We live in a time where it feels like movie franchises that were big in the 1990s and 2000s are the prime target for nostalgic movies, considering sequels to The Mummy, Practical Magic and The Devil Wears Prada are all on their way. That could also include Charlie’s Angels if what we’re hearing about Sony’s plans to call Bosley and bust out the angels pan out. Let's talk about it:

My Big Hope For The New Charlie’s Angels Movie

In a new report, Sony Pictures is hard at work on a new Charlie’s Angels movie, and they’ve already made their first hire. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Pete Chiarelli, who also penned The Proposal and Crazy Rich Asians, has been hired to pen the script. But, here’s the real kicker, the news also includes claims that Drew Barrymore and her production company Flower Films are involved, too. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Reunion!

Obviously, I’d love to see Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu back in action for a third Charlie’s Angels movie – especially since they remain friends over 20 years following making the movies together. Seeing Barrymore’s name on the report from an often very accurate source has me thinking it could happen. But, of course there’s also a possibility Barrymore hopes to take a more backseat, behind-the-scenes role in the next Charlie’s Angels movie, too.

What The Charlie’s Angels Actors Have Said About Returning

Since I’m taking this hope full throttle, let’s look back at what the trio of Charlie’s Angels actresses have said about returning for a sequel in the past few years. In 2022, Barrymore said she would make Charlie’s Angels 3 “in a heartbeat,” per Instagram. In 2024, Liu was asked and reacted by saying “I’m never going to say no to that,” but also expressed uncertainty about if it would ever actually happen. And then last year, when Cameron Diaz was promoting Back In Action, she said “it’d be amazing” to make the sequel.

In other words, it sounds like if the right script came along and all three women approved and had time in their busy schedules, it could be made. The only main actor that we’re doubtful would come back is Bill Murray after we heard there was a shouting match on set between him and Lucy Liu.

Sony eyeing a reboot for Charlie’s Angels comes seven years after the studio tried to revitalize the franchise that started in the 1970s with Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska. The movie directed by Elizabeth Banks flopped with a $73.3 million gross worldwide against a budget of $50 million. Banks has shared regrets about the movie being marketed “just for girls,” while Stewart said she “hated” making it.

Drew Barrymore currently spends most of her week filming The Drew Barrymore Show in New York City. Cameron Diaz is set to star in a movie with Keanu Reeves called Outcome this year, along with reprising her role as Princess Fiona in Shrek 5. Lucy Liu will star next in The Devil Wears Prada 2 coming this summer. While I don’t expect to hear more news about this until the script has been written, I’m crossing my fingers it will feature the 2000’s Charlie’s Angels somehow.

Lucy Liu has been a fan-favorite actress for her starring roles in Charlie’s Angels, Kill Bill and CBS’s Elementary. Recently, she’s added one of the highly-anticipated 2026 movies to her resume as one of the new cast members of The Devil Wears Prada 2. Amidst the film already going viral for all its fashion looks as production continues, Liu has made her first public comments about being part of it.

It was announced Lucy Liu had joined the cast of 20th Century Studios’ The Devil Wears Prada 2 back in July as filming was already underway. Here’s what Liu shared about her time on the project:

Liu spoke about the exciting fashion-forward comedy release to People while at the Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Program luncheon in New York City on Tuesday. We don’t currently know who Liu will be playing in the sequel, but she certainly has her own history working in the world of fashion, such as through collaboration with Alexander Wang, among other brands.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 will see the return of Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestley, Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs, Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton, Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling and Kenneth Branagh is reportedly playing Miranda’s new husband. Along with Liu, Justin Theroux, The Office’s B.J. Novak, Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley, My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Rachel Bloom and comedian Caleb Hearon also are in the movie. Sydney Sweeney was also allegedly seen on set as well.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 took over Avengers: Doomsday’s prime summer release date when the Marvel movie moved to the holiday season, which means it will kick off the season on May 1, 2026. We’ll be curious to see how it stacks up with other summer titles like The Mandalorian and Grogu, Masters of the Universe, Toy Story 5, Supergirl, Minions 3, the live-action Moana movie, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the new Tom Holland Spider-Man movie.

Disney just found some success with another comedic sequel with early 2000s nostalgia in this summer’s Freaker Friday starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. The movie is currently the No. 21 highest grossing movie of 2025 with a $148.5 million worldwide gross (per Box Office Mojo) and still going against a reported $45 million production budget.

The first The Devil Wears Prada was certainly a big hit back in 2006, making $326.5 million worldwide with a summer release date, placing it in the top fifteen movies of the year. Lucy Liu sounds excited for its coming release, and her comments only have us more interested in what her role will be.

Many of the biggest action stars of all time, in the best action movies, got their start in the 1980s and 1990s when action movies really started to dominate Hollywood. Stars like Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, and Keanu Reeves all started making their mark in those seminal decades in film. This gallery is a tribute to all the action stars who are still making movies today, but began their careers decades ago.

Keanu Reeves

While he broke out in comedies like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Parenthood, it wasn't long before Keanu Reeves was starring in big action flicks like Point Blank and Speed. Reeves isn't just an action star, but with the lead in two now-iconic franchises, The Matrix and John Wick, he definitely belongs near the top of any list like this.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie's career started early. She was just 6 years old when she appeared in her first movie in 1982 alongside her dad, Jon Voight. By the late '90s, she was on her way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the world. She got into action movies with films like Gone In 60 Seconds and her biggest franchise, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and while she has always kept one foot in more indie-type movies (including as a director), she's been a steady action star for decades.

Nicolas Cage

It's hard to come up with a Hollywood star with a more diverse acting career than Nicolas Cage. His rage is actually pretty amazing, and that certainly includes starring in some great action movies, like the iconic Con Air and the National Treasure movies.

Scarlett Johansson

Like a lot of actors on this list, Scarlett Johansson can't be pigeon-holed as simply an action star. She is, however, one of the major players in the MCU as Black Widow, and has starred in other action flicks like Jurassic World Rebirth and Lucy.

Wesley Snipes

Most of the biggest box office successes of Wesley Snipes' early career were comedies like Major League, Wildcats, and White Men Can't Jump. In the early '90s he transistioned into action movies with leading roles in the likes of New Jack City, Passenger 57, and Rising Son. He also starred in Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone, and, of course, as Blade in three movies.

Halle Berry

You might not think of Halle Berry as an action star... until you remember how many superhero movies she's starred in. Not only was she an important part of the X-Men franchise, but she was also Batwoman in 2004 and has also starred in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and others.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

This one is a little tricky. Technically, action movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger had his first role way back in 1970 with Hercules in New York, but that was really a one-off B-movie that was soon forgotten. After he spent the 1970s winning every bodybuilding trophy on Earth, he entered Hollywood properly in 1982 when he starred in Conan the Barbarian. Everything since is action history.

Robert Downey, Jr.

Robert Downey, Jr. doesn't jump off the page as an action star. The Oscar winner has proven he can star in any genre, but as the anchor of the MCU movies for more than a decade, he definitely belongs on this list.

Tom Cruise

There's nothing to be said about Tom Cruise that hasn't already been written, right? One of the biggest stars in Hollywood history, Cruise has starred in action movies like Top Gun and its sequel, a couple of Jack Reacher movies, the Mission: Impossible franchise, and great one-offs like Edge of Tomorrow, War of the Worlds, and Minority Report, to name just a few. Plus, he famously does a ton of his own stunts, which shows just how much he belongs on any list of big action stars.

Milla Jovovich

Milla Jovovich started as a model, but transitioned to movies with films like Return to the Blue Lagoon and Dazed and Confused. Soo,n though, she started popping up in legendary action movies like The Fifth Element and, most notably, as Alice in six Resident Evil movies.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

In the '80s, a whole slew of action-first stars emerged, and one of the most popular was Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme first gained fame in No Retreat, No Surrender, and followed that with hits like Bloodsport and Cyborg.

Linda Hamilton

Director James Cameron can be divisive, but you can't argue that he knows how to create female action star leads with great parts and great casting. Linda Hamilton is a legend from her appearances in the Terminator movies over the years.

Kurt Russell

Okay, we have to acknowledge that Kurt Russell's career started when he was a child star with Disney way back in the 1960s. In the '80s, he fully dove into action flicks in a big way with movies like Escape from New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China, all directed by one of the decade's best directors, John Carpenter. He's since been in a slew of action movies.

Mel Gibson

With the Mad Max franchise and the Lethal Weapon movies, Mel Gibson would be on this list even if those were his only movies. Of course, he has so much more, like Braveheart, Ransom, and many of the other best action movies of the '90s.

Thandiwe Newton

Thandiwe Newton debuted in 1991's comedy Flirting, and in the '90s and beyond, she's starred in action movies like Mission: Impossible 2, The Chronicles of Riddick, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and 2012. She's also starred in TV shows like Westworld that fit in this genre, too.

Dolph Lundgren

One of the pillars of cheesy (and awesome) '80s action is the great Dolph Lundgren. From fantasy heroes like He-Man in 1987's Masters of the Universe to communist boxers like Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, he's been a staple for decades in lots of action movies, including part of the O.G. cast in The Expendables franchise.

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu kicked off her career in the early '90s, and before too long, she started doing some awesome action movies. Probably the most notable are the Charlie's Angels movies and the Kill Bill movies, but she's also got some less-well-known ones like The Man with the Iron Fists, directed by RZA, and even superhero movies, like Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Jason Statham

Like other actors on this list, Jason Statham didn't start in true action flicks. His first roles were in the Guy Ritchie films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, but within a couple of years, he became a full-blown action hero in The Transporter and The Italian Job. Now it seems like he's in all the biggest action franchises, like The Expendables and the Fast & Furious movies.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron is one of the most versatile actresses in Hollywood. She won an Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the terrifying true story Monster. She's also been in acclaimed dramas like The Road, Cider House Rules, and Bombshell. Of course, she's starred in a whole slew of great action movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, Æon Flux, and a few of the Fast & Furious movies.

Jet Li

Jet Li started out in movies in Hong Kong in the early 1980s, where he quickly established himself as one of the great martial arts stars in Chinese-language films. After a decade and a half in Hong Kong, he moved to Hollywood in the late '90s, starring first as the villain in Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998. He became such a big action star that he was included in the first three Expendables movies.

Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner might not seem like the typical action star, but he definitely is. Movies like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Postman, and the incredibly underrated Waterworld prove that when he wants to be, he can be a great action hero.

Michelle Yeoh

Like some other actors on this list, Michelle Yeoh starred in martial arts movies in Hong Kong in the '90s. Her breakout film in the West was as Wai Lin in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, where she showed the whole world her stage fighting and stunt skills. Since then, she's been in hits like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and, of course, Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress.

Bruce Willis

There's no way this list would be complete without the great Bruce Willis! Die Hard will always be one of the best action movies of all time and in many ways helps define what a action movie in the 1980s looked and felt like. Only Willis could have pulled off the the wit and charm of John McClane. He's been in a ton of action movies since, of course. He is now retired, due to his health, but he worked right up until he no longer could.

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz took a long hiatus from acting, finally returning in the 2025 Netflix release, appropriately called Back in Action. While she may be best known for her roles in romcoms like There's Something About Mary and The Mask and dramas like Gangs of New York and Vanilla Sky, she's had her fair share of action hits too, like Charlie's Angels and Knight and Day.

Steven Seagal

It's easy to forget just how huge an action star Steven Seagal was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He actually sort of dominated the box office with movies like Hard To Kill, Above The Law, Mark For Death, and Out For Justice. He reached the artistic pinnacle of his career with 1992's Under Siege. It's not just a great movie for teenage boys like his first four movies; it's legitimately a great movie, with great performances from Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gary Busey. Sure, he's not making movies on that level anymore, but he's still been churning out straight-to-video-type releases for decades.

Peter Weller

Peter Weller's breakout came in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension in 1984, but he really hit the big time with 1987's classic RoboCop. Sure, it was insanely violent, but RoboCop had a unique political message, too. Weller's been going strong ever since.

Robert Patrick

The iconic T-1000 in Terminator 2 became one of the great action villains of the 1990s. Robert Patrick played the role of the callous, cold robot killer perfectly. It established him as a legit action star, and he's been busy ever since.

Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke isn't only an action star. In fact, most of his roles have been in serious dramas, starting with movies like The Pope of Greenwich Village and 9½ Weeks in the 1980s, but he's definitely proven his action bona fides with roles in Iron Man 2, Sin City, and The Expendables.

Matt Damon

Anyone who has starred as Jason Bourne in four films deserves to be on this list. Sure, Matt Damon might not be the first actor you think of as an action hero, but come on! You can't deny that he belongs on this list for those films alone. Throw in movies like The Martian and Elysium, and he definitely should be here.

Dwayne Johnson

We're making a slight exception here. Technically, Dwayne Johnson's first movie credit came in 2001 in The Mummy Returns, but he had been quite famous for years for his work in the WWE throughout the 1990s. So while he didn't get his start in movies until later, he was a well-established star years before that. Of course, in the two and a half decades since his first movie role, he's become one of the biggest action heroes of all time.

Zoe Bell

This is another interesting case. Zoe Bell's first acting role in a movie was in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof in 2007. However, she had already built a legendary career as a stunt woman going back to the 1990s. With the Academy Awards (finally) adding a trophy for best stunts, we're going to include Bell here, because she's been performing in movies for decades.

Will Smith

He started as a rapper, then got into acting with comedy, and in the '90s, Will Smith became a big action star with movies like Independence Day, Bad Boys, and Men in Black. He's proven to be a very versatile actor over the years, starring in every genre of film you can think of.

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular characters in the history of fiction. Since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the character, he's been adapted and reimagined countless times. There are actually two current versions of the characters on TV today, with the CW’s period piece, Sherlock & Daughter, and CBS’ modern medical drama, Watson.

The new series follows from another modern-day adaptation of the characters on CBS that was also produced by Watson producer Craig Sweeney, Elementary (which is streamable with a Hulu subscription). That show took the uncommon step of making Holmes’ sidekick female, creating Joan Watson as played by Lucy Liu. The current TV Watson, Morris Chestnut, recently told Deadline that he is very interested in getting his predecessor to appear on the current series, and I love it. He said…

Chestnut, who also executive produces Watson, made it clear that there are no current talks with Lucy Liu to get her to appear, but that he is serious about trying to get her on the show. This would be a great moment for fans, as it may be fair to assume that more than a few of the people watching Watson had previously been viewers of Elementary.

Watson is set in the period following Sherlock Holmes' famous death at the Reichenbach Falls. The eponymous character runs a clinic where he tackles medical cases that confound other doctors, not unlike House, M.D., which was itself inspired by Holmes.

Lucy Liu would certainly play a different character, but she would be great as a high-profile guest star. An obvious way in is for the actress to play a patient of the week, dealing with whatever mysterious ailment is stumping Watson and his team at that time. Alternatively, depending on what the plans are for Watson's second season, there might be a recurring role available that could bring Liu in for a longer story.

For her part, Liu was recently asked if she had any interest in returning to Elementary. She didn’t indicate any particular desire to do so, but she did indicate that she enjoyed her time on the series, which ran for seven seasons from 2012 to 2019. So maybe an appearance on a related, but unconnected, show is something she’d be up for if asked.

If the Charlie's Angels icon is interested in joining a brand-new world of Sherlock and Watson, there’s plenty of time to find the right place for her. We already know that Watson Season 2 isn’t set to debut until early 2026. This gives the series' producers quite a bit of time to figure out where they want to go.

Ultimately, I'm curious to see whether the new series ends up having two Watsons before it ever gives us this universe’s version of Sherlock Holmes. However, Morris Chestnut also implies that day will likely come, though exactly when is anybody’s guess. In the meantime, you can stream Chestnut's show using a Paramount+ subscription.

The next time you watch a comedy movie, see if you can picture the star engaging in fisticuffs with a criminal and taking down their henchpeople in a shootout. You never know: they could be Hollywood’s next great action hero.

It may seem unlikely until you realize that many of the best action movies and TV shows of all time have been led by or featured pivotal roles played by stand-up comedians or actors who broke through in funny flicks or even classic TV sitcoms. See for yourself by taking a look at some comedically talented actors who beat the odds by becoming action stars.

Will Smith

After initially coming to prominence as a rap artist, Academy Award winner Will Smith proved he had a charismatic onscreen presence as the star of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast in the early 1990s. In 1995, he was cast in director Michael Bay's buddy cop movie, Bad Boys, and, the following year, led Roland Emmerich's action-packed alien invasion flick, Independence Day. There would soon be so much more where those came from.

Cheech Marin

Along with his partner, Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin essentially became the face of stoner comedy, especially after co-leading the classic '70s movie, Up in Smoke. His career would take a turn when he appeared in 1995's Desperado, leading him to become a staple of Robert Rodriguez's movies, and, eventually, began portraying a type of character his roles from the Cheech & Chong movies would try to avoid alongside Don Johnson in the hit cop show, Nash Bridges.

Chris Pratt

By channeling much of the same comedic energy from his scene-stealing breakout role in the Parks and Recreation cast as Andy Dwyer, Chris Pratt helped make 2014's sci-fi odyssey, Guardians of the Galaxy, a light breath of fresh air into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His fun, heartfelt performance as Peter "Star-Lord" Quill also convinced Hollywood he was leading man material, opening the door for him to star in the Jurassic World movies and Amazon Prime's The Terminal List, to name a few.

Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd made his major motion picture debut in the hilarious high school movie classic Clueless before later hit comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Knocked Up made him one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors in the genre. He found the perfect role to become inducted into the MCU in the form of Ant-Man, playing the shrinking superhero with the same everyman quality that made him an A-lister.

Michael Keaton

Because Michael Keaton got his start in stand-up comedy and had been best known for movies like Night Shift and Mr. Mom at the time, comic book fans were up in arms over Tim Burton's decision to cast him in his live-action Batman movies, Batman and Batman Returns. The Oscar nominee has since been regarded as one of the best actors to play the Dark Knight (if not the best) and would even return to superhero movies as one of the best Spider-Man movie villains, Vulture, in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Nicolas Cage

It is easy to forget that Nicolas Cage started out in comedies like Valley Girl and Peggy Sue Got Married before blowing us away in high-octane thrillers like Con Air, Face/Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. Then again, it is also easy to tell that the Oscar winner has a comedy background from some of his action movie credits, including the three listed above and his even Cagier roles, like from Mandy and Willy's Wonderland.

Damon Wayans

You may have forgotten he was on Saturday Night Live, but you should surely remember Damon Wayans from his days on the In Living Color cast and from sitcoms like My Wife and Kids. Hopefully, you did not also forget about his roles in '90s crime thrillers The Last Boy Scout (opposite Bruce Willis) and Bulletproof (opposite Adam Sandler) or when he took over as Roger Murtaugh for Fox's series adaptation of Lethal Weapon.

Robert Downey Jr.

After lasting one season on Saturday Night Live, appearing in several '80s teen comedies like Weird Science, and earning his first Oscar nod for playing Charlie Chaplin, Robert Downey Jr.'s career would hit a snag in the early 2000s. Luckily, he would make an inspiring comeback after leading the 2005 noir thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang before kicking off the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the title role of Iron Man and playing Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes.

Eddie Murphy

Many credit Eddie Murphy with single-handedly saving Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s, right before making his feature debut alongside Nick Nolte in Walter Hill's 1982 buddy crime thriller, 48 Hrs. Just two years later, the comedian led his own acclaimed action-comedy movie called Beverly Hills Cop, which made him Hollywood's biggest star.

Bruce Willis

In the mid-to-late 1980s, Bruce Willis was best known for playing David Addison on Moonlighting, starring opposite Kim Basinger in Blind Date, and appearing in commercials for Seagram, which is why audiences initially laughed when they saw him as John McClane in the trailer for Die Hard. However, the 1988 action classic would immediately skyrocket the actor to stardom and turn him into a top Hollywood action star, later known for leading thrillers like The Fifth Element, Armageddon, and Sin City.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx's stand-up career led him to join the In Living Color cast and lead his own self-titled sitcom before his Oscar-winning performance in the 2004 music biopic, Ray, and Oscar-nominated performance in Collateral the same year opened wider doors for him. He went on to star in more thrillers like Jarhead, The Kingdom, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Electro, and White House Down.

