Top 10 Space Operas

 

This is Sherman J. Pearson back for another season of Top 10 lists. With Star Wars back on LRF screens for the first time in many seasons, I thought it would be worth while to take a look at the studio's long history with the space opera genre....

Top 10 Space Operas

10. Silver Surfer: The Power Cosmic

9. Mass Effect 2

8. Halo 2

7. Red Lantern Corps

6. Halo 4

5. Green Lantern Corps

4. Halo 3

3. Mass Effect 3 - Part 1

2. Mass Effect 3 - Part 2

1. Green Lantern Corps: Sinestro War

Now Showing: Boba Fett

 

Boba Fett

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Director: James Wan

Writer: Nic Suzuki

Based on the Star Wars universe created by George Lucas

Cast: Jason Momoa, Tom Hopper, Keith David (voice), Lance Henriksen, Kevin Durand, Morena Baccarin, Kiawentiio, Charlee Fraser, Fra Fee, Abbey Lee, Oded Fehr

Plot: Wind howls across the smog-choked skyline of Ord Mantell, a mining world decimated by decades of strip mining operations. In the narrow alleys of a rusted-out city, Boba Fett (Jason Momoa) moves through a half-collapsed power relay station. His armor is scorched from earlier hits. His rangefinder twitches. His blaster is drawn but low on charge. He stalks his target - a debt-ridden slicer - into a subterranean pumping station, stepping over leaking coolant and the bodies of mercenaries he already defeated. The target makes a desperate last stand, jury-rigging a security turret from scavenged parts, but Fett flanks it using his grappling line and disables it with a thermal detonator. When the dust settles, the target is alive, wounded, and shackled. Fett limps slightly as he drags the captive to his ship, Slave I, parked on a ridge above the outpost.

Inside Slave I, Fett throws the bound slicer into the holding cell and contacts the contractor via encrypted comm. A silhouetted figure appears via hologram, confirming payment and telling Fett that another opportunity awaits — more lucrative, but in Hutt territory. The job, Fett is warned, will involve cleaning up a name — his own. Fett listens silently, armor clanking as he reloads. The ship lifts off in a roar of repulsors, banking hard away from Ord Mantell’s toxic haze. As the stars fill the viewport, Fett sets course for Tatooine. He removes his helmet to treat a bleeding cut above his eye. As Slave I jumps to hyperspace, the soft green glow of the starlines reflects off his scarred face.

Slave I descends toward the deserts of Tatooine. Fett navigates past smugglers’ trails and womp rat dens before coming up on the canyon entrance to Jabba the Hutt’s palace. Inside, eyes follow him - everyone knows exactly who he is. At the far end, Jabba the Hutt (voiced by Keith David) reclines on his dais, massive and immobile. At his side, seated below him and slightly apart, is Koyi Mateil (Charlee Fraser), a strikingly beautiful Twi'lek who is Jabba's translator and most prized slave. She leans forward as Jabba bellows in Huttese, translating his commands. Jabba makes no attempt to greet Fett warmly. The job is simple: someone’s been using Fett’s name to collect bounties, sabotage deals, and tarnish his reputation — all without the skill or subtlety Fett is known for. Jabba’s territory has been affected directly. The imposter was last seen on Nar Shaddaa, targeting one of Jabba’s spice shipments. Jabba doesn’t ask Fett to solve the problem — he demands it. The room is tense as Fett silently nods. On his way out, Koyi quietly mentions that the impostor does not seem to be working alone. ack aboard Slave I, Fett inputs new coordinates. As the ship launches from the canyon and punches into hyperspace, he straps in and watches the stars stretch into lines. 

