in the American film, The White Tiger in 2020. He was also a part of the online web series, Hostel Daze. 

Keri Russell (Olivia Drew)

Another big name here is Keri Russell, who plays Olivia Drew. Russell is also known from her starring role in The Americans (alongside her real-life partner, Matthew Rhys), as well as her breakout starring role on the college show, Felicity, but has since appeared in many other shows and movies. Most recently, she starred in Cocaine Bear, but has also appeared in films such as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, We Were Soldiers, and more. 

Gemma Chan (Natasha)

Moving on, we take a look at Gemma Chan, who plays Natasha. Chan was also a part of the Eternals cast, but has appeared in many other movies, such as Don’t Worry Darling, Crazy Rich Asians, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and more. She was also a part of the Humans television series. 

Marion Cotillard (Sylvie)

Marion Cotillard is a French actress who plays Sylvie on Extrapolations. Cotillard is primarily known for her Academy Award-winning role in La Vie en Rose, but has been in many other movies such as Taxi, Inception, The Immigrant, Midnight in Paris, The Dark Knight Rises and others. 

Eiza Gonzalez (Elodie)

Next up on the list is Eiza Gonzalez, who plays Elodie in Extrapolations. The young actress was primarily known for her role in Spanish telenovelas for many years, but has since started to break into Hollywood with many roles in movies such as Baby Driver, I Care A Lot, Godzilla vs. Kong, and 2022’s Ambulance. 

Tobey Maguire (Nicolas) 

You’d really have to be living under a rock to not know who Tobey Maguire is, and thankfully, he’s back in action in Extrapolations, where he plays Nicolas. Maguire is primarily known for his years as Spider-Man, where he played Peter Parker for three films and reprised the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he’s done plenty in the acting industry besides that. 

His biggest roles besides Spider-Man include those in The Great Gatsby, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Pleasantville, The Cider House Rules, Brothers, and many more. He was also recently in 2022’s Babylon, which was nominated for an Academy Award. 

Forest Whitaker (Augustin)

Last but not least, we take a look at Forest Whitaker, who has been in the industry for some time and appeared in many, many big-time movies. He plays Augustin in Extrapolations. Some of Whitaker’s biggest roles thus far have included parts in movies like Platoon, The Great Debaters, The Butler, Respect, The Crying Game, Good Morning Vietnam, and The Last King of Scotland. 

Whitaker has also appeared in such big films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Series, and was also in Black Panther. Currently, he stars in the series, Godfather of Harlem. 

Keep in mind that this isn’t even the complete cast, so if you’re at all interested in seeing anyone else that might not be on this list, be sure to check it out at Apple TV+. Either way, Extrapolations is looking to be an intense show – and with an even more intense cast list. It’ll still be fun, that’s for sure.  

David Fincher’s Fight Club is a seminal film for movie lovers of a certain generation. If you were of a very impressionable age when Fincher’s adaptation came out in 1999, there’s a good chance you were influenced by Tyler Durden, the uber-cool anti-hero portrayed by Brad Pitt. As we pointed out in our rundown of behind-the-scenes Fight Club facts, several actresses were up for the unconventional love-interest role of Marla, who eventually was played by Helena Bonham Carter. Now Courtney Love explains that the role was all hers, until she lost it. And she blames Pitt. 

According to Courtney Love, the infamous musician who had a solid run as an actress, she wanted to adapt Chuck Palahniuk’s debut novel Fight Club into a feature film, mainly because the book had ties back to the Portland community. While appearing as a guest on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron, Love claims she brought the project to Fincher, and had secured the role of Marla – even though Love says that she and Fincher are innately “terrified” of each other. Understandable, based on what other directors have said about working with Love. Still, she really thought that the two creatives were breaking new ground with their Fight Club collaboration. She was fired up. 

Around 1999, Courtney Love tells Marc Maron she received a phone call from film director Gus Van Sant, who was having lunch with Brad Pitt when he made the call. The two of them allegedly were mulling over the screenplay that eventually would become Brokeback Mountain, but Van Sant pivoted quickly once they got Courtney on the phone. Van Sant told Love that Pitt was heavily pursuing a movie about music. As she continued to relay the events of this call, Love elaborated:

So yeah, it didn’t go well. And part of me is disappointed, because a Kurt Cobain biopic starring 1999-era Brad Pitt might have been incredible. Cobain was the lead singer/guitarist/songwriter of Nirvana, and was married to Courtney Love from 1992 until he took his own life in 1994 at the age of 27. His story was told, sort of, by Gus Vant Sant in an abstract feature film, and in documentary form, which Love supported. Love says in the Marc Maron interview that she still plans to do a traditional Cobain biopic, but gave no other details.

Back to Fight Club. Courtney Love, at the time of filming this movie, was dating Brad Pitt’s Fight Club co-star, Edward Norton. Some have accused Norton of stepping in to get Love the part of Marla. But Love now flips the script and says, at the very least, it was Pitt who lost the part for Love. She explained:  

And so, we add a Kurt Cobain biopic starring Brad Pitt to the long list of movies that might have been, but now never will be. That doesn’t stop Courtney Love from continuing to share her opinions, whether she’s claiming that Scarlett Johansson should play her in a movie, to criticizing poor Olivia Rodrigo’s album covers. Love tells Maron she’s working on her first album in years. We’ll see if it helps her back into the entertainment spotlight. 

Following the death of Daniel Craig’s James Bond in last year’s No Time To Die, the British actor faces a new chapter in his career free of 007. So far, the actor has already found himself another great character we want to see in a ton of movies with Knives Out and Glass Onion’s Benioit Blanc. And apparently the character charmed Craig’s co-star Edward Norton so much on set, he’s putting Blanc over Bond. 

When Edward Norton guested on Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert this week, the actor who is among Glass Onion’s star-studded cast shared his experience working with the James Bond actor as his whimsical and fun detective character. In Norton's words: 

Craig’s James Bond was so much more serious than his whodunit collaborations with Rian Johnson, and the Fight Club actor had a realization that perhaps 007 skewed his perception of him. Norton continued: 

One doesn’t necessarily equate Daniel Craig with comedy since he’s been taking it shaken, not stirred since he first debuted his Bond in 2006. But thankfully, Beniot Blanc exists. Craig recently earned a 2023 Golden Globe nomination for Glass Onion, following previously being recognized for the same role in Knives Out for that Edward Norton had to gush over. Norton also said this about working with Craig: 

The Southern gentleman, who was recently revealed to be queer as well, is Rian Johnson’s own version of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. With each Knives Out mystery, he meets another ensemble of suspects and uses his sharp eye for detail and the facts to solve murders. 

Among them is Edward Norton’s Miles Bron, a billionaire tech entrepreneur who invites a round of old friends to his private island for some fun, and Blanc somehow gets into the mix. Along with Craig and Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline star in Glass Onion. 

Glass Onion premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival to wide praise before hitting theaters for a week to impressive box office numbers. You can check out how to watch Glass Onion here on CinemaBlend ahead of its Christmas release. 

Knives Out breathed new life into the murder mystery genre when it was released in 2019, with its brilliant ensemble cast, hilarious script and twisty story. Audiences were immediately craving more of Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc, and director Rian Johnson has delivered, with the first sequel set for release to Netflix subscribers in December. The detective will take on a new case in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, and the first responses to the movie are overwhelmingly positive.

Glass Onion stars a new but equally impressive cast of characters for Daniel Craig to investigate, including Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr. and Kate Hudson, to name just a few. The story sees Benoit Blanc taking on a new case, after someone winds up dead during a lavish getaway on the private Greek island of Miles Bron (Norton). So how do the new story and cast compare to the first? CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell says it’s obvious how much fun Rian Johnson had directing this project, and that experience spills over to the viewers: 

The ensemble was integral to the success of Knives Out, which saw huge box office success, and audiences are undoubtedly curious to see how these new characters come together. Many people in attendance at TIFF note that Kate Hudson and Janelle Monáe are standouts in the sequel’s cast:

When the trailer for Glass Onion was released, viewers could already see how this group comes together to play off of each other. But Erik Anderson says forget what you think you know, as he ramps our expectations up for what’s to come: 

While classism was targeted in Knives Out, Sarah Marrs says the sequel targets influencer culture. She also echoes other viewers in praising Janelle Monáe as, “NEXT LEVEL”: 

Regarding how well Glass Onion stands up to its predecessor, it seems like many of the Toronto International Film Festival audience actually enjoys the sequel as much as or more than the first. This viewer says it’s “funnier, more clever and sharper”:  

Clayton Davis also thinks Glass Onion outdoes the first movie “in almost every way”:

Perri Nemiroff says this sequel is worthy of multiple viewings, and notes Rian Johnson’s “precision and passion,” while pointing out Steve Yedlin’s cinematography: 

Following the first movie, Netflix purchased the rights for two Knives Out sequels, but many who were able to screen Glass Onion are asking, nay, begging for the film to receive a theatrical release: 

We’ll have to wait and see if Netflix jumps on board for a wide theatrical release of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery after seeing the response to its premiere at TIFF, but for now the murder mystery sequel is set to be released on Friday, December 23. While we wait for that, you can check out some of Netflix’s best movies, and start planning your next trip to the theaters with our 2022 New Movie Release Schedule. 

Don’t get smashed by the She-Hulk spoilers ahead!

We’ve lived in a world where there are many — I might say too many — actors playing the same iconic superheroes. There are three different dudes playing Spider-Man (and that’s not counting animated movies) and what seems like an infinite number of actors who have taken on Batman. So, knowing Mark Ruffalo and Edward Norton as The Hulk honestly isn’t all that odd. 

It's fair to wonder if these actors communicate about playing the same roles throughout these movies. Turns out, Ruffalo and Norton have had some fun talking about their shared history as the big green monster long before the cheeky reference in the latest episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, and Mark Ruffalo recently told Entertainment Weekly about their conversations. Said the actor,

This all came to light after the second episode of She-Hulk was released. In the show, the Norton-to-Ruffalo Hulk handover was referenced in a cute way. Jen Walters a.k.a. She-Hulk calls her cousin to tell him she’s taking on a case regarding the Abomination, the villain of Edward Norton’s Hulk movie. While on the phone with her, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk approves of her taking the case and says:

Jen then looks directly into the camera and laughs, giving a nice little confirmation to the audience that the show did indeed just reference the actor swap. So, unlike in the Spider-verse or the MCU’s multiverse, Edward Norton’s Hulk does not exist in a parallel universe. Bruce Banner simply changed looks from Norton to Mark Ruffalo. 

Both actors have had a good sense of humor about the funky casting situation. While Mark Ruffalo threw Timothée Chalamet’s name in the mix as a future Hulk, Edward Norton revealed that he thinks the best Banner will always be Bill Bixby, who played the big green guy in the 1978 television series. The stars have referenced Hulk as a version of Hamlet, where lots of actors can come into the role and give it their own spin. 

In the last year, Marvel has brought characters from different studios and franchises into the MCU fold. The Spider-Men (Mans?) uniting in Spider-Man: No Way Home was kind of a watershed moment that blew up the internet. Andrew Garfield, the Amazing Spider-Man, revealed he had quite a bit of fun trying to keep the surprise a secret and lying about his return to Marvel. 

In Spider-Man: No Way Home we also saw the return of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, who had played the role in the Netflix show of the same name. Charlie Cox is going to be very involved with the MCU moving forward and is confirmed to be back as Matt Murdock in She-Hulk, but with a lighter tone than what we’re used to. Maybe Ben Affleck could reprise his 2003 version of the devil of Hell's Kitchen someday, continuing the multi-actor fun in the comic book movie franchise. 

Marvel’s She-Hulk will continue releasing episodes throughout the coming weeks on Disney+. I’m sure more surprises are in store and more theories will be invented. Speculation is already rampant around the internet about the Hulk’s last moment in She-Hulk and his future involvement in upcoming MCU projects. 

If we’ve learned anything from this it’s that Marvel’s casting choices will seemingly always find a way to make sense within the story – or at least make a hilarious joke out of it. 

Creative liberties come with the territory when it comes to adapting stories. In the case of David Fincher’s Fight Club, the ending of his movie differed greatly from what happened at the end of Chuck Palahniuk’s original novel, though it arguably retained the same spirit. However, the same can’t be said for a version of Fight Club currently streaming in China, which has a bizarre new ending.

As those who’ve seen Fight Club will remember (and if you haven’t, SPOILER alert for a movie that came out in 1999), it wraps up with Edward Norton’s Narrator realizing that he and Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden are one and the same. The Narrator kills Tyler after firing a gun through his cheek, but in the movie’s final seconds, he and Helena Bonham Carter’s Marla Singer watch as Project Mayhem lives on, with the explosives planted earlier destroying the nearby buildings that contained credit card records.

That’s not the case in the version of Fight Club that’s available on the Chinese streaming service Tencent Video. Instead, this Fight Club ends before the buildings explode and displays the following text in the final seconds:

While it’s unclear if this Fight Club edit was a result of self-censorship or being mandated by China’s government, Vice heard from a source that the edit came from the copyright owner, and then was approved by the government before sold to streaming services for distribution. Regardless, this is quite the 180 from the rest of how Fight Club flows. Instead of Tyler Durden’s scheme still unfolding, not only do the police manage to foil it, but the Narrator (identified as Tyler, even though we never learn his true name) is sent to a mental hospital for over a decade.

The altered Fight Club ending was met with disappointment by many on Chinese social media who enjoy the original cut. Still, given how strict China often is with censoring movies, TV shows and other forms of media, this isn’t too much of a shocker. So if you want to watch Fight Club in its original form in China, you’ll have to make do with finding a bootleg copy. Those of you located in the United States can stream it on Amazon Prime Video.

Although Fight Club was met with polarizing critical reception when it played in theaters and only made a little over $101 million off a budget somewhere between $63-65 million, it experienced more success on home video and settled in nicely as a cult favorite. Last summer, author Stephen King watched David Fincher’s fourth directorial endeavor for the first time, though to be fair, he’d suffered a terrible accident when Fight Club was originally released, so it make sense he missed out on it. Sadly, one of the members of the Fight Club cast is no longer with us, as Meat Loaf, who played Robert Paulson, passed away last week at the age of 74. 

Looking to the future, David Finch’s next movie on deck is The Killer, which stars Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton. Production began in November and the completed product will premiere on Netflix. As always, keep your eyes locked on CinemaBlend for all the biggest news concerning upcoming movies.

Right now, fans and friends are still reeling from the unexpected death of rock music legend Meat Loaf. The tributes have been pouring in since the news broke. While Meat Loaf was best known for his decades-long music career, he also kept a sizable acting career at the same time. One of his most notable roles was Robert “Big Bob” Paulson in the cult classic Fight Club. Upon hearing the news, Fight Club co-star Edward Norton decided to pen a moving tribute to the music legend.

The Birdman star took to Twitter to pay tribute to his former co-star. Edward Norton and Meat Loaf shared some memorable scenes in the 1998 film, which the actor also cherished. The Oscar nominee shared an image of the Narrator and Big Bob’s first meeting in his sweet note to the beloved music icon.

Even with how intense and twisted Fight Club was, it was nice to find out that Meat Loaf kept the set light. It must have been something to hear the Rocky Horror Picture Show star just belt Led Zeppelin so effortlessly. Edward Norton appeared to share an instantaneous bond with the “I Do Anything for Love” singer while shooting the black comedy. Recalling those special moments between him and the rock music legend gave some levity to the person behind the persona.

