Major blood-soaked spoilers below for the latest episode of The Boys, so wade carefully if you haven’t yet watched via Amazon Prime subscription.

Ho-leeee. Mo-leeee. Fri-joleeees. The Boys has once again topped itself with the episode “One-Shots,” which shockingly killed off a major Supe, set up an until-death rivalry between two others, and delivered a celebrity cameo-filled sequence that went far beyond the highly anticipated Supernatural reunion for Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins. This will no doubt go down as one of the most fun and bloodiest hours in all of 2026 TV.

So let’s put our viscera-proof swimming caps on and dive into this muck to celebrate all the larger-than-usual number of wild and gory deaths, as well as series executive producer Seth Rogen heading up a murderer’s row (and eventually murdered row) of comedy stars, including Kumail Nanjiani, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Will Forte and Craig Robinson. All in a day’s work for the Supes that populate The Boys, amirite?

Jensen Ackles Got To Brutally Kill Off His Supernatural Co-Stars

The very first look at Misha Collins on The Boys surprisingly foreshadowed his death in the episode, with Soldier Boy holding his character Malchemical by the throat just before snapping the Supe's neck. I thought the show might buck that expectation somehow, but no.

From a plot perspective, Malchemical's death is pretty tragic by way of Butcher & Co.'s grand plan to kill off Homelander, since he could emit fumes noxious enough to knock the Seven's leader unconscious. Unfortunately, none of The Boys are likely aware Malcehmical exists, and thus likely won't be able to reverse-engineer his knockout gas. (That said, I'm holding out hope for Misha Collins-as-a-corpse to reappear in Episode 506 for Frenchie to extract DNA from.)

Jared Padalecki's speedster Mister Marathon was also an important introduction for the overall plot, as he confirmed where perhaps the last remaining vials of the V1 serum are. But his death was most much elaborate, utilizing some of the gnarliest practical effects I've ever seen in this show. (But only after fans got to see a hilarious assortment of Sony Pictures-produced VCU offshoot movies with Padalecki's character front and center.)

In a sequence straight out of a Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon, Marathon runs arouns his mansion chasing Soldier Boy, who amusingly puts the various celebs in his pursuer's path, causing each of them to full-on explode the way Hughie's girlfriend did when A-Train zipped through her. I guess Rogen didn't get fully 'sploded, but more on that below.

I Absolutely Loved The Dorky Nods To Superbad And Saturday Night Live

If you're looking for an SNL vet to play the weirdest dude in your movie, you're probably gonna go with Kyle Mooney. But if we're talking the second-weirdest character, that's the realm ruled over by talents like Will Forte and Bill Hader. Only, the latter isn't around anymore in The Boys' timeline, as he was outed (correctly or otherwise) as being a Starlighter, and Forte was only too happy to take advantage. As he put it:

I think hearing him refer to himself as "The Forte" could grow on me. But probably not for a while.

Elsewhere, when everyone is reacting in a panic to Homelander getting knocked out, Mister Marathon makes it clear that one of Forte's most memorable characters does indeed exist in this universe.

• WILL FORTE: Can we f--k off, please?!?
• MISTER MARATHON: Chill out, MacGruber! Everything is cool.

Forte's body does end up looking like the wrong end of a MacGruber mission, as he's the first celeb Soldier Boy sacrifices while running away.

But let's jump back a bit to before things getting so bloody. Seeing Seth Rogen and Christopher Mitz-Plasse together at the card table immediately sparked memories of Superbad, given that was the movie that put Mintz-Plasse on the map. So it's only fitting that he hilariously threw co-star Michael Cera under the bus as a possible traitor.

• CHRIS MINTZ-PLASSE: Hey, do we think Michael Cera's a Starlighter? 'Cause we're up for the same part right now, and it'd be pret-ty good if he got vanished.
• SETH ROGEN: You've been friends with him for 20 years, Chris.
• CHRIS: Yeah, but I really need this part, man.

A couple of minutes later, Homelander's ire has everyone on edge, and Mintz-Plasse once again draws attention to the Arrested Development vet, saying:

Technically, the Bill Hader comment could also count as a Superbad reference, since he and Rogen played the bumbling cops in that. Fans may recall that Craig Robinson played a drug dealer in 2007 comedy and its "Cop Car Confessions" extras. Well, he also showed up for an extremely brief cameo to gripe about Danny Trejo's tacos before Mister Marathon turned him into human salsa.

Seth Rogen Joked About Hating Weed And Then Got Half His Body Blown Off

Amidst all of the stressful happenings, Mintz-Plasse sparks up a joint and offers it to Rogen, who turns it down with the following reasoning:

It's high-ly ridiculous for this scene to imply that Mintz-Plasse wouldn't already be aware of Rogen's disinterest in the devil's lettuce after so many years. But still a funny joke, since there's a less than 0% chance that Rogen wasn't stoned while filming that very scene.

Firecracker's Fuse Was Permanently Snuffed

After all the earlier events of the episode, including Sister Sage laying out her mega-plan to eradicate humanity and catch up on reading, Homelander punctuated the episode off with another shocking death. After Firecracker pulled off arguably her most deplorable and sickening act by falsely accusing her hometown pastor and his church of being in cahoots with Starlighter, so soon after sitting with him and knowing that wasn't the case at all.

Against her better wishes, Firecracker remained loyal to Homelander's "I'm God now" turn to a fault, and likely would have continued to do his bidding for years on end. Which could have happened just so if Homelander never learned that she bagged his old man. He should have directed his anger at Soldier Boy, who knew that Homelander didn't rise to the occasion with her, but instead took it out on the one who actually had his back.

It's not quite as divisive as A-Train death scene in the premiere, since there wasn't anything redeemable happening with Firecracker. But still gave an equally cruel example of how little Homelander cares about anything or anyone around him. He's even getting breast milk from rando churchgoers now? For shame.

Find out who'll be the next to die when The Boys drops the rest of Season 5's episodes on Prime Video every Wednesday.

Major spoilers for Over Your Dead Body are ahead! Read with caution, and see the movie in theaters now.

While reviews for Over Your Dead Body highlight the 2026 movie schedule entry’s gore, the thriller is also an incredible comedy. It’s funny up until the very end, too, thanks to one brilliant cameo. So, when I spoke to the film’s director, Jorma Taccone, and its star, Jason Segel, I had to ask about who they hired for this moment, and they told me why he was perfect.

So, let me break this cameo down for you. Over Your Dead Body is about a married actor and director who decide to kill each other during a weekend trip, but it all goes horribly wrong. In the end, the couple played by Samara Weaving and Jason Segel both survive it all, and they decide to capitalize on their story by making a movie. In this film that ends the film, Weaving’s character Lisa plays herself. Meanwhile, Segel’s Dan is directing, and the actor playing him is none other than Kumail Nanjiani.

Obviously, I had to ask why the comedian was the perfect person to play Jason Segel’s character in this movie within a movie, and in response, Segel told me:

Now, Over Your Dead Body was written by Pizza Movie’s Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, and it’s an adaptation of the 2021 Norwegian film, The Trip. So, it certainly was meta to put a movie within this adaptation of a movie that tells this story again in movie form.

It becomes funnier when you consider the fact that both Segel and Nanjiani are both actors who came up working on some of TV's best comedies and have cemented themselves as both television and movie stars.

This is also a hilarious moment thanks to Kumail Nanjiani’s ripped physique. He’s maintained it since getting fit for The Eternals, and that’s part of the reason why Jorma Taccone called him for this new movie, as the director explained:

It is quite funny to see Nanjiani burst into the frame and rip his shirt off. Obviously, he and Jason Segel look nothing alike, which makes it silly that he’s playing him, but the Big Sick star’s physique makes it even funnier.

According to Taccone, it was also hilarious because this character is “self-effacing,” and Nanjiani himself is like that in real life, too. Along with that, the director also viewed this as a funny and massive win for both the comedian and the movie:

It is so amusing, and it was a fantastic surprise to end a movie that was already full of shocks.

Throughout the film, there are quite a few jokes about movie-making because Dan and Lisa are a director and actress, and this final sequence felt like such a perfect way to wrap it all up. It was a homage to how meta this movie already was, and it left me laughing about this wild story was long after the credits rolled.

As a comic book obsessive, I tend to get extremely excited once book-to-screen adaptation plans are revealed, even knowing this process usually takes far longer than traditional adaptations, and often results in ditched projects. Case in point: Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky's brilliant crime romp Sex Criminals has faced a long and veiny road ahead of Prime Video stepping in to secure it for a TV series starring Kumail Nanjiani. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to be in danger of disappearing, as evidenced by the co-creator's A+ update.

As The Boys Season 5 is wrapping up ahead of a final run on the 2026 TV schedule, Amazon MGM isn't putting the brakes on its hyper-mature live-action comic adaptations, and fans can expect to see a similar amount of unencumbered nudity in Sex Criminals, given its very premise. The project’s current status was only just unveiled in late January, and Tze Chun (who co-created with Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon) has already sent my expectations soaring with his first big behind-the-scenes update on Instagram. Nobody’s spinning any wheels waiting to get started, as he shared:

I love, love, love knowing that the first month of the writers room for Sex Criminals took place during Valentine's Day month, since love is so important to Suzie and Jon's story. It also rocks knowing that a married couple is involved in the creation process.

What excites me the most about this post, though, is that writer extraordinaire Matt Fraction is in the writers room with Chun, Gordon, Nanjiana and the rest of the team. Fraction has long been celebrated for his many Marvel projects, including the Hawkeye series that inspired Jeremy Renner's TV show, but I've personally always been a bigger fan of his offbeat indie titles like The Five Fists of Science, as well as his pitch-perfect DC miniseries with Steve Lieber, Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. (That series is allegedly an inspiration for Skyler Gisondo's upcoming Jimmy spinoff.) But Sex Criminals takes the top spot, so having him involved behind the scenes can only mean good things, whether he's fully serving as a credited writer or merely helping to put out storytelling fires that crop up.

Beyond Tze Chun, Kumail Nanjiana and Emily V. Gordon, the Sex Criminals team also consists of the following:

• Aeysha Carr, writer/producer for Government Cheese, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Woke
• Tiffany So, writer for Interior Chinatown, Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld
• Saba Saghafi, writer for Interior Chinatown, Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld
• Jason Kim, writer/producer for Barry, Love, Girls

Check out the Instagram post below to get a look at just how well (or otherwise) Fraction pulls off the Michelle Pfeiffer pose.

For those unaware, Sex Criminals kicks off when Suzie, a librarian who adores books far more than authority, meets and sleeps with Jon, an actor currently working at a bank. For reasons that are initially unclear, Suzie and Jon are able to freeze time whenever they have an orgasm, a power that is at first confusing, but soon becomes the crux of a plan to rob the bank where Jon works as a way to save Suzie's library. From there, the story goes all over the place, with Suzie and Jon's complicated realtionship anchoring the book's loopy, danger-filled, and extremely perverted shenanigans. First published in 2013, it lasted for 31 issues, as well as the "Sexual Gary Special" one-shot.

I cannot wait for more Sex Criminals updates, and if I ever find that all of my money and possessions have been suddenly stolen without me realizing anything was amiss, I'll know that someone in the real world actually does have Suzie and Jon's powers. That, or I accidentally went into someone else's house earlier that day.

With Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky serving as excutive producers, Sex Criminals will hopefully be everything I wanted and more when it starts streaming via Amazon Prime subscription at some point in the distant future.

There has been no shortage of support for Stephen Colbert following the cancellation of The Late Show last year. Now, as we sadly count down the days on the 2026 TV schedule to his final telecast, the love hasn’t stopped pouring in. In fact, at the Golden Globes, tons of celebrities showed their appreciation for the host with some very kind words, while others, including Judd Apatow, shared their thoughts on the show coming to an end.

Last summer, when Colbert’s program got canceled, the late-night hosts reacted and shared their support for him alongside a bunch of other celebrities, including Judd Apatow. Then, at the 2026 Golden Globes, he showed that level of support again when he was asked to talk about the host for The Late Show's TikTok on the red carpet. In response, he said:

The Knocked Up director wasn’t the only one asking Colbert to stay on the air, either. Kumail Nanjiani used his time on the carpet to talk about why the host needs to keep doing The Late Show, saying:

Sadly, Colbert will have to stop on Thursday, May 21. That’s the official last day of his show. However, for the next four-ish months, he’ll keep going on this “flaming toboggan ride” and delivering episodes every weekday on CBS at 11:35 p.m. ET that show why people were so quick to sing his praises on the red carpet.

Now, while many don’t want The Late Show to end, the sad reality is that it will. So, the question becomes: What will Stephen Colbert do next? Well, Colbert has joked about his next gig and asked Netflix or Amazon to call him. He’s also made it clear that he wants to “land this plane” in reference to his current show, and noted that that's where his full focus is at the moment.

Well, while Colbert might have his focus on finishing The Late Show strong, others have ideas. For example, on this red carpet, Overcompensating star and comedian Mary Beth Barone threw out this idea:

It certainly will be interesting to see what Stephen Colbert does after his show comes to an end. However, whatever it is, I’m sure tons of people will be ready and willing to support him.

That was shown in this video too, as the other celebrities who spoke to the show on the red carpet were quick to compliment Colbert with words like:

• “Stone cold fox.” -Ayo Edebiri
• “Legend. Articulate. Kind.” -Paul Mescal
• “Wise, intelligent hero.” -Mark Ronson
• “Hilarious. Insightful. Iconic.” -Paul W. Downs
• “Poised. Regal. Joyus.” -Hudson Williams
• “Lovely, gentleman, sensitive.” -Keegan Michael Key
• “I love Stephen Colbert. I wrote Stephen, you can ask my publicist, a literal love letter.” -Justine Lupe

That’s not even all of them, either. There’s more.

So, all this is to say, the love for Stephen Colbert is strong, and so is the anger toward his show’s cancellation. Even though it’s been months since the news broke about The Late Show ending, and there are still months left before its final episode, people are still ready and willing to sing the praises of this late-night show host, and I love to see it.

When Kumail Nanjiani debuted his jacked physique ahead of Marvel's wildly misunderstood Eternals, the internet had a lot of feelings. The actor's transformation from self-described “nerdy guy” to full-on star for an upcoming superhero movie became one of the most talked-about side stories surrounding the film. While Eternals has since become one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most debated entries, Nanjiani recently offered a perfectly absurd explanation for its box office struggles. And, yes, it involves very expensive abs.

Nanjiani’s comments come from a clip shared by comedian Gianmarco Soresi, pulled from an episode of his podcast, The Downside, and posted on Instagram. The moment won’t likely reignite old Marvel arguments, but it does hilariously reframe the entire Eternals conversation through pure, self-aware comedy. Check it out down below.

Before landing the punchline, the stand-up comedian and filmmaker walked through how fans reacted when he stopped looking like the guy who might sit next to you at Comic-Con and started looking like someone who could throw a car. He explained:

That sense of betrayal has followed him ever since Eternals hit theaters in 2021. As he’s joked elsewhere, some people seemed personally offended that he’d dared to change his body, as if lifting weights somehow rewrote his personality. Nanjiani explained that the powers that be at Marvel didn’t even ask him to undergo the body transformation; instead, he took it on himself. According to the former podcaster, had he shown up looking exactly as he always had, Marvel would’ve rolled with it, which makes what came next all the funnier.

When asked whether Eternals might have performed better had he stayed “nerdy,” Nanjiani didn’t hesitate. He jokingly quipped:

It’s a ridiculous exaggeration, but it does somehow manage to skewer how Eternals discourse often drifted away from the movie itself. The film faced real hurdles, including mixed reviews, a sprawling cast and a pandemic-altered theatrical landscape. For whatever reason, Nanjiani became an unlikely lightning rod for criticism for the movie. Admittedly, the criticism had very little to do with his actual performance as Kingo.

The joke also ties neatly into Kumail Nanjiani’s broader comedic arc. As he said in his new stand-up special, Night Thoughts, he said there is no reason, especially since those six Marvel movies never happened, for him to stay buff anymore. However, Nanjiani also says he does it anyway, partly out of spite, partly because it opened doors he never had before. Whether or not Kingo ever returns, Nanjiani has turned his Marvel muscles into one of his best recurring bits.

You can revisit Eternals, as all Marvel movies are available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.

Kumail Nanjiani already had a sizable collection of film credits by the time Eternals came along, but bulking up was new territory for him on the Marvel movie. The actor put on a lot of muscle to play Kingo in the MCU’s 26th theatrical installment. It’s been a little over four years since Eternals’ release, and while his Kingo remains uncertain, Nanjiani has joked about maintaining his impressive physique no matter what.

In addition to starring opposite Emma Mackey and Jamie Lee Curtis in Ella McCay, last month also saw Kumail Nanjiani: Night Thoughts, the comedian’s latest stand-up special, becoming available to stream with a Hulu subscription. In it, he brought up how some of his detractors online decided Nanjiani would be the first person they “mock for getting in shape.” After saying noting how hard it was to achieve his current physique and joking that he hasn’t “smelled cake in years,” Nanjiani declared:

This joke came out of Kumail Nanjiani addressing the five kinds of negative responses he got online when he talked about going to therapy, the first of which was, “Oh, your big Hollywood movie didn’t do well? Are we supposed to feel sorry for you?” This refers to how Eternals was met with mixed critical reception and only made a little over $402 million worldwide off a reported $236.2 million budget. Although it ended up being the sixth-highest-grossing movie of 2021, that performance wasn’t enough to make it profitable, and Nanjiani countered that while others don’t have to feel sorry him, he’s allowed to feel sorry for himself.

Going back to his physique, Kumail Nanjiani continued to joke about how he’s going to keep that muscle packed on regardless of whether or not we see him as Kingo again, even if it means giving up cake for good. In his words:

The funny thing is that Kumail Nanjiani didn’t bulk up for Eternals because it was a requirement from Marvel Studios, but because he “needed to change how people saw me so I could have the type of opportunities I was excited about.” So regardless of what the future holds in store for him MCU-wise, maintaining his current physique could help him score more outside-of-the-box roles. Jokes aside, I hope he does indulge in cake again. That kind of deliciousness shouldn’t be avoided for the rest of his life.

Nanjiani signed on to do six Marvel movies, a video game and a theme park ride. However, following Eternals’ underwhelming performance, there are still no plans for a sequel, and the closest we’ve come to those events being acknowledged is Celestial Island being a key plot point in Captain America: Brave New World. Nanjiani also voiced an alternate version of Kingo in the What If… ? episode "What If... Agatha Went to Hollywood?”, which can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Marvel finds a way to bring the character back into the fold on the big screen someday.

Kumail Nanjiani has a number of great bits in his new stand-up comedy special Night Thoughts – commenting on a number of subjects, like how his brain processes extreme anxiety when he is trying to sleep, bands performing encores, and how going to therapy helped him in the wake of the less-than-stellar critical response to the film Eternals. Some of his best material, however, concerns his deep love for his cat Bagel, and while his jokes about the relationship are great all by themselves, I now have an even greater appreciation for them after learning a wonderful behind-the-scenes story from the development of the Hulu original.

The lovely bit of trivia was posted this week on Instagram by Emily V. Gordon, who is Nanjiani's wife in addition to being credited as an executive producer on Night Thoughts. In the social media post, she offers gratitude and appreciation to the folks at Hulu for a kindness that they extended to the couple in the development of the stand-up special – which was instigated by the sad passing of Bagel earlier this year. In a series of images with text, Gordon wrote,

The next image in the post featured a clipped version of the poster for Night Thoughts, which you can check out below:

Looking at the bottom left quadrant of the poster, you'll notice that a photo of Bagel was included in the artwork curled on the bed next to her owner... and neither Kumail Nanjiani nor Emily V. Gordon knew it that was coming. When they saw it for the first time, per the latter, both of them had a very emotional response:

In the special, it's made very clear that Kumail Nanjiani really loved Bagel, and it surely must have been extremely painful when he and his wife had to say goodbye to such a great pet... but both the memoriam and the poster are wonderful tributes, and it shows that the couple had some terrific partners in the development of the comedy special.

If you haven't yet watched, Night Thoughts is now available to stream with a Hulu subscription, and regardless of how you feel about cats, it's definitely worth a watch for an hour of great comedy.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly expanding, thanks to new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. But those of us who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have seen a few missteps in the years since Endgame hit theaters. That includes Chloé Zhao's Eternals, with Kumail Nanjiani recently sharing he signed on for six movies and years of work... which never happened. And now fans are sticking up for the ill-fated blockbuster.

While Eternals won at the box office upon its release, but it failed to resonate with audiences. A sequel for Eternals seemingly isn't happening anytime soon, despite the narrative that began with Zhao's MCU debut. Recently Nanjiani went viral for a clip from the Working It Out podcast, where he spoke about his expectations when joining the MCU. In his words:

What a bummer. Historically taking on a major comic book role has resulted in years of employment for Marvel stars, especially the OG Avengers. But that's not what happened Zhao's blockbuster, which introduced a new team of heroes who still haven't been seen or heard from again. And this is particularly puzzling since Eternals' ending set up huge things for the entire MCU.

After the events of the movie, Arishem arrives on Earth and takes a number of members of the team into space, including Nanjiani's Kingo. Then the Etenals credits scene then introduced Harry Styles' Eros, who was seemingly going to help the rest of the team in a rescue mission.

There's been no indication that Eternals is getting a sequel, and the events of the film weren't even acknowledged for years... until the release of Captain America: Brave New World. While the movie is still canon, we should't hold our breath for a follow-up film to the infamous 2021 movie.

