In Development

 

The Molander Case: The WII-set drama The Molander Case, which is about to be released, has announced its final casting with Burghart Klaussner (Brecht, Bridge of Spies) and Jonas Dassler (Bonhoeffer, A Sacrifice) set to officially round out the cast. Christian Petzold is at the helm as director. Wyatt Allen penned the script based on the novel Lichtspiel by Daniel Kehlmann.

The House of Black: The Wizarding World will have more company with Laurie Davidson (The Hammer of Thor, Blood and Glory), Kit Connor (Warfare, "Heartstopper"), Emily Carey ("Geek Girl", The Lost Girls), Niamh Cusack (We Live in Time, Four Mothers), and Alun Armstrong (The Choral, "Breeders") all joining the cast of the first in a (hopeful) new blockbuster universe for LRF. Davidson will play Rodolphus Lestrange, Kit Connor and Emily Carey will play James and Lily Potter - who fans know will eventually become Harry Potter's parents, Cusack will play Euphemia Potter, and Alun Armstrong will play Fleamont Potter. Chan-wook Park is directing from a script by Sammy-Jo Ellis.

Wrong Turn: The lastest horror franchise reboot from Last Resort films is also filling out its cast with the additions of Penn Badgley (Vindicators, "You"), Emily VanCamp (The Day, Alien: Out of the Shadows), Devyn Nekoda (Vicious, Scream VI), and Caylee Cowan (The Beast Within, The Instigators). Badgley and VanCamp play a couple the main character encounter during a traffic jam, while Nekoda and Cowan will be part of the group of friends at the center of the story. Christopher Landon is directing while Ben Collins penned the reboot.

New Christianity: Brooklynn Prince (ThunderCats, Collapse), Madison Hu (Rosemead, Night Shift), and David Cross (The Dark Divide, You Hurt My Feelings) have joined the upcoming horror/drama film from director Francis Ford Coppola. Prince will play the younger sister of the protagonist played by Noah Jupe, Madison Hu will play a high school classmate of the main character, while David Cross will play the father of Prince and Jupe's characters. Alex Conn wrote the script.

The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow: Writer/Director Meirad Tako (Either/Or, On Life and Living) is back behind the camera with a new historical drama. Yuliya Snigir (Her Dying Wish, The Master and the Margarita) is set to lead the film as a former governess left adrift by the Russian Revolution. Snigir's real-life husband Yevgeny Tsyganov (1993, The Master and the Margarita) will play a Red Army veteran who recruits her into an underground cell of dissidents. Konstantin Khabensky (Yura Was Here, Guest from the Future) has also joined the project as a weary revolutionary soldier. Acclaimed Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, Loveless) is lending a hand on the project as a producer.

Batman: Duality: Jake Gyllenhaal (Control, Justice League War) is set to return once again as Batman for LRF's DC Comics Universe in a story where he must deal with the fallout of the events of Knightfall, caught between new vigilantes, opportunist politicians, the mob, and a former public hero turned villain. Chris Rock (Batman: Knightfall, Spiral) is also back as Harvey Dent, fractured by the destruction of the city and death of his wife, who becomes Two-Face. Al Pacino (Escape, Joker vs. Deadshot) is set to appear as mobster Lou Maroni and Orlando Jones (Batgirl, "The Family Business: New Orleans") is back as Batman's tech guy Lucius Fox. Joseph Kosinski (At the Mountains of Madness, Batman: Knightfall) is back behind the camera, once again from a script by APJ (Joker vs. Deadshot, Broadway Joe).

PREMIERE MAGAZINE #347

 

The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 35 Round 7)

 

 

The studio accountants are clearly eagerly awaiting Batman to save the (financial) day. Here's The Roundup.... 

3. Behind Closed Doors

The performances are solid in Behind Closed Doors. The plot was a bit too light, but the solid cast is able to mostly rise above it all.

2. Man-Thing

I didn't quite know what to expect from a Man-Thing film, but I was pleasantly surprised that despite almost identical origins this Man-Thing film does not feel like a Swamp Thing rip-off. It felt like its own thing - in an intriguing, and sometimes brutal, fashion.

1. Rubicon Lies

It's probably the best film of the season so far - not by a lot though. Leo and Marty are great working with each other, but the supporting cast of this one didn't match their talents. I'm a sucker for JFK stuff, so I was a fairly willing to look past some of the weak spots and focus on the elements of mystery and intrigue (of which there are plenty here).

3. Rubicon Lies

Despite being a very good, borderline great film, there were some major flaws/issues. Supporting cast is one of them, another is the use of a bunch of fictional characters where there were real life figures that could have added extra intrigue.

2. Behind Closed Doors

Despite the strong performances from its cast, Behind Closed Doors feels aggressively small and unambitious, with far too many overly familiar beats.

1. N/A

Box Office Breakdown (Season 35 Round 7)

 

Rubicon Lies

Budget: $120,000,000

Total Box Office: $260,355,992

Total Profit: $16,093,554

Behind Closed Doors

Budget: $15,000,000

Total Box Office: $11,549,978

Total Profit: -$12,097,000

Man-Thing

Budget: $77,000,000

Total Box Office: $233,236,537

Total Profit: $53,910,555

Box Office Facts

Rubicon Lies

Through two collaborations in LRF, the director-star duo of Martin Scorsese have now combined for just under $600 million at the box office ($599,332,941 to be exact).

