Shang-Chi Director in Talks for Spider-Man 4, Joker 2’s First Reviews are Mixed, Marvel TV Head Teases Special Presentations

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The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton is in talks to helm the fourth Spider-Man movie for Sony and Marvel Studios. While neither Sony or Marvel have provided a comment at this time, this is in line with previous reports and claims that a fourth Spider-Man film with Tom Holland was being fast-tracked to begin shooting next year. Though he only has one MCU feature under his belt, Cretton is already beginning to feel like a bit of an elder statesman within the Marvel Studios stable of filmmakers, having been previously attached to The Kang Dynasty before it became Avengers: Doomsday and creating the Wonderman series that is in production.

Early reviews from Venice Film Festival screenings for Joker: Folie a Deux, the sequel to 2019’s Joker, hit the internet last week, with the response to the musical follow-up decidedly mixed. Critics seem divided on the film's uneven tone, with criticisms citing a plodding narrative and underutilization of Lady Gaga. Positive takes celebrated the performances of Phoenix and Gaga, as well as Philips' direction.

In a July 2024 interview, Kevin Fiege confirmed more Marvel Studios Special Presentations, like Werewolf By Night and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, were on the way, with one actively in production at the time– sounds like old news, but now, Marvel Head of Streaming, Television and Animation Brad Winderbaum, doubled down on the promise while speaking with Comicbook.com. Previously, Feige detailed that the Special Presentation wouldn’t air in 2025, but 2026, though Winderbaum’s answer seems to insinuate it could be sooner.

James Earl Jones, the legendary actor known for his iconic baritone as Darth Vader in Star Wars, died Monday at his Dutchess County, N.Y. home. He was 93.

Warner Brothers has released the trailer for A Minecraft Movie, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa and directed by Jared Hess. The game-based film premieres in theaters on April 4, 2025.

Ahead of the main Emmy Awards scheduled for Sunday, September 15, last weekend saw the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony held at downtown Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, where the FX network enjoyed an incredibly successful evening. With 14 wins, Shogun broke the record for a single season of television, while The Bear took home 7 awards as well. Notable wins include The Dark Knight’s Nestor Carbonell as the best guest actor for his role as the Portuguese merchant Rodrigues, and Jamie Lee Curtis for best guest actress in a comedy series for her appearance in The Bear, her first Emmy win.

Alison Brie has been cast as a key villain role of Evil-Lyn in Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films’ live-action take on Masters of the Universe.

Only Murders in the Building has been renewed for season five. Currently, season four is dropping weekly episodes on Hulu every Tuesday, leading up to the finale on October 29.

Netflix has greenlit the long-rumored Twilight animated series, now in production. Based on Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun, it retells Twilight from Edward Cullen’s perspective.

In a deleted blog post, Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin criticized creative choices in House of the Dragon's second season, hinting at future posts addressing issues. HBO responded, citing the need for "difficult choices" due to the scope of Martin's work.

A Reacher spinoff is in development at Amazon Prime, with showrunner Nick Santora writing. The series is expected to focus on Frances Neagley, played by Maria Sten.

In a PEOPLE interview, Michael Keaton revealed his real name is Michael Douglas, but he had to change it when joining SAG-AFTRA in the 1970s. Now, he plans to use a hybrid name, Michael Keaton Douglas, for future projects.