After Nanjiani's comments went viral, plenty of folks are coming out of the woodwork to defend the quality of Eternals. Folks on Twitter made their voices known, with choice comments reading:

• Eternals being one of the MCU’s best movies and getting treated like the piece of cheese from the Diary of the Wimpy Kid will never sit right with me. - @english_shamar
• Haters wanted the usual cut and paste Marvel movie, but got the closest thing to a FILM Marvel has ever done and said “This is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen”…ok. - @dionrs94
• Bro. I don’t get it! The film is shot beautifully, the characters are unique and interesting, but it gets no love. - @blkbat21
• I think it just didn’t have major heroes and that turned people off. No one has given me a legit reason to this day. - @blkbat21
• It was a great movie, i feel like the eternals just weren’t widely known and because of that everybody says “wah wah wah it sucks” but I thought it was a phenomenal movie - @pedrohuertag12

It sounds like there are some Eternals defenders out there... despite the franchise ending before it could really get off the ground. But Marvel Studios is known for keeping fans on their toes, so maybe one day Kevin Feige and company will do an aboutface and bring back its cast. After all, there were some serious A-listers involved in the property including Angelina Jolie.

Eternals is streaming on Disney+ along with the rest of the MCU. The shared universe will return to theaters with Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31st of next year as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see if any upcoming Marvel movies ring back Eternals characters.

For quite a long time, it felt as though all the new Marvel movies would be ranked above many that came before, as the franchise was on a serious roll that seemed unlikely to ever slow down. However, all things change, and we have now gotten to the point where solid critical hits like Thunderbolts* and decent-ish money-makers like The Fantastic Four: First Steps are interspersed with big-budget films that really don’t fare so well. Kumail Nanjiani, the star of one such 2021 MCU entry, Eternals, has now been very open about being “shattered” by his film’s performance and needing therapy to deal with it.

What Did Eternals’ Kumail Nanjiani Say About Needing Therapy After The Movie’s Poor Performance?

Fan response to the many Marvel movies in order has changed radically over the past several years, as the post-Infinity Saga films haven’t exactly set the world on fire like the first decade or so of releases did. One of the movies that had the typical Marvel buzz, but disappointed when viewers checked it out was Eternals. Despite the massive star power on screen (along with Kumail Nanjiani, the superhero team included Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Brian Tyree Henry and more) and decent box office, the reviews were mixed at best.

Nanjiani recently appeared on the Working It Out podcast, where he and fellow comedian/host Mike Birbiglia got into the topic of working out new material for their stand-up acts. When asked what he’s been putting together lately, the Oscar nominee revealed that “the last 15 minutes” of his set now revolves around how Eternals’ negative reviews impacted him:

Boy, that’s rough, right? I can only imagine that there are several other actors who’ve have similar experiences. The Big Sick star also mentioned that the movie came out after some of the heat from the pandemic had passed and folks were allowed back into theaters, but this meant that he’d had about a year and a half of sitting at home and dreaming of how successful the film would be.

It might seem foolish for the Silicon Valley lead to have done this, but the fact is that this movie had been built up, even by those at Marvel. In early 2024, Nanjiani talked about how the thought was that the film would be “really, really well reviewed” so they lifted the review embargo early and sent the cast on the press tour at the same time, assuming they’d be able to bask in the glow of unbelievably positive word of mouth. But, that didn’t happen.

The lead up to the film’s debut also set his hopes high, because he mentioned signing on for “six movies, a video game, a theme park ride” believing that his time as Bollywood star/Eternal Kingo would last for at least a decade. While anything within the Marvel multiverse is possible, it seems unlikely that we’ll see Nanjiani or his fellow Eternals again in the near future, but at least it sounds like he’s come to terms with how the movie not quite living up to expectations affected him and can keep on keepin’ on.

One of the key streaming highlights hitting the 2025 TV schedule during the second week of May is no doubt the Season 2 return of former late night fave Conan O’Brien’s Max travel show Conan O’Brien Must Go. But even before that anticipated arrival, the ginger-haired comedian’s fans can join in on celebrating his TV efforts by watching the new special Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor, available to stream with a Netflix subscription.

The special is undeniably hilarious from beginning to end thanks to a plethora of lighthearted roasts from some of the Oscar host’s funniest friends, longtime colleagues and mainstay late night guests. From John Mulaney and Andy Richter to Adam Sandler and David Letterman, everyone was on their A-game, and that was especially true for Kumail Nanjiani, whose “TWAINTalk” addressed the vital question of whether O’Brien actually deserves the award, with The Simpsons as a key component.

While talking about influence as a benchmark for a comedian’s impact on the world at large, Nanjiani addressed Conan O’Brien’s career highlight of working on The Simpsons, saying:

It's not immediately clear whether that "93%" stat was based on any kind of data, or if it was crafted out of thin air, but there's no questioning the credited nature of O'Brien's work on The Simpsons. While he was indeed part of the writing staff early on, and certainly contributed jokes and story ideas for other episodes, the rather limiting nature of TV writing credits means that only three episodes from that iconic era can serve as irrefutable proof of his time there.

To break that number down further is just asking for chuckle-worthy trouble, but Kumail Nanjiani showcased the surprisingly teensy percentage that sums up Conan's Simpsons efforts, and made a bonkers comparison in the process. As he put it:

Both out of context and within the context of this special, that's one of the wildest sentences ever uttered for others to hear and react to. I'm trying to think of how many other ways Conan O'Brien and Charles Manson would be comparable, and all I can think of is that O'Brien and Bob Odenkirk wrote together on SNL and acted together, with Odenkirk having portrayed Manson on The Ben Stiller Show. But that's not even a proper 1:1 comparison.

In reminding the crowd which episodes Conan wrote, Kumail Nanjiani provoked quite the audible laugh from the honoree, saying:

The rest of Nanjiani's segment was obivously also amusing as it poked fun at the longtime late-night staple, and the Silicon Valley vet talked about Masturbating Bear being his very first taste of not just Late Night but of American television altogether. And somehow he stuck around and didn't run screaming back to his Pakistani stomping grounds.

Conan O’Brien Must Go will arrive anew with Season 2 on Thursday, May 8, for fans with Max subscriptions. But his whopping three episodes of The Simpsons can be streamed in full with a Disney+ subscription.

For most present-day comedy fans, do you even have to say more than “Nick Offerman”, or “Kumail Nanjiani” in the same sentence to pique interest? The answer is no (for most of us, anyway). The two recently shared a great moment on one of Nanjiani’s most recent posts involving the well-reviewed 2013 movie The Kings of Summer. The exchange is all over a quart of potentially oversized wontons from Gary (Nanjiani) and his family’s restaurant. Yes, really.

Although the movie is over a decade old, the coming-of-age story directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts is full of heart and humor, as reflected by its excellent cast. Amongst the newcomers and seasoned veterans are our two funny men.

With Nick Offerman in the back half of his incredible run in one of his best roles as Ron Swanson on Parks and Rec and Kumail Nanjiani making his way toward Silicon Valley as Dinesh, their timing was kismet on this set. The post recounted this small but deliciously funny moment between the two and Alison Brie (Community, The Little Hours) that still has them joking.

The video is simply captioned as “@NickOfferman somebody’s hangry,” with commenters asking where the exchange is from and begging for the blooper reel. Amongst the comments, the duo also reminisce on the scene’s improvised lines and are sweetly complimentary of each other, with Offerman writing:

Nanjiani even shares that making Nick Offerman break is a career highlight.

If you’re anything like the rest of us, we would love to see that blooper reel, and maybe even the recipe for the infamous dumpling. Since The Kings of Summer, both men have had great career success in various genres in film and television while continuing to make waves in the comedy world.

Currently, Kumail is on the megahit Only Murders in the Building and has been an incredibly festive addition in lighting up the star-studded fourth season cast, which you can watch with a Hulu subscription. Along with it, he was in the summer blockbuster, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire as Nadeem.

Although brief, Offerman was also in a summer big hitter, Civil War, as the president. He’s currently a part of The Umbrella Academy as Dr. Gene Thibodeau as well as the most current season of the animated series The Great North as Beef Tobin on Fox.

As for the future of either man—it’s bright and probably full of laughter. Perhaps this Instagram exchange can forge a future collaboration between the two, along with a killer cast. All of us can hope so. In the meantime, you can catch either of them on the current 2024 TV schedule or rent The Kings of Summer on YouTube, Prime, and Apple TV to judge those wontons for yourself.

Superhero movies are everywhere, with DC and Marvel continuing to compete for box office supremacy. The DCEU is officially dead (although it's streaming with a Max subscription), and fans are eager to see who will appear in upcoming DC movies. But did Blue Beetle actor Xolo Maridueña just reveal a Marvel star is playing Booster Gold? Let's break it all down.

There are countless questions about the DCU's first phase of projects titled Gods and Monsters. It'll all start with the Superman movie, although it was revealed that a handful of DC characters will be kept for the new shared universe, including Xolo Maridueña's Blue Beetle. That 23 year-old actor reportedly spoke with The Cosmic Circus at GalaxyCon, where (according to the outlet) he revealed who would be playing Booster Gold in the new shared universe. As the outlet reported:

Well, my mind is blown. We should probably take this rumor with a big grain of salt for the time being, as there hasn't been any official casting news for Booster Gold just yet. But rumors have been swirling about the part, and Kumail Nanjiani definitely has the comedic chops to bring the DC hero to the big screen. We'll just have to see if the studio comments about this ongoing story.

This rumor about Kumail Nanjiani comes as Kevin Feige confirmed Eternals 2 is seemingly not happening over at Marvel. This would seemingly leave Nanjiani's schedule free to pivot over to DC, presumably as Booster Gold. That is assuming that Mariduena and the outlet he spilled to about casting both got their facts right.

Ever since the new DC Universe was announced, there has been some debate about which actors might end up playing its heroes. The most popular fan cast for Booster Gold has been The Boys' Antony Starr, who has thrown some shade after thinking it was simply because of his blonde Homelander hair. Kumail Nanjiani is a different type of actor and comedian, but would no doubt kill it as the comic book hero. Especially since Nanjiani got super ripped ahead of his Eternals debut.

But DC fans like myself should treat this as simply a rumor for the time being, despite the name being dropped by someone like Xolo Maridueña. Hopefully James Gunn reveals more casting for the shared universe soon, even though he's busy filming Superman. That movie will kick off the new DCU and will be released on July 11th, 2025. In the meantime, check out the 2025 movie release dates.

Poker Face, which debuted on Peacock (one of the best streaming services) back in 2023, proved to be one of the best shows of the year. The mystery series, which comes from the mind of creator Rian Johnson and stars fellow EP Natasha Lyonne in the lead role, was praised for its wit, charm and compelling stories. What fans also enjoyed was the star-studded roster of actors that spanned those first 10 episodes. Anyone who’s been wondering if Season 2, which is currently in production, will include high-profile talent will be happy to know that will be the case. It’s been reported that Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes and a couple of other talented stars will be joining the fray, and I’m too pumped!

News of the new cast additions comes by way of Variety, which listed a total of four stars that have been tapped for the series. In addition to Giancarlo Esposito and Katie Holmes, Kumail Nanjiani and Gaby Hoffmann will appear as well. The quartet’s exact roles were not revealed by the news outlet, which isn’t all that surprising. And, quite frankly, I’m not too concerned. That’s because I’m just pleased to know that these four stars will play roles in the continuing adventures of one Charlie Cale. 

All of these stars have some impressive credits to their names. Katie Holmes is, of course, a veteran actress whose work includes Disturbing Behavior, Batman Begins and Ray Donovan. Kumail Nanjiani’s star has risen in recent years, thanks to starring roles in The Big Sick, Silicon Valley, Eternals, Welcome to Chippendales and more. Meanwhile, seasoned performer Gaby Hoffman has Transparent, Girls, C’mon C’mon and Winning Time: The Rise of the Los Angeles Lakers on her resume. And, of course, Giancarlo Esposito is seemingly snatching up roles here and there in various mediums. When it comes to TV, he’s arguably most famous for Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Mandalorian and The Boys. So, yeah, none of these stars are slouches.

The first 10 episodes of Poker Face (which we’ve ranked) weren’t lacking when it came to talent as previously alluded to. Joining Natasha Lyonne for that string of installments were Judith Light, Nick Nolte, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Clea DuVall, Ron Perlman, Lil Rel Howery and more. What’s most impressive about the slate of stars is that each one perfectly slid into their role, which is a testament to the casting directors. It’s for that reason that I’m confident that these newcomers will be well served. 

Right now, plot details on the second season are slim, though the overall premise will likely remain intact. Each episode sees Charlie Cale, who’s on the run from the mob, crossing paths with different people. In the process of doing so, she finds herself tangled in mysteries, which she has a knack for solving due to her uncanny ability to detect when someone is lying. It may seem like a quirky premise, but I can’t recommend this show enough to Peacock subscribers.

The thought of these stars appearing on the hit show is just so exciting, and I have no doubt that each of them will play their respective roles to perfection. Here’s hoping that they all get to chew a bit of scenery (and that the second season gets here soon). 

You can stream the entire first season of Poker Face now alongside the best shows on Peacock. And, if you’re in need of something to watch now, check out the 2024 TV schedule, and it should give you some ideas.

The highly-anticipated fourth season of Only Murders in the Building is coming, and Hulu is going all out for its hit comedy, it seems. Following the surprising Season 3 finale that saw the death of Jane Lynch’s Sazz, the series is leaving moving the mystery from New York for the first time and shifting it to Los Angeles. Once again, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez will be at the forefront as the crime-solving trio Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, respectively. And the cast for Only Murders Season 4 is still growing, as another A+ comedian is joining after Eugene Levy and Molly Shannon were cast.

You know you have a massive show on your hands when you can get SNL vet Molly Shannon to reunite with Eugene Levy alongside some comedy legends. But, now, Variety is reporting that Kumail Nanjiani is the latest star tapped for the Hulu series. Details surrounding his role are unknown, but it seems he'll be joining in a recurring capacity. Interestingly though, a source tells the outlet that his character will be important to the season’s investigation. Whether that means he will play a cop or someone close to Sazz is unclear, but I'm surely eager to find out.

This roster is becoming downright stacked with comedic talent, and you love to see it. The show definitely knows how to bring the laughs, and it's smart to bring in more seasoned performers to amp up the humor. As is the case with the other two previously reported comics, I'm excited to see how Kumail Nanjiani meshes with the cast.

Aside from the comedians, also joining Season 4 is Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, who also makes for a nice addition. Additionally, Meryl Streep is reprising her recurring role of Loretta, an aspiring actress and Oliver’s love interest. Since the end of Season 3 saw her take a role out in Los Angeles, it makes sense that she would be present when the action moves to Tinsel Town. Fans can also expect Jane Lynch to reprise her role of Sazz for flashbacks, which will chronicle her final days leading up to her murder at the Arconia.

Only Murders has always been top-notch when it comes to finding talent. Other stars who have graced the Arconia include Tina Fey, Cara Delevingne, Paul Rudd, Ashley Park, Jesse Williams, Sting, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Schumer, Mark Consuelos, Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks and many, many more. With that, it wouldn’t be surprising if Kumail Nanjiani isn’t the last cast member to be announced for the upcoming season.

News of his hiring comes shortly after filming for Season 4 finally kicked off. Selena Gomez and Steve Martin celebrated the new season by sharing some photos to Instagram and, honestly, it feels so great seeing the trio back together again after what felt like forever. Hopefully, more BTS photos will be shared as production continues.

We'll have to wait and see what other info on Only Murders in the Building Season 4 reaches the light of day amid filming. But, for now, I just take pleasure in the fact that Kumail Nanjiani, Eugene Levy and Molly Shannon will all be gracing the show with their presence when it returns. The new episodes could possibly debut later this year as part of the 2024 TV schedule. In the meantime, Hulu subscribers might want to be patient and rewatch the first three seasons for the time being.

Although not all of the Marvel movies in order have been critically acclaimed, most of them have at least earned more positive reception than negative. That can’t be said, however, for Eternals, which was met with a wave of mixed reviews upon opening in late 2021 (CinemaBlend’s Eternals review has a 3 out of 5 stars score). It now ranks at 47% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s also one of the lowest-grossing MCU movies. Kumail Nanjiani, who played Kingo in Eternals, reflected on the movie’s “really, really bad” reviews and how he became “too aware” of the negative press surrounding the production.

Nanjiani stopped by Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum to talk about his career and personality with the podcast’s title host, and halfway through the conversation, the actor mentioned how he was disappointed by the “response” to Eternals. This prompted Rosenbaum to ask how this affected Nanjiani and if he took the Marvel movie’s negative reviews to heart, and even inquired if he blamed himself for how it turned out. Nanjiani started off by saying:

To be fair, it’s not as though Eternals earned overwhelmingly bad reception along the lines of something like 2015’s Fantastic Four. It rests nicely in mixed territory, but again, for a theatrical MCU installment, it’s certainly among the outliers. Up until that point, the most negatively-reviewed movies in the franchise were The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World, which both rank at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. And to be give Eternals some credit, it’s now no longer the worst-reviewed Marvel movie, as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania holds that distinction with a 46% Tomatometer.

Still, hearing so many people criticize Eternals bothered Kumail Nanjiani, particularly because this was happening in the middle of him and the rest of the cast doing the press tour. Eventually the negative reviews started to affect his mental health, with the actor continuing: 

Nanjiani added that his experience with Eternals led to him going into counseling, as he has “trauma” from the experience. In fact, he also mentioned that he and his wife Emily Gordon recently had dinner with another actor from the movie, and they commiserated over how “tough” enduring the critical backlash was for them and their other costars. If there was one positive aspect to all this though, it was Nanjiani realizing he couldn’t be so “results-based” with his work.

Although Eternals’ ending and the end-credits scenes laid groundwork for more adventures starring these cosmic protagonists to return to the MCU, Eternals 2 doesn’t appear to be happening, nor has there been mention of the characters appearing in any upcoming Marvel movies or upcoming Marvel TV shows. If either of those things change, we’ll let you know, but until then, remember that Eternals can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription.

It's been 118 days since members of the SAG-AFTRA union took to the picket line to fight for proper compensation and protections in the ever-evolving entertainment business. Now, the strike has finally ended, and some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Kumail Nanjiani and Candace Cameron Bure, are reacting to the great news. 

Variety reported that SAG-AFTRA negotiators had reached agreeable terms with the AMPTP, and the strike would end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday. A unanimous vote was reached among the negotiating committee for the actors to secure the agreement, and the next step will be getting approval from the SAG-AFTRA national board. Nanjiani quickly took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his joy at the end of the strike. In his post, which you can read below, the Eternals actor alluded to the newly released Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer that just dropped. Writing about the flick, which is scheduled for the 2024 movie calendar, he posted:

Zac Efron learned of the strike's end while walking the red carpet and doing press for A24’s wrestling flick The Iron Claw. Deadline posted a video of the High School Musical star reacting to the news in real-time to their X account. Moments after learning the studios had reached a tentative deal to end the actor's strike, he said:

Fuller House and former Hallmark star Candace Cameron Bure posted an emotional video to her Instagram stories. In the video, through tears, the actress had this to say:

Mystery Science Theater 3000 star and nerd royalty Felicia Day also thanked the negotiating committee who made the deal possible. She wrote on X:

Octavia Spencer wrote that she is “Ready to work” before sharing her gratitude to committee members. The Ma star shared her pride in the Union’s historic accomplishment, posting on Instagram:

SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee member and Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter (also known for playing Chessy in The Parent Trap remake) responded to California congressman Adam Schiff on X. Walter didn’t mince words when she pointed to how important the committee's work was in reaching a deal:

Perhaps the best response came from SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher. The Nanny veteran took to Instagram, writing, “We did it!!!!":  The post, which you can read below, was uploaded on November 8, and besides thanking her fellow SAG-AFTRA members, it also highlights some of the wonderful “ground” the new deal breaks.

Full details about the new SAG-AFTRA contract are still forthcoming. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates regarding how this news will impact individual projects – particularly those in the midst of filming before the strikes forced a work stoppage.

Check out our upcoming 2023 Movies guide and our 2024 movie release calendar to learn about all the features heading to the big screen and streaming in the coming months. You can also keep an eye on everything still coming to the small screen with our 2023 Fall TV Schedule.

For quite some time, there have been actors who not only bring movies to life by acting on the big screen but also play a major role in crafting the stories. Over the years, multiple Best Picture winners have been written by talented thespians, who also happen to be accomplished wordsmiths. From stars who've pieced together films that would earn them their first Academy Award nominations to those penning passion projects, here are 32 successful actors who are also hit screenwriters.

Ben Affleck

In early 1998, Ben Affleck became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood after he and Matt Damon won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting. The movie made the longtime friends -- who didn't always work together -- into overnight sensations. Since then, he’s written four additional films: Gone Baby Gone, Live by Night, The Town and The Last Duel, which he co-wrote with Damon.

Matt Damon

As mentioned, Matt Damon took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting in 1998. The movie, of course, also featured his Academy Award-worthy performance as a troubled young genius. Since then, he’s co-written two additional Gus Van Sant-directed scripts – Gerry in 2002, Promised Land in 2012 – as well as the Ridley Scott historical epic, The Last Duel, which he penned with Ben Affleck.

