Johannes Roberts’ Primate hits UK cinemas at the end of January. Featuring rabid chimp Ben turning on the family that raised him and packed full of some truly gnarly gore, Primate really earns its 18 certificate. It also does nothing to quell the distrust of chimpanzees that Jordan Peele perpetuated with THAT scene in Nope… 

It is left to returning college student Lucy, along with her friends and younger sister, to do battle with Ben, leading to some horribly intense sequences that will have cinema viewers gasping for air. Ben is not the first animal to attack a human on screen; there is a whole sub-genre of cinema dedicated to the phenomenon. The grandaddy of them all is, of course, Jaws, but movie history is littered with thousands of examples of beast versus man, and it’s time that these films step out from Jaws’ formidable shadow to have their moment in the sun. So, settle down as we take a wander down memory lane of some of the greatest and wildest animal attack movies. 

1. Cujo (1983)

Like Ben in Primate, the titular Cujo in the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel contracts rabies. Before succumbing to the illness, Cujo is a loveable Saint Bernard, but once the sickness takes hold, every element of the previously soft-as-butter pooch vanishes. 

Dogs are meant to be man’s best friend, and to see one turn against them is horrifying, especially when Cujo sets his sights on Dee Wallace’s Donna and her young son, Tad. The battle between mother and beast is a stomach-churning ordeal that will make you think twice during your next viewing of Beethoven. For more dogs gone wild, please also see the misleadingly named Man’s Best Friend. 

2. Arachnophobia (1990)

Rumours have been circulating for years that the spider-infestation movie Arachnophobia is getting a remake. Such a movie is not required, though, as the original still gets the skin crawling for arachnophobes and spider pals alike. The plot revolves around a small American town that gets overrun with super venomous (and seemingly intelligent) spiders. 

It’s pure nightmare fuel for those with an aversion to spiders; several sequences from Arachnophobia – such as the one involving the lamp – are seared into my retinas forevermore. If somehow this film has lost its effect on you, then check out French spider-based offering Infested for a bathroom scene that will haunt your dreams. 

3. The Birds (1963)

When discussing films about animals going on the attack, it would be remiss to omit one of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest works, The Birds. In this classic film, Tippi Hedren’s school teacher Melanie arrives in a small coastal town to undertake a new job. However, something odd is going on with the avian population… 

While The Birds builds to all-out bird rage, with the winged animals swooping down and attacking everyone that moves, the most chilling moment comes outside the school when Melanie steps outside and is surrounded by hundreds of creepily still birds. 

4. Crawl (2019)

Animal attack movies are – thanks to Jaws – dominated by shark movies, but a close second are those featuring either a crocodile or an alligator. The prehistoric creatures are a deadly foe, and so rather than being strict works of fiction, films such as Crawl can be viewed as a cautionary tale. 

Hopefully, no one reading this will find themselves trapped inside their home during a hurricane with an alligator stalking around inside, but if you are unfortunate enough to, just remember the tactics of Crawl’s Haley to increase your chances of survival. Those with an appetite for more ‘gator, croc carnage, and survival prep should also seek out Rogue, Black Water, Alligator, and Lake Placid, with Croc! purely for the most thorough preppers. 

5. Piranha 3D (2010)

The second entry after Crawl to be directed by Alexandre Aja, Piranha 3D pits spring break revellers against an ancient breed of piranha who are freed from who knows where during an earthquake. 

Part sex-comedy, part animal attack movie, Piranha 3D is proof that these types of films don’t have to be played deadly seriously; indeed, embracing kitsch and camp is far more entertaining than it has any right to be here. For a slightly more serious approach to the story, check out the original Piranha and its sequel, Piranha II: The Spawning (the latter purely to see just how far James Cameron has come as a director). 

6. Burning Bright (2010)

After rising to fame in Step Up 2: The Streets, Briana Evigan moved into horror movies, starring in Mother’s Day, Sorority Row, and the lesser-known Burning Bright. Set during a hurricane, Burning Bright finds Evigan’s Kelly battling, not only the elements, but also a vicious tiger that her deadbeat stepdad stole her savings to buy. 

Anyone who has watched their cat hunt knows exactly how sadistic they can be; times that by ten, and you get the savageness of the rather angry giant kitty here. Those wishing to see a fairer fight between human and big cat should give Beast a whirl; it features Sir Idris Elba battling a lion in the African wilderness. 

7.  Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Sometimes in film, the attacking animals need some gentle encouragement – as seen in Snakes on a Plane. During Snakes on a Plane, an assassin unleashes a crate full of venomous snakes onto a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles in an attempt to kill a key witness in the trial of a mob boss. Unfortunately for said assassin and the snakes, FBI Neville Flynn (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is also onboard and makes it his mission to save everyone. 

Although the snakes on display here are technically pawns, the hoard still has tons of fun killing off a variety of tropey tourists. Worth a watch purely to hear Jackson’s now iconic line about getting the snakes off the plane. Find more slithery scares in King Cobra, Vipers, and Anaconda. 

8. Cocaine Bear (2023)

Bear encounters and attacks are a very real threat. Those visiting certain parts of the world are warned of the dangers of the behemoth animals, encouraged to follow a strict set of rules regarding the maintenance of food, and briefed on what to do should they find themselves face-to-face with a bear. None of this advice is of any use in Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear. 

Because bear attack movies such as Backcountry and The Revenant aren’t violent enough, the bear here is – as the title suggests – under the influence of a whole lot of cocaine. The result is a very hungry, very violent bear that merrily chomps its way through an entire national park of people. 

9. Black Sheep (2006)

Whereas animals such as tigers, lions, bears, and alligators are clearly to be approached with caution, whether they are attacking or not, the humble sheep is harmless, right? Wrong! At least for those under siege by a genetically mutated flock in the New Zealand animal attack comedy Black Sheep. As the animals rip their way through the local population, it is left to sheep-phobic Henry and a skeleton team to stop the bloodthirsty woolly jumpers. 

As silly as it sounds, Black Sheep is a baa-rmy movie that proves even the most docile of animals can become feral. For a similarly strange viewing experience and mind-melting double-bill, queue up sloth slasher Slotherhouse.

10. Congo (1995)

Way before Nope and Primate had audiences wary of chimps, the film Congo had viewers terrified of gorillas. Based on the novel by Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton, Congo follows a diamond-hunting expedition that is attacked by a territorial clan of exceptionally violent grey mountain gorillas. 

Released in the UK as a 12, Congo did not shy away from the gore, traumatising an entire generation with the inclusion of a severed eyeball in its opening moments. 

Having played a central role in revitalising the horror genre, with Evil Dead, and the superhero genre, with his Spider-Man trilogy, Sam Raimi can rightly claim to be one of the most influential filmmakers of the last 40 years. 

Despite that admirable longevity, he continues to make movies with the same creative verve and youthful energy that once marked him as a director to watch. His 2022 addition to the MCU, Doctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness, boasted a delightful number of Raimi-coded moments, and his new movie, Send Help, isn’t short on them, either. Like his contemporaries in American cinema (Spike Lee, Tarantino, Gus Van Sant), Raimi appears to have retained a pure excitement for the artform, even after four decades in the business—during which he went variably in and out of fashion in an industry that never seemed to fully know what to do with him. 

With Send Help, a desert island black comedy starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brein, opening wide across UK cinemas, it feels like as good a time as any to round up the director’s ten best—which I’ve arranged below in ascending order. Read on to discover more about the Raimi canon and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

10. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

I always got the sense that Raimi landed the job of directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness by allowing his versions of the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Whether or not that’s true, I still think the MCU benefited from having a dash of the director’s idiosyncrasies in the mix, if only for a short time. 

This was the period when Marvel Studios began to experiment with other genres (anyone remember Werewolf by Night?), so even if the story gets a little lost in the multiversal soup at times, there are plenty of delightful moments for fans of Raimi’s Evil Dead movies (or even the recent reboot) to enjoy. 

9. Darkman (1990)

It’s true: somewhere in between making Excalibur, Schindler’s List and Husbands and Wives, Liam Neeson made a horror/noir/superhero movie with Sam Raimi called Darkman. If you haven’t seen it, the story focuses on a doctor who survives an assault and then uses his research in synthetic skin to reconstruct his face before seeking out revenge on those who wronged him.

Raimi had originally planned to adapt The Shadow but ended up blending elements of that character with a couple of famous tropes from Universal Horror. If you’re open to genre movies with a slightly camp and very comic booky approach (like Burton’s Batman, though not as good), you might really appreciate it. 

8. A Simple Plan (1998)

If you consider that there are two trilogies in Raimi’s 16 feature films as director to date, it’s remarkable that he’s been able to experiment with so many different genres in that time. His 1999 sports movie, For the Love of the Game, probably did a better job with the “Game” part than the “Love” part, but A Simple Plan, released the year before, was a relatively successful exercise in neo-noir.

Starring Billy-Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton and Brigette Fonda, the story centres on four friends who discover a bag of money and their subsequent attempts to hide it—at first from the authorities but eventually from each other, too. If you’re a fan of movies like Blood Simple or Shallow Grave, this one will be right up your alley.  

7. The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Before tackling the sports movie and the neo-noir, Raimi set his sights on the Western genre with 1995’s wildly entertaining The Quick and the Dead. It’s especially notable for featuring a young Leonardo DiCaprio, a year or so on from earning an Oscar nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, but before going into the Hollywood stratosphere with Romeo + Juliet and Titanic. 

Despite Leo’s presence alongside Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman, the duelling gunslinger movie proved to be a disappointment both financially and with critics at the time, but it’s aged very well. For better or worse, we probably have to thank Joss Whedon, who contributed to the script’s punchy dialogue, for its longevity. So, if you’re a fan of Buffy or Firefly, add it to the watch list. 

6. Send Help (2026)

It’s probably helped by recency bias, but Send Help makes the top six for brightening up a particularly chilly month of releases at the multiplex. The plot follows the newly appointed CEO of a powerful company who denies his employee a promotion that was promised to her by his father before he stepped down. This volatile situation is exacerbated when the plane taking them to Bangkok crash-lands on a desert island, meaning that they’ll have to work together (or not) to survive. 

The movie was written by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, whose previous credits include Shark Tale and the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th—so don’t go in expecting Citizen Kane. What you can expect are plenty of Raimi’s signature horror flourishes and two game performances from McAdams (always a delight) and O’Brien (an actor who is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s best go-to ‘assholes’). 

5. Spider-Man (2002)

After two decades of superhero movie dominance, it’s hard to imagine a time when that genre was not all-conquering at the cinema. Burton’s Batman movies had been a false dawn, and the genre wouldn’t really find its footing again until X-Men was released in 2001. Raimi’s first Spider-Man, starring Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, didn’t just bring another fresh jolt of energy to superhero filmmaking; it basically cracked the recipe of humour, action and sentimentality that would later become the blueprint for the MCU.

Raimi’s sequel (more on that in a moment) is naturally better remembered, but this first instalment, which features an iconic performance by Willem Defoe, is still a banger. A movie so influential that, 24 years later, it’s still inspiring memes. 

4. Drag Me to Hell (2009)

After the mauling he received for Spider-Man 3 (a movie that, I’m sad to say, did not make this list), it’s fair to say that Sam Raimi needed a win. The director didn’t take long to win audiences and critics back over, however, and he did it by returning to the genre that made him famous, delivering one of the best horror movies of the 21st century in the process.

Drag Me to Hell stars Alison Lohman as a loan manager who, in an attempt to placate her boss, denies an elderly Romani woman’s request to extend her mortgage payments. Of course, in a moment of pure B-movie bad taste, the woman puts a curse on her, and we simply grit our teeth and watch as her nightmare unfolds. It’s a delightfully entertaining and nasty film—somewhere in the vein of Hereditary or The First Omen—that leaves you with a terrifying feeling of dread. 

3. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Finally, we get to Spider-Man 2, a movie that some people still consider to be the best superhero movie ever made. I’m not here to make that call, but I will say that the sequence on the train still gets me every time. The same goes for Alfred Molina’s incredibly touching performance as Otto Octavius. I’ll never quite understand why Jon Watts didn’t ask him to use his “Peter Park, brilliant but lazy” line in No Way Home. 

Whatever about all that, Raimi’s second spidey installment still absolutely rips as a pure action film—the fights between Doc Oc and Spider-Man, especially the one where they’re flinging bags of loot at each other on the side of a skyscraper, are still some of the most kinetic we’ve seen in a superhero movie. If you’re only familiar with the character from the Tom Holland years (as in Homecoming and Endgame), I highly recommend going back to give Raimi’s trilogy a watch.

2 & 1. The Evil Dead/The Evil Dead 2 (1981, 1987)

Given the impact of both movies and given how Sam Raimi effectively rebooted the first Evil Dead when he returned with a bigger budget to make Evil Dead II, I think I’m within my rights to place the two of them in joint first place. Watching the 1981 original again, a cabin in the woods style creep-out movie, it’s still thrilling to see how inventive the young Raimi was, conjuring tricks with the camera that you can still see traces of in Doctor Strange, a full 40+ years later. 

When Raimi returned with Evil Dead II, he brought back Bruce Campbell as Ash but made a few key changes: notably doing away with the infamous tree rape scene and leaning more towards the film’s humorous side, with some scenes even bordering on slapstick. That Evil Dead II relishes in that absurdity while still staying true to its creepy tone is one of the reasons why Raimi quickly became known as a master of genre, paving the way for everything that’s come since.

A once glamorous and feared institution reduced to crumbling decadence, scandal and petty in-fighting, forced to rumble forward in the shadow of former glories with all the finesse of a rudderless oil tanker, all overseen by a knight of the Kingdom who seems happier burning millions on shiny new toys than providing his subjects with free lunches… 

If the current malaise at Manchester United football club isn’t enough of a weekly “The Crown-style” TV show, it’ll certainly do until the newly announced one gets here. That’s right, Lionsgate (the Hollywood studio behind John Wick and The Hunger Games) has announced plans to develop a TV show based on the most decorated club in English football history. 

Naturally, everything is still in the early stages of production, but some information is filtering out, and we can do our best to speculate. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find other football-focused movies and shows on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

What We Know So Far About the Man United TV Show

With the announcement only arriving recently, very little about the show has been revealed. In fact, aside from directly referencing The Crown as an inspiration, the only name to be mentioned so far is that of Jed Mercurio, the writer and creator of the acclaimed BBC police procedural Line of Duty. 

United were actually in line to have their own behind-the-scenes show on Amazon this season, but pulled the plug after the difficult end of Ruben Amorim’s first season in charge, which ended with a dispiriting loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final. Though some non-United football fans were probably disappointed to hear that news, this supposedly “multimillion-pound” deal does sound like the more agreeable option.

The fact that The Crown was specifically mentioned, however, does lead one to think that a multi-season arc is possible, with standalone episodes focusing on significant events rather than a typical week-by-week narrative format. If that’s the case, there is certainly more than enough material out there for the writers to work with. Perhaps the first arc could focus on the Busby years, building to the Munich air disaster and ending with them winning their first European Cup a decade later. Another season or two could focus on the Alex Ferguson years—with episodes on Eric Cantona’s kung-fu kick, the 1999 treble-winning season, Ronaldo’s arrival, or the turmoil of the post-Fergie years. 

Much like The Crown, the series can begin in sepia-tinted nostalgia, enjoy some decadent, main character tabloid energy in the 1990s, then show how things began to unravel.

Are There Any Casting Rumours For the Man U Show Yet?

So far, not a peep, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get a few going. Éanna Hardwicke has been picking up award nominations for his portrayal of Roy Keane in Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa’s Saipan. Is it so crazy to think he could show up here, in some kind of extended universe-style crossover? Or why not just get Brett Goldstein for the role—an actor who essentially played an anglophile version of Keane (subtly named Roy Kent) for three seasons of Ted Lasso. 

Ferguson will naturally be the choice role and should go to a distinguished Scot—perhaps Peter Mullen for the early, rosie-cheeked days and Brian Cox for the later, craggier years. There will also, inevitably, need to be a multi-episode arc dedicated to David Beckham’s early years (which could be a nice gig for someone like Louis Partridge) and another for Eric Cantona’s. The latter will be tougher to nail, but somebody like Aubry Dillon—an actor who did a great Jean Paul-Belmondo last year in Nouvelle Vague—could have the required je ne sais quoi.

Has a Football Drama Series Ever Been Tried Before?

To put it briefly, not really. For whatever reason, football—certainly in the way it’s watched and consumed in the UK and Ireland—has proven itself to basically be movie kryptonite. 

American and British filmmakers have done alright when focusing on hooligan culture (think Green Street, The Football Factory), but they’ve mostly struggled to find ways to express or romanticise the fatalistic, self-deprecating humour of most football fans. The most notorious attempt at shoehorning the sport into the framework of a Hollywood sports movie was the catastrophic Goal! films. Is there just something about football that makes it impossible to approach with the same wide-eyed wonder of movies like Moneyball or Any Given Sunday?

When you think about it, the most popular football-related entertainment ever made, Ted Lasso, is basically about that clash of sensibilities. The pageantry and the stop-and-start nature of American sports have always made them easier for filmmakers to dramatise, but as Luca Guadagnino's Challengers and even Heated Rivalry have shown, there are ways to make any sport look cool and sexy. 

Most people who saw Normal People probably had never heard of Gaelic football before watching it, but the way that Paul Mescal went in for that tackle in the first episode did, in its own way, help to establish the actor as a desirable leading man. Football is still the most popular game in the world—it’s kind of crazy that no one’s quite cracked it. 

Football Shows & Movies to Watch in the Meantime

There are fewer good ones than there should be, but there are a handful. There’s no point in going into documentaries here, but Asif Kapadia’s films on Diego Maradona and Kenny Dalglish are unorthodox enough to at least warrant a mention. Fans of that fiery Argentinian can also check out Paulo Sorrentino’s Hand of God, a sun-drenched and semi-autobiographical ode to the director’s younger days in Naples, set around the time when the player arrived. 

Saipan, which I mentioned earlier, does manage to capture a truly polarising moment in Irish sport with a great deal of swagger and style—though Mick McCarthy fans should be warned, the film and Steve Coogan’s performance kind of amount to a bit of a drive-by.

All in all, however, Tom Hooper’s The Damned United will likely be the one that ends up sharing the most DNA with Lionsgate’s planned Man United show. That film, which told the story of Brian Clough’s short-lived tenure as Leeds manager in 1974, was gritty, claustrophobic and atmospheric. It also gave you a tactile sense of the game, the fickle unpredictability of football fans and what goes on behind the scenes of the world’s most successful clubs. It was also written by Peter Morgan, who went on to create The Crown—how’s that for a full circle moment?

It has been 20 years since Ang Lee became the first Asian to win Best Director at the Academy Awards with Brokeback Mountain. Starring the late Heath Ledger as Ennis and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack, it chronicles the story of two cowboys struggling to fight for their love within a time period when same-sex coupling was forbidden. Swathed in beautiful exchanges of intimacy and declarations of not being able to ‘quit’ one another, Lee’s golden statue was hard-earned. 

Not only did Brokeback Mountain prove that Lee was a master behind the camera, but the film also opened up audiences’ eyes to the world of queer cinema. Stories of those within the LGBTQ+ community have obviously always existed, but with Brokeback Mountain, it was proven that they could push into the mainstream psyche. Without Lee’s film, there would almost certainly be no Booksmart, Pillion, or Red, White and Royal Blue. But what other films have been able to run because Brokeback Mountain walked? Read on to discover some of the greatest LGBTQ+ films of the last two decades.

1. Tangerine (2015)

Before director Sean Baker wowed the Academy with Anora, he was making waves with Tangerine. Far more than just one of the first films to be shot almost entirely on an iPhone, Tangerine is a chaotic Christmas-set story of two transgender sex workers in Los Angeles. When one discovers her partner is cheating on her, the pair begin a laser-focused mission to find and take down the other woman. The story is kept light, but Tangerine blends aspects of both Go and Clerks, making it entertaining and endearing whilst also giving great agency to trans characters. 

2. The Handmaiden (2016)

Although snubbed by the Academy – somehow not garnering a single nomination – Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden is a sumptuous tale of forbidden love, escaping oppression, and twists aplenty. Told across three distinct parts, the film is a reworking of the Sarah Waters novel, Fingersmith, switching the Victorian setting to 1930s Korea, when it was under Japanese rule. The story follows a Korean pickpocket who is coerced into posing as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress so that a dastardly count can wed her and steal her money. Unfortunately (or not really) for him, the two women fall in love and work together to overthrow the patriarchy. 

3. Moonlight (2016)

Although infamous for that blunder at the Academy Awards, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight is a film worthy of notoriety for more than just an embarrassing mix-up. The rightful (sorry, La La Land) winner of Best Picture, Moonlight chronicles the coming-of-age story of Chiron. Following him from a child to man, Moonlight explores not only themes of masculinity and sexuality, but also specifically addresses the extra complexities of gay life through the lens of a Black man. Beautifully shot and featuring some incredible performances, especially from Mahershala Ali, Moonlight might be one of the most significant LGBTQ+ films, not just of the last two decades, but ever.

4. Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name almost did as much for peaches as it did queer cinema. Primarily set in the summer of 1983, it follows the illicit love affair of 17-year-old Elio (Timothee Chalamet) and 24-year-old Oliver (Armie Hammer). The pair's dalliance is brief, but full of yearning, sensuality, and yes, peaches. Although a near overwhelming hit with critics, Call Me By Your Name did prove divisive, with some unhappy about the portrayal of the age-gap, especially surrounding Oliver. This, however, doesn’t stop it from being an important text and is one that has become synonymous with queer cinema. 

5. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is another popular queer film centred on an intense and short same-sex relationship. In Céline Sciamma’s French delight, the story travels back to the 18th century and sees an artist and her subject fall passionately in love with one another. Sadly, their love cannot last, with the artist due home, and her muse set to marry. Full of unbridled lust, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a seductive and emotional tale of longing and the lasting impression some trysts can leave. Director Céline Sciamma also became the first female director to win the Cannes Queer Palm.  

6. Femme (2023)

So often, stories centred around queerness feel compelled to take place in the past. There seems to be a misconception that only in history did people struggle with their sexual identity, but as films such as Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s Femme highlight, this is not strictly true. Expanded from their short of the same name, Femme embraces a modern setting whilst also shifting from the traditional romantic framework to explore darker elements. Starring George MacKay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Femme tells the intoxicating and complex story of closeted Preston and out and proud Jules. 

Not strictly a love story, Femme sees drag queen Jules seduce Preston as vengeance for a homophobic attack, unwittingly placing both of them in extreme danger. It’s one of the most suffocatingly intense movies that you’re ever likely to see. 

7. All of Us Strangers (2023)

With All of Us Strangers, director Andrew Haigh takes the heteronormative story within Taichi Yamada’s source novel, Strangers, and gives it a queer makeover. In doing so, Haigh creates one of the most emotionally devastating movies of the last 20 years. Starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal as Adam and Harry, All of Us Strangers is a haunting story of grief, isolation, and the beauty of connection. Scott and Mescal sizzle whenever they are on screen together, but be warned, this one has an intense gut-punch that never fails to get the tears flowing. Be prepared to never be able to hear Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Power of Love in the same way again. 

8. Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

Having wowed the genre crowds with her debut feature, Saint Maud, all eyes were on director Rose Glass’ next offering, Love Lies Bleeding. Rather than stick within the horror playground, Glass moved into crime thriller territory, throwing in a lesbian couple to rival Bound’s Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon. Set in small-town America, sometime during the 80s, Love Lies Bleeding sees Kristen Stewart’s gym manager fall for a new-to-town aspiring bodybuilder played by Katy O’Brien. The path of true love is not smooth, though, and is instead littered with murder, steroids, and tyrannical estranged fathers. Love Lies Bleeding shares the same gritty texture as Bound, but offers an otherworldly spin that leaves jaws dropped. 

9. I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Along with Vera Drew and Alice Maio Mackay, Jane Schoenbrun is one of the most exciting and experimental queer voices working in film today. Their feature debut, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, is a mesmeric and haunting slice of Creepypasta that commanded attention, but it is Schoenbrun's I Saw the TV Glow that really hits home. Starring Justice Smith and Jack Haven, the film finds two teens drawn together by their shared love of the TV show, The Pink Opaque, but then one of them disappears, leaving the other to navigate the world alone. I Saw the TV Glow has been lauded as a beautiful metaphor for the trans experience and is also a film for those who are partial to some ‘90s nostalgia and neon hues.   

10. Queens of the Dead (2025)

If the surname doesn’t give it away, Tina Romero is the daughter of George A. Romero, the grandaddy of the zombie movie. A writer and director in her own right, given Romero’s heritage, it seemed only right that she follow in her father’s footsteps for her feature debut, Queens of the Dead. Rather than stick to the work her father did in the likes of Night of the Living Dead, Tina Romero gave the zombie genre a sparkly upgrade, pitting Brooklyn drag queens against the rather fabulous-looking undead. Featuring zombies with glittery skin to rival Edward Cullen, and laughs aplenty, Queens of the Dead proves that horror can be both queer and hilarious. 

If we take the Sundance Film Festival as our starting point—where a number of this year’s nominees premiered last January and a few of next year’s might be premiering as you read this—we are now 12 months into this year’s Oscars race. As of the 22nd January, we finally have our nominees, and they’re about as wide-ranging as any group in the awards’ history.

For the next few weeks, all involved will be asked to glam it up for a gauntlet of precursor ceremonies (including the DGA, SAG and BAFTA) before the Oscars are awarded on March 15th. By that point, we’ll have a clearer idea of who’s out in front, but for now, at least, a lot of the biggies still feel up for grabs—with One Battle After Another, Sinners and Hamnet in what looks like a dead heat for the big prize.

For anyone who still has a few blind spots, there’s still plenty of time to catch up on the movies you might have missed from this year’s crop. Read on to discover more about the ten Best Picture nominees and use the guide below to find a wide range of this year’s Oscar films, either in cinemas or on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

Bugonia

Adapted from a popular 2003 South Korean cult classic called Save the Green Planet!, Bugonia stars Emma Stone in the story of a wealthy tech CEO who’s abducted by two brothers who think she’s an alien. 

The movie, if you haven’t guessed already, is the latest absurdist gem from Yorgos Lanthimos, a Greek Weird Wave legend who has in recent years become an unlikely Academy darling. This is Lanthimos’ third film to be nominated for Best Picture, after The Favourite and Poor Things, so make sure to check it out if you’re a fan of his work and also appreciate stories with a darker, sci-fi edge—like Black Mirror.

F1

Ever since its earliest public screenings back in June, there’s been constant chatter about a potential Best Picture nomination for Joseph Kosinski’s F1 at the Oscars. Still, its eventual inclusion over movies like Avatar: Fire and Ash and It Was Just an Accident has come as a bit of a shock.

F1 stars Brad Pitt as a veteran racecar driver who agrees to help fine-tune an up-and-coming track star while also taking on a few more laps himself. If you’re curious about the vibe, the movie is the director’s follow-up to Top Gun: Maverick and actually offers some similar thrills—to put it briefly: if that earlier movie put you in the cockpit, this one puts you behind the wheel. 

Frankenstein

After premiering to a warm but not spectacular reception in Venice, few would have predicted that Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein would still be so relevant this deep into awards season. In the end, the director’s Netflix-backed passion project (Shelley’s book and James Whale’s original movie have always been his key artistic inspirations) ended up with nine nominations—though Elordi’s dark horse position in Best Supporting actor looks like it's only chance of a win outside the crafts.

We shall know in future not to underestimate Del Toro’s popularity with the Academy—lest we forget, his The Shape of Water managed to beat Dunkirk, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread and Get Out to best picture in 2018.

Hamnet

At the time of writing, no marketing team has been putting in the awards work quite like the team behind Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet—a movie that is currently attempting (and possibly succeeding) to beat the ‘grief porn’ allegations one expertly curated Instagram post at a time.  

The film stars Jessie Buckley (a favourite to win after her nomination for The Lost Daughter) and Paul Mescal (a nominee for Aftersun who just missed the cut this time out) as Agnes and William Shakespeare in a historically loose but emotionally resonant story about grief and loss. There will be no shortage of critical furore if it wins, but if audience awards are anything to go by, everyone else seems to love it. 

Marty Supreme

2025 was the year when the Safdie brothers (the directors behind Good Time and Uncut Gems) split up—at least temporarily. Benny went and made The Smashing Machine, which picked up a nomination in Makeup and Hairstyling but probably expected more, and Josh made Marty Supreme, which fared a whole lot better with both audiences and the Academy.

The 50s-set story is loosely based on Marty Reisman, a real-life NYC table tennis hustler. He’s played by Best Actor favourite Timothée Chalamet in a movie that, like much of the brothers’ best work, is cool, stylish and compellingly stressful. 

One Battle After Another

It’s a major blot on the last quarter-century of the Academy’s history that Paul Thomas Anderson has yet to win one of these things. The director is as L.A. as they come, a literal child of Hollywood who has been nominated 14 times already and lost every one of them, the first (for Boogie Nights) coming when he was 27-years-old. With ten movies and counting in the bag (including a few all-timers like There Will Be Blood and The Master), he’s essentially never missed. Has any director ever been this “overdue” before?

Anderson’s latest, One Battle After Another, is a rip-roaring movie about a hapless and ageing revolutionary (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) attempting to save his daughter from an old and menacing foe (Sean Penn). It won pretty much every major critical award at the end of the year and currently looks to have the edge in most major categories… for now. 

The Secret Agent

Ten years after deciding to diversify its voting body, and seven years after Parasite happened, we’ve reached a point where it’s not so surprising to see a selection of International films vying for the biggest prizes at the Oscars. That said, the 2026 Best Picture nominations for The Secret Agent (Brazil) and Sentimental Value (Norway)—alongside English language movies from Del Toro (Mexico), Lanthimos (Greece) and Zhao (China)—have set another high watermark.

After winning at the Golden Globes, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent now looks to be the favourite in a particularly competitive Best International Film category. Set in Recife in the 1970s, it’s an ode to the great conspiracy movies of that era (Parallax View and All the President’s Men) in the same way that Filho’s earlier movie, Bacarau, was an ode to the work of John Carpenter. It’s also a gorgeous period piece that fans of Roma, in particular, will love. 

Sentimental Value

Outside of those Best Picture nominations, the most notable non-English language representation at this year’s Oscars is in the acting categories, where Agent’s handsome leading man, Wagner Moura, is joined by three European members of the cast of Sentimental Value: Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas—as well as Elle Fanning.

This feels like a particularly deserved win for a film that really puts its actors front and centre, giving them plenty of meaty scenes to chew on. Directed by Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World), the film tells the story of a filmmaker (Skarsgård) attempting to reconnect with his two daughters (an actress played by Reinsve and a mother of two played by Lilleaas) while also trying to make a movie with an American (played by Fanning). We suggest packing a few tissues. 

Sinners

Last week, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners made history by becoming the first film to receive 16 Oscar nominations, beating the previous record holder by two—not bad for a Jim Crow era-set vampire movie containing a scene in which Hailee Steinfeld spits into Michael B. Jordan’s mouth.

If you’re yet to see it, try to imagine Coogler’s formidable directorial style (Black Panther, Creed) but through the lens of stylish horror films like Near Dark and From Dusk Till Dawn. At the time of writing, it’s still an outside bet for the biggies—but that momentum is growing. 

Train Dreams

Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams premiered at the Sundance Film Festival a year ago and has been steadily winning over fans ever since with its cinematic sweep (reminiscent of Terrence Malick films like The Tree of Life) and its thoughtful and heartfelt depictions of early 20th-century life. 

Starring Joel Edgerton (Warrior) in a career-best performance, Bentley’s film has now ridden that wave of word-of-mouth all the way to the Oscars. It looks like it might only make up the numbers in the four categories it’s been recognised in, but I suspect it’ll be roundly applauded for making it this far, all the same.

If you have even the slightest interest in romance and/or LGBTQ media, you can’t have missed the international Canadian sensation, Heated Rivalry.

Adapted from Rachel Reid’s book series, the six-episode series, which hit UK screens this month after conquering its domestic and neighbouring American market, focuses on a hidden relationship between Canadian and Russian ice hockey pros, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Their steamy, no-strings-attached hook-ups slowly build into something more romantic, taking them on separate but entwined journeys of self-discovery, heartache, and ambition.

If you’re also anything like me, you’ll have devoured those six episodes quicker than a puck hitting the back of a net and will spend the next year pining for Season 2. In the meantime, there’s a whole subgenre of ‘Boys Love’ – same-sex male romances predominantly made by and for women – films and shows to ease your yearning. 

1. Yuri On Ice (2016)

This sadly short-lived anime series was the first thing I thought of when I heard about Heated Rivalry. If I went down the anime recommendations route, we’d be here for considerably longer, as manga and anime are the mediums from which ‘Boys Love’ as a marketable thing originates. But we can’t talk about gay winter sports shows without giving Yuri on Ice its due.

When down-on-his-luck professional figure skater Yuri gets the chance to be mentored by his skating idol, Victor, he not only finds a path back to athletic greatness, but also into the arms of the silver-haired man of his dreams. There’s some Heated Rivalry tension in the presence of his firecracker Russian counterpart, also, hilariously, named Yuri, but the romance and main obstacle to said romance is a teacher/student rather than rival setup. It’s also animated by MAPPA, better known these days for shonen titles like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen, so you can expect it to look as good as it feels to watch. 

2. 10 Dance (2025)

Another Japanese offering, but live-action this time. Based on Inouesatoh’s manga series of the same name, 10 Dance is another rivals-turned-lovers story in a competitive setting – this time, dancing. Shinya Sugiki is the king of ballroom, while Shinya Suzuki is the Latin prince. When they team up to learn each other’s art and compete in the ‘10 dance’ championship, an unforeseen attraction builds, one that they can only stifle for so long.

This film adaptation is definitely flawed: Suzuki’s Latin heritage comes with some clumsy stereotyping, and the climax feels unrealistically cheesy. However, the two leads do have irresistible chemistry and impressive dancing ability, and while the steamiest scenes don’t go as far as Heated Rivalry, you’ll certainly feel the same cathartic flutter seeing them finally get some pent-up lust out of their systems. 

3. Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)

Our first and not our last inclusion of bisexual favourite Nicholas Galitzine on this list. If you like a transatlantic romance (ala The Holiday, Love Actually, etc.), then the premise of Red, White & Royal Blue–the son of a U.S President and a British Prince (Galatzine) engaging in a secret affair–is a big, fluffy box ticker. 

There’s a smidge of ‘rags to riches’ going on, too, with the first son of the U.S coming from humble beginnings, adding an element of ‘dreams come true’ Tinkerbell dust over a film that doesn’t pretend to be that deep, or realistic. And that’s just fine with me! The pair naturally have to hide their relationship at first, as Hollander and Rozanov do, but this adversity is merely there to boost the tension rather than wade into choppier waters. 

4. Heartstopper (2022-)

I don’t think either Netflix or graphic novel creator Alice Oseman were prepared for the adoration from both critics and viewers that Heartstopper earned–and it’s thoroughly deserving of it. The series is a classic, coming-of-age, British-set school drama, in which two classmates come to terms with their sexualities and their feelings for one another.

Heartstopper plays to a younger audience than Heated Rivalry, a really key demographic to cater to, given its funny, sensitive, and illuminating exploration of the broader spectrum of sexual orientation – bisexual and asexual, not just gay. Fresh-faced future MCU stars Kit Connor and Joe Locke are a big part of what makes it work, bringing an earnest tentativeness to their roles, but the supporting cast makes it a fully-realised world that you’d love to hang out in.

5. Bonus Track (2023)

I’ll bet, like me, you didn’t know until now that Britpack darling Josh O’Connor came up with an idea for a gay teen rom-com musical a few years ago. The Challengers and Wake Up Dead Man actor also, naturally, makes a cameo in the film, which is directed by another up-and-comer, Julia Jackson, who recently helmed the starry, romantic fever dream, 100 Nights of Hero.

Bonus Track is more for fans of the previous schmaltzier entries on this list than Heated Rivalry. It's 2006 English countryside setting gives it a touch of the darkly homoerotic Saltburn, and similarly, it centres around another ‘from different worlds’ meet-cute, with a 16-year-old wannabe pop star crossing paths with the son of music royalty. All sweet and no sour, this film is wonderfully cute confectionery for easy, afternoon viewing.

6. Handsome Devil (2016)

Here’s the promised second appearance of Mr Galitzine, and in one of his earliest film roles. Here, he plays the closeted star player of an all-boys boarding school rugby team in Ireland, striking up an ‘opposites attract’ kinship with his new roommate, also closeted and struggling to fit in. Their situations are mirrored in Andrew Scott, who plays a sympathetic teacher forced to keep his sexuality secret for the sake of his job.

What I especially like about Handsome Devil is that it’s one of the few pieces of LGBTQ media to feature an adolescent coming out story without a full-blown romance. Granted, that makes it an outlier on this particular list, but the sports subplot, enemies-to-(not-quite)-lovers trope, and themes of isolation and fragile masculinity still make it a strong match with Heated Rivalry. And why wouldn’t you want to see Andrew Scott in literally anything?

Keiichirō Toyama’s Silent Hill, a computer game that traumatised a generation around the turn of the millennium and has since become an enduring horror franchise, has so far inspired three movies. 

The first of these, Christopher Gans and Roger Avery’s Silent Hill, was a modest hit in 2006 and is now quite fondly remembered. The follow-up, Silent Hill: Revelation, also turned a profit but boasts an admittedly not great 8% score on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time of writing).

If you’re a fan of the misty video games and have been crying out for a new movie for years, that patience may be about to be rewarded with the release of Return to Silent Hill, an adaptation of the second game in the series (considered by many to be an all-time classic) with Gans back in the director’s chair. Read on to learn more about the Silent Hill movies and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Silent Hill (2006)

Christopher Gans’ first stab at the Silent Hill franchise skewed closely to the original game while switching the protagonist from Harry Mason to Rose De Silva (played by Radha Mitchell, aka Dakota Fanning’s mom in Man on Fire) and including some elements from Silent Hill 2, like the haunting and iconic Pyramid Head.

That story follows a woman trying to find her daughter in the haunted and otherworldly town of Silent Hill. If you’re a fan of the games and appreciate atmospheric horror like The Ring or The Grudge—and don’t mind something a little schlocky—you might enjoy this one, too.

2. Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)

It took six years, but Mitchell eventually returned to play Rose again in Silent Hill: Revelation, a 3D movie that boasted a slightly astonishing cast—Sean Bean (The Fellowship of the Ring), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), and Carrie Ann Moss (The Matrix)—and a new story, this time told from the perspective of Rose’s adopted daughter, Heather Mason.

There’s plenty of fun to be had with this one, just be warned—those famous names aren’t exactly representative of the movie’s quality. That said, if you’re in the mood for some thrashy thrills (think the better Resident Evil movies), you could do a lot worse. 

3. Return to Silent Hill (2026)

In January 2026, Silent Hill returns to cinema screens with Return to Silent Hill, a new reboot that boasts a brand new cast and a story drawn from the events of the Silent Hill 2 video game. Franchise originator Christopher Gans has returned as director alongside new stars Jeremy Irvine (an actor who got his big break on Steven Spielberg’s War Horse but will probably be more familiar to most viewers for playing Henry Beauchamp in last year’s Outlander: Blood of my Blood) and Hannah Emily Anderson (Jigsaw). 

Fans of the recent remake of the game will be happy (if that’s the right word) to hear that Evie Templeton, who played Agnes Demille in Wednesday Season 2, will be reprising her role as Laura from the video game. By the looks of the trailer, Gans has gone to great lengths to recreate the feel of the gameplay, so if you’re a diehard fan, you probably won’t be disappointed!

Netflix has had a good start to 2026. A couple of its hits from last year just scooped major Oscar nominations, and the streamer has also seen the new movie The Rip get plenty of attention on the platform since its release.

The crime-thriller from Joe Carnahan, who also directed the likes of The Grey and The A-Team reboot, has two of the biggest A-list stars in the world among its cast: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

With that kind of star power, it’s no wonder that, according to our charts, viewers have been flocking to watch it. And those who have clicked play have largely reacted very positively. So, what’s the problem? Well, I’ll tell you.

The Rip Would Have Been Great On a Big Screen

The rise of streaming services is not a bad thing, in my opinion. The more the merrier, I say. If platforms like Netflix mean that a greater volume of movies gets made, then so be it. And there’s certainly a place for straight-to-streaming releases, too.

What I am baffled by, though, is the fact that Netflix thought that the first on-screen collaboration between two of the most popular and successful actors in the industry since 2023 was best suited to drop exclusively on the small screen.

A film like The Rip – big, bold, loud, enthralling – deserves as big a screen as possible. It should be blowing people away with its explosions, gunfire, and tantalising twists and turns while they sit in a movie theatre eating popcorn and nudging their friends every time Damon and Affleck do cool things (spoiler, that’s very, very often).

The Rip pulled in 41.6 million viewers in its opening three days on Netflix. That’s a successful release by any measure. But is it really the only measure we should be using for a Matt Damon and Ben Affleck movie? 

Just imagine the buzz of that many people coming out of the cinema after having seen what is undeniably a really fun film. And just imagine the money from ticket sales, too. I can’t help but feel Netflix really missed a trick with this one.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Struck a Unique Deal with Netflix

What is really interesting about The Rip and its release strategy, though, is that Damon and Affleck pushed Netflix to strike a deal we’ve never seen before from the streamer.

The pair sold exclusive streaming rights to Netflix, and obviously, they didn’t necessarily mind the fact that their film wouldn’t be shown in cinemas. In an ideal world, I’m sure they’d rather it did, but that’s beside the point.

However, Damon and Affleck’s film production company, Artists Equity, has always done what it says on the tin: they strive to do right by every member of their crew and fight to improve workers’ rights in the industry.

This time, they really went one step further. Their deal with Netflix resulted in a lower upfront fee for the film in exchange for lucrative bonuses for the entire team – from top to bottom – if The Rip hit certain viewership targets.

In essence, Damon and Affleck passed up on what would have been a substantial fee for themselves and other high-line workers, to make sure that every single person got a cut in the long-run. As per The Hollywood Reporter, there are five tiers of compensation available to the cast and crew, but they’ll need to hit the viewership figures of KPop Demon Hunters to hit the maximum payout.

On the unique deal, Carnahan said, “Everyone should want this. If not, you just create this gulf. [The stars] are all going to get paid, but what about [the crew]?

“These people break their backs to make movies, and they should be compensated [in success] for their time and energy. When you do that, it gives a movie a true communal sense. We’re all rowing in the same direction, hopefully, and if something does well, we all win.”

Why Does Netflix Release Some Films in Cinemas and Not Others?

It sounds like everyone’s going to be a winner, to some extent, when it comes to The Rip. But why did it get pushed straight to the streaming service when Netflix has released some of its work in theatres before?

Just last year, Netflix gave Frankenstein, Train Dreams, and Wake Up Dead Man theatrical releases, albeit very limited ones. It’s highly likely the intention there was to make those films eligible for Oscar nominations, and it worked for the most part – Frankenstein and Train Dreams are both up for Best Picture.

I’m not suggesting that The Rip was ever going to be an awards darling, but if that is the only motivation for Netflix to put films in cinemas – a company that has just bought Warner Bros., let’s not forget – it’s depriving audiences of the most fundamental reason films exist: to entertain. 

Gerard Butler might not appear in the biggest or most celebrated movies of any given year, but his knack for consistently turning $20-50 million movies into hits (and occasionally turning B-grade scripts into prime pulp) is almost unrivalled in 21st-century cinema. 

Despite his build and gruff exterior, the Scottish native has also managed to bring a lot of warmth to these kinds of movies over the years, proving himself to be that rarest of things—a rough diamond plying his trade just outside the Hollywood bubble. 

With his latest, Greenland 2: Migration, currently in cinemas, it feels like a good time to look back over that fascinating career and round up the stars' ten best movies. The following list—which I’ve arranged in ascending order—covers a wide range of genres, from rom-com and animation to action spectacles, but to spread the love, I’ve restricted things to one entry per franchise—aside from one exception. Read on to discover more about Butler’s best work to date and use the guide below to find them on AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

10. P.S. I Love You (2007)

It might seem strange to think about today, but Butler once enjoyed a solid side-hustle as a rom-com lead. One of his earliest roles came in the Scottish indie, One More Kiss, and you can see him do his charming shtick in movies like Playing for Keeps and The Ugly Truth. For fans of the genre, however, nothing beats the schmaltz of this 2007 adaptation of Cecelia Ahern’s best-selling novel.

P.S. I Love You stars Hillary Swank as a woman who loses her husband (Butler) to cancer, only to find that he’s left her a series of tape recordings. The movie was directed by Richard LaGravenese, the writer behind classic weepies like The Horse Whisperer and The Bridges of Madison County—so you know what you’re in for. 

9. Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

After announcing his arrival in 300, Butler decided to try his hand at a bunch of genres (remember Gamer and Law Abiding Citizen?) before settling back into his action groove with Olympus Has Fallen. For me, this is the moment when Butler found his calling as a go-to guy for mid-level, no-nonsense action cinema—so credit where credit is due.

The movie (and its perfectly schlocky sequels, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen) has one of those setups that basically asks you to imagine Die Hard in a new location. In this one, that location is no less than the White House, and the intruders are North Koreans—because sure.

8. Plane (2023)

If the thought of Butler playing an ex-RAF pilot (who works for a commercial airline called “Trailblazers”) who has to make an emergency landing on an island in the South China Sea while transporting a suspected killer all sounds a bit A.I.—coded (and that’s without even getting to the title), don’t let it put you off! 

The simplicity of Jean-François Richet’s Plane is more of a feature than a bug. Richet, the filmmaker behind the 2005 remake of Assault on Precinct 13 and the acclaimed Mesrine films, knows how to make a lean, mean action thriller, and Plane very much fits that billing.

7. 300 (2006)

If you were alive and somewhat sentient in 2006, there’s a good chance you probably, at some point, spoke the phrase, “This is Sparta!” That immortal line-reading, by Butler’s King Leonidas in 300, not only inspired a feature-length spoof, but it also helped to cement Zach Snyder’s reputation (he went on to make Watchmen and Man of Steel) as one of the most audacious blockbuster filmmakers around.

With its archaic racial stereotypes and wall-to-wall digital effects, the movie has admittedly aged about as well as warm milk, but its enormous success and cultural footprint make it impossible to ignore in the actor’s career.

6. The Vanishing (2019)

If you’re a fan of The Lighthouse and the great Peter Mullen (the durable Scottish star of Rings of Power and Ozark) and have yet to see The Vanishing, you’re in for a treat. This psychological thriller stars both Butler and that other durable Scottish legend as two lighthouse keepers who discover a chest of gold. 

