In Development

 

Eidolon: Rounding out the cast of the latest James Bond film will be Guy Pearce (Shatterhand, The Thin Man) back as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Christian Berkel (Silver Sable, Carte Blanche) back as Auric Goldfinger, Nora Arnezeder (Gears of War 2, Shatterhand), with new additions Roland Moller (Medieval, "Citadel") and Stacy Martin (The Brutalist, The Testament of Ann Lee) in supporting roles. Danny Boyle is directing this installment from a script once again by John Malone.

Boba Fett: Season 36 will kick off with the Jason Momoa-led Star Wars entry featuring Boba Fett in the title role. Joining the supporting cast will be Lance Henriksen (Falling, The Unhealer) as Mandalorian information broker Fenn Shysa, Kevin Durand (ThunderCats, Red Lantern Corps) as Bossk, Kiawentiio ("Avatar: The Last Airbender") as Fett's daughter Ailyn Vel, and Keith David (Metal Gear Solid, The Watsons Go to Birmingham) as the voice of Jabba the Hutt. James Wan is directing this film which was written by Nic Suzuki.

Three Rounds: Ray McKinnon (AKA Billy the Kid, Violent Ends), Isabela Merced (The Guns of Peridido, Rise Again), and Lily Rabe (Hellraiser, But What Am I?) have completed the cast for Jeff Nichols' boxing drama Three Rounds. McKinnon will play the father of the three brothers leading the story who trained his sons in the sport of boxing. Merced will play the love interest of Lucas Hedges' character. Rabe, meanwhile, will play the mother of the main characters in flashbacks. Holden Abbott has penned the project.

Heartbeat: Paul Mescal (The Beauty, Captain America: Winter's End) and Carey Mulligan (Zero Hour, A Tale of Love and Darkness) are set to headline the medical drama Heartbeat. Mulligan will play a surgeon who is shaken after an operation goes wrong, while Mescal will play an attorney drawn into an important case. Ralph Fiennes (The Beauty, Paki) will play the head of the hospital and will also direct the project. Sammy-Jo Ellis (The House of Black, All the Fives).

Donkey Kong Country: Dwayne Johnson (Rookie's Road, The Fall Guy: Trouble in Tahiti) is set for the lead voice role in Donkey Kong Country, an animated adaptation based on the famed Nintendo video game series. In the film, DK must recover the Kong family banana hoard when it is stolen by the villainous King K. Rool. Skyler Gisondo (Supergirl: Power, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Flesh and Blood) and Danny Glover (Captain America: Winter's End, American Dreamer) have also signed on for voice roles as Diddy Kong and Cranky Kong, respectively. Mike Mitchell (Kung Fu Panda 4, Trolls) is set to direct the project from a script by APJ (Batman: Duality, Broadway Joe).

Pirouette: Monica Barbaro (Aliens vs. Predator: The Long War, Crime 101) is set for her biggest role to date in Season 36 as the star of Pirouette, playing an American ballerina striving for stardom in the world of the Paris ballet scene. Joininh Barbaro will be Johnny Depp (The Diplomat, The Sandman: Season of Mists) as the ballet's domineering director and Emma Mackey (The House of Black, Sgt. Rock) as Barbaro's rival for a major role. Actress turned filmmaker Maïwenn (Jeanne du Barry, Polisse) will make her LRF debut with the project. Jimmy Ellis (Rubicon Lies, Coriolanus) and John Malone (Superman: Doomsday, Full Custody) have penned the film.

PREMIERE MAGAZINE #349

 

The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 35 Round 9)

 

 

 Wow, just one more round to go in Season 35. Here's The Roundup.... 

3. N/A

2. Meirad Tako

The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow was not exactly my cup of tea, but you have to give writer Meirad Tako a ton of credit for never writing the same film twice. As usual, he has created a unique experience different than all previous films on his resume.

1. Batman: Duality

More important than the quality of the film is the fact that it is the first real MAJOR hit of Season 35. Chris Rock was also a major highlight finally getting to become Two-Face in a surprisingly chilling fashion.

3. Batman: Duality

Not a top Batman film in LRF unfortunately. I supposed there was nowhere to go but down after Knightfall, but this one felt a major step below. Of the 6 Bat-films, I'd probably rank it 5th (only ahead of Gotham Knight).

2. The Woman Who Walked On Red Snow

This one was just a bit too slow and plodding for me.  It wasn't horrible, but it lacked the usual Meirad Tako energy.

1. Alex Conn Teen Thrillers 

At this point, every time writer Alex Conn comes out with a new teen/high school-set thriller, I feel like I've seen it before. Is New Christianity really all that different than The Revolution or Thrill of the Kill? It felt the same to me. 

On Location (Season 35 Round 9)

 

New Christianity

- Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow

- Riga, Latvia

Batman: Duality

- Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office Breakdown (Season 35 Round 9)

 

New Christianity 

Budget: $20,000,000

Total Box Office: $33,133,117

Total Profit: -$6,132,006

The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow 

Budget: $18,000,000

Total Box Office: $20,486,616

Total Profit: -$16,169,226

Batman: Duality

Budget: $262,000,000

Total Box Office: $1,350,134,419

Total Profit: $418,009,014

Box Office Facts

New Christianity

New Christianity is close to the middle of the pack financially out of writer Alex Conn's 52 film resume. In terms of total box office gross, New Christianity ranks 29th out of the 52 films.