Alan Ritchson

One of Alan Ritchson's first major acting credits was playing doltish college football player Thad Castle on the uproarious sitcom Blue Mountain State before landing a small role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, doing performance capture for the 2014 and 2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, and playing Hank "Hawk" Hall on Titans. The 6'3" actor's defining, star-making turn came when he was cast in the title role of the hit Amazon Prime TV show, Reacher, leading to his casting in Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu landed her breakthrough role on the hit workplace dramedy Ally McBeal as Ling Woo. Soon after, she achieved cinematic stardom in 2000's Charlie's Angels, teamed up with Antonio Banderas in the 2002 spy thriller Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, and was cast as ruthless assassin O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk wrote for Saturday Night Live for years in the 1980s before co-leading his own acclaimed sketch comedy series with David Cross called Mr. Show, which was his main claim to fame for years. However, he stumbled onto a new career path when he joined the Breaking Bad cast as Saul Goodman, who earned his own prequel spin-off called Better Call Saul, before leading his own action flick called Nobody.

Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence led a successful stand-up career that turned into a successful TV career with his hit sitcom, Martin, in between starring in movies like Do the Right Thing and Boomerang. In 1995, he played Det. Marcus Burnett, for the first of multiple times in Bad Boys and even went on to play a cop in a few more overt comedies, namely Blue Streak and Big Momma's House.

Ryan Reynolds

For years, even after starring in more earnest thrillers like Smokin' Aces and Safe House, it seemed like Ryan Reynolds' defining performance would forever be the title role of National Lampoon's Van Wilder, which paved the way for him to star in more raunchy comedies like Waiting... or Just Friends. However, that would change in 2016 when he led Deadpool, which is still very much on the side of silly but is also as action-packed as any other comic book movie.

Sam Richardson

Sam Richardson quickly became a favorite in the comedy landscape for his hilarious performances in shows like I Think You Should Leave, Veep, and Ted Lasso. He would later go on to impress audiences in Amazon Prime's action-packed time travel movie The Tomorrow War opposite Chris Pratt, as the lead of the 2021 horror-comedy movie Werewolves Within, and in Paramount+'s Star Trek: Section 31.

Keanu Reeves

As the star of franchises like the John Wick movies and the Matrix films, in addition to favorites like Speed and Point Break, Keanu Reeves is one of the most prolific action stars in cinema history. Thus, it is sometimes hard to believe that he is the same actor who, excellently, played one-half of the titular duo from the Bill & Ted movies.

John Goodman

John Goodman began rising to prominence on the groundbreaking sitcom Roseanne as Dan Conner (whom he would reprise in the revival series The Conners). However, he has managed to cover just about every genre you can think of throughout his career, including action films like Kong: Skull Island and Atomic Blonde.

Emily Blunt

It might seem like a stretch to call Emily Blunt a comedy star, but she did find her breakthrough film role with a hilarious scene-stealing performance in 2006's The Devil Wears Prada. She would later prove she could play someone with a rougher exterior when she starred opposite Tom Cruise in the thrilling time loop movie, Edge of Tomorrow, and in Denis Villeneuve's stunning Sicario.

Rick Moranis

Rick Moranis is one of the most treasured comedic actors of his time, from his days at SCTV starring alongside Dave Thomas as the McKenzie Brothers (who led their own 1983 movie, Strange Brew), to appearing in films like Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. In the middle of those comedy classics was a role in Walter Hill's dystopian "Rock 'n Roll fable," Streets of Fire.

Bill Burr

Bill Burr used to mock the Star Wars movies in some of his stand-up bits, which gave The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau a funny idea to bring him into the galaxy far, far away. He cast the Massachusetts-born comedian on the series as a mercenary named Migs Mayfield, which Burr has since recognized as one of the highlights of his career.

John Leguizamo

Despite getting his start as a stand-up comedian, many of John Leguizamo's earliest acting roles have actually been in action movies, including Die Hard 2 and Executive Decision. In addition to more humorous credits, like To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar and the Ice Age movies, more thrillers would come his way, such as the John Wick movies and Violent Night.

Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson may be closely associated with comedies like Bottle Rocket, Meet the Parents, and Zoolander, but the actor has diversified his talents over various styles. He has even tried his hand at the action genre a few times, most notably in Behind Enemy Lines, No Escape, and Disney+'s MCU-canon series, Loki

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks' first major show business breakthrough was a sitcom called Bosom Buddies, which led to roles in comedy films like Bachelor Party and Turner & Hooch. It was his Oscar-winning roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump that opened the door for him to star in intense dramas like the acclaimed war movie Saving Private Ryan and the sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas.

Val Kilmer

Some of Val Kilmer's most iconic roles include Iceman in Top Gun, Doc Holliday in the Western movie classic Tombstone, and the title role of Batman Forever. However, his breakthrough films were the ridiculous spy parody, Top Secret!, and the college comedy, Real Genius, in the early-to-mid 1980s.

Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis rose to fame as Jackie Burkhart in the That '70s Show cast and as the voice of Meg on Family Guy before acquiring A-list fame. Her action movie credits, namely the video game movie adaptation Max Payne and the Wachowski's ambitious sci-fi adventure, Jupiter Ascending, have not been her most esteemed efforts, but we will still count them.

Randall Park

Randall Park is best known for leading the sitcom Fresh off the Boat, his hilarious cameo on The Office as "Asian Jim Halpert," and for hit comedy movies like The Interview and Neighbors. He has also become a staple of the comic book movie genre with his role in the MCU as Agent Jimmy Woo and as Dr. Shin in the Aquaman movies.

Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf started making a name for himself when he was a teen as Louis on the Disney Channel original comedy series, Even Stevens. He went on to make a Hollywood breakthrough in the Transformers movies, which led to his roles in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and, eventually, David Ayer's 2014 war drama, Fury.

Malin Akerman

Before she became the first actor to play Silk Spectre II in live-action in 2009's Watchmen, Malin Akerman rose to fame in comedy movies like 2007's The Heartbreak Kid and shows like Children's Hospital.

Jim Belushi

Just like his late older brother, John, Jim Belushi broke out on Saturday Night Live. Unlike John, Jim achieved a brief career in action movies, such as Red Heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Principal, and Oliver Stone's Salvador.

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine was already an Oscar-winning movie star when he was cast as the lead of the hit sitcom, McHale's Navy. Eventually, he would appear in more earnest action-oriented titles, such as a made-for-TV adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, John Carpenter's Escape from New York, and 2010's RED.

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved Sherlock Holmes, so whenever a new film or television adaptation of Holmes comes along, I am always interested in checking it out. These days, that has meant watching the new Watson series on CBS. While I had some concerns after the pilot, the show has been entertaining enough. However, it has actually made me think a lot about the other modern Sherlock Holmes adaptation that used to air on CBS, Elementary.

In the now surprisingly robust genre of Sherlock Holmes adaptations set in the modern day, Elementary is likely less popular than the Sherlock series that starred Benedict Cumberbatch. However, if I were to pick which one I’d like to get another season of, I’d pick the one that starred Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson.

Now, with that in mind, my interest was very piqued when Lucy Liu was asked about a revival...

Elementary Was One Of The Best Modern Sherlock Holmes Adaptations

In a lot of ways, Elementary was the best of the modern Sherlock Holmes adaptations. The show was essentially a police procedural that saw Holmes and Watson assisting the police in a different case each week. Considering the majority of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work consisted of short stories, this episodic structure fit perfectly.

Sherlock Holmes is also potentially the original example of “guy who is not a cop but works with the cops to solve crimes,” a genre of television drama and comedy that has been incredibly popular for decades. Bringing it all together makes a lot of sense.

Elementary used plots from the original stories on occasion, though giving them a modern twist. The Elementary cast also included numerous characters from Doyle's canon, but almost always in new ways. It was able to be faithful to the source material while also being its own thing, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want more.

What Lucy Liu Said About Reviving Elementary

Elementary ran for seven seasons, a very healthy run for a network TV series, and it came to a satisfying conclusion. Having said that, the conclusion indicates that Holmes and Watson are far from done with their work as consulting detectives, so a revival is at least possible. ScreenRant recently spoke with Lucy Liu about a potential return, but she says it’s not something that she has ever considered. Liu said…

While Liu hasn’t considered a return to Elementary, she indicates that despite the “blur” that making the show was, she enjoyed her time on it, so she might be up to it. Until then, she seemingly references Watson in saying she’s glad that the legacy of the Great Detective lives on…

An Elementary revival would seemingly be less likely while Watson continues on the same network. Still, who knows? We’ve seen other shows get dusted off for revivals years after the fact. Perhaps it could happen for Elementary at some point.

Demi Moore has been receiving a lot of praise for starring in one of the best horror movies we’ve seen in years, The Substance – and was CinemaBlend’s collective favorite movie of 2024. On top of Moore being nominated for Best Actress by the Academy, she reunited with her fellow Charlie's Angels alums over 20 years after being in Full Throttle. Her conversation with Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu saw the iconic Hollywood actresses talking about Moore's powerful movie and her iconic FT bikini scene, of course.

The Charlie’s Angels Reunited With Demi Moore To Celebrate The Substance

Just recently, Cameron Diaz was asked about reviving Charlie’s Angels, following her return to acting for Netflix's Back In Action. It's unclear if that'll happen, but I'll certainly take Lucy Liu, Barrymore and Diaz appearing on Zoom together to celebrate Demi Moore’s The Substance performance for Vanity Fair. During their conversation, Lucy Liu said this of Moore’s Oscar-nominated work:

Imagine having all the Charlie’s Angels in your corner? Cameron Diaz was also very affected by Moore’s work in The Substance as well, saying this:

In The Substance, Moore plays a fictional Hollywood star named Elisabeth Sparkle who is fired from her aerobics TV show on her 50th birthday. While wrestling with no longer being valued in her industry, she decides to take a black market drug that allows her to create and be a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of herself (played by Margaret Qualley) every two weeks. However, the drug leads to some complications in her life… to say the least.

With all of that in mind, the Mask star also applauded the way Coralie Fargeat's movie for how it “shredded” what a motion picture about the film industry could be and did it in the most “audacious, violent, crazy way that you could possibly do it.” The conversation on the Academy Awards contender was stimulating as was the recollection of the bikini scene from Full Throttle.

How Demi Moore Reflected On The Charlie’s Angels Bikini Scene With Her Co-Stars

Along with Demi Moore getting some major props from her former co-stars for The Substance, Drew Barrymore also lauded the Brat Pack member for joining Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle years ago. That casting came right after the actress had walked away from acting for a time. By that time, Moore had a ton of big movies under her belt. Barrymore talked about how Moore was a “badass” for walking away “at the height of success and taken time for herself” to raise her kids before returning to the business. Moore then said this:

Amid her promotion of The Substance, Demi Moore’s bikini scene from the action comedy has come up a few times. The Oscar nominee recalled chatter around her being in a bikini for the 2003 movie felt very “heightened” due to all the talk about how she looked. In regard to the scene, Moore has also admitted that she had no idea it would spark “such a big conversation,” but felt like it was just because she was 40.

It’s so great to see Demi Moore getting some support from her former co-stars and having some solid conversations with them about The Substance, Full Throttle and the film industry as a whole. I know I'll be rooting for her when the 97th Academy Awards air on Sunday, March 2, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

Steven Soderbergh is a celebrated filmmaker, recognized for movies including Erin Brokovich, Traffic, and his debut Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Never afraid to push boundaries, the director is now bringing his unique perspective to the 2025 movie calendar with his upcoming horror movie Presence. Starring Lucy Liu, Julia Fox and Chris Sullivan, Presence is finally hitting theaters on January 24 — a full year after it began garnering attention from its premiere at Sundance and other film festivals. Let’s see what critics are saying about Soderbergh’s supernatural thriller.

Told from the perspective of the entity that inhabits the home of the Payne family, Presence is apparently so intense that some audience members walked out of its film festival premiere, and even the cast was reportedly left shaken. CinemaBlend’s Corey Chichizola had the opportunity to see the film, and he says Presence puts a spin on POV horror that he never knew he needed. He writes:

Lindsey Bahr of the AP gives the movie 3 out of 4 stars, saying as director and cinematographer, Steven Soderbergh really IS the ghost, and he weaves quite the “chillingly effective tale” that packs an unexpected punch. Bahr says:

Jesse Hassenger of AV Club gives it a B+, likening the movie to the Paranormal Activity franchise with a twist. The new spin on found footage horror is worth every penny of the ticket price, the critic says, writing:

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times rates Presence 3 out of 4 stars, positing that it was such an interesting story that it would have even worked without the ghost. The dysfunctional family provides the drama, and honestly the horror too. Roeper continues:

While many critics are buying into Steven Soderbergh’s POV, Nerds of Color’s Mike Manalo says the familiar dysfunctional family story drags down the director’s attempts to liven up the trope of having a dead protagonist. Manalo applauds its diverse cast, though, and admits the movie is still worth seeing. The critic gives Presence an A for representation but a C+ for entertainment, writing:

The critics have lots of interesting takes on the upcoming haunted house movie, but overall they seem to agree that Steven Soderbergh’s POV is one worth checking out. On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s been Certified Fresh with 88% on the Tomatometer, so if you want to see what this movie is all about — and what had people walking out of theaters on the festival circuit — Presence hits theaters on Friday, January 24.

Sometimes when actors work together they become lifelong friends. There have been more marriages than one can count that came about after two stars met on set. However, not every relationship between actors is wonderful, and some of them can get downright ugly. One of the most famous stories of actors clashing involves Lucy Liu and Bill Murray on the set of Charlie’s Angels.

According to most versions of the story, Bill Murray once insulted Lucy Liu’s acting ability when the two appeared in the first Charlie’s Angels film in 2000. Some versions of the story claim Liu took swings at Murray, at the very least it led to shouting and swearing. Liu was the least known of the three female leads, alongside Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, which might have put her in a position where it was harder for her to defend herself. But the actress tells The Guardian that it was never even a consideration to stay quiet. Liu explained…

According to Shaun Obanion, who was a production assistant on the film, the issues started when Bill Murray allegedly rewrote pages of the script, without even informing director McG or Drew Barrymore, who was also a producer of the film. When Lucy Liu called him out for his behavior, Murray insulted her for being a “TV” actress. In 2000 Lucy Liu was best known for her role in the ensemble of Ally McBeal.

Liu, who recently appeared in the Dwayne Johnson Christmas movie Red One, admits that if she were the sort of person who stayed quiet, her career likely would have been easier than it has been. However, as an Asian American actress has felt that her career has always had difficulties. Liu continued…

Bill Murray has seen other accusations of bad behavior on set throughout his career. Geena Davis has also accused Murray of being inappropriate, though the Charlie’s Angels story may be the most widely known. While we may not have a clear view of the details, multiple sources, including co-star Drew Barrymore confirmed that the altercation took place and that Liu was more than willing and able to stand up for herself against the one who was arguably the biggest star on the set.

When you hit icon status like Lucy Liu, you need to have fun and a good sense of humor. She’s been acting in the industry since the ‘90s, expanded into producing and directing, and is a mother, all while making appearances on both our 2024 movie schedule and 2024 TV schedule. The 55-year-old seems to be busier than ever but still takes the time to enjoy sharing her work with her son. Although, she shared humorously that she hasn’t shown him all of her films, including Charlie’s Angels.

Liu was on The Drew Barrymore Show along with Red One cast-mate, Kiernan Shipka, to discuss the holiday action movie as well as her and Barrymore’s iconic 2000s Charlie’s Angels series. While covering the new Jake Kasdan-helmed holiday film, the Chicago alum shared her son loved it. In fact, he enjoyed it so much, that he wanted to rewatch it immediately, and the trio proceeded to fawn over the sweetness of her son.

Then the television host asked Liu skeptically if she’d let him watch the female crime-fighting franchise, and she revealed that he hadn’t because of the mature and revealing content. The Elementary alum shared her response with a laugh:

I think that’s probably the right call for an elementary-aged kid, especially your own. There would be too much to explain within the series for someone that young and close to you. Someday the Kill Bill alum will share the early '00s staple, but Red One seems like a much better option for now.

It’s been almost 25 years since the vintage action-packed films more than cemented Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz’s names into Hollywood history. While the first installment is regarded as one of the best '60s-’70s shows-turned-movies, and the actresses are still friends it didn’t come without its trouble. Many stories were running about the trio, including Liu not getting along with the other two, which she debunked.

I’m hoping one of them will eventually debunk the idea of us not getting a Charlie's Angels 3 return. In the meantime though, the Angels fans and I are getting regular doses of Liu and Barrymore, and can expect to see Diaz soon. She’ll be in our 2025 movie schedule reuniting with Jamie Foxx in Back in Action, and then making her eventual return as Fiona in Shrek 5, coming in 2026.

As for Liu and her son, I hope they continue to enjoy her approved choices for him, and when they do reach Charlie’s Angels, it’s as humorous and fun as this exchange was. If you’d like to watch a current project of Lucy Liu’s check out A Man in Full with a Netflix subscription.

Steven Soderbergh is an acclaimed filmmaker who has used his talents in a variety of different genres. His upcoming horror movie titled Presence prompted walkouts during Sundance, and has continued being featured in other Film Festivals. I had the chance to catch an early screening of the flick, which put a new spin on POV horror. And I didn’t realize I needed this take on found footage.

Soderbergh is known for taking bold creative risks in his projects, like the movie Unsane which was shot entirely on an iPhone. He's once again done it with Presence, which is shot entirely from the POV of the titular ghost in the story. And this bold choice, as well as its twist ending, might help make it one of the best horror movies in recent memory.

I had the chance to see Presence at the Hamptons International Film Festival, and was immediately taken by its unique visual language. The audience IS the ghost that the family is sensing, hiding in a closet until Lucy Liu's Rebecca and the Payne family move into their new home. And we watch as the titular presence observes them, before eventually getting involved in what's happening in the house. As a reminder, you can check out the movie's cryptic teaser below:

While told in a unique set of circumstances, the very beginning of Presence feels like one of the best found footage movies. In a style made famous by The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity franchise, audiences would be able to be brought directly into the story they're following. That happens in Soderbergh's latest movie, although it brings us into the POV of the ghost that scaring up the family.

Much like other moviegoers, the trend of found footage eventually got tired, with the Paranormal Activity movies becoming less scary as they went on. Which is why being the ghost of Presence felt like such a breathe of spooky, fresh air. And despite being in the POV of the one with power in the situation, Soderbergh's pacing and legendary Jurassic Park writer David Koepp's script allowed tension to build into a wildly satisfying (and moving) climax.

I won't spoil the content of Presence's 85-minute runtime but the film has some truly disturbing scenes in it. There's one where protagonist Chloe (Callina Liang) is in danger features a situation that is truly going to be nightmare fuel for me. And that's one of many delightfully startling moments throughout the film.

But as mentioned, the ending of Presence is truly moving. The story is expertly crafted, allowing the audience and the characters of the film to really earn its final moments. And it proved that POV horror and found footage still has the potential to make a big impact.

Presence is expected to arrive in theaters January 17th. Check the 2025 movie release dates for now.

The X-Files is an iconic show to come out of the early '90s, and the combination of mythology stories and Monster of the Week episodes created enough of a hit to last nine original seasons, two revival seasons, and two feature films. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson aren't the only big names to come out of the show, however, as a number of the guest stars went on to become stars of their own shows. Read on for the standouts!

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds is known for big screen ventures like the Deadpool films nowadays, but The X-Files fans saw a very young version of the actor in the Season 3 episode “Syzygy” in 1996… briefly, anyway! His character was killed off before the end of the cold open, but Reynolds would go on to star in ABC’s hit Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place sitcom from 1998-2001.

Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston proved a master of comedy with Malcolm in the Middle and of drama with Breaking Bad, but he flexed his acting muscles on The X-Files earlier on. While playing the ill-fated Patrick Crump in the Season 6 episode “Drive” wasn’t his first TV credit, the 1998 gig introduced him to executive producer Vince Gilligan, who would go on to cast Cranston as Walter White.

Jack Black

Long before School of Rock and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Jack Black played Bart “Zero” Liquori in Episode 3 of The X-Files’ third season in 1995. He would later star in TV projects like Tenacious D between 1997-2000, The Brink in 2015, and the Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight animated series from 2022-2023.