But Edward Norton wasn’t done heaping kind words of the late music icon, as he shared another Narrator-Big Bob moment from the Fight Club set. Norton spoke about the joy the image continues to give him.

Edward Norton chose to speak about the man rather than the rock star or actor. Speaking on his Fight Club co-star’s off-screen personality proved how close they became. Meat Loaf and Norton seemed to form a genuine bromance while working on the controversial film. It was nice to know the connection Big Bob and the Narrator formed translated into a real-life friendship.

While the black comedy was filled with violence, it had heart, especially during the calmer scenes with the support groups. Much of that was due to the lovable teddy bear Paulson’s sensitive and heartfelt moments. Of course, all that wouldn’t be possible with the superb acting of Meat Loaf. He tapped into the character’s ethos, which he hadn’t done much in his earlier characters.

Despite the film being revered as a cult classic, Fight Club divided both critics and moviegoers when it was released in 1999. Some critics called out the film for its excessive violence and twist ending while others enjoyed the direction and performances. The black comedy went on to gross over $101 million, which fell below 20th Century Fox’s expectations. It found a second life as its home release became a commercial success. Fight Club is currently available to stream on Prime Video.

Obviously, the first (and the second) rule of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club. That said, that indoctrinating regulation hasn't stopped a whole lot of people from chatting breathlessly about David Fincher's cult classic adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's influential 1996 novel. While the pulpy film wasn't widely acclaimed upon release, the sneering social satire has since been hailed as one of the finest films from one of our best filmmakers, and the lead performances from Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter remain among their most revered. Now that it's been 21 years since this movie hit theaters, let's see what the Fight Club cast, including Jared Leto, is doing now.

Edward Norton (The Narrator)

As The Narrator, a dissatisfied, disassociative not-so-ordinary man who forms a hard-knock friendship with Tyler Durden, Edward Norton plays the unnamed protagonist in David Fincher's Fight Club. Following his acclaimed, Oscar-nominated breakout role in Primal Fear, Norton received two more Oscar nominations for his lead performance in American History X and his supporting turn Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Additionally, the star is celebrated and recognized for his work in 25th Hour, The Illusionist, Rounders, The Score, Death to Smoochy, The Incredible Hulk, The Italian Job (2003), and Pride and Glory. Furthermore, Norton is both the star and producer of The Painted Veil, Leaves of Grass, and Down in the Valley, which the actor also edited.

Moreover, Edward Norton was the director, producer, and star of Keeping the Faith. Additionally, he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Motherless Brooklyn. His other film credits include Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Red Dragon, Frida, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Everyone Says I Love You. Next, Norton reunites with Wes Anderson for The French Dispatch. Currently, he's filming a role in Knives Out 2.

Brad Pitt (Tyler Durden)

In the role of Tyler Durden, our narrator's darker half who indulges his most destructive impulses, Brad Pitt plays the co-lead in Fight Club. Most notably, Pitt won two Oscars: one for his celebrated supporting turn in Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood and another for producing 12 Years a Slave. Also, Pitt is Oscar-nominated for his work in Moneyball, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and 12 Monkeys, as well as for producing The Big Short. His other film credits include Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Inglorious Basterds, Se7en, Ad Astra, Legends of the Fall, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Interview with the Vampire, Troy, Babel, The Tree of Life, and the Ocean's movies.

Next, Brad Pitt will star in Bullet Train. He'll also provide a cameo in The Lost City of D. Currently, the award-winning actor is in the midst of filming Babylon. Additionally, Pitt will produce Blonde, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Wrong Answer, Women Talking, Americanah, She Said, Black Hole, and a Chris Cornell documentary.

Helena Bonham Carter (Marla Singer)

Playing the part of Marla Singer, a heavy-smoking, coffee-loving, strong-willed woman who becomes something of a love interest for our dual-minded lead character, Helena Bonham Carter gives an exceptional performance in David Fincher's Fight Club. Notably, she was Oscar-nominated for her lead role in The Wings of the Dove and her supporting turn in The King's Speech. Additionally, Carter received two Emmy nominations for her portrayal of Princess Margaret in Netflix's The Crown. Also, the actress was Emmy-nominated for her performances in Burton and Taylor, Live from Baghdad, and Merlin.

Furthermore, Helena Bonham Carter is known for her multiple collaborations with Tim Burton, including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Big Fish, Alice in Wonderland, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, and Dark Shadows. She also played Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies. Next, Carter will be seen in BBC's The Cleaner and heard in Netflix's The House. Additionally, she's signed on to star in Call My Agent, The Land of Sometimes, and Not Bloody Likely.

Jared Leto (Angel Face)

As Angel Face, a pretty-faced "Space Monkey" in Project Mayhem, Jared Leto gives one of his most famous performances in Fight Club. Most notably, Leto won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club. He's also known for starring in Requiem for a Dream, Lord of War, Mr. Nobody, Chapter 27, and Urban Legends. Additionally, Leto reunited with David Fincher for Panic Room. His other film credits include Blade Runner 2049, American Psycho, The Thin Red Line, Alexander, How to Make an American Quilt, Suicide Squad, and Girl, Interrupted. Furthermore, Leto is known for playing Jordan Catalano in ABC's My So-Called Life. Also, as a musician, he's the lead vocalist for 30 Seconds to Mars.

Most recently, Jared Leto provided a supporting turn in The Little Things and reprised his role as The Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Next, he'll appear in House of Gucci. Moreover, Leto will star in Morbius. Currently, he's filming a role in Apple TV+'s mini-series, WeCrashed. Also, the method actor is soon expected to reunite with Darren Aronofsky in Adrift, play Andy Warhol in an upcoming biopic, and maybe star in Tron 3.

Meat Loaf (Robert “Bob” Paulson)

In the role of Robert "Bob" Paulson, a former bodybuilder who attends the testicular cancer support group, Meat Loaf has a memorable performance in David Fincher's Fight Club. A prog-rock musician who's best known for his wide-ranging voice, he's the powerhouse singer behind the best-selling Bat Out of Hell trilogy. Meat Loaf has nine other albums; the rock legend's most recent release was 2016's Braver Than We Are.

Furthermore, as an actor, Meat Loaf's other film credits include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Wayne's World, Spice World, Roadie, Stage Fright, and Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. He can also be seen in BloodRayne, Crazy in Alabama, Out of Bounds, Leap of Faith, Blacktop, The 51st State, Burning Bright, The Moment, Beautiful Boy (2010), Motorama, and The Gun in Betty's Lou's Handbag. Additionally, on the stage, Meat Loaf appeared in the original cast of Rocky Horror. He was also in on-and-off-Broadway performances of Hair. Moreover, Meat Loaf's TV credits include House, Monk, The Outer Limits, and Elementary. The rocker was last seen in Syfy's Ghost Wars.

Zach Grenier (Richard Chesler)

Playing the part of Richard Chesler, The Narrator's boss, Zach Grenier has a notable role in Fight Club. A veteran character actor, Grenier is known for his supporting turns in Twister and Tommy Boy. Additionally, he later reunited with David Fincher for Zodiac. Furthermore, Grenier can be seen in films like Donnie Brasco, Working Girl, Cliffhanger, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, J. Edgar, Problem Child 2, The Man Without a Face, Rescue Dawn, Swordfish, RoboCop (2014), Pulse, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.

Away from film, Zach Grenier played David Lee in CBS's The Good Wife. Currently, the actor plays this part in Paramount+'s The Good Fight. Also, Grenier had recurring roles in Deadwood, 24, BrainDead, and Ray Donovan. His other notable television credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Additionally, Grenier was Tony-nominated for his performance in Broadway's 33 Variations. Recently, he appeared in FX's Devs. Next, the actor will be seen in the short film, The White Stuff.

Holt McCallany (The Mechanic)

As The Mechanic, a Fight Club regular and veteran, Holt McCallany was a prominent supporting player in David Fincher's fourth film. Most notably, McCallany is known for playing the part of FBI Special Agent Bill Tench in Netflix's Mindhunter, which continued his working relationship with Fincher. His other television credits include CSI: Miami, Blue Bloods, Heroes, Freedom, Lights Out, Golden Boy, and Law & Order. Additionally, in film, McCallany can be seen in Three Kings, Alpha Dog, Sully, Alien 3, Creepshow 2, Men of Honor, Casualties of War, Run All Night, Against the Ropes, Blackhat, and Vantage Point. Furthermore, the actor appeared in The Losers, Shot Caller, The Peacemaker, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, The Perfect Guy, Monster Trucks, Concussion, Below, and Justice League. Also, last year, McCallany had a supporting turn in Greenland.

Most recently, Holt McCallany was seen in Wrath of Man and Netflix's The Ice Road. Next, the actor appears in Guillermo Del Toro's Nightmare Alley. Currently, McCallany is filming a role in AMC's 61st Street. He's also signed on to star in Our Summer of Song.

David Andrews (Thomas)

In the role of Thomas, another member of the support group, David Andrews provides a vocal supporting turn in Fight Club. The character actor is also known for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Apollo 13, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wyatt Earp, World War Z, Fair Game, Cherry 2000, and Dear John. His other film credits include Jessabelle, Arthur Newman, The Conspirator, Stealth, A Walk to Remember, Hannibal, Graveyard Shift, and The Palmer Supremacy.

Additionally, on television, David Andrews was seen in JAG, Pulaski: The TV Detective, Justified, CSI: Miami, House of Cards, The Boys, Shooter, The Whispers, Drop Dead Diva, Crisis, Necessary Roughness, Marry Me, and Days of Our Lives. Furthermore, the actor guest-starred on Watchmen, How to Get Away with Murder, For All Mankind, NCIS, Scandal, and Six Feet Under. He can also be seen in Band of Brothers, CSI: Miami, Castle, Criminal Minds, Stargate SG-1, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Dawson's Creek. Most recently, Andrews appeared in the final season of USA Network's Queen of the South.

Eion Bailey (Ricky)

Playing the part of Ricky, The Narrator's young co-worker, Eion Bailey received one of his first film credits in David Fincher's Fight Club. A couple of years later, Bailey found more prominence in the role of Pvt. David Kenyon Webster in HBO's Band of Brothers. Also, Bailey is known for his work as Arthur, i.e. Pinocchio, in ABC's Once Upon a Time, Ben Mercer in USA Network's Covert Affairs, and Steve Knight in Showtime's Ray Donovan. Additionally, the actor had recurring roles in ER and Stalker, as well as a main part in the short-lived series, Significant Others. His other television credits include 30 Rock, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, FBI, and Emily in Paris. Last year, Bailey was the star of Hallmark Channel's Delivery by Christmas. He also won an Emmy for Lifetime's Life of the Party.

Furthermore, away from TV, Eion Bailey's other film credits include Almost Famous, Center Stage, Mindhunters, and Sexual Life. Most recently, the TV actor was seen in Paramount+'s The Stand. Next, Bailey will star in Epix's From, which is filming now.

Fight Club is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.

If there’s any way to piss off the guys from Fight Club it’s to break their one rule: don’t talk about it. Apparently Rosie O’Donnell did just that back when it first came out and ruffled some major feathers. Over 20 years after star Brad Pitt called her out for it, O’Donnell has addressed the transgression of spoiling the now-iconic film and the fact that stars Edward Norton and Pitt were pretty angry with her when she did it.

While it sounds like a pretty messed up thing to do, not only spoiling a major ending to a huge film but also simultaneously breaking the one rule the film has, it would seem that Rosie O’Donnell had no clue what she was really doing when she went on her show and ruined the ending for everyone watching. In a recent interview with Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show, the long-time comedian and TV personality revealed that all she actually did was say the ending didn’t make sense to her when talking about how much the movie “annoyed” her. Here it is in her own words:

Rosie O’Donnell is definitely known for having pretty much no filter when it comes to what she says, so it's easy to believe her when she says she was just doing what she naturally does and didn’t realize it was something much bigger. Apparently there weren’t many consequences to her words either, because no one told her a thing about it until it had pretty much blown over, at least 3 years later. In the same interview, O'Donnell says it was actually Courtney Love who dropped the bomb on her:

While it looks like Rosie O’Donnell was unaware that she ruined the ending of Fight Club, Brad Pitt was hyper-aware. In fact, Brad Pitt’s annoyance at O’Donnell spoiling the ending of his cult classic hit film made it into the DVD commentary. Here’s exactly what Pitt said on the commentary (via Indie Wire) about the talk show host ruining the wild ending of Fight Club:

Brad Pitt’s feelings were, of course, super valid, but that was quite a long time ago. Rosie O’Donnell does say that she has spoken with Edward Norton since then and everything seemed gravy. It’s very possible that Pitt has also put the past behind him, especially now that O’Donnell has come forward with her side of the story, which makes it seem like the whole thing was just a misunderstanding. What’s a little decades old spoilage between 3 wealthy Hollywoodians, am I right?

While it never found the same high-speed traction as the concurrent Fast & Furious franchise, 2003's The Italian Job proved to be a similarly fun, zany, edge-of-your-seat heist action thrill ride with a starry ensemble, high stakes, and many cool, sporty Minis zipping across the screen. It didn't reach the same critical heights as the original 1969 British film either, but the remake found a great deal of success, especially in the U.S. Namely, it paved the way for director F. Gary Gray to transition into the action genre, helming The Fate of the Furious and reuniting with Charlize Theron and Jason Statham.

Also starring Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, and Donald Sutherland, The Italian Job is about as fresh and entertaining as you can hope a modernized remake of a bonafide classic can be, and it's hard to believe that 18 whole years have passed since the high-octane movie speed into theaters. What is the A-list cast doing now? Let's find out now!

Mark Wahlberg (Charlie Croker)

As Charlize Croker, the team's mastermind thief, Mark Wahlberg leads the crew and seeks revenge against Steve Frazelli as the protagonist of F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job. Formerly known as Marky Mark, Wahlberg transitioned into acting with Renaissance Man, The Basketball Diaries, and Fear before Boogie Nights propelled his movie career into stardom. From there, the actor received an Oscar nomination for his supporting turn in The Departed. Wahlberg was also Oscar-nominated for producing The Fighter, which he also starred in. Mark Wahlberg's movie credits also include Lone Survivor, Shooter, I Heart Huckabees, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, The Other Guys, Ted 1 & 2, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Transformers: The Last Knight, Daddy's Home 1 & 2, Instant Family, Deepwater Horizon, and Pain & Gain.

Most recently, Mark Wahlberg starred in and produced Paramount+'s Infinite. He'll also be seen in Joe Bell, which he also produced, later this year. Additionally, Wahlberg will play Victor Sullivan in next year's Uncharted. Currently, he's filming Stu, which he also produced. Also, Wahlberg is working on Arthur the King.

Charlize Theron (Stella Bridger)

In the role of Stella Bridger, a safe and vault breaker, as well as John's daughter, Charlize Theron plays the female lead in 2003's The Italian Job. Most notably, Theron won an Oscar for her central performance in Monster, which came out the same year. She was also Oscar-nominated for her leading work in North Country and, most recently, for her role in the cast of Bombshell. Additionally, the A-list actress is known for Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, The Devil's Advocate, Prometheus, The Cider House Rules, Young Adult, Tully, Æon Flux, and The Fate of the Furious. Theron also starred in Snow White and the Huntsman, Reindeer Games, That Thing You Do!, The Road, Tully, Hancock, Mighty Joe Young, The Yards, and Long Shot. She also lent her voice to The Addams Family (2019).

