IN DEVELOPMENT

 

Deadline: Director Tony Gilroy's political thriller Deadline is set to close out Round 1 of Season 37 and now we know that Harry Lawtey (Mr. Burton, "Industry"), Anthony Edwards ("Inventing Anna", Experimener), Mare Winningham (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Flesh and Blood, Rob Peace), and Stephen Root (Unreasonable Doubt, Mises) have all been brought onboard to round out the ensemble cast. Jimmy Ellis & Chad Taylor penned the project.

Metroid Prime: The Jennifer Lawrence-led second Metroid film has landed Anthony Ramos (The Maid, Five Boroughs), Zoe Kravitz (Victims, Love Is...),  and Stephan James (Good Marriage, Rainbow Six) for its supporting cast as members of the crew of Commander Nemo (Jamie Foxx). Cary Joji Fukunaga is back to direct the video game sequel once again from a script by Dawson Edwards.

Below the Surface: Another film is completing its casting process with the Jon Bernthal mining drama Below the Surface adding Ian Bohen (Air Force One Down, Wind River), Jordana Spiro (To the Stars, Small Engine Repair), and Reed Birney (The Menu, Blue Film) to the supporting ensemble. Fran Kranz is directing the Sammy-Jo Ellis-penned drama.

Hay Day: In a surprising production announcement, Mel Gibson (The Punisher: Purgatory, Sins of the Father) is set to star in and direct Hay Day, a dramatic thriller about a farmer standing up to a major agricultural corporation. It is based on the mobile game of the same name. Laura Dern (The Hippie Preacher, Particle) and Kiernan Shipka (Heist Society, Anastasia) will play Gibson's wife and daughter, respectively. Writer Alex Conn (Kill Bin Laden, Diary of a Wimpy Kid) is behind the adaptation.

Grand Theft Auto IV: After 26 seasons since its last entry, the Grand Theft Auto franchise is back on the big screen with an adaptation of Grand theft Auto IV. Sebastian Stan (The Glass Menagerie, Bioshock) is set to headline the film as Niko, a former soldier from Eastern Europe who arrives in Liberty City in search of the American Dream. Cameron Britton (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Flesh and Blood, The Oil Slick) will play Niko's cousin Roman,  Trevante Rhodes (Artemis, Krueger) will play a drug dealer. Taylor Sheridan (The House Down the Street, Rodeo) is directing this entry from a script by Mo Buck (Echoes of Red, Gas Bar Blues).

The Silver Swan: Animators Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey (The Secret of Kells) are working together again on The Silver Swan, a mostly silent acapella scored animated film about a swan finding her voice. Morgan Freeman (The Giver, Mr. Big) will narrate the project while Emmy Rossum (Final End, Sinatra) will be the voice of the swan once her voice is found. Jacob Jones (The Bounty Hunter, Double Date) penned the film.

LRF COMIC-CON (SEASON 37)

 

LRF Comic-Con returns for Season 37, 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.


POKEMON

With Pokémon set to open Season 37, directors Matt and Ross Duffer kick off LRF Comic-Con with one final tease for a film that has already had most of its secrets revealed. The brothers admit that there is not much left they can say without spoiling the finished movie, but promise that audiences will not have much longer to wait before finally seeing the world of Pokémon brought to life. Instead, the pair offer a new look at the film by unveiling its official theatrical poster, giving fans one final glimpse at the movie before its Season 37 premiere.

NIGHTWING: BLOODHUNT

Taron Egerton takes the stage to promote Nightwing: Bloodhunt, which marks his third solo outing as Dick Grayson and his eighth appearance overall as the character. Egerton jokes that after this many appearances he has gotten fairly accustomed to Dick Grayson being surrounded by psychopaths, before revealing the newest addition to that list. John Carroll Lynch has joined the film as Professor Pyg, one of the primary villains of Bloodhunt. Lynch walks onto the stage to join Egerton, promising that LRF's version of Pyg loses none of the disturbing qualities that have made the character one of Gotham's more unsettling villains.

Egerton then reveals that Professor Pyg will not be the only threat Nightwing faces, announcing the return of Jean-Claude Van Damme as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke for the first time since Season 30's Deathstroke. Van Damme joins Egerton and Lynch onstage to a huge response from the crowd, teasing that Slade has unfinished business that brings him into Dick Grayson's orbit. Egerton refuses to reveal how the two villains connect, but promises that Bloodhunt will leave Nightwing caught between two very different kinds of killers.