Slave I drops out of hyperspace above Nar Shaddaa, its surface a grid of glimmering lights and industrial sprawl. Known as the Smuggler’s Moon, it hangs in orbit over Nal Hutta - homeworld of the Hutt species. Fett descends past congested sky-lanes and neon billboards, steering toward the lower levels — far from prying eyes and Imperial patrols. He sets down in an abandoned dock sector, half-flooded with sewage runoff and teeming with vermin. This part of the moon was once used by Hutt spice smugglers but has long since been claimed by freelancers and gangs. Fett inspects a burnt-out safehouse. The inside is a mess: spice residue, used stim packs, a half-scrubbed holo-terminal, and broken armor scraps. He plays back footage on a scorched datapad. It shows a man in Mandalorian armor ambushing a spice runner, executing him with showy flourishes and tagging the corpse with a symbol meant to resemble Fett’s own. The sloppiness disgusts him. A blaster bolt suddenly scorches the wall just inches from Fett's face. He spins toward the source just as Jodo Kast (Tom Hopper) launches in with his jetpack, gauntlet already primed for a flamethrower strike. The two bounty hunters collide mid-air and crash through a wall. Kast fights like a man trying to prove he’s the better version of Fett—every move familiar, every counter learned. Fett’s vambrace launches a stun dart, but Kast rolls behind a cargo crate, returning fire with a dart launcher of his own, piercing a joint in Fett’s armor. As Fett staggers, Kast surges forward and drives a blade between the plates of his chest armor. Fett collapses, blood pooling beneath his armor. Before Kast can finish the job, mercenaries burst from the shadows—Black Sun, unmistakable in their dark sigils and silent precision. One lifts Fett’s own EE-3 carbine, ready to fire. Kast snarls something inaudible over the sound of jet engines as they blast off. Boba Fett struggles back to Slave I, setting coordinates for Concord Dawn, before passing out.

The ride back to Concord Dawn is agonizing. The planet - arid and rugged - was once home to Mandalorian protectors but now sits half-abandoned. Boba Fett stumbles out of his ship without his armor - one hand pressed to the wound still bleeding. He makes it to a door and slams his fist against it once before collapsing to one knee. Sintas Vel (Morena Baccarin) opens the door and freezes when she sees who it in. Fett then blacks out before hitting the floor. Sintas crouches beside him, rolls him over, checks the wound. She calls for her daughter, Ailyn Vel (Kiawentiio), to help her drag him inside. She uses bacta spray and sealant foam to treat the would. Sintas works in silence, but Ailyn demands to know why they're saving him. Sintas simply tells her they’re not animals. He’s injured, and he’s still her father, whether either of them like it or not. While Fett lies unconscious in the back room, Sintas tells Ailyn the truth about how she and Fett met, how they worked together across the galaxy, how they tried to build something in a place like this. He wasn’t cruel, but he was distant, consumed by his work and his name. After Ailyn was born, they had a brief window of peace. But one day, he left. No warning, no explanation. Just gone. Sintas tells Ailyn that he claimed enemies were closing in and that staying would’ve brought death to their door, but even after the threat passed, he never returned. She makes it clear: Fett chose the armor, the life of violence - he didn’t choose them.

Hours later, Fett regains consciousness. Sintas enters, drops a tray of food and water at his bedside, and turns to leave. Fett tries to express some form of thanks, but Sintas tells him she didn’t do it for him - she did it so Ailyn wouldn’t have to bury her father behind their house. Shortly after, Ailyn walks in. There’s no warmth in her stare, only anger. Fett looks at her for the first time in over a decade. He notes how much she’s grown. he responds coldly, reminding him that he walked away. Fett doesn’t deny it. Before getting up to leave, Fett pulls a compact comm device from one of his pouches and places it on a nearby table. He tells her, flatly, that if she ever needs anything, she can reach him. Ailyn doesn't touch it while he’s there. Fett gathers his gear in silence and limps toward the door. Sintas doesn’t say goodbye, and neither does Ailyn. Outside, his ship waits where it landed. As the Slave I rises into the amber Concord Dawn sky, Ailyn watches from the ridge, the communicator now in her hand.

Boba Fett’s ship, the Slave I, cuts across the dark edge of Hutt Space. Jabba has put pressure on him to finish the job. The price on Kast’s head is now doubled, but Fett doesn’t care about credits - now it's personal. On Nal Hutta, Fett meets with Fenn Shysa (Lance Henriksen), the aging former Mandalorian loyalist turned information broker. They sit inside a rusted barge-turned-cantina drifting on a toxic swamp. Shysa warns Fett that Kast is clearly drawing support from sources deeper than other bounty hunters - probably the Black Sun. Fett and Shysa are interrupted by a sudden scuffle outside. A hulking figure stomps into the cantina, claws flexing and yellow eyes locked on Fett. Bossk (Kevin Durand), the Trandoshan hunter, isn’t here to fight—but to offer a deal. He’s been following Kast too, and the two have crossed paths. Bossk doesn’t like Kast’s style and proposes a temporary truce with Fett to corner Kast. Shysa doesn’t trust the lizard, but Fett accepts. He knows Bossk is useful when properly pointed at the right target. 