Terry O'Quinn

Terry O’Quinn portrayed three different franchise characters. He played Lt. Brian Tillman in the “Aubrey” episode of Season 2 in 1995, SAC Michaud in The X-Files: Fight the Future feature film, and Shadow Man in the “Trust No 1” episode of Season 9 in 2002. Best known now as John Locke on Lost from 2004-2010, he also recurred on shows including Hawaii Five-0, FBI: Most Wanted, and Resident Alien.

Luke Wilson

Luke Wilson holds a special place in the hearts of many X-Files fans for starring as the vampire sheriff Lucius Hartwell in arguably the show’s best episode: “Bad Blood” in 1998. Following that Season 5 episode, he landed multi-episode gigs on shows including That ‘70s Show and Roadies before starring in the DC Comics-based series Stargirl from 2020-2022.

Lucy Liu

Future Kill Bill actress Lucy Liu played Kim Hsin in The X-Files’ third season episode called “Hell Money” back in 1996. She debuted in her first series regular role on the sitcom Pearl later that year, but her big TV break would be Ling Woo on Ally McBeal before playing Dr. Joan Watson in CBS’ Elementary from 2012-2019.

Tony Shalhoub

Before he was an Emmy- and Tony Award-winner, Tony Shalhoub appeared in the Season 2 episode of The X-Files called “Soft Light” as the very stressed Dr. Chester Ray Banton. While he was already starring on NBC’s sitcom Wings at the time, his most acclaimed (and award-winning) work came later with Monk starting in 2002 and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel starting in 2017.

Jane Lynch

The ninth season of The X-Files wasn't the most popular, but the “Lord of the Flies” episode in 2001 featured Jane Lynch as Mrs. Anne T. Lokensgard years before she introduced the world to Sue Sylvester on Fox’s Glee. For that role, she'd be nominated for three Emmys and win one over the course of six seasons from 2009-2015.

Felicity Huffman

Considering Felicity Huffman's later fame for Sports Night, American Crime, and Desperate Housewives, it can be easy to overlook her very early episode of The X-Files as Dr. Nancy Da Silva in 1993. The Season 1 episode was an homage to the iconic horror film The Thing and remains one of the show’s best more than thirty years later.

Shia LaBeouf

When one thinks of Shia LaBeouf as a child star, his lead role as Louis Stevens in Disney Channel’s Even Stevens from 2000-2003 probably comes to mind first. One year earlier, however, the future household name played a sick youngster by the name of Richie in a Season 7 episode of The X-Files called “The Goldberg Variation.”

CCH Pounder

While CCH Pounder only appeared as Agent Lucy Kazdin in one episode of The X-Files, Season 2's “Duane Barry” was pivotal. Starting later in 1994, Pounder appeared in the first four seasons of ER before arriving on The Shield in 2002. Her longest-running role has been playing NCIS: New Orleans' Dr. Loretta Wade for all seven seasons from 2014-2021.

BD Wong

While BD Wong appeared in Jurassic Park in the early ‘90s, small-screen stardom would take longer. He played Detective Glen Chao in The X-Files’ “Hell Money” episode of Season 3 in 1996, before he’d go on to a role in Oz from 1997-2003 and Law & Order: SVU starting in 2001. He’d eventually become one of the Law & Order stars to appear in most episodes.

Donal Logue

Donal Logue guest-starred in The X-Files' very first Monster of the Week episode, called “Squeeze,” in 1993. He went on to recur in later seasons of ER before starring in all five seasons of Grounded for Life and all five seasons of Gotham, which wrapped after 100 episodes in 2019.

Peter Boyle

Peter Boyle’s career goes back to the 1960s, but X-Files Season 3 fans will remember him for playing the title character in “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” in 1995, for which he won an Emmy. He would then score another seven Emmy nominations for playing Frank Barone across nine seasons of Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996-2005.

Laurie Holden

Laurie Holden wasn’t a one-off guest star on The X-Files but would appear in ten episodes as Marita Covarrubias between 1996-2002. She’d become more of a household name as part of the original cast of The Walking Dead regulars, and she ranks among the Walking Dead cast members to appear in most episodes.

Aaron Paul

The future Breaking Bad star can be found in a Season 9 episode of The X-Files, called “Lord of the Flies” in 2001, where he played a character with the distinguished name of “Sky Commander Winky.” He would go on to recur on Big Love before landing his career-making role as Jesse Pinkman opposite Bryan Cranston. Post-Breaking Bad credits include The Path, BoJack Horseman, and Westworld.

Michael Emerson

Years before his Emmy-winning portrayal of Ben on Lost, Michael Emerson guest-starred in the final Monster of the Week episode of The X-Files’ original run. Called “Sunshine Days,” the Season 9 episode in 2002 preceded his guest stint on Without a Trace, his role in Saw, and of course five seasons of Lost. Other long-running roles since The X-Files include Person of Interest and Evil.

Jesse L. Martin

Jesse L. Martin arrived on The X-Files to play baseball-loving alien Josh Exley in “The Unnatural,” the Season 6 episode written and directed by David Duchovny in 1999. Later that year, Martin joined the cast of Law & Order, where he remained for nine seasons and nearly 200 episodes. The Flash was his next series regular gig until 2023, followed by The Irrational early in the 2024 TV lineup.

Bradley Whitford

While Bradley Whitford is likely best remembered for his work as Josh Lyman in The West Wing starting in 1999, he had a very different part to play in The X-Files’ second season in 1994. He portrayed the unfortunate Daniel Trepkos in “Firewalker.” Whitford has three Emmy wins to his name since the early ‘90s thanks to his work on The West Wing, Transparent, and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Paul McCrane

Paul McCrane played the titular character in the Season 4 episode called “Leonard Betts” in 1997. He’s also responsible for one of the most iconic lines in The X-Files history: “I’m sorry, but you’ve got something I need.” McCrane joined the cast of ER later that year to play Dr. Robert Romano across seven seasons, ending his time in one of the medical drama’s most memorable deaths.

Kurtwood Smith

Although he would later be quite well known for a different Fox series, Kurtwood Smith portrayed Agent Bill Patterson in the Season 3 episode called “Grotesque,” which aired on the network in 1996. Two years later, he was back on Fox for That ‘70s Show to play Red Forman for eight seasons and 200 episodes. Smith more recently reprised the role for Netflix’s That ‘90s Show.

Octavia Spencer

Octavia Spencer’s episode of The X-Files in 1999 may be better remembered as the one that delivered the first actual kiss between Mulder and Scully, but you can find the actress in the Season 7 episode titled “Millennium.” In addition to winning her Academy Award for The Help, Spencer landed many guest and recurring TV gigs before her lead role in Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told from 2019-2023.

Seth Green

Seth Green was a guest in the very first episode of The X-Files following the pilot, as Emil in “Deep Throat” in 1993. While it wasn’t his first TV role, it preceded his work as Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1997-2000. He really hit his stride as a voice actor with Robot Chicken and Family Guy in particular, with hundreds of episodes of each show to his name.

Garrett Dillahunt

The X-Files is one of Garret Dillahunt’s earliest credits, as he played Edward Skur in the flashback-heavy Season 5 episode “Travelers” in 1998. He may be better remembered for his work in Deadwood which started several years later in 2004, followed by TV projects including all four seasons of Raising Hope, three seasons of The Mindy Project, and three seasons of Fear the Walking Dead.

Dean Norris

Dean Norris is a master of playing characters in law enforcement, including Marshal Tapia in The X-Files’ Season 2 episode “F. Emasculata” in 1995. His biggest TV break would come years later as Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad, and he appeared in all three seasons of CBS’ Under the Dome and all four seasons of TNT’s Claws before recurring in Law & Order: Organized Crime’s fourth season as well.

Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless’ most iconic work to date was likely as Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess for syndication from 1995-2001, but she came to network TV primetime in 2001 for two episodes of The X-Files Season 9 as alien super-soldier Shannon McMahon. She’d go on to recur across the last three seasons of Battlestar Galactica and become one of the faces of Starz’s Spartacus franchise of shows starting in 2010.

Brad Dourif

Brad Dourif is one of The X-Files’ most memorable early guest stars as serial killer Luther Lee Boggs in Season’s “Beyond the Sea” in 1991, but he really made a mark on TV starting in 2004 with playing Doc Cochran in Deadwood. More recently, he has been voicing the demonic doll himself in the Chucky series that premiered in 2021.

Bruce Campbell

After the Evil Dead films, Bruce Campbell was a perfect casting for a show like The X-Files in its sixth season. He played Wayne Weinsider in the twisted “Terms of Endearment” episode of 1999. Campbell would later spend seven seasons on USA as part of the Burn Notice cast, and – of course – reprise his role as Ash for all three seasons of the Ash vs Evil Dead TV show.

Willie Garson

The late Willie Garson played two different characters on The X-Files: Quinton “Roach” Freely in Season 3’s “The Walk” in 1995 and Henry Weems in Season 7’s “The Goldberg Variation” in 1999. His most well-known work is likely playing Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City across all six seasons starting in 1998. He would also star in all six seasons of USA’s White Collar following its 2009 premiere.

Giovanni Ribisi

Giovanni Ribisi certainly wasn’t unknown in television when he guest-starred as Darin Peter Oswald in Season 3 of The X-Files in 1995, but it was before he made his Friends debut as Frank Buffay Jr. More significantly, he starred in Fox’s Dads opposite Seth Green from 2013-2014 and then all three seasons of Prime Video’s Sneaky Pete from 2015-2019.

Mark Sheppard

Mark Sheppard only had a couple of credits in the entertainment industry to his name when he appeared as Cecil L’Ively in the Season 1 episode “Fire” in 1993. He then landed ongoing roles in shows like Soldier of Fortune, Inc., 24, and Battlestar Galactica, but he’s best known for portraying the fan-favorite demon Crowley on Supernatural for eight of the show’s fifteen seasons.

Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo came to The X-Files in Season 8 to play Cesar Ocampo in “Redrum” in the show’s early post-Mulder era. In addition to some film credits following TXF, he arrived on The Young and the Restless in 2008 and – most notably – Sons of Anarchy to play Romeo Parada starting in 2011. He’s also a prolific voice actor for shows including King of the Hill, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and Big City Greens.

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

Tom Hanks - The Bonfire Of The Vanities

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

Jamie Lee Curtis - Virus

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

Michael Caine - Jaws: The Revenge

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

Emily Blunt - Gulliver’s Travels

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

Dennis Quaid - Jaws 3-D

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

Viola Davis - The Help

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

Bill Murray - Garfield

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

Mariah Carey - Glitter

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

Elijah Wood - North

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

Jennifer Lopez - Gigli

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

George Clooney - Batman & Robin

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

Renee Zellweger - Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation

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

Robert Downey Jr. - The Shaggy Dog

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

Emma Watson - The Circle

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

Eddie Murphy - The Adventures of Pluto Nash

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

Lucy Liu - Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

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

Matt Damon - The Great Wall

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

Jennifer Lawrence - Dark Phoenix

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

Sylvester Stallone - Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

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

Lily Collins - Rules Don’t Apply

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

Eddie Redmayne - Jupiter Ascending

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

Jennifer Hudson - Sandy Wexler

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

Hugh Jackman - Pan

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

Pedro Pascal - Wonder Woman 1984

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

Dame Judi Dench - Cats

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

Daisy Ridley - Chaos Walking

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

Ben Kingsley - A Sound of Thunder

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

Brendan Fraser - Monkeybone

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

Scarlett Johansson - Ghost In The Shell

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

Keanu Reeves - 47 Ronin

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

Will Smith - Gemini Man

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

Jack Nicholson - How Do You Know?

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

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

As a show that takes place almost entirely in the next millennium, Futurama doesn’t automatically seem like the kind of show that would boast tons of cameos from modern day celebrities, athletes, politicians and scientific geniuses. Yet that’s exactly what the animated sci-fi comedy has delivered with each season that’s aired, even when occasional cancellations kept those seasons airing years apart from each other. And what’s more, quite a few of those guest stars have also popped up in co-creator legend Matt Groening’s other beloved toon series, The Simpsons.

While there are certainly far more celebrities who have only appeared on one show or the other — for instance, relatively frequent Futurama guest star Al Gore was previously tapped to host a “Treehouse of Horror” ep, but it never happened — the number of shared famous faces may be surprising to longtime fans. So let’s pop open a six-pack of Slurm and dive in, while noting right away that the aforementioned Groening isn’t on this list, despite appearing in both shows. Note that we also left out Simpsons regulars Hank Azaria and Dan Castellaneta. (Also note that The Simpsons can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, while all eps of Futurama are available with a Hulu subscription.)

Dick Clark

• Futurama: Season 1 “Space Pilot 3000”
• The Simpsons: Season 11 "Treehouse of Horror X"

True to his real-world persona, the animated Dick Clark was also known in both animated series for hosting New Year's Eve countdowns, though he only did so as a head for Futurama. He suffered a weirder phenomenon on The Simpsons when Y2K hit and turned him into a Terminator-esque cyborg.

Leonard Nimoy

• Futurama: Season 1 “Space Pilot 3000,” Season 4 "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" 
• The Simpsons: Season 4 "Marge vs. the Monorail," Season 8 "The Springfield Files"

An icon in the world of science fiction and beyond, Leonardy Nimoy was a welcomed figure on both animated comedies. where he played himself for two episodes of each series. Arguably the best would be Futurama's "Where No Fan..." since it brought in other Star Trek vets as well.

John Goodman

• Futurama: Season 2 “XMas Story”
• The Simpsons: Season 11 "Take My Wife, Sleaze"

Longtime Futurama fans might not remember that Roseanne and The Conners lead John Goodman was the first to voice Robot Santa, with John DiMaggio taking over the role in later seasons. The Big Lebowski vet had a slightly different vibe going when portraying biker gang leader Meathook on The Simpsons.

Conan O'Brien

• Futurama: Season 2 “XMas Story”
• The Simpsons: Season 5 "Bart Gets Famous"

Having served as a writer on The Simpsons ahead of landing NBC's Late Night — he's spoken about his favorite character to write for — talk show maestro Conan O'Brien appeared as himself on both shows, interviewing Bart for his former employer, and appearing in jarheaded form for Futurama. Note that he is one of the only celebs whose head pokes out of the top, which is a joke about the comedian's larger than average dome.

Nichelle Nichols

• Futurama: Season 2 “Anthology Of Interest 1,” Season 4 "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" 
• The Simpsons: Season 15 "Simple Simpson"

A beloved member of Star Trek royalty, Nichelle Nichols portrayed herself three times across both shows, always with shows references to fall back on. (Unlike Nichols and other Trek elite, William Shatner turned down the opportunities to appear.)

Stephen Hawking

• Futurama: Season 2 “Anthology Of Interest 1,” “The Beast With A Billion Backs,” Season 6 “Reincarnation”
• The Simpsons: Season 10 "They Saved Lisa's Brain,” Season 16 "Don't Fear the Roofer," Season 18 "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot," Season 22 "Elementary School Musical"

Perhaps it's no surprise that one of TV's brainiest animated shows would repeatedly bring in one of the smartest people who ever lived. Physicist and author Stephen Hawking appeared as himself, perhaps obviously, thrice on Futurama, and is part of the four-timers club on The Simpsons.

Parker Posey

• Futurama: Season 2 “The Deep South”
• The Simpsons: Season 11 "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge"

For Futurama's mermaid-focused Season 2 episode, Parker Posey lent her voice to Umbriel, not to be confused with any other size-specific mermaids out there. Over in Springfield, Posey portrayed Otto's girlfriend Becky in a role that was initially pitched to Drew Barrymore.

Sarah Silverman

• Futurama: Season 2 “The Cryonic Woman,” “Bender’s Big Score,” Season 7 “Game of Tones”
• The Simpsons: Season 21 "Stealing First Base," Season 24 "Moonshine River," Season 26 "Clown in the Dumps," Season 28 "Treehouse of Horror XXVII"

Comedian Sarah Silverman joined the world of Futurama as the recast voice of Fry's not-so-wonderful girlfriend Michelle from the '90s, with three appearances to date. (Kath Soucie voiced her in the pilot.) She was also a romantic interest on The Simpsons for Bart in a pair of eps as Nikki McKenna, while also voicing herself and others in later seasons.

Jan Hooks

• Futurama: Season 3 “Bendless Love”
• The Simpsons: Season 9 "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons," Season 10 "I'm With Cupid," Season 11 "Eight Misbehavin'," "Take My Wife, Sleaze," Season 12 "Bye Bye Nerdie," Season 14 "Large Marge"

Saturday Night Live vet Jan Hooks brought her comedic skills to Futurama as the criminal-loving fembot Angleyne, and while she may have wooed Bender, Hooks technically has had a larger impact on The Simpsons, where she played Apu's wife Manjula across a half-dozen appearances.

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu was part of a Futurama cameo like few others, in that she voiced various bot-cloned versions of herself, with Fry dating one of them, as well as the "real" Lucy Liu's head in a jar. (Her second episode utilized excess dialogue she'd recorded the previous season.) Over on The Simpsons, she played the adoption agent tasked with deciding whether or not Selma is worthy of parenting a Chinese baby.

Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk tapped into both Saul Goodman and some of his Mr. Show characters to bring the ego-driven Chaz to Futurama as Leela's temporary romantic interest. And in an episode penned by his brother Bill Odenkirk, the Breaking Bad vet portrayed Fat Tony's lawyer (whose character went by that very moniker) for a Simpsons ep.

George Takei

One of the most seasoned guest stars of any Matt Groening series is Star Trek vet George Takei, who portrayed himself mostly in jar-head form for Futurama. While he did play himself for one Simpsons episode, he also voiced Happy Sumo waiter Akira, an unnamed Chinese restaurant waiter, and game show host Wink.

Mark Hamill

Having played one of cinema's most beloved heroes, Star Wars vet Mark Hamill took on voicing a somewhat equally important character for Futurama, at least to a certain segment of the population: holiday mascot Chanukah Zombie. For his single Simpsons ep, Hamill voiced himself at as sci-fi con and the bodyguard-training specialist Leavelle.

Penn & Teller

The most celebrated magical duo in history, Penn Jillette and his largely silent partner Teller appeared on Futurama in their entertainment hub of Las Vegas, or rather New Mars Vegas. (I guess it's up for debate whether Teller actually appeared, considering the state of his head.) On The Simpsons, Homer attempted to create a viral moment by interrupting one of their specials, and returned for a later episode centered on Lisa diving into the world of magic, with fellow illusionists David Copperfield and Ricky Jay also appearing.

Snoop Dogg

Rapper, actor and pop culture mainstay Snoop Dogg achieved his highest ranking yet within Futurama, with his head serving as a Chief Justice alongside the heads of Paula Abdul and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. He also played himself on The Simpsons as part of an all-star rap group Hate Squad alongside Common and Rza.

Patton Oswalt

Comedian Patton Oswalt is no stranger to self-deprecating humor, so perhaps it's fitting that his guest spot on Futurama was as Giant Unattractive Monster, who did not take kindly to Fry's insinuation that his mother's looks were to blame. He was the offspring of Portlandia vets Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's characters' on The Simpsons, voicing their son T-Rex. He returned in a later episode to voice the slime-covered entitye that served as Bart Simpson's Guilt.

Buzz Aldrin

The second person to ever set foot on the moon, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin can also boast a guest spot as a science fair judge on Futurama, in which he delivered an unexpectedly funny joke for someone of such real-life stature. Aldrin also appeared, perhaps unsurprisingly, in the Simpsons episode in which Homer goes to space, and the family's patriarch is actually dubbed a "hero" by Aldrin.

Wanda Sykes

Comedian extraordinaire Wanda Sykes delivered the robotic goods as the soda-dispensing vending machine Bev, who has a love-hate relationship with Bender while also heping to get Fry hooked on Slurm Loco. Sykes' SImpsons spot had her portraying a nameless Springfield Elementary counselor who loses her job in the middle of dispensing advice, and then calls out Milhouse for being boring. Mic drop.

Patrick Stewart

For all his years portraying Jean Luc Picard across the Star Trek universe, Patrick Stewart opted for something slightly less sci-fi for his Futurama appearance as the master of a fox-hunting club that Bender joins, complete with fancy mustache. For The Simpsons, he also went old school as the Stonecutters leader Number One, and later appeared as a bald-but-virile power plant worker whose confidence inspires Homer. (An amusing story for an actor who was initially advised to wear a wig for his Next Generation audition.)