Jordan Peele

After finding success with Key & Peele, Jordan Peele turned to more behind-the-scenes work, serving as both a director and screenwriter. From his 2016 comedy, Keanu to 2022’s Nope and Wendell & Wild, Peele has cemented his legacy as one of the strongest voices in Hollywood. He won an Oscar for his Get Out screenplay in 2018 and produced two of the best horror movies in recent memory: Us and Candyman.

Tina Fey

Tina Fey will forever be remembered as one of the best Saturday Night Live cast members, and that experience allowed her to fine-tune her writing and acting skills. In addition to starring in movies like Baby Mama, Date Night and Muppets Most Wanted, Fey famously wrote the screenplay for Mean Girls, which is one of the best movies of the 2000s.

Sylvester Stallone

A handful of the best action movies of all time were written by none other than Sylvester Stallone, who has flexed his muscles in front of the camera and behind the scenes. All of the Rocky films (as well as Creed II) were written by Stallone, as were the Rambo flicks and pretty much most of his best big-screen ventures.

George Clooney

George Clooney has plenty of notable movies like Ocean’s Eleven, Syriana, Michael Clayton and even the over-the-top Batman & Robin. But the Academy Award-winning actor has also penned quite a few screenplays over the years, including the ones for Good Night, and Good Luck, The Ides of March, Leatherheads, The Monuments Men and Suburbicon.

Kristen Wiig

Two of the funniest movies of the past decade-and-a-half – Bridesmaids and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar – not only featured the Saturday Night Live legend Kristen Wiig's on-screen talents, they were also co-written by the actress. And penning those screenplays alongside her was co-star Annie Mumolo.

Tyler Perry

In addition to being a committed philanthropist and all-around great guy, Tyler Perry is also an incredibly successful actor, movie producer, and screenwriter. Throughout his career, Perry has written multiple entries in the Madea film franchise as well as other films like A Jazzman’s Blues, Acrimony, and Why Did I Get Married?, to name a few.

Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig has become famous for her Barbie screenplay (which was co-written by Noah Baumbach), but that's only one of the great scripts written by the talented actress. In addition to starring in several dozen movies over the years, Gerwig also penned modern gems like Frances Ha, Lady Bird, Mistress America and Little Women.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge

In addition to being a talented actress with multiple scene-stealing performances in movies like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Solo: A Star Wars Story, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a talented writer. She created and penned the shows Fleabag and Killing Eve and received a partial writing credit for her contributions on No Time to Die.

Justin Theroux

Throughout his career, Justin Theroux has starred in movies like Mulholland Drive, Miami Vice and American Psycho. However, he also has some impressive screenwriting credits to his name. With work on Iron Man 2, Tropic Thunder, Rock of Ages and Zoolander 2, he has quite the body of work.

Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson is an actress with a great filmography, through which she's worked both in front of and behind the camera. In fact, Thompson has Academy Awards for  Best Actress (for Howards End) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Sense and Sensibility). She’s also penned movies like Bridget Jones’s Baby, Last Christmas and the Nanny McPhee films.

Billy Bob Thornton 

Billy Bob Thornton is another actor who has won an Academy Award for writing, having scored a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for his work on Sling Blade, which he also starred in and directed. Over the years, some of Thornton's best movies -- like One False Move, A Family Thing, The Gift and Daddy and Them were also written by the actor himself.

Emerald Fennell 

After finding success with acting roles in movies like Albert Nobbs, Anna Karenina and The Danish Girl, as well as shows like Call the Midwife and The Crown, Emerald Fennell turned her attention to writing and directing. Her feature film debut, Promising Young Woman, earned her a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. She also crafted the script for the drama film Saltburn.

Tom Hanks 

Tom Hanks is another Oscar winner with a number of screenwriting credits to his name. In addition to leading some of the best movies of all time, Hanks has also penned the screenplays for That Thing You Do, Larry Crowne and the 2020 World War II thriller Greyhound.

Kumail Nanjiani 

Kumail Nanjiani has starred in all kinds of movies over the years, with Eternals, Stuber and The Lovebirds being just a few of them. But Nanjiani also wrote the screenplay for The Big Sick, the 2018 romantic comedy inspired by the battles he and wife Emily V. Gordon faced early in their relationship.

Paul Rudd 

Paul Rudd not only starred in one of the best Marvel movies such as Ant-Man, he was also one the writers given credit for its screenplay (alongside Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, and Adam McKay). But that wasn’t his first or last script, as Rudd contributed to Role Models and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Ethan Hawke 

Throughout his career, Ethan Hawke has starred in movies like Reality Bites, Boyhood, First Reformed and The Black Phone, among many others. However, the actor has also written his fair share of screenplays as well, with everything from the second and third installments in the Before film franchise to the gripping biopic Blaze featuring his handiwork. 

 Angelina Jolie 

Over the years, Angelina Jolie has become an instantly recognizable face and name thanks to a number of wonderful performances. The actress has also a few screenwriting credits, including In the Land of Blood and Honey, First They Killed My Father and By the Sea.

Kenneth Branagh 

To some Kenneth Branagh is arguably better known as a screenwriter than actor. That's because he won Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the semi autobiographical coming-of-age drama Belfast and received a nomination for his adaptation of Hamlet back in 1995. The Christopher Nolan collaborator has also written other films like Much Ado About Nothing, In the Bleak Midwinter, Listening and The Magic Flute.

Steve Coogan 

Steve Coogan is famous for his performances in the Night at the Museum movies, Tropic Thunder, 24 Hour Party People, and The Trip, but he’s also a talented writer. Over the years, Coogan has written movies like Philomena, The Lost King, The Parole Officer and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.

Sarah Polley 

After making a name for herself as an actress with roles in movies like Go, The Weight of Water and the underrated Dawn of the Dead remake, Sarah Polley turned her jumped into the writer/director seat. One of her most well-known scripts is probably 2022's Women Talking, which earned her an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Seth Rogen 

Seth Rogen has written some of the comedies that defined the 2000s, such as Pineapple Express and Superbad, as well as more recent hits like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. This is on top of appearing in all three of those movies, as well as other classics like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which totally deserved its R rating.

Taylor Sheridan 

Taylor Sheridan is mostly known for crafting Sicario, Wind River, Hell or High Water and other riveting dramas. But the Yellowstone co-creator also had a decent acting career before making the big shift over the past decade. He appeared on shows like Sons of Anarchy and Veronica Mars.

Lake Bell 

In addition to appearing in movies like No Escape, No Strings Attached, It’s Complicated and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Lake Bell has also written and directed a few projects throughout her career. There are the shorts Worst Enemy and El Tonto, which she followed up with feature-length films, In a World… and I Do… Until I Don’t.

Owen Wilson 

When talking about Wes Anderson's collaborators, few names come to mind as quickly as Owen Wilson, who has appeared in a number of the director’s films throughout his career. But on top of appearing in seven of Anderson’s movies, Wilson also helped write three of them: Bottlerocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums.

Jason Segel 

When it comes to the movie sphere, Jason Segel is probably best known for his portrayal of Peter Bretter in the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but some might not know he also wrote it. After that, Segel penned three additional feature films: The Muppets, The Five-Year Engagement and Sex Tape.

Ricky Gervais

On top of creating and starring on TV shows like the original version of The Office, Episodes and Extras, Ricky Gervais has also written some popular movies throughout his career. The British actor and comedian has crafted The Invention of Lying, Special Correspondents, Cemetery Junction and David Brent: Life on the Road.

Woody Allen 

Throughout his career, which goes back the mid 1950s, Woody Allen has written, directed, and starred in dozens of movies, many of which are incredibly well-received. Over the years, Allen has won four Academy Awards, three of which were for Best Original Screenplay – Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris – on top of all kinds of other accolades. However, Allen has only appeared in four of his own movies the past 20 years.

John Cusack 

Not only did he star in some of the most iconic comedies of the 1980s, some all-time great ‘90s movies, and experience a great deal of success, John Cusack has written a handful of films throughout his career. This short list also happens to include some of his Cusack's best movies like High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank. His other writing credits include War, Inc. and We Are Not Animals.

Rashida Jones 

Rashida Jones is perhaps best known for her roles on NBC comedy hits The Office and Parks and Recreation, but the actress has also written a few screenplays throughout her career. This includes Celeste and Jesse Forever, the 2018 documentary, Quincy, which is about her dad -- music legend Quicy Jones. She also has a story credit for Toy Story 4 and wrote “Nosedive,” one of the best Black Mirror episodes.

Tom McCarthy 

Tom McCarthy is best known for writing and directing Spotlight, the riveting journalism movie that won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 88th Academy Awards. But while he was in the process of becoming an award-winning filmmaker, McCarthy put together a decent acting resume that included a memorable turn on The Wire (during the final season), Meet the Parents, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana and Michael Clayton.

Each of these nearly three-dozen actors has quite the resume, both in terms of on-screen performances and written work, making them more than deserving of any and all praise.

Typecasting is something that many actors have to deal with. Once they find a level of success in a certain place, it’s far from uncommon for similar roles to become the only thing they get offered. It tends to be even worse for actors of color, but Kumail Nanjiani is one who has found a certain amount of success keeping himself out of only playing one sort of role, in part because he specifically goes looking for jobs that he would find difficult.

Kumail Nanjiani had something of a breakout role on HBO’s Silicon Valley where the Pakistani-American played a role you might expect from one of his background, as a programmer for a tech startup. Since then, however, while he frequently made comedies, he has been able to play roles in serious dramas and he’s even become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Nanjiani tells the L.A. Times he knows how easy it is to be “put into a box.” He explained…

While it’s difficult to argue with Hollywood’s lack of interest in taking risks, Kumail Nanjiani has had opportunities where people have been willing to do that. He was something of a surprise choice to become part of the cast of Eternals in the MCU, where Nanjiani became absolutely ripped, but now that he’s done that, the idea of seeing him as an action hero in the future is no longer so strange. Although we're still waiting to hear about the future of an Eternals sequel or any other use of the characters going forward.

Typecasting isn’t in itself a bad thing. A lot of actors end up playing similar sorts of roles, and at least appear to be ok with that. You can certainly be successful regularly playing the nerd or the action star. But Nanjiani is clearly looking to do more. He says he actually goes out of his way to choose roles that he’s not entirely sure how to handle. He continued…

This strategy has certainly appeared to pay off for Kumail Nanjiani, in addition to being able to appear in comedies and Marvel movies, he was also recently nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the cast of Welcome to Chippendales. Certainly, a willingness to take those unusual and potentially difficult roles is vital, but getting offered them in the first place is key, and not always within an actor’s control. Still, Nanjiani is proof it can be done. 

It often feels like rom-coms are a dime a dozen, but the truth is that the best romantic comedies are ones built on several things. Fans of the genre enjoy snappy dialogue, inventive and/or realistic complications for the central couple, a swoon-worthy love story, and, of course, main characters portrayed by actors who have more than enough on-screen chemistry to make all of those pieces come together. 

What’s great about romantic comedies is that we’ve gotten more than enough couples like this over the past two plus decades, but some of them have either only partnered one time (which, granted, may be because their pairing is still relatively new), or haven’t been in a film together for many years now. So, let’s take a look at the (mostly) rom-com partners that we really think should make another movie together!

Meg Ryan And Tom Hanks

This duo probably feels like a no-brainer to you, and, well, it should! Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have memorably joined forces for two rom-com hits, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, plus the 1990 cult favorite romantic comedy, Joe Versus the Volcano, so there’s no reason for them not to really round things out with a fourth film. I’d be down for a second chance romance where they learn to love again, wouldn’t you?

Diane Keaton And Keanu Reeves 

Yes, yes… Already I’m cheating here, but only a tiny bit. While the magnetic on-screen coupling of Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves wasn’t the main focus of Something’s Gotta Give, I have spent the past 20 years wishing they were. So, let's get these adorably crazy kids back together! They could play any kind of couple (bickering marrieds who are clearly still hot for each other, two folks who shouldn’t get together but can’t help themselves, etc.) and I’d be in the theater on opening night.

Lana Condor And Noah Centineo

Honestly, there might not be a cuter couple on this list. The dreamy teen romance movie pairing of Lana Condor and Noah Centineo was, obviously, gifted to everyone with a Netflix subscription in the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy, and there’s a reason that so many people fell head over heels for them. These two sorta sparkle together on screen, and I’d love to see them reunite in a romance (or any comedy) that’s got more of an adult edge to it.

Alison Brie And Jason Sudeikis

We all adore it when a rom-com gives us something different, and 2015’s Sleeping with Other People does just that with its story of friends who openly acknowledge their sexual tension, but purposely avoid doing anything about it so as to not screw up what they have. Alison Brie and Ted Lasso cast lead Jason Sudeikis are amazing as the friends in question, and I’d love to see them bring their casual, but still sexy, chemistry to another film. 

Jenny Slate And Jake Lacy

A true pleasure of watching Obvious Child was seeing the relationship between Jenny Slate and Jake Lacy’s characters develop as she has trouble revealing that she’s getting an abortion several weeks after their one-night stand. They work great as a duo with a clear attraction that’s impeded by a secret, and we’d really appreciate it if we could watch him warm her butter and make her tea in a movie that sees them as fully coupled characters.

Constance Wu And Henry Golding

I cannot tell a lie; some of the reason for Constance Wu and Henry Golding making the list is simply because we are all dying for the Crazy Rich Asians sequel we’ve been promised for several years now. While we wait, I’m hoping we can at least get those two into another fun rom-com where he can bring his posh, suave energy to meet her adorably spunky, girl-next-door verve.

Emma Stone And Ryan Gosling

What’s not to love about Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, especially when they star opposite each other in a romantic story? They were sweet, sexy, bantery, and slightly goofy together in Crazy, Stupid, Love, then had all of that with more emotional depth in La La Land, and also had the same chemistry in Gangster Squad, but with an added veneer of danger. It’s been a rough few years; the world needs more of their exact thing, OK?

Kate Hudson And Matthew McConaughey

I know, I know! Matthew McConaughey doesn’t make rom-coms anymore, but that’s honestly no reason why he can’t re-team with Kate Hudson, 20 years after they first hit the screen together in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. The engaging push-and-pull of their romance in that film can easily be translated to, say, a movie where each is portraying a lawyer on the opposite side of a big murder case. There! Someone make that movie!

Queen Latifah And Common

Just Wright might not be the first movie you think of when it comes to Queen Latifah or romantic comedies, but it’s hard to deny that watching her play off of Common as they slowly go from not-quite-enemies to lovers was a genuine treat. Now all we need is the right vehicle for them so their individual easygoing charm can show us how well-matched they are on screen.

Jennifer Garner And Mark Ruffalo

There’s a reason that 13 Going On 30 is still so popular almost two decades later. That reason is Jennifer Garner’s joyful, weirdo energy as a teen suddenly transplanted to her adult life, sure, but it’s also how Mark Ruffalo calmly reconnects with the childhood friend he’d long ago lost touch with. They're just sweet together, OK? We saw them in The Adam Project. We need more!

Sandra Bullock And Channing Tatum

The luminous and hilarious pairing of Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum was definitely not on my rom-com bingo card, but damn, it was a joy to behold once we got it. In The Lost City, they were perfect as a starchy and grieving romance novelist and her incredibly sweet but somewhat dim cover model who get caught in a life-or-death situation in the jungle, and all I can hope for is that we someday have a sequel to enjoy.

Billy Eichner And Luke Macfarlane

If an opposites attract energy is your thing, there’s no way for you not to enjoy the pairing of Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane. The Bros stars only just met up on screen in 2022, but we’d love to see them reunite in a rom-com that switches Eichner’s intense characterization and Macfarlane’s laid-back vibe around for additional laughs.

Meg Ryan And Hugh Jackman

Kate & Leopold is the rare romance where Meg Ryan’s character is less than sweet for much of the film, but watching her early ‘00s driven career woman begin to soften with the attentions of Hugh Jackman’s fancy man from the 1870s was a delight. Now if we can just get them to play off of one another when both are from the modern day, all will be right in the world.

Anne Hathaway And Chris Pine

We all know that The Princess Diaries 2 is so beloved that fans have wanted to bring the cast back for the now in development third movie for nearly 20 years, and part of that was because of the sweet, (sorta) slow burn love story between Anne Hathaway and Chris Pine’s characters. While everyone would love to see them as a long-married couple in a sequel, we’d also take them as, oh, I don’t know, bickering co-workers who can’t deny their attraction, so let’s stop stalling and get this coupling back on the big screen!

Julia Roberts And Hugh Grant

Look, I know that Hugh Grant is fully in his slimy villain era right now and is hilariously against even attempting rom-coms again. But! I think that makes the potential of this Notting Hill pairing coming back together even more appealing. Let him play a con-man who tricks Julia Roberts into falling in love, only to steal all her money and force her to track him down with a hilarious vengeance. I’d buy a ticket for that, OK?

Jennifer Lopez And George Clooney

Sure, sure. I’m cheating this entry a bit because, technically, Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney didn't star in a traditional rom-com together, but who among us can deny that they were HOT in Out of Sight? No one, that’s who! I say we get these two into a proper romantic comedy, but maybe one that’s not another Lopez wedding movie, just to switch things up.

Sanaa Lathan And Omar Epps 

Yes, this is another, more direct, fudging of this article’s concept, because Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps were a romantic drama pairing in Love & Basketball… but they were SO GOOD TOGETHER. Watching them play out a long-term path to eventual happiness was extremely satisfying, but maybe this time we can use that chemistry of theirs for a couple that has more good times than stressful ones.

Cristin Milioti And Andy Samberg

The chances that Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg will strike time loop movie gold again after Palm Springs is incredibly unlikely, and we wouldn’t want them to try. Instead, why not let these two portray criminals on the run for separate crimes who accidentally cross paths and fall in love while they’re on the lam? They can give us that same adorably wacky enthusiasm that we all loved the first time around that way!

Kristen Stewart And Aubrey Plaza

If you saw Happiest Season, then you saw the undeniable spark between Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza as their characters (Who weren’t even dating!) dealt with a lot of toxicity during Christmastime. They managed to genuinely bond (and look great doing it) over their similar relationship trauma, so I say we go ahead and give these two an even bubblier romantic comedy where they can actually freakin’ end up as a couple! 

Gemma Chan And Harry Shum Jr. 

Obviously, we didn’t get a real romance between the characters played by Gemma Chan and Harry Shum Jr. in Crazy Rich Asians, but the movie sure did set up the promise of fulfilling the epic love story that was a part of Kevin Kwan’s novel trilogy. Fans got a very brief scene of them looking all cute and dreamy with each other and dancing during the mid-credits scene, so hear me now: WE NEED THAT ASTRID AND CHARLIE SPINOFF, ASAP!

Issa Rae And Kumail Nanjiani

It may be hard to cast two people who have perfect romantic chemistry, but it could be even harder to find a duo who can portray the first glorious blush of falling in love, that same couple once they’ve begun to fall apart, and then play them as they start to get closer… because they’re on the run after being accused of murder. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani are those people, and we’ve been wanting them back on screen since The Lovebirds to do something just as crazy and rom-commy again.

Reese Witherspoon And Josh Lucas

If you’re looking for a bickering duo who are hot together no matter what, that’s Sweet Home Alabama’s Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas, for sure. I’m sure they’d be great doing anything on screen, but also doubt anyone would mind if they paired for a story that would let them fight (and fight through) their attraction until they finally admit their feelings for each other.

Rachel McAdams And Domhnall Gleeson

You know what’s coming, right? After being apart for a decade, it’s About Time that Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson join forces again to bring fans another lovey dovey couple, and we don’t even care what the set up is!

Sarah Hyland And Tyler James Williams

Never has it been more enjoyable to watch a woman who’s not sure about the whole marriage thing date a man who’s very much ready for a long-term commitment than in The Wedding Year, and that was because of the well-matched chemistry/comedic energy of Sarah Hyland and Tyler James Williams. I think these two would be fantastic in an action/adventure rom-com like The Lost City!

Kristen Bell And Dustin Milligan 

Though Kristen Bell and Dustin Milligan starred in The People We Hate at the Wedding, which was more of a straight ahead comedy, they had a definite romantic comedy storyline and played off of each other beautifully. I’m imagining a cinematic rematch for them that involves both of their characters being messy and a bit angry this time, and I think they’ll be a delight to watch once again.

Vivian Oparah And David Jonsson

Even though Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson are a very new rom-com pairing, as their starring vehicle, Rye Lane, debuted in early 2023, there’s no doubting the fizzy joy one gets from watching their characters meet cute and end up slowly becoming attracted to each other over the course of one eventful day. These two can do anything together next, but I don’t think anyone would mind a sequel where we get to see this romance progress!

If nothing else, while we wait to see if these rom-com partners get back together on the big screen, we can all at least go back and enjoy the amazing films they’ve already given us!

The Ghostbusters franchise is returning later this year with Spengler’s grandchildren carrying on the legacy, this time at the home of the Ghostbusters in Manhattan, New York. Along with filming beginning this week, the upcoming 2023 new movie release has also added numerous cast members, including Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt, the former of whom had sweet things to say about being part of a sequel to the ‘80s supernatural comedy classic. 

Kumail Nanjiani has been on a roll as of late in terms of being part of recognizable IPs, including recently starring in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series with Ewan McGregor along with becoming a Marvel superhero in 2021’s Eternals. Following news of his casting in the still untitled Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel, the actor wrote this on Twitter: 

It sounds like Nanjiani is a massive fan of Ghostbusters and is pinching himself that he gets to be part of the nostalgic property that began with legends like Bill Murray fronting it. The actor wrote the message as Deadline reported that Nanjiani along with Patton Oswalt, James Acaster and Emily Alyn Lind, are joining the upcoming Ghostbusters movie. 