The movie was the English language feature debut of Kristoffer Nyholm, a director who started as an AD for Lars Von Trier before moving into television with the celebrated Danish crime series, The Killing. 

5. Den of Thieves: Pantera (2025)

It took seven years for Cristian Gudegast to get a Den of Thieves sequel made, but the movie was worth the wait. Relocating the action to the diamond trading districts of Nice in the South of France, a location that has always demanded at least one outrageous car chase per movie on its winding coastal roads, Gudegast followed up his sharp-edged Heat homage with a movie that felt closer in tone to Ocean’s Twelve. 

Thankfully, this doesn’t mean that Butler’s “Big Nick” O’Brien has to class it up in any way. Far from it in fact: he basically turns his nose up at a croissant in the opening minutes. If Gudegast ever decides to make a third instalment, I’ll be seated.

4. Greenland (2020)

Over his career, Butler has shown an admirable amount of loyalty to certain filmmakers. Since their first collaboration on Angel Has Fallen in 2019, Butler has already worked with the director Ric Roman Waugh on three further projects—Kandahar, Greenland and the newly released Greenland 2: Migration.

Waugh came up through the industry as a stunt performer on movies like Universal Soldier, The Last of the Mohicans and Hard Target, and while it’s hard to say if any of Michael Mann or John Woo’s style has rubbed off on him at this point, there’s certainly a good bit of Roland Emmerich’s DNA in Greenland, a wonderfully economic apocalypse flick from 2020 that does exactly what it says on the tin. 

3. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

It was difficult to know which How to Train Your Dragon movie to include here. Since 2010, the actor has provided the voice of Stoick the Vast in three animated movies and even reprised the role last year in the first live-action remake. Unless the second animated movie receives the same treatment, however, I think it will remain his best work in the franchise.

Unlike the first instalment, which zoomed in on Hiccup and Toothless’ burgeoning friendship, How to Train Your Dragon 2 took a step back to tell the story of Hiccup’s family—allowing for plenty of tender and funny moments between Stoick, Hiccup and his long lost mother, Valka.

2. Dear Frankie (2004)

Early on in his career, Butler gave one of his finest performances in Dear Frankie, playing a man who’s hired by a widowed mother (played by Emily Mortimer) to pretend to be her son’s absent father for a day. What could possibly go wrong?

The movie premiered in Cannes in 2004 and quickly became a festival darling, introducing the world to Butler’s rugged charms in the process. If you’re a fan of offbeat and heartwarming British indies—think movies like The Angels’ Share and Billy Elliot—you’re gonna love it. 

1. Den of Thieves (2018)

I wonder if every actor secretly dreams of landing a role like “Big Nick” O’Brein—one of the most unpredictable and potentially violent pieces of garbage we’ve seen in the last ten years of movies. In all honesty, he’s objectively detestable, but thanks to Butler’s sheer gravitational pull, you simply can’t take your eyes off of him. 

Butler’s first portrayal of the character, in Gudegast’s first Den of Thieves movie, is still the best and, IMO, the best thing the actor has done—he’s just so raw and unhinged in this movie, it’s genuinely hard to know what he’s going to do next. Place that kind of character in a delicately-tuned heist movie (one that borrows from and pays homage to classics like Heat and Point Break in equal measure), and the results can be lethally entertaining—as they very much are here.

You might think that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a chill-out trip through Westeros for Dunk and Egg. And in many ways, it is. There are no dragons, the kingdom is in a time of peace, and there’s a decidedly more comedic and positive tone to the whole show so far.

Compared to Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, this new series is a lovely walk in the park. And, based on the source material, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will give us a relatively happy ending.

However, if you’re thinking this show is a spin-off, you can skip, and that it won’t have much impact on the wider Game of Thrones timeline, you’re wrong. Here’s a spoiler-filled explanation as to why A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a must-watch, with key developments in the Targaryen family tree to look out for.

Baelor Targaryen’s Death Will Change Everything For Egg

Keeping track of the different lineages throughout Game of Thrones is no mean feat, but we’ll do our best to keep this simple. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set roughly 89 years before Game of Thrones, but that doesn’t mean it can’t impact the history of Westeros in massive ways.

At the start of the series, King Daeron II sits on the Iron Throne, with Prince Baelor Targaryen acting as the Hand to the King. He’s also the heir to the throne, but when he dies, everything changes. Now, it’s Prince Maekar who is next in line, and he will get a good 12-year stint as the ruler of Westeros.

It also means that his sons will get their chance to sit on the Iron Throne, too. However, we already know that Daeron, Aerion, Aemon, and their sisters Daella and Rhae will have no such luck. We won’t spoil what happens to any of them; all we will say is that little Egg, who is actually Prince Aegon, will be the one to ascend to the throne.

He’s even dubbed Aegon the Unlikely due to how surprising it is that he is the one to end up surpassing his siblings and becoming king. Aegon will go on to rule for 26 years and be known as one of the more just and kind Targaryen kings in Westerosi history.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 1 Gave Us Clues To Egg’s True Identity

Obviously, anyone who has read the novellas that inspired A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will know how this all plays out. They’ll also not be surprised by the fact that Egg is secretly a Targaryen prince destined for the top. For those who aren’t in the know, however, there are a couple of clues that hint at his true identity in the first episode of the new series.

For a start, the way Egg speaks is highly indicative of a boy born into nobility. He addresses Dunk as “My lord,” which the hedge knight finds odd and corrects his young squire-to-be, telling him to use “Ser” instead.

Shortly after the meeting, Dunk tosses a copper coin on the ground for Egg to thank him for looking after his horses. The fact that Egg doesn’t grab the coin immediately (or at all, actually) is a clear sign that money doesn’t mean all that much to the secret Targaryen prince. When you’re a descendant of the ruling clan in Westeros, why would you care for a piece of copper?

Did You Spot The Other Hidden Targaryen Prince in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

One of the most intriguing and ambiguous moments in the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is when Dunk is berated by a random, drunk patron in an inn. Awakening from an alcohol-induced stupor, the man says to Dunk, “I dreamed of you… Stay away from me.”

He produces a knife and slams a gold coin on the table before stumbling upstairs and taking a room at the tavern. The innkeeper tells Dunk not to worry about the aggressor, but viewers should be paying a lot of attention to him.

If you looked carefully at the coin, you’d have seen a big clue as to his true identity. The three-headed dragon symbol on the coin is the sigil of the Targaryen family, which is rather fitting given this character is actually Prince Daeron II, AKA Daeron the Drunken.

Yes, that’s right, he’s the eldest son of Prince Maekar and the older brother of Egg. Now, we just have to wait and see how Daeron the Drunken’s story plays out, but given that he will never be king, we know he’s destined for some kind of tragedy instead.

Yesterday in Los Angeles, in the wee wee hours of the morning, Danielle Brooks (the Peacemaker star and recent nominee for The Colour Purple) and Lewis Pullman (son of Bill) took the stage at the Samuel Goldwyn theatre to announce what turned out to be a historic batch of Oscar nominations. 

In the days leading up, some boffins had predicted that Ryan Coogler’s Sinners had a chance to become the most nominated film of all time—a record that it has now smashed, and with room to spare.

For it to happen, Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku needed to nudge out Paul Mescal and Ariana Grande from their perspective supporting actor races. Just like on Oscar night, these categories were read out early on, and both Sinners stars got in, prompting awards nerds across the globe (ie, me) to reach for their abacuses to see if the movie had a chance to make history. In the end, after being mentioned a staggering 16 times, Coogler’s bluesy, bloodsucking, vampire romp beat the record by two. 

Sinners' Oscar Nomination Haul Beat A 75 Year Old Record 

For the longest time, it felt as if nobody would even match the record set by Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve, which landed 14 nominations in 1951, including five across the acting categories. Then, in 1997, James Cameron’s Titanic came along and matched it, converting a record equaling 11 of them into wins. La La Land joined the club in 2017, but, just like Eve, it only turned six of them into gongs—despite Faye Dunaway’s best efforts.

Had Sinners’ only landed 15, it may have needed an asterisk beside it as one of them would have been for Best Casting, a brand new category that those previous movies would likely have been nominated for, too. That Coogler’s film added yet another means that it stands alone on pure merit. 

What Are Sinners' 16 Nominations (Expected and Unexpected)?

By lunchtime on announcement day, Sinners seemed to be a lock for at least 13 categories:

• Best Picture 

• Director (Ryan Coogler) 

• Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan) 

• Original Screenplay (Coogler) 

• Score (Ludwig Göransson) 

• Song (Raphael Saadiq and Göransson) 

• Casting (Francine Maisler)

• Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw) 

• Costume Design (Ruth Carter) 

• Makeup and Hairstyling 

• Editing (Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry) 

• Production Design (Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne) 

• Sound (various)

And breathe.

It all came down to Mosako and Lindo to get it over the line, which they did, for Best Supporting Actor and Actress. The one that few saw coming was Best Visual Effects, for which the film’s team beat out much more favoured competitors like Superman, Frankenstein and Wicked: For Good. 

This also means that, unlike Eve, all 16 of its nominations came in separate categories and, more astonishing still, it was recognised in every category it was eligible for, bar Best Actress—my thoughts are with you, Hailee Steinfeld.

The Oscars That Sinners Could Actually Win - And Its Toughest Competition

And so we get to the tricky part. Coogler won’t need reminding that for every record for most nominations, there is also the possibility of earning the record for most nominations without a win. That unfortunate accolade was achieved by a film called The Turning Point (11 noms) in 1977 and later matched by Spielberg’s The Colour Purple in 1985. Like both of those films (Ross was up against Annie Hall and Star Wars, Spielberg for Witness and Out of Africa), Coogler has achieved this historic tally in a year with plenty of strong competitors—most notably Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle after Another and Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. 

If I had to put money on it, I’d probably say that Coogler’s film will have a similar night to movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and Master and Commander—ie It will lose the biggest races but clean up in the crafts—but it has two priceless things going for it: momentum and narrative. Hamnet has hoovered up audience awards at festivals around the globe and has the kind of emotional heft that the Academy loves; Anderson’s film, meanwhile, has swept the critics' prizes and he is long, long longgg overdue; but Sinners is something else—an audaciously original idea that actually made a ton of money at the box office. In a time when the theatrical experience is under threat, that might just be the kind of story that Hollywood wants to tell itself.

On a more granular level, it looks as if Sinners is running a close second in most of the non-acting categories and probably has the edge in at least Cinematography and Score. That would mean a third win for Göransson (after Oppenheimer and Black Panther) and a first for Arkapaw, who is only the fourth woman to be nominated (and the first woman of colour). A win would make her the first to ever take the award.

Is Sinners Really That Good?

The short answer is yes. It probably deserves even more credit for having premiered all the way back in April last year. Naturally, this is one to watch if you like stylish, sultry vampire movies (think Near Dark or From Dusk Till Dawn), but it’s a phenomenal achievement even as a period piece—there are moments in the first half of this movie that are as gorgeously detailed as anything in, say, Killers of the Flower Moon—and the music is just as good. You won’t be surprised to hear the blues tunes are on point—a constant rumble of guitar punctuated by Miles Caton’s hypnotic baritone—but the surges of heavy metal catch you off guard. And just wait till you see the two batshit song and dance numbers that Coogler drops at around the halfway point. 

Come for all that, but stay for Coogler’s ideas, many of which have lingered with me since the first time I saw it. Things are being said here about the shared cultural histories of marginalised communities that you will not find in any other movie in the last 10 years—maybe ever. We wish it the best of luck.

Teyana Taylor is riding the crest of a wave right now, with her role as Perfidia in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another earning her widespread praise, attention, and awards buzz.

While it was Benicio del Toro’s Sensei who stood out as one of the best characters of 2025, there’s no denying Perfidia was cool as hell, and that’s largely down to the way Taylor played her. She’s come a long way since featuring in Kanye West's music videos. Indeed, Taylor is now a Golden Globe winner and Oscar-nominated actress thanks to her work on the Paul Thomas Anderson film. If you’re unfamiliar with the rest of her work, here’s a dive into Teyana Taylor’s roles on the big and small screen.

The Rip (2026)

Clearly not willing to rest on her laurels, Taylor’s follow-up to her award-winning One Battle After Another performance has been another bombastic, hard-hitting action role in The Rip. This is the new movie from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck that’s taken Netflix by storm to kick off 2026. If you like films such as Training Day, Sicario, or The Town, it’s well worth a watch.

The Rip is all about corrupt cops and cartel chaos, with Damon and Affleck in lead roles. Taylor is in support, and though she’s not quite as integral to the story as she was in One Battle After Another, it’s another interesting and engaging role for the actress. The Rip is full of twists and turns and explosive moments; perfect for a Friday night in with a few beers and some popcorn with your buddies.

One Battle After Another (2025)

I mean, what can we say about One Battle After Another that hasn’t been said already? It was undoubtedly one of the very best movies of last year, with Thomas Anderson capturing the paranoia and tension of today’s world with a story of revolution and the two extremes of the radical left and right of the political spectrum.

On a technical level, One Battle After Another was a triumph, with incredible editing and great sound design. While it was Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn’s characters who were largely the focus, this is certainly a film built on the performances of two women: Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti. The latter brought warmth and vibrancy to her role, while Taylor was so formidable and had so much gravitas that we couldn’t help but be captivated by her character Perfidia’s destructive ways. 

If you still haven’t seen this and you’re into films like Hell or High Water and Good Time, get watching! It’ll cost you £4.99 to rent on Apple TV, but it’s more than worth it.

All’s Fair (2025)

Okay, now that we’ve got those two excellent roles and films out of the way, we have to address the elephant in the room: Teyana Taylor is in the TV show All’s Fair, and sadly, no one covered themselves in glory in that one. One of the newest Ryan Murphy projects, the series also stars the likes of Kim Kardashian, Sarah Paulson, Glenn Close, and Naomi Watts. It’s about a divorce lawyer, her clients and colleagues, and the drama surrounding their respective cases.

You can catch this on Disney+, and if you’re into Murphy’s work, or if you enjoy shows like How to Get Away With Murder or The Morning Show, maybe you’ll dig it. My partner liked it, but she’s a sucker for anything about the Kardashians, so an interest in that realm of reality TV and celebrity entertainment is perhaps all that’s needed to get into All’s Fair.

The Book of Clarence (2024)

I honestly didn’t even realise until I was putting together this list, but Teyana Taylor was also in one of my favourite, most underrated movies of 2024: The Book of Clarence. Jeymes Samuel, the director of the brilliant Western, The Harder They Fall, put his own spin on the story of Jesus Christ by turning the focus on Clarence, an average Joe looking to ride on the coattails of the Messiah, who ends up finding his own unique version of spiritual enlightenment. Taylor plays Mary Magdalene in the film, which is a pretty important supporting role, especially in the first act.

LaKeith Stanfield is also brilliant in the lead role, bringing humour and an endearing awkwardness to the character of Clarence. The whole film is one big satirical journey with a razor-sharp script and moments of surrealism. If you vibed with Sorry To Bother You, you’ll love The Book of Clarence.

White Men Can’t Jump (2023)

Unfortunately, this is another one of Teyana Taylor’s projects that just wasn’t for me. A big part of the problem is that this is a remake of a classic ‘90s cult comedy, which starred Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Those two actors have incredible screen presence and chemistry. Sadly, Jack Harlow and Sinqua Walls are nowhere near that level.

The White Men Can’t Jump remake very much felt like the straight-to-streaming product it was, but if you’re just looking for some really light, easy entertainment, you could do far worse. Taylor plays Imani, the supportive girlfriend of Kamal, and to be fair to her, she gives the character way more depth than you’d normally find in your standard love interest archetype.

Entergalactic (2022)

I usually recommend films for my brother to watch. I do this pretty much once a week, at least, and that’s the way it’s always been. Sometimes, though, the roles are reversed, and he puts me onto a film I’ve not checked out, as was the case with Entergalactic in 2022. It’s safe to say this particular recommendation was a success, with the mesmerising visuals and fantastic soundtrack put together by Kid Cudi making this animated Netflix Original a hit in my house.

Granted, Teyana Taylor doesn’t have a huge role here – she lends her voice to the boxing instructor for the lead characters, Jabari and Meadow – but I just think Entergalactic is pretty neat and deserves more attention. If you dig the animation style of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and can get on board with chaotic stories like Uncut Gems and They Cloned Tyrone, I think you’ll find a lot to appreciate with this one.

Coming 2 America (2021)

Taylor had another minor role in the long-awaited comedy sequel, Coming 2 America, which arrived more than 30 years after the original Eddie Murphy hit. She’s in good company here, too, with Murphy joined by the likes of Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Wesley Snipes, James Earl Jones, and even Morgan Freeman in this straight-to-streaming flick on Prime Video.

It’s definitely not as good as the original, and probably suffers from being brought into a modern world; this style of comedy and this story just don’t work like they used to back in the ‘80s. Still, if you’re a fan of Coming to America and you enjoyed Murphy’s work on Dolemite is My Name, you’ll find this a worthwhile watch. At not even 110 minutes long, it could be just the thing if you want to switch off your brain for a bit and have something on in the background.

Never underestimate the critical urge to lob another country’s movies into something as tidy as a wave or a trend—more often than not, it’s about as disrespectful to the films as it is to the filmmakers themselves. That said, watching master-director Park Chan-wook’s latest thriller, No Other Choice, you might be reminded of another great movie from his native Korea—and we mean this in the best way possible. 

Released to instant classic status in 2019, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite broke all kinds of records on its run from winning the Palme d’Or in Cannes to best picture at the Oscars to, just last year, being named the most important movie of the century so far by the New York Times. No Other Choice won’t be repeating any of those tricks, but there’s enough shared DNA in these two movies to suggest that these relative contemporaries had similar ideas in mind—both regarding what they wanted to say about the world we live in and how they wanted to say it, cinematically. 

Read on to learn more and use the guide below to find some of their best-known work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

What is No Other Choice About?

No Other Choice is based on Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel, The Axe, which was first adapted into a film by the Greek director Costa-Gavras in 2005. In Gavras’ version, which is set in France, the protagonist loses his job after his company moves its operations to Romania. For his adaptation, Gavras wanted to talk about globalisation in the age of the Euro. Park’s 2025 update gets at something even more contemporary still.

The movie stars Lee Byung-hun as a long-serving cog in the paper industry who starts to feel the squeeze as more and more jobs become automated around him. When he, too, is laid off, he hatches a plan to determine who amongst his peers will be more eligible for upcoming positions by posting a fake listing in a trade magazine and seeing who comes out of the woodwork, as it were. After combing through their resumes, he singles out his top competitors and begins to ruthlessly (and increasingly violently) pick them off. 

How Similar is it to Parasite?

Frankly, without suggesting any kind of plagiarism, of course, quite a bit! Both movies focus on a similar key theme: ie, the simmering tension between the haves and have-nots and the potential violence some people may be willing to resort to to raise themselves and their family from one rung of the ladder to the next. 

Both films are centred around family men who are ready and willing to sacrifice any morals they may have to protect their lot, although, while Parasite took a minute before revealing its protagonist’s worst tendencies, No Other Choice positions its central figure less as an anti-hero than a compelling villain, a patriarch with warped but comprehensible motives.

What’s more, both movies approach these themes through moments of absurdity and violence that are outrageous to the point of being comic, though never to the point of losing their bite. It’s true, Park and Bong deliver each respective story with tongue at least partially planted in cheek, almost daring you to laugh—not that it will ultimately save you from leaving the cinema with a feeling of profound despair. 

Add all that to the film’s setting—soulless offices and oppressively modernist houses, the constant feeling of someone falling through the cracks—and you end up with a world in which fans of Bong Joon-ho’s classic will feel right at home. 

The Director and Cast of No Other Choice

In fairness, it’s odd to even be talking about Park’s work like this—if anything, he’s been a celebrated auteur for even longer than Bong has. In fact, he was desperately unlucky not to have been the first Korean to win the Palme d’Or when his early masterpiece, Oldboy, screened in Cannes in 2004. That was a year when, in one of the most notorious decisions in the festival’s history, Park had to settle for the Grand Prix (basically second place) as Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 took the main prize—and from a jury headed by Quentin Tarantino, of all people. 

Regardless, Park didn’t let it slow him down, going on to complete his trilogy of revenge movies with Lady Vengeance in 2005 before gloriously returning to Cannes with The Handmaiden in 2016—where he again lost out to a more “worthy” film, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake. No Other Choice comes to us hot on the heels of Park’s acclaimed 2022 Hitchcockian thriller, Decision to Leave, and his Robert Downey Jr-starring HBO miniseries, The Sympathiser—an adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. All things considered, he’s on a roll. 

No Other Choice marks Park’s first collaboration with Lee Byung-hun, a beloved actor in his native Korea who, despite appearing in some action films in the 2010s (GI Joe: Retaliation and The Magnificent Seven), has had to wait some time before gaining name recognition in the West. That all changed with his performance as The Front Man in Squid Game, a role that made terrific use of his statuesque features. Now, after playing Gwi-Ma in both the English and Korean versions of KPop Demon Hunters, his voice will be unmistakable to a new generation of viewers, too.

Where and When to Watch No Other Choice

No Other Choice hits cinemas on January 23—one day after the Oscar nominations are announced—and is set to be released to Mubi and other platforms later in the year.

Studies have surely been done on why TV shows about promiscuous teens seem to launch so many careers. Skins gave us the likes of Nicholas Hoult, Dev Patel and Jack O’Connell. Sex Education platformed Emma Mackay, Aimee Lou Wood and Ncuti Gatwa. Even if Shameless fans failed to predict that Jeremy Allen White would become a global sex symbol, they helped him get there all the same. 

No release in the last ten years, TV or otherwise, has produced more megastars, however, than HBO’s Euphoria—a series about drug-addled teens in suburban America that is sure to go down as the definitive exploration of Gen Z anxieties.

In fact, the cast have since become so famous that it’s taken more than three years for showrunner Sam Levinson to get them all in one place again, alongside established newcomers like Danielle Deadwyler (The Woman in the Yard), Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) and Eli Roth (Inglorious Basterds), though without Barbie Ferreira (who left due to rumoured creative differences) and Angus Cloud (who died tragically in 2023). 

With the first full-length trailer dropping recently, and the release date now set for April 12, it feels like a good time to check in on what the Euphoria cast has been up to and what else they’ll be appearing in soon. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to stream them on AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

Zendaya (Rue Bennett)

Having come to most viewers' attention after playing MJ in Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, Zendaya was probably the most famous member of Euphoria’s original cast when it first aired in 2019. The mononymous actor came up through the Disney Channel in the 2010s, appearing on shows like Shake It Up and K.C. Undercover before landing her role in the MCU and then in Euphoria, as Rue. The part has so far seen her become the youngest ever winner (and two-time winner) of Best Drama Actress at the Primetime Emmys. 

From there, Zendaya has never looked back, finding the perfect balance between blockbuster roles—in movies like Dune—and beloved festival favourites, like Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. Outside of Euphoria this year, she is primed to have one of the most insane 12 months of any actor on record—look out for her opposite Robert Pattinson in The Drama this spring before three other movies are released later in the year: Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Dune: Part Three, and The Odyssey. 

Jacob Elordi (Nate Jacobs)

At 196cm tall, it's no surprise that Jacob Elordi managed to stand out from the pack in Euphoria to become, by some metrics, the show’s biggest discovery. Few had heard of the Aussie before 2019, but he now seems to be culturally omnipresent—including in the conversation for this year’s Oscars, where he’s been in the running for his soulful turn in Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein.