Robert Wagner

Two and a Half Men and NCIS recurrer Robert Wagner's fame is definitely still intact in the 3000s, at least per his guest spot on Futurama, where Calculon's Walk of Fame star is replaced by a second star for Wagner, who shares a few words as an appreciative head in a jar. His Simpsons appearance seemed tailor-made for Troy McClure, as he introduced himself as an "actor, smooth customer and women's health advocate" during an instructional video teaching aging women about menopause. (Barely.)

Adam West & Burt Ward

'60s Batman stars Adam West and Burt Ward paid tribute to their respective roles during a Futurama scene parodying the comic book show's wall-climing cameo sequences, for which West voiced an actual bat-man-thing. He also appeared on The Simpsons as a car show celeb, and later teamed up with Ward for an installment featuring a faux Batman episode with Krusty as the guest star.

Seth MacFarlane

Seth MacFarlane and Family Guy are often jokingly portrayed as rivals of Matt Groening and The Simpsons universe, but he's appeared twice on Futurama - once to lay his dulcet tones down for Vegas-esque theme, and once as the dream sequence voice of Fry's dog Seymour, whose martini in hand was a tip of the wet nose to FG's Brian. He also appeared on The Simpsons as a man Marge secretly befriended during a temporary marital rut.

Kathy Griffin

As a celeb who'd previously been "canceled" over controversial photos in 2017, Kathy Griffin was an understandable choice to guest star as one of several ship captains who were sidelined for their behavior, including the titular Zapp Brannigan. She also played something of a problematic character on The Simpsons as the bully Francine, who inspired Lisa to pinpoint the phereomon that causes bullies to antagonize nerds.

With more episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama still to come in the future, the possibility for more shared guest stars is a big one.

Alongside her close buddies Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu is one-third of one of the most beloved action trios ever, but does the Charlie's Angels star think that that iconic threesome will ever return for a third edition of the 2000s movie franchise?

Liu portrayed the highly skilled crime fighter Alex Munday opposite Diaz's Natalie Cook and Barrymore's Dylan Sanders in the 2000 action-comedy, a film adaptation of the famous 1970s television series. The original Charlie's Angels film was successful enough at the box office to warrant a sequel, 2003's even more action-packed Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, but there hasn't been a follow-up featuring Liu and Co. in the two decades since. 

And the actress says that Charlie's Angels 3 is unlikely to happen, as she recently told Variety while at Sundance this week to promote her new Steven Soderbergh’s new film Presence:

Liu is seemingly referencing that other Charlie's Angels film that cropped up in the years since the original movies: the 2019 Elizabeth Banks-directed reboot starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska as the new generation of Angels. Despite decent reviews, that film flopped at the box office, and leading lady Stewart even admitted she "hated" making it.

The Shazam! Fury of the Gods star went on to say that at the time of the original film's release, "it was such a strange thing for women to collaborate" onscreen and that novelty has shifted ever since: 

However, McG, the director of the first two Charlie's Angels movies, was singing a slightly different tune when he discussed the possibility of a third film with Entertainment Weekly in August 2023. First, the filmmaker said it would require "a long discussion" with Liu, Barrymore and Diaz:

But he also added that maybe the original team has "got one left" in them and praised his leading ladies for breaking the mold with that franchise: 

Heck, we'd take any possibility of seeing the iconic combination of Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore onscreen again. So although Lucy says a third film is unlikely, we've still got our fingers crossed. 

For now, if you want to see the original movie trio, you can stream the 2000 Charlie's Angels with a Paramount Plus subscription. 

Lucy Liu is undeniably a household name, particularly through her action roles in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill and the Charlie’s Angels flicks alongside Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. She kicked butt during some of the best movies of the 2000s! But somehow the actress’ two big roles are not regularly popular costumes during Halloween season. Are you surprised? So was Rachel Zegler, Liu's costar from Shazam! 2. 

With spooky season in full gear, we’re bringing back the time when CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell spoke to the Shazam! Fury of the Gods cast members and the topic came up. Check out the moment below: 

During the initial conversation with CinemaBlend, Rachel Zegler was asked about her role as Snow White in the upcoming live-action Snow White movie when she turned the attention over to Liu. Zegler was getting emotional thinking about little kids dressing for Halloween as her version of Snow White before asking Liu if her characters are part of Halloween festivities all the time. The Kill Bill actress shared that she hasn't really seen proof of that, but Zegler refused to believe such a thing. 

I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen a Lucy Liu character being honored through a Halloween costume in my life, but as Zegler points out, some people must have done it before. I think the main point here is that it’s not a particularly popular Halloween costume for someone to go as O-Ren Ishii or Alex Munday. The most popular Kill Bill character at Halloween is, of course, Uma Thurman’s The Bride wearing the yellow tracksuit (which the Kill Bill lead apparently was not a fan of during production), but somehow O-Ren has been slept on over the years. 

I think an O-Ren costume would be genius as a friend paired-up costume, perhaps with the person dressed as O-Ren holding a fake severed head or something along those lines, or slathering themselves with fake blood since O-Ren does get executed by The Bride during Kill Bill. Alex Munday also feels like a no-brainer with a trio of girls, perhaps by replicating one of their outfits from the McG movies. Someone make this happen, because it’s way too shocking Liu has such iconic characters and has yet to see them really make an appearance on Halloween.

Given that Liu and Zegler were just in a superhero movie together, one might think that’d be the perfect opportunity for their characters to be seen on Halloween, but I don’t see Kalypso or Anthea costumes anywhere! That could be due to Shazam 2’s disappointing box office numbers and this franchise not expected to return Warner Bros. is ending the DCEU and rebooting it with the new DC Universe. 

It’s too bad, because Lucy Liu definitely deserves to have her own popular Halloween costume based on a role from her career. I feel like that must be a milestone for actors to see during this time a year. Anyway, you can watch CinemaBlend’s full Shazam 2 interviews on YouTube  and watch the movie itself with a Max subscription. 

Long before director Elizabeth Banks put her unique spin on the most recent Charlie’s Angels reboot, the world saw Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu breathe new life into the ‘70s action series. Two successful movies with that team working alongside director McG still have people wondering if Charlie’s Angels 3 could happen with the cinematic OGs. While it’s not exactly a given, the helmer behind those movies does have some very specific thoughts on what it might take to get things off the ground. 

As he spoke with EW, the man whose real name is Joseph McGinty Nichol sounded enthusiastic to potentially return for another round of explosive antics. However, he did include some caveats with those sentiments, especially when it came to his opinion on Elizabeth Banks’ variant of Charlie’s Angels. Here’s what Nichol had to say: 

McG’s not wrong in his assessment of the situation, as it’s been 20 years since the release of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. So naturally, the schedules of the leading ladies of his incarnation are way different than they were back in those days. Contrary to popular belief, Lucy Liu and her co-stars actually got along, with claims of their feuding behavior being nothing more than gossip.

So there’s a chance that Liu, as well as Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, might be interested in getting the band back together. At the same time, McG isn’t possessive of his time on the Charlie’s Angels franchise, tipping his hat to the movie that unfortunately saw Elizabeth Banks bearing the brunt of its failure. Add it all up, and it spells an uncertain future for a potential Charlie’s Angels 3, which has Joseph leaving the matter with these final words: 

As one of the best movie adaptations of a ‘70s TV show, the '00s reboot to Charlie’s Angels clearly still has a devoted fan base buzzing over its potential return. It’s not impossible, but as McG laid out above, there are a lot of moving pieces that’d need to be put together to pave the way. 

Who knows, maybe there's room for a crossover between the 2000 reboot Angels and the newer generation from Elizabeth Banks' film. While the world of entertainment sorts itself out on these matters, you can kick back with the nostalgia of that first McG-directed entry, which is currently streaming free with ads on Pluto TV.

Ahead of Lucy Liu's return to the action movie realm with Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, the iconic actress has been looking back on some of her past work. She specifically took some time to reflect on being a part of Charlie’s Angels. In 2000, Liu was memorably among the reimagined cast of the spy franchise, which also include Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. Around that time,, rumors swirled about the women not getting along, and Liu addressed those assumptions. 

Lucy Liu did have a notable clash on the set of Charlie’s Angels, but it had nothing to do with the other angels. As she shared back in 2021, she “stood up” to Bill Murray for "inexcusable and unacceptable” comments he made on the set of the film. Barrymore later backed up her co-star on the whole thing. But, when it comes to her relationship with Barrymore and Diaz though, here’s what she had to say:  

While speaking to People, the Elementary alum referenced the long-present Hollywood stereotype that women will inevitably not get along on the sets of big productions. As we've seen, that's just not true and honestly pretty sexist. To that point, the 54-year-old actress said:

Not only did the stars of Charlie’s Angels, and it's 2003 sequel, Full Throttle, work well together, but the trio have shared that they remain friends over 20 years after making the action comedies together. In fact, when The Drew Barrymore Show kicked off a couple years ago, her first guests were Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu and they certainly looked like absolute besties on the daytime appearance. Check it: 

That was so sweet! During that appearance, the ladies shared that they’ve been to each other’s weddings and attended the birthday parties of each other’s kids as well. Drew Barrymore said their friendship had been “real” for decades, before Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu spoke to Charlie’s Angels being the “foundation” for their relationship. You love to see it, and good on Liu to continue to make it clear that there was no bad blood within the group.

While fans will continue to hope for a sequel starring these three women, they should be happy to see Lucy Liu join another action trio for the Shazam! sequel. She'll play the role of Kalypso, one of the daughters of Atlas, alongside Helen Mirren and Rachel Zegler. Before the 2023 new movie release hits theaters on March 17, you can check out the positive-skewing first reactions for Fury of the Gods, with CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg calling it a “worthy sequel.” 

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” stars Zachary Levi (Shazam), Rachel Zegler (Anthea), Lucy Liu (Kalypso), Asher Angel (Billy Batson) and Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy Freeman) discuss their new DC film in this interview with CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell. Find out some fun behind-the-scenes stories, their thoughts on Henry Cavill’s Superman no-show in “Shazam!” (2019) and more. Plus, Rachel Zegler talks about the most remarkable part, so far, of being a Snow White.

Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro
00:15 - Rachel Zegler Offers Support After Sean Was Outfit-Shamed
00:42 - Lucy Liu Is Amazed By The State Of Visual Effects Now Compared To Charlie’s Angels
01:24 - Rachel Zegler Initially Skeptical Of Anthea’s Powers, Wanted Of A WandaVision Flair
02:52 - Zachary Levi Loved Getting His Ass Kicked By Helen Mirren
03:49 - The Improvised Line Jack Dylan Grazer Loved So Much Because It Made Djimon Hounsou Laugh
04:55 Lucy Liu Explains Her Grounded Approach To Acting In Comic Book Movies
05:35 - Zachary Levi Reflects On Shazam Fans' Reaction To His Casting
06:41 - Jack Dylan Grazer Compares DC Fans To Stephen King Fans, And The Author’s Supporters Might Not Love This
07:50 - The Blowback of 'Shazam’ (2019)'s Superman Cameo Scene, And Why Some of The Stars Think It Was Actually A Good Thing Henry Cavill Didn’t Appear
08:48 - Asher Angel Reveals His Favorite 'Shazam' Scene
09:35 - Why Rachel Zegler Can’t Handle Disney Parks Since Being Cast As Snow White
10:07 - That Time Rachel Zegler Got Stalked By Paparazzi Lurking In The Woods In Hopes Of Photographing Her New Snow White Dress

If you have seen all the DC movies in order, you probably know that David F. Sandberg’s 2019 release Shazam!, is unique, at least in terms of recent DCEU films, with its charming family-friendly comedic tone. The first Shazamily film was critically well-received and stood out comedically against other already superhero-heavy cinema fare. Its sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods is hitting theaters soon, with Dame Helen Mirren bringing her villain game, and the film's director shared a hilarious story about how the legendary actress reacted when she appeared on set for the first time. And warning, it’s definitely not safe for work!

Director David Sandberg recently broke down his superhero movie’s deadly serious second trailer with EW, admittedly he initially had preconceived notions concerning the English actress, perhaps involving the potential for prim and proper behavior. She quickly became a part of the team, though, trading quips and more after showing up on the first day of filming with a comical NSFW declaration. According to Sandberg:

Talk about making a first impression! While Mirren has built a career portraying respectable people and many famous members of the royal family, she’s been seeking out roles that many might assume would not interest her. For example, The Queen actress expressed interest in appearing in the Fast franchise, which the franche's creative team was all too happy to accommodate, writing her a part for The Fate of the Furious. And now, Mirren and her p-power are joining superhero cinema as the power-hungry daughter of Atlas, Hespera, in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

The Oscar winner is not the only marquee star whose work on the Shazam! sequel will be their first time in a superhero movie. Charlie’s Angels and Kill Bill actress Lucy Liu will also be in goddess mode as Kalypso, the sister of Mirren's character. Liu spent a lot of time on set on the back of an electronic programmable arm, as Kalypso will be seen flying a dragon with a unique wood-like character design. 

According to the movie’s director, cracking the dragon’s design was one of the most challenging aspects to break on Fury of the Gods, but it was an enjoyable experience. Sandberg continued: 

Dame Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu’s combined feminine power is an exciting and welcomed addition to the Shazamily-centered superhero series. I’m excited to see how two stars' energy translates to the big screen!

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to strike theaters on March 17, 2023. Fans of Shazam! might be interested in the other upcoming superhero movies set to hit the big screen.

The ecosystem running the DC movies continues to shift in shape under the new management of James Gunn and Peter Safran, with the future still under construction. Amidst those changes are the release of some projects like Shazam! Fury of the Gods that carry over from the old guard.

While things look pretty serious this time out, director David F. Sandberg's big sequel still has enough humor to make a quick and quippy Game of Thrones reference. Our latest look at the next Warner Bros picture from the DCEU showed both sides of the coin, as Zachary Levi's Shazam! hero is seen fretting over the fate of his family, while calling a dragon "Khalessi."

Shazam! Fury of the Gods already looked like it was going to outdo its 2019 predecessor, though revisiting the movie with an HBO Max subscription is the only true way to tell. Looking at the new pieces from the Zachary Levi-starring puzzle, in conjunction with those details we got from the film’s first trailer, Shazam! 2 looks like it's going to be living up to the claim that it's time to grow up.

There's no better time for that to happen, given that Shazam! Fury of the Gods has Helen Mirren’s Hespera and Lucy Liu’s Kalypso, daughters of Atlas himself, ready to ruin the world as we know it. One powerful staff sits at the center of it all, as this mystical weapon could be the key to what we know about DC’s latest doomsday. 

It also seems to drain the Shazam! Family of its powers at a moment’s notice, which may explain why the titular hero is looking a bit rough in his big battle with Kalypso in Philly’s Citizen’s Bank Park. Still, there's plenty of time for dragon jokes, and Zachary Levi getting punted across a city street by an insanely powerful Hespera. That's a GIF that could become a seriously popular meme in the coming year, which only shows that the heart and humor are still a part of the formula in this next round.

There’s still plenty of mystery as to what we’ll see in Shazam 2, as well as what sorts of connections will be laid down for the future. However, we do know that Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam will not be one of the film’s cameos. Apparently, family and the Fast Saga’s influence can only go so far in Billy Batson’s Philadelphia, but that doesn’t look to be too much of a worry, as the next Shazam adventure has plenty of action and jokes to drive DC Comics movies into the future.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods calls down the thunder on March 17th. That’s not all to expect from the world of upcoming superhero movies in 2023, so don’t forget to frequently check that schedule. You never know when the multiversal timeline will shift, sending something you expected last December into a release date set for this March.

Disney has taken us to many wonderful and also very “strange” worlds in its nearly 100-year history. In 2022, the company’s animation department is taking that specific mantra to heart with a new theatrically released movie called Strange World, in which a farmer is reunited with his long-lost father — a legendary explorer — after he and his family become embroiled in a dangerous mission through bizarre and unexplored terrain.

Disney has employed a star-studded ensemble of talented actors to breathe life into the lovable characters from this character-driven sci-fi/fantasy adventure that has come to theaters just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend. Let’s go over who plays who in the Strange World cast.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Searcher Clade)

Leading the Strange World voice cast as Searcher Clade, a simple man whose extraordinary family history catches up with him, is Jake Gyllenhaal. The Academy Award nominee is known for westerns like Brokeback Mountain and The Sisters Brothers, horror movies like 2001’s Donnie Darko and Velvet Buzzsaw, gritty crime thrillers like Zodiac and Nightcrawler, and action-packed popcorn flicks like Michael Bay’s Ambulance, most recently. 

In fact, one of the actor’s last collaborations with Disney (which his role as Mysterio in the MCU’s Spider-Man: Far From Home would, technically, not count as) was an action-packed popcorn flick called Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time from 2010. Gyllenhaal — who made his acting debut at 11 in 1991’s City Slickers — last leant his voice to an animated movie when he joined Netflix’s Spirit Untamed cast in 2021.

Dennis Quaid (Jaeger Clade)

As Searcher’s famous adventurer father, Jaeger, we have Dennis Quaid, who last played Jake Gyllenhaal’s onscreen dad in Roland Emmerich’s 2004 disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow. He has also previously gone on bizarre adventures in classic ‘80s movies like Jaws 3-D, Dreamscape, Enemy Mine, and Innerspace and also in more recent years with horror flicks like Pandorum and another animated sci-fi film from 2007, Battle for Terra.

Quaid, who earned an Emmy nomination for playing Bill Clinton in 2010’s The Special Relationship, has played a few other historical figures — astronaut Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff, Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire!, and Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp, to name just a few — and has given acclaimed performances in grounded dramas like Traffic, Frequency, and Far From Heaven. We have barely scratched the surface of all this living legend is known for, but one other sci-fi father/son story we feel especially compelled to mention here is the 1999 time-travel drama, Frequency.

Jaboukie Young-White (Ethan Clade)

Playing Searcher’s 16-year-old, adventure-craving son, Ethan, is Jaboukie Young-White, whose first voice acting role was from a Disney movie: McNeely in 2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet. He followed with spots on animated series for Netflix (namely Big Mouth, Bojack Horseman, and Battle Kitty), various characters on Amazon Prime’s Fairfax, his first reunion with Disney for two episodes of Baymax! as Mbita, and an episode of Fox’s The Great North, most recently.

The stand-up comedian, who made his feature film debut in 2017’s Rough Night, is also known for a few live-action Netflix exclusives, including Set It Up, Someone Great, and American Vandal (the latter of which he wrote for) and some Comedy Central originals — namely his tenure as a The Daily Show correspondent and three episodes of Awkwafina is Nora from Queens. He also played himself on Showtime’s Crashing, appeared alongside Joaquin Phoenix in A24’s C’mon C’mon, and landed recurring roles alongside Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building cast and on HBO Max’s Rap Sh!t.

Gabrielle Union (Meridian Clade)

As Meridian — Searcher’s wife and Ethan’s mother who is also a talented pilot — we have Gabrielle Union, who has previously starred in Disney projects both live-action (H-E Double Hockey Sticks in 1999 and 2022’s Cheaper by the Dozen) and animated (Jungle Cubs from the mid-1990s, an episode of The Proud Family, and Disney Channel’s The Lion King series spin-off, The Lion Guard, as Nala). She also leant her voice to an episode of Family Guy in 2005 and an animated Netflix movie from 2019 called Fearless.

The actor’s more iconic roles include Chastity Church from the 10 Things I Hate About You cast, Isis from the quintessential cheerleading movie, Bring It On, and the title character of the hit TV series Being Mary Jane, to name a few. Like her onscreen husband in Strange World, Union has also worked with Michael Bay in the second of the Bad Boys movies as Sydney Burnett, whom she would reprise on the series L.A.’s Finest and, also in 2022, starred in A24’s LGBTQ+ drama, The Inspection.

Lucy Liu (Callisto Mal)

The Clades are roped into the adventure at the center of Strange World by Callisto Mal — a former member of Jaeger’s team and now president of the nation of Avalonia — who is voiced by Jaboukie Young-White’s Set It Up co-star, Lucy Liu, whose voice acting career dates back to the mid-1990s. Her most notable animated credits, however, include the straight-to-video Mulan sequel from 2004 as Mei, the Kung Fu Panda franchise (including the upcoming fourth installment) as Viper, an episode of Star Wars: Visions called “The Duel,” and a guest appearance on Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? as herself.