The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow

Writer Meirad Tako has had a lot of range in his filmography as both a writer and a director. As a writer, the film is his 39th highest grossing out of 46 films. Meanwhile as a director, The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow is the 3rd highest grossing film out of eight films for Tako.

Batman: Duality

While the numbers are still massive for this 6th Batman film in LRF, the numbers are the lowest since the first film - Batman: Gotham Knight - released in Season 4.

Genre Rankings

New Christianity

Horror: #127

Drama: #303

The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow

Drama: #361

Historical: #59

Batman: Duality

Action: #15

Superhero: #15

Season 35 Round 9

Total Box Office: $1,403,754,152

Total Profit: $395,707,782

Season 35 Totals

Total Box Office: $4,544,938,112

Total Profit: $624,840,207

Season 35 Summary

1. Batman: Duality : $1,350,134,419

2. ThunderCats : $372,054,861

3. The House of Black : $341,463,995

4. Rubicon Lies : $260,355,992

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

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

7. Ghost Recon : $218,792,715

8. Zorro : $215,997,717

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

10. Discovery : $167,267,665

11. The Tick : $166,896,092

12. Spelljammer : $158,394,702

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

14. Unreasonable Doubt : $73,817,196

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

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

17. Wrong Turn : $54,581,190

18. The Molander Case : $40,645,353

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

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

21. New Christianity : $33,133,117

22. Vultures : $29,509,391

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

24. Dust Saint : $26,796,972

25. The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow : $20,486,616

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

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

LRF TRIVIA TIDBITS (Season 35 Round 9)

 

Welcome back for more LRF Trivia Tidbits! Round 9 reveals the tension between ambition and logistics—projects shaped by uncompromising creative visions, singular filmmaker productivity, and the kind of exhaustive casting searches that only come with long-running franchises nearing legacy status.

New Christianity

Writer Alex Conn and director Francis Ford Coppola encountered unexpected resistance when assembling the ensemble, as numerous major stars balked at being offered extremely small, near-cameo supporting roles. Cailee Spaeny, Sabrina Carpenter, Sadie Sink, Isabela Merced, David Harbour, Paul Dano, Mckenna Grace, Kyle Chandler, Jenna Ortega, Toni Collette, and Amy Adams all declined outright once it became clear how limited their screen time would be.

The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow

Though not the most prolific screenwriter within LRF, Meirad Tako has quietly become its most active writer-director. The Woman Who Walked on Red Snow marks his ninth film as director, further cementing his reputation as a singular, relentlessly productive auteur within the studio system.

Batman: Duality

While many familiar characters return in this sixth Batman installment from director Joseph Kosinski and writer APJ, the film introduced two major new roles: Kathy Kane/Batwoman and Renee Montoya. Both required extensive casting searches, with Jessica Alba ultimately landing Montoya over a deep field that included Janina Gavankar, Stephanie Beatriz, Melissa Fumero, America Ferrera, Torrey DeVitto, Julia Jones, and Melonie Diaz, while Lili Simmons secured Batwoman after competing against Rosa Salazar, Mia Wasikowska, Justine Lupe, and Monica Barbaro.

Release: Batman: Duality

 

Batman: Duality

Genre: Action/Superhero

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Writer: APJ

Based on DC Comics characters

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Rock, Al Pacino, Jessica Alba, Lili Simmons, Melissa Leo, Orlando Jones, Hamish Linklater, Barry Sloane, Michael Rispoli, Kevin Dunn, Adele Exarchopoulos (cameo), Douglas Booth (cameo)

Budget: $262,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $650,145,229

Foreign Box Office: $699,989,190

Total Profit: $418,009,014

Reaction: Despite a slightly lower budget (less city destruction this time around) this one came in with lower profits than Knightfall, grossing almost $150 million less worldwide. It's still a massive success though.

"APJ's Batman Duality shows how great he's done respecting the series with precisive accurate details. While this is Batman Duality's biggest strength, its also one of its biggest weaknesses. The movie is long and packed with a buffet of characters, it felt like Batman was more of a side dish in his own film. It's not bad, I absolutely adore how well made the film was and how true to the comics it is, just feel like maybe a half hour could have been cut." - Dexter Quinn, Cinematic Observer Newsletter

"In Batman: Duality, Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a restrained, introspective Bruce Wayne, while Chris Rock’s Harvey Dent is a genuine revelation—volatile, tragic, and quietly terrifying as he fractures into Two-Face. The introduction of the Court of Owls adds a conspiratorial depth that makes Gotham feel ancient and unknowable, while the Batwoman subplot injects a dangerous ideological counterpoint to Batman’s code. Though the film occasionally juggles too many threads, its thematic ambition help fill the storytelling gaps." - Tom Lane, Detroit News

"While Batman: Duality is undeniably stylish and ambitious, it sometimes buckles under the weight of its own narrative density. The film introduces compelling elements—the Court of Owls, Batwoman, Dent’s transformation—but struggles to give each the breathing room it deserves, resulting in a story that feels overcrowded. Gyllenhaal is solid if subdued, but it’s Chris Rock who dominates the film, occasionally to the detriment of the central Batman arc. Batman: Duality is ultimately a bold swing following Knightfall, but not always a cohesive one." - Oliver Lance, Seattle Star Tribune

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.