Since first appearing as the towering Nate Jacobs, the actor has gone the Robert Pattinson route by deciding to work not on the biggest movies, exactly, but instead collaborating with the most interesting directors—two of his most notable appearances post-Euphoria have been in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla (in which he played Elvis) and Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada (in which he essentially played a young Richard Gere). He’s probably best known for playing the object of desire in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn—a job he will once again be doing in that director’s imminent take on Wuthering Heights. After that, it’s Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic The Dog Stars.

Sydney Sweeney (Cassie Howard)

Seven years ago, after first appearing as the mild-mannered Cassie in Euphoria, nobody would have been surprised to hear that Sydney Sweeney was destined to become a star—but one of the most controversial of her generation? Perhaps less so. 

Indeed, it’s been an interesting few years for the actress, to say the least—even if she’s probably more famous for a certain jeans commercial than for even her most celebrated roles. In the last few years, she’s tried her hand at everything from straight-up horror (Immaculate) to psychological horror (The Housemaid), and from awards bait (Christy) to steamy rom-com (Anyone But You). Her best work so far came in Tina Satter’s Reality, a rigorously composed biopic of the NSA whistleblower, Reality Winner, and for her ruthless performance as Olivia in The White Lotus Season 1.

Hunter Schafer (Jules Vaughn)

With her expressive face and remarkable physicality, it’s surprising that Hunter Schafer has yet to really blow up in the same way as her fellow stars—but you get the sense it’s only a matter of time. Since breaking out with Euphoria, the trans activist and Prada ambassador has appeared in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, been cast by Yorgos Lanthimos for a brief turn in Kinds of Kindness, and did the final girl thing in an indie horror—the cool but underseen Cuckoo from 2024.

Outside of playing Jules in Euphoria Season 3 in 2026, Schafer also has a starring role in Blade Runner 2099 and will appear opposite Anne Hathaway in David Lowery’s Mother Mary this Spring. She’s set to follow those parts with a leading role in Arkasha Stevenson’s as-yet-untitled follow-up to The First Omen and is in the cast for Cry to Heaven, Tom Ford’s long-awaited follow-up to Nocturnal Animals. 

Alexa Demie (Maddy Perez)

Compared to her co-stars, Alexa Demie has had a surprisingly low-key career outside of playing Maddie in Euphoria. Demie came into the show on a but of a high, having appeared in Jonah Hill’s Mid90s and Trey Edwards Shultz’s Waves—both produced by A24—as well as having a memorable guest role on Netflix’s Love.

In the last few years, while still releasing music and appearing on stage with the likes of Madonna, Demie has spoken out about her experiences of losing out on acting roles due to a lack of opportunities for women of colour. She was tipped to be a part of Boots Riley’s eagerly awaited I Love Boosters (which is set for release this year), but, at the time of writing, it looks as if she didn’t make the cut. Here’s hoping Season 3 gets her back in the spotlight.  

Coleman Domingo (Ali Muhammed)

Having made his name as a Broadway star—multiple Tony nominations and all—while picking up roles in movies like Lincoln and If Beale Street Could Talk, it’s fair to say that Coleman Domingo already had a foot in the door in the industry before appearing as Ali Muhammed on Euphoria. That said, his Emmy win for Season 2 coincided with a move into more central roles and wider awards consideration.

A year after that ceremony, he got his first Oscar nomination for playing the title role in Rustin and followed that up with another for Sing Sing in 2024. This increased notoriety has led to juicy roles in Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man last year. We’ll soon be seeing him again: first as Joe Jackson in the upcoming Michael biopic and then in a starring role in Spielberg’s Disclosure Day—one of the most hotly anticipated movies of the summer. 

Maude Apatow (Lexi Howard)

As the daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann—she had her first roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and This is 40—it’s probably no surprise that Maude Apatow helped to coin the term nepo baby. Like the similarly talented Gracie Abrams and Maya Hawke, however, she’s one of a few young stars who have recently helped give nepo babyism a good name. 

Levinson apparently wrote the role of Lexi Howard—Cassie’s younger sister in the show—with Apatow in mind after being so impressed with her work in his 2018 movie, Assassination Nation. Outside of season 3, 2026 looks like a quiet year for the actress—but having just seen her directorial debut, Poetic License, premiere at the Toronto Film Festival to strong reviews, there’s every chance the 28-year-old is taking the time to focus on her next feature. 

Austin Abrams (Ethan Daley)

Austin Abrams is another young member of the Euphoria cast who came into the show with plenty of experience. The Florida native started picking up roles in movies like Gangster Squad and The Walking Dead when he was still in his teens, but his performance as Ethan Daley, Kat’s love interest and one of the show’s most likeable characters, seems to have opened some doors.

As James, the homeless drug addict, Abrams was easily one of the standout parts of Zach Cregger’s excellent Weapons last year—and the director certainly seems to have thought so, too. Abrams next role will be the lead in Cregger’s follow-up: a new interpretation of Resident Evil, which is set for release later this year. He is also starring in No One Will Save You director Brian Duffield’s incredible-sounding follow-up, Whalefall—playing a scuba diver who gets swallowed by one while attempting to save his father.

As the box office figures came in for James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire & Ash, Zoe Saldaña became the highest-grossing actor of all time. Rating actors by this metric (in which the box office figures of every movie they’ve been in are essentially tallied up) is relatively new. 

In 1915, the Quigley Publishing Company began printing a year-end poll that ranked the movie stars of the day by bankability (aka popularity). The box office figures were not directly mentioned, though. Nowadays, as stars increasingly take a backseat to IP, the cold, hard figures perhaps make more sense. 

Regardless, Saldaña (a recent Oscar winner, lest we forget) is more than worthy of the top spot, having not only played Gamora (a central character in five MCU movies) but also Neitiri, the beating heart of Cameron’s Avatar franchise. How long she’ll stay there is another question: all ten of the actors on this list are still very much alive and kicking, and given the current slate of upcoming movies, there’s every chance we’ll see plenty of movement on this list in the next few years. 

Read on to discover more about the current top ten and use the guide below to find a selection of their best work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

10. Dwayne Johnson ($11.47 billion USD)

Despite being an A-lister for longer than most of the actors on this list, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson only just makes the cut. However, given that the former WWE has yet to appear in a single MCU movie, that achievement is not to be sniffed at.

Indeed, aside from the disappointment of Black Adam and a few spins in the Fast and the Furious franchise, Johnson has mostly done his own thing since making the jump into Hollywood in The Mummy Returns in 2001. He’s probably best known for action movies like San Andreas and Skyscraper and family fare, like Jumanji, and for loaning his voice to animated hits like Moana and Zootopia 2. 

9. Chris Evans ($11.49 billion USD)

With Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner tied up in copyright issues—which continue to stop the big green rage monster from appearing in his own movies—there was only ever going to be four of the key Avengers on this list. The lowest ranked of them is Chris Evans, whose seven non-cameo appearances as Captain America basically take up the majority of his box office figures.

Outside of those, Evans’ numbers are bulked up thanks to a couple of appearances as the Human Torch as well as a few non-superhero movies—like Knives Out and Lightyear—that managed to rake it in at the box office.

8. Vin Diesel ($12.04 billion USD)

If this list is anything to go by, anyone looking to break the top eight in future generations will need to have a recurring role in at least two gigantic franchises. Vin Diesel certainly fits that bill: the actor is best known for playing Don Toretto in eight (and counting) Fast and the Furious films—the best of which is still the Rio-based heist flick, Fast Five. and for providing the voice of Groot, the sylvan member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, over six films in the MCU. 

Diesel also made considerable numbers with his two XXXs, his three Riddicks, and his one Saving Private Ryan.

7. Chris Hemsworth ($12.19 billion USD)

Despite having a varied career as an action star, Chris Hemsworth made his name playing Thor, the god of thunder, over eight non-cameo appearances in the MCU, including a record four standalone movies—and if all goes to plan, a fifth (tantalisingly called Thor: Valhalla) could be with us in the not-so-distant future.  

Outside of the comic book world, the hunky actor has appeared in a variety of other high-earning franchises—including as Kirk’s dad in the first Star Trek, as Optimus Prime in Transformers One, and as Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. 

6. Tom Cruise ($12.67 billion USD)

At time of writing, Tom Cruise is the only star on the highest grossing actors list who has yet to appear in a Marvel or DC movie. Cruise’s highest earners have, of course, been his eight starring appearances as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible franchise and his duo of Top Gun movies—two 30+ year series in which he was the indisputable star.

Cruise is also notable on this list for having made some serious numbers in the pre-Marvel days, when non-IP movies and dramas could still earn top dollar at the box office—Rain Man, Cocktail and Jerry Maguire, for example, took in a combined $1.2 billion.

5. Chris Pratt ($14.13 billion USD)

Unfortunately for Cruise, it’ll take something special for him to make the jump into the top five. At the time of writing, Chris Pratt sits $1.5 billion ahead of the ageless wonder thanks largely to his trilogy of Jurassic World movies and his six appearances as Star-Lord in the MCU.

Unlike Cruise, however, and despite some early promise in movies like Moneyball, Pratt has yet to find a huge amount of success elsewhere; his recent attempts to diversify with movies like Passengers and The Electric State failed to connect with critics or audiences. Not to worry, with a voice role in the imminent Super Mario Galaxy, Pratt has every chance of climbing a few more places on this list in the not-so-distant future. 

4. Robert Downey Jr. ($14.31 billion USD)

Having played a huge role in helping to reinvent the superhero genre, it’s no surprise that Robert Downey Jr. is currently ranked fourth on this list—and might even rise to the top by the end of 2026, all going to plan. 

The actor has appeared in nine of the biggest MCU movies in his role as Tony Stark, and his upcoming portrayal of Dr Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release at the end of the year, is set to make it a perfect ten. RDJ can also thank his Sherlock Holmes movies for adding another billion to his tally. If I had to guess, I imagine he’s most proud of the similar amount that was added for his Oscar-winning turn in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, from 2023.

3. Samuel L. Jackson ($14.61 billion USD)

In third place is Samuel L. Jackson, an actor who has appeared in more MCU movies than anyone, albeit without ever having his own standalone feature—the closest being arguable the first Avengers movie or his de-aged appearance in 2019’s Captain Marvel. 

Outside of those many turns as Nick Fury, however, the hard-working actor has more than 200 credits to his name. Among the highest earning were his appearances in Jurassic Park (which was briefly the most successful movie of all time), the Star Wars prequel trilogy (where he played Mace Windu), and, as Frozone, The Incredibles and Incredibles 2.

2. Scarlett Johansson ($15.4 billion USD)

Before Saldaña took her spot last week, Scarlett Johansson briefly held the crown as the highest-grossing actor of all time, nudging into the lead after the release of Jurassic World: Rebirth last year. 

Similar to many other actors on this list, Johansson’s numbers are tied to her eight appearances as Natasha Romanov/Black Widow in the MCU, but as her lofty position here proves, the actor has plenty of other hits to her name—including voice roles in movies like The Jungle Book and Sing and various hit sci-fi projects, like Ghost in the Shell and Lucy. 

1. Zoe Saldaña ($15.47 billion USD)

As the only actor to appear regularly in both the MCU and James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, it’s almost surprising that Zoe Saldaña has never topped this list before—and if Cameron’s plans for two more Avatar movies are realised, she might one day hold this spot by an insurmountable margin.  

Outside of all that, Saldaña has also found the time to appear in two Pirates of the Caribbean instalments and three of the latest Star Trek movies, and, as of last March, she’s now an Oscar winner—Alexander might have wept; Saldaña just keeps on truckin’.

Throughout December 2025 and into the New Year, Marvel has been dropping teaser trailers for its tentpole release of 2026, Avengers: Doomsday. The first revealed Steve Rogers will be back, while the second showed us what Thor has been up to since his last outing. Then, we saw the old X-Men characters who will finally be integrated into the MCU.

That was exciting enough, but the fourth and final trailer was perhaps the most tantalising of all. Seeing the Fantastic Four touch down in Wakanda was cool for a lot of reasons. For a start, it’s the first time we’ve seen Marvel’s first family on Earth-616, but it also means that some of the most brilliant minds in the comic book universe are joining forces.

However, aside from Ben Grimm, Shuri, and what many suspect is some sneaky editing to cut out Doctor Doom from the Wakandan landscape, there was another, more dangerous addition: Namor. 

Putting Namor in the Fantastic Four’s Avengers: Doomsday Trailer Was No Coincidence

We haven’t seen or heard a peep out of Namor since his debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but anyone who reads Marvel comics will know he’s a major player in the superhero game.

His link to Wakanda is obvious after his past appearance and his relationship with Shuri, but having him cameo in the trailer featuring the Fantastic Four also tells us a lot about his involvement in the next Avengers flick.

Namor is one of the most powerful and intelligent characters in Marvel history. He has a whole army of Atlanteans (or Talokans, in the movies) at his beck and call. But he’s also a problematic character who is far from your standard benevolent hero. Rather than helping the fight against Doctor Doom, there’s a good chance Namor will actually make things exceedingly more difficult for the Fantastic Four.

What We Know About Namor and Sue Storm From Marvel Comics

Don’t mention this in front of Reed Richards, but his wife, Sue Storm, and Namor have a history of romantic dalliances. It’s a very complex relationship, one that, as you can imagine, has often led to a lot of trouble for the three characters in this love triangle.

When they first met in 1962’s Fantastic Four #4, Sue and Namor had an instant attraction, albeit with the latter harbouring the stronger feelings. In fact, stronger feelings is putting it mildly; Namor threatened to obliterate the entire surface world if Sue didn’t agree to marry him.

Over the years, Namor’s plots to win Sue’s heart have largely centred on destroying everything else in her life. He’s tried kidnapping her, and even attempted to kill the rest of the Fantastic Four, but by and large, Sue has always remained faithful to Reed and her family.

There are instances where their relationship has developed into something more substantial, though. In the Fantastic Four 1234 miniseries, Sue kissed Namor. She’s also admitted to having romantic fantasies about the Atlantean King (in Marvel Knights 4, #8) and actually left Reed for Namor in Fantastic Four: Life Story #2, spending ten years with the Sub-Mariner.

However, one thing is abundantly clear: Sue only ever turns to Namor in any kind of meaningful way when Reed is so absorbed with the scientific work that he severely neglects his wife. As we saw in The Fantastic 4: First Steps, that’s certainly something this version of Reed is capable of doing… So, should we be worried?

Avengers: Doomsday Should Switch Things Up For These Characters

The idea of Doctor Doom kidnapping little Franklin Richards and threatening to destroy the multiverse is bad enough, but there’s every chance Reed and Sue will be feeling the strain on their marriage if Namor is up to his usual tricks.

Marvel will need to either explicitly address how toxic this relationship is first, though, or take it in a different direction to avoid any potential backlash in a contemporary world. My money would be on the studio taking the second route.

We’ve already seen the MCU tweak character origins, relationships, and motives over the years. Wanda and Vision were given a more balanced and healthy dynamic, Guardians of the Galaxy was far more lighthearted than the grittier comic books it was based on, and Thanos was driven by a desire to bring balance to the universe rather than simply trying to impress Lady Death with his nihilistic ways.

There is no real romance to the way Namor usually behaves in the comics. His unhealthy obsession with Sue could well see the MCU dig into themes of autonomy and consent in Avengers: Doomsday, rather than glorifying his actions.

The world lost one of its finest actors when Alan Rickman passed away ten years ago this month. The Brentford-born star of stage and screen shuffled off our mortal coil on January 14, 2016, five days after David Bowie, and one month shy of his 70th birthday.  

Just like with the former Ziggy Stardust, tributes to Rickman have been pouring out in the last few days, with former colleagues and friends remembering the roles he played (which kind of got me thinking about all the ones—Lear, Churchill—he never got the chance to. If you’re looking for a reminder of those talents, or maybe you’re looking for an Alan Rickman movie you might not have seen before, the list below contains eight of my favourite Rickman roles—not including Love Actually, obviously, as it’s January—as well as a guide to where to stream them.

1. Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 & 2 (2010-2011)

Naturally, newcomers to the Harry Potter universe should start from the beginning —the actor’s screentime as Severus Snape may vary across the wizarding franchise, but he does appear in every single instalment. For frequent Hogwarts visitors, however, feel free to skip forward to the end—Rickman’s time to really shine.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 & 2, both Harry and the audience get to finally learn the roots of the character’s heartache and downbeat temperament. We also get to see him bravely playing double agent in Voldemort’s ranks and delivering one of the great death scenes in cinema—you’re probably getting goosebumps just thinking about it. 

2. Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988)

I remember being at a screening of Die Hard in my local community centre when I was about 15 years old, and the eruptive cheers from the crowd when Rickman first appeared on screen, emerging from the back of a truck in an Armani suit surrounded by similarly stylish Germans. If you like slick action movies from that era (like Speed and Black Rain, which were also shot by Jan de Bont), this is one of the best to ever do it. 

Everything about Rickman’s performance as Hans Gruber is now iconic, from his delicious line readings—“Mr Takagi won’t be joining us for the rest of his life”—to the way he shapeshifts at different points to outsmart both McClane and the FBI. Indeed, he’s so charming and charismatic that you almost end up rooting for him. His final fall, filmed in memorable slow-mo, is a moment that even Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud of.

3. Sir Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest (1999)

For movie fans of a more sci-fi persuasion, Galaxy Quest is one of the most beloved satires of that enduring genre. The story follows the cast of a popular television series who get embroiled in a very real intergalactic war when the star of the show is mistakenly asked to lend a hand.

The movie quickly became a fan favourite for its smart and affectionate approach during a time when sci-fi fandom was more likely to be mocked than celebrated. This was just as apparent in the movie’s casting, with fan favourites like Sigourney Weaver (Alien), Tim Allen (Toy Story) and Tony Shalhoub (Men in Black) sharing top billing alongside Rickman’s Alexander Dane, a Shakespearian thespian who, of course, considers himself to be above it all. 

4. Metatron in Dogma (1999)

Kevin Smith recently revealed that Rickman got the part in Dogma after the actor had reached out to him to praise him for what he’d achieved with Chasing Amy. Smith then offered him a role that allowed Rickman to not only don a hoodie and a dinner jacket (a late-90s combo that thankfully has yet to be revived), but also a pair of very handsome-looking angel wings.

The story follows Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Loki and Bartleby, two fallen angels looking to trick their way back into heaven. For once, Rickman isn’t the antagonist here, but his seen-it-all-before approach to playing Metatron gives the movie a touch of class. Think of it as Clerks meets The Devil’s Advocate, and you’ll have an idea of what’s in store.

5. Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins (1996)

Given Rickman’s natural abilities, it’s striking how few historical figures he played on screen. Might it be for the experience the actor had with Michael Collins? Neil Jordan’s big-budget epic—which covered the Irish struggle for independence at the start of the 20th century and the subsequent civil war—is mostly appreciated for its depictions of a pivotal moment in history, but the actor wasn’t entirely pleased with some of the poetic license Jordan took with the facts.

Regardless, both Liam Neeson (in the title role) and Rickman (as Eamon de Valera) are excellent in it, and the movie is still a riveting watch, despite Julia Roberts’ irregular Kerry accent. Naturally. If you appreciate Jordan’s earlier work on The Crying Game and Interview With the Vampire, check it out.

6. Jamie in Truly Madly Deeply (1990)

If you like Anthony Minghella’s work (think The English Patient and Talented Mr Ripley), I recommend going back to watch Truly Madly Deeply, his breakout work from 1990, if you haven’t seen it before. It’s about a woman (played by Juliet Stevenson) who loses her lover (a cellist played by Rickman) only to have him return to her as a ghost.

It’s a schmalzy setup for a film that manages to stay in on the joke—and don’t worry, unlike another movie released that year, you’ll find no sexy pottery-making here. What you will find is two actors with lovely chemistry—enough that both were nominated for BAFTAs just as their writer-director booked his one-way ticket to Hollywood. 

7. Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Without even counting the Harry Potter movies, Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson shared many experiences over the years as both friends and colleagues, with Thompson even starring in The Winter Guest, Rickman’s debut film as director, and memorably (and heartbreakingly) playing his partner in Love Actually. 

They’d known each other for years through the British theatre scene, but only appeared together on screen for the first time in Ang Lee’s gorgeous adaptation of Sense and Sensibility in 1995—a movie in which Rickman’s Colonel Brandon has to patiently wait for Thompson’s Marianne Dashwood to fall in love with him. If you like Pride and Prejudice and Little Women, check it out. 

8. Marvin in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

If, like me, you find that nasally voice strangely reassuring, Rickman’s casting as Marvin the Paranoid Android in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is about as perfect a vocal performance as you could ask for.

It’s fair to say that diehard fans of Douglas Adams’ iconic books were not unanimously in favour of director Garth Jennings’ adaptation of the material, but nobody at the time had a bad word to say about Rickman’s efforts. If you appreciate him for Galaxy Quest and enjoy the humour of Doctor Who, this one is more than worth seeking out.

After years of speculation and anticipation, the development of the live-action Tangled movie is finally moving ahead, and the lead actors have been found. While the likes of Florence Pugh and even Sabrina Carpenter were touted as potential picks for Rapunzel, it’s Australian actress Teagan Croft who landed the role. Opposite her, we’ll see Milo Manheim take on the role of Flynn Rider. 

Actors like House of the Dragon star Fabien Frankel and House of Guinness actor Louis Partridge were subject to fan-casting for the part, but it’s Manheim who won out in the end.

With the original animated movie holding a dear place in the hearts of Disney fans, the studio must get this live-action remake right. And if you ask me, it’s already made a great start by picking Manheim to play Flynn.

The Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Franchise Proved Milo Manheim Can Do Musical Romance

Manheim bagging the role is a big deal in my household. Not only was my daughter obsessed with Tangled when she was younger, but my son, who loves anything spooky and is also a sucker for a catchy musical number, is also the number one Z-O-M-B-I-E-S fan in the world.

Leading the franchise is Manheim, who plays Zed, a loveable zombie with infectious energy and an abundance of warmth and charm. He’s also got a great singing voice, which helps, of course, in a musical.

The chemistry between Zed and Addison, the cheerleader he’s not supposed to fall in love with but does anyway, is brilliant, too. I’ll be the first to admit that this kind of schmaltzy, straight-to-streaming Disney movie would never usually be my cup of tea, but their blossoming relationship brings a smile to my face.

In short, Milo Manheim definitely has the cheeky and charming personality to portray Flynn Rider; he’s going to belt out those lovely tunes in Tangled with ease, and we know he’s going to make that love story between Flynn and Rapunzel convincing.

Manheim Showed a Darker, More Serious Side in Thanksgiving

There are also moments in Tangled when Flynn goes a bit rogue. His betrayal of Rapunzel is a key plot point in the film, and while he does prove himself to be a good guy in the end, Manheim will need to embody that more problematic side of his character.

Luckily, aside from Z-O-M-B-I-E-S, Manheim has also done some slightly more serious work on the 2023 horror movie Thanksgiving. In the Eli Roth flick, Manheim plays Ryan, a shady young man who is even suspected of being the killer at one point. 

The fact that he plays such a morally questionable character in an 18-rated slasher says a lot about Manheim’s range. While he won’t be facing any accusations of murder as Flynn Rider, it’s handy that this young actor has already been on the wrong end of a deadly weapon or two. I can’t wait to see Disney recreate the popular meme of Flynn facing a room full of swords with a smug smile on his face.

The One Issue With Manheim’s Casting In Tangled

So, Milo Manheim seems pretty perfect for the part, then. However, I do have one gripe. It’s only a minor one, and it can be easily remedied, but it’s a problem nonetheless.