Her most famous live-action roles span both the big and small screen — such as her Emmy-nominated performance as Ling Woo on Ally McBeal (which is also, reportedly, getting a sequel), Kitty Baxter in the 2003 Best Picture Oscar winner, Chicago, Alex Munday in the early 2000s Charlie Angels movies, O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill, and Joan Watson on CBS’s modern-day Sherlock Holmes reboot, Elementary. Liu, who also recently played herself on the 11th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, is about to join the DC movies universe a Kalypso in one of the most anticipated upcoming 2023 movies, Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

I am always game for a movie that takes its characters and its audience on a wondrous journey into a new and highly imaginative place, while also tugging at your heart strings a bit along the way. In fact, I think that Disney has quite a knack for doing just that with some of its most memorable features, and it looks like Strange World and its A-list cast is about to earn a spot alongside that collection.

It was less than a year ago that Stephen King’s Later hit bookshelves everywhere, but already there is an adaptation in the works. Late last month it was announced that Blumhouse Television is now developing a miniseries based on the novel, and in addition to having Raelle Tucker (Supernatural, Jessica Jones) on board as a writer, the project has also brought aboard Lucy Liu to star.

The project is still in early days, but it’s never too early to start building excitement, and today that’s taking the form of fan casting – albeit with a twist. Just as I did for the upcoming remakes of Firestarter with Zac Efron and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man, I’ve imagined the ensemble of Later only using actors who have previously starred in Stephen King adaptations. So what does this ensemble look like? Let’s start with the part that I’m keeping my fingers crossed is being reserved for Lucy Liu:

Lucy Liu As Elizabeth "Liz" Dutton

When an actor signs on to a project when it is in the earliest stages of development, generally speaking they are being set up to play a protagonist. In the case of Later, however, I’m hoping that the adaptation bucks that trend and has Lucy Liu aboard to play Elizabeth “Liz” Dutton. Not only is it a more substantial part in the larger scheme of things (she is the book’s primary antagonist), but also a more complex role that Liu could do great things with. In the novel, Liz is introduced as a police officer and Tia Conklin’s girlfriend, but her arc takes a turn toward the dark side as some really terrible and selfish decisions have major consequences.

Carla Gugino (Gerald’s Game) As Tia Conklin

If Lucy Liu does end up playing Liz in Later, Carla Gugino would be a wonderful choice to take on the part of Tia Conklin – and not just because she is excellent in everything she does. It’s a role that requires a perfect blend of grit and sweetness, as Tia is a single mother who runs her own literary agency through a mix of financial ups and downs and always fights to keep her head above water. She moves to the background of the story more in the back half of the book, but she has a vital role in the opening, and the Gerald’s Game star would be brilliant.

Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep) As Jamie Conklin

Admittedly the pool of age appropriate actors who could play Jamie Conklin and have previous Stephen King experience is spectacularly small, but Jacob Tremblay would be the number one choice for the part even without that extra parameter. Jamie is the main character in Later after all, so why not go for the best child actor in the business right now? Tremblay delivered a gut-wrenching performance as Bradley Trevor a.k.a. The Baseball Boy in Doctor Sleep, and he would unquestionably do amazing things in this miniseries as a child who can see and talk to the dead.

George MacKay (11.22.63) As Kenneth Therriault a.k.a. Thumper

George MacKay is probably best known for his spectacular turn as the protagonist of Sam Mendes’ 1917, but a few years back he played a great supporting part in Hulu’s 11.22.63 miniseries, and I get the sense that he could do wonderful things with a psychotic character like Kenneth Therriault a.k.a. Thumper in Later. Therriault in the book is a serial bomber who ends up haunting Jamie Conklin in terrifying fashion, and MacKay has the skills to make him pop as a terrifying villain in the adaptation.

Bruce Davison (Apt Pupil, Kingdom Hospital, “The Word Processor Of The Gods”) As Professor Martin Burkett

When Jamie finds himself plagued by his supernatural ability and advice for dealing with Kenneth Therriault, he makes a wise decision: he turns to the smartest person he knows. This happens to be his old neighbor, Professor Martin Burkett, and it’s with Martin’s help that the protagonist is quite literally able to face his demons. Bruce Davison, who has a plethora of Stephen King experience, certainly has the geniality to play the role, and can give off the necessary air of intellectual authority.

Steven Weber (Desperation, The Shining, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, “The Revelations Of ‘Becka Paulson”) As Regis Thomas

Regis Thomas has a relatively small role to play as a character in Later, introduced as Tia Conklin’s golden goose client who passes away prior to writing the conclusion to his long-running book series – but if a bit of stunt casting is on the table, Steven Weber would be a terrific fit. Not only are his credentials in the legacy of Stephen King adaptations spectacular, but his reading of IT makes for one of the all-time great audiobook listens. Seeing him make a quick appearance in the Later miniseries as the novel’s recluse mystery writer would be delightful.

Gary Sinise (The Stand, The Green Mile) As Uncle Harry

Lastly we have another small but significant supporting role in Later. The character is referred to only as Uncle Harry, as that is his relationship with Jamie, and admittedly it is not a terrifically vocal role, as Harry unfortunately has early onset Alzheimer's and is in a care facility from the very beginning of the story. That being said, he has a moment at the end of the book that deserves to be performed by an actor with real gravitas, and Gary Sinise would be a wonderful choice. It wouldn’t be work unlike his one-scene role as Burt Hammersmith in The Green Mile, and also the actor’s first Stephen King adaptation since that 1999 movie.

Later is still very much in the early development stages, so we may have to wait a while before learning about any of these roles being cast – but you can be sure that we’ll have all the updates for you here on CinemaBlend as the project progresses. In the meantime, you can keep track of every Stephen King adaptation in the works with our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide.

There has long been a great relationship between the works of Stephen King and the television miniseries medium. The second ever King adaptation was made in the format – Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot airing across two nights on CBS in 1979 – and in the 1990s fans saw the creation of excellence including IT, The Stand, The Langoliers, and Storm Of The Century (which the author himself has identified as his favorite small screen production).

Just last year Constant Readers saw the release of another terrific limited series, Lisey's Story on AppleTV+, and now the news has broken that another project is in the works – this one based on Stephen King's 2021 novel Later.

Deadline first reported the details of this development, noting that the limited series' pilot is being written by Raelle Tucker, whose writing and producing credits include titles like Supernatural, True Blood, and Marvel's Jessica Jones. Blumhouse Television is behind the small screen endeavor, and it's being created as a star vehicle for Lucy Liu, who has had a big presence on TV in recent years thanks to her roles on shows like Elementary and Why Women Kill.

Later is one of two Stephen King books that were released in 2021 – a continuation of the author's relationship with publisher Hard Case Crime, which previously put out 2005's The Colorado Kid (which inspired the SyFy series Haven) and 2013's Joyland. In the limited series, Lucy Liu will likely play Tia Conklin, a single mother and owner of a literary agency who finds herself facing destitution when her star client dies before completing his latest book. Fortunately, her son, Jamie, has the uncanny ability to communicate with the dead, and those he talks to have to answer his questions truthfully.

With Jamie's help, Tia is able to literally ghost write the dead author's final novel – though not every dealing with the afterlife has such positive outcomes.

For Blumhouse, this is one of multiple Stephen King adaptations in the works. They have produced the new film Firestarter starring Zac Efron, which is expected to be released later this year, and the company is also behind the upcoming Mr. Harrigan's Phone, which stars Jaden Martell and Donald Sutherland among others, and will be a Netflix original. Blumhouse is also presently developing a remake of Christine that has some very exciting names attached.

As for the development of Later, the trade report doesn't mention a timetable for the series or a distributor, so we'll just have to standby for that information. For now, you can keep track all of the Stephen King adaptations in the works with our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide. You can also keep track of everything hitting the small screen in the coming months with our 2022 TV Premiere Calendar.

In 2019, the DC Comics superhero formerly known as Captain Marvel finally scored his own feature-length film eight decades after he first appeared in the pages of Whiz Comics #2. Shazam! was met with with a lot of critical praise and went on to make $366 million at the worldwide box office, so New Line Cinema swiftly greenlit a sequel. By DC FanDome 2020, the project once known as Shazam! 2 was officially titled Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and it’s assembled an impressive cast.

Although the Shazam! mid-credits scene teased an alliance between Mark Strong’s Doctor Sivana and the super-intelligent caterpillar known as Mister Mind, it’s since been revealed they will not appear in Shazam! Fury of the Gods (unless the duo is secretly cameoing). Instead, the Shazam family will face new threats in the sequel, but before we discuss them, let’s go over the familiar faces who are returning for the sequel.

Asher Angel/Zachary Levi

Hey, it wouldn’t be a Shazam! movie without our central protagonist, Billy Batson, played in regular form by Asher Angel and in superhero form by Chuck’s Zachary Levi. The character was selected by the wizard also called Shazam to be his new champion millennia after his previous champion, Black Adam, became corrupted (we’ll meet that Dwayne Johnson-portrayed anti-hero in summer 2022). But along with becoming a superhero, Billy also embraced his new family during Shazam!, and during the battle with Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins, he shared his amazing abilities with his foster siblings. Now they’re superheroes just like him, so he won’t have to deal with the villains who surface in Shazam! Fury of the Gods alone.

Jack Dylan Grazer/Adam Brody

After being transformed into a superpowered adult, Billy sought the help of his new foster brother, Jack Dylan Grazer’s Freddy Freeman, expert on all things superhero-related, on getting the hang of these powers. Thanks to Freddy’s videos, Billy in his mighty adult form became a celebrity in Philadelphia, although the two boy’s friendship briefly became strained when Billy started irresponsibly using his powers, both to earn money and not prioritizing the well-being of innocents near him. Luckily, not only did these two end up reconciling, but like the other siblings, Freddy became Shazam-ified, with The O.C.’s Adam Brody playing his adult self. It was especially nice to see Freddy, who requires a crutch to walk in his normal form, was the first of the newly-minted members of the Shazam Family to start flying. It was also great to see Brody in superhero garb after he missed out on playing The Flash in the scrapped movie Justice League: Mortal.

Grace Fulton

The eldest member of the Shazam Family, Grace Fulton’s Mary Bromfield was applying to CalTech when we first met her in Shazam! and later on she was accepted. However, this academic institution was on the other side of the country, and Mary was saddened at the prospect of being so far away from her family. Since Mary’s back for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, it’s a good bet that if she is attending college, it’s somewhere close to home since she’s still battling the forces of evil with her siblings. Although Hawaii 5-0’s Michelle Borth played Mary’s Shazam-ified form in the first Shazam! movie, Fulton is pulling double duty as both civilian and superhero Mary in Fury of the Gods.

Faithe Herman/Meagan Good

Faithe Herman’s Darla Dudley was the second person to learn that Billy Batson could turn into Shazam, and while she has a penchant for spoiling secrets, she managed to keep mum on this until Mary figured it out herself. Think Like A Man’s Meagan Good was cast to play the superhero version of Darla, and did a great job emulating the girl’s enthusiasm and love for her family. Darla also got the hang of super speed… well, quickly, upon being bestowed with the Shazam magic.

Ian Chen/Ross Butler

Like his comic book counterpart, Ian Chen’s Eugene Choi knows his way around computers, to the point that he was able to find the address of Billy Batson’s biological mother and learn that Billy’s father was in prison. Upon becoming a superhero, the adult Eugene was played 13 Reasons Why’s Ross Butler, and was the first of Billy’s siblings who learned how to conjure lightning.

Jovan Armand/D.J. Cotrona

The shyest of Billy Batson’s foster siblings, Jovan Armand Pedro Peña was the one who spotted Billy’s discarded notebook chronicling his search for his mother. Pedro was also working out to get “swole,” making it especially fitting that after going through the Shazam transformation, he was the one who relied chiefly on super strength. G.I. Joe: Retaliation’s D.J. Cotrona played the adult Pedro, marking his return to the DC Comics space after he nearly played Superman in Justice League: Mortal.

Djimon Hounsou

Guardians of the Galaxy’s Djimon Hounsou starred in Shazam! as the wizard Shazam, who was once part of the Council of Wizards at the Rock of Eternity. However, after the other members were killed by the Seven Deadly Sins freed by Black Adam, Shazam imprisoned his former champion and spent centuries searching for someone pure of heart to inherit his powers. Thaddeus Sivana was one of the candidates, but when the boy became tempted by the Eye of Sin, the wizard sent him back. Decades later, and after the adult Sivana stole the eye, Shazam chose Billy as his new champion and swiftly crumbled to dust soon after. Hounsou is reprising the role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and judging from the trailer, rather tha  the wizard Shazam’s spirit mentoring the heroes from the afterlife or appearing through flashbacks, it looks as though he's straight up been brought back to life.

Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren has scored action cred thanks to her work in the RED movies and the Fast & Furious franchise, and now she’s jumping into the superhero movie genre with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Mirren will play Hespera, one of the daughters of Atlas, from whom Billy and his siblings gain their enhanced stamina. The behind-the-scenes featurette for the sequel that screened at 2021’s DC FanDome showed Hespera and Kalypso (more on her soon) in a museum on Earth and causing mayhem on a street, so it seems as if they’re searching for an artifact on our world and don’t mind unleashing some destruction in the process. What is this artifact? What do they intend to do with it? It’ll be a while before those questions are answered. 

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu also knows her way around the action world from the original Charlie’s Angels movies and Kill Bill: Volume 1, while in more recent years, she starred as Joan Watson in the CBS series Elementary. Liu’s Kalypso will be causing trouble alongside Helen Mirren’s Hespera in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, but we won’t just see them on Earth. In addition to revisiting the Rock of Eternity, we’ll also visit places like the Library of Eternity and the Realm of the Gods in the sequel, and monsters like  minotaurs, harpies and dragons will be on display. It stands to reason we’ll learn at least a little bit about Hespera and Kalypso’s upbringing in Fury of the Gods, namely how they ended up on the antagonistic path.

Rachel Zegler

The third of Atlas' daughters is named Anthea, and she’ll be played by Rachel Zegler, who made her film debut in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake. Between Shazam! Fury of the Gods and leading Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Zegler has a bright future ahead of her in Hollywood. It is worth noting that we don’t know yet if Zegler’s character in Fury of the Gods will be a villain like Hespera and Kalypso, or if she’s walking down a different path.

Cooper Andrews

In the first act of Shazam!, Billy Batson was placed in a group home run by Victor and Rosa Vásquez, who each had their own experience with the foster care system. Nevertheless, Billy kept looking for his biological mother, and after a sad reunion with her where he learned she deliberately gave him up, Billy realized his new family is where he truly belonged. The Walking Dead’s Cooper Andrews played Victor, and he’ll be back for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Marta Milans

It’d be pretty weird for Victor to appear in Shazam! Fury of the Gods without Rosa, but luckily, we don’t have to worry about that. No Tomorrow’s Marta Milans will reprise Rosa in the sequel. Since the parents didn’t learn in Shazam! that their foster children became superheroes, hopefully they learn that in this new movie. There’s only so much sneaking around these kids can do before they finally reveal the truth.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will work its magic in theaters on December 16, 2022. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news about this and other upcoming DC Comics movies.

Although the Shazam! mid-credits scene teased an alliance between Mark Strong’s Dr. Sivana and the super-intelligent caterpillar known as Mister Mind, we won’t see that villainous pair in Shazam! 2, a.k.a. Shazam! Fury of the Gods. (Maybe they’re being for a third movie?) Instead, the sequel’s threats will be Helen Mirren’s Hespera and Lucy Liu’s Kalypso, two daughters of Atlas, one of the mythical figures from whom the Shazam heroes draw their stamina. Fresh out of DC FanDome, we finally have our first look at the Fury of the Gods villains.

Unlike Dr. Sivana and Black Adam, who’s making his DCEU debut in his own movie next year, Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ Hespera and Kalypso don’t have counterparts in DC Comics counterparts, so it’s difficult to predict what this movie has in store for them. That said, going off the behind-the-scenes look at Fury of the Gods, they certainly look formidable. Starting off, here’s a closer look at Helen Mirren’s Hespera.

She looks magnificent, doesn’t she? No doubt Hespera could cause enough trouble on her own, but in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, she’ll be accompanied by Lucy Liu’s Kalypso, and here’s the actress in her glorious superhero movie attire.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will also star West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler as Hespera and Kalypso’s sister, although it’s unclear if she’s following in their antagonistic footsteps or if she’ll be more a force for good in the movie. Either way, along with whatever Hespera and Kalypso have cooking, Fury of the Gods will also feature mythical creatures like minotaurs, harpies and dragons for the Shazam Family to fight. The sequel will also take place across numerous locations, from Athens and Philadelphia to the Rock of Eternity and the realm of the gods.

Even with all this new information to absorb, there’s a lot about Shazam! Fury of the Gods being kept secret. Still, if you were excited to see Billy Batson’s adoptive siblings also become superheroes during Shazam!, now you’ll get a whole movie’s worth of them fighting the forces of evil together. Along with Asher Angel and Zachary Levi reprising Billy Batson and his adult superpowered form, respectively, most of the supporting cast from the last movie is back, although in Mary Bromfield’s case, Grace Fulton will play her both as a civilian and a superhero. Behind the scenes, David F. Sandberg sat back in the director’s chair for Fury of the Gods, and Henry Gayden returned to write the sequel’s script. Filming unfolded from late May 2021 to the end of the following August.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will work its magic in theaters on June 2, 2023. In the meantime, browse through our upcoming DC Comics movies guide to learn what else the DCEU has coming up.

Back in 2000, Lucy Liu seemed to have a disagreement with co-star Bill Murray on the set of Charlie’s Angels. While the spat swirled around the Hollywood rumor mill years later, Lucy Liu recently confirmed it - and her fellow angel Drew Barrymore revealed that she totally backed her up. 

Last July, Lucy Liu discussed the flare-up on the Los Angeles Times’ Asian Enough podcast. Apparently, comedian Bill Murray (who played John Bosley) had made some uncouth comments that were directed towards the Shazam! Fury of the Gods star. Being the badass that she is, Lucy Liu wasted no time in standing up for herself. 

Fortunately, the strong female relationships that formed the backbone of Charlie’s Angels seem to transcend the cameras. On a recent episode of her talk show The Drew Barrymore Show, Charlie’s Angels alum Drew Barrymore revealed that she had fully supported Lucy Liu, whom she still considers a close friend. While Drew Barrymore doesn’t offer a lot of details about the event itself, she does focus on Lucy Liu’s powerful response. She said: 

It’s clear that Drew Barrymore has a deep admiration for her co-star, as well as the rest of the crew of Charlie’s Angels. It couldn’t have been easy for Lucy Liu to speak out against Bill Murray, whose celebrity far eclipsed her own at the time. That makes her ability to speak up even more impressive. Drew Barrymore seems to agree: rather than dwell on the past, she re-emphasized her respect for Lucy Liu: 

It’s good to know that the sisterhood of Charlie’s Angels is still intact, even after 20 years. While it can be a challenge to navigate professional conflicts, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu prove that anything is possible with their friends by their side. 

The Drew Barrymore Show is currently airing weekday mornings on CBS at 9 am. Charlie’s Angels is available to stream now on Netflix. 

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Star Wars has plenty of exciting projects arriving over the next few years, but one of the most intriguing will actually be with us before the end of the year. I’m talking about Star Wars: Visions, an anthology series that imagines the galaxy far, far away through an anime lens. Although we’d only gotten a peek at the project up to this point, we now have both a new look at the show and an official list for the A+ cast, which includes Star Trek legend George Takei, Stranger Things’ David Harbour, Shazam! 2’s Lucy Liu and much more.

Star Wars: Visions will be made up of nine short films, all crafted by different anime studios. The confirmed titles for shorts are: “The Duel,” “Tatooine Rhapsody,” “The Twins,” “The Village Bride,” “The Ninth Jedi,” “T0-B1,” The Elder,” “Lop & Ocho” and “Akakiri.” George Takei will be lending his talents to “Akakiri,” in which he’ll voice a character known as Senshuu. Meanwhile, David Harbour will voice Tajin in “The Elder,” while Lucy Liu joins “The Duel” as Bandit Leader.