Patton Oswalt was technically a costar to Nanjiani in Eternals, showing up in the end-credits scene with Harry Styles with their characters of Pip the Troll and Eros. While we don’t know if an Eternals sequel is happening for the moment, it’ll be great to see Nanjiani and Oswalt together for this Ghostbusters sequel. Oswalt is a comedian who is also well-known for his voice work, most recently as part of the hit Netflix series The Sandman as Matthew the Raven. 

In regards to the other cast members joining the Ghostbusters movie, James Acaster is an English comedian and Emily Alyn Lind is an actress who has found recent roles in Doctor Sleep and the Gossip Girl revival. The specific roles for all the new additions have not been detailed, but they will reportedly be joining Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace and Celeste O’Connor, who were all major players in 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. 

The late Ivan Reitman’s son Jason Reitman will once again be heavily involved in this era of Ghostbusters, this time as a writer and producer. His Afterlife co-writer Gil Kenan will be directing this time around, with 2006’s Monster House and Netflix’s A Boy Called Christmas being among the previous movies he’s helmed. These additions add some excitement to the movie ahead of its theatrical release date on December 20 of this year. 

By our count, there are 97 famous faces in the massive, star-studded History of the World, Part II cast — all of whom would be just a little too difficult to cover in one article. So, we decided to narrow our breakdown of who is starring in Mel Brooks’ aptly titled series sequel to his 1981 film, History of the World, Part I, to just the 18 names confirmed in the trailer for the new comedy TV show streaming on Hulu now. Let’s begin with the man who started it all. 

Mel Brooks

We do not know who Mel Brooks is playing in History of the World, Part II, but hope he reprises some of his characters from the original (such as Moses and King Louis XVI), which is just one of the many classic spoof movies (such as Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and Spaceballs) that made him a legend. In more recent years, the Oscar winner (for writing 1967’s The Producers) has mostly done voice acting roles in movies like the Blue Sky favorite, Robots, the Hotel Transylvania movies was Vlad, Toy Story 4 as Melephant Brooks, and the Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank cast as The Shogun.

Ike Barinholtz

Portraying multiple historical figures (including Alexander Graham Bell) is executive producer and former MADtv star Ike Barinholtz, who has also starred in parody movies like Disaster Movie and Vampires Suck, as well as more grounded comedies like Blockers and Neighbors and nuanced, dark satires like The Oath, which he also wrote and directed. The Mindy Project cast member’s career has also grown more eclectic after appearing in thrillers like Suicide Squad (before voicing Two-Face on the DC-inspired podcast, Batman: The Audio Adventures), The Hunt, and Netflix’s fantasy crime drama, Bright.

Nick Kroll

Also taking on multiple roles (such as Judas, according to THR) and executive producing is comedian Nick Kroll, who had his own sketch series called Kroll Show, following his appearances in movies like I Love You, Man and Dinner with Schmucks and his starring role on one of the funniest shows on Hulu, The League. Outside of lending his voice to the new Addams Family movies and the Sing movies, the Emmy-nominated co-creator of Netflix’s Big Mouth has also led a more eclectic career lately that includes joining the Don’t Worry Darling cast and the 2018 historical drama, Operation Finale.

Wanda Sykes

Fellow History of the World, Part II headliner (appearing as Harriet Tubman in one sketch, for instance) and executive producer Wanda Sykes has one of the funniest stand-up specials on Paramount+, is a scene-stealer in movies like Down to Earth, Monster-in-Law, and Clerks II, and stars on a popular Netflix sitcom called The Upshaws. The recent Oscars host was also a highlight of other sitcoms like Curb Your Enthusiasm and The New Adventures of Old Christine and has leant her voice to movies like the Ice Age series and TV shows like Bob’s Burgers.

Pamela Adlon

Pamela Adlon’s career began with a role in 1982’s Grease 2, leading to guest spots in acclaimed sitcoms like Night Court and The Jeffersons, and parts in cinematic favorites like Say Anything… She is best known, however, for her various voice acting roles — such as her Emmy-winning work in the King of the Hill cast as Bobby Hill and Netflix’s Human Resources cast with Kroll — and leading the FX dramedy, Better Things, which she also co-created. 

Zazie Beetz

Appearing as Mary Magdalene (according to Time) is Zazie Beetz, who rose to fame as one of the four main stars of FX’s Atlanta in her Emmy-nominated role as Vanessa. Soon after, the German-American actor earned comic book movie roles (Domino in Deadpool 2 and Joaquin Phoenix’s love interest in Joker), leant her voice to a comic book TV show (Amazon Prime’s Invincible cast), played a disguised assassin in the Bullet Train cast, and is set to appear on Black Mirror Season 6, next.

Jack Black

Jack Black once paid tribute to Mel Brooks at the Kennedy Center Honors by performing a song from Robin Hood: Men in Tights and earned the chance to do so by being one of the most popular comedic actors of his time after starring in movies like High Fidelity and School of Rock — the latter of which earned him his first Golden Globe nomination — to name a few. Some of the actor and musician’s best-known work also includes Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake, director Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder, voicing Po in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and the last couple of Jumanji movies.

Quinta Brunson

Jack Black’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story co-star, Quinta Brunson (she played Oprah), has quickly become one of the most prominent faces in comedy following her Emmy-winning work as the creator and star of Abbott Elementary. Prior to that, she appeared alongside Seth Rogen (more on him later) in HBO Max’s An American Pickle, parodied another era of history on TBS’ third season of Miracle Workers, and also leant her voice to a few episodes of Big Mouth.

Dove Cameron

As Princess Anastasia, we have former Disney Channel star Dove Cameron, who has come quite a long way since rising to fame as both titular roles on Liv and Maddie and Maleficent’s daughter in the Descendants franchise. The star of Vengeance and Good Mourning more recently utilized her talents for acting and singing in Apple TV+’s Schmigadoon! cast.

Danny DeVito

One of the biggest living legends in History of the World, Part II is Danny DeVito, whose eclectic film career includes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Twins, and Batman Returns (as one of the most iconic Penguin portrayals) — and that is not counting what he has directed, such as Matilda and Death to Smoochy. He is just as much of an icon on TV, having earned an Emmy for playing Louie de Palma on Taxi and starring as Frank Reynolds in the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia cast for 15 seasons so far.

Jay Ellis

Starring as Jesus is Insecure cast member Jay Ellis, who had previously landed his first starring role on a TV series with BET’s The Game. That would lead to an impressive resume of feature-length hits like 2019’s Escape Room, playing Payback in the Top Gun: Maverick cast, and Alison Brie’s love interest in Amazon’s Somebody I Used to Know.

Josh Gad

Starring as William Shakespeare is Josh Gad, who last worked with Mel Brooks on FX’s mockuseries The Comedians, on which he poked fun at his meteoric fame following his Tony-nominated performance in Broadway’s The Book of Mormon and scene-stealing role as Olaf in the Frozen frozen. The star and co-creator of Apple TV+’s Central Park also had a big year in 2017 with Murder on the Orient Express, Marshall, and playing LeFou in the live-action Beauty and the Beast remake, before playing Muncher in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and starring on Avenue Q for HBO.

Johnny Knoxville

After MTV’s Jackass and its subsequent movie spin-offs made him a star, Johnny Knoxville (who plays Rasputin in History of the World, Part II) went on to star in comedies like The Dukes of Hazzard and The Ringer and action movies like Dwayne Johnson’s Walking Tall. More recently, the prankster — also known for voicing Leonardo in the new, live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies — landed his first starring role on a TV series when he joined Hulu’s Reboot cast in 2022.  

Kumail Nanjiani

As the creator of the “Kama Soup-tra,” we have Kumail Nanjiani, who was already well on his way to becoming one of comedy’s biggest names (as co-host of Comedy Central’s The Meltdown) before he and spouse Emily V. Gordon earned Oscar nominations for writing The Big Sick. The Pakistani-born actor and Welcome to Chippendales cast lead has since joined the MCU (he was Kingo in the Eternals cast) and the Star Wars universe (played Haja Estree in the Obi-Wan Kenobi cast).

Seth Rogen

Playing Noah is Seth Rogen, who has previously crossed paths with most of his History of the World, Part II co-stars at least once since breaking out in the Freaks and Geeks cast (his first of many collaborations with Judd Apatow), such as Nick Kroll in Sausage Party and Big Mouth, Zazie Beetz on Invincible, and Ike Barinholtz in The Disaster Artist. The writer, director, producer, and actor has expanded his horizons wonderfully in recent years with more serious roles in films like Steve Jobs and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, and TV shows like Pam & Tommy. 

Sarah Silverman

Rogen’s Funny People and Santa Inc. co-star and Jack Black’s School of Rock co-star, two-time Emmy-winner Sarah Silverman, had a short SNL stint and guest-starred on Seinfeld before becoming one of the most acclaimed comedians of her generation. Some of her best-known roles include Vanellope in the Wreck-It Ralph movies, Gladys Heldman in Battle of the Sexes, various characters on Bob’s Burgers, and fictionalized versions of herself on many occasions.  

J.B. Smoove

Seemingly poking fun at his Curb Your Enthusiasm character, Leon, in a History of the World, Part II segment called “Curb Your Judaism” (according to IGN’s review) is former SNL writer J.B. Smoove, who has appeared as a guest star or main player on numerous sitcoms over the years — most recently when he joined the Blockbuster cast for Netflix. In addition to memorable roles in movies like Pootie Tang and Date Night, he is also part of the MCU (having appeared in two Spider-Man movies).

Taika Waititi

Another an MCU star (from both in front of and behind the camera) in the History of the World, Part II cast (as Sigmund Freud) is Taika Waititi, who previously poked fun at history by playing an imaginary Hitler in Jojo Rabbit, which also earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, and Blackbeard in HBO’s Our Flag Means Death. He is also part of the Star Wars universe, having played a droid on The Mandalorian (which he also directed an episode of), the DC Extended Universe after playing the original Ratcatcher in The Suicide Squad, and more recently leant his voice to Pixar’s Lightyear cast as Mo.

Look out for other cast members — such as Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, Emily Ratajkowski, Big Mouth’s Jason Mantzoukas, Jillian Bell, Jack White, and so many more — when you stream History of the World, Part II on Hulu. Be sure to do your homework by also checking out History of the World, Part I on Hulu, too.

Over a decade ago, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was founded with a principal lineup of characters including Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor, and among the many things that has changed since those early years is an increased focus on diversity and youth. In Phase 4 particularly, both on the big screen and the small, MCU fans were introduced to a fantastic roster of new heroes from a wide variety of backgrounds, and they all are expected to contribute in major ways to what’s ahead in the franchise.

Of course, given the scale of the canon at this point, it can be tricky to keep track of all the new names being introduced, so we’ve put together this guide highlighting all of the fresh faces that fans should get used to seeing in Marvel Phase 5 and beyond.

Alaqua Cox As Echo

Marvel fans were first introduced to the awesomeness of Alaqua Cox’s Echo in Hawkeye, where she was introduced as an intense crime boss looking to get revenge for the death of her father. She’ll be back soon in her own solo Disney+ series, which will see her, in part, deal with the consequences from taking a shot at Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin.

Awkwafina As Katy

Awkwafina’s Katy is a normal woman who is thrown headfirst into the craziness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to her friendship with Shang-Chi (more on him later). Where he goes, we expect she will follow and have his back – especially now that she has honed some killer archery skills.

Brian Tyree Henry As Phastos

A member of the Eternals, Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos has a bit of a dark history in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it was his incredible ingenuity that in part led to the horrific bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. This led him to put aside his skills as an inventor and focus on living a human-like existence raising a son with his husband.

Danny Ramirez As Joaquin Torres

During Steve Rogers’ run as Captain America, he had Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson as brothers in arms who always fought by his side, and now that Sam is wearing the star-spangled suit and shield, he has Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres. Fans first meet Joaquin as he is helping Sam during an Air Force mission in The Falcon And The Winter Solider, and we will soon see the characters back together on screen in Captain America: New World Order.

Dominique Thorne As Riri Williams

Move over, Shuri and Peter Parker. There is a new hero in the MCU vying for the title of “most brilliant young inventor.” Dominque Thorne’s Riri Williams makes a remarkable impression as a genius technological mind in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, making her first steps towards being known to the world as Ironheart, and audiences will get to see that journey continue in the upcoming Ironheart Disney+ series.

Florence Pugh As Yelena Belova

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has no shortage of charismatic ass-kickers, but Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova has already made herself stand out from the crowd following Black Widow and the Hawkeye series. The former Russian assassin is, for all intents and purposes, the franchise’s new Black Widow, following the death of Natasha Romanoff, and there is anticipation for everything she has in the works – the standout title being Thunderbolts.

Gemma Chan As Sersi

At the end of Eternals, it looks like the brilliant, matter-transforming Sersi, played by Gemma Chan, is on a path to start living a happy, human-like life – with her relationship with Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman deepening. Sadly, those plans hit a snag when the Celestial, Arishem, comes to Earth and kidnaps her to space along with the other Eternals still alive and on the planet (including the aforementioned Phastos and the forthcoming Kingo). What’s next for her is unknown, but exciting.

Hailee Steinfeld As Kate Bishop

After decades of fighting for S.H.I.E.L.D. and serving as an Avenger, Clint Barton has certainly earned retirement – but it doesn’t seem he’ll be quite ready to hang up his purple costume until his successor is ready to take on the Hawkeye mantle. Said successor is Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop: an incredibly gifted and enthusiastic young woman who has a wide variety of skills, but chief among them is her talent with a bow-and-arrow.

Iman Vellani As Kamala Khan

Played by MCU superfan Iman Vellani, Kamala Khan is an Avengers superfan in the canon who lives the dream of gaining powers. In Ms. Marvel, it at first seems that her energy-based powers come from wearing a supernatural bangle, but she has since been recognized as the franchise’s first identified mutant. Expect that to come up when we see her next in The Marvels.

India Rose Hemsworth As Love

We have no idea when we will next see Love, or if she will continue to be played by India Rose Hemsworth in future movies after her debut at the end of Thor: Love And Thunder, but this list would be incomplete without mentioning her. She is the daughter of Gorr The God Butcher, and has remarkable gifts as a result – meaning Thor is going to have his hand’s full in the future as her guardian.

Kathryn Newton As Cassie Lang

Technically, Marvel fans have known Cassie Lang since Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (first played by Abby Ryder Fortson), but she is all grown up now following The Blip, and ready to be reintroduced as a new hero: Stature. She’s played by Kathryn Newton in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, which features her coming into her own as a scientist and dabbling in her father’s quantum research.

Kumail Nanjiani As Kingo

Like Phastos and Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo was seemingly in big trouble the last time we saw him – taken by Arishem into space to face consequences for their role in halting the birth of the new Celestial being born inside Earth. Not only is the character’s fate unclear, but his incredibly successful, multi-generational Bollywood acting career may be in jeopardy as well.

Lauren Ridloff As Makkari

Unlike the other Eternals who have already been mentioned, Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari didn’t stay on Earth at the end of the 2021 blockbuster – instead choosing to leave the planet with Thena and Druig to find Eternals on other worlds and tell them about their true natures. This plan, however, may change in the wake of the space travelers learning what happened to Phastos, Sersi, and Kingo.

Lia McHugh As Sprite

Once an Eternal, but no more! At the end of Eternals, the forever-youthful Sprite, played by Lia McHugh, undergoes a transformation and becomes truly human thanks to Sersi. Will she enjoy the experience? We’ll have to wait and find out.

Mahershala Ali As Blade

We’ve thus far only heard the voice of Mahershala Ali’s Blade, the infamous comic book vampire hunter, but soon he will be getting his very own MCU spotlight with the Phase 5 release of his solo film. Be warned, bloodsuckers!

May Calamawy As Layla El-Faouly

Indiana Jones is cool and all, but is he imbued with superpowers as a result of being the avatar for an Egyptian god? The answer is no, and that’s the edge that May Calamawy’s Layla El-Faouly will always maintain over her fellow pop culture archeologist. She made her MCU debut as the wife of Marc Spector (more on him in a bit) in Disney+’s Moon Knight, and by the finale she takes on the superhero mantle Scarlet Scarab.

Meng'er Zhang As Xu Xialing

The leader of the Ten Rings is a daunting position, as the organization orchestrates crime on a global level, but Meng’er Zhang’s Xu Xialing looks pretty damn comfortable in the role in the end credits of Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. She is officially the successor to The Mandarin in the MCU, and we’ll have to wait and see how she wields her power.

Michaela Coel As Aneka

It’s a high honor in Wakanda to be named a member of the Dora Milaje, but Michaela Coel’s Aneka gets an even bigger privilege than that in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the blockbuster she is featured fighting alongside Okoye wearing one of the two Midnight Angel suits, and the will and skill demonstrated in the battle against Talocan will surely only fortify her reputation among the royals going forward.

Oscar Isaac As Marc Spector/Steven Grant

Who is the hero known as Moon Knight? That’s a complicated question, as his secret identity is fractured as a result of him having dissociative identity disorder. He was born Marc Spector, who becomes a skilled soldier in his adulthood, but he also lives a life as Steven Grant, a museum curator in England. Obviously only making things more complicated is that he is the avatar for the justice-obsessed Egyptian god Khonshu.

Simu Liu As Shang-Chi

Xu Xialing may control the organization known as the Ten Rings, but Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi is the one who actually possesses the incredibly powerful bands that give the wearer supernatural abilities. At the end of Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, the hero is shown getting back to a somewhat normal life and hanging out with Katy, but it most definitely won’t be long until he returns to a good fight against evil.

Sophia Di Martino As Sylvie

Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie is unique on this list in that she is the only one not from the main MCU universe; she is a version of Loki from an alternate dimension with a quest to destroy the Time Variance Authority. She actually accomplished this task at the end of Loki Season 1…but we don’t know yet how it has changed her existence.

Tatiana Maslany As Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

It’s not easy being both a Hulk and a lawyer, but Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She-Hulk, makes it work in the meta Disney+ comedy series, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. She’s mostly focused on the legal realm for now, namely practicing superhero law, but fans anticipate a call to action with the Avengers before too long.

Tenoch Huerta As Namor

Is Namor a hero or a villain? That depends on your perspective – but he’s certainly a hero in the eyes of the people of Talocan: the underwater nation he rules over like a god. Like Kamala Khan, he’s a mutant and he has remarkable abilities beyond his capacity to live underwater. He can fly thanks to Hermes-like wings on his ankles, and he is both phenomenally strong and durable.

Teyonah Parris As Monica Rambeau

The life of Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau changes in every way during the events of WandaVision. Working as an agent of S.W.O.R.D., she is sent to investigate a strange anomaly in northern New Jersey – and not only does she literally get sucked into Scarlet Witch’s grief-related drama, but she ends up gaining superpowers. We’ll see her put those skills to use in The Marvels, where she’ll be featured opposite both Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel.

Xochitl Gomez As America Chavez

Phase 5 has been called the second phase of The Multiverse Saga – and that could suggest that we’ll end up seeing huge things coming from Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez. As established in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, the young hero has the unique ability to jump across universes, and that should be a pretty handy skill as existence gets closer and closer to potential chaos and nothingness.

For further reading, check out our Marvel Movies In Order feature and our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides. 

It seems like ever since Martin Scorsese shared his blunt thoughts regarding superhero movies (comments which he has continuously explained), many actors and directors have spoken out in agreement or against the famous director's statement. The latest actor to sound off on Scorsese’s criticism of Marvel movies is the comedian and MCU alum Kumail Nanjiani. What might surprise some is that The Eternals actor is ready to defend the filmmaker’s comments. 

The actor, probably best known for his standup comedy and his roles in dramedies like The Big Sick (which he co-wrote with his partner, adapted from their real-life love story), spoke with Esquire about his desire to play a villain and his latest series, the Hulu cautionary tale, Welcome to Chippendales. The conversation soon turned to recent comments by Quentin Tarantino and past statements by the Taxi Driver director. Nanjiani says he may disagree with the pair of movie makers’ concerning superhero flicks but believes they have earned the right to their opinions. He told the publication: 

It seems like the Stuber star takes a much more leveled-headed view of Scorsese’s comments regarding Marvel’s dominance over the box office over the past few years. While Nanjiani isn’t ready to get upset about comic book movies (especially since he co-starred in one), he does admit to missing more adult cinema fairs. He also added that if The Big Sick had come out in 2019 or 2020, it would have never been released in theaters. The actor continued:

Sadly, a lot of indie films are relegated to streaming services and can often be overlooked. It seems that superhero, horror, and significant franchise sequels are all currently working at the box office. It also seems obvious that Scorsese and Tarantino would be the filmmakers speaking out about the state of cinema, considering they are two of the most vocal individuals in support of the theater-going experience. They are also two of the few directors who can still bring large audiences into the multiplex. 

What’s interesting is while Scorsese would never be caught making a superhero movie, there was a time when Quentin Tarantino considered it. In the ’90s, the Jackie Brown director was interested in bringing Marvel’s Luke Cage to the big screen, but he ended up ditching this plan because his idea to cast Laurence Fishburne in the role was met with resistance. Of course, this was back when the MCU was a distant dream, and Marvel as a company was in a dire financial situation. They were selling film rights of many characters to the highest bidder, which would have probably allowed some level of autonomy and freedom that a superhero filmmaker would probably not enjoy today.