Manheim lacks the physical build we associate with Flynn Rider. He’s supposed to be a fairly muscly, traditional Disney hero, and Manheim doesn’t really have that stature. But I’m sure, given the enormity of the part, he’ll put in the hours at the gym to get himself on par with his animated counterpart.

Rejoice! A new Game of Thrones show has hit our screens, which is always something to be excited about. Returning to Westeros for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be more than enough to tide us over until the next season of House of the Dragon, but don’t worry, this new series won’t require any real homework or studying of vast family trees.

In fact, we’ve every reason to believe that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be lighter than your standard Game of Thrones story, and there’s very little to connect it to the events we’ve already seen unfold in the franchise thus far.

Based on what we know about the source material, this will be a very different experience for fans of George R. R. Martin’s work, which spans huge swathes of time. Naturally, you may be wondering where this newest adaptation fits into the Game of Thrones timeline, and we have the answer.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is Set 89 Years Before Game of Thrones

You won’t be seeing any surprise cameos from Game of Thrones favourites in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. And no, before you ask, that’s not because they’ve all been killed off; it’s because the new show is set 89 years before the start of the original series.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set in 209 AC (after Aegon’s Conquest), around 13 years after the Blackfyre Rebellion. For reference, Game of Thrones begins in 298 AC.

Interestingly, the story of Dunk and Egg has no overlap with House of the Dragon, either. The Dance of the Dragons book takes place between 129 AC and 131 AC, meaning that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set roughly 80 years after the story of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower.

Sorry, But There Aren’t Any Dragons in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

The fact that House of the Dragon predates A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms should tell you one big thing about this latest entry in the Game of Thrones saga: there will be no dragons.

Soft spoiler alert: The Dance of the Dragons does not end well for anyone. More specifically, the magical beasts essentially become extinct after the battle between the Greens and the Blacks. That’s a shame for anyone who’s a fan of fire-breathing fights in the sky, but it does mean A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms can take place amid a period of relative peace in Westeros.

Watch Out For Some Familiar Family Names, Though

While there won’t be any dragons in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and no characters we’ve met before, you will be hearing a few names that sound familiar.

The Targaryen family will be sitting on the Iron Throne throughout the show. We’ll meet the likes of Prince Aerion and Prince Maekar, as well as the heir to the throne, Baelor, who serves as the Hand to the King for Daeron II.

Alongside the Targaryen clan, there are mentions of the Baratheons and the Tyrells, and we know the Lannisters are never far away from the action.

If you were planning to skip A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms during its run on NOW TV, you should reconsider. There’s a major plot point in it that has a massive impact on the future of Westeros; we won’t spoil anything, of course, but it’s something that will be crucial for anyone who keeps track of those sprawling family trees in Game of Thrones.

2026 is shaping up to be one of Netflix’s most dynamic years yet, with the streamer doubling down on buzzy new originals and some of its most beloved franchises returning. From twisted murder mysteries and prestige sci-fi to whirlwind romances and comfort reality TV, there’s something for every kind of viewer in the months ahead.

This guide zeroes in on the 15 biggest upcoming Netflix TV shows confirmed to be hitting the streaming platform this year, highlighting the titles that are most hotly anticipated. That includes early-year heavy hitters like His & Hers, Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, and the final season of Queer Eye, as well as the returning juggernauts such as Bridgerton, The Lincoln Lawyer, Love Is Blind, The Night Agent, and One Piece. Later in the year, fan-favourite series like Beef, Lupin, 3 Body Problem, The Diplomat, The Gentleman, and Nobody Wants This will keep the momentum going, alongside the return of the chilling Nordic noir, The Chestnut Man. 

Whether you’re trying to plan your watchlist, keep track of key release dates, or just get excited about what’s coming after your current binge ends, this rundown will walk you through why each of these titles needs a prime spot in your queue.

1. His & Hers (January 8)

Starting this year out with a bang, His & Hers draws us into a thrilling murder mystery led by Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal. Thompson plays Anna, a reporter who returns to her hometown of Dahlonega, Georgia, after learning that a woman she used to know has been murdered. Her ex-husband, Jack Harper, is the lead detective on the case, but he’s hiding parts of what he knows about the victim, and both he and Anna find themselves increasingly drawn into the investigation while harbouring suspicions—even of each other.

With that calibre of casting and an intriguing murder mystery at its core, I was sold on His & Hers from the moment the trailer dropped. Thompson, in particular, has gone from strength to strength in recent years and closed out 2025 with a knockout turn in Hedda. His & Hers looks like the perfect mystery thriller to kick off the year.

2. Agatha Christie's Seven Dials (January 15)

Audience appetites for a good whodunit are never satiated, and there’s no better guarantee of quality than seeing a story drawn from an Agatha Christie novel. Seven Dials is set on a wealthy English estate in 1925, where, after a lively party, one of the guests is found dead under suspicious circumstances. It’s down to the inquisitive Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent to diligently pick her way through the tangle of guests, hosts, and servants to unmask the killer before they strike again.

Featuring a stellar cast, including rising star Mia McKenna-Bruce as Bundle, and industry heavyweights Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman, this new adaptation promises plenty of sharp dialogue and period atmosphere. Seven Dials should be the perfect cosy murder mystery for a winter night on the sofa.

3. Queer Eye - Season 10 (January 21, February 26)

Bring the tissues and get ready to bawl your eyes out during the final season of the hit reality series Queer Eye. What started in 2018 as a tentative reimagining of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy quickly became a cultural sensation, propelling the new Fab Five (Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, and later, Jeremiah Brent) to stardom for their authentic, compassionate, and moving makeovers across the United States and beyond. 

Over the years, they have helped both men, women, non-binary people, and even entire fire departments from humble but woefully self-neglecting routines into far more confident and, shall we say, more aesthetically competent chapters of their lives. In a TV landscape that often leans cynical, the Fab Five have been a rare beacon of light. I guess the good news is, after the series ends, maybe they’ll all have time to become my best friends? 

4. Bridgerton - Season 4 (January 29)

Since Bridgerton first dropped in 2020, we romance addicts have been craving more. Luckily, Netflix has been happy to oblige with multiple seasons and even prequel spin-offs like Queen Charlotte. Season 4 finally shines a spotlight on the second son, Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson, who has spent previous seasons in a haze of artistic and sexual exploration.

 This time, Benedict is set to meet the enigmatic Lady in Silver (aka Sophia Maria) at a masquerade ball, a mysterious figure destined to capture his heart. Gone are the days of the full-season Bridgerton binge, as Netflix has switched its release strategy from a one-day dump to a two-part release: The first two episodes of Bridgerton Season 4 will arrive on January 29, with the remaining episodes following on February 26. 

5. The Lincoln Lawyer - Season 4 (February 5)

There is something incredibly comforting about The Lincoln Lawyer, and judging by the series’ enduring popularity, I don’t think I’m alone in this feeling. While it has its share of gritty, dark storylines, there’s a distinctly early ‘00s formulaic vibe that reassures you everything will work out in the end—and it mostly does! 

Manuel Garcia-Ruflo returns this season as Mickey Haller, the charismatic defence attorney known around LA as the “Lincoln Lawyer” for his vintage Lincoln and his knack for pulling off unlikely courtroom wins. Backing him up once again are his loyal team: ex-wife, office manager, and brilliant attorney in her own right, Lorna (Becky Newton) and her new partner, Cisco (Angus Sampson), driver-turned-associate Izzy (Jazz Raycole), plus his first ex-wife, Maggie (Neve Campbell) and their daughter, Hayley (Krista Warner). 

This season sees Mickey defend himself against a murder charge, after a former client, Sam Scales, was found dead in his trunk. This case is by far their most personal yet, leading the firm into deeper waters than ever before, including confrontations with the FBI and with figures from Mickey's own past.

6. Love Is Blind - Season 10 

Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never seen in person? That’s the question at the heart of the reality series Love Is Blind, which is now entering its tenth season on Netflix. Contestants date in isolated pods where they can talk but never see each other, deciding over the course of weeks whether or not to get engaged and then discovering if the chemistry holds up in the real world.

Nick and Vanessa Lachey are back as the hosts of Season 10, guiding a fresh group of contestants who hope personality above all will be the deciding factor in finding a partner. The series’s success has created a larger franchise around the world, with spinoffs in the UK, Argentina, Germany, the Middle East, and beyond, providing fascinating insights into finding love across different cultures.

7. The Night Agent - Season 3 (February 19)

The Night Agent injected some much-needed Jason Bourne energy into the 2020s, and the upcoming third season looks set to be just the shot of adrenaline to blast through the February slump. After Season 2 ended with Peter heading into an even more dangerous mission as the stakes intensify, Season 3 finds him infiltrating the dangerous billionaire Monroe’s ranks to investigate his ties to (and power over) the new President of the United States, Hagan.

 Forced to navigate shifting loyalties and constant surveillance, Peter teams up with a dogged journalist just as determined to uncover the truth. Although last season saw Peter and Rose agree to part ways to keep her safe, we can always hope she will make a return at some point in Season 3, since they made such a compelling couple.

8. One Piece - Season 2 (March 10)

The first season of the delightful live-action One Piece brought an infectious mix of positivity and adventure, making it one of the most beloved series of 2023. After patiently waiting for two years, we’re set to see Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat pirates return for a second season of swashbuckling adventures on the high seas. 

Season 2 sees Luffy and his ragtag crew continue their journey across the Grand Line in search of a mysterious treasure known as the ‘One Piece,’ which would crown Luffy King of the Pirates. Along the way, they sail through strange new islands and go up against new and old enemies alike, while deepening the bonds of friendship that have made this crew so easy to root for. 

9. Beef - Season 2 (April 16)

The first season of Beef became a sensation after it was released in 2023, turning a simple road rage incident between two strangers into a darkly funny feud that spiralled out of control and tore apart both their lives. With its pitch-black humour, razor-sharp writing, and standout performances from comedian Ali Wong and Walking Dead veteran Steven Yeun, Beef was the meal of choice that year.

Beef Season 2 resets the board with an all-new story and cast. This time, the action takes place in and around an elite country club, where a young couple witness a confrontation between their boss and his wife, played by Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. That single moment triggers a series of escalating events and power plays between the characters. This fresh feud promises plenty of messy reactions and enough social satire to even surpass The White Lotus.

10. Lupin - Season 4 (Autumn)

It should surprise no one that Lupin will return for another round of daring heists and thrilling twists. Since its debut in 2021, the French thriller has become one of Netflix’s biggest non-English language hits, thanks largely to Omar Sy’s brilliant performance as the “gentleman thief” Assane Diop.

Assane is inspired by Maurice Leblanc’s classic creation Arsène Lupin, who uses intricate disguises and elaborate plans to perform seemingly impossible heists and exact vengeance on the ruthless businessman Hubert Pellegrini, who destroyed his family. Season 3 ended with Assane entering prison one cell door down from Pellegrini, so we can only hope to see him finally get his revenge in Season 4.

11. 3 Body Problem - Season 2 (TBA)

3 Body Problem, the ambitious sci-fi drama from Game of Thrones producers Benioff and Weiss, will return to Netflix in 2026 for a second season, with a third already in the works. Adapted from Cixin Liu’s acclaimed novels, the first season spent three weeks at No.1 on Netflix, making it clear the duo had founded another global phenomenon.

Season 2 plunges us back into a world where an alien invasion is effectively “soft-launching”, and even the laws of physics are beginning to break down. A tight-knit group of scientists and friends, The Oxford Five, must devise a way to prevent the full-scale arrival of the extraterrestrial San-Ti, who are still 400 years away, but already monitoring every move humanity makes.

12. The Chestnut Man - Season 2 (TBA)

The Chestnut Man is one of the most chilling series to come out of Scandinavia in the last decade. When I first saw it in 2021, I was both horrified and enthralled, and would regularly check back to see if there was any movement on a second season. Although it was renewed in 2024, few details about the second season have been made public.

What we do know is that author Søren Sveistrup—who penned the original novel and landmark series The Killing—has written a sequel called Hide and Seek, which will be released in English in 2026, featuring the same two detectives. This time, Naia Thulin and Mark Hess investigate the murder of a woman who was being stalked, and discover a disturbing link to a previous incident some 30 years prior. While unconfirmed, The Chestnut Man Season 2 will likely follow the plot of Sveistrup’s sequel. 

13. The Diplomat - Season 4 (TBA)

The Diplomat has been my go-to political thriller since the first season was released in 2023. Starring Keri Russell as the quick-thinking, resourceful US ambassador to the UK, Kate Wyler, and Rufus Sewell as her unruly but charismatic husband, Hal, The Diplomat started strong and has only ratcheted up the stakes over its three seasons.

Going into Season 4, Kate and Hal’s power struggle continues, with Hal now Vice President to Allison Janney as President Grace Penn. In the final moments of the third season, it became clear that the US was risking escalating tensions with Russia and the UK beyond the point of control, and Season 4 is set to explore the aftermath—in addition to whether or not Kate and Hal will actually be able to stabilise their relationship.

14. The Gentlemen - Season 2 (TBA)

Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen was one of the television highlights of 2024, bringing his signature blend of fast-paced, stylish crime capers to the small screen. A loose spinoff from his 2019 film The Gentlemen, this series stars the criminally handsome Theo James as Eddie Horniman, an army captain who finds himself unexpectedly inheriting his father’s aristocratic estate—and discovering it comes with a vast secret weed empire. 

In Season 2, Eddie and his partner in literal crime, Susie (Kaya Scodelario), are a year into their ambitious team-up with Bobby’s international criminal operation. But as Bobby’s behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, Eddie and Susie debate whether to take action against him to protect their own interests or double down on a partnership that could bring it all crashing down.

15. Nobody Wants This - Season 3 (TBA)

After the resounding success of the first two seasons, and to the surprise of no one and the joy of many romantics, Nobody Wants This will return in 2026. Loosely based on creator Erin Foster’s real-life love story, the series follows the unlikely coming together of outspoken sex podcaster Joanne and devout rabbi Noah.

Season 1 followed their coming together, while Season 2 saw them dig into the more challenging realities of blending their lives and values. Season 3 will once again see Kristen Bell and Adam Brody in their lead roles, with the new chapter likely to focus on Joanne’s conversion to Judaism, while giving plenty of heartfelt, funny examples of what good communication in a relationship can look like.

Ever since Yellowstone ended back in December 2024, I’ve been seeking out every cowboy story and Taylor Sheridan project I can in an attempt to fill that void. And I never thought a Disney movie would be the key to scratching that itch.

Zootopia 2 made waves upon its release, with the sequel to the 2016 flick becoming Disney’s highest-grossing animated movie of all time. I’d say it’s pretty deserving of that success, too. The film improves on its predecessor in every way, with great character development for Judy and Nick, an enthralling story, and the introduction of the loveable Gary De’Snake.

Still, how could an animated film about a pair of anthropomorphic animal cops be at all connected to a show about cowboys? Turns out, they’re far more similar than you’d ever imagine.

Zootopia 2 Tackles a Serious Socio-Political Issue

While Gary the blue viper is a fun new character to throw into this world, Zootopia 2 also has a strong message to send, thanks to the reptile population it brings into focus. Not only are perceptions about reptiles challenged, but a more far-reaching, very human issue comes to the fore as well.

Without giving away the entire plot for anyone who hasn’t seen Zootopia 2 yet, the case Judy and Nick are trying to solve hinges on the planned development of the land around Reptile Ravine. The wealthy, greedy Lynxley clan have long encroached onto the reptile’s territory, while vilifying them and spreading propaganda to turn the rest of the animal kingdom against snakes and their scaly neighbours.

It’s a thought-provoking topic that runs through the heart of this crime caper for kids, and one that mirrors so many prevalent real-world issues today that have plagued mankind for generations.

How Yellowstone Mirrors Zootopia 2

That’s where Yellowstone comes in. The Kevin Costner-led drama series is often more soap opera than crime-thriller, but the show consistently addresses the historical issue of indigenous people being displaced by modern, capitalistic expansion.

The Native Americans represented in Yellowstone are not shallow stereotypes shoehorned into the story for dramatic effect; they are rich, layered characters who signify Sheridan’s immense respect and empathy for the culture and his clear desire to educate himself and others about the people affected. While it’s the Dutton family who lead the show, some of the most emotionally impactful moments arise from the trials and tribulations of the indigenous tribes.

I wasn’t immediately hooked by Zootopia 2’s story, I have to admit. But I underestimated the Disney movie. As soon as Jesús, the basilisk lizard voiced by Danny Trejo, started talking about the history of the reptiles and how they’ve been mistreated, I was locked in. It probably helped that he was dressed like a cowboy, I’m not going to lie.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got kids or not; if you’re pining for something like Yellowstone, I urge you to give Zootopia 2 a watch. It’s obviously lighter in tone, but it’s a surprising and very worthy supplement to that neo-Western world.

Other Movies & Shows to Watch if You’re Missing Yellowstone

If you’re like me, though, Zootopia 2 won’t be enough. Thankfully, there are plenty of TV shows like Yellowstone to keep you occupied for the long haul.

Even just in Taylor Sheridan’s portfolio, you’ve got things like Sons of Anarchy – a show he also featured in as an actor – that addresses the theme of territorial conflict and the idea of brotherhood. The only difference is they swap out horses for motorcycles.

I’m currently obsessed with his latest show, Landman, as well. It’s all about the oil industry, which is interesting enough, but then you throw in the family drama element that Sheridan so wonderfully captures with his blend of brash chaos and moments of levity, and it’s so obvious that the man has struck gold once again.

For slightly more left-field options, you’d be amazed at how Yellowstone-adjacent the likes of Succession and Game of Thrones are. Problematic families, corruption and greed-fueled power plays, shocking deaths; they’ve got it all. Hell, Game of Thrones even has horses, if that’s the main pull for you. The sun may have set on Yellowstone, but the journey doesn’t have to end there!

Time to drop your “r”s and ask yourself if you like them apples, because Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are returning to screens in Joe Carnahan’s The Rip. 

Everyone’s favourite Massachusetts duo are set to rekindle their on-screen bromance as Dane Dumar and JD Byrne in the film, two Miami policemen who discover a pile of cash and have to deal with the fallout. The movie’s impressive cast also features Kyle Chandler, Teyanna Taylor and Steven Yuen—so expect a few classy moments among all that action and suspense.

Lifelong ‘Damfleck’ fans will not need reminding, but this is not their first shared rodeo. The lifelong friends—whose production company, Artist Equity, is behind Carnahan’s film—have appeared in a remarkably wide range of movies over the years, even co-writing a few of them. 

I’ve kept the list below—which is arranged in ascending order—exclusively for films in which Damon and Affleck have directly shared the screen. This means no room for Glory Daze, The Third Wheel, Jersey Girl or Chasing Amy—all movies in which Affleck starred and Damon only briefly appeared—but that still leaves a whopping eight times in which the duo have treated us to their unique chemistry. 

Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to stream them on AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

8. Field of Dreams (1989)

Back in 1989, when both of them were still teenagers, Damon and Affleck appeared in Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams. Granted, neither managed to get their name in the credits or even really appear on screen in the movie, but their appearance together as fans in Fenway Park—home of the Boston Red Sox—offers at least a spiritual glimpse of what we’d come to know them for in later years.

The movie itself is a distinctly American phenomenon, but if you’re open to a little Costner schmalz (ala Dances With Wolves) and baseball romance (ala Moneyball), it’s definitely worth a swing. 

7. School Ties (1992)

Affleck and Damon’s first credited roles together came in 1992’s School Ties, a movie in which Brendan Fraser stars as a Jewish kid who wins a scholarship to a preppy boarding school. Damon and Affleck get to share some scenes as two of the bullies who terrorise Fraser’s working-class character, David Greene. 

As that synopsis might suggest, Robert Mandel’s movie doesn’t exactly allow the actors to stretch their comedy muscles or use their leading man charms, but if you’re a fan of stories set in that kind of world (think The Holdovers, Dead Poets Society), the film is worth seeking out. 

6. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Perhaps the most endearing thing about Affleck and Damon, certainly when compared to some of their peers, is how easily they seem to be able to laugh at themselves. It’s true, no matter how lofty or serious their roles become, they’ve always been good sports when it comes to subverting their own stardom with self-depricating humour.

Case in point is 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, in which the duo—who basically got their foot in the door in Hollywood thanks to the movie’s director, Kevin Smith—play themselves, appearing in a scene where they’re found shooting a cash-grab sequel to Good Will Hunting. If you’re not familiar with the movie, you probably know Jay and Silent Bob for their appearances in Clerks and Mallrats—or pretty much any film in Smith’s ‘View Eskewniverse’. 

5. The Last Duel (2021)

On any other list or Affleck or Damon’S work, Ridley Scott’s excellent The Last Duel—a Rashomon-style tale of varying perspectives set in 14th century France—would rank higher, but seeing as we’re here to talk about the duo’s chemistry, it would be a stretch to claim that they get to do a whole lot together in this one.

They do, however, represent the story’s Yin and Yang: Damon as the staunch, hubristic, Jean de Carrouges—a knight determined to fight for his wife’s honor (even if she’d rather he didn’t); and Affleck (who helped write the script) as Count Pierre II of Alençon, an indulgent partyboy with an outrageously Dalston-coded haircut. If you like Scott in his period-set pomp (movies like Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven), you’re gonna love it. 

4. The Rip (2026)

It’s safe to say, if you’re a fan of Affleck and Damon’s work, especially in action-forward movies like The Accountant 2 and Elysium, and are partial to some humid, Florida-set crime—think Miami Vice or Bad Boys—The Rip should be right up your alley.

What’s more, director Joe Carnahan is the mind behind movies like The Grey and Boss Level—so if you like your action delivered with B-movie swagger, make sure to add his latest to the watch list.  

3. Air (2023)

Given how consistent Affleck’s work as a writer-director has been—Gone Baby Gone and The Town showcased his talent for directing genre movies; Argo won the Oscar for Best Picture—it’s strange that it took five films before he managed to land Damon in a role. Whatever the case, the wait was probably worth it, as 2023’s Air was perfectly suited to both their talents.

Inspired by Nike founder Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog, a ripper of a memoir, Affleck decided to make a movie about how the company managed to sign Michael Jordan at the height of his fame. The deal led to the development of the iconic Nike Air Jordan, thus establishing the then relatively second-rung company as one of the biggest sports brands in the world. If you’re a fan of movies like The Social Network and The Big Short, this one’s a low-key slam dunk. 

2. Dogma (1999)

A year after winning best Original Screenplay at the Oscars (more on that in a moment), Affleck and Damon confirmed their positions as the go-to leading men of the slacker generation with Dogma—a movie that was Kevin Smith’s first mainstream hit after the indie success of Chasing Amy and the theatrical disappointment of Mallrats.

Like several films from that era (think Devil’s Advocate, Angel Heart), Dogma draws some inspiration from John Milton’s Paradise Lost—but, as you might expect for a Kevin Smith feature, it does so with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Dogma is especially notable on this list as it’s basically the only film pre-The Rip in which Damon and Affleck are undoubtedly co-leads. 

The duo play Loki and Bartleby, two fallen angels adrift on earth who attempt to scam their way back into heaven. Alan Rickman plays the villain. Alanis Morissette plays god. Need I say more? 

1. Good Will Hunting (1997)

As the best friend of Damon’s genius MIT janitor, Affleck doesn’t get a huge amount of screentime in Good Will Hunting, but his scenes—including a wonderful monologue and a touching sequence near the end—are some of the most moving. This one will always take the top spot on any list of Damon and Affleck’s shared career as the duo not only stars in the movie but also wrote the screenplay. 