As mentioned, these three stars are far from the only top-tier talent to be joining Star Wars: Visions. Other notable cast members include Henry Golding, Bobby Moynihan, Jamie Chung, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Allsion Brie, Neil Patrick Harris and Kyle Chandler. The show will also see Star Wars vet Temuera Morrison reprise his iconic role as bounty hunter Boba Fett for “Tatooine Rhapsody.”

Many of the show’s cast members are newcomers to the franchise, but you may be surprised to know that some of these big names have had roles in the franchise before. SNL alum Bobby Moynihan previously voiced Orka on Star Wars: Resistance. George Takei also has a previous credit, as he served as the voice of General Lok Durd on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Takei may have a preference for Star Trek, but he seems to be very comfortable in George Lucas’ galactic playground.

And fans will be pleased to know that a number of the short films won’t be “Elseworlds” (I know that’s a DC Comics term) stories. Instead, several will actually take place during significant periods in the Star Wars timeline. “The Elder,” for example, will take place at some point before the events of The Phantom Menace. And interestingly enough, “The Ninth Jedi” is set after The Rise of Skywalker and will focus on what became of the Jedi after that film. Those films and the others in the Skywalker Saga are available to stream on Disney+, which you can sign up for using this link.

Star Wars has been trying to branch out in different ways over the past few years and, to me, Visions is a natural extension of that strategy. Sure, the show is poised to bring in new characters and show off different corners of the galaxy, but it’ll also allow a diverse array of creators to put their own spin on things. It’s honestly poetic that Star Wars would be getting a Japanese project when you consider that George Lucas’ vision for the franchise was originally inspired by legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

The footage we’ve seen so far is nothing short of incredible and, hopefully, Visions should provide a fresh take on the Star Wars mythology. And if the series proves to be a hit, maybe there’s a chance we’ll get another set of stories at some point in the future.

You can see all of Star Wars: Visions' shorts when they simultaneously hit Disney+ on September 22.

Most moviegoers realize that the theatrical cut of any given movie is quite different than the filming process, and reality on set.This is especially when it comes to the on-screen relationships, versus how the actors interact in real life. Well, it would seem that Bill Murray and Lucy Liu don’t have the friendly relationship in real life that they appear to have in the classic Charlie’s Angels. In fact, the two stars reportedly had a screaming match on the set of the 2000 Charlie’s Angels film.

While there were rumors of the Angel herself throwing hands at Murray over a disagreement on set, one witness who was seemingly there has now tried to set the record straight about what actually occurred on set of Charlie’s Angels so many years ago. A production assistant on the film’s version of the story does not include a physical altercation, and gives a little backstory on what actually caused the problem.

According to the PA’s Tweet, Bill Murray rewrote some pages of the script without anyone else knowing, which caused massive confusion on set. Lucy Liu spoke up when Murray owned up to being the one who made the changes, saying he was out of line. Here’s the background story leading up to the altercation, according to the PA:

If what the PA says is the truth, there may be some who are on Lucy Liu’s side in the reported argument. It gets more intense, though. In response to Liu’s call-out, Bill Murray reportedly insulted her career credentials, saying she was lucky to be there in the big leagues with him. Here’s what allegedly happened, according to the PA’s break down of the shouting match on set:

This alleged altercation happened over 20 years ago, near the beginning of Lucy Liu’s very lucrative and iconic film career. It’s true that she had mostly been in TV programs up until that point, and it’s very possible that these reported words from Bill Murray could have cut in on some insecurities that she was already having. I mean, if the iconic actor said anything to me I would probably cry from high emotions anyway, let alone if it was something negative about my career.

Of course, this was so long ago and just a reported account from someone who says he was there. Memories can be misleading, people have bad days, and 20 years is a long time to hold something against someone. Even so, I’d be a little surprised to see Bill Murray and Lucy Liu in a project together again, or even friends 2 decades later, after an encounter like that.

Over the past few months, David F. Sandberg’s Shazam sequel has been really coming together following the electric, big-screen debut of the comic book character in 2019. The movie, titled Shazam: Fury of the Gods, recently added some new and powerful blood to the cast with Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu being cast last month as Atlas’ daughters Hespera and Kalypso. We’d expected the new characters to star alongside Mark Strong’s chilling Dr. Sivana, but that will not be the case.

When CinemaBlend spoke to Mark Strong ahead of his role in Cruella, we asked him about Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu’s casting in Shazam: Fury of the Gods as the movie starts filming this month. The actor shared his reaction to their casting, along with confirming that Dr. Sivana will not return. In his words:

By the end of Shazam, the movie seemed to be setting up Dr. Sivana’s continued involvement in the storyline. The final few minutes teased a team-up between him and evil space worm Mister Mind, which likely would see them attempt to take over the seven magic realms. But as Mark Strong shared with us, the sequel has decided to go in a different direction and move the focus over to Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu’s daughters of Atlas.

We’ll certainly miss Dr. Sivana’s presence in the second Shazam movie, but Mark Strong doesn’t rule out the character ever returning to the DCEU. The actor sounds like he’s very excited to see Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu take on the villain mantle this time around and usher in their surely badass evil doings. While we would have welcomed all of the above in Fury of the Gods, no one likes crowded superhero movies, and it’s an exciting update from Strong.

What’s interesting about Mirren’s Hespera and Liu’s Kalypso is that their characters are not direct-from-the-comics villains like Dr. Sivana but their father Atlas is one of the six immortal elders that serve as the source of Shazam’s mystical powers. “Shazam” is an acronym for the sources that include Solomon, Hercules, Achilles, Zeus, Atlas and Mercury.

There certainly haven't been enough powerful, villainous women in the DCEU to stand their ground, so having two lead the epic sequel is an exciting moment for Shazam 2. Not only that, but Fury of the Gods also recently cast West Side Story newcomer Rachel Zegler in an undisclosed, but “key” role.

At present, Mark Strong stars as the Baroness’ valet John alongside Emma Stone and Emma Thompson in Cruella, coming to theaters May 28. Check out what upcoming movies are heading our way this year with CinemaBlend’s 2021 release schedule.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the sequel to 2019's Shazam!, will feature the return of several main characters. Zachary Levi (Shazam), Asher Angel (Billy Batson) and Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy Freeman) are just a few of the familiar faces set to appear in the upcoming film. This time, they'll be joined by a handful of new ones, including Lucy Liu.

In a hilarious reveal, director David F. Sandberg reacted to Lucy Liu’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods casting on Twitter with a single image.

This, in my opinion, is exactly the correct reaction you should have when learning that Lucy Liu is going to be in your movie.

The excitement is more than warranted. After all, the famous actress is known for countless films. This includes Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, Vol. 1, McG’s Charlie’s Angels, and Claire Scanlon’s Set It Up, and the list goes on. That’s not to mention her TV work, such her stint as Joan Watson on CBS’s modern take on Sherlock Holmes, Elementary, or her time on Ally McBeal as Ling Woo. For the latter, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be Lucy Liu’s first superhero film. That’s not to say she can’t fight like a superhero: remember the time Liu duked it out with Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. The always-capable actress did those insane stunts herself. Or maybe you recall her various showdowns with the bad guys in Charlie’s Angels, where she left everyone in the dust. Now that we know she’ll be playing the villain Kalypso in Fury of the Gods, we can only hope she’ll be in the center of the action.

The original Shazam! movie was also directed by David F. Sandberg. The movie told the story of Billy Batson, a 14-year-old foster kid who, thanks to an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou), gets the ability to turn into an adult superhero (played by Zachary Levi). The catch? Billy still thinks and acts like a teenager. That’s all well and good until Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (played by Mark Strong), the wizard’s earlier pick to be his champion, emerges looking for vengeance.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is reportedly expected to start filming this, with a theatrical release date of June 2, 2023. And Lucy Liu isn’t the only new addition: Dame Helen Mirren will appear as Hespera, the sister to Liu’s Kalypso. If only we could make this movie appear sooner by saying "Shazam!" As always, stay locked on CinemaBlend for updates on this sequel, and other DC Comics movies that are on the way.

Movie stunts are no joke. That’s why some actors choose to have body doubles or stunt professionals do the more dangerous scenes. But, some of the best in the business are adamant about doing their own stunts, even if they are coming off a major surgery. Lucy Liu recently revealed that she had a pretty big operation just weeks before filming an iconic scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1.

In an interview Lucy Liu, who played O-Ren Ishii in Tarantino’s famous Kill Bill franchise, shared that she was fresh off back surgery ahead of filming the iconic showdown between her character and Uma Thurman’s The Bride. In her own words:

In the interview with Women’s Health Magazine, Lucy Liu went on to note that while she was fresh off surgery, the scene didn’t require a lot of movement from her newly repaired back:

That being said, she still had to take breaks to make sure she didn’t further injure her back, which makes sense, given the quick turnaround between the operation and shooting:

Fortunately, Liu was able to finish the iconic showdown between Cotton Mouth and Black Mamba. The thrilling, yet brutal finale to Kill Bill Vol. 1 has become one of Tarantino's more memorable scenes over the years, no doubt due to Lucy Liu’s incredible performance.

Since starring in Kill Bill Vol 1. Lucy Liu has gone on to have a successful career across film, television and even video games. Recently, it was announced that she’ll have a chance to get back in on the action game, as she’s been cast as a villain in the upcoming Shazam 2.

Fans of Lucy Liu can revisit the legendary showdown once more by checking out the first entry into Tarantino’s epic saga on HBO Max, where Kill Bill Vol. 1 is now streaming.

Actress Lucy Liu is no stranger to the world of action, having starred as Alex Munday in the original Charlie Angels movies and gone head-to-head with Uma Thurman as O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill: Volume 1. Now word’s come in that Liu is jumping back into the action fold, namely by joining her first superhero movie. She’s been added to Shazam! 2, a.k.a. Shazam! Fury of the Gods, as one of the villains.

It’s been officially announced that Lucy Liu will take part in Shazam! Fury of the Gods as Kalypso, one of the eponymous deities. Kalypso is the sister of Helen Mirren’s Hespera (who was revealed late last month), and they both share the same father, Atlas, one of the legendary figures who Billy Batson draws his incredible power from, specifically stamina. Like Hespera, Kalypso doesn’t have a specific counterpart in the DC Comics canon, so it’ll be hard to predict what we can expect from the character other than simply causing trouble for Shazam and the rest of his superheroic family.

Lucy Liu is the third new actor to be added to Shazam! Fury of the Gods, following Helen Mirren (who’s been gaining action cred over the last decade from her time in the RED and Fast & Furious movies) and Rachel Zegler, who’s starring in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake. Zegler’s character is also reportedly one of Kalypso’s sisters, but her identity hasn’t been disclosed yet. As far as her recent work goes, Liu starred as Joan Watson on the CBS series Elementary and Simone Grove in the first season of CBS All Access’ Why Women Kill. She’s also voiced Master Viper in the Kung Fu Panda movies.

When we last left off with Billy Batson at the end of Shazam!, he was no longer in the superhero game on his own, as he shared his powers with his foster siblings Freddy, Mary, Eugene, Darla and Pedro during the battle with Doctor Thaddeus Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins. Philadelphia now has six superheroes looking after it, but clearly these new gods (not to be confused with the New Gods, who are no longer leading their own movie) popping out of the woodwork aren’t going to make the Shazam Family’s jobs any easier. It remains to be seen if any of the other legendary figures that make up the SHAZAM acronym (Solomon, Hercules, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury) also have offspring who will take part in Fury of the Gods.

Of course, let’s not forget that these gods aren’t the only Shazam antagonists lurking in the DC Extended Universe. For one thing, Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam will soon debut in his own movie, and you can count on him and the World’s Mightiest Mortal eventually clashing. But even ignoring the Kahndaqian powerhouse, Shazam!’s mid-credits scene showed the incarcerated Sivana being visited by the super intelligent caterpillar known as Mister Mind, who proposed they team up to conquer the Seven Realms. It hasn’t been confirmed yet if these two will part participate in Shazam! Fury of the Gods or if their nefarious schemes are being saved for a hypothetical Shazam! 3.

In any case, while Shazam! Fury of the Gods is arriving later than originally expected, it’s shaping up to be something interesting. Keep checking with CinemaBlend for updates on the sequel’s progress as we approach its June 3, 2023 release date, as well as any other news concerning upcoming DC Comics movies.

Twenty years ago, Charlie’s Angels jumped from the small screen to the big screen with some help from Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu. The McG movie ended up spawning a sequel, as well as some friendships that would last a lifetime. In fact all three former Angels recently caught up for Drew Barrymore’s new talk show, reflecting on what has kept them together in the 20 years since Charlie’s Angels hit the big screen.

It sounds as if Drew Barrymore still keeps up with both Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu on the regular. She’s revealed previously that she got to meet Diaz and Benji Madden’s baby Raddix after her birth late last year. But it’s not just during the “big moments” that she keeps up with the other Angels. When they reunited for her new talk show, she noted:

Lucy Liu called Charlie’s Angels the “touchpoint" for what came after, which I think is an apt comparison and Cameron Diaz expanded on that further, noting,

According to Lucy Liu, they’ve “obviously, grown and learned and changed.” In fact, they’ve all had very different career paths. These days, Cameron Diaz is basically retired from acting and working on life as a homemaker and brand ambassador. Lucy Liu has one son, Rockwell, and has enjoyed a varied TV career in recent years, having starred in Elementary and Why Women Kill recently. She also may have another new network TV show on the way soon.

Then there’s Drew Barrymore, who has kind of been all over the board with her showbiz work. She dabbles around a lot and has been a director and producer in recent years. She notably starred in and produced her Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet recently and lately she’s been busy getting The Drew Barrymore Show off the ground. The point is, all three of the Charlie’s Angels co-stars are very busy but still make time to get together and support one another. This has been going on for years, though Lucy Liu expressed the sentiment that she doesn't feel much time has passed at all.

Friendships of that ilk are not often found on movie sets, but you can see the sincerity in which they talk about the 20-year friendship in the full clip below.

Also, to note, Cameron Diaz is a hologram throughout this whole thing and was apparently beaming in from her home in Los Angeles, which is pretty on-brand for the new mom at this point. If she had thrown a glass of wine into one hand, it might have been even more on brand for her. 2020. What a year.

In 2014, Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, was brought into the MCU as a supporting character to Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and now he is sharing the spotlight with Sebastian Stan in the hotly anticipated Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Last year saw a similar occurrence on the big screen when Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham reprised their Fast and Furious franchise roles as the title characters of Hobbs & Shaw, an over-the-top action spinoff to the over-the-top action series.

This hit movie and soon to be hit series (most likely) are proof that the rare sight of characters who are not the main hero earning a promotion from second banana to first has become much less rare. Furthermore, many of these spin-off stars have also happened to be people of color, such as the aforementioned Anthony Mackie and the half-black, half-Samoan Dwayne Johnson. This only begs the question of whom from these beloved side characters we can expect to receive the same treatment next.

Well, it just so happens that 11 sidekicks, comic reliefs, and even a few villains (all of whom are also people of color) came to our minds. While there is no telling the chances of when (or, better yet, if) these spin-off movies (or series) could see the light of day, is it still a fun concept to dream up. Plus, it never hurts to give the people in charge a few ideas.

Rod Williams (Lil Rey Howery) - Get Out

In retrospect, I think we can all agree the true hero of Jordan Peele’s Get Out is Rod Williams, the loyal best friend of Daniel Kaluuya’s protagonist Chris Washington. Not only does this proud TSA agent, played by comedian Lil Rel Howery, come through for his buddy in the end, but Chris may not have come within inches of falling prey to his monstrously racist potential in-laws had he listened to him in the first place. Plus, Rod was easily the funniest element of the poignant, Academy Award-winning thriller (especially when laughs were needed), and to bring his wit and unique detective skills to a film of his own would be a welcome sight.

Domino (Zazie Beetz) - Deadpool 2

Speaking of real heroes, Ryan Reynolds’ “Merc with a Mouth” would almost literally be scraps on the side of the road if not for Domino, who was also the only other member of the newly formed X-Force to survive a brutal windstorm at the top of their inaugural mission. While the genuinely lucky lady was never drawn as a specific ethnicity in the comics, half-black and German-born Atlanta star Zazie Beetz made the mutant mercenary her own in Deadpool 2, practically running away with the show despite coming in at the halfway point. Domino already has the fans and an X-Force centered movie was a hot topic at one time, so why not just give her top billing instead?

Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) - The Star Wars Saga

Here, we make the transition from talk of the X-Force to the X-Wing, particularly the most talented man in the Rebel Alliance behind the wheel of one, that is. Latino actor Oscar Isaac had already received much praise for his work in indie flicks like Drive or as the title character of the Coen Brothers’ love letter to folk music Inside Llewyn Davis before playing Poe Dameron in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens made him a bonafide movie star. The brazen pilot and charming hero would remain an exciting element of the saga’s more recent entries and, given how little we still really know about him, I believe this is a Star Wars character who could inspire a prequel with some purpose, for once.

O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) - Kill Bill Vol. 1

Speaking of prequels with purpose, is there a single fan of the Kill Bill movies who did not want to see more from O-Ren Ishii’s past after that Japanese anime style interlude explaining her origin? For how memorable Uma Thurman was as The Bride, the vengeful hero of Quentin Tarantino’s two-part revenge epic, Lucy Liu’s fierce, MTV Movie Award-winning performance as her half-Chinese, half-Japanese-American former colleague turned adversary (and Yakuza leader) is key to Kill Bill Vol. 1’s lasting iconography almost two decades later. Whether it would be live-action or anime, one movie or a whole series, a spin-off depicting Oren’s glory days as one of the world’s top assassins would be a dream come true.

Lucius Best/Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) - The Incredibles

Speaking of glory days, we caught a glimpse of Nick Fury prior to his promotion at S.H.I.E.L.D., courtesy of a de-aged Samuel L. Jackson in Captain Marvel, and it looks that may be the extent of the character’s origins we are bound to see in the MCU. Yet, it might actually be even more fun to see Lucius Best, Jackson’s animated role from The Incredibles movies, giving evil the cold shoulder when it was still legal for super-powered vigilantes to do so as Frozone. After two movies with Bob (Craig T. Nelson), Helen (Holly Hunter), and the rest of the Parr clan in the spotlight, it is about time Pixar gives their most memorable scene stealer his own adventure and, perhaps, finally give his wife, Honey, a proper introduction.

Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) - Fast And Furious Franchise

Another beloved character originating from a group of heroic outlaws is Leticia Ortiz, or “Letty” for short, who has, arguably, had it the worst of anyone in the Fast of Furious cast. From being assumed as murdered by a deadly explosion that actually gave her severe amnesia to watching her own husband, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), blackmailed into working against their close-knit crew, I would not be surprised if things actually went better for her if she went solo for a bit. If Hobbs & Shaw is any indication that a spin-off from this high-octane action franchise can work, Michelle Rodruiguez’s nearly two decades as the fearless street racer should be more than enough evidence that she deserves to be the next one in line, which even Diesel seems to agree with.

Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) - Suicide Squad

On a similar note, I am surprised that no one questioned the absence of Amanda Waller in Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, a female-driven spin-off from Suicide Squad that put Margot Robbie and a group of overlooked DC heroines in the spotlight. Other than the fact that the Task Force X founder has no canonical affiliation with the Birds of Prey and Harley probably hates her guts for putting an explosive in her head, Viola Davis’ irresistible deviousness in that role deserves more attention. Of course, the Oscar-winner is set to reprise the character for James Gunn’s rebootquel(?), but it might be a real treat to see the inner workings of “The Wall’s” corrupt world in a more centralized, in-depth setting that does without the distraction of costumed anti-heroes.

Lo Pan (James Hong) - Big Trouble In Little China

Amanda Waller is not the only antagonistic character we would love to see as the star of the show. Even if you do not know prolific actor James Hong by his real name, he is unmistakable as Lo Pan, an ancient sorcerer who creates problems in San Francisco’s Chinatown in hopes of regaining human form to rule the universe in Big Trouble in Little China. Instead of a sequel or remake of this darkly comic, supernatural kung-fu extravaganza from director John Carpenter, I would rather see a prequel that shows us how Lo Pan went from a fierce warrior to a vengeful wizard, only to fall prey to Kurt Russell’s bumbling trucker Jack Burton.