While you may not agree with Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino’s take on superhero movies, they both make some relatively good points, and it’s worth discussing. Still, it’s nice to see a Marvel alum like Kumail Nanjiani have a calm perspective on the state of cinema and the blockbuster filmmakers’ stance on the genre. 

If you have a Disney+ subscription, you can see Kumail Nanjiani’s performance as Kingo in Marvel’s Eternals. Or, if you are in the mood for a dark drama that tells the true story of an Indian immigrant who founded a male revue that became a cultural phenomenon, Welcome to Chippendales is available to stream for anyone with a Hulu plan. 

Marvel Studios has done almost no wrong when it comes to box office success and positive fan reaction. While everybody has their favorite parts of the MCU and the bits they don’t like as much, nearly every movie has been a winner. However, one movie that has had a rough go of it was Chloé Zhao’s Eternals. It’s a film not every MCU fan loves, but Kumail Nanjianai continues to defend it as a great film, even if he didn’t believe the Harry Styles cameo was real.

Kumail Nanjianji, who played Kingo in Eternals and stars in the new Hulu series Welcome to Chippendales recently spoke with Josh Horowitz where he defended his MCU movie, saying that director Chloe Zhao tried to make something unique, and he thinks that over time more people will come around to it. The actor said…

Eternals didn't set the box office on fire the way that a lot of Marvel movies do, and while some of that can be chalked up to lingering pandemic effects as well as the fact that the Eternals have never been massively popular characters, the fact is that even critics had a bigger issue with Eternals than they usually do with Marvel Studios films these days.

If there was any part of Eternals that fans did react to, it was the post-credits scene that introduced Harry Styles as Eros. Kumail Najianai says that he heard things about Styles possibly appearing in the film during production, but he didn’t actually believe any of it, until the actor and singer arrived on the set. Interestingly, while Kingo isn’t in the scene with Eros, there apparently was a version where they did appear together. Nanjiani explained…  

Eternals ends with the team split, with some remaining on earth while others go into space. Kingo, among those on earth, is taken by a Celestial to be punished for killing a Celestial on earth. It’s the team in space, looking for their friends, who end up having a run in with Eros. When, or even if, we’ll see the rest of that Eternals story play out, is a big question. We know a lot of what's happening in Phase 5 and 6 of the MCU and no Eternals 2 had been confirmed yet.

Adding to the plethora of true crime shows out there, Hulu has recently released Welcome the Chippendales, which tells the wild story of Steve Banerjee, and the turbulent history of the club, Chippendales. It’s a story of greed, power, and jealousy that spiraled into a plot to murder multiple people. 

In terms of the show, we know that the true crime series about the famous strip club will follow the events of the club's rise, and Banerjee's fall. It stars Kumail Nanjiani, right off his role on Obi-Wan Kenobi, as Banerjee, and Murray Bartlett, a newly minted Emmy winner for his role on White Lotus, as Benerjee’s partner and eventual enemy, Nick De Noia. They lead the amazing ensemble of the Welcome to Chippendales cast as they tell the story of the club. 

As Welcome to Chippendales continues to unfold on Hulu, here is what really happened to Banerjee and Chippendales. 

Steve Banerjee Created The Extremely Popular Club, Chippendales 

Somen “Steve” Banerjee founded the Chippendales club, which became a multi-million-dollar empire. It was, and still is, known for being a strip club where the men do the stripping and the women watch, something that was not common before the ‘80s. 

Banerjee was an immigrant from Mumbai, India, and when he started chasing his dreams it led him to turn the bar Destiny II into a male strip club in 1979, according to People. Read Scot, a former performer at Chippendales explained the groundbreaking aspect of the club, telling ABC: 

Chippendales went on to thrive through the ‘80s, and it began touring around Europe and the United States. There were also permanent clubs in New York City, Dallas, and Denver, along with the first club in L.A. However, with successful ideas, come people who replicate them, and as more clubs like his popped up, presenting competition, the wilder this story gets. 

Nick DeNoia And Steve Banerjee Made A Deal On A Napkin

In an effort to expand the business, Banerjee hired Nick DeNoia to help him out. Before working at Chippendales, DeNoia had been an Emmy-winning producer and choreographer. According to ABC 7, the two had conflicting creative visions for the show, which was a major point of tension that led to them cutting a deal on a napkin. 

According to ABC, the deal made it so Banerjee had control over the business, and DeNoia had the rights to the tour. However, as time elapsed, this deal proved to be an even bigger point of contention between the two. This is because the tour was the most profitable part of the business, according to Scott Garriola, the FBI agent on the case, and Banerjee had become flustered with DeNoia’s success. Candace Mayeron, an associate producer at Chippendales, explained in the documentary Curse of the Chippendales (via The Independent):

Jealousy and greed is apparently what led to DeNoia’s murder, according to ABC 7 and Garriola. 

Nick DeNoia Was Murdered

On April 7, 1987, DeNoia was found dead in the Chippendales office in New York City. The former creative director, Eric Gilbert told People “Banerjee was the first person to come to mind” when it came to suspects. 

According to Garriola, the FBI agent on the case, Banerjee hired Ray Colon to kill DeNoia because he was jealous of how successful his partner had become. The story from ABC states that Banerjee wasn’t a suspect initially, and according to The Independent the murder remained unsolved for years. However, Banerjee became a suspect when he bought back the touring rights from the DeNoia estate for $1 million, according to ABC.  

Meanwhile, more clubs like Chippendales popped up, creating competition. This included a club called Adonis, which employed multiple former Chippendales dancers, including Read Scot.

Read Scot, And Two Others, Were Almost Murdered  

In 1991 Read Scot was on stage at Adonis in London when his business partner pulled him off the stage because there were policemen waiting to talk to him. Scot told People that Scotland Yard had come to tell him: 

According to ABC, an FBI agent in Las Vegas got a tip from an informant called "Strawberry" who reported the plan to try and kill Scot and the other Adonis employees.

Scot continued in the People interview explaining how he reacted to the news:

This all went down a month after Scot left Chippendales for Adonis. He was also part of a bigger plan from Banerjee that reportedly included the murder of DeNoia, and the planned hits on Michael Fullington, who was a dancer, and Steve White, who had been a producer at Adonis. Scot had worked his way up at Chippendales, and was in direct contact with both DeNoia and Banerjee, meaning he witnessed their fall-out firsthand before he left for Adonis.

While Scot survived, he did say he lived in fear for years, noting to People that he was always looking over his shoulder. 

Steve Banerjee Was Arrested And Pleaded Guilty For Murder-For-Hire, Racketeering, And Arson

According to the UPI Archives, Banerjee was arrested on September 2, 1993, for "allegedly conspiring to kill former business associates who started a competing operation" and was "indicted for conspiracy to violate the federal murder-for-hire statute." 

He was indicted for five counts of “causing others to travel in foreign commerce and to use facilities in foreign commerce to further the murder scheme,” according to UPI. Federal prosecutors also told the publication that he was charged for the plots to murder Mike Fullington, Steve White, and Read Scot. 

A grand jury in Los Angeles also indicted the Chippendales owner for planning the murder of DeNoia, according to the LA Times. The jury also charged him with “racketeering and arson” following the investigation. 

In the end, Banerjee pleaded guilty in federal court for racketeering and got a plea bargain that sentenced him to 26 years in prison, according to the LA Times.  

Steve Banerjee Was Sentenced To 26 Years In Prison, And He Died In 1994

While Banerjee was sentenced, a few hours before his sentencing was supposed to happen, he was found dead in his cell. 

According to the LA Times, correctional officers found him. Reonard McFadden, the executive to the warden at the detention center, said Banerjee had been dealing with depression, although there were no signs of suicidal tendencies. However, the federal prosecutor had told the federal magistrate-judge that Banerjee had said he planned “to leave the country or kill himself” if he was arrested according to the LA Times. 

As you can see, the story of Steve Banerjee and Chippendales is a wild one, with lots of twists and turns. Now, Hulu is presenting a show based on the true events for the 2022 TV schedule. If you are interested in watching Welcome to Chippendales you can watch new episodes Tuesdays with a Hulu subscription. 

The name “Chippendales” signifies an image of chiseled men in tuxedo cuffs and collars, putting on a show that centers on amazing male figures. Looking deeper into the reality and the history of the brand, a more complicated picture emerges. Nowhere is this more notable than the story of the late Somen 'Steve' Banerjee, whose creation of the enterprise is the subject of one of Hulu’s entries in the 2022 TV schedule, Welcome to Chippendales.

Played by Kumail Nanjiani, the role of Banerjee operates as a cautionary tale that digs into the seedy history of Banerjee and the murders (successful and attempted) that he orchestrated as part of maintaining what he felt was his empire. As he spoke with our own Law Sharma as part of Hulu’s press day for Welcome to Chippendales, Nanjiani told CinemaBlend that he felt the following lessons are at the heart of this television drama: 

It’s a story that meets your typical “rags to riches” criteria, which the series has already started to chronicle in its first two episodes. Seeing Somen Banerjee go from a gas station attendant with a dream to one of the people running what was a lucrative investment, the origins of this story are well established. However, even restricting your knowledge to what we know about Welcome to Chippendales so far, you can see where Kumail Nanjiani’s portrayal is about to go dark.

The insecurities of Somen Banerjee are already at the root of the story, so for the actor to grab hold of that inspiration was a given. That said, the results so far are impressive, as Somen’s story is going to go places that Kumail Nanjiani fans would probably not associate with his usual type of character. Which is something that the Eternals actor would probably be thankful to hear.

Ever eager to throw off the stereotype for playing the nerdy character, this could be a role that breaks Kumail even further away from that typecasting. It’s the kind of magic that actors love to chase, and the sort of opportunity that can receive some attention come awards nomination season. Though that good news isn't limited to Kumail Nanjiani, as the entire Welcome to Chippendales cast could see that same good fortune visited upon them.

We’ll see where things go, as the eight-episode run of Welcome to Chippendales has just begun. The first two episodes are currently available, with new installments premiering every Tuesday. To catch this crime drama miniseries, you’ll need to have a Hulu subscription as your invitation to the party. Also, if you’re curious about what’s arriving on Hulu’s December 2022 new releases slate, that information is already available for your enjoyment.

There have been plenty of great scripted biographical miniseries in 2022. From the tumultuous story of Pam & Tommy to the The Dropout shining light on a business scandal, there’s so much from this year that we have gotten to see And now, we’re going to be getting another show in the form of Welcome to Chippendales, inspired by the book, Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders. 

The drama is about the founder of Chippendales, a strip club designed to please women, and the dark secrets that surround it. Arriving on Hulu, the Welcome to Chippendales cast is full of talent, and here, we are going to talk about where you might have seen them before. 

Kumail Nanjiani (Somen Banerjee)

First up on the list, we have Kumail Nanjiani, who plays the founder of Chippendales, Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee in Welcome to Chippendales. Kumail Nanjiani has done so much in the movie and TV industry, and Welcome to Chippendales only adds onto that. 

You might know Nanjiani the most from his role as Dinesy on the HBO comedy, Silicon Valley, but the actor has done so much in television besides that. He’s appeared in shows such as Portlandia, Newsreaders, Veep, Community, Murderville, and most recently, he had a role in the Disney+ original series, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Nanjiani has also offered his voice to several shows like animated adult comedy Big Mouth, The Simpsons and more. 

Nanjiani has also found success in the movie industry. He was a part of the Eternals cast, and starred in the film, The Big Sick (which he also co-wrote and was nominated for an Academy Award for). Other big roles in film include Dolittle, The Lovebirds, Stuber and more. 

Murray Bartlett

Next up on the Welcome to Chippendales cast list is Murray Bartlett. In 2021, Murray Bartlett was a part of The White Lotus cast for Season 1, but has shown off his talents in a variety of other television shows and films. On television, he’s had major roles in shows like The Secret Life of Us, Headland, Guiding Light, Looking, Tales Of The City, and more. He is also a part of the upcoming The Last of Us cast. 

In film, Bartlett was in movies like The Three Stooges, August, and The Stand In, among others. 

Annaleigh Ashford 

Moving on, we look at Annaleigh Ashford in the Welcome to Chippendales cast. Ashford is primarily known for her role as Betty DiMello on the popular Showtime series, Masters of Sex, but she’s appeared in several other big TV shows including Ryan Murphy-created Impeachment: American Crime Story, B Positive, The Good Fight and more. 

Ashford is also known very well for her musical talent, having appeared on stage on Broadway several times. Her most notable performances have been in Kinky Boots as Lauren, and You Can’t Take It With You, where she won a Tony Award for her performance as Essie Carmichael. 

Ashford has also appeared in a variety of movies as well, including but not limited to Better Off Single, Late Night, Second Act, Bad Education, and A Rainy Day in New York.  

Juliette Lewis

Juliette Lewis is on the cast of Welcome to Chippendales and has had quite the 2022 with her role on the Yellowjackets cast. Lewis has been around for plenty of time in both film and television. Some of her biggest film roles have include the iconic Christmas film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Cape Fear, Husbands and Wives, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Old School, The Switch, Ma, August: Osage County and more. 

Lewis has also had a lot of success in television. Some of her biggest roles have been in The Firm, the sci-fi horror series, Wayward Pines, and the Hulu original miniseries, The Act. 

Andrew Rannells

Honestly, I knew Andrew Rannells the most out of everyone on this list because I loved him during his Broadway days, and it’s so great to see him take on a role in a big miniseries like Welcome to Chippendales. Rannells got his start in show business through Broadway, with his most notable role being The Book of Mormon, where he played Elder Kevin Price, but he’s been in several other shows like Hamilton, Jersey Boys, Hairspray and more. 

In film and television, he’s made some strides in the industry. In television, he’s had roles in shows like The New Normal, Girls, Black Monday, and more. He’s also guest-starred on shows like How I Met Your Mother and Will & Grace, among others. 

Some of Rannells' film highlights include The Stand In, The Prom and A Simple Favor. 

Dan Stevens

Dan Stevens is a part of the cast of Welcome to Chippendales, and has been in the film industry for some time. Some of his biggest roles have included playing the Beast in the live-action Disney adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, The Man Who Invented Christmas, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and Marshall. 

In terms of television, Stevens has appeared in a variety of shows. He played Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, and had major roles in series’ such as Legion, Gaslit, and more. Stevens has also offered his voice talents in several shows, having guest roles on TV shows like the Apple TV+ original series, Central Park, The Prince, and SuperMansion, among others. 

Quentin Plair

Moving on, we take a look at Quentin Plair, who is a part of the cast of Welcome to Chippendales. Plair has guest starred on several TV shows, including Justice: By Any Means, Saints & Sinners, Dates, The Good Doctor, and more, but he’s had main roles on shows like The Quad, and on the show Roswell, New Mexico. 

Plair also had roles in movies like Burning Sands and Drumline: A New Beat. 

Robin de Jesus

Next up on the cast of Welcome to Chippendales is Robin de Jesus, another Broadway actor who has starred in several big stage shows like In the Heights, The Boys in the Band, and La Cage aux Folles, among others. However, de Jesus has been appearing more in both TV and movies. 

In television, he’s had roles in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as a guest role in Santiago of the Seas. De Jesus also has worked in movies, with his latest credit being a part of the Tick, tick…BOOM! cast, as well as parts in Milkwater, 11:55, Camp and more. 

Nicola Peltz 

Last but not least, we have Nicola Peltz, who has been in many movies and TV shows prior to her part in Welcome to Chippendales. Her roles include playing Katara in The Last Airbender film, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Our House, the Netflix Christmas film, Holidate and more. 

Peltz has also done some work in television. She portrayed Bradley Martin on Bates Motel, and had a small appearance in Inhumans. 

With such a talented cast, it’s no wonder you’ve seen several of them in different shows. And now maybe, you might have found something new to watch that features them. 

Watch Welcome to Chippendales streaming on Hulu.

While there are pretty much never any guarantees when it comes to the types of stories that will capture the attention of an audience, it’s still very true that tales which involve true crime or sex are generally good bets. Now, Hulu is diving into both of those wells again after its success with Pam & Tommy earlier this year with the Kumail Nanjiani series, Welcome to Chippendales. The upcoming show is set to cover the crime-filled true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee’s Indian immigrant experience, and how he ended up founding the Chippendales revue. 

Whether you’ve been waiting for more information on this shocking story, or this is the first you’ve heard of the new show, we now have a number of quick things you should know about the series before its debut!

Welcome To Chippendales Will Have Eight Episodes

If you were hoping to spend several seasons uncovering the dramatic story of the famed male dancers, you will be a bit disappointed to know that the fast-approaching show is a limited series (which was originally developed under the title Immigrant), and is set to have only eight episodes, according to Deadline. Luckily, though, this does mean that the action should unfold at a pace that will make you want to devour the thing one episode right after the other.

It Will Premiere On November 22

I wasn’t kidding when I noted that Welcome to Chippendales is coming to the small screen soon, as the series is less than a month away as of this writing and will premiere on November 22. This was announced with the arrival of the full trailer in mid-October 2022, and we’ll get more into that look at the show a bit later. E! News has noted that the first two episodes will hit Hulu at the same time, but that hasn’t been confirmed by the streamer yet.

The True Crime Series Focuses On The Founding Of The Famed Male Stripper Revue

As noted above, the upcoming series focuses on Somen “Steve” Banerjee, and how the Indian immigrant founded what would go on to become the most famous revue featuring male strippers, a story which actor Murray Bartlett has already dubbed an “unexpected true crime story on steroids” in a chat with E! News. The “sprawling true-crime saga” will detail how Banerjee “let nothing stand in his way in the process” of turning his creation into a worldwide phenomenon, and how his work eventually led to him pleading guilty to arson and racketeering charges, including arranging the murder of a business associate.

The Drama Stars Kumail Nanjiani, Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, Dan Stevens, And Many More

This series is going to be filled to its bow-tied collar with recognizable stars, who’ve signed on to play a number of real life figures. Eternals and Obi-Wan Kenobi star Kumail Nanjiani returns to television after his six-season stint on Silicon Valley to play the troupe’s founder, while the previously mentioned Bartlett (who recently won an Emmy for his work on HBO’s The White Lotus) is also a series regular, and was tapped to play award-winning producer/choreographer Nick De Noia, whose work helped the dance show become one of the world’s best known. 

Also on board are Annaleigh Ashford, a Tony Award winner who recently starred on the CBS sitcom, B Positive, and will play Banerjee’s accountant wife, Irene, in a series regular role. Yellowjackets’ Juliette Lewis is set to portray Denise, who starts as a club regular but becomes a major player behind the scenes of the business, while Dan Stevens (Legion, Downton Abbey) will appear as “hustler and serial schmoozer” Paul Snider, who helps the club get off the ground. 

Other recurring/guest stars include Andrew Rannells (Girls5Eva, Black Monday), Roswell, New Mexico’s Quention Plair, Nicola Peltz Beckham (Bates Motel), triple Tony nominee Robin De Jesús (who starred in Netflix’s The Boys in the Band), and Lab Rats star Spencer Boldman.

Welcome To Chippendales Was Created By Pam & Tommy’s Robert Siegel

The new limited series has some impressive talent that worked behind the scenes, as well. This show was created by Pam & Tommy’s Robert Siegel, who is executive producing along with star Nanjiani, and also acts as co-showrunner with Jenni Konner (Girls, Single Drunk Female). Additional producers include WandaVision’s Matt Shakman (who is also directing), Emily V. Gordon (The Big Sick), and Nurse Jackie’s Rajiv Joseph, who is writing along with Mehar Sethi (Robot Chicken). 

Kumail Nanjiani Said His Character Doesn’t Understand ‘The Importance Of Morality’

If you’re wondering what it was like for Nanjiani to attempt to get inside the mind of someone who sought, and achieved, great success and soon found himself going down a very dark path, the actor admitted to not being able to find a lot of information on the real life entrepreneur he portrays. But, after digging into the scripts, he was able to nail down Banerjee’s motivations, and told Entertainment Weekly:

I can’t wait to see Nanjiani bring this man and part of his intense story to life!

You Can Watch The Welcome To Chippendales Trailer Now

If you’ve liked what you’ve heard so far about the series, you’re probably wondering if you can take a look at any of it to continue to pique your interest in the project. Well, lucky for you, there is a full trailer that shows off some of the action that viewers will be treated to when the show finally hits our screens in late November. Take a look!

This certainly seems like a series that will be able to capture the attention of those who find true crime stories intriguing, along with anyone who likes dark tales of the lengths people sometimes go to in order to make their dreams a reality. Stream Welcome to Chippendales with your Hulu subscription when the show premieres on November 22.

Despite nearly a quarter of the world’s population being Muslim, throughout Hollywood history there has not only been a major lack of representation of Muslim characters, but the few on screen are typically overwhelmingly stereotyped and made into villains of the story. There’s a lot of work left to be done when it comes to the portrayal of Muslim characters in movies and TV shows, but in recent years there have at least been more authentic and varied depictions on screen – most recently with Marvel Studios introducing its first Muslim superhero with Ms. Marvel. 

Last summer, a report by USC (via Deadline) estimated that just 1.1 percent of characters in 100 popular U.S. films made from 2017 to 2019 were Muslim and out of 200 films worldwide, just over 90 percent did not feature even one Muslim speaking character. The study also showed that over half of Muslim characters were in films set in the past. In summation, Muslim characters have greatly been erased from popular media. Despite these stats, there have been a handful of great recent portrayals of Muslim characters who’ve managed to break some much needed ground: 

Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) - Ms. Marvel 

The most mainstream and exciting depiction of a Muslim character to date is Ms. Marvel, starring Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. The Disney+ series follows a teen Avengers superfan and American Pakistani Muslim living in Jersey City who gains the ability to harness cosmic energy and create constructs from a magical bangle. 