Both Damon and Affleck have claimed that they wrote Hunting as a way to give themselves the kind of meaty roles they couldn’t land at the time, but of course, it went on to earn them more acclaim than they could have possibly imagined. Alongside Robin Williams’ win for his iconic performance as Sean Maguire, the duo won a shared Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1998, beating tough competition from the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) and James L. Brooks (As Good as it Gets). At the time, the 25-year-old Affleck was the youngest person to ever win the award, and that record still stands.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson’s flawless fantasy trilogy is returning to UK cinemas this week in its extended editions—and if our streaming charts are anything to go by, fans of Middle-earth have already begun to mark the occasion.

When I think about all the things that Jackson—a then relatively obscure filmmaker—got right with his adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, one that always stuck out to me is how well the films are cast. Working with casting director Victoria Burrows, Jackson managed to populate Tolkien's world with a perfect mix of cult legends, up-and-comers and people we’d never heard of, each of whom embodied their role as if they were born to play it. Some have gone on to stellar careers; others have simply enjoyed the spoils that these kinds of iconic roles can offer.So, join us as we travel back to Hobbiton, Rivendell and the Mines of Moria to find out what the cast of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring are up to. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to stream some of their best movies on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins

With his boyish face and blue eyes, Elijah Wood began appearing on screens from the age of seven after getting his first gig on a music video directed by David Fincher. He spent the ‘90s as a reliable teen star, playing the title role in The Adventure of Huck Finn and starring in Flipper before moving into more mature roles in movies like Deep Impact and Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm.

Naturally, landing the role of Frodo Baggins changed everything—the kind of part an actor carries with them, like a ringbearer, for the rest of their life. After some topsy-turvy years, Woord now seems to have embraced his post-LOTR life, happily appearing in memes and cooking shows while lending his celebrity to indie movies like The Monkey and recently reuniting with Cristina Ricci, his Ice Storm co-star, on the second season of Yellowjackets.

One(s) to watch: For the Ice Storm nostalgia, try Yellowjackets, but his creepy turn in Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is just as delightful.

Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee

It’s unusual to think, but at the time of The Fellowship’s release, Sean Astin was possibly the second or third most famous person in the cast—at least to American audiences. Movie fans worldwide will have recognised him for playing Mikey in The Goonies, but his biggest parts (the title role in the American Football drama Rudy, a lead in 1991’s Toy Soldiers) weren’t the type of thing that translated overseas, at least not at the time. 

Post-LOTR, in which Astin bared his soul and won legions of fans, the actor has leaned into his nerdy fame with roles in The Big Bang Theory and even Stranger Things.

One to watch: If you liked him in Goonies, you can’t go too far wrong with Stranger Things.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey

As we mentioned, Astin might have provided a familiar face, but hiring Ian McKellen to play Gandalf gave the movies a dash of celebrity and a huge amount of class. By the turn of the millennium, the actor had already won a Tony and five Olivier awards and had been nominated at the Emmys, the BAFTAs, and the Oscars. What’s more, he arrived on set having just wrapped his first performance playing Magneto in X-Men, the other role that would soon solidify him as an icon of ‘00s cinema.

McKellen has pretty much stayed on that steady career trajectory ever since and has cemented his place as a national treasure in the process. He would eventually play Gandalf six times over Jackson’s Rings and Hobbit movies, and will reprise his role as Magneto for the fifth time in Avengers: Doomsday later this year. Not bad for an 87-year-old.

One to watch: For something outside of all that, his performance as a slightly geriatric Sherlock in 2015’s Mr Holmes is charming.

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn

If you know anything about Viggo Mortensen, it’s probably that the actor broke his foot kicking that Uruk-hai helmet in the second movie… I jest. 

The Danish-American renaissance man is said to spend much of his time riding horses, painting, making music, watching and playing football (specifically San Lorenzo and Fulham), and writing poetry books that he publishes with his own printing press. The mild-mannered icon (who will never not be our Aragorn, whether he likes it or not) brought many of those skills to bear in his recent movie, The Dead Don’t Hurt—an underappreciated Western that the actor wrote, directed, starred in, and even composed the score for. 

When he is just sticking to the acting bit, Mortensen is usually doing it for filmmakers like David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, Eastern Promises) and Lisandro Alonso (Eureka), but he does still occasionally lend his gravitas to more mainstream fare, like Green Book and Ron Howard’s excellent Thirteen Lives. 

One to watch: If you’re a fan of classic Westerns, The Dead Don’t Hurt feels like something from another era—and I mean that in the best way possible. 

Orlando Bloom as Legolas

Some viewers wanted him, others wanted to be him: we are talking, of course, about Legolas. Over three Lord of the Rings films, no character got to farm more aura points (remember that bit when he got on the horse, but like in reverse?) than Orlando Bloom’s lithe and immaculate elf, but it’s a role that the actor—somewhat surprisingly—has yet to eclipse.

Of course, he soon made his mark on another multi-film adventure, Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (the first of which was released the same year as Return of the King), but it’s fair to say that Bloom’s character, Will Turner, was nobody’s favourite part of that original trilogy. His collaboration with Ridley Scott in Kingdom of Heaven has recently been reclaimed as something of a modern classic, but outside of returning as Legolas in two of Jackson’s Hobbit films, the actor has hardly moved the needle.Might his highly publicised split with Katie Perry and his self-deprecating turn in Deep Cover last year suggest a welcome change of direction? The actor will next appear opposite Kate and Rooney Mara in Werner Herzog’s hilariously titled Bucking Fastard this year. Watch this space.

One to watch: If you’ve got time for Scott’s director’s cut of Kingdom of Heaven, it’s well worth revisiting.

John Rhys-Davies as Gimli

If there's an actor you probably aren’t sure you’d seen before, or even since, watching Fellowship, it’s probably John Rhys-Davies. This has more to do with the fact that his portrayal of the dwarf Gimli involved him hiding his face behind a considerable beard. He also had to appear much shorter than his usual formidable 185cm.

Chances are, you’re just as familiar with the actor for his portrayal of Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies—he appeared in Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade and reprised the role for Dial of Destiny in 2023. Outside of that world, the actor has loaned his booming voice to various characters, including Brine King in both Aquaman movies for the DCEU. Keep an eye out for him in Terrence Malick’s forever-in-production Jesus film, The Way of the Wind—if and when, please lord, we ever get to see it.

One to watch: The fez is probably a bit insensitive, but his presence is a consistent joy in Raiders of the Lost Arc.

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel

With so few female characters in The Fellowship, Jackson had to make the few that did appear really count. For Galadriel, the director cast a then only moderately famous Cate Blanchett, an actress who at that point had only just caught the world’s attention for her supporting roles in Elisabeth (which earned her her first acting nomination) and The Talented Mr Ripley the previous year. Needless to say, the Australian dominated every moment she appeared on screen and, thanks to some remarkable narration, even some of the ones she didn’t. 

Since then, Blanchett has gone on to have one of the great careers of the 21st century—earning Oscar nominations for her shapeshifting performances in movies like Carol and Tar and winning for both The Aviator and Blue Jasmine. In more big-budget fare, she also played memorable villains in both Thor: Ragnarok and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. If anything, it would be easier to list the things she hasn’t achieved at this stage.

One to watch: It’s problematic, but there’s a reason why her work in Blue Jasmine swept the awards that year.

Hugo Weaving as Elrond

Another member of the elven world who has enjoyed a notable career playing Hollywood villains is Hugo Weaving, who played the unaging Elrond in The Fellowship, both at the battle of Dagorlad in the introduction and later at his own council in Rivendell. Blanchet’s fellow elf (and fellow Aussie resident) came into Jackson’s universe on something of a career high, having captivated the world with his performance as Agent Smith in The Matrix the previous summer. 

He has since gone on to play several iconic roles—even though one of his best known, the title character in V for Vendetta, meant that the actor’s face was never seen. Regardless, his appearance as Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avengers (a role he reprised in Infinity War and Endgame) deserves similar recognition. 

One to watch: Captain America: The First Avenger, in which he admirably chews every single piece of scenery.

Liv Tyler as Arwen

The only other major female performance in The Fellowship was Liv Tyler’s ethereal portrayal of Arwen—Elrond’s daughter, Aragorn’s love, and a timely summoner of river steeds. The daughter of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, Liv had featured in a number of prominent movies in the years leading up to The Fellowship’s release—memorably appearing in the now slightly dated Empire Records and for a scene involving animal crackers in Armageddon.

Since LOTR, Tyler’s career might be best described as a little bit stop-and-start. She appeared in The Incredible Hulk before disappearing from the MCU for 17 years and had a role in James Grey’s Ad Astra, but her most memorable work from that time has probably been her portrayal of Meg Abbott across three seasons of The Leftovers. 

One to watch: The Leftovers.

Dominic Monaghan as Merry Brandybuck

As Merry, Dominic Monaghan was not the most beloved of the central Hobbits in the Lord of the Rings movies, but he might be the only actor among them who would go on to transcend their role. For Lost fans, the actor will likely always be Charlie, the recovering addict and former lead singer of Driveshaft—and if you followed that show and his character’s arc, especially his acting in later episodes (NOT PENNY’S BOAT!), you probably feel that way, too.

Movie-wise, some of his choices might not have been the best, but he certainly ticked a few fandom boxes by appearing in both the Marvel (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Star Wars (The Rise of Skywalker) universes in later years. 

One to watch: Definitely Lost.

Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took

Of all the Hobbiton boys, Billy “Fool of a Took” Boyd has probably gone on to have the most low-key career. He kept a foot in the door of the Tolkien universe, contributing and singing a song (as he had done in Return of the King) to the final Hobbit movie and, more recently, voicing Shank in the animated movie, The Battle of the Rohirrim, but outside of that, there hasn’t been a huge amount to report.

That said, he did play a helmsman in Peter Weir’s Master and Commander, one of the best movies of the century—I mean, if I’d played Pippin and acted with peak Russell Crowe, I too might have considered taking it easy.

One to watch: Master and Commander, always and forever.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 has just started, and it should easily be dominating anime fan conversation right now. But as far as ratings go, there’s a surprise pretender to the shonen throne. 

At a glance, Sentenced to be a Hero looked like it had potential even before it premiered. In a schedule typically overpopulated by sequel seasons, it was one of the few new names that seemed deserving of a top ten spot on my most anticipated shows of 2026 list.

Now, not only has the fantasy series distinguished itself by dropping a one-hour premiere, but that blockbuster episode has received an extraordinarily warm reception from viewers. Here’s more about Sentenced to be a Hero, what the hype is, and if it’s actually worth your time.

Sentenced to be a Hero’s ‘Perfect’ Viewer Scores

Not long after the first episode began streaming, Forbes reported that the anime was accruing critical acclaim from its viewership: a 9.4 on IMDb (which has dipped by one point since, at the time of writing), and even more improbably, five full stars based on 14,000 reviews on host streamer, Crunchyroll. This rave reception instantly catapults it into the same big leagues with long-reigning giants like One Piece and Attack on Titan, as well as newer smash-hits, like the aforementioned Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer and Solo Levelling.

What Is Sentenced to be a Hero About?

Sentenced to be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004, to give it its full, lengthier title, is based on a web novel of the same name, written by Rocket Shōkai and illustrated by Mephisto. Firmly in the dark fantasy genre, it takes place in a world that remixes the kind of Ren Faire aesthetic of a standard D&D game with the ‘magic punk’ technology of a Final Fantasy title. It also deploys ‘heroes’ like sacrificial lambs to the slaughter; the title being a punishment dished out to society’s most heinous criminals. 

The show’s main protagonist is one such unfortunate soul, Xylo Forbartz, whose enforced military service has him in a desperate and never-ending battle against demon lords and their hordes. It’s a war he’ll be resurrected and sent back into each time he dies.

His main sidekick is Dotta, a compulsive thief, who steals a large box at the start of the story that is revealed to contain a sleeping goddess, Teoritta. If Xylo agrees to make a pact with her, she offers him her incredible power of sword summoning – all for a simple head pat in exchange. But will he give it to her? Will he heck.

Is Sentenced to be a Hero Worth the Hype?

It’s obviously difficult to totally judge something by its first episode – even a long first episode. Though these days, with streamers like Netflix so eager to wield the cancellation axe, it certainly feels like TV lives or dies on its earliest instalments. But I would say that, while I wasn’t quite as entranced by Sentenced to be a Hero as I was after watching the premieres of things like Attack on Titan, Spy x Family, and Chainsaw Man, I definitely agree it’s about as good as a first episode can be. In fact, its plotting, pacing, and characterisation are so taut and fleshed-out that it could easily function as a standalone OVA. 

The animation, from the little-known Studio Kai, isn’t as mindblowing as what MAPPA or even Toei’s One Piece have been putting out, but I really like the look and feel of it, and appreciate the effort clearly put in to distinguish it from the rest of the isekai-esque slop pile. I’ll be interested in whether it can sustain this level of quality throughout its run; action-oriented anime has a tendency to unravel once its initial burst of ingenuity fizzes out. 

One smaller detail I also really appreciate is how much Xylo exerts himself during the near-non-stop combat of the hour-long premiere. It’s normal for anime protagonists to shed some blood, sweat, and tears, but we’re also just as accustomed to them hacking their way through enemies like butter through toast with no visible toll. In Sentenced to be a Hero, Xylo is constantly panting, collapsing; he even passes out a few times. Yes, we still get those satisfying one-hit K.O power fantasy moments from him, but I love that this is counterbalanced by real, human exhaustion. It makes his wins feel that much more earned and his desperation excitingly palpable.  

Should I Watch Sentenced to be a Hero?    

Tower of God and Solo Levelling fans will naturally be drawn to the concept of an underdog hero fighting his way through a vicious, fantastical world with magical and modern flourishes. I also thought of Shield Hero while watching the premiere, not only because of Xylo’s characterisation, but also for the less (I hope) problematic version of the ‘master and servant’ dynamic between him and the goddess Teoritta. The ‘grizzled hero/cute but powerful sidekick’ duo is perennially popular, from Lone Wolf and Cub to the Lone Wolf and Cub-copying Mandalorian.

I’m also happy to report that if you like dungeon crawlers and dark fantasy hack ‘n’ slashers, Sentenced to be a Hero is very much both those things, and while it’s super tropey, those tropes are so well pulled off that they feel fresher than what you may have grown tired of. And if you’re a newcomer to all those things I’ve mentioned, but they sound appealing to you, all the better! This is about as solid an entry point into this kind of anime storytelling as you’re going to find. 

Shonen anime can be as simple as two guys hovering in the air trading supersonic blows, or the same thing, but with three episodes’ worth of expository chatter about power levels. Jujutsu Kaisen – back on our screens after a two-year wait for its third season – errs on the side of the latter. At its most basic level, it’s a world where evil spirits are exorcised via magical martial arts, but the system around that is so uniquely tailored to every individual sorcerer that it’s very easy to get lost in the supernatural weeds.

Now that we’re in ‘The Culling Game’ arc, there’s not only a convoluted magic system to remember, but a bunch of death game rules dense enough to give an Apple T&Cs list a run for its pixels. This isn’t helped by said rules flashing by so fleetingly in the English language version – I’m talking a couple of seconds at most – that fans have been memeing their difficulty in reading them since they first appeared on cinema screens in 2025’s compilation movie, Execution.

So, if you didn’t manage to hit the pause button precisely enough, let’s go over what Jujutsu Kaisen’s Season 3 arc is all about, and what those rules actually are.

What Is Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game?

Season 2’s ‘Shibuya Incident’ was the first majorly consequential arc of Jujutsu Kaisen. The event turned the sorcerer world on its head, with villain Geto (or ‘Pseudo Geto’, possessed by the ancient Curse Kenjaku), alongside Special Grade Curses Mahito and Jogo, pulling off an act of terror in the famous Tokyo ward that killed countless people, including sorcerers Nanami and (possibly) Nobara, and imprisoned Satoru Gojo, the most powerful living sorcerer and a character I’m willing to bet keeps Japan’s economy afloat in body pillow sales alone.

Even more significant was Geto’s coup de grace at the end of it all; the finale of Season 2. Having experimented previously with cursed energy via the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings (from which Choso was born), Geto consumed and used Mahito’s Idle Transfiguration to flip the switch on select non-sorcerers, turning some of them into hosts for the spirits of past sorcerers he’d made deals with over the centuries, and activating cursed objects (akin to Sakuna’s fingers) he’d had them consume. Others, meanwhile, suddenly gained cursed techniques.  

As a parting gift, he also triggered the release of millions of Curses across Japan, turning the entire country into a blackened battleground. The imagery chillingly evoked both post-nuclear fallout and the kind of abandoned, monster-infested urban environment seen in things like I Am Legend. As with anyone who initiates a death game, Geto’s goal is sit back and watch the chaos unfold, hoping another ‘golden age’ of sorcery will be born from the fray. Imagine if The Hunger Games went nationwide – that’s the scale and spectacle to expect.

The Culling Game’s (Blink-And-You’ll-Miss-Them) Rules, Explained

The Culling Game has eight core rules to remember. As mentioned at the top of this article, they flash across the screen in the anime too fast for anyone who doesn’t have some kind of specialised jujutsu technique to reasonably take in, so I’ll simply write them verbatim below. You’re welcome!  

1. Once a player has awakened their cursed technique, they must declare their participation in the Culling Game at the colony of their choice within 19 days.

2. Any player who breaks the previous rule will be subject to cursed technique removal.

3. Non-players who enter a colony become players at the moment of entry and will be considered to have declared participation in the Culling Game.

4. Players score points by ending the lives of other players.

5. The point value of a player's life is decided by the game master. As a general rule, sorcerers are worth five points, and non-sorcerers are worth one point.

6. Excluding the point value of the player's own life, a player can expend 100 points to negotiate with the game master and add a new rule to the game.

7. In accordance with rule six, the game master must accept any proposed new rule as long as it doesn't have a long-lasting effect on the game.

8.  If a player's score remains the same for 19 days, they will be subject to cursed technique removal.

More are added by players as the arc unfolds; naturally, I won’t spoil those for you here!

What You Should Expect From Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game

Like the Shibuya Incident, the Culling Game is another major ‘event’ arc for Jujutsu Kaisen, and the second huge jujutsu terrorism incident in Japan following the former. It also effectively resets the show’s premise – from the more innocent magic school days of Season 1 to an open world survival slug fest. 

While trying to free Gojo, find and kill Geto, cleanse the country of evil, and just make it out alive, Itadori has to contend with a sorcery society that also wants his head on a plate (because of Sakuna devastating Shibuya), sooner rather than later. As of Episode 2, he has his classmate Megumi, enemy-turned-brother, Choso, and his would-be executioner, Yuta, in his corner. However, with no Gojo or Nanami to come to his aid when things get tough, he and his peers are truly on their own now. It’s an opportunity for tremendous growth and colossal failure, as well as an all-important chance to reshape the future of Jujutsu Kaisen’s world, for better or worse.     

On Sunday evening in the Beverley Hilton in Los Angeles, the 2026 Awards Season kicked into gear with the 83rd Golden Globes. As expected, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another dominated the major awards, with movies like Hamnet, Sinners and The Secret Agent finding joy in other categories. On the TV side of things, the Globes followed the lead of last year’s Emmys while finding space for a couple of great shows that were released after that award body’s window of eligibility.

As a result, the Globes’ annual gala can actually offer a more complete snapshot of the last year in TV, which is why their winners are worth keeping an eye on. Read on to learn more about the 2026 Golden Globe-winning shows and use the guide below to find them on services like BBC iPlayer, AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

Adolescence (2025)

If you want to weigh up the cultural impact of Adolescence, consider this: in the space of 12 months, Owen Cooper has gone from living a relatively normal 15-year-old’s life in Warrington to winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe and could be seen chewing Timotheé Chalamet’s ear off and shouting out LFC from the stage on Sunday night. In six weeks, he’ll be making his big screen debut as a young Heathcliff (aka a young Jacob Elordi) in Wuthering Heights.

All that said, Cooper’s jarringly composed rise in the industry is really just one small part of Adolescence’s story. This is a show that brought social realism back to the masses via four snare-tight, single-take episodes. If you’ve yet to see it, imagine if This is England was shot by Emmanuelle Lubetski (Children of Men), and you’ll have an idea of what to expect. 

Awards: Best Male Actor (Stephen Graham), Supporting Male Actor (Owen Cooper) and Supporting Female Actor (Erin Doherty) in a Limited Series, and Best Limited Series.

The Pitt (2025-)

You don’t have to still be holding a torch for Noah Wyle from his ER days (or even Donnie Darko days) to enjoy The Pitt, but I guess it doesn’t hurt, which is more than you can say for a lot of what happens in this Pittsburgh emergency room drama. Over 15 real-time episodes, the show basically runs the gamut of human emotions, jumping from joy to despair in about as much time as it takes to walk down a corridor or through a door. 

Wyle got to take the stage on Sunday, just as he had done at the Emmys in September, but the rest of the cast deserve just as much recognition—especially Katherine LaNasa for her performance as head nurse Diana Evans (she won the Emmy but was oddly not even nominated here) and Taylor Dearden as Dr Mel. The new season started just last week—if you happened to jump on the bandwagon yet, now’s the time.

Awards: Best Series - Drama and Best Male Actor - Drama (Noah Wyle)

The Studio (2025-)

Is it simply a coincidence that the three biggest TV winners on Sunday night all paid such attention to temporality? The Pitt was structured so that each episode corresponded to a single hour. In Adolescence, each episode was convincingly presented as a single take. The Studio wasn’t that disciplined (it is a comedy after all), but it did seem just as obsessed with the oner—even devoting a whole episode to the challenges of capturing one. Somewhere up there, Béla Tarr (who passed away just last week) must have been watching on with a rueful smile. 

Created by Seth Rogen and his old writing partner Evan Goldberg, The Studio is a show about a Hollywood idealist (or naive dreamer) who lands an unlikely job as the head of a fictional movie studio—think This is the End meets The Player, and you’ll get the idea. It’s a show, like Entourage, that allows for all kinds of real-life cameos—up to and including Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard—and funny situations, but it’s also a worrying eulogy to a fading business and way of life. 

Awards: Best Series - Comedy or Musical, Male Actor - Comedy (Seth Rogen)

Pluribus (2025-)

Due to the unusual eligibility window, Rhea Seahorn will have to wait until September to see if her win for Best Female Actor will be repeated at the Emmys—an awards ceremony that has never really shown her the love, despite playing Kim Wexler for six seasons on Better Call Saul. Unlike that show, however, Gilligan’s sci-fi follow-up, Pluribus, has hit the ground running, seemingly capturing the zeitgeist along with the attention of the watching masses, including myself. 

If you’ve not seen it yet, Galligan’s invasion of seemingly benevolent body-snatchers feels like the perfect mix of his breakout work on The X-Files and his crowning achievement, Breaking Bad. 

Awards: Best Female Actor - Drama)

Hacks (2021-)

With three Globes and counting for her portrayal of Debora Vance in Hacks, Jean Smart is beginning to dominate this category like Sarah Jessica Parker did in the early ‘00s. That this richly deserved recognition has come so late in Smart’s career—especially in a culture that tends to award female actors early and men late—is nothing if not encouraging.

Whatever the case, four seasons in Hacks remains a finely written and delicately observed show, even as it has veered away from its comedy roots in more recent episodes. Come for Smart’s performance, of course, but stick around for Hannah Einbender (who plays her protege, frenemy and sparring partner, Ava) and the great Megan Stalter (who recently flourished in her first lead role in Lena Dunham’s Too Much).