Luis (Michael Peña) - Marvel Cinematic Universe

Even more surprising than the means of Lo Pan’s eventual defeat is how pivotal Luis was to Scott Lang’s heroic evolution, as he was able to pass on the message that he was needed for Steve Roger’s team in Captain America: Civil War. Of any comic relief you can still name from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man’s fast-talking thief, played brilliantly by Michael Peña, is, without question, the most memorable and consistently hilarious. Fans even requested that Avengers: Endgame begin with his own dazzling, tangent-filled recap, which could totally be a reality in his own film about… I dunno, maybe working his way up in the security field?

Sofia Al-Azwar (Halle Berry) - John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

Fans of the ongoing John Wick franchise would probably have no trouble figuring out what might be in store for if Sofia Al-Azwar got her own spin-off movie. The Casablanca Continental hotel manager, played by Academy Award-winner Halle Berry, made a brief, but exciting appearance in the Keanu Reeves-led action series, without much else learned about her than having a past with John and her impeccable combat skills. So, there is also a pretty good chance that assassination is in her resume and, quite frankly, I would love to see more from that side of her in a potential prequel, if not just to see Berry have another hit.

Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) - Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

Even with the disappointment of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the second film from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ iconic series is not without its controversy either. This is due, in part, to Short Round, the young, orphaned sidekick of Harrison Ford’s archeologist played by Ke Huy Quan, and I truly fail to understand to why because he is a badass and the one responsible for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom having a happy conclusion. You can tell me all day that you find the kid obnoxious, and I will continue to fight that until a grown-up Short Round (either reprised by Quan or recast with, say, The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun) gets his own adventure, which I would rather see than a fifth Indiana Jones movie, to be honest.

What do you think? Do you agree that these supporting players are most deserving of a little more support or did we unwittingly leave out a few others who have gone unjustly overlooked long enough? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on characters from a minority demographic who are taking Hollywood by storm, as well as more articles that acknowledge the unsung heroes of movies and TV shows, here on CinemaBlend.

Lucy Liu is on her way back to network TV, but she definitely won't be playing the Watson to a Holmes this time around. The former Elementary leading lady has landed a new role that, if all goes well, will bring her back to the small screen. This time, however, she'd be delivering laughs rather than helping solve mysteries. Liu is slated to star in an ABC comedy pilot.

The new multi-camera pilot, which currently doesn't have a title, will follow a diva boss by the name of Devin running a successful furniture company whose lack of patience with working parents is thrown aside when she adopts a baby of her own. According to TVLine, her subsequent change of heart results in her turning to the most unlikely of mentors: her assistant, who also happens to be a working mother of three. This new dynamic of boss turning to assistant will definitely upend the office.

Lucy Liu will play Devin, who is as fierce and powerful as she is unaccustomed to failure. Raising a child is one thing she wasn't prepared for, however, and parenting is something she'll need help on if she intends to keep working. This pilot was one of several that recently got the go-ahead from ABC, and arguably one of the most high-profile now that it has landed Liu as star.

Of course, Lucy Liu's biggest recent TV credits aren't exactly sitcoms. Her seven-season run as Joan Watson on Elementary kept her on a CBS drama for 150 episodes and the better part of a decade, and she moved to streaming after the end of Elementary in August 2019.

Her CBS All Access show, Why Women Kill, had some darkly comedic moments, but definitely doesn't qualify as a multi-cam sitcom. Why Women Kill was renewed for a second season, but The Wrap reports it will follow a new set of characters.

Lucy Liu's move to ABC should allow her to show off a new side of her TV skills, and she'll serve as an executive producer on the show if it scores a series order. The project has already gone through two name changes. Originally called Kids Matter, the title was changed to Bossy, and now even that second name has evidently been nixed.

Only time will tell if Lucy Liu's new pilot will get a series order from ABC. The pilot season for the 2020-2021 season has been anything but normal thanks to production shutdowns throughout the entertainment industry, so we'll have to wait for news. For now, you can find the seven seasons of Liu on Elementary streaming on Hulu, and Liu's season of Why Women Kill streaming on CBS All Access. For more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, check out our 2020 summer TV premiere schedule.

Elementary has been a popular CBS show both domestically and internationally and it has been a great vehicle for keeping cast members like Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller on our minds each and every week. Yet all good things must come to an end and that was true of Elementary earlier this summer when the modern-day Sherlock Holmes story finally wrapped things up.

This has left a bit of a hole in CBS’ schedule, but on the bright side it means that Elementary’s cast can look forward to some new and unique projects, of which their schedules are already being filled. So, if you’re wondering what Lucy Liu and others have coming up, we’ve done the sleuthing for you, Sherlock Holmes-style. Take a look at what the main cast members are doing next.

Lucy Liu (Joan Watson)

Elementary has always been big on its detective consultant partnership and Joan Watson – a gender-flipped version of Dr. John H. Watson—has been a major part of the show from Episode 1. Following the CBS gig, Lucy Liu’s Joan Watson will be sticking with the Eye Network… sort of.

Lucy Liu is next set to star in Why Women Kill, a brand new series heading to CBS All Access. In it, Liu will play Simone Grove, a socialite living in Pasadena during the 1980s. The series will span multiple decades and will show women who are driven to kill. If that’s not enough to interest you (and c’mon it sounds great) it also stars Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon A Time, Big Love) and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (House of Lies, Veronica Mars).

I sort of like that the former Joan Watson, an actress who played a character used to solving murders, will commit at least one murder in this new series. Lucy Liu also has movies like Stage Mother and The Last Weekend In May coming up.

Jonny Lee Miller (Sherlock Holmes)

The other half of Elementary’s dynamic duo was played by Jonny Lee Miller throughout the show’s run. The actor was able to do some work while Elementary was still running on CBS, including T2 Trainspotting. However, the bulk of his has been in Elementary in recent years, although a fun fact about Miller is that he trains and fights in Muay Thai.

Coming up, Jonny Lee Miller has the movie Nine Lives, which will also star Hell on Wheels actor Common. The movie will be based on an Ursula K. Le Guin novel.

Aidan Quinn (Captain Thomas Gregson)

Aidan Quinn, previously of Prime Suspect and a slew of movies, has featured majorly in Elementary over the years. His character Captain Thomas Gregson came into the final season with his fate hanging in the balance after being shot, but he pulled through and re-took over the mantle of Captain before the show bowed in August of 2019.

Next up, Aidan Quinn has lots of movies coming up. Butterfly in Typewriter is one, but he’ll also play historical figures in two separate projects. In The American Guest mini-series, he’ll play Theodore Roosevelt. Then, in The Gettysburg Address, Aidan Quinn will voice Theodore Parker, an American Abolitionist who would later inspire some of Abraham Lincoln’s famous speeches.

Finally, we recently learned Aidan Quinn will appear in the indie flick Spiked. In it, the former Elementary star will star in a plot about former Arizona newspaper publisher Joseph Soldwedel.

Jon Michael Hill (Detective Marcus Bell)

Jon Michael Hill had big roles in Detroit 1-8-7 and Eastbound & Down before landing an even more major gig on Elementary. During his time on the CBS show, he was able to take some side gigs in movies, including a memorable turn in last year’s Widows.

Unlike the other actors on Elementary, Jon Michael Hill has moved on to True West, a Sam Shephard play being performed in Chicago at the Steppenwolf Theater. Performances run through the end of the summer. Hill did earn a Tony Award in 2010 for Superior Donuts and has previously said theater is his “first and last love,"  although he’s also said of Marcus Bell:

We can’t wait to see what’s next for the actor.

Jordan Gelber (Dr. Eugene Hawes)

Another big theater buff, Jordan Gelber was on Elementary as the medical examiner in New York City who often worked with Sherlock, Marcus and Joan. A recurring character, Eugene Hawes first appeared in Elementary in 2013.

Over the summer, Jordan Gelber performed in a MUNY version of Guys and Dolls in St. Louis’ famous outdoor theater, which hit its 100th season this year. Next up, the actor will be involved with the development of Broadway Vacation, a musical take on the National Lampoon Vacation series. So, catch Dr. Eugene on the stage and not in a medical coat.

John Noble (Mr. Morland Holmes)

Another recurring figure in the world of Elementary, the CBS series was lucky to land John Noble as the father of Sherlock Holmes. The man only popped up in one episode in 2019, but the cool thing about Sherlock’s dad is that he was always a presence in Sherlock’s life and on the show, generally somewhat antagonistically, through most episode. So you never really forget about Morland.

John Noble is a busy guy. You probably know him from Fringe or Sleepy Hollow, but coming up he also has the films Call Waiting, Nameless and Guardians of Luna. He has a few other rumored gigs as well, and we can’t wait to see how those pan out.

Ophelia Lovibond (Kitty Winter)

Ophelia Lovibond has been in oodles and gobs of notable projects. She’s dipped her toes in the MCU as Carina Tivan. She’s perfect for musical biopics, or seems to be given she’s appeared in the likes of Nowhere Boy and Rocketman. And of course, she played Sherlock’s protégé in Elementary, even popping in during the final season of the CBS drama.

Next up, Lovibond has a gig in the flick Timmy Failure. Unfortunately, due to being killed by the power stone, we’re unlikely to see her back in the MCU. Still, I can’t wait to see what she does next.

There are other people who were recurring on Elementary over the years, including James Frain as Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis Odin Reichenbach, Rhys Ifans as Sherlock’s famous brother Mycroft Holmes, Ato Essandoh as Alfredo, the guy who helped keep Sherlock’s sobriety in check, and of course, Natalie Dormer as the wonderfully twisted Jamie Moriarty.

Those people often have regular acting gigs and are on the show a little less often than the ones listed above. Suffice to say, they are making some big moves in the acting world as well.

Desperate Housewives and Devious Maids turned creator Marc Cherry into the household name for spicy, soapy, female-driven primetime dramas. Cherry is back with a bullet (or maybe a butcher knife) with CBS All Access' Why Women Kill, a sublimely wicked mystery thriller anchored by the fabulous trio of Once Upon a Time vet Ginnifer Goodwin, Lucy Liu (Elementary), and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Killing Eve). Come for the star-studded cast, but stay for the endless nuances embedded within the three different timelines.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like if Ginnifer Goodwin and Parenthood's Sam Jaeger led a Donna Reed Show reboot stricken with adultery, sexual longing and gossipy neighbors, then Why Women Kill is probably for you.

If you've ever fantasized about Lucy Liu having access to exquisite dialogue equalled by dazzling Dynasty-esque wardrobe, while engaged in a rocky marriage with a sexually more-than-curious Jack Davenport (Smash), then Why Women Kill is probably for you.

If you've ever wanted to explore the complex logistics of a polyamorous marriage between a bisexual woman (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and a straight man (Veep's Reid Scott), complete with said woman's alluring-as-hell girlfriend (Baywatch's Alexandra Daddario), then Why Women Kill is probably for you.

Told across three different eras, Why Women Kill is centered within the same luxurious and sprawling abode that each decade's coupling – or tripling or whatever – lives in for a spell before someone's big death shakes up the community. Make no expectations about who will die or who or what will be the one doing the killing, and don't expect for the storylines' initial plot points to stay the same throughout the season. But do expect a ton of F-bombs delivered in signature ways.

1960s Ginnifer Goodwin Realizes Her Marriage Is A Charade

In the 1960s, the central house is owned by the overly doting housewife Beth Ann (Goodwin) and the stereotypical husband Rob (Sam Jaeger), who expects hot food on the table and complete naivety when it comes to his philandering. For years, Beth Ann was perfectly willing to settle into that cookie-cutter mold, but neighbors Sheila (Blood & Treasure's Alicia Coppola) and Leo (Nurse Jackie's Adam Ferrara) spark a progressive drive within her to fight for what she wants.

What she wants, though, is anyone's guess. Especially considering Beth Ann's questionable actions towards diner waitress April, portrayed by Mom's Sadie Calvano. As seen in the trailers and other promotional material, April and Rob are... Well, they're in a way that doesn't do Beth Ann's self-worth or sexual satisfaction any good, that's for sure.

Watching Beth Ann's seemingly pristine world get soured is enormously engaging, especially with Ginnifer Goodwin as this glorious ball of pent-up and tightly wound emotions that all appear ready to snap in 17 different directions. I pity the fool(s) who gets in the way of her swinging pearls.

1980s Lucy Liu Is The Center Of Attention, Though Mostly Her Own

If Why Women Kill would have kicked off its anthology format by focusing this first season solely on the relationship between Lucy Liu's upper-crust prize Simone and Jack Davenport's delightfully drippy Karl, it would have still gotten super-high marks from yours truly.

Simone feels like a role that Lucy Liu has been playing for years, so lived-in is the effortlessly chic character. When she walks into a room – which should always occur from atop an ornately decorated staircase – she becomes the reason why the room existed in the first place. Even if some around her aren't so overwhelmingly taken by Simone's blind privilege and ego, viewers no doubt will be.

Who can deny the power of Lucy Liu slam-dunking a line like this:

Or this:

You can literally hear the exclamation marks coming out of Simone's mouth as her rage at Karl gets transformed into transmittable language. Their relationship, which also incorporates an extremely younger man named Tommy (Santa Clarita Diet's Leo Howard), is the most tumultuous of the early Why Women Kill episodes that were given to critics, adding to its watchability in spades.

2018's Kirby Howell-Baptiste Tests The Boundaries Of Marital Freedom

The core feelings from each timeline are completely universal for present-day audiences, but there's no denying the relationship between Kirby Howell-Baptiste's Taylor and Reid Scott's Eli is the most modern-day angle on marriages gone awry. A lawyer, Taylor is the breadwinner of the pair, with Eli as a between-jobs writer. Taylor is also the more assertive of the two when seeking passion outside the marriage.

Enter Alexanda Daddario's Jade, a down-on-her-luck soul that takes up temporary shelter within Taylor and Eli's gigantic house. Secrets are revealed, secrets are created, and I'm sure there's a third and fourth thing done with secrets, too.

Taylor and Eli come across as the happiest couple when Why Women Kill kicks off, from an emotional perspective, from a sexual well-being perspective, from a communication perspective, etc. Not that they necessarily are the healthiest pairing within Why Women Kill, but they appear that way, which definitely counts for something in Marc Cherry's universe. (Probably that their fall will be that much harder.)

Why Women Kill Is A Treat For All The Appropriate Senses

While there is certainly the slim chance that Why Women Kill will go off the rails in a negative way as Season 1 continues, Marc Cherry and this impeccable cast set things up so magnificently that it's hard to deduce where the downfall could even begin.

The three timelines are extremely distinct, to the point where viewers may find themselves forgetting that the three couples are living within in the same walls. Such timeline immersion has a lot to do with those responsible for the expertly dressed sets and actors. Ginnifer Goodwin's outfits look like they were just ordered from a catalog via a rotary-dial phone, and Simone's showy decorating had me, as a viewer, paranoid that I would break something I couldn't afford.

Why Women Kill is also instantly rewatchable due to the darkly comedic writing, which retains genuine emotion even as it puts its characters through howl-worthy situations that would floor normal people. Even the 2018 sections, which can't get as folksy or flamboyant as the others, stands apart from other modern shows with the same overt sexiness and genre-bending mentality.

I can't very well say that Why Women Kill will attract every TV viewer who comes across it, but it's absolutely the next logical step in Marc Cherry's creative journey. With such enjoyably brilliant performances from Lucy Liu and the rest of the cast, the juicy storytelling becomes that much more engrossing, and the ten-episode season will certainly under-stay its welcome, if anything. Count me on the Season 2 bandwagon already, whatever it looks like.

Why Women Kill will premiere on CBS All Access on Thursday, August 15. New episodes will be available every Thursday following until all 10 episodes have aired.

From The Lion King to Child’s Play, this year has been packed with reimaginings of familiar titles. It’s an undeniable trend Hollywood has been exploring for some time, so much so that some franchises have reached third and fourth generations of remakes. Just take the upcoming Charlie’s Angels: the Elizabeth Banks directed action-comedy has roots in the ‘70s television show and ‘00s McG films.

Now former Angel Lucy Liu is weighing in on her famed team of badass female detectives coming back to the big screen. She spoke about the new Charlie's Angels movie to ET after addressing the new Beverly Hills, 90210 revival series:

Studios often have an easier time investing in familiar names over brand new ideas and they perform with mixed results. Titles such as 2017’s The Mummy, 2015’s Fantastic Four and this year’s Hellboy were absolute failures while the new Spider-Man films, It and A Star is Born were wildly successful.

As Lucy Liu said, it will be interesting to see how Charlie’s Angels fares among audiences this fall. The movie stars Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, Aladdin’s Naomi Scott, and newcomer Ella Balinska as the new angels, with Elizabeth Banks, Patrick Stewart, Noah Centineo, Sam Claflin, and Djimon Hounsou in the supporting cast.

The movie will build upon the world established in the TV series and films. Charlie’s Angels will show how the spy operation has grown since it began, with the angels traveling to locations around the world such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Istanbul. They’ll be working together as a trio and with a network of angels. Elizabeth Banks notes one of her reasons to bring the franchise back was this theme of collaborative women over one hero.

It’s been 16 years since Lucy Liu starred in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and the approach to how women are presented on screen has changed a ton. Having a female eye behind the camera and as a co-writer on the script is also huge for the franchise. Liu has previously shown her support for this new version, calling it “very exciting.”

But will Alex Munday make an appearance in Charlie’s Angels? It doesn’t look to be the case, but she’d certainly be a welcome addition to the film. Lucy Liu currently has her hands full on a new CBS show, Why Women Kill, premiering on August 15. After recently wrapping her seven-season run on Elementary, she will play an ‘80s woman named Simone who is dealing with infidelity, among two other stories in the ‘60s and the present day.

Are you excited for the new Charlie’s Angels? Let us know in the comments below.

Everyone who remembers Ginnifer Goodwin as Once Upon a Time's sweet and tough Snow White has been waiting for her to show up on the small screen again as a series regular. Well, her new CBS All Access show, Why Women Kill, will debut soon, but she might not be quite so sweet anymore. Take a look:

WOW. Alright, there's a lot going on in that trailer, but, unfortunately, it looks like most of it won't be uplifting in any kind of fairy tale, happy ending way. With that said, though, it does look like Ginnifer Goodwin, Lucy Liu and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Good Place, Veronica Mars) are going to help serve up some major drama that will be worthy of appointment viewing once Why Women Kill debuts.

Why Women Kill, which comes from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, is described as being a "darkly comedic drama" and we can certainly get a good look at the tone of the show from the very beginning of the trailer. When Goodwin's character, Beth Ann, reveals to her seemingly sweet husband that she's been "wondering when you'll die," it strikes just the note to tell us that this is going to be a very different kind of show.

As you can also see from the trailer, Why Women Kill will focus on Beth Ann (Goodwin), Simone (Liu) and Taylor (Howell-Baptiste) in three different time periods as they deal with infidelity in their marriages. Beth Ann is a determined housewife in the '60, Simone is an '80s socialite and Taylor is a lawyer trying to figure out her open marriage in 2018. In another twist on cheating tales, these women all live in the same home in their separate time periods, which is giving me freaky American Horror Story: Murder House vibes, for sure.

Obviously, getting cheated on sucks in any time period, and most of us can probably already guess why these ladies will want to kill. But, will they really all kill their no good, dirty, cheating spouses? We absolutely see someone end up in a body bag, and Beth Ann's husband seems to take a nasty tumble through the glass shower door, but does he die from the fall and does she push him? I'm going to guess that Beth Ann doesn't have the same training as Snow, so she might not be strong enough to have made that happen. Of course, I've heard that getting angry can do wonders for one's strength, so we shall see...

Why Women Kill also stars Sam Jaeger as Beth Ann's husband Rob, Jack Davenport as Simone's two-secret-having husband Karl and Reid Scott as Taylor's husband Eli, and it seems like they will all, at the very least, have some serious hurt put on them for betraying their wives.

We don't have long to wait to see if any husbands survive Why Women Kill; the show hits CBS All Access on August 15. In the meantime, though, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in movies, TV and pop culture, and check out what else you can catch on the small screen this summer!