Last year, Charlize Theron produced and starred in The Old Guard. Most recently, the actress reprised her role as Cipher in F9. Coming up next, Charlize Theron will be heard in the Addams Family sequel. Additionally, the A-list star recently finished production on The School for Good and Evil.

Edward Norton (Steve Frazelli)

Playing the part of Steve Frazelli, the inside man who betrays the crew and leaves them for dead, Edward Norton is a smarmy villain in F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job. Following his Oscar-nominated breakout role in Primal Fear, the acclaimed actor also received Academy Award nominations for his lead performance in American History X and his supporting turn in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). The actor is also recognized for starring in Fight Club, 25th Hour, The Illusionist, Rounders, The Score, Death to Smoochy, The Incredible Hulk, and Pride and Glory. Additionally, Norton produced and starred in The Painted Veil, Leaves of Grass, and Down in the Valley, which he also edited.

Furthermore, Edward Norton directed, produced, and starred in Keeping the Faith and wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Motherless Brooklyn. His other film credits include Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Red Dragon, Frida, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Everyone Says I Love You. Next, Norton reunites with Wes Anderson for The French Dispatch. He's also signed on to appear in Knives Out 2.

Donald Sutherland (John Bridger)

As John Bridger, Stella's old-fashioned father and an ace safecracker, Donald Sutherland plays Charlie's longtime partner and a mentor figure in The Italian Job (2003). An Emmy-winning actor for his lead performance in HBO's Citizen X, Sutherland is a celebrated actor of screens both big and small, notably with acclaimed turns in MASH, Klute, The Dirty Dozen, Don't Look Now, National Lampoon's Animal House, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Ordinary People, JFK, Without Limits, Space Cowboys, Threshold, Kelly's Heroes, Outbreak, Cold Mountain, and The Hunger Games franchise. He's also recognized from A Time to Kill, Pride & Prejudice (2005), 1900, Eye on the Needle, The Eagle Has Landed, and Fellini's Casanova. On television, additionally, Sutherland appeared in Trust, Dirty Sexy Money, and Human Trafficking.

Most recently, Donald Sutherland played a supporting role in HBO's The Undoing. He also appeared in Alone and The Burnt Orange Heresy. Next, Sutherland will star in Moonfall and James Gray's Armageddon Time. He also filmed a part in Quibi's Swimming with Sharks, though the show's status is unclear after the company folded.

Jason Statham (Handsome Robb)

In the role of Handsome Robb, the team's wheelman, Jason Statham played a sharp-looking ladies man in F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job. Previously a member of Britain's national diving team, Statham started his acting career with Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. From there, he appeared in Snatch, Ghosts of Mars, and The One before he transitioned into leading man roles with The Transporter series. He also starred in the Crank movies, The Bank Job, The Mechanic movies, In the Name of the King, Safe, Death Race, and The Meg, as well as War, Revolver, Redemption, Killer Elite, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which he also produced. Additionally, Statham played notable supporting roles in The Expendables trilogy, Fast & Furious 6, Spy, Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious, Collateral, and Cellular.

Most recently, Jason Statham starred in Wrath of Man. Next, the actor will frontline and produce Guy Ritchie's untitled new movie, which is rumored to be called Five Eyes. He's also expected to star in The Meg 2: The Trench and Small Dark Look.

Seth Green (Lyle)

Playing the part of Lyle, the team's computer expert, Seth Green was the comedic relief in 2003's The Italian Job. Outside of this remake, Green played Scott Evil in the Austin Powers movies. His other film credits include Rat Race, Without a Paddle, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Radio Days, Can't Hardly Wait, My Stepmother Is An Alien, and A Futile and Stupid Gesture. He also voices Howard the Duck in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Recently, Green wrote, directed, and starred in Changeland.

Away from the big screen, Seth Green is the co-creator and most-frequent voice on Adult Swim's Robot Chicken. He also voices Chris Griffin on Fox's Family Guy. Additionally, Green is known for playing Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in The WB/UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Young Richie Tozier in ABC's two-part mini-series, IT. The television actor also starred in short-lived sitcoms like Greg the Bunny, Four Kings, and Dads. As a voice actor, additionally, Green can be heard in Crossing Swords, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hulk and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Phineas and Ferb.

Yasiin Bey (Gilligan “Left Ear”)

As Gilligan, i.e. "Left Ear," the team's detonation expert, Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, plays an explosive supporting character in 2003's The Italian Job. As a musician, Bey is best known for his singles like "Oh No," "Definition," and "Respiration." However, before his music career, Bey entered the entertainment business as a child actor in TV films, sitcoms, and theater. In the early 2000s, Bey transitioned into film acting, most notably with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Be Kind Rewind, 16 Blocks, Bamboozled, Brown Sugar, Next Day Air, and The Woodsman. He also appeared in Monster's Ball, Cadillac Records, Begin Again, Life of Crime, Showtime, Where's Marlowe?, and Journey to the End of Night.

In television, additionally, Yasiin Bey was Emmy-nominated for his lead performance as Vivien Thomas in HBO's Something the Lord Made. Furthermore, Bey had a recurring role in Showtime's Dexter. The actor also appeared in House and Yo Gabba Gabba! In 2016, he publicly retired from acting. Bey's final performance was in Tour de France.

Franky G (Wrench)

In the role of Wrench, a mechanic who engineers the Minis to carry the gold, Franky G plays a splashy supporting role in F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job. Away from this film, the actor is known for playing Xavier in Saw II and III. His other movie credits include Dead Man Down, Gun Hill Road, The Devil's Tomb, Wonderland, Confidence, 36 Saints, and Fists of Love, the latter two he also produced. Also, G appeared in The Martyr Maker, Lost Cat Corona, Blowtorch, The Pastor, Laugh Killer Laugh, Tio Papi, and Manito.

Additionally, on television, Franky G played Poncho in Starz's Power. He also appeared in Quantico, Blue Bloods, Jonny Zero, Law & Order: SVU, Luke Cage, Unforgettable, CSI: Miami, and The Mysteries of Laura. More recently, the actor guest-starred in ABC's For Life and BET's The Family Business. Outside of acting, G shot, directed, and produced 2009's short film, A Cry Within. Most recently, he was seen in this year's The Birthday Cake. Next, G is expected to star in Red Money.

Kelly Brook (Lyle’s Girlfriend)

Playing a character credited solely as Lyle's Girlfriend, Kelly Brook had one of her first film roles in 2003's The Italian Job. Starting her professional career as a world-famous model, Brook starred in NBC's short-lived sitcom, One Big Happy, and appeared in other shows such as Smallville, Britain's Got Talent, Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Juice, and The Masked Singer. In film, additionally, Brook can be seen in Survival Island, Piranha 3D, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Ripper, House of 9, School of Seduction, Fishtales, Absolon, and Sorted. Most recently, the actress-model appeared in Santet.

Oscar Nunez (Security Guard)

Briefly seen as a security guard, Oscar Nunez received his first film credit in 2003's The Italian Job. Most notably, Nunez is best known as Oscar Martinez in NBC's The Office. Additionally, the TV actor is Emmy-nominated for his performance in History Channel's The Crossroads of History. Nunez also created and starred in Comedy Central's short-lived Halfway Home and co-starred in USA Network's Benched. Furthermore, he played Father Doug in TBS's People of Earth. Currently, Nunez appears in Netflix's Mr. Iglesias as Assistant-Principal Carlos Hernandez. His other TV credits include Malcolm in the Middle, Reno 911!, and Shameless. Also, Nunez is heard in 3Below: Tales from Arcadia.

Away from TV, Oscar Nunez's other film credits include The Proposal, The 33, Reno 911!: Miami, The Italian Job, Miss Stevens, and he appeared among the cast of Baywatch. Last year, he appeared in Yes. Earlier this year, Nunez was seen in NBC's Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. At the moment, the actor is in the midst of filming Disenchanted and The Lost City of D. Additionally, Nunez will be heard in the dark comedy podcast series, The Bystanders.

You can stream The Italian Job (2003) on Cinemax.

After delivering the polarizing Star Wars: The Last Jedi to the public, filmmaker Rian Johnson turned his attention to a mystery tale that he’d first thought up over a decade before: Knives Out. The whodunit flick, which saw Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc investigating a prosperous, yet dysfunctional family about the death of its patriarch, hit theaters in November 2019 and was a critical and commercial hit. So, unsurprisingly, Knives Out 2 was officially greenlit just a few months later, and now we’re learning who will make up the cast of the sequel that Johnson returned to write and direct.

Before going further, it should be noted that if you were expecting Knives Out 2, which now has the official title of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, to involve the Thrombey family again, toss those hopes aside. Benoit Blanc will investigate a new mystery featuring an assortment of new colorful characters in the 2022 Netflix movie schedule addition. So let’s go over who’s participating in this latest caper, starting with the man who anchors what’s now a film series.

Daniel Craig

While most people know Daniel Craig for his outings as James Bond and from dramas like Defiance and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Daniel Craig also has plenty of experience with more lighthearted fare, such as Logan Lucky and hosting Saturday Night Live twice. Knives Out definitely fell into the latter category, with Craig adopting a ridiculous Southern accent to bring Benoit Blanc to life. But, silly voice aside, Blanc proved himself a skilled detective as he peeled back the layers of Harlan Thrombey’s sudden demise. It hasn’t been revealed yet what kind of mystery he’ll be solving in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but, naturally, we can count on Blanc eventually uncovering the truth of what’s happening this time around.

Dave Bautista

There’s no question that Dave Bautista's acting career skyrocketed after debuting as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, but the WWE star has scored plenty of other notable projects beyond his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Spectre (which marked the first time he worked with Daniel Craig) and Blade Runner 2049 to more recent offerings like Army of the Dead and Dune, Bautista has firmly cemented himself as a movie star. He’s now lined up to take part in Knives Out 2, though no details about his character have been revealed yet.

Edward Norton

Like Dave Bautista, Edward Norton is an MCU alum, having played Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk. In recent years though, Norton has starred in movies like Birdman, Alita: Battle Angel, Motherless Brooklyn (which he also directed, wrote and produced) and the recent The French Dispatch, another collaboration with director Wes Anderson. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will be Norton’s first time sharing the screen with Daniel Craig, so I’m interested to see what kind of dynamic these two will have.

Janelle Monáe

While she’s primarily known as an accomplished singer and songwriter, Janelle Monáe also has some acting experience under her belt, including movies like Hidden Figures and Antebellum, and TV shows like Phillip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams and Homecoming. As far as her role in Knives Out 2 is concerned, sources who spoke with THR’s Borys Kit say Monáe could be playing someone similar to Ana de Armas or LaKeith Stanfield’s characters from the first Knives Out. That’s a lot of room to work with, considering how drastically different those two roles were, so I’m curious to see how Monáe ends up fitting into the Knives Out 2 picture.

Kathryn Hahn

Kathryn Hahn’s been acting professionally for over 20 years, but the last several have seen her soar to new heights of fame. Whether it’s starring in the Bad Moms movies with Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell, causing trouble as Agatha Harkness in Disney+’s WandaVision or delving into dramatic territory with Mark Ruffalo in HBO’s I Know This Much Is True, Hahn has shown time and time again how much range she has. As for how she fits into Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, that remains to be seen, though she did say that filming the movie reminded her of college, so at least she had fun making it.

Leslie Odom Jr.

In the wake of his breakout performance as Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. has had no shortage of work opportunities, delivering excellent turns in movies like Harriet and One Night In Miami... He has a long list of developing projects, and one of them has been confirmed to be Knives Out 2. He is a star whose range dictates that he could play either a good guy or a villain in any story, so it will definitely be interesting to see the way in which Rian Johnson utilizes him in the mysterious mystery plot.

Kate Hudson

Following a four-year break from film work, Kate Hudson returned to the theatrical realm in early 2021 with the Sia-directed Music. Luckily for fans, Hudson's other upcoming movies, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon and Shriver, were in post-production by the time Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery had to shoot, and it was the next movie she had lined up. It’s hard to say how she fits into the mystery that Benoit Blanc is solving, but it’s easy enough to imagine her being directly involved with the crime that was committed, based on first impressions from what we've seen of the suspicious cast of characters so far. 

Madelyn Cline

If the name Madelyn Cline rings a bell, you’re most likely familiar with her as Sarah Cameron in the Outer Banks cast. Or maybe you caught one of her recurring gigs on shows like Vice Principals, The Originals or Stranger Things. In any case, now Cline’s keeping her relationship with Netflix going by getting in on the Knives Out 2 fun, though we’ll have to wait and see why she's in Benoit Blanc’s orbit.

Jessica Henwick

Most of you likely know Jessica Henwick best as Colleen Wing in Iron Fist, The Defenders, and Luke Cage, but following the collapse of Marvel’s Netflix universe, she’s been collecting some impressive film credits. In late 2021, we saw Henwick opposite Keanu Reeves (which led to some fan-girl moments) in The Matrix Resurrections, and we recently saw her star alongside Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling in The Gray Man. Now, Henwick is sticking around Netflix for Knives Out 2, so we can play the waiting game on learning details about her character.

Unlike the first Knives Out, which was theatrically released by Lionsgate, both Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 are going to Netflix, so you'll be able to watch both with your Netflix subscription. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend to learn who else will appear in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, as well as any other significant news about the sequel.

Although Knives Out 2 was officially greenlit in February 2020, the sequel to director/writer Rian Johnson’s hit 2019 whodunnit has been making significant progress in recent weeks. Following the announcement in late March that both Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 are being set up at Netflix, yesterday it was revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista will join Daniel Craig on the former movie. Now word’s come in that another Marvel Cinematic Universe alum is taking part in Knives Out 2: The Incredible Hulk’s Edward Norton.

As with Dave Bautista’s casting, Edward Norton’s involvement in Knives Out 2 was reported by Deadline, although no details about who he’s playing were revealed. All we know for certain right now is that Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc will be back to solve another mystery following his time investigating the Thrombey family in Knives Out, which was met with critical acclaim and made over $311 million worldwide. Evidently Norton will be one of the individuals he crosses paths with in this next adventure.

Unlike Dave Bautista, Edward Norton’s time in the MCU was short, as he only played Bruce Banner/The Hulk in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, with Mark Ruffalo succeeding him in the role starting with The Avengers four years later. Nevertheless, Norton has been keeping quite busy in the years following his Marvel exit, with his film credits including Moonrise Kingdom, The Bourne Legacy, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman, Alita: Battle Angel and Motherless Brooklyn, the latter of which he also wrote, directed and produced. Along with Knives Out 2, Norton is set to star in The French Dispatch, yet another collaboration with filmmaker Wes Anderson.

Without any plot details to go off of, it’s hard to say how Edward Norton fits into the Knives Out 2 picture, although one thing is practically certain: Benoit Blanc will end up looking into his potential connection in whatever crime unfolds in the sequel. Much like the Agatha Christie-created character Hercule Poirot, Rian Johnson is having Daniel Craig’s Blanc traveling around to investigate various unconnected mysteries, hence why it’s unlikely anyone from the Thrombey family will be back this time around.