X-FORCE

Jeffrey Dean Morgan takes the stage alone for X-Force, quickly confirming that he will reprise his role as Cable from X-Men: Age of Apocalypse. Morgan describes the film as a rougher, less disciplined corner of LRF’s mutant universe than the traditional X-Men movies, joking that Cable somehow finds himself surrounded by people even more difficult to control than the team he encountered the last time audiences saw him. Morgan then teases that one of those teammates will be making his first appearance anywhere in LRF’s Marvel Universe.

Before Morgan can finish the introduction, Deadpool suddenly walks onto the stage wearing what is very obviously a cheap store-bought Halloween costume rather than the film’s actual suit. Morgan explains that the studio refused to let Andy Samberg wear the real costume outside production, so “this is what they gave him instead.” The masked figure never removes the costume or breaks character, but Morgan repeatedly assures the crowd that it is definitely Samberg underneath as “Deadpool” poses for photographs, interrupts Morgan whenever he tries to speak and generally refuses to leave the stage. Samberg is officially announced as Wade Wilson / Deadpool, marking the character’s long-awaited debut in LRF’s Marvel Universe.

ATLANTIS: THE DEAD KING

Natalia Dyer and Harris Dickinson appear together to unveil the first poster for Atlantis: The Dead King, the third film in LRF’s Atlantis trilogy. Dickinson teases that the new installment pushes Arthur closer than ever toward the traditional comic-book version of Aquaman, promising fans that after two films they will “finally” get to see him wearing a proper Aquaman costume. Dyer reveals that Arthur will not be the only character receiving a superhero upgrade, teasing that Tula’s evolution throughout the trilogy culminates with her becoming Aquagirl. The pair then unveil the film’s official poster, offering the first visual tease of the trilogy’s concluding chapter.

MORTAL KOMBAT III

Patrick Wilson and Ronda Rousey take the stage for Mortal Kombat III, confirming that many of the surviving heroes from the previous films return for the latest installment, including Wilson's Kurtis Stryker and Rousey's Sonya Blade. The pair then introduce Isabel May, who walks out to join them before revealing that she will play Cassie Cage, the daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. Rousey jokes that apparently surviving two Mortal Kombat movies was not enough punishment for Sonya, who now has to watch her daughter enter the fight as well, while May promises that Cassie inherits plenty from both of her parents.

The trio then turn their attention to the film's soundtrack. Wilson notes that music has always been inseparable from Mortal Kombat before revealing that Skrillex's “Reptile Theme” will appear in the film. The lights drop as the track blasts through the venue, giving the crowd its first taste of the film's soundtrack and bringing the Mortal Kombat III presentation to a suitably loud conclusion.

And that's a wrap on the Season 37 LRF COMIC-CON! Season 37 kicks off on September 24th!

HISTORY LESSON (SEASON 36)

 

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 36's fact-based slate....

HISTORY LESSON: THE SONG OF ROLAND

Brady Corbet turns one of medieval literature’s foundational heroic poems into a thunderous, mournful epic about courage, betrayal, religious conviction, and the catastrophic consequences of one man being too proud to ask for help. Jonathan Bailey gives Roland the necessary fire and physical confidence, even if he never completely projects the overwhelming, larger-than-life presence the character demands. Fortunately, Russell Crowe brings enough imperial gravity for several kingdoms as Charlemagne, while Jonny Lee Miller makes Ganelon’s treachery feel less like sudden villainy than the inevitable result of years spent quietly fantasizing about strangling his stepson.

Historically, The Song of Roland is faithful less to the actual Battle of Roncevaux Pass than to the heavily mythologized 11th-century poem upon which it is based. The real attack was probably carried out by Basques rather than a vast Saracen army, but “Roland is ambushed by local mountain fighters during a messy military withdrawal” admittedly lacks some of the grandeur. Corbet embraces the legend without losing sight of Roland’s fatal flaw: he could have saved countless lives by blowing one horn slightly earlier, but apparently medieval masculinity made requesting reinforcements more humiliating than watching twenty thousand men die.

HISTORY LESSON: KILL BIN LADEN

There are sober political thrillers… and then there’s Kill Bin Laden, which plays like someone dared Darren Aronofsky to remake Zero Dark Thirty but with more burgers, cigarettes, and White House locker-room banter. The film wants gravitas—big capital-H History—but keeps swerving into cable-news fan fiction. It opens with real 9/11 footage (instantly serious), then barrels into Oval Office scenes where world leaders talk like they’re auditioning for a prestige HBO parody. Tension is replaced by repetition: “legacy,” “Desert One,” “election year,” rinse and repeat. By the time Obama falls off an exercise bike because Twitter heard about a helicopter crash, you realize the film isn’t building suspense—it’s speed-running Wikipedia with dramatic music.