The Disney+ show is adapted from the comic character created by Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, and writer G. Willow Wilson. The series highlights a Muslim family living in the United States and trying to uphold their traditional values by going to the mosque and celebrating holidays like Eid in a refreshingly authentic way. We can’t wait to see this series soar and Ms. Marvel make her transition to the big screen for 2023’s The Marvels. 

Ramy (Ramy Youssef) - Ramy 

Hulu’s Golden Globe-winning series, Ramy also depicts a New Jersey Muslim, but from a much more grown up perspective. Created by American-Egyptian comedian Ramy Youssef, this dramedy takes a super honest approach to what it’s like growing up as a first-generation American Muslim these days. Ramy is caught between living in the western world and trying to uphold the values of his family, and runs into struggles with his faith and relationships. 

It’s incredibly relatable to those of the same background and has been praised as such, not only for Youssef drawing from personal experience, but looking to his costars like May Calamawy for theirs. The series also has a great storyline involving Mahershala Ali (who is really an American Muslim as well) which showcases a Black Muslim and Imam in a post-9/11 divided community. 

Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) - The Big Sick 

Another especially personal portrayal of a Muslim character came in the form of the 2017 romantic comedy, The Big Sick. The Amazon film, which was written by husband and wife Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, loosely tells their love story. Amidst Kumail being constantly set up by his parents with Pakistani women with hopes for an arranged marriage, he meets Emily, a white psychology student, not soon before she becomes hospitalized and is placed in an induced coma. 

Kumail pretends to be her husband to visit her and ends up creating a bond with her parents, who have a skewed view of Muslim Americans. The movie was praised by other Muslims for portraying its lead character as a normal American in a romantic comedy, with some of the intricacies of his background also weaved in as well. 

Dahlia Qadri (Sophia Ali) - Grey’s Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy has long been one of the most popular TV shows of the modern age. So when the ABC series decided to include Dr. Dahlia Qadri as a surgical resident on the medical series, it became a major moment for Muslim representation. Indian-Pakistani American actress, Sophia Ali, portrayed the character from Season 14 to 16. 

Dahlia is a rare recurring character in a network series to wear a hijab and in one especially viral 2018 episode (S14, E13), Dr. Qadri broke stereotypes about female Muslim characters when she takes off her hijab to save a patient and when asked why, she says "It's a symbol of my faith. And my faith is about service and compassion."

Adena El Amin (Nikohl Boosheri) - The Bold Type

Iranian-Canadian actress Nikohl Boosheri made network TV history, as well, on Freeform’s The Bold Type as Adena El Amin, a photographer and artist who had a powerful storyline throughout the show’s five season run. Adena has been praised by Muslim viewers for the show’s depiction of topics relating to her hijab, which she says empowers her within the series. Plus, Adena is a rare Muslim character from the LGBTQ+ community. In the series, a love story blooms between Adena and Aisha Dee’s Kat Edison, who even find a happy ending by the series’ conclusion. 

Sayid (Amir Korangy) - Superstore

There are not enough Muslim characters who are simply fun and funny and in a light-hearted space of a sitcom, but NBC’s Superstore turned that around with their recurring character, Sayid, played by Amir M. Korangy for Seasons 4 through 6. Sayid is another misfit worker at the Cloud 9 store who gets into their hijinks, but between that there’s a few situations that inject his identity. In one episode storyline, Sayid must share the same utility closet he uses for prayers with America Ferrera’s Amy when she needs it for breastfeeding. In another episode, it discusses his status as a Syrian refugee, all while keeping its sitcom tone. 

Abdul Karim (Ali Fazel) - Victoria & Abdul

In a rare moment in movies, Universal Pictures released Victoria & Abdul in 2017, which tells the true story of Queen Victoria’s unlikely friendship with her Indian servant, Abdul Karim. The movie starred Dame Judi Dench as the Queen in the late 1800s as she develops an interest in Ali Fazal’s Abdul Karim, a Muslim from British India. Through the movie, it explores Islamophobia and Colonialism in a unique way we don’t typically see in theatrical releases.  

Parvana (Saara Chaudry) - The Breadwinner 

Also in 2017, the Angelina Jolie-produced animated feature, The Breadwinner, was released. The movie is an adaptation of a book of the same name about an 11-year-old girl named Parvana and her family who struggle to survive in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The movie was praised by Afghani audiences, particularly for its depiction of the Taliban rule and its strict interpretation of Islam that fiercely restricted women’s freedoms. It allows an Afghan girl to tell her own story and be a strong character. The movie was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2018 Oscars, but Pixar’s Coco took home the award. 

Nadia Shanaa (Mina El Hammani) - Elite

Over on streaming, Netflix's teen thriller, Elite, includes a Muslim character in Mina El Hammani’s Nadia Shanaa. Nadia, who was in Seasons 1 through 4 was a transfer student who was the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. Her character served as a way for Elite to discuss some common conflicts Muslim teens deal with as the balance between practicing her religion and fitting in at school clashes. For example, finding interest in a boy at school despite it being against her values and discussions related to her hijab, which at one point is banned at her school. Elite began an uncommon discussion in high school-set series. 

Naya Temple (Betty Gabriel) - Counterpart 

The short-lived Starz series, Counterpart, starring J.K. Simmons, featured another female Muslim character in Betty Gabriel’s Naya Temple. The Get Out actress plays a former FBI agent in the series who's hired to assist in its exploration of parallel Earths. Naya is a practicing Muslim, and per IndieWire, in order to play the role authentically the actress reached out to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and actually learned the Islamic prayer for Counterpart. The character showed a practicing Muslim who doesn’t regularly wear a hijab (like many Muslim women throughout the world) who is also a Black American. 

Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed) - The Reluctant Fundamentalist

We’ll wrap this list up with a 2012 film that signalled the beginning of some of the Muslim representation we’ve seen even more recently in the movies and TV shows above. 2012’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist was another rare Hollywood movie that featured a Muslim lead in Riz Ahmed’s Pakistani-American character, Changez Khan. 

In the political thriller, Kate Hudson plays an American professor who is kidnapped and held for ransom. Liev Schreiber’s Bobby Lincoln is an American journalist who arranges a meeting with Khan under suspicion that he kidnapped her. Despite being an educated American, the movie shows how Khan is victim to the negative image of Muslims following 9/11 as he's blamed for a crime he did not commit.  

For the time being, these characters are exceptions to a norm in movies and television that greatly erases Muslim characters. As these characters open the door for normalizing telling more stories about a major part of the population, perhaps in five to 10 years this list will be overflowing with examples. 

Kumail Nanjiani scored some major franchise cred in late 2021 starring as Kingo in Eternals, and half a year after the Marvel movie’s release, he’s done it again! Nanjiani is now a part of the Star Wars universe thanks to Obi-Wan Kenobi, with his character, Haja Estree, appearing in the Disney+ show’s second episode. While Nanjiani has admitted he was “intimidated” acting opposite Ewan McGregor when the actor was in Obi-Wan mode, that bit of discomfort paled in comparison to all good things he experienced on this project. Now Nanjiani is even happier about getting to be part of Obi-Wan Kenobi because he finally got the upper hand on his cousin with the better action figure collection.

Getting to participate in a Star Wars project, whether it’s in front of the camera or behind the scenes, is a big enough deal on its own, but Kumail Nanjiani scored something extra: his own poster. Here’s how Nanjiany reacted on Twitter upon seeing Haja presented on a piece of Obi-Wan Kenobi promotional material:

Kumail Nanjiani’s cousin may have held the upper hand in their younger years with their collection of action figures, but fast-forward a few decades, I think we can all agree that the actor has indeed pulled ahead. Now granted, if Nanjiani’s cousin is still a Star Wars fans nowadays, it’s possible they continued collecting toys from the franchise, and that could still be more impressive than whatever merchandise Nanjiani has accumulated. That being said, playing a Star Wars character, namely one who received their own poster, is definitely the superior accomplishment. As a bonus, Haja gets to have Darth Vader’s silhouette in the stylistic sun covering his left eye.

Since Obi-Wan Kenobi has only just premiered its first two episodes, I won’t share what happens with Kumail Nanjiani’s Star Wars character; you should use your Disney+ subscription to see it for yourself. However, ahead of the premiere, Nanjiani did share how Haja Estree is someone who works on the streets of Daiyu, and he’s a con-man only concerned with looking out for himself. Upon crossing paths with Obi-Wan Kenobi though, his life is thrown for a loop, and I’ll leave it at that.

Kumail Nanjiani is just one of the notable actors popping up during Obi-Wan Kenobi’s run. Along with Ewan McGregor’s return as the title character, we also have Hayden Christensen reprising Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Joel Edgerton reprising Owen Lars and Bonnie Piesse reprising Beru Whitesun Lars. The cast also includes Rupert Friend as The Grand Inquisitor, Moses Ingram as Reva/The Third Sister and Sung Kang as The Fifth Brother, as well as Benny Safdie, Indira Varma, Flea, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Maya Erskine in roles that have either been undisclosed or shouldn’t be spoiled here. The Mandalorian alum Deborah Chow directed all the episodes, and Joby Harold served as showrunner.

CinemaBlend will continue to provide coverage on Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as all the other upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows. As for Kumail Nanjiani, he’s shooting the upcoming Hulu series Immigrant, where he plays Somen ’Steve’ Banerjee, founder of Chippendales.

Six months after making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as the jacked Kingo in Eternals, Kumail Nanjiani  will soon be seen in the Star Wars universe thanks to Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Until today, we didn’t have any idea now Nanjiani fits into this story set in a galaxy far, far away, although we did catch a peek at him in the latest Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer. and know he got intimidated when Ewan McGregor went into Star Wars mode. Now Nanjinai has revealed who his Star Wars character is, where we’ll see him and how crosses paths with McGregor’s title protagonist.

Kumail Nanjiani stopped by Entertainment Weekly’s Dagobah Dispatch podcast to talk all things Star Wars, including how long he’s been a fan of the franchise and how he came to be involved with Obi-Wan Kenobi. On the subject of who he’s playing in the show that will be available exclusively to Disney+ subscribers, Nanjiani started off by saying this:

As we’ve seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi previews released so far, the series won’t just take place on Tatooine, where the Jedi Master has been camped out over the last decade to keep an eye on Luke Skywalker. Something will lead him to travel to other locations, including Daiyu, a new planet to explore within the Star Wars mythos. But rather than being a Jedi who survived Order 66, an operative for the Rebellion or an Imperial agent, Kumail Nanjiani’s Haja is just a regular guy who’s doing his best to survive from day to day, and he’s doing so through… shall we say, illicit methods. Nanjiani continued:

Kumail Nanjiani didn’t open up further about what we can specifically expect from Haja in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but whatever his fate ends up being, the actor is already preparing for the possibility he may get to reprise the character. After all, even if Haja is killed in Obi-Wan Kenobi, there’s nothing to say he couldn’t appear in a project set earlier in the Star Wars timeline, like a future season of The Bad Batch, for example. Nanjiani also mentioned that he did “a lot of research on con men and magicians (since they are “tricking people” too) when he was preparing to play Haja.

Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ May 27, and its lineup of players also includes Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Joel Edgerton as Owen Lars, Bonnie Piesse as Beru Whitesun Lars, Rupert Friend as the Grand Inquisitor and Moses Ingram as the Third Sister, among others. Until then, there are plenty of other Star Wars movies and TV shows available to watch on the streaming platform.

After many years of South Asian characters in movies and TV being largely stereotypical side characters, there’s recently been a shift in Hollywood. In recent years, there are more and more examples of leading characters played by actors who have roots in India and Pakistan, among other locations in South Asia. Plus, they tell stories that don’t put them into a small boxes, and represent a larger experience that is what representation in film and TV is all about. 

We all deserve to be seen on the big and small screen, and characters like these open more doors for this community that makes up 25 percent of the population of the world. From regency romance to a Marvel superhero, we’re celebrating some recent great South Asian characters in movies and television. Check it out: 

Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) - Bridgerton

Bridgerton became the talk of the ton in 2020 when the Netflix series became the most successful original TV show for the streaming service. For the recent Season 2, Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me was adapted for television with its lead Kate played by British-Indian Sex Education actress, Simone Ashley. For the romance, the character was altered slightly to be Kate Sharma instead of Sheffield, with her and her family’s backstory being from India. The 2022 season seamlessly infused Indian culture into Kate and her sister Edwina’s identity whilst also ushering in an Indian lead of a romance set in the Regency era and for a very mainstream series. 

Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed) - Sound Of Metal 

When it comes to South Asian actors being considered for award season buzz, oftentimes the storylines have been around starring in a story about and set in their home country such as 1982’s Gandhi and 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire. Riz Ahmed changed this when he received an Oscar nomination for Sound Of Metal, becoming the first Pakistani actor and first Muslim actor to be included in the Best Actor category. In the drama, Ahmed plays a drummer in a metal band and drug addict who loses his hearing and must join a shelter for deaf recovering addicts. Ahmed’s incredible performance included the actor learning American Sign Language and how to drum like a pro. 

Dev Shah (Aziz Ansari) - Master Of None

After Aziz Ansari ascended into popularity on Parks and Recreation as the sarcastic and entrepreneurial Tom Haverford, the comedian created his own series in Netflix’s Master of None. The show, which he also starred in and wrote, really showed the actor’s personal perspective as an actor and Indian-American immigrant through a somewhat fictional lens. One especially memorable episode is called “Indians on TV” where he touches on how Indian actors are often expected to be stereotypes with heavy accents. In the most recent season of the show, Ansari took a step back from starring to highlight Lena Waithe’s character while he showcased his impressive directorial approach. 

Lucy Gulliver (Geraldine Viswanathan) - The Broken Hearts Gallery

The romantic comedy is a beloved genre, but over the years it has been plagued with the same faces and tropes over and over again. In 2020, though, Aussie actress Geraldine Viswanathan got to shine as the lead of The Broken Hearts Gallery alongside Stranger Things’ Dacre Montgomery. In the movie, Viswanathan plays a young woman who recently suffered a breakup and decides to start a gallery devoted to fallen relationships. The movie delivers a quality and unique rom-com that allows its half-Indian (of Tamil ancestry) main character / actress to lead the type of movie that has gone to white actresses over the years, and without her identity having to be her core personality trait, either.

Javed Khan (Viveik Kalra) - Blinded By The Light

Blinded By The Light premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before becoming a beloved (yet underrated) dramedy in 2019. The movie, directed by Gurinder Chadha, who previously made history as the helmer of Bend It Like Beckham, is about the son of Pakistani migrant parents, Javed, who falls in love with Bruce Springsteen’s music and uses it as an inspiration to write his own poetry. The story is inspired by the life of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, who co-wrote the Blinded By The Light script. The movie and the character of Javed show how music can speak to and connect with anyone, including an immigrant kid who feels otherwise like an outsider in his life. 

Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) - The Mindy Project 

After Mindy Kaling wrote for and portrayed Kelly Kapoor on The Office, the comedian pitched her own comedy to FOX, The Mindy Project. She created, produced and starred in the series about a gynecologist’s attempts to balance her personal and professional life. The series that aired for six seasons brought Indian representation to television in a big way, with Kaling becoming the first Indian American to have her own TV show on a major network, and in a way that wasn’t solely focused on her ethnicity, but addressing the life of a working career woman, and later, motherhood.  

Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli) - Midnight Mass

Mike Flanagan’s incredible Netflix horror franchise continued in 2021 with an original series called Midnight Mass, which served as an existential discussion about faith alongside its scares. Among the cast was the groundbreaking character of Sheriff Hassan, played by Rahul Kohli (previously in The Haunting of Bly Manor and iZombie). He played the island’s sheriff, who is a Muslim who struggles with his teenage son to fit into the town’s predominantly Catholic population. Within the series, Midnight Mass beautifully represents a South Asian Muslim family and their difficulties in the western world as all the spooky things take place. 

Rhea Kumar (Avantika Vandanapu) - Spin

Disney Channel is known for propelling young stars into mega stardom, such as Zendaya, Miley Cyrus, and Zac Efron, with their original films and TV shows. In 2021, the network made a massive move in representation by releasing the new DCOM, Spin, which is about an Indian-American teen who works at her tight-knit family’s restaurant, but realizes her true passion is to be an EDM DJ. The movie highlights Indian culture in a beautiful way and allows its young star, Avantika Vandanapu, to shine in a breakout performance. 

Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) - Quantico

Another network television win for a great South Asian character is Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ leading role in the ABC series, Quantico. The Indian A-lister moved to the American market to star in the thrilling drama about an FBI agent who becomes the prime suspect of a terrorist attack. It’s another first, with the actress becoming the first Indian actor to lead a primetime drama on American TV. But, Chopra Jonas also did so by playing a charismatic, badass, and intriguing character during the series’ three seasons. 

Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) - The Green Knight

Medieval epics have always been led by white men, but David Lowery’s 2021 adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight gave Dev Patel a unique role in that space. The existentialist storyline allowed Patel to deliver a meaty performance that comments on the hero’s journey in a refreshing (yet taxing) trudge to meet the Green Knight. Patel’s performance is one of the best of 2021 and should have really gotten more Oscar recognition. 

Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) - Never Have I Ever 

Following Mindy Kaling’s The Mindy Project, she moved behind the scenes completely to create Never Have I Ever, a coming of age Netflix series. It stars newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who hails from Canada and was born to Tamil parents. It is loosely based on Kaling’s childhood experiences, as it follows an Indian-American Tamil high school student dealing with the sudden death of her father, who decides to change her social status, though it does not come easy. The show is much like a lot of high school series in a lot of ways, but it also adds the layers of her grappling and balancing her Indian-American identity as well. 

Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) - Eternals 

After Kumail Nanjiani made waves as a Pakistani-American comedian, writer, and actor in projects like Silicon Valley and The Big Sick, he was cast as the first South Asian superhero in Marvel’s Eternals. Not only does the movie include a big-screen Bollywood dance sequence, but Nanjiani got super ripped to take on the role because he wanted to make sure the first Pakistani superhero “could hang with Thor and Captain America.” Kingo is an Eternal and flashy actor who continued this breaking of stereotypes and continues to show Hollywood that South Asian actors have range and can fit in all genres far and wide.  

In just the past few years, there’s been an uptick in South Asian representation and a lot of different firsts for its large population in the framework of Hollywood. Here’s to more great South Asian characters in the years ahead. We’ll look out for more examples of them in new TV shows and upcoming movie releases. 

Hollywood is an industry that has become synonymous with the American Dream and what would the story of the American dream be without immigrants? The United States is built on generations of people coming in from all over the world to build a country that in many ways is a combination of many cultures from outside America. The immigrant experience is a nearly universal one many Americans can relate to, but one that cannot be defined in one way. In celebration of our immigrants, we’re highlighting some famous actors’ stories, including Shang Chi star Simu Liu. 

Breaking into the movie industry is not an easy safe to crack, but these actors not only pulled it off, they’ve also used their platforms to bring light to their personal experiences as immigrants or children of immigrants. Let’s take a look: 

Simu Liu 

Okay, so Simu Liu is Canadian, but the breakout Marvel star has taken a refreshingly candid approach to speaking to his roots having Canadian-Chinese parents. This spring he’s releasing a memoir called We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story to explore his roots ahead of starring in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Liu was born in China in 1989, at a time when his parents were given the opportunity to study in America. Liu was raised by his grandparents until the age of 5, when he was brought to Canada to live with them. 

As Liu recalled in a 2017 column in Maclean’s, he long had a difficult relationship with his parents as their wishes for him were to find a stable 9-to-5 and he got fired from his accounting firm eight months in. It was then that Liu decided to pursue work in the world of movies, beginning with a minimum wage job on a Guillermo del Toro movie. After years of odd jobs, Liu found a steady TV  gig on Kim’s Convinience before nabbing the Marvel hero role. As he’s shared, his relationship with his parents, being the child of immigrants being raised in a Western world, especially where anti-Asian rhetoric can be a concern, was not always easy, but as he grew older, he realized his upbringing helped pave his path, even if it’s much different than they envisioned. 

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek grew up in Mexico as the daughter of immigrants as well, with a Spanish mother and Lebanese father. As a young woman, Hayek quit school to pursue acting and became a telenovela star in her native country, per Biography. However, Hayek was especially ambitious and decided to move to Los Angeles to make it in Hollywood. In a 2003 guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Hayek shared her experience: 

Hayek’s big break was in Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado alongside Antonio Banderas back in 1995 before becoming a massive Hollywood star, beginning her own production company and becoming the first Latin actress to be nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars. As Hayek recently reflected on The Drew Barrymore Show, when she was rejected early in her incredible career, she couldn’t help but be aware of the untapped market of Latinos Hollywood was ignoring at the time. Nowadays, Hayek is one of the most beloved actors of our time with a great immigrant story about going against the grain. 