Meanwhile, on The Wheel - a circular space station orbiting in the Mid Rim, Jodo Kast stands before Prince Xizor (Fra Fee). Next to Xizor, the perfect humanoid drone Guri (Abbey Lee) waits silently, her gaze assessing Kast with cold detachment. Xizor is not pleased. He speaks in a measured tone, expressing disappointment that Kast failed to kill Boba Fett. Guri adds, with pointed clarity, that Fett's survival puts their broader operation at risk. Kast insists that he will kill Boba Fett - it just wasn't the time previously. Xizor steps closer and tells Kast not to bother thinking for himself - Black Sun has invested him and if he doesn't follow orders, he'll be replaced permenantly. 

Boba Fett makes contact with Talon Karrde (Oded Fehr), arranging a discreet rendezvous in the orbital lanes above Vaal. In a spaceship hangar, Fett - believing Karrde to be the most neutral scoundrel around - asks Karrde to post a false bounty on a fabricated smuggler with a payout so massive that it would be irresistible to someone like Jodo Kast. The location: a derelict shipping station orbiting Kalarba. Karrde thinks it over, noting the danger in drawing Black Sun's attention, but the challenge seems to amuse him. He agrees—on the condition that if anyone traces the transmission back, Fett takes responsibility. Fett nods once. The deal is made. Karrde begins setting the digital trap, uploading the falsified bounty across half a dozen pirate boards and fringe mercenary channels.

Boba Fett arrives to Kalarba early as Slave I docks on the far side of the abandoned shipping station. Fett begins setting up proximity mines in the corridors, dead-man charges by the doors, and EMP scatter nodes around the area to ensure no backup can be contacted. Elsewhere in the galaxy, Jodo Kast receives the bounty details - a high-value mark last seen fleeing to a Kalarba system station with sensitive contraband. Kast barely hesitates - Glory, credits, and redemption from Black Sun are on the table. He brings a small team of mercs to ensure speed and intimidation - including two heavily-armed droids. Kast’s ship docks on the opposite side of the station. His Black Sun mercs fan out. One mine after another is triggered, eliminating all of Kast's mercs and droids. From the smoke, Boba Fett emerges. As soon as Kast sees him, he draws his blaster.  The two fire a heavy exchange of blaster bolts - which ricochet off walls. Kast's shoulder plate shatters. Fett's gauntlet sparks as a round glances off his forearm. They trade cover, grenades, flamethrowers, even wrist-mounted darts. Kast launches into the air, using his jetpack to gain height advantage, spraying fire from above. But Fett follows, rising beside him with brutal precision. Their jetpacks clash mid-air, sending them crashing down. They fight hand-to-hand now. Kast lands a blow that knocks Fett’s helmet sideways. Fett removes his helmet and slams Kast into a wall, followed by a knee to the gut. Fett then pulls a hidden blade from his boot and slices across Kast’s thigh. Bleeding and furious, Kast tries to fly again to escape. As Kast lifts off, Fett fires a magnetic bolt directly into his rival’s jetpack, triggering a charge he secretly placed on Kast's equipment during their scuffle. The jetpack explodes mid-ascent, killing Kast. Fett approaches Kast's body and rips his helmet off, throwing it away. 

Boba Fett boards Slave I and sets coordinates for Tatooine. On the trip, he informs Jabba of Kast's death. When Fett arrives to the palace to collect payment, Jabba chuckles, deeply pleased, and tosses a wriggling creature into his mouth. Jabba waves a meaty hand lazily and burbles a command to the room. Koyi translates: Fett will always have work, and always have enemies. Bossk steps from the shadows, muttering that at least now there’s only one Boba Fett he needs to keep in his sights. Boba Fett collects his payment and calmly leaves the palace. 

Elsewhere, on Falleen, Prince Xizor stands at a high window in his private fortress. Guri stands behind him, hands folded. A lieutenant enters and informs them of Jodo Kast’s failure. Xizor tells Guri to adjust the gameboard. 

Slave I soars alone across the stars. Inside the cockpit, Boba Fett sits in silence. He retrieves a small comm-link from his belt - the other end of the one he gave Ailyn. He checks for messages, but there are none. Fett sighs and stashes it away again. 

RESUME: JASON MOMOA

 

RESUME returns with a new format - a complete breakdown of the careers, reputations, hits, misses, and future outlooks of LRF’s biggest stars. This edition examines the rise of Jason Momoa from supporting heavy to blockbuster franchise centerpiece.