Netflix’s deal to acquire Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 cost somewhere between $450-$470 million, with Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson reportedly both walking away with over $100 million each. In addition to having already written both movies, Johnson will also reprise his directing duties on them and produce alongside partner Ram Bergman, who co-owns and licenses the Knives Out property.

With Knives Out 2 gearing up to shoot in Greece this summer, you can expect more casting announcements, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for those news items. In the meantime, keep track of what’s coming out later this year with our upcoming 2021 movies schedule.

When it comes to Modern Family, there are so many stories and characters who intersect on a regular basis. While there have been celebrities who have popped up for recurring storylines on the long-time running show, there have also been several Modern Family actors who have appeared once or twice.

Most of these you might have forgotten, as some were from a long time ago. I mean, the show did run for eleven seasons, so there are guaranteed to be plenty of guest stars who have disappeared into the backs of our minds. These ten actors and actresses appeared on Modern Family at some point in time – let’s see how many you can remember.

Lin-Manuel Miranda (Guillermo)

He certainly didn’t throw away his shot to be on TV.

Before the success of Hamilton and the worldwide phenomenon that Lin-Manuel Miranda became, he was known for a few smaller projects, one of which was In The Heights, a Tony-award-winning production. However, prior to him starting to expand his horizons with amazing work such as Moana, Mary Poppins Returns and more, Miranda had a guest spot on Modern Family.

In this episode, he portrays Guillermo, a man who meets Gloria at a grocery store where he works. Gloria decides to bring him home to pitch his innovative dog training ideas to Jay. It’s certainly a smaller guest role, but even funnier to watch now that Lin-Manuel Miranda has reached higher heights of fame.

Winston Duke (Dwight)

To be honest, M’Baku was one of my favorite parts of Black Panther, just because, with all the drama that of that now-classic, he had some of the best one-liners in the movie. However, prior to him appearing in the hit Marvel movie, as well as the horror-thriller Us, he appeared in a couple of episodes of Modern Family.

In his episodes, Dwight, Duke’s character, was the star player on the football team that Cameron coached, and he ended up staying with Cam and Mitchell for a while after his home life became unstable. While he wasn’t in the series for long, his story certainly had more impact than many other pop-up celebrities who have appeared on the show.

Dan Levy (Jonah)

Before his success on the mega-hit that was Schitt’s Creek, Dan Levy had some smaller guest appearances on shows like Modern Family. While Schitt’s Creek was already on air at the time, it would take a while for the show to become as popular as it did. And, his character was just as hilarious as you would expect him to be.

Jonah, Levy’s character, is actually a courtroom sketch artist, who draws unflattering pictures of Mitchell when they are in court. Is it silly? Yes. It is still hilariously funny? Of course it is. It’s Dan Levy. You really can’t go wrong.

Keegan-Michael Key (Tom)

While Keegan-Michael Key has had plenty of work on his hands, from his projects on TV hits like Key & Peele, to movies like Jingle Jangle and Pinocchio, which will be coming out in the next couple of years, he is no stranger to guest roles on sitcoms. That’s exactly what happened with Modern Family.

In this episode, Key’s character, Tom, is part of a couple that Claire and Phil meet while on vacation. While they do hit it off and end up all going on double dates together, it seems that Claire and Phil always ended up with the check – a truly annoying circumstance. But, I mean, how can you not smile when eating dinner with Keegan-Michael Key? I’d pay for his check any time.

Edward Norton (Izzy)

While he was, most certainly, extremely famous prior to making his appearance on Modern Family, Edward Norton was still a great addition to the cast for one episode. While Norton has been in such hits as Fight Club and American History X, he takes a bit of a turn in this – a comedic one.

Norton’s character, Izzy, is hired by Claire because she believes that he was once part of Phil’s favorite band. Hilariously, though, was not and Phil has no idea where any of his music came from, creating a mess of a situation where they basically invited a total stranger into their home. Sounds like a normal Dunphy weekday, to me.

James Marsden (Barry)

This was one I really forgot because it was so early in the series that it happened, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s not a hilarious moment. You’ve seen James Marsden play a wide variety characters in films like Hairspray, the X-Men franchise, maybe even The Notebook, but in Modern Family, he’s simply a hot guy in a hot tub.

Seriously, that’s his role. In this early episode of Modern Family, Marsden plays Barry, a man that Cam and Mitchell find in their hot tub one night and decide that because he’s good-looking, they’ll allow him to stay. Near the end of the episode, thought, they end up finding out he has been staying in their daughter’s playhouse in the back. I can’t tell you how uncomfortably funny I found the episode the first time I saw it.

Aisha Tyler (Wendy)

Aisha Tyler, best known for her work in some big-time TV shows like Ghost Whisperer and Criminal Minds, also ended up stopping by the Modern Family set at one point for a guest appearance. In this episode, she plays Wendy, a former classmate of Mitchell’s at law school.

What’s even more interesting is that Mitchell actually ends up reporting to Wendy at the legal aid society which she founded, so it intertwines their lives even further. While it’s one of the most low-key guest appearances on this list, it’s certainly one of the best ones, in my opinion, for how natural it felt.

Josh Gad (Kenneth)

Ah…do you remember pre-Frozen Josh Gad? I swear every time I hear his voice now, all I can think about is Olaf. But, then I see his face and I’m reminded that he’s been really funny ion several things, and that was no different when he made his guest appearance on Modern Family.

In this episode from 2011, Phil meets Kenneth, a man who is now a billionaire because he, ironically, looked up to Phil and idolized him, trying to achieve his success through some of the methods that Phil used in the past. While the guest appearance is one of the older ones here, it creates a great character-building moment for Phil, establishing the question “what would Phil Dunphy do?”

John DiMaggio (Boat Captain)

Line this up as another one of those cameos that have surely evaded your mind. John DiMaggio actually had an appearance on the show. You may not recognize his face, but his voice is one of the most iconic out there, as he plays a robot that everyone loves – that’s right, he's Bender from Futurama. Which makes this rare guest appearance so much more fun.

In this episode, DiMaggio simply plays a boat captain, who stops Gloria, Jay, and Mitch from boarding. Again, it was so long ago, and such a small role, but if you know, you know.

Lauren Cohan (Receptionist)

I can almost guarantee that you didn’t remember this one – because I certainly didn’t. As a The Walking Dead fan, I know Lauren Cohan as soon as I see her. I know who she is and how awesome of an actress she is. So, color me surprised when I re-watched the show and noticed that she actually had a Modern Family guest role.

Don’t be shocked, it was quite a small role. She played a receptionist who guided our favorite characters in the right direction. But, I mean, if you’re a fan of The Walking Dead or even Supernatural, you know exactly who she is, which makes her appearance even more entertaining to see.

Which one of these surprised you the most? It’s a shame that Modern Family won’t be on the 2021 TV schedule but I’m sure there will be so many other comedies to look forward to as well – with even more amazing guest appearances.

We love to hate movie villains and as it turns out there's a number of actors who do not mind playing the bad guy either... even if it's again and again. There’s a number of actors that come to mind who we go into a movie thinking they will be revealing their evil plot or betraying another character’s trust. Most recently this happened with the casting of Mads Mikkelsen in the Indiana Jones franchise. Although we have no idea who he'll play, fans jumped right to the question as whether he'd be the film's mysterious antagonist.

You know how we always expect Tom Hanks to play an inspiring or lovable character? This list is the opposite of that. Let's talk about the actors who are almost always cast as the villain:

Mads Mikkelsen

Since Mads Mikkelsen was cast in Indiana Jones 5 last week, I assure you, most of our brains lit up with the assumption that the actor is about to become the next adversary to Harrison Ford’s Dr. Henry Jones Jr. Now, that may not be the case. Perhaps Mikkelsen is a new friendly archeologist in the game eager to assist the legendary hero on his next adventure. After all, he was a good guy in Rogue One. Still, as Mikkelsen explained to Esquire, he loves playing these juicy, antagonistic roles and has no problem with taking one after another:

Mads Mikkelsen made a lasting impression as a villain for Casino Royale, and has gone on to star in Hannibal, Doctor Strange and Chaos Walking. He'll soon star in Fantastic Beasts 3 as Gellert Grindelwald. Now that we've heard the current king of movie villainy, let’s get into the other actors that we hesitate to trust in movies:

Javier Bardem

Not unlike Mads Mikkelsen, Spanish actor Javier Bardem has had more than his share of villainous roles, and he’s also earned the status of Bond villain as Skyfall’s Silva. He most famously earned the role of main Hollywood antagonist for playing Anton Chigurh in 2007’s No Country For Old Men. He won an Oscar for the role and has often gone for more malicious characters, such as Captain Salazar in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. That said, he will play a key ally to Dune’s protagonist Paul Atreides as Stilgar in the upcoming Denis Villenueve blockbuster.

Willem Dafoe

How incredible is it that Willem Dafoe’s actual given name sounds like “da foe,” or “the villain,” and that’s summed up how many of us perceive his career. Sometimes it’s all in the name. Dafoe was unforgettably the Green Goblin to Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in the very first big screen take on the superhero. He was also a pesky assassin in The Grand Budapest Hotel and an angry lighthouse keeper with Robert Pattinson in The Lighthouse. Although the actor is a well-known movie villain, he’s an eclectic character actor who has explored a lot of different kinds of characters throughout the years.

Hugo Weaving

Another frequenter of the dark side is Hugo Weaving, who has played the masked V in V For Vendetta, Agent Smith in The Matrix, Megatron in the Transformers and Red Skull in the first Captain America movie. The English actor has shown a subtle terror to his villainy, which his fellow actors on this list don’t always show. When you feel a cold chill around a character without the big theatrics involved, that’s a seriously sinister role. Weaving has pulled off more than a few of those.

Jared Leto

He's played The Joker, DC's most infamous villain, in Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but Jared Leto’s bad guy roles do not stop there. This is a funny one because Leto got his start as teen heartthrob Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life. But then he was a home invader in Panic Room, John Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27, starred as Blade Runner 2049’s villain and appeared The Little Things to once again play a criminal. He’ll flip the script next year as Morbius, who seems to be a misunderstood vampire rather than full-on Dracula.

Vincent D’Onofrio

One does wonder if actors such as Vincent D’Onofrio are actively looking and auditioning for villain roles or seeking them out. The 61-year-old has also played a lot of deliciously bad guys on the big screen and television. More recently, he’s found acclaim from Marvel fans for his version of Kingpin in the Netflix series Daredevil. Aside from that, D’Onofrio was totally the gross bug alien in Men in Black and the antagonist in 2015’s Jurassic World. Law & Order fans may feel off set from this thanks to his role as Detective Robert Goren in Criminal Intent.

Edward Norton

Then there’s Edward Norton, who fooled us once with his character’s backstabbing in The Italian Job and went there by playing a neo-Nazi in American History X. In between some smarmy roles over the years, he did switch things up by playing Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Hulk, before he was replaced by nice-guy actor Mark Ruffalo. Norton has the ability to play the sneaky villain or the unassuming baddie, and props to him for playing at his strengths over the years. But sometimes when he goes for earnest roles, I question it for a moment. He keeps us guessing.

Christoph Waltz

Our last stop on the villain train is Mr. Christoph Waltz, who seems to be a lovely man in real life, but can’t stop and won’t stop playing the most despicable humans Hollywood can think of. The Austrian-German actor can honestly thank Quentin Tarantino for this perception thanks to his memorable roles in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained. The Oscar-winner has also been the Bond villain Blofeld in Spectre, a cruel circus handler in Water for Elephants and Big Eyes’ Walter Keane. You know, the guy who stole credit for his wife’s work.

Lots of iconic actors here who love to play bad and do it very well. It's really a compliment to their ability to remain in our heads as these characters more than anything. Which one is your favorite to see as the villain? Vote in our poll below!

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Following close to two decades of anticipation, producer James Cameron finally delivered with 2019's Alita: Battle Angel. Based on the early 1990s cyberpunk manga series by Yukito Kishiro, Alita was a long-brewing passion project for the Titanic/Avatar filmmaker, and he realized his vision through director Robert Rodriguez. 

Starring Rosa Salazar in the lead role, along with Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, and Ed Skrein in the supporting cast, this sci-fi blockbuster was a huge movie, and it found a loyal fanbase since its release last year. Whether or not a sequel is imminent is unclear, particularly since it's not certain how much of a profit the film made. But whether or not the Alita sequel comes to be, there will likely be many movie lovers who'll want to know what this cast has in the works. Therefore, here's what the cast of Alita: Battle Angel is doing now.

Rosa Salazar (Alita)

As the title character herself, Rosa Salazar got her own starring vehicle as Alita in Alita: Battle Angel. While this breakthrough part is currently her most famous and well-recognized role, Salazar is also known for her performances in The Maze Runner sequels, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, CHIPS, NBC's Parenthood, Bird Box, Man Seeking Woman, and American Horror Story Season 1. The Canadian actress also earned acclaim for her performance in the indie romantic dramedy, Night Owls. 

Following Alita's release, Salazar was seen in the lead role of Amazon Prime's Undone. She was also in an episode of CBS All Access' Star Trek: Short Treks and heard in episodes of Dirty Diana and Big Mouth. Salazar also starred in the indie drama, No Future, which recently debuted in the film festival circuits. Next, she'll be seen in Pink Skies Ahead and Netflix's upcoming series, Brand New Cherry Flavor.

Christoph Waltz (Dr. Dyson Ido)

In the role of Dr. Dyson Ido, the cyborg-scientist who becomes Alita's father figure, Christoph Waltz provides an emotional parental performance in Alita: Battle Angel. Best known for his Oscar-winning performances in Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained, respectively, the Austrian actor has seen his profile rise significantly over the course of these past ten years. Some of his most noteworthy performances appear in The Zero Theorem, Big Eyes, Spectre, Downsizing, Water For Elephants, Carnage, and Muppets Most Wanted. 

Following his performance in this sci-fi blockbuster, Waltz has been seen in the Quibi series, Most Dangerous Game. He's also been on the festival circuits with Rifkin's Festival and Georgetown, the latter of which Waltz also directed. Next, Waltz will reprise his role as Blofeld in No Time To Die. He also stars in The French Dispatch, and he'll lend his voice to Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio.

Keean Johnson (Hugo)

As Hugo, a scrap dealer and Alita's love interest, Keean Johnson played one of the key roles in Alita: Battle Angel. This role is one of his first major film performances, as he's more commonly associated with his TV work. He starred in Spooksville, Nashville, The Fosters, and Guidance. Following his role in Alita, Johnson is most commonly known for his role in HBO's Euphoria. He was also recently seen in Midway, We Summon the Darkness, and Low Tide. Earlier this year, Johnson starred in Cut Throat City and Emperor. Next, the actor will be seen in The Ultimate Playlist of Noise.

Mahershala Ali (Vector)

Playing the part of Vector, an influential entrepreneur at The Factory with some criminal intents, Mahershala Ali provided one of his most prominent roles following his Oscar-winning performance in Moonlight. Shortly after Alita's release, Ali won his second Oscar for his role in Green Book. He is also known for his work in House of Cards, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and 2, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hidden Figures, Crossing Jordan, The 4400, Luke Cage, and more. 

Most recently, Ali starred at the forefront of HBO's True Detective Season 3 and he appeared in the second season of Hulu's Ramy. Next, Ali is expected to lend his voice to the new series, Invincible, and he's currently slated to play Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether that's a show or a movie is still left either unclear or undetermined.