Awards: Best Female Actor - Comedy (Jean Smart)

Dying for Sex (2025-)

The other Globe-winning show that was released too late for Emmy consideration last year was the tantalisingly titled Michelle Williams series, Dying for Sex. This is a show based on the real-life experiences (which she recounted on her podcast of the same name) of Molly Kochan, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and decided to spend her final years having lots of sex. 

The series, which was developed for FX by Liz Meriwether (New Girl), follows Kochen’s attempts to find something that’s been eluding her her entire life: an orgasm. Williams, as ever, is the main draw here, but she’s backed up by a remarkable supporting cast—notably Jenny Slate (Obvious Child), Jay Duplass (Industry) and the one and only Sissy Spacek (Carrie).

Upon its release in 2025, Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later left audiences with their jaws on the floor due to the final whiplash of its ending. One moment, viewers were quietly sobbing along with protagonist Spike; the next, they were accosted by Power Rangers-type, tracksuit-clad ninjas, led by Jack O’Connell’s Sir Jimmy Crystal. As wild as the ending was, it ensured that everyone would be flocking out to see the sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is out now.

Directed by Nia DaCosta, The Bone Temple picks up hours after that bracing ending, and follows Spike as he is unwillingly indoctrinated into the cult of the Jimmies. The sequel also expands on the stories of both Doctor Kelson and the infected Alpha, Samson. Given that The Bone Temple is meant to be the middle section of a new trilogy, this all makes perfect sense. DaCosta’s film does some excellent work planting the seeds for where the final chapter might go, without losing its own identity as a movie (something The Strangers: Chapter 2 could have learned from).  

But what do those loose threads seen in The Bone Temple mean? How will events and discoveries found impact upon how this new trilogy ends? We think we’ve got some pretty good ideas that we’re dying to share. If you have yet to see The Bone Temple, be warned that this article is going to spoil a lot of the film, especially THAT ending. 

The Bone Temple Ending, Explained - Who’s The Daddy?

Just like 28 Years Later before it, when it seems like everything was coming to a close, The Bone Temple rips a rug out from under the viewer. A young girl sits inside a cottage isolated in the rural countryside. She is doing a spot of studying, assisted by her father, who is not currently visible. The observant, though, will realise that the man speaks with an Irish accent, and 28 Days Later fans know exactly what that means. 

As excited whispers begin to echo around the cinema screen, the camera pans out to reveal exactly what everyone has hoped: Jim has returned. 

Last seen with Selena, Hannah, and a homemade SOS banner at the end of the first film, fans have been desperate for actor Cillian Murphy to return to the universe. After The Bone Temple’s announcement, there were rumours that Murphy might return to the series, but no one expected to see Jim back just yet. 

Soon after he comes into frame, he and his daughter notice two figures racing toward their house, pursued by some of the infected. Jim has schooled his daughter in more than just politics, and the two quickly switch from wholesome tutor and student to harbingers of death. As the pair steps outside, it is clear that the two people in need of sanctuary are Spike and Jimmy Ink. But will Jim let them in? 

Jim’s return obviously raises a lot of questions. Most notably because neither Hannah nor Selena appears to be with him. It has been 28 years, and so there are many possible explanations for their absence, and sadly, not all of them are good. 

The big question now concerns exactly how Jim will help the new arrivals. One fan theory posits that Jimmy Ink is actually the daughter of Jim and Selena, and therefore the older sister of the girl seen studying. If this is the case, what made Jimmy Ink abandon what appears to be a fairly cosy life? Could Selena have died, and in her grief, Jimmy Ink absconded only to be collected by Sir Jimmy? This theory makes the most sense from a narrative perspective as it gives the biggest scope for drama. 

Will Sir Jimmy Crystal Rise Again? 

Another approach could be that Jim is a stranger to both Jimmy Ink and Spike, and sensing that they are good, decides to help them anyway. In all honesty, though, given the size of the clan pursuing them, Jim might have no option but to help them, with Spike bringing a lot of trouble to Jim’s door. 

Speaking of trouble, in The Bone Temple, Sir Jimmy Crystal proves himself time and time again to be a man of great influence. The character's origin story is glimpsed at the start of 28 Years Later. At the start of the Rage virus outbreak, he and his sisters were routinely locked into a room with only a VHS tape of Teletubbies episodes for company. Then one day, this sanctum was invaded, and Jimmy was the only survivor. Racing to the church wherein his father was the priest, he witnessed his dad give himself willingly to the infected, believing them to have been a gift. Needless to say, this kind of trauma stays with a person, and with Sir Jimmy, it has manifested as a cult leader who thinks himself the son of Satan. 

As the leader of the Jimmies, Sir Jimmy ensures that he is always surrounded by seven of his followers. This number can never go higher than seven, resulting in, as witnessed throughout The Bone Temple, a revolving door of disciples. Spike and the audience discover the hard way exactly how one becomes a member of the Jimmies, as Spike has to fight an existing Jimmy to the death. Spike reluctantly fights and earns his spot, but becomes trapped in a waking nightmare. Of the group, it is only Jimmy Ink that appears to remember her time before the cult, and the pair strike up an alliance. 

After Sir Jimmy loses several key members of the Jimmies, including the Dipsy-dancing star that was Jimmima, he begins to lose control of the group. As so many mad tyrants before him, rather than accept his loss of power, Sir Jimmy doubles down only to have his bluff called when Jimmy Ink reveals she has found Jimmy’s dad, Satan. This character is, of course, the iodine-soaked Doctor Kelson, but wanting to save face, Jimmy has a meeting with Kelson and the pair strike up a bargain – if Kelson plays the devil, Jimmy will let him live. 

The result of this deal leads to an incredible sequence set to Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number of the Beast’ during which Kelson unleashes his inner thespian. 

Kelson is so good in his role as Satan that the remaining Jimmies believe him to be the real deal. This proves to be Sir Jimmy’s undoing, however, as after recognising Spike, Kelson urges the Jimmies to turn on their leader, which they do. Sir Jimmy lashes out, mortally wounding Kelson before finding himself strung up, crucifixion style. The last Sir Jimmy is seen when a gaggle of hungry infected approach him. Importantly, the camera cuts away before Sir Jimmy’s final fate is sealed, and it may be that audiences haven’t seen the last of the character after all. 

Chances are, Sir Jimmy is now infected and will somehow become an Alpha variant, making him smarter than his counterparts. This will enable him to hunt down the duo that betrayed him. This, in turn, means that Sir Jimmy will meet Jim. (Honestly, I appreciate that many things are scarce in the wake of a national disaster on this scale, but I didn’t realise that names were rationed, too…) 

Has Kelson Found a Cure for the Rage Virus?

While Spike is having a horrible time during The Bone Temple, for much of the movie, Doctor Kelson is having a fantastic time. He and infamously well-endowed Alpha, Samson, strike up a sweet friendship. Sure, it’s one based around getting stoned and listening to Duran Duran, but in a post-apocalyptic Britain, that sounds like bliss. Along the way, Samson starts to change, even managing to speak to Kelson. And this isn’t the only development, as through the power of flashback, the audience is treated to a memory of young Samson aboard a train. The newly changed infected Alpha is also overcome by some drive for modesty and fashions himself a loincloth. 

During The Bone Temple’s climactic moments, Samson is present. He witnesses the death of his friend, and while sadly it looks as though Kelson might be gone for good, he has passed on enough information for Samson to incite further change. Has Kelson somehow found a cure for the Rage virus? If so, Samson is surely the person to continue the work, but what exactly does a fully cured infected person look like? This is likely to be a strong component of the third film, and could ultimately end the film series that began in 2002. 

Is a Family Reunion on the Cards for Spike?

At the end of 28 Years Later, Spike returned to his home island with a newborn baby in tow. The child was the progeny of an infected woman, but the infant itself appeared fine, and so Spike decided to leave it with the community that raised him. Rather than stay by himself, he opted to go explore the world – well, the UK – on his own. This obviously has not worked out all too well for Spike, but could a happy ending still be on the cards?

Within his community lives Spike’s father, Jamie, and everything that we learned about the character in 28 Years Later points to a man who will not rest with his boy on the mainland. Jamie must therefore make a return in the third movie at some point; it is too large a plot thread to leave dangling. Plus, it would be interesting to see just how that baby is faring, and whether that, combined with Kelson’s research with Samson, could also help implement a cure. 

A reunion between Spike and Jamie would also be fascinating to see unfold, given how much Spike has changed. Jamie was a father who stuck to outdated traditional ideals of masculinity, concepts that Spike rejected when he left the island. Sir Jimmy Crystal was frankly just unhinged and might have softened Spike’s feelings for his father, but how will time with Jim impact their dynamic? Jim has always been more of a brains-over-brawn version of masculinity and one that feels more in tune with Spike’s own feelings. Might there be a battle between the real and surrogate father? And if so, who will win? 

Whatever direction the final chapter takes, The Bone Temple demonstrates that the future is less about surviving zombie-like masses and more about family and the possibility of redemption in a Rage-filled world. With Jim back in play, Sir Jimmy potentially reborn, and the first real hints of a cure on the table, the stage is set for a finale that will either see the franchise end with a ray of hope or see chaos reign forever. 

It’s a big year for Marvel, but 2026 is not just about Avengers: Doomsday. No, later in the year, Peter Parker is back in action as he tries to piece his life back together in the wake of Doctor Strange’s multiverse-saving spell.

While no one in the Earth-616 timeline remembers he’s Spidey, we do, and it’s safe to say that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of our most anticipated movies of the year. We obviously know that Tom Holland will return as everyone’s favourite webslinger, but he’ll also be joined by Jon Bernthal, who reprises his role as the Punisher, as well as Stranger Things alum, Sadie Sink.

As usual with Marvel, a few surprises are being kept up the sleeve. We’re not exactly sure who Sink will be playing, but there are plenty of rumours doing the rounds – everything ranging from heroes to villains and even a longstanding fancast that could finally come true. Let’s cut through the noise and check out all the potential characters she could be taking on.

Sadie Sink Could Be Playing a Pivotal X-Men Character

One of the most prevalent theories is that Sadie Sink will usher in a new era for mutants in the MCU by playing Jean Grey. We know that the likes of Scott Summers (James Marsden) and Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) are in the Avengers: Doomsday cast, reprising their roles from the original X-Men trilogy, but it’s widely believed a younger team will take over the mantle from there onwards.

Sink would be perfect to play the problematic yet extremely powerful mutant. She not only looks the part, thanks to her striking red locks, but she’s also had her fair share of experiencing telekinetic powers thanks to her role as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things. Personally, this is the route I hope Marvel takes. Sink is clearly a great actress and a character that’s as integral to the future of the MCU as Jean needs someone who can carry that weight and make the mutants a credible force in the next phase and beyond.

Sadie Sink Could Be a Peter Parker Relative, Or Punisher’s Right-Hand Woman

Other equally fascinating rumours suggest two very different paths Marvel could go down. One would see Sink playing Peter’s daughter, Mayday Parker. We saw this character show up in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but she was a baby there. So, how would this work, I hear you ask? Well, obviously, she would be an older version of that character coming back in time to meet her dad… Because, of course, nothing is ever simple in Peter Parker’s life.

Alternatively, Sink could be on a much darker side of the superhero world. Some have suggested she will be playing Rachel Cole-Alves, a young marine who is hellbent on getting revenge on the criminals who murdered her family and spoiled her wedding day. In the comics, Rachel teams up with the Punisher, and they’re a formidable pair. Seeing that kind of dynamic play out between Sink and Bernthal would be a real treat. 

This idea also fits with the fact that Sink has been spotted on set wearing military print trousers. The only problem is, there’s not a great deal of longevity to this role, per se, and you would think Disney would want Sink in the MCU for more than one movie.

The Shathra Rumours, Explained

From a morally questionable vigilante to a full-blown supervillain, some people think Sadie Sink will be taking on the role of a character we’ve never seen before on the big screen: Shathra. That theory makes a lot of sense, as Shathra is closely linked to the Spider-Verse in the comics.

Frankly, she’s pretty terrifying. Shathra is a wasp-goddess who preys on spider variants across the multiverse. Previous victims include Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, and Mayday Parker. She’s also got history with Ezekiel, who you may remember from Madame Web. 

Introducing Shathra would be a very cool way to take the Spidey movies in a fresh but dark direction. But do I think Sink will be the one playing her? Probably not. I can’t get away from those camo trousers the actress was spotted in… I don’t know about you, but I don’t think many multiversal deities wear army print clothing.

A Stranger Things Reunion Could Be the Best Outcome

Ever since the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, fans of the wallcrawler have been crying out for a live-action Miles Morales. Could we see that dream finally realised thanks to Sadie Sink and her Stranger Things co-star, Caleb McLaughlin? Videos of the actor, who played Max’s boyfriend Lucas in the show, flexing his acrobatic skills on social media have fuelled Spider-Man casting speculation.

Casting the pair as Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales would certainly be a great way for Marvel to lean into fan casting to get bums in seats, mirroring the John Krasinski as Mister Fantastic cameo in Multiverse of Madness. It would also ensure that two of the most talented young actors in the industry are locked in for the long haul. Although it’s worth adding that there’s been some backlash to the idea due to McLaughlin not embodying Miles’ Hispanic heritage.

Marvel has confirmed it plans to introduce Miles Morales to the MCU at some point. However, reports suggest Sony has told them to stay away from the character until they are done with their animated trilogy. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is slated for release in 2027, meaning Marvel would either have to go against Sony’s wishes by sneaking Miles into the fray in Brand New Day, or focus on Gwen for now and lay the foundations for the alternate Spidey for the meantime.

It’s possible, and would be very cool indeed, but Sadie Sink playing Gwen Stacy still has to be considered a long shot at this point.

There’s nothing better than immersing yourself in a fictional world for a couple of hours. Or, in the case of a great TV show, tens of hours. However, this big investment of your time doesn’t always pay off.

While shows like Breaking Bad, Friends, and Andor all managed to stick the landing when the time came to call it a day, other high-profile TV series don’t quite get the job done. In fact, some viewers felt they messed things up badly enough to kill their own legacy.

That’s certainly been the case for Stranger Things, with Season 5 leaving a portion of its fans so disappointed that many of them even convinced themselves that a secret bonus finale was coming to save the day. It never did, and the Netflix darling can now join these other five shows that ended badly enough to make some people very, very angry.

1. Stranger Things (2016-2025)

When Season of Stranger Things 1 first dropped, it truly put Netflix on the map as the king of streaming services. It also kickstarted one of the biggest pop culture phenomena of the 21st century, thanks to its impressive blend of ‘80s nostalgia and stunning sci-fi. It even had hints of horror and lots of dark fantasy elements, too, with the thrilling mystery of Will Byers’ disappearance at its heart.

Subsequent seasons were good but not as great, although they all had their special moments, like the Battle of Starcourt Mall and Max Mayfield’s epic escape from Vecna to the sound of Kate Bush. However, we were made to wait what felt like a lifetime for the fifth and final season, and when it finally arrived, it still somehow felt rushed. The visuals and CGI were poor in places, the story was full of plot holes, and the grand finale really lacked any of the intensity and magic that previous seasons had in bucketloads.

2. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Speaking of rushed finales, the story behind the messy eighth season of Game of Thrones is a very ironic and frustrating one. The showrunners, DB Weiss and David Benioff, had done such a good job with the show up until that point that they were handed the holy grail: the chance to develop a Star Wars movie. The problem is that the pair were so eager to tie up Game of Thrones and head to a galaxy far, far away that they forgot to end the show properly.

Obviously, they weren’t helped by the fact that George R. R. Martin hadn’t finished the books the whole show was based on. However, the decisions Weiss and Benioff made for characters like Arya and Bran Stark, in particular, were heinous, and many fans claim the incredible journey they’d been on for seven seasons had all been for nothing. I wouldn’t agree, personally. I was late to the party on Game of Thrones, and by the time I got to Season 8, I had already heard all the negativity around the finale. It wasn’t great, obviously, but I’d still say the adventure on the whole is well worth investing time in. Catch it on Now TV and see if you agree.

3. Lost (2004-2010)

It took a whopping 121 episodes for J. J. Abrams to bring Lost to a close in 2010, and even then, he still left fans wanting more – but not necessarily in a good way. The sci-fi show was a mind-bending, thought-provoking mystery that unfolded over six epic seasons. What made Lost really special is that it came at a time when the internet was really starting to blossom, allowing fan theories to spread like wildfire.

The downside to that, though, is that those fans had their own ideas as to how the show should end. That doomed Lost to fail before it even ended. To be fair to viewers, Abrams did leave a hell of a lot of questions unanswered. I’m all for an ambiguous ending – they’re my favourite way to conclude a story, actually – but you simply can’t help feeling like Lost was too enigmatic for its own good.

4. The Sopranos (1999-2007)

It’s amazing that such a simple premise – a mafia boss who has anxiety and depression – could lead to one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Indeed, even including The Sopranos on this list feels a little bit harsh, as the overall quality of the six-season show is so high. But it’s for that very reason that we have to hold it to a higher standard in every way, including its ending.

In truth, there’s nothing wrong with the finale as a whole; it’s just as good as the other 85 episodes that came before it. That is, except for the very final moments of the episode, where a cut to black is all we get to say goodbye to the fascinating character of Tony Soprano. What exactly happens to him in that moment is up for debate, and fans hate that they weren’t given a definitive ending.

5. Killing Eve (2018-2022)

From a conclusion that ended just too soon, to one that dragged on for too long. Killing Eve, much like Stranger Things, was a breath of fresh air when it first started. By the time it finished, however, fans were scratching their heads and wondering what the hell they had just watched. Phoebe Waller-Bridge followed up her mammoth success on Fleabag with this twisted, sapphic thriller, and for the first couple of seasons, she captured lightning in a bottle. 

Season 3 showed signs of things falling apart, with unnecessary and meandering subplots and character development that stagnated. In many ways, it felt like the show was continuing without a real end goal in mind. By the end of Season 4, fans were livid with the way Eve transformed and how her relationship with Villanelle evolved, especially as it departed from the way things were supposed to go down in the book.

6. Sherlock (2010-2017)

Another BBC show that started impeccably and lost its way is Sherlock. As a massive fan of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels, I was enraptured with this modern take on the classic character, mainly thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch’s superb performance in the titular role. He perfectly captured the spirit of the arrogant genius, and the mysteries he solved in the first couple of seasons were fantastic. 

However, much like Killing Eve, the show seemingly forgot everything that made it so special along the way. The third season was still fairly good, although one particular retcon is handled a little sloppily and far less convincingly than in the source material. However, it’s the fourth and final season that is a real travesty. Sherlock’s sister shows up, all focus is lost, and fans rightly wished that showrunners Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss had quit while they were ahead. Still, at least there are only three episodes per season, so you’re not going to be wasting much time by watching it from start to finish anyway…

It’s been interesting over the last few years to see the stars of Netflix’s Sex Education (like Aimee Lou Wood on White Lotus and Emma Mackay on Hot Milk) move on to bigger things. Something similar happened with Euphoria a few years ago, with Jacob Elordi, Zendaya and Sidney Sweeney; but for a slightly older teens-behaving-badly show that proved to be a hotbed of talent, it’s important that we show some respect to Skins—not least for the fact that, when the show was released, the transition from TV to movies was far less common.

Over seven seasons and three generations of cast members, the iconic Channel 4 indie sleaze show has so far produced an Oscar winner and an Oscar nominee, as well as a host of Hollywood stars. In fact, in 2025 alone, a Skins star appeared in one of the biggest tentpole releases of the summer. Another one appeared in two (yes, two) of the year’s best movies. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find a selection of their recent work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

Nicholas Hoult (Sid Stonem)

As we mentioned above, while some of the Skins stars moved on to other professions (Mike Bailey, who played Sid in Season 1, apparently is now a teacher), more than a few have gone on to have dazzling careers. Bailey’s co-star from season one, Nicholas Hoult, is certainly one of them.

Hoult's rise was probably less surprising than others, as the actor had made his name before Skins, having starred alongside Hugh Grant in About a Boy. Since the show aired, however, Hoult has gone from strength to strength. In 2011, he enjoyed the first of five appearances as Beast in the X-Men universe. In 2015, he played Nux in the iconic action movie Mad Max: Fury Road and in 2025, he had his first of what will surely be many appearances as Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman reboot.

Outside of IP work, Hoult has played real-life roles, like J.D. Salinger and J.R.R. Tolkien, and worked with great filmmakers like Clint Eastwood and Yorgos Lanthimos. Since bleaching his hair this year, he’s also (once again) very much a sex symbol. Good for him.

One to watch: Eastwood’s Juror #2 is old school Hollywood storytelling at its very best.

Dev Patel (Anwar Kharral)

In 2008, Dev Patel became the first major breakout from the Generation One of Skins when he was cast by Danny Boyle to play the lead role in Slumdog Millionaire—a movie that became a cultural sensation and went on to win best picture at the Oscars, earning Patel (who was just 18 at the time) a nomination for Best Actor at the Baftas along the way.

Since that dizzying early high, Patel has been working steadily in the industry—and was eventually nominated for an Oscar of his own for his supporting role, opposite Nicole Kidman, in Lion from 2016. 

In 2025, he directed and starred in Monkey Man, a movie that worked like a combination of Boyle’s hectic approach to Slumdog and the action cinema of John Wick. Elsewhere, Patel starred in David Lowery’s excellent Green Knight for A24 and appeared in Neill Blomkamp’s underrated Chappie. He also played the lead in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender—but the less said about that one, the better…

One to watch: Movies like The Green Knight are why people still flock to A24. Check it out.

Daniel Kaluuya (Posh Kenneth)

Is it slightly cheating to have Daniel Kaluuya on this list? The actor only appeared fleetingly as “Posh” Kenneth in the early seasons of Skins, but given the mark he has left on the cinema landscape since, it would be silly not to mention him. The actor seems to choose his projects carefully, but of the 16 movies he’s appeared in so far, many are modern classics.

These include Black Panther, Get Out (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), Nope, Sicario, Widows and a voice role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. In 2022, he became the first Skins alumnus to win an Oscar (Best Supporting Actor), for playing Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. He hasn’t appeared on screen since 2022 and, at the time of writing, is currently in development on his solo directorial debut, which of course, is based on Barney.

One to watch: Plenty to choose from, but Jordan Peele’s Nope is just phenomenal. 

Hannah Murray (Cassie Ainsworth)

I can’t quite work out why none of the female actors in Skins had quite the same careers as the boys—if the show were to air in 2025, I can only presume that might be different. Whatever the case, Hannah Murray, who played Cassie in the first generation, has gone on to have a solid career across various indie movies and one behemoth of a TV show.

In 2012, Murray appeared alongside Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows and followed it up with roles in some festival favourites, like the Belle and Sebastian musical God Help the Girl and the award-winning film Bridgend. For most viewers, however, she will always be known for playing Sam’s beau, Gilly, over seven seasons of Game of Thrones.

One to watch: For sheer longevity, it’s gotta be Game of Thrones.  

Joe Dempsie (Chris Miles)

Similar to Murray, Joe Dempsie’s post-Skins career has been defined by his recurring role as Gendry on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Outside of all that Westerosian lore, you can find him in two seasons of Shane Meadows’ excellent This is England spinoff series on Channel 4. On the big screen, he’s not been quite so active, but football fans in particular may recognise him for his performance as Duncan McKenzie in The Damned United.

One to watch: Like Murray, it’s hard to look past his appearance as the blacksmith who might be king in Game of Thrones. 