For years, Jason Momoa looked like the kind of actor destined to spend his career playing memorable side characters and intimidating villains. He had the physical presence studios wanted, but early in his LRF career, the projects themselves rarely matched his charisma. While audiences noticed him immediately, genuine leading-man status remained elusive.

That changed gradually - and then all at once. Across a string of increasingly ambitious genre projects, Momoa transformed from a cult favorite into one of LRF’s most valuable blockbuster anchors. Between his breakout villain performance in The Fall Guy and the massive success of Tarzan, Momoa now finds himself at the center of two major franchises simultaneously. With Boba Fett arriving next and a Tarzan sequel already in development, no actor in LRF currently has more momentum behind them.

FIRST LRF APPEARANCE --- Detective James (Season 5)

TOTAL LRF PROJECTS --- 4

GOLDEN REEL AWARDS --- 1

GRA NOMINATIONS --- 2

HIGHEST GROSSING FILM --- Tarzan ($600,251,517)

BEST REVIEWED FILM --- Ranger (Metascore: 80)

SIGNATURE GENRE --- Action / Adventure

FREQUENT COLLABORATORS --- James Wan

CURRENT CAREER STATUS --- Franchise Megastar

Jason Momoa enters Season 36 as arguably the safest blockbuster investment currently on LRF’s roster. After years of gradual career growth, Tarzan finally cemented him as a true leading man capable of carrying a large-scale franchise internationally. The film’s massive profitability, strong reviews, and audience reception completely changed how the industry views him.

Just as importantly, Momoa has avoided the overexposure trap that hurts many modern action stars. His LRF filmography remains surprisingly selective, allowing each appearance to feel like an event. The upcoming release of Boba Fett gives him the opportunity to solidify himself as both a fantasy-adventure lead and a full-scale sci-fi franchise centerpiece simultaneously.

SEASON 5 - DETECTIVE JAMES

Momoa’s LRF debut came in one of the studio’s stranger early misfires. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, Detective James centered on two washed-up television stars stranded on a Pacific island where the locals mistake them for the detective characters they once portrayed on television. The film struggled critically and commercially, posting a weak box office return against its modest budget and earning a brutal 33 Metacritic score.

Ironically, one of the film’s few memorable elements was Momoa himself. Playing livestock thief Shaun, he brought an oddball physical menace and comedic unpredictability that stood out amidst the chaos. While nobody at the time could have predicted the trajectory of his career, Detective James planted the seeds of what would become Momoa’s greatest strength: overwhelming screen presence.

SEASON 7 - RANGER

If Detective James introduced Momoa, Ranger legitimized him. Scott Cooper’s gritty western adventure about the formation of the Texas Rangers gave Momoa a much smaller but far more effective role as Ajoba, a violent Native American enforcer operating on the edges of the conflict.

The film itself was a modest success critically, earning an impressive 80 Metacritic score and helping establish LRF’s reputation for adult-oriented westerns. Momoa was not the headline attraction, but his physical intensity added genuine danger to the film whenever he appeared onscreen. More importantly, Ranger proved he could contribute to prestige-minded material rather than simply broad commercial fare.

Even now, this remains one of the most underrated entries in Momoa’s LRF career.

SEASON 14 - THE FALL GUY

Every major movie star has one project where audiences suddenly “get it.” For Momoa, that film was The Fall Guy.

Directed by Jon Favreau, the action-comedy adaptation paired Dwayne Johnson and Glen Powell with Momoa as Don Santo, a charismatic A-list actor secretly operating a sex trafficking empire behind the scenes. It was exactly the kind of larger-than-life role Momoa had been building toward for years.

The performance earned him his first Golden Reel nomination for Best Villain and finally demonstrated that he could dominate blockbuster material rather than merely support it. The film’s success also reframed Momoa’s image within LRF. He was no longer simply “that intimidating supporting actor.” He had become a genuine attraction.

Looking back, The Fall Guy feels like the exact moment his career trajectory permanently changed.

SEASON 30 - TARZAN

Then came Tarzan.

Directed by frequent collaborator James Wan, the film represented the single biggest gamble of Momoa’s career. Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptations had become notoriously difficult to modernize successfully, and LRF’s decision to spend $125 million on a sincere, large-scale jungle adventure initially raised eyebrows across the industry.