Jennifer Connelly (Dr. Chiren)

As Dr. Chiren, Dr. Ido's estranged wife and a cyborg-engineer who works with Vector, Jennifer Connelly played a prominent role in Alita: Battle Angel. The actress is best known for her Oscar-winning performance in A Beautiful Mind, as well as her lead roles in Requiem for a Dream, Labyrinth, Career Opportunities, House of Sand and Fog, and Phenomena. Connelly is also known for her work in Hulk, The Rocketeer, Dark City, Blood Diamond, Noah, and He's Just Not That Into You, among other films. 

Following her time in Alita, Connelly joined the main cast of TNT's Snowpiercer, based on the Bong Joon-ho movie of the same name, and the show was already picked up for another season. The newest episodes are expected to come out sometime in later in 2020. Next, Connelly will be seen in Top Gun: Maverick, which is currently slated for July 2nd, 2021.

Lana Condor (Koyomi)

Playing the part of Koyomi, a friend to Hugo and Tanji, Lana Condor received one of her most high-profile early roles in Alita: Battle Angel. While the talented young actress is also known for YouTube channel and her work in X-Men: Apocalypse, she rose to fame through her lead role in Netflix's To All The Boys I Loved Before, and its sequel, To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, from earlier this year. She's also recognized for her supporting turn in Patriots Day. 

Following her role in Alita: Battle Angel, Condor became the star of Syfy's Deadly Class and lent her voice to the English dub of Rilakkuma and Kaoru and the final season of BoJack Horseman. She also starred in the coming-of-age rom-com, Summer Night. Next, Condor will star in the third, presumably final sequel, To All The Boys: Always And Forever, Lara Jean.

Ed Skrein (Zapan)

In the role of Zapan, a sword-wielding bounty hunter cyborg with a vendetta against Alita, Ed Skrein provided a menacing antagonistic role in Alita: Battle Angel. Prior to his work in Robert Rodriguez's blockbuster, Skrein was best known for his role in Games of Thrones, as well as his villainous turn in Deadpool. He was also at the forefront of The Transporter: Refueled. Outside of acting, Skrein is also a musician; he released a studio album, The Eat Up, in 2007. Around the time Alita: Battle Angel came to theaters, Skrein also received praise for his work in If Beale Street Could Talk. 

Following Alita's release, Skrein has since starred in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Midway, and Born a King, the latter of which went to film festivals last year. He'll next appear in Naked Singularity, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, and Prisoners of the Ghostland.

Jackie Earle Haley (Grewishka)

As Grewishka, an imposing criminal cyborg who works as Nova's personal assassin and enforcer, Jackie Earle Haley provided an intriguing supporting turn in Alita: Battle Angel. A former child actor best known for his role in The Bad News Bears films, Haley's acting career was revived when he starred in Little Children, for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. He'd go on to provide memorable performances in Watchmen, Shutter Island, and 2010's A Nightmare on Elm Street, and he starred in Dark Shadows, Lincoln, 2014's RoboCop, The Dark Tower, London Has Fallen, and more. 

He also made his feature directorial debut with 2015's Criminal Activities. Haley appeared in several episodes of Human Target, Preacher, The Tick, and Narcos: Mexico. Most recently, Haley starred in No Future and Death of a Telemarketer, both of which hit the film festival circuits earlier this year.

Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Tanji)

In the role of Tanji, Hugo's scrap-dealing friend and criminal accomplice, Jorge Lendeborg Jr. played a notable supporting character in Alita: Battle Angel. In the past few years, Lendeborg Jr. has amassed an impressive filmography which includes Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Brigsby Bear, Love Simon, and Bumblebee. He also starred in episodes of Wu-Tang: An American Saga and Day by Day. Most recently, he was seen in John Leguizamo's Critical Thinking earlier this month. Next, Lendeborg Jr. will star in Bliss and Night Teeth.

Eiza Gonzalez (Nyssiana)

Playing the part of Nyssiana, a wanted cyborg assassin, Eiza Gonzalez gave life to one of the most memorable characters in Alita: Battle Angel. The film/TV actress first gained popularity through her role in the musical telenovela Lola, érase una vez. She also starred in the lead role of Nickelodeon's Sueña Conmigo. From there, Gonzalez starred in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, which is where she first started collaborating with director Robert Rodriguez. She was then seen in Jem and the Holograms, Baby Driver, and Welcome to Marwen. 

Following her role in Alita, Gonzalez has most notably appeared in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Bloodshot, and Cut Throat City. Gonzalez is also in I Care A Lot, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. Next, Gonzalez is slated to star in Godzilla vs. Kong and Love Spreads.

Edward Norton (Nova)

In the role of Nova, Edward Norton made a quick blink-and-you-might-miss-it cameo in Alita: Battle Angel. It's apparent that he was there to tease his looming role in the proposed sequel, though it's still not clear when that'll happen or if it'll come together now that 20th Century Fox is owned and operated by Disney. Nevertheless, should this rumored sequel come together in the near future, Norton will likely play a key role in the proceedings. He's a well-respected actor with several prestigious credits and accolades to his name, notably through his outstanding performances in Primal Fear, Fight Club, American History X, 25th Hour, The Illusionist, Moonrise Kingdom, Birdman, and more. 

He's also known for his work in The Incredible Hulk, The Bourne Legacy, Red Dragon, Rounders, and more. Most recently, he directed, starred in, and adapted Motherless Brooklyn. He'll next be seen in The French Dispatch.

Who is your favorite Alita: Battle Angel character and/orcast member? Are you hopeful for the sequel? Be sure to let us know in the comment section!

What comes to mind when you think of a Wes Anderson film? If you said pastels, a twinkly musical score and one hell of a cast, then you’re absolutely correct in your beliefs. Should anyone question your Anderson acumen, then you have plenty of evidence to provide to back up your valid hypothesis, especially when the trailer for The French Dispatch features such stars as Timothee Chalamet and Bill Murray in its full cast list.

As luck would have it, we have that cast list provided below, which shows off the pretty extensive lineup that Anderson has assembled for The French Dispatch.

Before we dive into a deeper breakdown of the cast, it’s particularly notable that we have a classic Wes Anderson narrator at large in The French Dispatch. Anjelica Huston, a long time Anderson player, is the omniscient voice that will bring the entire package to live. And here are the players she’ll be commentating on throughout the film:

The Staff Of The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun

Bill Murray

One of the many veterans of the Wes Anderson Repertory Company is none other than comedy legend Bill Murray! In their latest collaboration, Murray will be playing the role of Arthur Howitzer Jr, the editor of The French Dispatch that ties the universe together. So basically, Murray is almost playing the exact same role he provides to the world at large.

Owen Wilson

Also rejoining the ranks of Wes Anderson’s frequent flyer club is Owen Wilson, someone who’s been in almost all of the director’s films. Herbsaint Sazerac is Wilson’s new character, a writer on staff at The French Dispatch who can be counted on for witty conversation and bicycle repair prowess, as well as sterling copy.

Jason Schwartzman

How could a Wes Anderson movie not have Jason Schwartzman attached, even in the slightest capacity? Another longtime friend and employee in the Anderson orbit, Schwartzman’s Hermes Jones looks to be the cover artist for The French Dispatch. Here’s hoping his quips are as crazy as his hair.

Elisabeth Moss

Rounding out the staff members of The French Dispatch who are displayed outside of individual vignettes is Elisabeth Moss, a newcomer to the wild and crazy world of Wes Anderson’s work. We don’t know her character's name yet, but it looks like Moss’ dry and wry sensibilities from Mad Men will make this follow-up to her work on The Invisible Man a nice change of comedic pace.

We’ll now move onto the three stories that The French Dispatch tells at the heart of its very last issue in print. With each story is a journalist from the staff at its heart, recalling events from various time periods and moments of turmoil in this film’s thematic structure.

Story 1: The Concrete Masterpiece, By J.K.L. Bernesen

Tilda Swinton

Providing the lecture that details the story within “The Concrete Masterpiece” is The French Dispatch’s journalist J.K.L. Bernesen. Artistically inclined, and ever fashionable, Berensen is brought to life by the impeccable Tilda Swinton. Her track record in the Wes Anderson Repertory Company stretches back to 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom, and has endured ever since.

Benicio Del Toro

Another first timer comes to the fold in The French Dispatch, as Moses Rosenthaler, the artist at the heart of “The Concrete Masterpiece” is played by Benicio Del Toro. Just watching his banter with co-star Adrian Brody is enough to convince even the most casual observer that Del Toro clearly belongs in this motley crew of acting talent.

Lea Seydoux

The muse for Rosenthaler’s work, and subject of a painting that’s of particular importance to The French Dispatch, is the alluring and mysterious Simone. Seen as both muse and prison guard, this part is played by Spectre’s Léa Seydoux. No stranger to Wes Anderson’s work, Seydoux previously worked with the director on 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Adrien Brody

Seeking to purchase Moses Rosenthaler’s un-buyable “Simone, Naked, Cell Block J, Hobby Room (oil on sackcloth)” is the persistent art dealer, Julien Cadazio. As previously mentioned, this bickersome character is played by Adrien Brody, best known for his roles in Anderson’s previous films The Darjeeling Limited and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Bob Balaban and Henry Winkler

In order to aid his art savvy empire, Julien Cadazio has the help of two ‘business-partner uncles’ at his disposal in The French Dispatch. Playing one of those two uncles is comedic stalwart Bob Balaban, who, much like Tilda Swinton, has been an Anderson disciple since Moonrise Kingdom. The other Cadazio uncle is the big surprise though, as the legendary Henry Winkler is playing him, making his debut in the Wes Anderson three ring circus!

Story 2: Revisions To A Manifesto, By Lucinda Krementz

Frances McDormand

Story 2 of The French Dispatch, Lucinda Krementz’s “Revisions To A Manifesto,” focuses on two crazy kids who happen to be in love during a tumultuous student revolution. The journalist telling this story is played by Frances McDormand, last heard bringing the news to the Wes Anderson created world of Isle of Dogs.

Timothee Chalamet

It was only a matter of time before Timothee Chalamet and Wes Anderson crossed paths. Nature basically dictated it, and it’s only fair that Chalamet be the one to play Zeffirelli, a revolutionary student in The French Dispatch. Looking like a prodigious chess player to boot, this young man could put that knowledge to political usage as well.

Lyna Khoudri

Making her major motion picture debut with The French Dispatch is actor Lyna Khoudri. Playing Juliette, the girlfriend to Timothee Chalamet’s Zeffirelli, their pairing was destined based on their character names. With a motor scooter and a bad attitude, her fire matches that of her fellow activist and boyfriend.

Story 3: The Private Dining Room Of The Police Commissioner, By Roebuck Wright

Jeffrey Wright

Our final story in The French Dispatch's catalog of whimsy is entitled "The Private Dining Room Of The Police Commissioner, By Roebuck Wright." Wright, played by Westworld and No Time To Die actor Jeffrey Wright, is the resident food journalist at the film's titular magazine. Reporting on something called "Police Cuisine," he becomes embroiled in a story that looks like it leads to a hostage standoff, and a lot of symmetrical gunfire.

Liev Schreiber

Part of Roebuck Wright's story looks to be told through his appearance on a TV show of some sort. Cast as the presenter of that show is Isle Of Dogs voice actor Liev Schreiber, making this his second Wes Anderson film. We don't know his character's name yet, but The French Dispatch looks like it's going to make the most of pairing Schreiber with Jeffrey Wright.

Willem Dafoe

While not all of the star studded cast members of The French Dispatch may play larger than life characters, it's nice to see Wes Anderson continue to reward previous collaborators with spots in the lineup. Willem Dafoe is one such fixture in this cast, as his prisoner character doesn't have a name yet, and is only seen briefly in the film's trailer. A sporadic presence in Anderson's universe, Dafoe was most notably present in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zizzou, but also in the casts for Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Mathieu Amalric

Cast as "a policeman with a kidnapped son,” Mathieu Amalric won't just be enjoying food alongside Jeffrey Wright's Roebuck Wright. As this third story centers around said kidnapping, Amalric's policeman will undoubtedly be excusing himself from dinner a little earlier than expected. This marks the actor's second Wes Anderson film, as The Grand Budapest Hotel was Mathiew Amalric's appearance in an Anderson picture.

Edward Norton

The voice on the other end of that phone Mathieu Amalric is holding was quite recognizable upon the first viewing of The French Dispatch's trailer. Edward Norton has one of those distinct vocal ranges that automatically pegs him in any film he shows up in, and as the kidnapper behind the insidious plot of "The Private Dining Room Of The Police Commissioner, By Roebuck Wright," he's even easy to spot in a group of dissidents firing at will upon authorities. And before you ask, yes, Norton is another cast member that's been a part of the Wes Anderson Repertory Company since Moonrise Kingdom.

Saoirse Ronan

Rounding out the cast of characters partaking in the kidnapping of a policeman's son is a rather mysterious woman. So mysterious, we don't know her character's name. However, we do know that she's played by Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan, who was previously spotted in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. With The French Dispatch, Ronan looks to be playing against type, as a figure on the side of evil.

Stephen Park

Last, but not least is Stephen Park's Lieutenant Nescafier, the chef behind the gorgeous meal that "The Private Dining Room Of The Police Commissioner, By Roebuck Wright" looks to be serving. But Park's character also happens to be listed as solving a kidnapping in The French Dispatch. Which is pretty handy, considering how fast things shift from a table of smiling guests gushing over cuisine to exchanging bullets and phone calls.

The French Dispatch has a huge cast, three stories and a boatload of ambition to potentially become the next, best Wes Anderson film. We'll see if it pays off when the film opens in theaters on July 25. Though should that release date be delayed, due to the ever shifting release calendar affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, we'll report such an update as it occurs.

Actors are constantly vying for roles with their peers -- so they’re no strangers to rejection. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting a bit when an actor misses out on a role, especially if it’s in a film that goes on to become legendary. That’s exactly what happened to Janeane Garofalo with an important role in Fight Club -- although if you ask Edward Norton, she is mistaken to blame him for what happened behind the scenes.

Earlier this week, Janeane Garofalo revealed that she had almost been cast as Marla Singer, the incredibly unstable woman Edward Norton's Narrator meets in David Fincher’s Fight Club. But, she said during an interview on the Build Series, to her recollection, Norton put the kibosh on her casting.

Janeane Garofalo said that David Fincher told her she could play the part if she wanted to. But according to the actress, she was later told Edward Norton wanted Courtney Love (his girlfriend at the time) to play Marla. She also heard that he didn’t believe she was a skilled enough actress to take on the role, which was ultimately played by Helena Bonham Carter. She even said that years later one of the film’s other stars, Brad Pitt, had personally expressed regret about the fallout with her casting.

Edward Norton has now responded, refuting her recollection of events in a statement to CNN:

The actor went on to explain that in his experience working with Fight Club’s director, David Fincher tends to make all the decisions himself, and does not ask for actors’ input on casting matters:

And just for good measure, Edward Norton seemed to indicate that he would have been on board for playing opposite Janeane Garofalo:

It may be difficult to ever totally discern what did or didn’t happen with regards to Marla’s casting. Fight Club was released in 1999, and at the time, Janeane Garofalo may have wondered if she’d dodged a bullet. Though it’s now cemented itself as a cult classic, the film was controversial at first, and underperformed at the box office. Still, it can’t have been easy to feel a role that she wanted slip through her fingers, regardless of the circumstances surrounding how it happened.