Historically, the broad outline is there: courier intel, Abbottabad compound, debate over airstrike vs. SEAL raid, burial at sea. But the nuance—the painstaking decade-long intelligence hunt, interagency friction, Pakistan’s delicate geopolitical position—is flattened into exposition dumps and oddly casual banter. The courier investigation is treated like a detective subplot solved in a few convenient briefings, the complexity of Pakistani politics gets reduced to “West Point but maybe evil”, and serious deliberations are rewritten as profanity-laced campaign strategy sessions. Even the raid itself is compressed into a handful of beats, glossing over operational realities in favor of Situation Room snack orders and celebratory vodka. It’s not that the film gets everything wrong—it’s that it trades depth for dramatics, subtlety for snappy dialogue, and context for convenience. The result is a movie that technically covers the right event… but somehow feels like it skipped the homework and went straight to the group presentation.

HISTORY LESSON: THE CHAIN

Charlotte Wells directing a Fleetwood Mac biopic is the kind of inspired chaos we didn’t know we needed—like handing a nuclear warhead to a poet and saying, “Do something tasteful with this.” Miraculously, she does. The Chain is a beautifully shot, emotionally rich, slow-burn spectacle where every character is either heartbroken, furious, creatively possessed, or wondering how the hell they got stuck in a band with their ex. It’s the first music biopic in recent memory where you don’t feel the studio whispering “Make them look nicer” in the director’s ear. The Chain embraces the dysfunction like it’s a sixth band member. The film is somehow tender, explosive, funny, and deeply uncomfortable—basically Rumours on legs. And unlike most biopics, it doesn’t cut away when things get awkward.

Historically? The Chain is so accurate it feels like it found a time machine, went back to 1975–87, and simply filmed the band imploding in real time. Every major event is here: Peter Green ascending to the astral plane mid-gig, Lindsey and Stevie weaponizing breakup songs at each other like emotional hand grenades, Christine and John politely divorcing over tea, Mick Fleetwood snorting his body weight in Bolivia, and the cocaine budget for Tusk rivaling the GDP of several small nations. Deep-cut accuracy? Oh, it’s here too. Curry Grant? Check. Sara Recor? Check. Tango in the Night slap-fight dramatics? Double check. If the film fudges anything, it’s only that the cast looks far too healthy and well-moisturized to be portraying people living almost entirely on liquor, resentment, and pharmaceutical-grade nose candy. But when the emotional truth is this sharp, this funny, and this painfully dead-on, you forgive the glow-ups. Diane Esposito didn’t just write a Fleetwood Mac biopic—she wrote the Fleetwood Mac experience.

MOST STREAMED (SEASON 36)

Welcome to Most Streamed!

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 36

10. THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

9. 1995

8. ILVERMORNY: THE HIDDEN SCHOOL

7. THE HULK 3

6. THE SONG OF ROLAND

5. BOBA FETT

4. GRAY

3. ASSASSIN'S CREED: ETERNAL

2. DONKEY KONG COUNTRY

1. THE CHAIN

THE NUMBERS: SEASON 36 GRA EDITION

 

In this annual special edition of The Numbers, we will break down the voting from the 36th Golden Reel Awards, including the percentage of the vote received by every nominee. We’ll also reveal the films and talents that just missed a nomination by finishing fifth in the nomination polling, along with some category-by-category GRA trivia.

45% — FLETCH

35% — GRAY

10% — BOBA FETT

10% — THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

JUST MISSED: Lobo / 1995

TRIVIA: Adaptations have historically held the edge in Best Production Design, winning the award 22 times across 36 ceremonies.

60% — THE CHAIN

25% — 1995

10% — GRAY

5% — FLETCH

JUST MISSED: Luke Cage: The Purple Man

TRIVIA: Diane Esposito has dominated Best Soundtrack in recent years, winning the category in 5 of the last 6 seasons dating back to Season 31.

60% — ASSASSIN'S CREED: ETERNAL

15% — BOBA FETT

15% — FLETCH

10% — LUKE CAGE: THE PURPLE MAN

JUST MISSED: Donkey Kong Country 

TRIVIA: Since the category was introduced in Season 3, this marks just the 11th time that a non-superhero film has won Most Wanted Sequel.

55% — THE CHAIN

25% — THE SONG OF ROLAND

15% — ASSASSIN'S CREED: ETERNAL

5% — FLETCH

JUST MISSED: Gray 

TRIVIA: This marks the first Best Ensemble Cast win for a film written by Diane Esposito. Songbird and Material Girl had both earned nominations in the category in previous seasons.

40% — TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET & JARED LETO — GRAY

30% — JOE KEERY & SYDNEY SWEENEY — THE CHAIN

15% — JACOB ELORDI & EMMA MACKEY — ASSASSIN'S CREED: ETERNAL

15% — JOHNNY DEPP & MONICA BARBARO — PIROUETTE

JUST MISSED: Joey King & Olivia Rodrigo

TRIVIA: This is the first time since Season 32 that Best Starring Couple was not won by either Jacob Elordi or Sydney Sweeney — despite both returning as nominees this season.

40% — JAVIER BARDEM — THE SONG OF ROLAND

30% — MATTHIAS SCHWEIGHÖFER — LUKE CAGE: THE PURPLE MAN

15% — TIMOTHY OLYPHANT — THE HULK 3

15% — TOM HOPPER — LOBO

JUST MISSED: Tom Hopper — Boba Fett / Sophie Lowe — Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2 / Shea Whigham — Fletch

TRIVIA: Javier Bardem is the first Spanish actor to win the Best Villain GRA trophy. Previously, the closest was Mexican-born, half-Spanish Salma Hayek, who won for Cocaine Cowboys in Season 18.

75% — GRAY

15% — THE SONG OF ROLAND

5% — DONKEY KONG COUNTRY

5% — FLETCH

JUST MISSED: Assassin's Creed: Eternal

TRIVIA: This is Roy Horne’s third Best Adaptation win, and his first nomination — and victory — in the category since Season 23.

45% — PIROUETTE

30% — THE CHAIN

20% — 1995

5% — ECHOES OF RED

JUST MISSED: Fading Star / The Quiet Between Us / Three Rounds

TRIVIA: This is now the 6th Best Original Story victory for a film co-written by Jimmy Ellis. He has shared the award with John Malone four times, Chad Taylor once, and Dwight Gallo once.

40% — CHRISTINA HENDRICKS — FLETCH

25% — SAOIRSE RONAN — THE CHAIN

20% — EMMA MACKEY — PIROUETTE

15% — UMA THURMAN — GRAY

JUST MISSED: Laura Linney — Fading Star / Annette Bening — Kill Bin Laden 

TRIVIA: This is Christina Hendricks’ 6th overall GRA trophy, but her first win for Best Supporting Actress. She was previously nominated in the category for Excalibur in Season 16.

50% — JOHNNY DEPP — PIROUETTE

40% — JARED LETO — GRAY

5% — TOBY KEBBELL — THE CHAIN

5% — RUSSELL CROWE — THE SONG OF ROLAND

JUST MISSED: Ralph Fiennes — Heartbeat / Boyd Holbrook — Three Rounds

TRIVIA: This is Johnny Depp’s first GRA victory following four previous nominations: Best Actor in Seasons 1, 17 and 31, and Best Starring Couple in Season 31.

55% — SYDNEY SWEENEY — THE CHAIN

35% — MONICA BARBARO — PIROUETTE

5% — SUKI WATERHOUSE — GRAY

5% — CAREY MULLIGAN — HEARTBEAT

JUST MISSED: Chloë Grace Moretz — Fading Star

TRIVIA: Sydney Sweeney becomes the first 3-time Best Actress winner in GRA history, finally breaking the two-win tie she had shared with Elizabeth Olsen, Brie Larson, Emma Stone, and Christina Hendricks.

46% — TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET — GRAY

44% — JOE KEERY — THE CHAIN

5% — GLEN POWELL — FLETCH

5% — JONATHAN BAILEY — THE SONG OF ROLAND

JUST MISSED: Jacob Elordi — Assassin's Creed: Eternal / Jamie Foxx — Kill Bin Laden

TRIVIA: This is the 3rd Best Actor GRA trophy for a Roy Horne-penned film. Chalamet narrowly beat Joe Keery in the Diane Esposito-penned The Chain; Esposito-written films have yet to produce a Best Actor winner.

50% — BRADY CORBET — THE SONG OF ROLAND

30% — LUCA GUADAGNINO — GRAY

10% — CHARLOTTE WELLS — THE CHAIN

10% — MAÏWENN — PIROUETTE

JUST MISSED: Edward Berger — Assassin's Creed: Eternal / Richard Linklater — Fletch

TRIVIA: Best Director has now gone to a first-time winner in 10 consecutive seasons, a streak dating back to four-time winner Christopher Nolan’s victory in Season 26.

31% — GRAY

23% — THE CHAIN

23% — PIROUETTE

23% — THE SONG OF ROLAND

JUST MISSED: Fletch

TRIVIA: This is the second Best Picture win for a Roy Horne-penned film, following Excalibur in Season 16. Horne earned seven more Best Picture nominations after that victory, but none since Season 24.