Instead, the gamble paid off spectacularly as Momoa’s performance as Tarzan/John Clayton II finally merged all of his strengths into one defining role: physicality, charisma, vulnerability, humor, and mythic screen presence. His chemistry with Hayley Atwell became one of the film’s biggest selling points, ultimately winning the Golden Reel Award for Best Starring Couple.

Financially, Tarzan completely transformed Momoa’s standing within LRF. The film generated over $600 million worldwide and became one of the studio’s most profitable action-adventure releases of the modern era. More importantly, audiences embraced Momoa as a true leading man for the first time.

BEST PERFORMANCE --- Tarzan

This is the role that finally unlocked Momoa’s full potential as a blockbuster lead. Rather than trying to reinvent him, the film intelligently amplified everything audiences already liked about him.

MOST UNDERRATED PROJECT --- Ranger

Overshadowed by bigger titles later in his career, Ranger remains one of Momoa’s strongest pure acting showcases inside a grounded ensemble.

BIGGEST CAREER GAMBLE --- Tarzan

A $125 million jungle adventure built entirely around Momoa’s ability to carry a franchise could easily have collapsed. Instead, it became the defining success of his career.

CAREER TURNING POINT --- The Fall Guy

Without this performance, it is difficult to imagine LRF handing Momoa the keys to Tarzan or Boba Fett.

BEST COLLABORATOR --- James Wan

Wan clearly understands exactly how to use Momoa’s strengths onscreen. Their collaborations have elevated both men commercially and creatively.

MOST SURPRISING PROJECT --- Detective James

Seeing the future Tarzan and Boba Fett debut in a bizarre island comedy remains one of the strangest beginnings to any major LRF career.

BOBA FETT

Fresh off the success of Tarzan, Momoa reunites with James Wan for a massive new sci-fi action film centered on one of the most iconic bounty hunters in the Star Wars universe. Expectations are enormous, and for the first time in his career, Momoa enters a project carrying full franchise-level anticipation on his shoulders.

TARZAN 2

After Boba Fett, it looks like Tarzan 2 is on the release schedule, but no information has been leaked yet.


RESUME will continue tracking the hits, misses, risks, reinventions, and legacies of LRF’s biggest stars in future editions. Stay tuned.

In Development

 

Boba Fett: Rounding out the cast of the debut film of Season 36, the Star Wars Galaxy production, Boba Fett will be Charlee Fraser (Anyone but You, Furioa) as Koyi Mateil as a Twi'lek slave, Fra Fee (Rebel Moon, "Unchosen") as Black Sun Underlord Prince Xizor, Abbey Lee (Batman: Gotham Knight, Killer Heat) as Guri as human replica driod, and Oded Fehr (Justice League Dark, Uncharted 3) as smuggler Talon Karrde. James Wan is at the helm of the Jason Momoa-led film which was written by Nic Suzuki.

Heartbeat: James Norton (Rubicon Lies, Resident Evil 5) and Erin Doherty ("The Crown", "A Thousand Blows") are set to complete the cast of the medical/legal drama Heartbeat for star/director Ralph Fiennes. Norton will play a high-powered prosecutor, while Doherty has been cast as an expert in medical ethics. Sammy-Jo Ellis penned the script.

Donkey Kong Country: The blockbuster animation adaptation of the hit video game series has added the voice talents of Mark Hamill (Skyrim III, The Hammer of Thor) as the villainous King K. Rool, Kiernan Shipka (Heist Society, Anastasia) as Dixie Kong, and Elizabeth Banks (Maledicta, Pressing Luck) as Candy Kong. Mike Mitchell is handling the directing duties from an adaptation by APJ.

Pirouette: Karl Glusman (Task Force X: Jungleland, Something and/or Nothing), Nestor Carbonell (The Rip, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come), and Molly Parker (The Final Will, Batman Beyond) have joined Monica Barbaro and Johnny Depp in the Paris-set ballet drama Pirouette. Glusman plays Barbaro's love interest, while Carbonell and Parker will play Barbaro's parents. Mawienn directs from a script by Jimmy Ellis and John Malone.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Finn Wolfhard (New Christianity, Heist Society) is set to star in and direct an R-rated stoner comedy take on the hit juvenile book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Wolfhard is set to play Greg Heffley in the film, while Woody Harrelson (DOOM, Eve of Destruction) and Tina Fey (Wine Country, Mean Girls) have been cast as his ecasperated parents. Alex Conn (New Christianity, The Revolution) penned the adaptation.