David Fincher has yet to respond to either Janeane Garofalo or Edward Norton’s conflicting comments.

Brad Pitt has starred in some of the most successful films in Hollywood history. But if you’re going to talk seriously about his career, you can’t ignore Fight Club -- a film that was, at least at first, not actually a success at all. These days, he’s happy to look back on the film, and can actually laugh about the fact that a lot of people hated Fight Club at first. In fact, he witnessed the backlash firsthand.

David Fincher’s adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s controversial novel hit theaters in 1999. But even before it had a wide release, Fight Club’s stars realized that it might not be well received. On Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast, Brad Pitt recounted his memory of an early Fight Club screening. According to the actor, the movie’s dark themes and even darker humor didn’t really sit well with the audience:

Then, Brad Pitt continued, the movie started. That's when things started to go wrong for everyone but Pitt and co-star Edward Norton:

They weren't just laughing at their own Fight Club jokes, though. They also laughed at the disgust of the other moviegoers. (If they smoked a joint ahead of time, as Brad Pitt said, they may have laughed at absolutely anything.)

Well, at least they could laugh at themselves. The Venice Film Festival screening was only the beginning of the backlash that originally befell the movie. It ultimately became one of the most controversial films of 1999, due to its excessive violence and wild twist ending. That buzz didn’t even translate into box office success, and it was widely seen as a failure at first.

However, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, David Fincher, and everyone else involved in Fight Club eventually had the last laugh. Over time, it’s become a cult classic, thanks to a devoted fan base. And some film critics have reassessed the film, and praised it for condemning, rather than encouraging, violence and toxic masculinity. To those who love it now, Fight Club was just simply ahead of its time.

There's The Hulk and there's Bruce Banner. The Marvel Comics characters are tied together but also separate entities, and Edward Norton judges them differently. The Incredible Hulk star left the MCU long ago, but now that he's promoting Motherless Brooklyn -- which he's been trying to make for 20 years -- he's game to revisit his days as Bruce Banner/The Hulk and talk about others in the role.

Can I just say how much I appreciate that he's game to keep talking about this stuff? Edward Norton was replaced as the MCU's Hulk after what sounded like pretty tense creative differences. He could easily brush off all Hulk questions. But not only is he now willing to return to the MCU, he's willing to give a thoughtful response when asked about other Bruce Banner actors. It's clear he knows his stuff.

Here's what Edward Norton told Yahoo when asked whom he considers the gold standard of Bruce Banners:

I think it's a great attitude to see a role like The Hulk as Hamlet (although the cinesnobs of the world might sniff at that). I wish fans would take that attitude whenever a new star is cast in a familiar role. Just because, in this case, Bill Bixby set a high standard with CBS' The Incredible Hulk TV series doesn't mean that should be the end of all Bruce Banner portrayals. Fans get prickly with #NotMyXYX these days.

Bill Bixby played Dr. David Bruce Banner on the TV series and in the connected movies, with Lou Ferrigno playing the Hulk. In modern years, both Banner and Hulk have been played by the same stars, with the Hulk often filled out through VFX. Eric Bana played both roles in Ang Lee's 2003 movie Hulk; then Edward Norton introduced Bruce Banner to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Louis Leterrier's 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk; with Mark Ruffalo taking over in the MCU starting with The Avengers, but never getting his own standalone Hulk films.

Good for Edward Norton for being so generous with his praise of other Hulk actors, including his friend Mark Ruffalo, who replaced him in the MCU role. Norton has talked over the years about why things fell apart with his Hulk, including another version of the story just last month.

Now Edward Norton is busy promoting Motherless Brooklyn, and also possibly showing up in future Avatar films after saying no to Avatar 2 in favor of his role in Alita: Battle Angel.

Who would you pick as the best Bruce Banner actor, and would you pick the same actor for The Hulk or differentiate?

For the past 20 years, writer/director Edward Norton has been living with a tenacious idea in his head. Passionate about author Jonathan Lethem’s novel Motherless Brooklyn, Norton has tried to get this film made for just about as many years as it has existed, with the story of Lionel Essrog firmly gripping his creative mind every step of the way. With that level of dedication to an idea, one has to wonder: What was it about this story that obsessed Edward Norton? As it turns out, it was the central character of Lionel that provided the key to the man’s quest.

I spoke with Edward Norton recently, as CinemaBlend was invited to cover the Motherless Brooklyn press day, in anticipation of the film’s release in theaters today. Knowing that this was an idea so powerful the man himself decided to make it his first directorial effort since 2000’s Keeping The Faith, I had to ask why this was such an idea worth using as his return to the world of directing.

At the heart of it all, Edward Norton had the following response:

I could tell how much Norton loved Lionel Essrog, the Tourette’s afflicted private investigator, for several reasons. Not only was he the gateway for Norton when it came to telling Motherless Brooklyn’s story, but when watching his performance as Lionel, you can see the care that goes into getting the character and his condition right on screen.

At no point is Lionel’s Tourettes used as a cheap joke. There are organic moments where it lends itself to humor, but it’s never to belittle his character. Coupled with a rich interior monologue that helps the audience get inside the head of Motherless Brooklyn’s gumshoe, we’re endeared to his cause from the start.

Some performers would be inspired to really play up a condition like Tourette’s Syndrome, in a way of creating a shortcut to the empathy that Motherless Brooklyn wants us to feel for Lionel. That’s never the case in this particular film, as we certainly sympathize with the lead, but we never pity him. If you can walk that line as effectively as Edward Norton did with this project, you know you’ve got a story worth obsessing over.

If anything, the alterations that Norton and Jonathan Lethem agreed upon when turning Motherless Brooklyn into a ‘50s mystery film are beneficial, rather than leave it as the contemporary drama it initially existed as in print. For more on what drove Edward Norton to bring this film to the screen, you can watch the video from our interview below:

It’s easy to become passionate about a story if your main character is a magnetic presence that helps glue together the universe you’re trying to create. Motherless Brooklyn has one of those personalities in Lionel Essrog, and ultimately, the entire star studded cast of characters that are included in his orbit only shine brighter because of their interactions with him.

The film works well as an ensemble piece, in addition to being a fantastic noir style character piece that takes us through the world of a man who is just slightly removed from the world, but never lets it take him away from it entirely. Though it’s also the messages that this world could deliver that inspired Edward Norton just as much as his enigmatic lead.

For him, Motherless Brooklyn also operates as a story about communities banding together to take on the powers that be, especially when those powers threaten their very way of life. With Norton’s Lionel eventually teaming up with Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Laura Rose, the two find themselves pointing their gaze at Alec Baldwin’s Moses Randolph.

A developer who holds a certain amount of political sway, Randolph claims he’s not above the law, but merely ahead of it; and his grand designs for the future of New York’s public transit system are a part of the densely layered mystery that unwinds in Motherless Brooklyn. In that scenario, more than ever, you need a character you can root for, as following their motivations clearly helps put the rest of the puzzle together more effectively. Without Lionel’s likable nature being what it is, it would have been hard to get this tale of murder, blackmail, and even city planning off the ground.

Like a detective trying to solve that case that feels just outside their grasp, Edward Norton made it his mission to bring Motherless Brooklyn to the screen. It’s a good thing he did too, as this sort of character-driven narrative is always welcome at the movies, and you just don’t see that many film noir projects like this anymore.

Making his way through various film universes like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and even the Bourne franchise for a slight spell, you can tell that when it comes to his own wheelhouse of interests, Motherless Brooklyn is something that is a clear home run for Edward Norton. That’s not saying his work in those previous blockbuster projects is any less appreciated, but rather that every frame of this film paints the man as someone who’s really struck by the muse.

Lionel is someone that Edward Norton believed in, and in turn, the audience gets to believe in him as well. That comes from Norton knowing this character inside and out, which is one of those advantages of having your writer also be the director and lead actor of a film such as this. Even if there were some days he’d wished he’d gotten Leonardo DiCaprio to play the lead role, allowing him to fully focus on his directing duties, Norton saw his vision through to the end, and what a vision it is.

Motherless Brooklyn is in theaters now, ready to find the audience it deserves at the beginning of what’s going to be another interesting awards season.

In the tradition of the film noir classics that writer/director Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn has based itself off of, there’s a history of female characters being boxed into certain archetypes. Most prevalent is, of course, the femme fatale destined to lead our hero astray, ready to sell him out at a moment’s notice. And yet, actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s character Laura Rose differs from the typical mold for a female noir lead in one crucial way: she acts more like a normal person than a specter of fate and betrayal for our hero.

As I spoke with her on behalf of CinemaBlend during the press day for Motherless Brooklyn, I was curious how Mbatha-Raw felt about her character specifically differed from the historical treatment of women in this time tested, but not always progressive, genre. Part of her response was a direct callout to the traditions of the past, as she started with the following remarks:

As Motherless Brooklyn adheres to the usual film noir template in terms of its storytelling structure, as well as its eye for visual style, the plot and characters differ in some pretty big ways. One of which happens to be in Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s character, Laura, who is the furthest from a femme fatale you could get.

On top of a litany of reasons that Mbatha-Raw herself explained when we sat down to discuss Motherless Brooklyn, the other big touchstones that separate this character, and this film, from film noir traditions is a current of kindness that runs through the work that novelist Jonathan Lethem and writer Edward Norton have done on the film adaptation of this previously contemporary novel that the director took on as a passion project 20 years ago. Rather than just veer into hard-boiled detective fiction with his take on the source material, Norton uses film noir as an aesthetic framework for Motherless Brooklyn, but doesn’t totally drink from the well, so to speak.

Protagonist Lionel Essrog, played by Edward Norton himself, is carrying out his investigation as a sort of tribute to his slain friend and boss, but rather than going into it with a mindset of pure revenge, Lionel doesn’t want his friend's death to have been meaningless. So obviously, he needs to solve this case to validate that work.

In a similar vein, Laura Rose is fighting out of love for her community. As an activist, she is opposed to politically corrupt dealings that threaten to put herself and her fellow residents of Harlem out of their homes. Her valiant efforts, paired with Lionel’s detective skills, eventually uncover what’s at the center of this mystery plot.

You can hear Gugu Mbatha-Raw further explain the difference between Laura and the standard femme fatale, in the clip from our interview below:

The more modern sensibilities of characters, mixed in with the look and feel of a film noir, are what make Motherless Brookyn a truly fantastic film that can be accessed by modern audiences, while standing firm as an example of the genre it so idolizes. To that extent, Laura Rose is a crucial piece to why this movie can operate in that sort of context.

If Laura were to be played as the typical femme fatale character, the themes and messages of Motherless Brooklyn would be colored with a sort of bitter light. With that sort of character, it almost always turns out bad for our hero, as he’s either going to be betrayed or he’s going to have to betray/kill her in order to “win”.

Edward Norton’s noir world doesn’t do that to Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s role, and as such she operates as another hero to the piece. That fact ultimately feeds into Norton’s intent to show people connecting over similar, righteous causes and working together in order to best those that stand against them.

Interpreting the film’s title in reference to what goes on in its story, Motherless Brooklyn isn’t only Lionel’s nickname, it’s a statement to the times that he and Laura live in. Without a sort of parental figure guarding their communities from Alec Baldwin’s power broker Moses Randolph, they need to stick together if they have any shot of making it to the end of the film in once piece.

Gone is the solitary gumshoe, and in its place is Edward Norton’s Lionel and Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Laura, looking after each other rather than competing for some prize at the end of a pitch black morality play. While you might be knocked for a loop with the ending to Motherless Brooklyn, it’s not spoiling too much to say that the final result isn’t someone laying in a pool of blood, narrating their last thoughts to the camera.

Laura Rose’s densely layered character is something that not only makes Motherless Brooklyn all the more exciting to behold, it gives Raw a strong female lead that matches her on-screen partner note for note in strength. In fact, there are some scenes where she’s the stronger of the two, helping guide Lionel in moments where his Tourettes is a little more than he can handle. In such scenes, neither character looks weak or domineering, rather it’s just two people, partnered together to get to the end of the day as easily as possible.

Kindness is key to this world, and with Gugu Mbatha-Raw as one of the gatekeepers to such generosity and knowledge, her work in this film helps drive what is a moving human drama, and a gorgeous tribute to film noirs of the past.

Motherless Brooklyn is in theaters this weekend, and keep it tuned here to CinemaBlend for more coverage on the film as the week goes on.

The following contains spoilers for Primal Fear. If you somehow haven't seen it yet, you owe it to yourself to go fix that right now.

Edward Norton made his film debut in 1996's Primal Fear and oh, what a debut it was. Norton Received an Academy Award nomination for his role as a man accused of murdering a priest. Norton's performance is incredibly powerful, and a large part of that comes from the film's impressive finale. It turns out that Primal Fear could have had a very different ending, but the film's star, Richard Gere, fought to make sure the movie ended the way it should.

Our own Reelblend Podcast had a chance to sit down with Edward Norton, the star and director of the new film Motherless Brooklyn, and the topic of Norton's first big role came up. The actor says he was greatly impressed by Richard Gere while making the movie, because of his willingness to stand up for the ending of a movie where Gere's own character is essentially defeated.

In Primal Fear, Richard Gere plays an attorney named Martin Veil who is defending Edward Norton's character, Aaron, from a murder charge. The story reveals that Aaron suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and his body houses a second personality, Roy, who was the one technically guilty of the crime. In the end, Aaron is found not guilty, but in one of the all-time great twist endings, Martin learns that Aaron faked his second personality, and Martin is left shaken to his core for falling for it.

Generally speaking, audiences like to see the hero win at the end of a movie. That's certainly not what happens with Primal Fear, so it's perhaps at least understandable why some would be nervous about the ending of the movie as written. Actors, generally speaking, also always want to look good in their movies, which often means they want their characters to come out on top.

Certainly, Edward Norton, being the new guy in Hollywood at the time, didn't have a lot of say on what happened with the film, but his character is the one that gets the film's final big moment. Norton was impressed by Richard Gere's willingness to let him have that moment, because the actor knew it made for the better movie. Also, the ideas for how else to end the film were pretty terrible, which didn't help. Norton goes on...

It's basically impossible to imagine Primal Fear ending any other way now. I suppose we have Richard Gere to thank. If he'd been less sure we might have ended up getting something else, and that honestly could have changed Edward Norton's entire career.

Check out ReelBlend's entire interview with Edward Norton, and a lot more, in the new episode below.

We don’t use the word “epic” that often around the ReelBlend podcast. We say “Dunkirk” all of the time. But “epic” is reserved for the truly momentous occasions, and this week qualifies.

The latest episode of ReelBlend hovers around two hours. And it includes SO MUCH material, leading off with an exclusive interview with Edward Norton on behalf of Motherless Brooklyn.

Edward Norton has starred in some of our favorite films, from Fight Club and Birdman to 25th Hour and Moonrise Kingdom. But he’s only directed two movies, including the upcoming New York detective noir based on Jonathan Lethem’s novel. He breaks down some cool stories from his career, and his work on Motherless Brooklyn, in this new interview with our own Kevin McCarthy, so give it a listen!

The boys were on the road again this week, except not with each other (as is the norm). They were in unbelievable places that, as Jake mentions on the show, are tailored perfectly for each guy’s tastes. Jake’s in Colorado for a press event for Doctor Sleep. Sean’s in New Jersey interviewing Bruce Springsteen for the new documentary Western Stars. And Kevin’s on vacation, but is incorporating his love for movies, of course.