Snow White is back -- with a vengeance! Once Upon a Time star Ginnifer Goodwin has joined Lucy Liu in the cast of Why Women Kill, which will be premiering on the CBS All Access streaming service. She'll play one of the leads in the drama/comedy from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry.

Why Women Kill will follow three women in three different decades -- a housewife in the 1960s (that's Ginnifer Goodwin's character), a socialite in the 1980s (to be played by Lucy Liu), and a lawyer in 2018 (star not revealed yet). All of the women will be dealing with infidelity in their marriages. The series will explore how the roles of women may have changed over time, but their reactions to betrayal have not.

Here's the description for Ginnifer Goodwin's 1963 housewife character, Beth Ann (via TheWrap):

Uh oh. This dark look into a marriage sounds very different from the fairy tale love story of Ginnifer Goodwin and former Once Upon a Time co-star Josh Dallas. They met as Snow White and Prince Charming on that ABC series, fell in love on screen and off, and now have two kids together. He's busy keeping us speculating on NBC's Manifest, and she's been busy with several projects.

In addition to this new lead role, Ginnifer Goodwin will be in Netflix’s Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, and the Big Love alum will also appear in an episode of Jordan Peele's The Twilight Zone. Plus, it's possible she'll be bringing her Judy Hopps back for another Zootopia movie (or two?).

CBS All Access gave Why Women Kill a straight-to-series order back in September. Here's what creator Marc Cherry said about the show at the time (via Deadline):

Here's CBS's description for Lucy Liu's '80s character, Simone (per TVLine):

Sounds intriguing so far. Now we wait to hear who is cast as the lead in the modern timeline, and get a premiere date on CBS All Access. In the meantime, keep up with everything currently airing with our handy midseason 2019 TV guide.

Lucy Liu has already landed her next big role for after Elementary comes to an end. She will not be moving networks completely for her new show either. Remaining in the CBS family, Liu has signed on to star in the dark dramedy Why Women Kill.

The show comes from the mind of Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, and the plot is killer. In a premise somewhat reminiscent of The Hours, Why Women Kill will span three time periods and tell the story of three women. CBS All Access has announced that Lucy Liu has signed on to play one of them.

There is a housewife in the ‘60s, a socialite living it up in the ‘80s, and a lawyer working it up in 2018. The description for Lucy Liu’s character does not concretely reveal which of the time periods she will be living in.

Lucy Liu will play Simone. She is described as “elegant, stylish,” and “effervescent.” Simone is a prime example of a confidently polished individual. She treats the world as if it is a “delightful movie” starring her in the lead role. Appearances mean everything to Simone, who is said to be “smugly superior.”

While she enjoys shopping and throwing parties, that is not the only source of her life’s happiness. From all outside appearances, she is in a seemingly happy marriage with her kind husband, Karl. Simone thinks Karl is a great guy. That is until some information comes forward to challenges that belief.

Infidelity rears its ugly head and Simone’s worst fears are confirmed when she learns that Karl has been cheating on her. Say it is not so, Karl! Things may be about to get a lot worse for the guy. After all, the TV show is entitled Why Women Kill.

While the show is set to transpire over different timelines, all of its female characters share something in common. Each must confront infidelity in their marriage. Why Women Kill is set to point out how some things have changed, and others have remained the same.

The show’s description says that it will explore how “the roles of women have changed.” What has not? Their feelings about being cheated on by their spouses. Will everyone from each different time decide to make the same choice regarding their spouse? If they do, Sherlock Holmes is unlikely to show up to solve their crimes, although who would say no to an Elementary crossover of some sort?

The new series sounds intriguing, and this character should be a fresh new role for Lucy Liu. She has one more season to go before Elementary and her time as Joan Watson comes to an end. The series has been cancelled. However, it has been given the green-light for a seventh and final season to complete its run.

A premiere date for Why Women Kill has not been set yet, so stay tuned. When the show bows, it will do so on CBS All Access. There are a lot of new shows to keep you entertained while you await the premiere of Why Women Kill.

Strike a finger-gun pose and kick up Destiny's Child's "Independent Women," because the new Charlie's Angels is happening soon. The Elizabeth Banks-helmed reboot recently revealed the badass cast of women detectives, starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska, with Banks also playing their boss, Bosley. With news of the upcoming action flick, ex-angel Lucy Liu was asked about her thoughts on the new adaptation of the iconic '70s television series. Here's what she said:

Lucy Liu's interview with Entertainment Tonight comes 15 years after being Angel Alex Munday alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in 2000's Charlie's Angels and 2003's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Following the nostalgia of the original television show, the early '00s reboot had the leading ladies drop-kicking brutes, distracting the men with their sexual appeal and delivering wacky lines in ridiculous get-ups. Portrayals of women in film have changed since then, so now seems like the perfect time to revisit these characters in a new and refreshing way.

With an uptick of female-centered storylines, there's a lot to be excited about with this Charlie's Angels reboot. With Elizabeth Banks leading the project, she has expressed her desire to make the movie "matter"and do right by the franchise. Banks previously directed and starred with a female-led cast in Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015. Twilight star and current indie darling Kristen Stewart has shown interest in the project for some time, and will kick butt next to Bank's Power Rangers co-star and future Jasmine in the live-action Aladdin, Naomi Scott, as well as newcomer Ella Balinska (who has some serious performance combat skills). It's yet to be known how Elizabeth Banks and her team will translate the material to the screen in this adaptation, but there's much room for growth following director McG's hyper-realistic take, and the project will likely give Charlie's Angels an upgrade.

Lucy Liu has continued playing a character concerned with detective work in the modern-day Sherlock Holmes television series, Elementary, which is soon entering its seventh season this fall. The 49-year-old actress also recently starred in the Netflix original movie, Set It Up, but she is still widely remembered for her stint as an Angel to this day. The next Charlie's Angels movie will be released on September 27, 2019.

When Luke Cage returns for Season 2, its first episode will be helmed by a familiar face. Marvel enlisted actress Lucy Liu to direct the premiere to Season 2 of the series, and Mike Colter was apparently a big fan of having her on set. Colter talks about what it was like having Liu direct Luke Cage below:

Mike Colter dropped a lot of adjectives to describe Lucy Liu, and not one of them was negative in the slightest. Of course, as he mentions in his quote to Collider, a lot of this seems rooted in the fact that Liu is an actress stepping into the role of director which gives her the experience of being on both sides of the camera. While a good chunk of great directors have made due without acting in front of the camera, Liu's ability to empathize with and influence actors on set seems to have left a positive impact on Colter.

It also probably helps that Luke Cage was not Lucy Liu's first rodeo when it came to directing. Liu has done a handful of episodes for her CBS series Elementary, the series Graceland, and got her directorial debut with the 2011 film Meena. While all of those projects are an entirely different beast than directing a Marvel series the level of Luke Cage, it looks like Liu was up to the task and at least did well enough to win props from Mike Colter!

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Lucy Liu had a part to play on screen in the upcoming Season 2 of Luke Cage, but it's probably best they didn't force it if there was nothing there. Perhaps, if the experience was as positive for everyone else involved as it was for Mike Colter, this means Liu will have a future in directing more episodes of Luke Cage or perhaps one of Marvel's other shows. With each show looking ahead to the next season, who knows who could snatch her up again to call on her directing skills?

Luke Cage Season 2 is expected to premiere in 2018. Hopefully more information about the upcoming season will continue to roll out as San Diego Comic Con continues. For more on Luke Cage and its new season be sure to read up on the actor tapped to play a villain in the series. Also get excited to see Luke Cage in The Defenders which is due out on Netflix Friday, August 18th. For news relating to summer programming and a guide on where to find all the hottest shows of the summer, visit our summer premiere guide.

Warning the following contains spoilers for the Season 5 finale of Elementary, read at your own risk!

Many Elementary fans were able to breathe easy for the first time in awhile last month when CBS finally announced the series would return for Season 6. Now, fans may be holding their breath yet again, as Executive Producer Rob Doherty says that Sherlock's health will play into Season 6.

Those who saw the finale of Season 5 of Elementary could've guessed that Sherlock and Joan Watson's relationship was already feeling some strain. It appears not telling Joan about his condition is only going to lead to more confusion on her part, and more assumptions that he is back on drugs. Doherty also alludes to EW that Sherlock's new prognosis could affect his sobriety as he looks towards facing whatever that MRI showed at the end of Season 5.

As far as what ails Sherlock Holmes in Elementary, that remains a mystery. Holmes' memory loss and hallucinations could be a number of things like schizophrenia or dementia, to a less severe diagnosis like a Vitamin B-12 deficiency. As evidenced by the MRI machine in the finale, whatever is going on has to involve his mind. The prognosis Holmes gets will be important to the show, as a serious diagnosis will likely play into the show up until its very end. Could Sherlock Holmes be dying? Considering the show is centered around him, probably not, but maybe with the show's ratings on the decline, showrunners could be building towards a big dramatic finish.

The twist comes at a good time for Elementary, who will need its declining fanbase to tune in as often as possible if they wish to see a Season 7. Giving Sherlock Holmes a potentially life-threatening illness, while sad, will undoubtedly liven up the show's "must watch," factor. And with no official prognosis for what he has, fans will be more inclined to pay attention to that premiere date to find out. If they don't, Season 6 could very well be the final season of Elementary.

With Elementary confirmed for Season 6 but absent from the CBS Fall Schedule, fans will need to wait and see when they can expect to see Sherlock and Joan back in action. In the meantime, there's a lot of great summer programming currently airing that people who love great television don't want to miss. See what's on deck by visiting our summer premiere guide, and also be sure to bookmark our finale guide to see when all the hot shows of summer will come to an end.

This week has been an exhausting one for the world of television. With the upfronts fast approaching, networks have been dolling out cancellations like they're candy, as fans and employees of network TV wait to hear if their show will be renewed. But in the wake of the anxiety of it all, a few exciting announcements have been made. And one of them is regarding Elementary's Lucy Liu, and a new guest spot she'll be doing on another show.

It has just become public that film and TV star Lucy Liu will have a multi-episode arc on Season 3 of Hulu's Difficult People. The Billy Eichner-led comedy will welcome Liu as Veronica, a morally corrupt (duh) book editor who will share most of her scenes with Andrea Martin's Marilyn. THR reports that she'll be giving Marilyn a chance to write her own book, although I'm sure shenanigans will ensue that prevent Julie's mom from getting the attention she so desperately craves.

News of Lucy Liu's involvement in Difficult People is sure to be a red flag for the Elementary fandom. CBS has not yet announced if the series will return for Season 6, so Liu's casting in another project will be a catalyst for unease in the community. However, Lucy Liu hasn't been cast as a series regular, and will only be doing a few episodes on the Hulu comedy. So if Elementary ends up getting more life, Liu should be able to easily do both projects at the same time.

Difficult People is Lucy Liu's second comedy appearance in the last few years. She recently did a brief appearance on Season 5 of Girls, playing an actor in a procedural that Adam guest starred in. Liu has shown off some serious comedic timing in her career, and I'm excited to see her join the ridiculousness of Difficult People alongside Billy Eichner and Andrea Martin.

Difficult People stars Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner, playing fictionalized versions of themselves. The show revolves around the protagonists attempting to better themselves in New York, while also loathing everyone and everything around them... besides themselves. The series has had a ton of fantastic guest stars during its first two seasons, including Seth Meyers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nathan Lane, and Ana Gasteyer.

We should be able to get a definitive answer about Elementary's future soon, as networks like CBS have been announcing renewals and cancellations every day or so. Who knows? If the series meets its end with Season 5, perhaps we can see more of Lucy Liu in Difficult People than we originally anticipated.

After waiting what seems like an eternity, Kung Fu Panda 3 is finally heading our way next month! Some of you have probably been waiting for this moment for a while, while others may not have known that such a wondrous occurrence was heading your way. No matter which camp you’re in, we here at Cinema Blend are here to help – as we’ve got a guide chock full of the information that tells you everything you need to know about Po’s latest journey.

While it’s only a little over a month from its January 26th release date, Kung Fu Panda 3 almost looked like it would never happen. First scheduled to hit in a March 2016 release window, the film moved to December of 2015... only to move back to its March date, so as to avoid any competition with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. From that point, it moved to its final date of January 26th, so as to avoid any sort of trouncing Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice would have delivered.

As if shifting release dates weren't bad enough, the film lost two cast members – Mads Mikkelsen and Rebel Wilson – due to the production schedule for the film preventing them from being present. Both roles were recast, with Wilson's being the more urgent replacement, as she dropped out of the film as recently as September. Yet through all of this, Kung Fu Panda 3 has never derailed. Check out a preview of the film with the trailer below:

Now, without further ado, let's get to breaking down the upcoming animated blockbuster!

The Directors

Directing Kung Fu Panda 3 are Dreamworks Animation stalwarts Alessandro Carloni & Jennifer Yuh. Carloni previously worked as a director on Me And My Shadow, with supervising positions throughout the Kung Fu Panda films, as well as the holiday special. Outside of Po’s world, Carloni has also worked on the How To Train Your Dragon films, Over The Hedge, and The Croods. Yuh co-directed Kung Fu Panda 2& was the head of story for Kung Fu Panda; as well as a story artist on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Madagascar.Both Carloni and Yuh are experienced in the ways of Dreamworks Animation, as well as the Kung Fu Panda series – making them clear picks for the honors of ushering in a third installment.

The Story

After two films worth of personal growth and kung-fu mastery, Kung Fu Panda 3 finds Po’s story picking up where the last film left off. With Po’s father, Li Shan, sensing he’s still alive after the end of the second film’s events, a reunion is in order. Not only is Li Shan trying to bring his son home to a village of pandas who are in need of training in the ways of kung fu, he’s also trying to set him up with his arranged wife, Mei Mei. As if things couldn’t possibly get more complicated, Kai – an ancient spirit of evil intent – is robbing kung fu masters of their powers. Po’s life is about to get a little more difficult, but with a bowl of noodles and a heart as warm as broth, he just might pull it off.

Po

The protagonist of the Kung Fu Panda series, Po was orphaned by the evil Lord Shen, during his campaign to exterminate the panda race. Shen was motivated to do so by a prophecy that called for a special panda that would one day defeat him, which eventually came true thanks to Po being rescued and raised by Mr. Ping – a noodle merchant who found him in a radish crate as a baby. Throughout both previous installments, Po has grown as a kung fu master under the tutelage of Master Shifu and his Furious Five, which has lead to him being instrumental in defeating the evil Lord Shen, as well as Shifu’s previous student, Tai Lung. Po is voiced by Jack Black, who originated the character in the 2008 origin story.

Tigress

The closest thing to a love interest that Po has ever had in the Kung Fu Panda series, is that of Tigress. While the two were originally adversaries, considering she wanted the vaunted position of Dragon Warrior that was given to Po by Grand Master Oogway, their quarrel was dispelled after the defeat of Tai Lung. While the two haven't exactly shared that many "tender" moments, her concern for Po is warm, and could be tested once he leaves the Furious Five to become a kung fu mentor to the survivors of his village. Reprising the role of Tigress is Angelina Jolie, who most recently was seen starring in, writing, and directing By The Sea; though she's no stranger to voice acting as she previously voiced a character in Dreamworks’ Shark Tale.

Shifu

Trained by Grand Master Oogway, and the master of many a kung fu master in his corner of the world, Master Shifu is as fierce as he is wise. His greatest claim to fame is the mentorship of the "Furious Five," the most elite group of kung fu fighters ever known. Unfortunately, his great wisdom also created his own greatest foe, as a former pupil of his turned to a life of evil when denied the position of Dragon Warrior. Eventually, that honor went to his most challenging pupil – Po the panda. When we catch up with Master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda 3, we find that he's encouraging Po to take his training to the next step, by becoming a teacher himself. Dustin Hoffman is, and always will be, the voice of Master Shifu in the Kung Fu Panda films; with a strong resume of voice acting roles in The Tale Of Despereaux, Racing Stripes, and even an episode of The Simpsons to compliment this esteemed role.

Monkey

A carefree, but wise, warrior in the ranks of the Furious Five, Monkey is probably the only member of the Furious Five that's voiced by someone who can actually do the kung fu moves you see on the screen. Voiced by legendary martial artist, and experienced actor, Jackie Chan, Monkey is a fighter who uses a staff, as well as his body. While this is Chan's only voice work to date, he has been the focal point of the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures, in which he'd appear in short sequences as himself. Of course, his most prolific work has to be the Rush Hour franchise, as his profile in the film industry skyrocketed with the first film in 1998.

Mantis

Master Mantis is, literally, a much stronger character than you’d think. With a strength that suggests a creature of a greater size, Mantis is also a whiz in the art of acupuncture… provided he knows the ins and outs of the anatomy he’s working with. Also unfamiliar with the presence of his father, Mantis eventually grew to be an ally to Po and revealed himself to be quite a bit of a softy, waiting for a woman who’ll bite his head off, like his dear old Dad before him. A Dreamworks veteran in his own right, Seth Rogen returns to the role of Mantis in the same year that he finds himself voicing a character in the much more mature Sausage Party, which are the latest credits to a voice-over resume that includes roles in Shrek The Third, Monsters Vs. Aliens, and Horton Hears A Who.

Viper

Despite her lack of an effective set of fangs, Master Viper has abilities that makes up for her inability to use her venomous powers. Using speed and agility to confuse her opponents, Viper’s childhood hobby of ribbon dancing helped her become a weapon of precision targeting and enemy distraction. The most empathetic member of the group, Viper does not have much of a stomach for the injustices her enemies visit upon their victims, which also helped her become friends with the clumsy Po. While Lucy Liu’s best known for her roles in films like Kill Bill and shows like Elementary, Liu has had two steady voice-over roles since 2008’s Kung Fu Panda: Master Viper, and the fairy known as Silvermist in Disney’s Tinker Bell series.

Crane

While Po had to work to get the rest of the Furious Five to even interact with him in Kung Fu Panda, Master Crane was the first one to actually talk to Po in his time of isolation. Over time, once Po had endeared himself to the Furious Five, Crane and Po became a sort of team when it came to combat. In addition to being able to carry every member of his team on his back, Crane mostly uses his flying abilities to save Po when he’s fallen from extreme heights. Last, but not least, Master Crane can act as the "eye in the sky" for the team, surveilling the battlefield like no one else can. Voiced by David Cross, Crane is one of two Dreamworks roles Cross has banked in his career, the other one being Minion in Megamind.

Li Shan

During Lord Shen’s gigantic panda cleanse of his village, Li Shan was separated from his wife and child. For the years between Po’s childhood and the events of Kung Fu Panda 3, his father would be the leader of the pandas that survived, as they had taken refuge in a secluded corner of the kingdom. However, with the arrival of Kai, the film’s villain, Li Shan goes on a journey to reconnect with his newly empowered son, whose presence he felt after his triumphant victory in Kung Fu Panda 2. Strangely enough, father and son are right under each other’s noses in their first appearance together in one of the trailers for Kung Fu Panda 3, which has us wondering just how Li Shan will ultimately recognize his son. Li Shan is voiced by Bryan Cranston, but was originated by veteran voice actor Fred Tatasciore when he first appeared at the end of Kung Fu Panda 2.

Mei Mei

One of the pandas that survived the invasion and destruction inflicted upon the panda village was none other than Mei Mei – the woman that Po has been arranged to marry. Besides her fixation on her husband to be, Mei Mei has one true passion in her life: she loves ribbon dancing. Though that may make her sound helpless, she does also seem to have some skills with nunchucks, so perhaps Mei Mei has more fight to her than one could imagine. Mei Mei is voiced by Kate Hudson, in her career’s first voice acting role. Previously, Rebel Wilson was cast in this role, but due to the "extended production schedule" on Kung Fu Panda 3, she had to drop out.

Kai

Every Kung Fu Panda movie has had a villain that, one way or another, was connected to the past of one of our protagonists. Which makes Kai, the new baddie on deck for Kung Fu Panda 3, the first supernatural force that the team is fighting against. A bull who dual wields two jade blades, bound together by a sturdy metal chain, Kai is also known as the "the master of pain," "the beast of vengeance," and "the maker of widows." He also, in some capacity, worked with Grand Master Oogway – Master Shifu's teacher, who ascended to the heavens in Kung Fu Panda. Cast as Kai is Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons, who is taking over the role from its previous occupant, Hannibal’s Mads Mikkelsen