Stretch Armstrong: Ryan Gosling (Collapse, Justice League Dark) is set to re-team with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Project Hail Mary, Booster Gold: Back in Time) for an unexpected action-comedy film based on the Stretch Armstrong toy line. Gosling will play Stetch himself, an elastic secret agent. Adria Arjona (Sniper, The Ghost Connection) will play Gosling's rookie partner, while Michael Pitt (Splendour, Resident Evil 5) play a Bond-style supervillain with a floating fortress. Giovanni Garcia (Blood Brothers, The Flash) is behind the script.

LRF COMIC-CON (SEASON 36)

 

LRF Comic-Con returns for Season 36, bringing with it a new wave of casting reveals, exclusive footage, first-look posters, and updates on the studio’s upcoming slate of comic book and comic book-adjacent films. From major superhero franchises to cult properties and genre-bending adaptations, this year’s presentation offers the first major glimpse at some of the biggest projects of the upcoming LRF season. Plus, LRF's resident Comic Book Guy will share his opinions from the Con floor after each panel.


ROUND 1 - BOBA FETT

LRF Comic-Con opens with one of the loudest crowd reactions in recent memory as Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Conan the Barbarian) storms onto the stage, Guinness in hand, to officially unveil Boba Fett, the studio’s long-rumored standalone film centered on the iconic Star Wars bounty hunter. Directed by horror and action specialist James Wan (Tarzan, DOOM) and written by Nic Suzuki (Robopocalypse, Sniper), the project promises a brutal, stripped-down take on the galaxy’s most feared mercenary. Momoa confirms the film will adapt elements from classic Expanded Universe lore, including Black Sun, Prince Xizor, Jodo Kast, and Fett’s estranged family, while emphasizing that the film is “more western crime saga than nostalgia trip.” Momoa then introduces the audience to the film’s opening sequence, which is screened exclusively for attendees....

Wind howls across the smog-choked skyline of Ord Mantell, a mining world decimated by decades of strip mining operations. In the narrow alleys of a rusted-out city, Boba Fett (Jason Momoa) moves through a half-collapsed power relay station. His armor is scorched from earlier hits. His rangefinder twitches. His blaster is drawn but low on charge. He stalks his target - a debt-ridden slicer - into a subterranean pumping station, stepping over leaking coolant and the bodies of mercenaries he already defeated. The target makes a desperate last stand, jury-rigging a security turret from scavenged parts, but Fett flanks it using his grappling line and disables it with a thermal detonator. When the dust settles, the target is alive, wounded, and shackled. Fett limps slightly as he drags the captive to his ship, Slave I, parked on a ridge above the outpost.

ROUND 4 - LOBO

Vin Diesel (Superman: The Last Son of Krypton, Gargoyles) takes the stage to officially unveil Lobo, the studio’s upcoming adaptation of the ultraviolent DC Comics antihero. Directed by Doug Liman (Splinter Cell, The Lone Gunman) and written by APJ (Batman: Duality, Broadway Joe), the film is described as a brutal sci-fi action comedy following “the galaxy’s last guy you’d ever want hunting you.” Diesel receives a thunderous ovation before presenting the film’s first official poster and promising fans that the project will fully embrace the character’s violent, absurd, and unapologetically over-the-top tone. 

The crowd reaction only intensifies when Diesel introduces Ruth Negga (Scion, Haute Couture) as co-star Darlene, marking the first supporting casting announcement for the film. Negga jokes that she signed onto the project “before fully understanding how insane it was.” 

ROUND 5 - LUKE CAGE: THE PURPLE MAN

LRF Comic-Con takes a bizarre and unexpectedly stylish turn when the panel for Luke Cage: The Purple Man begins not with title star Omari Hardwick, but with the arrival of Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of Thieves, Oppenheimer), who is officially revealed to be playing Zebediah Killgrave - better known as the Purple Man. Schweighöfer immediately leans into the character’s manipulative charm, jokingly telling the audience, “You’re all going to love me by the end of this panel.” Directed by George Tillman Jr. (Luke Cage: Power Man, Big George Foreman) and written by Jimmy Ellis (Rubicon Lies, Macbeth) and Dwight Gallo (The Lone Ranger, The Punisher: Purgatory), the sequel is described as a psychedelic, funk-fueled psychological thriller set against the glittering nightlife of late-1970s New York City.