Kumail Nanjiani

Another recent Marvel star and Salma Hayek’s fellow Eternals co-star Kumail Nanjiani hails originally from Karachi, Pakistan and was raised as a Muslim. After high school, Nanjiani moved to Iowa where he studied computer science and philosophy before he started doing stand-up comedy in Chicago. Being a young immigrant, Nanjiani’s comedy has often skewed toward his experience as a topic of conversation, such as this observation, per USA Today:  

Nanjiani got his big break with a role in Silicon Valley, but when he and his wife Emily Gordon adapted their love story into 2017’s critically-acclaimed The Big Sick, Nanjiani’s immigrant story was given a larger stage. Since then, Nanjiani has become an A-list star, but continues to make his roots part of his storytelling, such as with his Little America series, which can be viewed with an AppleTV+ subscription, and has become the first South Asian superhero in Eternals. 

Mila Kunis

That ‘70s Show actress Mila Kunis was born in Ukraine and then moved to United States when she was seven, in the ‘80s, after the fall of the Soviet Union. The actress once told Glamour about her family’s immigrant story: 

As Kunis shared, her parents ultimately found their way in the U.S, with her father owning cabs and her mother working her way up to be a manager at Rite-Aid. Even though they had treacherous immigration beginnings, Kunis felt like she “never missed out on anything” because they did such a “beautiful job” of not making her feel poor. These days, Kunis is an accomplished actress and wife to Ashton Kutcher, who she has two kids with. 

Diane Guerrero

Diane Guerrero was a breakout star in Netflix’s award-winning series Orange is the New Black for numerous seasons before also being part of Jane the Virgin, the DC universe for Doom Patrol and in Disney’s latest hit Encanto, as the voice of Isabela. Guerrero is a New Jersey-born American actress, but grew up as the only member in her immediate family with U.S. citizenship, her parents being immigrants from Colombia. As Guerrero shared to NPR, when she was 14 she experienced her parents getting deported. In her words: 

Diane Guerrero ended up being taken in by her friend’s family for the school year and visiting her parents in prison. She also recalls being “looked as less” as an American citizen with undocumented parents. Guerrero has used her platform to be a big advocate for immigration reform since her experience. 

Vanessa Hudgens 

Vanessa Hudgens is also an American-born actress, with her father being a native of the U.S. whereas her Filipina mother’s native country is Manila. Following the actress’ success in High School Musical, a number of Netflix holiday films and the recent Oscar-nominated movie Tick, Tick… Boom!, Hudgens has shared that she wants to make a movie about her mother’s immigration story. She said this: 

There are many forms of immigration stories and the millions of people living in America and other countries after making the difficult adjustment is an important thing for people with big platforms like these actors to continue to discuss. 

Among the many strides in big screen representation Marvel’s Eternals achieved within its runtime was the movie featuring Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo, the Eternal hailing from India who spends his time as a Bollywood leading man before the rest of his superhero crew crash his set. It’s rare to see such a lavish display of South Asian culture on a stage as large as a Marvel Studios movie, including the movie’s Bollywood dance sequence led by Nanjiani’s character. 

CinemaBlend’s own Law Sharma spoke to Eternals choreographer Nileeka Bose about her experience bringing Bollywood dance to Marvel. Bose shared what the opportunity meant to her with these words: 

When it comes to taking steps toward more diversity on screen, many talents from all aspects of movie production talk about the pressure that comes with representing a segment of the population that doesn’t typically get a microphone in Hollywood. Nileeka Bose spoke about feeling a massive “responsibility,” but in the end, she feels very proud of the work she and cast and crew put into the scene. Check out a bit of the Eternals moment in this official clip: 

The moment required a lot of choreography and planning, especially with the idea in mind it would represent an element of South Asian culture. Nileeka Bose shared more in depth about her and Chloé Zhao’s dive into the world of Bollywood: 

Eternals was adored by many fans overall, with a major aspect of the movie being how inclusive it is of many cultures and such. Bose also discussed how the scene was received by people within her circle: 

Marvel is taking into its hands an important element that Hollywood has been lacking for some time. The studio has gotten to a place where every film it makes is going to be successful to some degree and be presented on a massive scale. With that in mind, Marvel is placing a greater importance on representation when introducing new characters. As Nileeka Bose said, Eternals was not only a movie, but an opportunity for more communities to be seen. 

Kumail Nanjiani previously shared that he packed on all his muscle for Eternals so he could represent a different type of role than what is typically offered for South Asian people. He opened up about previously being cast as characters who are “fixing your computer” or “planning something at the stock market.” With Kingo, he’s a straight-up buff superhero who is unlike any other often stereotyped South Asian roles we’ve seen. 

Eternals is available to own on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital today, along with being a streaming option with a Disney+ subscription. Check out what upcoming Marvel movies are headed our way next following Eternals.  

This past year, Marvel fans have seen Simu Liu and Kumail Nanjiani debut their superhero roles in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals, respectively. What we see on screen is the result of years of iron-pumping and strict dieting. So it’s not surprising that when these two got together they’d bond over the great food they love and don’t get to eat enough as big-screen stars. 

Last week, Simu Liu guest hosted The Kelly Clarkson Show and brought Kumail Nanjiani on the daytime show to hang out. During one segment, Liu brought out Nanjiani’s favorite dessert, and the pair straight up ate cake together. Take a look: 

That was a beautiful Marvel moment. Simu Liu set up the cake reveal by saying that he enjoys sharing culture. Kumail Nanjiani told Liu on the talk show that he loves pandan desserts, and the Shang-Chi star proceeded to bring out slices of pandan cake for the pair to enjoy. Liu said this as they enjoyed their cheat meal: 

Pandan is a tropical plant that is frequently used in Southeast Asian dishes, especially desserts because its fragrant taste is comparable to vanilla, but with a hint of bitterness. Simu Liu shared his love of boba tea with Kumail Nanjiani as well. While the actor sat together and ate some carbs, the Eternals actor said he was “so happy right now.” Liu said he wasn’t sure that Nanjiani would eat it since he’s so fit these days. Here’s how Nanjiani responded: 

Of course, he was on daytime TV, otherwise probably would have finished that sentence with a big f-bomb. Either way, it was simply delightful to see these two Marvel stars eating cake and sugary teas together months after their movies hit theaters. 

As Kumail Nanjiani shared, he’s not jumping into more Marvel movies, so he’s not as strict about what he eats at the moment. He already filmed his role in Obi-Wan Kenobi ahead of its release this May, and otherwise he doesn’t have anything else we know of he’d have to be buff for. Liu, however, just signed on for Barbie movie, so depending on whether he’ll be emulating the famed plastic dolls, he may want to stay in Shang-Chi shape.  

I think Simu Liu is on to something here with this great segment with Kumail Nanjiani. Here’s the pitch: he finds the absolute favorite dessert of more Marvel stars and eats it with them during an interview. That being said, being the host of that show might wain on his own fitness. 

There are a lot of movies and shows leaving Netflix in February 2022, but the popular streaming service has found a way to make the major departures sting a little less with some spectacular additions. One of those new series, Murderville, is an improvisational murder mystery show that follows Will Arnett’s Terry Seattle as he and several celebrity guests (playing themselves) solve various crimes and find themselves in one zany situation after another.

But you may be wondering exactly where you’ve seen those celebrity guests as well as the cast of characters created specifically for this show. Well, to save you time and solve the mystery, we’ve come up with a comprehensive list of the Murderville cast and why they look so dang familiar.

Will Arnett (Detective Terry Seattle)

Taking on the role of Terry Seattle, the homicide detective at the center of Murderville, is Will Arnett, who is no stranger when it comes to offbeat comedies or Netflix shows, having previously appeared on BoJack Horseman and was a fixture of the Arrested Development cast (the revival on Netflix) prior to that.

There’s a good chance you have seen or at least heard Arnett in movies like The LEGO Movie (and The LEGO Batman Movie), Hot Rod, Let’s Go to Prison, Ratatouille, and dozens of others. His TV work includes The Incredibly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Riviera, and The Morning Show, to name only a few.

Haneefah Wood (Chief Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle)

Stepping in as Chief Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle on Murderville is Haneefah Wood, who has put together a string of great performances on a number of popular comedy series over the course of the past two decades.

These shows include everything from Baskets to Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Truth Be Told to The League, with others sprinkled in throughout. Wood also took on the role of Blanche Hodel in the 2016 Fox production of Grease Live!.

Lilan Bowden (Medical Examiner Amber Kang)

Taking on the role of Medical Examiner Amber Kang on Murderville is Lilan Bowden, who has made countless one-off guest appearances on some of the most iconic comedy series in recent memory.

Throughout her career, Bowden has appeared on everything from Parks and Recreation to Life in Pieces and Drunk History to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Bowden’s most prominent role to date is probably that of Rebecca “Bex” Mack on the Disney Channel original series Andi Mack, which ran from 2017 to 2019.

Philip Smithey (Detective Darren ‘Daz’ Phillips)

Portraying Detective Darren “Daz” Phillips on Murderville is Philip Smithey, who has appeared on a variety of TV shows, movies, and even a popular sports video game franchise throughout his career.

If you played NBA 2K19 then you’ll most certainly find Phillips (or at least his voice) familiar as he provided the motion-capture and voice-work for the “My Player” character in the chart-topping basketball video game. Smithey has also shown up on Switched at Birth, Johnson, Code Black, Grace and Frankie, Grey’s Anatomy, and a whole lot more.

Annie Murphy

The rest of the Murderville cast consists of celebrity guests playing themselves in each of the Netflix series’ episodes. Starting off is Annie Murphy, the Primetime Emmy Award-winning actress who received multiple accolades and endless praise for her portrayal of Alexis Rose on the smash hit comedy series Schitt’s Creek.

Upon the conclusion of one of the best shows to binge on Netflix, Murphy became the lead of the Kevin Can F**k Himself cast, the darkly funny AMC comedy series. And it looks like Murphy will be sticking around on Netflix a little longer as she is set to appear on the upcoming second season of Russian Doll.

Conan O'Brien

Longtime late night talk show host, Saturday Night Live writer, and Simpsons scribe Conan O’Brien also appears on an episode of Murderville, as seen in the show’s hilarious teaser trailer along with the other celebrities. O’Brien seems to be busy as ever following the conclusion of his long-running TBS series Conan, especially now with the promising Netflix improv series, which is par for the course for the respected comedian and fixture of late night TV.

Over the years, O’Brien has served as host of Late Night, The Tonight Show, and Conan, but has also appeared on countless TV shows and a long list of movies (mostly as a cameos). This includes 30 Rock, Futurama, Spin City, How I Met Your Mother, and Silicon Valley. And Let’s not forget his seemingly random inclusion in the PlayStation game Death Stranding.

Ken Jeong

Doctor-turned-comedian Ken Jeong is one the most recognizable faces on the Murderville cast and perhaps just about any project he has been involved with throughout his career. Whether he’s stealing scenes in The Hangover movies, jumping up with pure joy as a panelist on The Masked Singer, or being part of some of the craziest Community stories, Jeong has done a lot over the years.

Just watch any popular comedy series going back to the early 2000s and you’ll see Jeong in one form or another. This list includes The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, MadTV, and even the criminally underrated Grounded for Life, to name just a small portion of his output.

Kumail Nanjiani

Kumail Nanjiani, who became an internet sensation when he got absolutely jacked for Eteranls, shows up as himself on Murderville, and helps (or at least tries to help) Will Arnett’s Terry Seattle solve one of the detective’s many homicide investigations.

The star of movies like The Big Sick, Stuber, and The Lovebirds, Nanjiani has become one of the most prominent faces in comedy in the past decade, thanks in part to his unique sense of humor and side-splitting performances on shows like Silicon Valley, Portlandia, and one-off appearances on a variety of other shows.

Marshawn Lynch

Unlike the rest of the celebrity guests on the Murderville cast, Marshawn Lynch is not a trained actor but instead a Super Bowl champion running back who spent a large portion of his 12-year NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks. 

Despite that, Lynch is one of the most charismatic and electric faces you’ll see on TV, whether it be in various Skittles commercials, appearances on Conan, and those epic interviews he would reluctantly give during his NFL career. But this isn’t to say Lynch hasn’t appeared on TV shows over the years, as he has shown up on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The League, and Westworld.

Sharon Stone

Last but certainly not least on the list of the Murderville cast is Golden Globe winner Sharon Stone, who brings with her decades of experience. 

Throughout her career, Stone has given memorable performances in Basic Instinct, Casino, The Quick and the Dead, The Disaster Artist, and dozens of other movies. Her TV work includes The Practice, Ratched, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

Murderville is just one of the new Netflix shows you can enjoy on the popular streaming service. If you want to know what else will be joining the hilarious murder mystery on Netflix and other platforms, check out CinemaBlend's 2022 TV schedule.

Since the release and monumental success of Black Panther in 2018, Marvel Studios has been making a larger effort to include more diversity in the MCU. We’ve seen our first female-led Marvel movies in Captain Marvel and Black Widow, along with the predominantly Asian cast of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. But the biggest strides in representation yet for the studio come in the form of Chloé Zhao’s Eternals. 

The hiring of Nomadland filmmaker Chloé Zhao in of itself was a big moment in terms of a POC filmmaker getting the keys to a big-budget Marvel film. But Eternals walks the walk too. There’s a number of massive instances of incredible representation in the movie that we have never seen before in a movie of this scale. Let’s take a moment to celebrate the aspects of the film we want to celebrate now that Eternals is streaming on Disney+. 

Kingo’s Bollywood Dance Sequence 

Kumail Nanjiani is the first South Asian superhero we’ve seen on the big screen. The Silicon Valley actor famously got super jacked to play the role. The actor shared he felt it was important for his character to look like “somebody who could hang out with Thor and Captain America” in a Hollywood landscape where South Asian actors are often typecast into “fixing your computer.” Not only did Eternals deliver on a ripped Kingo, but the movie itself is packed with South Asian representation. 

Nanjiani had the chance to be part of bringing Bollywood to a big-budget Marvel film with his dance sequence, along with the movie highlighting the world of Bollywood movies and the scene-stealing character of Karun (played by Harish Patel), who goes along for the ride of much of the movie to play cameraman to Kingo’s latest movie. 

Phastos And Ben Kiss

Disney in general has a troubling history with showcasing the LGBTQ+ community in its films. When the studio made a first attempt with Beauty and the Beast, by making Josh Gad’s Le Fou gay, it was both criticized by the queer community and caused the movie to be initially banned in many countries. The studio has continued to push some weak attempts at representation over the years, between a in-the-background same-sex kiss in Star Wars and mixed signals on queer Disney princess. 

Eternals however is the first legitimate step forward in the direction of LGBTQ+ representation on the big-screen for the studio. In the film, Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos is an openly gay man with a partner named Ben, played by Haaz Sleiman, who identifies as gay. They have a son together and late in the film, the pair have a blatant moment of PDA when the pair kiss. What’s great about Phastos arc in Eternals is that he’s not just the “gay superhero” in the team. There’s other interesting things about him other than his sexual preferences, such as how he guides the innovations of mankind. Eternals also dodges the common trope of the gay character having a coming out scene as well. 

Our First Deaf Superhero

When it comes to conversations around diversity, there’s still not enough storytelling around people with disabilities on a mainstream scale. Eternals not only paid attention to diversity in terms of race and sexual identity, the movie also brought the first deaf superhero to the forefront with Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari. In the movie, Makkari is an Eternal who has super-speed. Her lack of hearing is actually a gift because without it she can reach a powerful sonic boom while running. She can run across the Earth in minutes. Also, while speaking to the cast, she uses sign language to communicate. 

The ripples of Makkari’s presence in Eternals have been immediately evident. The movie’s release led to a huge spike of interest in people researching American Sign Language education. Ridloff, who is deaf herself, had the chance to play a major role in a Marvel movie and as she shared, excited to see “deaf kids wearing Halloween costumes that are going to be Makkari-inspired.”

Women-To-Men Ratio Of The Superhero Team

Since the beginning of the MCU, there’s been an inherent inequality between men and women. One clear example is through the original six Avengers, where only one of them is a woman – Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. And it took over a decade for a female actress to lead a Marvel movie with 2019’s Captain Marvel. The scales have definitely been tipped toward men in Marvel, but with Eternals, the group of eight heroes is split nearly even in terms of men vs. women. 

Additionally, there are a variety of body types and presenting men and women in the lineup. For example, Sprite is a more masculine-presenting female, whereas Angelina Jolie’s Thena is more classically feminine in her appearance. Overall, Eternals is the first superhero movie to showcase a wider spectrum of what a hero can look and act like and it’s honestly beautiful. 

A Dominantly POC Cast

And finally, we can’t overlook the range of backgrounds the cast belongs to in Eternals. We’ve touched on it throughout this article, but it truly does set itself apart from not only other Marvel films, but any other film of its scale. Along with the cast we’ve mentioned, Hong Kong-Londoner Gemma Chan plays the lead Sersi, Mexican-Lebanese actress Salma Hayek is Ajak and South Korea’s own Ma Dong-seok is Gilgamesh. 

And what’s especially beautiful about this is the comics didn’t necessarily reflect the representation of the movie. The writers took the time to alter each character to become what we see on screen and in a way in which each of them have fleshed out storylines and again are not solely defined by traits that make them diverse or among the representation conversation. 

We can’t wait to see how Eternals return to the MCU and how Marvel will continue to include more diversity into its movies and TV shows going forward. Check out the upcoming Marvel movies here on CinemaBlend and stream Eternals on Disney+ now. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe recently expanded in a major way with Chloé Zhao’s Eternals. The story spanned hundreds of years and introduced a ton of new characters, including Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo. And Nanjiani recently explained what he learned about Hollywood icons like Tom Cruise while prepping for his MCU debut.

Eternals marks a possible career-changing gig for Kumail Nanjiani, who also put on pounds of muscle to portray his massively powerful character. He did a ton of research to play Kingo, including reading Marvel comics and simply watching badass movie stars in action. Nanjiani spoke to his history with the film industry, saying:

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a decidedly modern franchise, it is also inspired by some classic cinema of the past. And before Kumail Nanjiani suited up as Kingo alongside his fellow Eternals, he wanted to take some time to see how action stars did their thing in iconic movies. And those efforts really paid off, as Nanjiani was a scene-stealer throughout the movie’s lengthy runtime. 

Kumail Nanjiani’s comments to United Hemispheres helps to show some of the non-Marvel work that the Silicon Valley alum put into his Eternals role. In addition to learning fight choreography and transforming his body, Nanjiani also watched a ton of movies outside of the comic book genre. 

Later in that same interview, Kumail Nanjiani explained what he learned from re-watching those iconic performances. It seems the Eternals actor has categorized classic leading men in two distinct categories. As Nanjiani went on to put it,

Well, there you have it. Despite Eternals being a very unique cosmic story set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kumail Nanjiani was still able to take some lessons from greats like Daniel-Day Lewis, Tom Cruise, and Joaquin Phoenix. And since his character Kingo was a Bollywood star in-universe, the research was doubly effective. 

As previously mentioned, Kumail Nanjiani got to be a real scene-stealer throughout the course of Eternals. In addition to his bloated ego, his relationship with valet Karun (Harish Patel) was a particularly delightful running joke. 

From the looks of Eternals’ credits scenes, Kumail Nanjiani is going to have an important role in future storytelling. It should be interesting to see how the cosmic heroes interact with other MCU characters, especially Nanjiani’s Kingo. One thing is clear: they need to give Karun a spinoff on Disney+.

Eternals is in theaters now and the next installment in the MCU is Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

When you’re an actor in a movie battling grotesque aliens, there are generally more than plenty of opportunities to look like a total badass – but when comedy is also in play, another typical feature of the experience is getting… messy. The MPAA doesn’t have the same kinds of rules for alien guts as they do with human viscera, and that’s a fact that filmmakers behind PG-13 blockbusters like to take advantage of by covering hero characters with extraterrestrial goo.

One performer who can speak to that kind of experience personally is Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani, who gets a big face full of Deviant splatter in one of the film’s big action sequences, and I had the wonderful opportunity to ask him about it during the blockbuster’s virtual press day last month.

Without giving too much away to those of you who have not yet had the chance to see the film, the Eternals scene in question is a sequence set in the Amazon that finds the titular team attacked by a group of Deviants (monstrous beings that the Eternals are on Earth to destroy). Kumail Nanjiani, who famously got in terrific shape for his performance as the heroic Kingo, shot the scene as part of his first day on set doing stunts – and while he admits that it was “uncomfortable” to get a big splash of guts in his face, he nonetheless enjoyed the experience because he knew it would make for a great cinematic moment. Said Nanjiani,

As you can probably guess watching Eternals, it’s definitely not a CGI effect, and while the production surely used goop that was totally safe to be splashed on people, that didn’t ultimately render it a pleasant experience. Continuing, Kumail Nanjiani said that the stuff got everywhere, but it was worth it for the finished product.

Of course, what also has to be noted here is that a certain shot or angle is rarely shot only once on any given film production, and that very much includes stunt and splatter scenes in blockbusters. Audiences only see Kingo pull off his killer move once in Eternals, but Kumail Nanjiani ran out of fingers and toes on set counting the number of times his special move was performed, and while each time didn’t see him get a face full of muck, that certainly happened more than once as well:

Kumail Nanjiani is absolutely correct in saying that the final shot came out great in the finished film, and if you haven’t already seen it for yourself, now is the time. Eternals, co-starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Brian Tyree Henry, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, Don Lee, Barry Koeghan and Kit Harrington, is now playing in theaters everywhere. To learn all about what’s coming up from the Marvel Cinematic Universe on both the big and small screens, check out our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides.