Behind Closed Doors

The good times at the box office continue to evade Holden Abbott in his second season with the studio. None of Abbott's three films have managed to turn a profit, and have combined to lose $45 million.

Man-Thing

In Season 35, all things Marvel ended up R-rated for the first time. The results weren't billion dollar hits, but were still respectable. The Punisher: Purgatory and Man-Thing combined to gross $464 million for a profit of $92 million - all off a combined budget of $152 million.

Genre Rankings

Rubicon Lies

Crime: #5

Historical: #11

Behind Closed Doors

Drama: #387

Man-Thing

Superhero: #110

Horror: #25

Supernatural: #13

Season 35 Round 7

Total Box Office: $505,142,507

Total Profit: $57,907,109

Season 35 Totals

Total Box Office: $2,704,493,422

Total Profit: $117,231,878

Season 35 Summary

1. ThunderCats : $372,054,861

2. Rubicon Lies : $260,355,992

3. Man-Thing : $233,236,537

4. The Punisher: Purgatory : $231,004,586

5. Ghost Recon : $218,792,715

6. Zorro : $215,997,717

7. Blood and Glory : $196,666,547

8. Discovery : $167,267,665

9. The Tick : $166,896,092

10. Spelljammer : $158,394,702

11. The Friend Zone : $94,345,981

12. Unreasonable Doubt : $73,817,196

13. Tara's Wrath : $73,090,751

14. Man of God : $63,494,668

15. The Writer and the Film Star : $39,529,721

16. Thus Dreamed Zarathustra : $34,589,058

17. Vultures : $29,509,391

18. The Letter Never Sent : $29,417,143

19. Dust Saint : $26,796,972

20. Behind Closed Doors : $11,549,978

21. Running from the Spotlight : $7,685,149

On Location (Season 35 Round 7)

 

Rubicon Lies

- New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

- San Juan, Puerto Rico

Behind Closed Doors

- Manchester, England, UK

Man-Thing

- Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

LRF TRIVIA TIDBITS (Season 35 Round 7)

 

Welcome back for more LRF Trivia Tidbits! Round 7 highlights the value of long-term creative relationships and smart scheduling—reuniting legendary collaborators, accommodating franchise commitments, and leaning into a director’s established casting philosophy to shape each film’s identity.

Rubicon Lies

This JFK conspiracy thriller marks yet another collaboration between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. Outside of LRF, the duo have made six films together, while Rubicon Lies represents their second LRF pairing following their acclaimed Frank Sinatra biopic, Sinatra, released back in Season 20.

Behind Closed Doors

Damson Idris nearly had to walk away from the project due to his prior commitment to LRF’s Marvel Universe as Blade in the previous season. Rather than recast the role, the studio opted to delay Behind Closed Doors by a full season, allowing Idris to remain attached and preserving Mike Leigh’s preferred ensemble.

Man-Thing

Jordan Peele continued his tradition of casting actors best known for comedy in unsettling horror roles. Following earlier examples like Lil Rel Howery in Get Out, Tim Heidecker in Us, and Keke Palmer in Nope, Man-Thing again leaned into that contrast, with Lil Rel Howery and Nick Kroll appearing in prominent supporting and villainous roles.

Release: Man-Thing

 

Man-Thing

Genre: Horror/Supernatural/Superhero

Director: Jordan Peele

Writers: Jimmy Ellis & Mark Newton

Based on Marvel Comics characters

Cast: Allison Williams, Max Minghella, Lil Rel Howery, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Daryl McCormack, Nick Kroll, Don Omar, Miguel Gomez

Budget: $77,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $130,845,994

Foreign Box Office: $102,390,543

Total Profit: $53,910,555

Reaction: Man-Thing is not exactly one of Marvel's marquee properties, so the studio was not expecting a huge hit. With those tempered expectations, we are very happy with these results.

"Jordan Peele’s Man-Thing is less a traditional superhero film and more a slow-burn ecological horror tragedy, trading spectacle for mood, grief, and creeping dread. Max Minghella’s transformation into the titular creature is handled with restraint and melancholy, while Allison Williams anchors the film with a grounded performance. While the third act flirts with more conventional action, it never fully abandons its haunting tone, resulting in a film that feels closer to Annihilation than The Avengers. It’s uneven in spots, but undeniably distinctive." - Zeke Holloway, Midnight Cinephage Quarterly

"On the one hand, Man-Thing seems to know the kind of genre picture it wants to be and knows how to entertain within those confines. There's a sense of dread, empathetic performances by its leads, and enticing visual effects any time we're in the swampland. On the other hand, Jordan Peele's involvement behind the camera had me hoping for something a little bit deeper—at least thematically. It's an easy film to like but hard to truly love." - Cal Crowe, Washington Globe

"Despite an intriguing premise and flashes of visual brilliance, Man-Thing struggles under the weight of its own ambitions. While the creature design and swamp setting are undeniably striking, the film may frustrate audiences expecting a more traditional Marvel narrative. It’s admirable in its risks, but not always satisfying in execution." - Clara Vex, The Daily Panel

Rated R for language and graphic violence.