The panel’s biggest surprise comes when Sabrina Carpenter (Bunny, The Water Cure) appears via live video call to officially confirm she’s playing mutant disco superstar Dazzler in the film. Carpenter then helps unveil one of the centerpiece songs featured in the movie’s soundtrack: Diana Ross’ classic disco anthem “Upside Down,” which blasts throughout the as purple lights sweep across the crowd and promotional imagery from the film flashes onscreen. 

ROUND 7 - THE HULK 3

Marvel’s gamma-powered corner of the LRF Universe storms back into Comic-Con as filmmaker Leigh Whannell (The Hulk, Wolf Man) takes the stage to officially unveil The Hulk 3, the newest chapter in the studio’s darker, horror-inspired Hulk saga. The panel’s major surprise comes when Timothy Olyphant (The Hulk 2, Redhead) joins him onstage to officially confirm his expanded role as Glenn Talbot - now fully transformed into the monstrous Abomination. Olyphant receives a huge reaction from the crowd, joking that he has “never been offered a role involving this much screaming and mutation” before Whannell describes the character as “less a supervillain and more a human catastrophe.” The pair then present the film’s first official poster.

Though no footage is shown, Whannell heavily emphasizes the sequel’s horror influences, citing David Cronenberg and classic monster cinema as key inspirations behind Talbot’s transformation. He also hints that Bruce Banner enters the story in a more stable place emotionally than audiences have previously seen, making Talbot’s violent spiral into monstrosity a direct contrast to Banner’s hard-earned control.

ROUND 8 - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 2

LRF Comic-Con shifts into lighter supernatural territory as Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2 star Meg Donnelly (The Saints, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) takes the stage to discuss the in-production sequel. Donnelly quickly wins over the crowd while teasing the film’s larger emphasis on horror, romance, and dark comedy, unexpectedly citing Bring It On as one of the sequel’s biggest tonal inspirations due to its blend of teen rivalry, humor, and heightened drama. She promises the new film will dive deeper into the emotional chaos of Buffy trying to balance normal teenage life with increasingly dangerous supernatural threats, while also teasing the arrivals of several major fan-favorite characters into the rebooted continuity.

The panel’s biggest moment comes when Donnelly officially announces that Dacre Montgomery (The Flash #2, Detroit: Become Human) has been cast as Angel, with Montgomery then joining her onstage to a massive audience reaction. Montgomery jokes that he’s “spent most of his life preparing to brood professionally,” while Donnelly playfully describes Angel as “Buffy’s biggest red flag so far.” 

And that's a wrap on the Season 35 LRF COMIC-CON! Season 36 kicks off on May 18th! 

HISTORY LESSON (SEASON 35)

 

Welcome to History Lesson, where we take a closer look at the movies that dare to tackle real-life events with varying levels of accuracy, drama, and WTF casting choices. These films promise to educate and entertain, but more often than not, they rewrite history with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. We’ll be your guide through the land of miscast biopics, dramatic embellishments, and historical “inspired-by” liberties, breaking down whether these flicks are Golden Reel Award-worthy masterpieces or just a big-budget Wikipedia summary. Either way, it’s more fun than your high school history class—and there’s popcorn.

This time around we will take a look at Season 35's fact-based slate....

HISTORY LESSON: BLOOD AND GLORY

If Tarsem Singh was handed a history textbook about Alexander the Great and Darius III and immediately asked, “Yes, but what if everyone was glistening and on fire?” — Blood and Glory is the result. Visually? Unquestionably stunning. Every frame looks like it was painted in blood and gold leaf. Dave Bautista sacrifices bulls on ziggurats like he’s auditioning for “Most Intense Man Alive,” and Cosmo Jarvis’ Alexander spends much of the film charging into battle as if OSHA regulations were a personal insult. The problem is that once you scrape off the slow-motion gore and incense smoke, the film seems only vaguely aware of how the actual fourth century BCE worked. It plays less like a historical epic and more like a mythological fever dream inspired by someone who once overheard a podcast about Macedon.