Back to the show, proper. The guys break down the latest (and final) trailer for J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Have you seen this one yet?

And the ReelBlend podcast finally wades into the waters of the Martin Scorsese vs. Marvel debate. Their opinions may surprise you.

ReelBlend is a weekly podcast that we do on CinemaBlend. You can download the latest episode (and all of our past episodes) for FREE on our iTunes page! Visit. Subscribe. Like and comment. Review! Apple loves when you have star ratings and reviews, so if you listened, and you liked it (or even if you didn't), let us know. We also are on Spotify. And Google Play. And basically everywhere that you download podcasts. So download us.

Meanwhile, follow the guys on Social Media! We have an official Twitter feed for the show, so follow @ReelBlend. In addition, follow the guys at @Sean_OConnell, @JakesTakesand @KevinMcCarthyTV.

In 2008, after reacquiring the rights to the character, Marvel Studios introduced movie audiences to Bruce Banner with The Incredible Hulk. The film was pretty successful, and star Edward Norton was set to reprise his portrayal of the giant green superhero. But then after alleged disagreements with producers, he exited the franchise, making way for Mark Ruffalo. Some actors might be bitter about losing out on a role in such a successful franchise. But if you ask Edward Norton, he’s made peace with his exit. In fact, he’d be totally down to return to the MCU.

The actor-writer-director recently told Total Film that his decision to leave came down to a difference in his vision and Marvel’s for where the character should go. According to Edward Norton, he created a script that was much closer in tone to what Christopher Nolan did with The Dark Knight franchise. And when he realized that Marvel was going in a different direction, he chose to bow out.

His zen take on the whole experience is refreshing, but his relationship with those involved hasn’t always been this way. Back when he initially left the franchise, the studio released a statement in which they implied that Edward Norton’s exit was the result of his unwillingness to collaborate. That prompted a chilly response from the actor’s agent, who insinuated Marvel’s move had been financially motivated. Then, last year, the actor took a lighthearted dig at MCU scripts.

But these days, Edward Norton is making it clear that he harbors no resentment toward anyone involved with the MCU. He told Total Film, “I couldn’t be more happy to have been part of that whole tradition.” He was also sure to praise Mark Ruffalo’s “unbelievable” performance as Bruce Banner in the subsequent MCU films. And he left the door open for future appearances in the franchise. He would just want to do so under very different conditions:

The prospect of Edward Norton reappearing as a Marvel villain is definitely intriguing. He’s shown that he’s capable of a truly sinister side in films like American History X and Primal Fear. And after the success of Joker, we know there’s definitely still a market for dark and gritty superhero stories. The question remains where he’d fit. Phase Four of the MCU is just getting started, and it promises new chapters for Doctor Strange, Thor, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, just to name a few.

Do you want to see Edward Norton return to the MCU? Any suggestions for his Marvel role? Keep up with everything still heading to the big screen this year with our 2019 movie release date schedule.

Academy Award nominee Edward Norton isn’t the type of actor you would have expected to be in a film like Alita: Battle Angel; and yet when the last act of director Robert Rodriguez’s film revealed him to be the actor playing big bad Nova, audience members were treated to a gasp-worthy twist. As it turns out, that role came out of Norton rejecting a part in director James Cameron’s Avatar 2, which happened for one very specific reason: Edward Norton really, really wants to be a Na’vi.

In a recent interview, Norton explained himself as follows:

Two pretty big things to take away here: first, holy crap Edward Norton and James Cameron are friends, and somehow this is the first most people are hearing about it. But second, and most importantly, Norton’s reasoning for rejecting a role in Avatar 2 was pretty solid. Throughout his career, the actor has sometimes been used a kind of shorthand for an officious villain, with films like The Italian Job, and more applicably The Bourne Legacy painting him as the creep that wants to crash the party.

Make no mistake, Edward Norton is really good at playing a multi-faceted villain, but after so many times in that sort of role, any sane actor would want the challenge of playing one of Pandora’s indigenous peoples. And in the case of Avatar 2, that challenge ideally would have involved motion capture and some really cool CGI augmentations. Something that there was undoubtedly a little of both of when Norton signed onto his small, but crucial role in Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel.

Perhaps the coolest side effect of his choice to bypass the proposed Avatar 2 role that GamesRadar just uncovered is the fact that not only could Edward Norton show up in a future movie in the franchise, alongside other luminaries like Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet, but should the Alita: Battle Angel sequel ever get off the ground, Norton would more than likely get a chance to dive deeper into his character of Nova. That’s a pretty impressive sci-fi double play, should it be in the offing.

For now though, we’ll have to temper any hopes of seeing Edward Norton as either a Na’vi, or Nova, until the movie gods smile upon us all and allow either really cool possibility to occur. But should the day come that the actor’s dream comes true, you can bet we’ll want to see it for ourselves.

In the meantime, you can catch Edward Norton’s long awaited return to directing with Motherless Brooklyn, which will be in theaters on November 1st. Should you want to find something a little more sci-fi, like say the James Cameron-produced Terminator: Dark Fate, then head over to our 2019 release schedule, and see what’s in store for the rest of this year’s cinematic calendar.

When you think about Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mark Ruffalo is likely who first comes to mind, but let’s not forget about the man who played him in this franchise first. Edward Norton brought the Green Goliath to life in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, and while it looked like Norton would stick around for a sequel, due to creative differences with Marvel Studios, he was replaced by Ruffalo for The Avengers.

Now Edward Norton has elaborated on these creative differences, saying how he wanted to take The Hulk in a direction similar to the tone of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but Marvel ultimately wasn’t game for that. Norton explained:

So if Edward Norton had his way, his version of The Hulk would have gone in a darker direction, as he was inspired by what Christopher Nolan delivered in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. And as the actor claims, Marvel was initially receptive to doing down this creative path, but then reversed course, and that’s when this professional relationship started to collapse.

Back in 2014, Edward Norton said that the reason he didn’t return to play The Hulk is because he’d “experimented and experienced” everything he’d wanted to from that kind of movie, and didn’t want to be tied down to the “obligations” that came with starring in a superhero franchise. though it was clear after the Hulk recasting was first announced that Norton was upset with how Marvel framed the two sides going their separate ways.

Now, though, it seems like he looks back on his time with Marvel more fondly, and he noted how that joke he made about The Incredible Hulk last year was meant to be more at his expense than Marvel’s. Sure he’s disappointed that his dark Hulk duology never came to fruition, but there isn’t any “friction” between him and Marvel right now.

Edward Norton also acknowledged in the interview with The New York Times that when he discussed his Hulk plans with Marvel Studios, he wasn’t willing to dedicate the amount of time they wanted from him to make this creative vision happen, and he also probably would have asked for more money than they were willing to offer him. In the end, Norton got to “do all the other things” he wanted to do, and he sees the creative path that Kevin Feige and the MCU team went down as one of the "best executions of a business plan in the history of the entertainment industry."

Hulk has certainly been on an interesting MCU journey. Because Universal Pictures still controls the distribution rights to Hulk films, The Incredible Hulk never received a sequel, and Mark Ruffalo’s version of the character has instead been a supporting player across the Avengers movies and Thor: Ragnarok. That’s not to say there hasn’t been any character development for him though, and it all finally paid off in Avengers: Endgame when Bruce Banner and Hulk merged into one being. The mind of the former in the body of the latter produced “the best of both worlds.”

Edward Norton can next be seen in Motherless Brooklyn, which comes out in theaters on November 1. It’s unclear if/when Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk will return, though one can logically assume that he’ll have a role to play in the upcoming Disney+ series She-Hulk. Check out our Marvel movies guide to learn what else this franchise has coming up.

Remember Edward Norton's Bruce Banner? Good times! The Incredible Hulk came out in 2008 as the second Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, but there were behind-the-scenes clashes and the MCU ultimately recast with Mark Ruffalo for the rest of the run so far. Ruffalo has played The Hulk in all four Avengers movies and was a main star of Thor: Ragnarok. Ruffalo just played "Smart Hulk," or Professor Hulk in Endgame, and a fan decided to show what Edward Norton could've looked like in that role. The result is ... interesting:

To quote the first Reddit commenter: "Thanks, I hate it!"

Here's the official taco shot with Mark Ruffalo's Hulk in Avengers: Endgame:

Marvel Studios used much fancier technology to create Mark Ruffalo's Hulk than this intrepid fan used to add Edward Norton's face to the taco scene. So this shot probably isn't exactly how Norton would've looked. Still, it does make you wonder what Norton's arc as Hulk would've looked like. It's a great MCU "What If...?" scenario. In this disquieting world of deepfakes, I wouldn't be shocked if someone fully replaced Ruffalo with Norton in a recut of Avengers: Endgame. But I'm not going to try to track that down to see if it has already happened.

Mark Ruffalo was The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier's first choice but he said Marvel pushed for the more famous Edward Norton. There were reportedly clashes between Norton, Leterrier, and Marvel throughout production on the film.

In 2010, Kevin Feige told Hitflix Marvel Studios planned to recast The Hulk before The Avengers, saying the decision was "definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members." Edward Norton's agent told the site (via EW) that Feige's comments were "unprofessional, disingenuous and clearly defamatory." He said Norton and Avengers director Joss Whedon had a "very good meeting," and while the deal fell apart, it was only after very "civil" discussions.

Edward Norton posted a note to fans in July 2010 on Facebook to say he was sorry he wouldn't be able to continue playing Bruce Banner in The Avengers:

In 2014, Edward Norton suggested to NPR that leaving the role of The Hulk was an artistic decision:

Edward Norton's new film Motherless Brooklyn just premiered at Telluride and is opening on November 1. Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk survived Avengers: Endgame, but he was left injured (permanently?) and may not be in peak condition if we see him again in the MCU. As to the future of the MCU, Ruffalo just welcomed She-Hulk to the Marvel Studios family for the upcoming Disney+ series.

How do you think MCU's Hulk would've been different with Edward Norton staying in the role over Mark Ruffalo? Creatively, I think the MCU benefited from casting Ruffalo, who has perfect chemistry with so many other Marvel stars. On the other hand, Norton probably wouldn't have spoiled the movies as often, and maybe wouldn't have live-streamed the entire opening of Thor: Ragnarok...

Edward Norton has had a long and successful career as an actor, accruing three Oscar nominations along the way. But it's been a few years since we've seen the 50 year-old actor on the screen in a leading role. While he recently had a surprise cameo in Alita: Battle Angel and voiced Rex in Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs, it's been a few years since Norton was able to take center stage onscreen. But that'll change with his upcoming crime drama Motherless Brooklyn.

Motherless Brooklyn is based off the novel of the same name, and follows a 1950s private investigator who has Tourette Syndrome. The upcoming movie has a killer cast, lead by none other than Ed Norton himself. Aside from that, he also produced and directed the upcoming project, his second directorial venture. The first trailer for Motherless Brooklyn just arrived, check it out below.

Pretty cool right? Edward Norton has assembled a killer cast, and the concept of Motherless Brooklyn looks like it'll be a thrilling take on the mob movie genre.

The trailer opens on Edward Norton's character Lionel Essrog, who is narrating the first footage from the film. We're introduced to Lionel as a character, as he reveals his Tourette Syndrome diagnosis. The audience is shown some of the tics that he's subject to as a result of the disease, which are both physical and verbal.

But Lionel's life with Tourette's isn't necessarily the main subject of the movie. Instead, it's a dark crime drama, with the protagonist getting involved in a dangerous investigation. Everything gets kickstarted when Bruce Willis' Frank Minna enters the scene. Frank is a P.I. who was a mentor to Ed Norton's character. But he uncovers something dangerous and mob related, and is promptly killed (spoiler alert).

Motherless Brooklyn will follow this hunt for the truth, and the trailer hints that there will be plenty of shocking twists and turns in the upcoming drama. Just what Frank learned before his death is unclear, but it was enough to get him killed for it. Lionel's investigation puts him in danger as well, and will put the character in contact with the rest of the upcoming film's stellar cast.

This quest eventually finds Lionel meeting a woman named Laura Rose, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Black Mirror, Beauty and the Beast). She's somehow linked to Frank's death, although the film's protagonist is shown having more than just professional feelings for her. This should make his mission all the more confusing, especially as he also gets involved with Alec Baldwin's Moses Randolph.

Moses Randolph appears to be a morally corrupt man, who is trying to gain as much power and influence as possible in New York City. Baldwin's performance has already shone through in the trailer, and he's one of many A-listers to be apart of Motherless Brooklyn. Also filling out the cast are Willem Dafoe, Bobby Cannavale, Leslie Mann, and Cherry Jones.

Edward Norton's upcoming movie is set to arrive in theaters on November 1, 2019, after premiering at the Toronto Film Festival. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Around this time last year, filming on writer/director/actor Edward Norton’s film Motherless Brooklyn suffered an accidental fire, which claimed the life of New York firefighter Michael Davidson as he responded to the scene. Up until now, the legal ramifications of this fatality had been filed against Norton and his Class 5 production company, but a recent update has shown that Edward Norton is now filing a suit of his own.

In this latest turn of events, a lawsuit against the owner of the building Motherless Brooklyn was filming in, Vincent Sollazzo, claims that he is at fault for the fatal incident which occurred last March. Specifically, the suit alleges the following points of supposed negligence:

Class 5’s lawsuit also claims that the production company, and Edward Norton, had followed all protocols involving fire safety, throughout the production of Motherless Brooklyn. It was also inferred that Norton and his crew had the proper permits from the FDNY, and were not warned of any “unsafe or problematic” conditions at their shooting site.

The Blast has been a frequent source for reporting such developments during the production of Motherless Brooklyn, with the story becoming more complicated and saddening with each turn. Previously, the publication had reported on several additional lawsuits against Edward Norton’s Class 5 production company, with the most recent being filed earlier this month from a pair of tenants who literally claimed that this tragic incident ruined their lives.

Two additional suits were also reported from last year, as one was from tenants of the apartment building that claimed the company had informed them erroneously that the blaze was extinguished. The other was from Michael Davidson’s widow, who claimed that Class 5 actually removed fire prevention systems from the building.

This is the latest obstacle that’s befallen Motherless Brooklyn, as it’s a project that’s already taken over a decade to get into production. A project very near and dear to Norton, the film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by author Jonathan Lethem, which tells the story of a man with Tourette’s Syndrome trying to solve the murder of a local mobster.

It’s up to the law to determine whether the loss of life on Motherless Brooklyn is a case of gross negligence on any person’s part, or if this was merely an accident that took the life of a brave firefighter answering the call of service. However this ends up, at the very least, we should hope that the victims of this event can find peace and that measures are taken to make sure that accidents such as these happen less frequently during any future film productions.

Motherless Brooklyn has been set for a November 1 release date, but should that change for any reason we’ll provide the updated information as it breaks.

Today, David Fincher’s Fight Club is considered a true cult classic, one of the director’s best movies and one of the most enduring titles of the banner year that was 1999. But 20 years ago, when the movie was first coming out, that level of adoration and appreciation was much more difficult to find. The film was a box office flop and was critically lambasted in some corners, for being irresponsible and deplorable. It was even booed.