Marvel’s Eternals cast members including Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Barry Keoghan, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, Don Lee and Academy Award-Winning writer/director Chloé Zhao chat with CinemaBlend about their action-packed adventure. Find out what the Eternals were doing in the 7000 years prior to the events in film, what other Marvel heroes they think their characters would get along with, some behind-the-scenes stories about Deviant goop, flying, Celestials and so much more!

Video Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:16 - The Eternals Cast Pick Which Marvel Heroes Their Characters Would Get Along With
• 01:49 - How The Eternals Cast Prepared To Play Characters With 7000 Years Of History
• 06:13 - What The Eternals Were Doing During The Infinity Saga, According to Chloé Zhao
• 07:01 - Gemma Chan and Salma Hayek on Filming Scenes With Arishem The Celestial
• 09:29 - Why Richard Madden Hated His Flying Scenes
• 10:20 - Lauren Ridloff on Developing the Look of Makkari’s Super-Speed
• 11:26 - How Kumail Nanjiani Felt About Getting A Face Full of Deviant Splatter While Filming
• 13:02 - Lia McHugh on the Incredible Number of Languages She Had to Speak For Eternals
• 13:44 - Barry Keoghan on Why He Loved Working With Oscar-Winning Director Chloé Zhao
• 14:32 - Major Changes Chloé Zhao Faced During The Production of Eternals
• 15:19 - Why Making Eternals Was ‘Therapeutic’ For Angelina Jolie
• 16:20 - Why Marvel’s Eternals Features Multiple DC References, According To Chloé Zhao

The interconnectivity between the Marvel films has kept fans coming back for more for over a decade. Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings already got the ball rolling for Phase Four, and Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home look to be following suit. Given that Eternals is poised to be a monumental success, there may be some connection between the title protagonists and other MCU characters. Eternals’ Kumail Nanjiani has hinted at that being a possibility.

Given Marvel’s infamous veil of secrecy, Kumail Nanjiani wasn’t trying to ruin Eternals for fans. Nanjiani’s Kingo and the other Eternals have been hiding in plain sight as humans. Kingo’s Bollywood status would place him in close vicinity to some prominent figures. The Eternals star gave Comicbook.com possible hints that Kingo might’ve come across other characters within the MCU.

With the Eternals masquerading as normal humans, it is more than plausible that the god-like beings could’ve encountered various MCU characters. Kumail Nanjiani seemed to be wary about spilling too much information about Eternals and Phase Four, but he revealed it had more to do with Eternals director Chloe Zhao’s endless Marvel knowledge. The Obi-Wan Kenobi star spoke on how connected the Oscar-winning director wanted the film to be to the rest of the MCU, saying:

As the Avengers and other MCU characters went globetrotting, the Eternals were moving around incognito. So amongst the billions saved within the MCU, Marvel’s newest additions could’ve been some of them. Given his status as a muscle-bound movie star, Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo could’ve crossed paths with someone like Tony Stark at any point. Chloe Zhao appeared to be carrying on the traditions set by previous Marvel directors like the Russo Brothers and James Gunn. So her knowledge will be pivotal in finding those Marvel easter eggs.

Will the Eternals redeem themselves to the human population and save Earth once more? Check out the Marvel ensemble film when it arrives in theaters on November 5 to see if the question gets answered.

Eternals is the next big MCU movie and will introduce a new group of heroes to the mix in epic fashion. Chloé Zhao's Marvel debut is already looking like one of 2021’s biggest movies already, and its November 5th release date can’t come any sooner. The film star Kumail Nanjiani is set to play a significant part in the film and has some thoughts about his experience performing as a superhero. Nanjiani recently joked about feeling ‘goofy’ filming his Eternals superpowers. 

Becoming a superhero in Hollywood doesn’t just mean looking the part. You also have to be able to act the part. Actors have to pretend they are doing things that are only going to be seen when the movie actually comes out. Kumail Nanjiani has some funny thoughts about feeling goofy while filming Eternals. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! alongside his Eternals co-star Salma Hayek, Nanjiani joked about what it was like performing his powers, saying:

In the trailer for Eternals, you can see Kumail Nanjiani’s character Kingo uses energy beams of some sort. He described the process behind what it was like actually performing the moves required. Nanjiani asked director Chloé Zhao how he should shoot the blasts, and despite it sounding goofy to him, the Academy Award-winning director wanted finger guns. It has got to be a weird feeling pretending to shoot energy from your fingers, but the more MCU movies he does, the easier and less goofy it will be for the Silicon Valley alum

Kumail Nanjiani recently talked about what it’s like to be on set with an icon like Angelina Jolie and the crazy bomb scare that shut down production. The cast of Eternals is stacked and full of exciting actors and will be a great addition to the MCU and hopefully will play a significant part in the future. 

Kumail Nanjiani got super swole for his part in the film, and he has recently talked about the weird effects getting swole had on him and his insecurities after his transformation. Nanjiani is also set to appear in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show. He has talked about how Ewan McGregor ‘intimidated’ him on set by going full Star Wars mode. Nanjiani has come a long way from pure comedian to now starring in the MCU and a Star Wars show. 

The Eternals will face a particular villain with a mysterious voice, and it will surely be vital to the MCU going forward, and it will be interesting to see how. The film will add even more to the cosmic side of the MCU, adding to what The Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, and Captain Marvel have established. Eternals will be epic, and will hopefully, we will get plenty more in the MCU from everyone involved.

Plenty of stars have seen their career prospects change after joining the MCU. The careers of the Chrises – Evans, Hemsworth and Pratt – are perfect examples of the cache a superhero outfit has in Hollywood. What also comes with the territory is getting shredded to save the world. That seemed to be the case for Eternals’ Kingo Kumail Nanjiani. He understood the assignment and immediately began transforming his body. But the Eternals star had another motive to get ripped other than joining the Marvel ensemble film.

Kumail Nanjiani grew up influenced by 1990s Hollywood action blockbusters and Bollywood films. So playing a being disguised as a Bollywood star in a Marvel film meant pressure to obtain a certain physique. But packing on muscle for Nanjiani was about more than looking good in Eternals. For the Eternals star, bulking up was more about his Hollywood future after the Marvel film hits theaters. As he had explained:

In shifting Hollywood’s perception of him, Kumail Nanjiani took what someone would consider an extreme measure. In 2019, the Silicon Valley alum broke the internet by posting his now-infamous shirtless photos. It led to multiple reactions and interesting developments. Dinesh’s sculpted appearance on the HBO series’ final season didn’t help matters either. But Nanjiani revealed to GQ those photos were more of a signal to the entertainment industry rather than showing off his physique.

Going against type in Hollywood is something every actor faces when it comes to diversifying their acting resume. Of course, that was no different for Kumail Nanjiani. Oftentimes Black, brown and Asian performers face certain barriers when it comes to the range of roles they’re offered. These barriers can limit the number of roles they are offered or audition for. This is where cultural and ethnic perceptions and stereotypes can lead to typecasting.

As Kumail Nanjiani pointed out, he was limited to either computer nerds or terrorist suspects. Of course, everyone loved him as Dinesh on Silicon Valley, but even that played into the stereotype. Instead of accepting his fate, The Big Sick star took matters into his hands. It seemed to have worked out so far.

While Kumail Nanjiani is starting to reap the fruits of his labor, not everyone was on board at first. Eternals director Chloe Zhao was taken aback when she first saw The Lovebirds star’s physical change on location. She had cast the actor for his ability to pull off Kingo. While she was upset at first, the Oscar winner revealed to GQ what was behind her reservations over Nanijani’s transformation.

Thankfully, Kumail Nanjiani reassured Chloe Zhao his physical transformation had nothing to do with her or the film. As with any actor, Nanjiani wanted to change the trajectory of his career but on his terms. Hopefully the more roles the Stuber star gets, the more barriers he will break down for other South Asian actors in Hollywood. In the meantime, Marvel fans will have to wait until November 5 to see if the actor’s physical training paid off in Eternals.

In the realm of Marvel Comics, there are household names (Spider-Man, The Hulk, Captain America) and there are fringe characters that comic readers know, but your friend who’s casually interested in the MCU might not. There we find heroes such as Moon Knight, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ms. Marvel and the Eternals. Marvel hopes that by the end of this year, the entire movie-going audience both knows and loves the Eternals, similar to the way that crowds embraced Simu Liu as the martial arts expert Shang-Chi. But for the moment, Marvel isn’t too worried with the team flying under the radar, and here’s why. 

A long, long time ago, CinemaBlend traveled to London to visit the set of Chloe Zhao’s Eternals, a movie that has been delayed just as many times as the blockbusters that finally are reaching theaters now. Eternals was supposed to be the second film in Marvel’s Phase Four, and the first original swing by the studio after the prequel story Black Widow. Things changed, projects shifted, and Eternals finally is ready to reach multiplexes beginning on November 5. 

When sitting down with Nate Moore, Marvel Studios VP of Production & Development, on the Eternals set, we brought up the idea that audiences don’t really know the team, and he was quick to explain why that anonymity doesn’t really worry the company, as a whole. Moore said:

Nate Moore goes on to use perhaps the most famous actor-character combination in the MCU so far, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, to prove his point. When Marvel kicked off the MCU with Iron Man in 2008, Downey was a struggling actor, and no one knew the Iron Man  character. But Jon Favreau made a good movie, and the pieces all fell into place. Moore’s confident that the MCU model will prop up a new team in Eternals, and that audiences will trust enough in the studio as a brand to take a leap of faith and snag a ticket. 

In addition to Eternals, Marvel and Sony also have Spider-Man: No Way Home arriving in December, and a slew of sequels hitting in 2022. Stay up to date with all of the Upcoming Marvel Movies by using our handy guide.

It’s been two years since Kumail Nanjiani dropped a photo on Instagram and it became the pic that launched a thousand thirsts. The actor, who had been cast in Marvel’s Eternals, was looking every bit the superhero with a newly cut physique and six-pack abs. But the actor admits the last two years and have been unusual, as now his body is all anybody wants to talk about.

In a recent interview with GQ, Kumail Nanjiani discusses his Marvel body, and, ironically, talks about the fact that he really doesn’t like to talk about it. It simply wasn’t a topic that he used to discuss, but now that he finds himself discussing it frequently, he’s learned it is not a topic he is comfortable with. Nanjianai explains...

Working out was certainly not a new thing for Kumail Nanjiani. The article discusses that he worked out regularly to stay in shape, but he certainly had not previously pushed himself to quite the same level that he did for Eternals. And once the picture hit the internet, people went wild over the comedian who is often cast as the nerd, looking so buff.

It has to be something of a bizarre experience to have other people talking about you in a way they never have before. Emily V. Gordon, Nanjiani’s wife, made an analogy that is likely quite fitting, but also more than a little disturbing, saying…

While seeing Kumail Nanjiani’s transformation was certainly impressive, it wasn’t entirely surprising. At this point we fully expect any actor cast in a superhero movie to go through a serious workout in order to look like the superhero they’re portraying. Stars from Brie Larson to Zachary Levi have all done the same.

However, what actually sets Kumail Najianai’s new body, which he has apparently largely maintained, apart from others in the MCU may be the fact that he didn’t need to build it. Director Chloé Zhao says that she cast Kumail Nanjiani because he had the right mix of “humility and charisma” to play the role of Kingo, not because of the body he had, or needed. Nanjiani says he actually shocked his director with the transformation…

Kumail Nanjianai says the reason he put himself through all that was that, as the first South Asian superhero in the MCU, he wanted to be sure he looked like them, like somebody who could take them on if he needed to. He also felt it fit the character because Kingo is a Bollywood star, and many of them have similar looks. 

While Kumail Nanjiani may not like talking about his body, people will likely be continuing to do so, at least until Eternals comes out this November. Although it’s possible that eventually, if this is how the actor looks all the time now, people will stop seeing it as a novelty. Of course, if he ever decides to let the body go, people will probably want to talk about that.

The next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, and it looks incredible. Kumail Nanjiani, one of the film's many stars, has talked about the long wait for the film and how it will feel when people actually get to see it it. The movie is a departure for the actor, who wanted to change things up and get away from the nerdy roles that he's played so often. He and the cast seem to have enjoyed making the movie, but they did have a bit of drama on set stemming from an apparent bomb threat. Now, Nanjiani has opened up about how things played out during the scare.

Starring in a big blockbuster film can have its share of occupational hazards, but most cast or crew members probably wouldn't expect a bomb threat to be one of them. But that was indeed the reality for Kumail Nanjiani and his co-stars while they were shooting in the Canary Islands in November 2019. The stars had been relatively quiet on the situation since it occurred, but Nanjiani shared with Empire (via The Direct) exactly how it affected things on set:

I think just about anyone would be just as startled by the situation as Kumail Nanjiani apparently was. Ultimately, the “metal thing” that was found by the crew turned out to be a bomb from World War II and, as a result, production was shut down. Richard Madden and Angelina Jolie were also reportedly on set when the device was found. Thankfully, the device was removed, and filming was able to continue.

Kumail Nanjiani and his castmates had a unique time during the production of Eternals. Nanjiani in particular has taken everything in stride and made the most of his time on the set. He recently discussed what it was like sharing the screen with an icon like Angelina Jolie. And Jolie is only one of the major stars he'll get to rub shoulders with, as the cast also includes A-listers like Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington, who could have a significant role in the MCU moving forward.

Eternals is proving to be an ambitious venture. Chloé Zhao actually had to convince Marvel to allow the film to use real locations as opposed to computer-generated ones. Ultimately, Marvel boss Kevin Feige was impressed by the beauty Zhao was able to capture for the film. As you've seen, unexpected things can definitely happen when you shoot on location, but this should allow the film to be visually distinct from anything we've seen in the MCU thus far.

Some stunning visuals and interesting characters should make the PG-13-rated movie a worthy entry in the MCU. Hopefully, fans will be more than satisfied with the work Kumail Nanjiani and his collaborators put in.

Eternals opens in theaters on November 5.

Marvel Studios’ Eternals has slowly become one of the most anticipated films of 2021, with part of that appeal being the stellar all-star cast. Of course, the biggest draw was Marvel’s ability to recruit Angelina Jolie. Being the Hollywood star she is, this superhero film could’ve turned into The Angelina Jolie Show. However, that didn’t happen during the filming of the Phase Four film, according to Kumail Nanjiani. The actor spoke on what it was like being on set with Jolie for Eternals.

From the outside, Angelina Jolie can give off a mysterious aura, but that persona is far from the truth, according to her Eternals co-star Kumail Nanjiani. Being on set with the screen icon was fun and light, according to Nanjiani. He revealed how comfortable the Oscar winner was on set with her co-stars, saying:

But Angelina Jolie wasn’t the only co-star Kumail Nanjiani couldn’t stop gushing over. He went on to talk about the presence of Salma Hayek, who plays the Eternals' leader Ajak, on set. The Eternals star said this about the Oscar-winner being so gracious:

Thankfully, Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek were able to set the tone for the rest of the cast. Being the stars they are, both actresses could’ve been standoffish toward everyone, but they decided to open themselves up to their co-stars on and off the set. As Kumail Nanjiani pointed out, onscreen chemistry is one thing, but having camaraderie off camera is just as important.

The Eternals star threw more praise on Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek for how they carried themselves on set. Kumail Nanjiani told People that both actresses were very professional while shooting the Marvel film. He noted they were always on time and knew their lines and marks. Nanjiani admitted to Jolie and Hayek wanting to create a family while being pragmatic about their work, but it was the family aspect that stuck out to the Silicon Valley alum.

Creating a community on the set made Kumail Nanjiani appreciate his time with Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek even more. The experience with the two stars left an impression on Nanjiani. The Lovebirds star said about the atmosphere the two screen legends created on Eternals:

At least Kumail Nanjiani had an amazing time interacting with Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek on set. Nanjiani’s words only echoed the same sentiments Jolie and Hayek have expressed about their time filming the Marvel film. The actor has been just as hyped for the film as Marvel fans have. Of course, moviegoers won’t have to wait much longer to see Kingo, Ajak and Thena in action, as Marvel’s Eternals arrives in theaters on November 5.

After the final trailer dropped, Marvel fans have been eagerly awaiting to see Eternals in theaters. Fans aren’t the only ones anticipating the Marvel film’s release as star Kumail Nanjiani is just as hyped. Nanjiani has been pushing for Eternals’ release since it was delayed last year. Now, he’s ready for Earth’s great overseers to arrive in theaters. The Eternals star gave some thoughts on the film’s delayed release and moviegoers finally getting to see it.

Even before Eternals began production, Kumail Nanjiani broke the internet with his physical transformation into Kingo. That only drove up the anticipation for Eternals after being seen as the funny guy in The Big Sick and Silicon Valley. With the release on the horizon, the actor opened up about the ensemble film finally coming to theaters. The Lovebirds star told fashion brand Saks Fifth Avenue about the Marvel film’s impending release:

Kumail Nanjiani’s take essentially summed up what a chaotic year the MCU has experienced with the rest of the world. Just from the final trailer alone, Eternals felt and looked like a movie meant for the big screen, not streaming from home. The diverse cast signaled a sense of harmony missing in the world right now. Being an internationally influenced film, Eternals could be a big moment for not only theaters but fans, much like the box office hit Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. As Nanjiani pointed out, the superhero film will hopefully reflect a global view of humanity.

But reflecting humanity and international influences wasn’t just a passing moment for Kumail Nanjiani. The Stuber star revealed in the same interview that Kingo being a Bollywood star allowed him to live out a childhood dream. The Bollywood dance scene in Eternals was a collaboration between Nanjiani and Chloé Zhao that pays tribute to the genre, according to the actor. It was nice to know the Silicon Valley alum poured his effort into making sure his character is authentic.

Given the level of dedication, Kumail Nanjiani seemed just as invested in the film as fans are. Hopefully, Kingo will allow him to shake off the nerdy stigma from being on Silicon Valley. Of course, Nanjiani as well as Marvel fans will have to wait until Nov. 5 to see if Eternals live up to the hype.

Kumail Nanjiani has built a strong career in Hollywood, but it's not difficult to say that the comedian and actor has played a lot of very similar roles. He generally is found in comedies playing meek and nerdy characters in everything from Silicon Valley to the comedy Stuber. His next big screen appearance will be in Eternals where he will play one member of a group of immortal super beings. It's about as far from where we normally see Nanjiani as possible, which was very much part of his decision to take the role.

In Eternals Kumail Nanjianji will play Kingo, who isn't just an immortal super being, he's an immortal super being who is also a Bollywood movie star. Kingo is cool, strong and rich. These are all qualities that we don't see in the characters usually played by the actor, and so he explains to People that he wanted his Eternals character to be all the things that he had never had a chance to play, and that actors like him rarely get the chance to play. Nanjiani explains...

And Kumail Nanjiani certainly pulled off the "strong physically" part. Images were published that showed the actor looking quite sculpted as part of his workout to get into Eternals shape. A lot of people were blown away at just how good he looked.

Kumail Nanjiani has played the nerd a lot in his career, and the role has often endeared him to audiences. He's funny and usually plays nice characters that people like. Of course, that may be because the other sort of role that is available to him, and actors like him, is far less endearing. He continues...

The trailers for Eternals have shown us images of what looks to be a full Bollywood-style dance number, so certainly there looks to be a lot of joy in the character of Kingo. It's maybe no surprise that he enjoys living on earth as much as he does. It will be something new for Kumail Nanjiani as a role, but perhaps it will lead to greater diversity of roles both for him, and other actors of colors. Eternals opens in November.

The first three Phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history have been driven by the assembling of one key team: The Avengers. Once that team defeated Thanos, its members have spread to the wind. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) has passed, as has Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Captain America (Chris Evans) lived a full life. It’s time to pass the baton. But to whom? Well, the first official trailer for Chloe Zhao’s Eternals suggests that a new team has been with us this entire time… and for centuries before that. They are, as their name suggests, eternal. And their introduction is about to flip the MCU on its ear. Watch the new trailer above, and then we will discuss.

The Eternals don’t have the household recognition of the Avengers, but that doesn’t make them any less compelling. Introduced by comic-book legend Jack Kirby, The Eternals are an immortal alien race who have been living our planet for the better part of 7,000 years. The Eternals were created by the Celestials, God-like creatures who also introduced an evil counterpart to the Eternals: The Deviants.

Eternals has the star-power in its cast to lure a wide audience beyond the Marvel faithful. Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harrington, Kumail Nanjiani, Gemma Chan and Richard Madden populate this cast of exciting superheroes, who will open up a new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a similar fashion to the way that James Gunn’s original Guardians of the Galaxy introduced cosmic storytelling that has since powered sequels like Thor: Ragnarok and origin stories such as Captain Marvel.

On top of the A-list talent in the cast, I could easily see a number of curious audience members coming to see Eternals because it’s the follow up film for Chloe Zhao, who just a few weeks ago collected the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars for her incredibly touching and contemplative drama, Nomadland, with Frances McDormand. Zhao is, at once, a brilliant but fascinating choice to take on a superhero blockbuster. Nothing on her resume suggests that she’d even be interested in comic-book storytelling such as this, but maybe that only proves that Eternals will be unlike any Marvel movie we have seen to date. That’s one guaranteed way to keep the future of the MCU feeling fresh.

There are two MCU movies that will arrive in theaters before Eternals opens, and that’s Black Widow (July 9) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3). But it was finally time to pull back the curtain on Eternals to show off the film’s tone, look, scope and themes. We’ll continue to track any new information that drops regarding this movie, and you should bookmark our Upcoming Marvel Guide to stay up-to-date on all of the latest Marvel Studios happenings.