The historical liberties here are… bold. Alexander burning his ships upon landing? That’s Cortez, not Macedonia. The siege of Ecbatana culminating in a one-on-one duel where Alexander personally skewers Darius in a dramatic temple square showdown? Spectacular cinema — completely fictional. Darius was betrayed and killed by Bessus while fleeing east, not engaging in gladiatorial death matches under flaming banners. Gaugamela is geographically and tactically compressed into a cinematic blender, timelines are flattened, and characters like Antigonus are killed in places and ways that make historians quietly close their laptops. Even the Siwa oracle scene, while rooted in fact, is rendered as a psychedelic Zeus-origin montage that feels closer to superhero canon than ancient record. The film wants epic inevitability; history, unfortunately, was messier and far more political. What we get instead is an operatic retelling where Alexander personally fights every major battle, Darius smashes pillars like a WWE champion (admittedly well-cast for that), and geopolitical nuance is sacrificed alongside that bull in Persepolis. Gorgeous? Absolutely. Accurate? Only in the broadest “Yes, these men existed” sense of the word.

HISTORY LESSON: THUS DREAMED ZARATHUSTRA

If you ever wondered what would happen if someone adapted Nietzsche’s life but filtered it through a Wagner opera and a DMT trip, here we are. Thus Dreamed Zarathustra is visually staggering - bone churches, desert mirrors, serpents with clock-hearts, centaur Wagners, sphinx Lou Salomé, and a literal book-beast demanding to be written. Franz Rogowski commits fully, wandering through metaphysical fever dreams like a man who just discovered philosophy is not a spectator sport. As filmmaking, it’s audacious and hypnotic - as subtlety, it’s extinct. Donnersmarck doesn’t imply symbolism - he hurls it at you in flaming slow motion until you either ascend to higher consciousness or politely excuse yourself from the theater to sit in silence.

Historically speaking, the film treats Nietzsche’s biography less like a record of events and more like a suggestion box. The real Friedrich Nietzsche did not physically duel abstractions in glass deserts, nor did Wagner gallop around as a mythic centaur issuing operatic ultimatums (though one suspects Wagner might have approved). The core milestones - Röcken, Leipzig, the break with Wagner, Lou Salomé, the Turin horse - are technically present, but they’re submerged beneath so much allegory that accuracy becomes secondary. And yet, in a strange way, it captures something truthful: not the literal details of Nietzsche’s life, but the operatic scale of his ideas. It’s wildly inaccurate as biography, gloriously excessive as art, and absolutely certain that if you’re going to dramatize the death of God, you might as well do it with skull chandeliers.

HISTORY LESSON: THE MOLANDER CASE

There’s a fascinating, morally thorny film buried inside The Molander Case — one about complicity, artistic compromise, and the quiet bargains people made under the Nazi regime — and you can feel it trying to claw its way out of this script. The problem is the film keeps undercutting its own strongest idea: that G. W. Pabst wasn’t a mustache-twirling villain or a simple victim, but something far more uncomfortable — a brilliant artist who chose to stay, adapt, and rationalize. Instead, the film leans a little too hard on dreamy symbolism and narrative withholding, to the point where key emotional beats feel oddly distant. The use of concentration camp prisoners as extras — the film’s most devastating element — lands, but it’s almost treated like a late-act reveal rather than the central moral rot it should be. You keep waiting for the story to really interrogate that choice, and instead it sort of drifts past it like smoke in one of its own scenes.

Historically, the film is playing in a murky but compelling space — Georg Wilhelm Pabst did return to Nazi-controlled Europe and did continue working, and the broader question of artists operating under authoritarian regimes is very real. But the fictional framing of The Molander Case itself muddies the waters in a frustrating way. By hinging everything on a possibly-lost film and a conveniently silent witness in Franz Wilzek, the story sidesteps the harder, more interesting truth: we already know enough about this era to not need a mystery box. The final “he had the film all along” reveal feels less like tragedy and more like narrative sleight-of-hand. It’s the kind of ending that wants to be haunting but instead makes you wonder why the film spent two hours circling a question it never fully commits to answering. Not a disaster — far from it — but frustratingly close to being something great and choosing, like its protagonist, the safer path instead.

MOST STREAMED (SEASON 35)

 

As many know, initial box office success or critical reception is not always the best indicator of which films become hits on the home video and/or streaming marketplace. In this segment, we will take a look at which LRF releases from last season were actually viewed the most in the week following their initial release.


MOST STREAMED FILMS OF SEASON 35

T-10. UNREASONABLE DOUBT

T-10. SPELLJAMMER

T-10. ZORRO

9. RUBICON LIES

8. THE PUNISHER: PURGATORY

7. VULTURES

6. MAN-THING

5. THE TICK

4. THUNDERCATS

3. BATMAN: DUALITY

2. THE HOUSE OF BLACK

1. EIDOLON

Stay tuned for Season 35's HISTORY LESSON on May 12th!