Fight Club premiered in September of 1999 at the Venice Film Festival and in an excerpt from Brian Raftery’s book Best. Movie. Year. Ever. on The Ringer, Brad Pitt recalls the reaction to that early screening:

What an amusing image that is, a crowd of aghast and offended festivalgoers watching Fight Club for the first time while Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are cracking up like teenagers, enjoying every second of the film and finding it hilarious.

The audience at Fight Club’s premiere clearly did not see the satire in Fight Club or find any humor in it, especially when it comes to Helena Bonham Carter’s most notorious line as Marla Singer. The line was so offensive that the person running the festival decided he had seen enough and decided to leave.

What’s particularly ironic about that is that her scandalous line was actually the result of the original line being considered too offensive and alienating by one of the film’s producers, Laura Ziskin. The original line in the script is the same as in Chuck Palahniuk’s book; after sex Marla turns to Tyler and says ‘I want to have your abortion.’ As retold by The Wrap, Ziskin begged David Fincher to take the abortion line out and the grade school line is what replaced it.

That line may or may not be more offensive, but either way, it didn’t play well, nor did the film overall, as Edward Norton recalled:

You occasionally hear stories about films getting booed at festivals, and it ascribes a scarlet letter of sorts to the movie, branding it as something terrible, indecent or both. That a more prudish audience might boo Fight Club is one thing, but a festival attended by adherents of the art from is something wild to consider. Still, no amount of boos were going to rain on Brad Pitt’s parade.

As Edward Norton recalled, Brad Pitt was positively cheery, thrilled with the film itself, regardless of how it was received. Whether it wound up really being the best movie he’s ever been in is up for debate, but it is definitely a career highlight.

For Edward Norton, the hostile response Fight Club received at those early screenings from critics and audiences was something of a defensive response to the messages in the film itself. He said:

The subversive, anti-establishment message espoused by Tyler Durden in Fight Club was viewed as a dangerous and irresponsible thing to be in a Hollywood film. And rather than take a nuanced look at the satirical nature of the story, the response was to condemn it. It should also be noted that Fight Club came out the same year as the Columbine Shooting happened, so like The Matrix, it also arrived at an inopportune time and was an easy scapegoat and example of the things that caused society’s ills.

The people involved knew that Fight Club was going to have an uphill battle in the public eye, so two days before its opening, Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman at the time Bill Mechanic let David Fincher know what to expect. He said:

Bill Mechanic proved prescient in his thoughts. Fight Club was judged a failure when it opened, managing just $11 million in its opening weekend. Yet as predicted, history judged David Fincher’s film far kinder. Fight Club is now a classic and indeed one of the great films of the decade. Sometimes faith in a film is rewarded, but those rewards don’t always come when you expect them. From booed and walked out on to cult classic; Jack’s smirking revenge indeed.

Check out our 2019 Release Schedule for all the films coming to theaters this year.

The following story is a big old spoiler for Alita: Battle Angel. It’s literally the final shot of the movie, and it sets up major movement for potential sequels. Stop reading now if you don’t like diving into spoilers for movies that are making their way to theaters.

There are some fun cameos peppered throughout Robert Rodriguez’s new Alita: Battle Angel, including Jai Courtney, a personal favorite of this author. But the final cameo comes in the movie’s closing moments, when the identity of Nova is revealed to be Edward Norton, he of Birdman and Fight Club.

Nova has been the evil force pulling all of the strings throughout Alita: Battle Angel. But because Nova has the ability to assume people’s bodies and communicate through them, we never get a look at the villain’s face until the movie has just about reached its conclusion. Nova is very interested in Alita (Rosa Salazar), a warrior whose core has been discovered in a trash heap outside Iron City. It seems Alita has a complicated past, one that likely involves Nova, and the antagonist thought he was rid of her.

He is not.

The issue with Alita: Battle Angel is that it ends on a cliffhanger tease for a movie that might not happen. Throughout the course of this film, Alita is finding out who she is, and where she came from. By the end of this movie, she has ascended to a position of leadership – particularly through her skills at Motorball, a popular pastime in Iron City – and she recognizes Nova as the next step in her destiny. She points to the sky, where she knows Nova is looking down on her:

And then the movie cuts to black. See you in Alita 2: Motorball Boogaloo!

As for the casting of Edward Norton in the pivotal role of Nova, Robert Rodriguez recently spoke with Digital Spy and admitted:

Now it will be up to audiences to decide if they like Alita: Battle Angel enough to warrant a continuation in the story. The movie is adapted from a beloved manga created by Yukito Kishiro. There’s a lot more story to tell, if this movie makes money and finds its audience. We’ll know once Alita opens on February 14.

While The Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis was full of insults slung at the famous actor, not every zinger was meant for the Die Hard star. Quite often at these shows the roasters also insult each other, or really, anybody or anything else they want. While Willis' Moonrise Kingdom co-star Edward Norton had some great one-liners aimed at Willis, he saved some jabs for the time he spent working with Marvel Studios. Norton lamented the time he tried to become an action hero like Willis, when he starred in The Incredible Hulk, saying...

A lot of the specific details of exactly what transpired between Edward Norton and Marvel on the set of the second Marvel Cinematic Universe film, The Incredible Hulk, are not entirely clear. However, what can be said is that things didn't work out. The fact that Edward Norton wanted a better script is certainly known because the actor actually did some rewrites to the original script himself. There were then also reportedly some disputes on the editing side as chunks of the movie that were filmed never made it into the final cut, and there were different opinions between Norton and others regarding how long the film should be.

What is clear, is that the issues between Edward Norton and Marvel were significant enough that the role of Bruce Banner has become the most significant recasting in the MCU to date, as Mark Ruffalo was brought in to take over the role for The Avengers and has been playing the part ever since.

Based on Edward Norton's second shot at Marvel during the Roast (via The Hollywood Reporter), he doesn't seem to think the end result lived up to the expectations that he had for it, claiming that aiming for making it as good as the worst movie from another director with comic book experience wasn't an unreasonable goal, but one the movie failed to achieve.

While there are certainly going to be differing opinions on the topic, many might argue The Dark Knight Rises is, in fact, the worst Christopher Nolan movie. That would still be solid company to be in, which is, of course, Edward Norton's point.

Edward Norton has not tried to follow in Bruce Willis' footsteps again as he has seemingly left the action genre behind. Instead, he's had to accept numerous critically acclaimed roles and Oscar nominations rather than significant box office success. Everybody involved is probably pretty happy with where they are.

Last week a fire broke out on the set of Edward Norton's new movie Motherless Brooklyn. It was a five-alarm blaze that ended up taking the life of one firefighter. Now, Norton's production company is being sued by tenants of the apartment building who claim the company misled them regarding the state and the severity of the fire.

Erica and George Cruz have filed the suit against Class 5 productions, Edward Norton's production company, that is producing Motherless Brooklyn, a film that Norton is also directing and starring in. The Cruz's, are claiming the company "maintained certain equipment, including highly flammable equipment in the basement" of the apartment building in which they lived. The suit also claims that when Class 5 became aware of the fire, they did not alert the tenants of the building, but rather had them believing that, while there had been a fire, it had been extinguished.

The lawsuits were essentially inevitable following the fire, which, in addition to destroying the building, took the life of firefighter Michael Davidson who attempted to help put out the blaze. As of this point, there has been no determination made of exactly what caused the fire, at least nothing that has been released publicly. The couple bringing the suit is clearly setting the blame for the fire itself at the feet of the production company, and then also blaming them for not handling the fire properly once it happened. We can likely expect a series of lawsuits to follow this one from other tenants, whoever owned the building, or anybody else who feels the fire has damaged them in any way.

The fire started in the basement of the building and while the production was reportedly using the basement, according to The Blast, Edward Norton has previously stated that they were filming in another part of the building when the fire broke out. Norton also commends the quick action of the production crew for their quick action that led to saving so many lives.

Obviously, there's a disconnect here as one side claims the production company helped protect the people in the building, but the lawsuit is claiming quite the opposite.

Clearly, this is not how Edward Norton wanted to see this movie go. Motherless Brooklyn has been a long in development project for Norton that he's wanted to make for years. It follows a private detective with Tourette's Syndrome who is attempting to solve the murder of a friend, who will be played by Bruce Willis. At this point, we don't really know what the film's status is. The fire will have put a stop to the production for the moment but depending on how far along filming was, and how much time will need to be given to the lawsuit and other fallout from the fire, the movie could be delayed for several months or more.

It's an event every time Wes Anderson decides on a new project, which means that the trailer for said project stops traffic dead in its tracks. Prepare for Isle Of Dogs, Anderson's latest venture into the world of stop-motion animation, to do just that. The trailer has been released, and you can see it in its full majesty below.

In Isle of Dogs, our protagonist is Atari Kobayashi: a young boy with piloting skills and a can-do attitude who makes a journey to the titular location for one sole purpose. You see, Atari's looking for his dog, who's been whisked away to Trash Island, the proper name for the Isle of Dogs, all because of a quarantine that has exiled all of the dogs of Atari's home of Megasaki City. Naturally, hijinks ensue, and with a cast of talking dogs with some very familiar voices (for those who know and love Wes Anderson's work).

Already in the trailer for Isle of Dogs, we hear the distinct vocal stylings of Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, and Tilda Swinton -- all veterans of the Wes Anderson repertory cast. However, we do hear some newer additions, as Scarlett Johansson and Bryan Cranston are two of the newer voices to join the cast of luminaries lending their pipes to this latest flight of Andersonian whimsy.

From the first look we've been given above, Fox Searchlight's latest pairing with Wes Anderson certainly looks to be dead center of the wheelhouse for the auteur. And yet, there's a difference in this new film, as Isle of Dogs feels like both the most personal, and possibly the most political film that Anderson has ever done. But, of course, there's still a heaping helping of visual flair, and dryly comedic prowess, that helps the audience remember that this is the same man who brought us Fantastic Mr. Fox not too long ago.

Of course, the biggest disappointment when it comes to Isle of Dogs is the fact that we have to wait so long to see it. Slated to release next spring, we're still a couple months away from seeing these scrappy dogs, and their equally scrappy human counterpart, embark on an adventure of a lifetime. But thankfully, that wait is a little easier now, thanks to a fantastic trailer that'll keep us happy for the time being. At least, until another trailer finds its way into our eager paws.

Isle of Dogs opens on March 23, 2018; and you can check out what else is releasing throughout that same year, courtesy of our handy 2018 release date guide.

Great movie chemistry is a difficult thing to find. When you have it, your film can survive based off that alone. When two characters don't mix well, the entire movie falls apart. Sometimes, however, two actors can work so well together that their interaction transcends everything else that happens on screen and they steal every scene together. Sometimes it's a romantic pair, sometimes it's a bromantic pair, but when it works, it works so well that you just want to see it again.

We're not saying that movies these pairs were in together need sequels. In most cases, we don't expect or really want a sequel to the existing film. The chemistry these pairs share transcend the movie they were in. We know they'd be great together in literally any movie. Here are 10 movie pairs we want to see together again, in anything.

Edward Norton & Brad Pitt

Fight Club received most of its acclaim for its unexpected twist ending and its "fight the power" message that resonated with many young people in the 1990s. While I would argue the movie probably hasn't aged as well as you might think and probably isn't as good as it was in college, the performances of its two leading men were rock solid and their interaction was flawless. Both Brad Pitt and Edward Norton have gone to bigger and better things, and since they're two of the greatest actors working today, we'd love to see them on screen again. Maybe in something a little less depressing.

Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks

Ok, so we already have three movies to enjoy with this classic romantic movie pairing (you probably missed Ithaca). So what? The chemistry between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is absolutely perfect, and just because they've done movies together doesn't mean there isn't an opportunity for more. Great actors always bring something special to the screen, but sometimes when working opposite somebody who knows them well, performances can be brought to the next level. We've seen them fall in love, but as older performers, they could make a romantic movie about people who have spent decades together now, and audiences would buy it because they watched the pair fall in love two and a half decades ago.

The Rock & Jason Statham

The most recent pairing on this list, the Fast and Furious franchise appears to be losing some steam after the most recent entry, but two people you can't blame for that are The Rock and Jason Statham. They both brought their A-game to The Fate of the Furious, but what's more, when the two were on screen together you honestly forget that any other movie was even happening. There's talk of this pair getting their own spinoff film, but it honestly doesn't matter if they do a Furious spin-off or anything else. Cast Jason Statham in any of the 47 movies The Rock currently has in production.

Eddie Murphy & Dan Aykroyd

Trading Places is, almost without question, one of the great comedies of all-time. If that movie had been released in the last 10 years, a sequel would have been greenlit before the movie was out of theaters. Neither Dan Aykroyd or Eddie Murphy is busy making a lot of movies these days, which is why it would be perfect for the two of them to reunite in something new. Seeing either of them in a brand new comedy would be a treat. Seeing what the two of them could do together after all these years would be guaranteed to be hilarious.

Anne Hathaway & Meryl Streep

The Devil Wears Prada was a breakout role for a young Anne Hathaway, acting opposite a multi-time Academy Award winner. Now Hathaway has an Oscar of her own, and the promotional material for a movie that reunites this pair writes itself. Prada certainly requires no sequel, so we imagine these two could do something else together. It could be something dramatic and Oscar worthy, or something lighter in the vein of their previous joint venture. Either way, another project starring these two would be impressive to watch. Ways in which the character dynamic could shift after all these years is exciting to think about.

Josh Gad & Luke Evans

One of the highlights of the recent Beauty and the Beast remake was the pairing of Luke Evans as Gaston and Josh Gad as his friend/sidekick Le Fou. The pair were absolutely hilarious together and after watching them doing press and social media stuff together in the lead up to the film, it's clear the two have a lot of fun together. They could make any comedy together, and we're fairly certain it would be great. Their timing is perfect and every joke in Beauty landed perfectly. Does anybody want to make an Abbott & Costello biopic? Please do so right now.

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Jamie Lee Curtis

With all the blockbuster success that James Cameron has had over the years, his action comedy True Lies is often overlooked. What made that film work so well was the on-screen chemistry between leads Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. If there was a pair on the list that we wanted to see make a true sequel to their previous film, it might be this one. It would be great to see how "Boris and Doris" and doing after all these years of spying together. What does that situation do to a relationship? Are they closer together or falling apart? We're fairly certain they're no less entertaining.

Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones

The Men in Black movies worked because the pairing of the joke-cracking Will Smith and the straight-faced, but no less funny, Tommy Lee Jones, was absolute perfection. If there's a single reason that the third installment of the franchise didn't work, it's because Jones wasn't a big enough part of the movie. So let's move on from Men in Black and find something else for these two to do together. They'd be no less funny in any comedy. Find Jones and Smith a pair of roles with a similar relationship and let the jokes fly.

Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone

While La La Land may not have been Best Picture, it was not from lack of effort from the film's two leads. Of course, that isn't the only movie the two have been in together. They've made three films together in recent years and now we just want to see more. Whether it's musicals, romantic comedies or serious dramas, these two have great chemistry together. We're hoping they continue to make different kinds of movies together and give us even more to enjoy for years to come.

Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman

There may be no greater love story about the relationship between two male friends as The Shawshank Redemption. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, and the characters they played, could not be more different, and yet the relationship between them is one of the strongest in the history of cinema. Both men are older now, but that only changes the circumstances. We bet these two could still deliver powerful performances on screen together. We would never want to see these two follow up their previous film, but anything these two could do with each other would be great.