Jack O’Connell (James Cook)

I think if you asked Skins fans back in the day, which actor would go on to have the best career, most of them would have said Jack O’Connell. Over two seasons, O’Connell was simply electric as James Cook, an unpredictable Duracell bunny with a surprisingly deep well of emotions.

Unfortunately, as we all know, the movie business isn’t always as welcoming to working-class actors, and despite his acclaimed work in Starred Up in 2013 and an unfortunate missed opportunity with Angelina Jolie’s poorly received Unbroken, O’Connell has had to bide his time. Now, with his celebrated turn as the antagonist in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners earlier this year and his hinted-at central role in the upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the actor finally seems to be getting his due. 

One to watch: Starred Up is awesome, but it’s gotta be Sinners. 

Kaya Scodelario (Effy Stonem)

Kaya Scodelario, who played Effy across two generations of Skins, becoming the star of the show in Seasons 3 and 4, is another of the series’ stars who didn’t quite take off as much as fans expected her to. She made a splash on some franchise movies, appearing in three Maze Runners and one Pirates of the Caribbean, and even played Claire Redfield in the recent reboot of Resident Evil, but top-quality work has been a little harder to come by.

The exception to the rule was a starring role in Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights, which will forever be, IMHO, the best adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel.

One to watch: As the text suggests, it’s Wuthering Heights.

Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Sketch)

Since playing Sketch in the first Skins generation, the improbably double-lettered Aimee-Ffion Edwards has enjoyed a steady career on the small screen. She appeared in Wolf Hall and voiced Ranni the Witch in the video game Elden Ring, but she is easily best known for two major recurring roles: playing Esme Shelby in Peaky Blinders and Shirley Dander in Slow Horses. 

One to watch: Blinders has the longevity, but her flirtatious/frenemy rapport with Kadiff Kirwan on Slow Horses is one of the show’s consistent joys. 

Will Merrick (Alo Creevey)

Fewer stars have emerged from Skins‘ third generation than the first two iterations of the show, but lead actor Will Merrick has landed some roles you might have seen. Outside his substantial career on stage, the actor got an early break in Richard Curtis’s About Time in 2013 and has more recently had small roles in F1 and Barbie, as well as on Silo for Apple TV+.

One to watch: Not a huge amount to choose from, but his biggest part is arguably in About Time.

Dakota Blue Richards (Franky Fitzgerald)

Dakota Blue Richards was a little like Nicholas Hoult at the beginning, having landed the role of Franky Fitzgerald in Skins after already starring in The Golden Compass when she was just 12 years old. Since leading Skins’ third generation, the actor’s most notable work has been a recurring role on Endeavour, the ITV detective series.

One to watch: If you’re a fan of Richards performances on Skins, you’ll probably get a kick out of seeing her in Golden Compass.

Nothing says GOAT-status quite like a list rating a director’s ten (yes, ten) most underrated movies. To even warrant consideration, the candidate must a) be beloved, and b) have made enough universally acclaimed movies that there are at least ten left feeling overshadowed. In both of these categories, like so many others when it comes to cinematic achievements, Martin Scorsese excels. 

The octogenarian has so far directed 28 features in his glittering career. In that time, he’s never exactly gone off the map, but there are enough commercial flops and critical misconceptions over the years to warrant the following ten movies’ inclusion—some of which you’ve seen, some perhaps not. Many readers won’t need reminding that the following are worthy of the Scorsese canon, but if you’re relatively new to exploring Marty’s back catalogue, or mostly know the classics (like Taxi Driver and Goodfellas), I’m kind of envious—there’s really nothing like seeing movies as good as these for the first time.  

The following list—which I’ve arranged in ascending order—offers something for audiences of various ages, but, of course, many of them skew towards more mature viewers. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

10. Gangs of New York (2002)

It’s fair to say that Gangs of New York—a crime movie set amongst the Irish immigrant community in New York in the 1860s—is nobody’s idea of peak Scorsese, but there are plenty of reasons to like it—especially if you’re a fan of the style of shows like Peaky Blinders and House of Guinness.

Cameron Diaz was admittedly miscast as the love interest, but this movie boasts plenty of well-placed talent elsewhere—including the first of Scorsese’s many collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio and, in Bill “The Butcher”, one of Daniel Day-Lewis’s most terrifying creations. Earning almost $200 million at the box office, it also paved the way for the late career heights that followed.

9. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) 

In 1974, Scorsese followed up his early success with Mean Streets by taking a sharp turn toward melodrama with Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The result movie is sometimes overlooked as it’s not exactly the kind of thing people associate with the director. However, that certainly doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing, not least for fans of movies from that era like The Bridges of Madison County or Five Easy Pieces.

Ellen Burstyn stars alongside Kris Kristofferson, with Jodie Foster amongst the supporting cast.

8. Cape Fear (1991)

Cape Fear is probably the closest thing to a straight-up horror movie that Scorsese ever directed. As a result, it’s another one of those genre exercises that people tend to overlook when considering his greatest movies—but they really shouldn’t.

Cape Fear is a nightmarish remake of the 1962 original of the same name (that film’s star, the great Robert Mitchum, even gets a cameo here) with Juliet Lewis as the ingénue and a never more frightening Robert DeNiro as the vengeful ex-con, Max Cady. Check it out if you’re partial to classic psychological horror (like Primal Fear) or if you appreciate Season 5, Episode 2 of The Simpsons—one of the show’s greatest ever homages.

7. Kundun (1997)

Kundun is the Scorsese movie people tend to bring up as an example of when a director delivers a hit (as he had done with Goodfellas and Casino) and follows it up with a far more personal project—what people in the biz tend to call a “one for you, one for me” arrangement.

Because of that, Kundun has a reputation for being slow and indulgent—but is there really anyone else you’d rather see be indulgent than Martin Scorsese? The movie is a biopic of the 14th Dalai Lama, so if you enjoy Bertolucci’s Last Emperor or even Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, you might be into it.

6. New York, New York (1977) 

Scorsese’s first and only musical, New York, New York (which also has a great Simpsons episode dedicated to it), is probably best known for being the most wild behind the scenes production of the director’s cocaine years (it was the ‘70s, after all)—but if you like seeing directors directors of that generation try their hand at the genre (think Spielberg’s West Side Story or Coppola's One from the Heart), you might be really into it.

The movie stars Robert DeNiro as a saxophonist who falls in love with a singer (played by Liza Minnelli) on V-J Day in 1945. Of course, it features that song.

5. Silence (2017)

Diehard Scorsese fans will tell you that Silence is one of the director’s finest movies. I wouldn’t personally go that far, but I do think of it as some kind of flawed masterpiece. There are issues with it—for one, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver should probably have been cast in each other’s roles—but the best parts are phenomenal.

Liam Neeson gives one of his finest performances as a kind of monkish Colonel Kurtz, and, working in Japan for the first time, the director takes the opportunity to pay homage to Japanese cinema—and those moments are to die for. If you appreciate Akira Kurosawa (think Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood) or other movies from that era, you’re probably gonna love it.

4. The Colour of Money (1986)

I think the reason that The Colour of Money is underrated, at least in terms of the history of Scorsese movies and Sports movies (a genre in which it deserves huge recognition), is that people aren’t quite sure how to categorise it. Is it a “legacy sequel” for The Hustler from a time before that term was invented? Is it a swansong for Paul Newman, who finally got to win the Oscar for playing Fast Eddie Felson, having lost it unjustly 25 years before? Is it a changing of the guard between Newman and Tom Cruise, Hollywood’s most glittering young star at the time? 

In reality, this movie of pool sharks, late-night dive bars and the inevitability of old age is all those things and more. It also features, in the sequences when Cruise hits the table, some of the most dazzling examples of total confidence ever captured on film. If you like classic sports movies like Hustler and Rocky, you just gotta see it. 

3. The Age of Innocence (1993)

Is it gender essentialist to suggest that the reason why Age of Innocence—an immaculate adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel about high society in 1870s New York—tends not to land in the pantheon of great Scorsese movies is that the people who write those lists are usually dudes? It’s not not a theory.

This movie, among other things, features a delicious love triangle between Wynona Ryder, Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer. It also offers some of the most decadent production design of the 1990s. If you appreciate shows like The Gilded Age, you’ll probably devour it.

2. After Hours (1985)

Ask any Scorsese head which movie they think is undervalued from the director’s canon, and 95% of them will probably say After Hours. This was a smaller film that people had gotten used to from the director, but it was nevertheless a significant swing—a movie that feels like ‘70s Cassavetes (think Husbands or Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky) but with an even more lurid undercurrent of sexual desire.

That said, a movie can only be referred to as underrated for so long, and at the rate that After Hours seems to be inspiring younger filmmakers these days (Anora fans take note), it’s only a matter of time before it’ll be, well, rated. Catch it while it still feels under the radar.

1. Casino (1995)

Am I insane for putting this one up top? Casino made a hefty profit in 1995 but was only nominated for a single Oscar—for Sharon Stone. The suits, most of which were designed exclusively by Giorgio Armani, are legendary, and yet, their positioning amongst the “best of the rest” on many lists (somewhere below the usual Mount Rushmore picks of Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and The Departed) always struck me as a little off.

Tracking the early days of Las Vegas, Casino is a dazzlingly stylish tragedy, and a movie that chases its shots of decadence with nostalgia and melancholy—a mood that the filmmaker would later explore with The Wolf of Wall Street. If you haven’t seen it in a while (or, better yet, never have), I highly recommend giving it another watch.

When I Am Legend was released in 2007, fans of Robert Matheson’s influential novel were split over some of the choices the writers had taken with the source material. In case you haven’t read it, Matheson’s story ends with the protagonist, Robert Neville, realising that by relentlessly hunting the infected, he himself had become the monster—or the “legend”—in a world that had already left humanity behind. 

In the theatrical release, Neville (played by Will Smith) sacrifices himself heroically to find a cure, thus making him the hero, relieving the story of its moral punch, and effectively denying us the chance of a sequel. This was later course-corrected thanks to an alternative ending that appeared on the movie’s DVD—one that both showed the creatures to be sentient (even sympathetic) and left Smith’s character alive, leaving the door open once again for a sequel. Now, after two decades and some false starts, I Am Legend 2 might finally be going ahead with Smith and Michael B. Jordan (who recently learned a thing or two about vampires in Sinners) leading the cast. Everything is still in the early stages, and given the tantalising possibility of releasing the film as a 20th anniversary legacy sequel, it’s likely we’ll have to wait until 2027 to see it.

Can’t wait that long for another hit? We’ve got you covered. In the following list—which I’ve arranged in no particular order—you’ll find ten titles that look at similar themes: specifically, what it might feel like to be the last person on earth, or at least to think you are until someone (or something) else shows up. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. The Road (2009)

When people think about post-apocalyptic landscapes, whatever world they conjure up probably owes something to The Road. Cormac McCarthy’s modern dystopian classic has become synonymous with the image of a man and son navigating a barren wasteland, so even if the Jordan and Smith characters don’t end up being related in I Am Legend 2, you can be sure that the filmmakers will have it in mind when they sit down to write the story.

The 2009 adaptation is as fateful to the source as’ No Country for Old Men was to that other great McCarthy novel—so if you’re a fan of that Coen brothers classic, be sure to check this one out. Since its release in 2009, the movie has influenced a huge number of shows, movies and video games, not least the next title on this list…

2. The Last of Us (2023-)

The Last of Us is HBO’s adaptation of the celebrated Naughty Dog video game and its phenomenal sequel. In case you haven’t been keeping up, the show stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay as a surrogate father and daughter—a classic trope of the genre—as they attempt to survive in a world populated by fungus-enhanced, zombie-like creatures. The rub in this one is that Ramsay’s character is immune and may, in fact, be carrying a cure.

The game and show were both inspired by the world of The Road, but with the added touch of a world rewilding as human influence wanes—as seen in I Am Legend, among other places. If you appreciated showrunner Craig Mazin’s Chernobyl or are curious about how I Am Legend 2 will presumably look, this is one to see.

3. The Book of Eli (2010)

If you like the idea of seeing an I Am Legend-style movie, but with a little more influence from the world of Mad Max, The Book of Eli could be the movie for you—especially if reports are to be believed that the sequel will involve Neville travelling outside New York and encountering new settlements across America. 

The movie stars Denzel Washington as Eli, a man with a dog traversing a post-nuclear-holocaust USA. The story was written by Gary Whitta, who went on to work on Rogue One, After Earth and the video game adaptation of The Walking Dead.

4. Here Alone (2016)

Considering how inexpensively these kinds of movies can potentially be made for, it’s surprising more indie directors haven’t tried their hand at it. One of the most notable in the last decade was Rod Blackhurst’s Here Alone, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016. 

The story follows a young woman into the wilderness after a zombie-like epidemic decimates the human race. While there, she encounters a man and his daughter, which prompts her to revisit the painful memories of what happened to her own partner and child. Like Last of Us and The Road, Here Alone ticks all the boxes of the genre but manages to pull it off on a much lighter budget—so if you’re keen to see what that might look like, this might be the one for you.

5. Hidden (2015)

If you’re a fan of all things Stranger Things, you might be interested in seeing where the Duffer Brothers started. The duo’s first feature, Hidden, which was released a year before Things began its iconic run on Netflix, takes place in a fallout shelter during an outbreak that might be turning people into—you guessed it—zombies.

The movie didn’t exactly make a huge splash, but it boasts an incredible cast (Alexander Skarsgard and Andrea Riseborough both feature) and works wonders with its spatial limitations. If you’re a fan of movies like Buried and Phone Booth, this might be the one for you.

6. The Omega Man (1971)

It would be wrong to make a list like this and not give credit to a few originators. 1971’s The Omega Man isn’t actually the alpha adaptation of I Am Legend (that honour goes to the charmingly goofy—and actually quite faithful to the book—The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price, from 1964), but it helped to popularise the genre in a way that its predecessor didn’t quite manage. 

Don’t go into this one expecting Matheson’s downbeat and philosophical approach—this is a movie without vampires and one in which Charlton Heston, not for the first time, plays a Christ-like figure. Heston and producer Walter Seitzer would go on to collaborate on Soylent Green a few years later—so if you’re a fan of that cult classic, you might want to check it out.

7. A Boy and His Dog (1975)

Four years after The Omega Man was released, the actor L.Q. Jones independently produced and directed A Boy and His Dog, an adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s novel, which also boasts a title that most of the movies on this list could use. The story—which is set in the distant year of 2024 (eek)—follows a young lad and his telepathic dog through a dystopian wasteland somewhere in the South West of the United States.

If you’re a fan of the other movies on this list and haven’t seen it, I highly recommend seeking it out. Jones’ playful tone is said to be one of the key influences on the Fallout video game series, so if you’ve been appreciating that show, this one might be right up your alley. 

8. In My Room (2018)

If you like Matheson’s story for its more philosophical moments (which, to be fair, the Will Smith movie didn’t quite tap into as much as fans of the book would have liked) and don’t mind trying something a little farther afield, you might be interested in checking out In My Room—a last man on earth story by the German filmmaker Ulrich Kohler.

Kohler’s film premiered in Cannes in 2018 and got rave reviews from critics, who praised it for its offbeat and strangely hopeful tone. In some ways, this is more a film about touching grass than contemplating obliquity—so if you appreciate the films of, say, Kelly Reichardt (Old Joy, First Cow), you might really like it. 

9. Oblivion (2013)

And speaking of Oblivion, if you’re interested in a “Last Man” movie with more of a sci-fi twist, I can happily recommend this underappreciated Tom Cruise movie. This is the one where Cruise plays a repairman left on Earth to conduct the last few jobs (essentially turning the lights off) before joining the rest of the human race on a distant colony. 

This was the first collaboration between Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski—so if you like what the duo went on to do with Top Gun: Maverick, you might be interested in checking it out. Oh, and if the plot sounds familiar, just wait till you get a load of the last movie on our list…

10. WALL-E (2008)

Yes, as many people in 2013 quickly noted, Kosinski’s movie was essentially a live-action remake of the 2008 Pixar classic, WALL-E. This is a movie about the last of a fleet of adorable robots that were left to clean the mountains of trash that humanity left behind. 

In the movie’s impeccable, dialogue-free opening half hour, he meets a sleek robot named EVA, falls in love, and ends up following her to the last human space colony. This is a gem of Pixar’s golden age, a film that fans of Ratatouille, Up and even I Am Legend will absolutely adore. 

We all have our favourite directors, right? Just like a certain genre or trope might appeal to you more than others, the work of a filmmaker can sometimes be so distinctive and attuned to your tastes that you just can’t help but love everything they do.

Some directors, like Quentin Tarantino, for example, are so consistent in the tone and style of their work that it’s easy to recognise one of their movies immediately. Even someone like Stanley Kubrick, who ventured into various genres, had a clear voice and visual code that made his work unmistakable.

On the flipside, some filmmakers can truly surprise us. You may think you know their modus operandi, but you’d be wrong. Here, we pick out ten directors who have bucked the trend at some point in their careers to make movies you would never expect them to, for better or worse.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Babe: Pig in the City (1998) – George Miller

The crazy world of Max Rockatansky comes from the mind of Australian filmmaker George Miller. All of the Mad Max movies get progressively more wild, culminating in the brilliant Mad Max: Fury Road and its prequel, Furiosa. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Miller, who has spent the last 45+ years spawning stories from the Wasteland, was entirely devoted to dystopian tales. You’d be wrong, though.

Before he got to bring his fourth Mad Max film to life in 2015, Miller showed his softer side and made something completely against the grain of what you’d expect from him. Miller was brought in to direct 1998’s Babe: Pig in the City, a sequel to Babe, in a move which saw the acclaimed filmmaker swap death and destruction in the desert for talking animals on a farm. While Babe will always have a special place in my heart for being the first film I ever saw in a cinema, there’s something bizarrely brilliant about Miller being involved in its follow-up. Funnily enough, while it’s obviously a very light-hearted family movie, you can definitely spot Miller’s dark sense of humour at times.

2. The Godfather (1972) and Jack (1996) – Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola may have made riveting character studies like Apocalypse Now and The Conversation, but he will always be most famous for directing The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. They are quite literally, officially, two of the very best movies ever made – if you don’t believe us, watch them on Paramount Plus now and tell us we’re wrong. The story of the great Don Corleone and his Italian-American crime family, The Godfather trilogy, is violent, gritty, and a sprawling epic in every sense of the word.

However, in 1996, 22 years after earning widespread praise for The Godfather: Part II, Coppola made Jack, for some reason. The comedy drama stars Robin Williams as a boy who grows four times faster than he should due to a rare medical condition, resulting in a socially stunted ten-year-old boy who looks like a middle-aged man. Is it a fun film? Sure. Robin Williams is always good value, and there’s some great slapstick humour in there. But is it a film suited to Coppola’s style and voice? Absolutely not.

3. Terminator (1984) and Piranha 2 (1982) – James Cameron

Another man who made two of the greatest movies of all time, James Cameron, rocked the world when he brought The Terminator to our screens in 1984. Seven years later, he rocked it even more with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. What’s interesting about those two films is that the first is essentially a sci-fi slasher, with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s relentless robotic killer hellbent on taking out his targets. The sequel, however, is far lighter in tone and is all-out action. They’re both perfect, and Cameron has since gone on to make waves with his Avatar movies, as well as making bank with Titanic in the ‘90s.

Before all that, though, Cameron paid his dues and brought the monstrosity that is Piranha II: The Spawning to our screens. The B-movie horror was a riff on Jaws, in many ways, but obviously nowhere near as effective. It’s also a film Cameron himself disowns, especially given he was fired before the project was completed. Still, his name is on the credits as director, and he can’t escape all the blame as he was even the one responsible for writing the script, too.

4. Spider-Man (2002) and The Evil Dead (1981) – Sam Raimi

Before the great comic book movie boom with the birth of the MCU in 2008, Sam Raimi was the man bringing your favourite superheroes to the big screen in style. His Spider-Man trilogy still stands as one of the benchmarks for films of this ilk (though the less said about Spider-Man 3, the better). Perhaps Raimi was lucky in that he found the perfect Peter Parker in Tobey Maguire, but there’s no denying that the director brings incredible visual flair, a great understanding of the characters, and can deliver fantastic action set-pieces across his three movies.

It may be surprising to some to know that Raimi actually started in the horror genre. In fact, the superhero stuff is very much a side gig for the esteemed filmmaker, who always relishes diving back into the world of demons, blood, and gore. His 1981 cult hit, The Evil Dead, is widely regarded as one of the best indie horror movies ever made. It may lean into the tropes of teenage victims being punished for their foolish, hedonistic ways, but The Evil Dead was startlingly fresh and original in its no-holds-barred depiction of supernatural horror.

5. Near Dark (1987) and Point Break (1991) – Kathryn Bigelow

More recently, Kathryn Bigelow has directed tense, taut thrillers like Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit, and A House of Dynamite. They’re all movies that are very politically-charged and full of social commentary. However, her best work to date is Point Break. The 1991 hit is riotously good fun, with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze hitting hitherto undreamt of levels of ‘guys being dudes’. Bank robberies, extreme surfing, jumping out of planes; Point Break has it all and is one of the quintessential action movies of the ‘90s.

You would never imagine that Bigelow would have been involved in a dark and violent vampire movie before all of that, but Near Dark is a fine example of how a skilled filmmaker can turn their hand to any genre and make it work. Sadly, no streaming services are holding Near Dark in their libraries right now, but if you’re a fan of movies like 30 Days of Night and The Lost Boys, you really should try to track it down. And when you look beyond the difference in genre, there are actually pretty similar themes at the heart of Point Break and Near Dark: both stories centre around one man’s reluctant induction into a dangerous gang – the only difference is, one of them needs to feed on blood.

6. Elf (2003) and Iron Man (2008) – Jon Favreau

Remember when we mentioned the inception of the MCU earlier? Well, Jon Favreau had a massive role to play in that cultural shift in the world of cinema, having directed the first Iron Man movie back in 2008. He also directed the sequel, as well as playing a key role in the movies as Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s loyal bodyguard. These early Marvel movies are big, loud, bombastic productions, intended to match the characteristics of the hero at the heart of them.

Just how he made the jump to that realm after making one of the best Christmas movies of all time is beyond me, but I’m glad he did. Elf is a modern classic that simply has to be watched every time the festive period swings around, and you can absolutely tell that Favreau, Will Ferrell, and just about everyone involved is having the time of their lives making this movie. James Caan might not have found Ferrell funny, but I’d argue his role as Buddy the Elf is one of the best comedy performances of the 21st century.

7. Superman (1978) and The Omen (1976) – Richard Donner

Speaking of superhero movies, we go way back to 1978 for Richard Donner’s Superman. Now this is a true classic of the genre and is still heralded as the greatest Superman movie to this day, despite the likes of Zack Snyder and James Gunn trying their best to emulate what Donner achieved all that time ago. Like Sam Raimi and Spider-Man, Donner was blessed with the ideal actor for the dual role of Clark Kent and the Man of Steel in Christopher Reeve, who not only looked the part but was phenomenal at flitting between the two personas with ease.

Just two years before asking us all to look to the sky, though, Donner had us hiding behind our hands in fear as he brought The Omen to life on the big screen. While some of its special effects are rather dated now, almost 50 years later, The Omen is truly horrifying at times, and is another one of those horror movies that has been the blueprint for so many more to follow. The tonal shift between The Omen and Superman, in such a short space of time, is unthinkable, but Donner really was a magical moviemaker.

8. Shutter Island (2010) and Hugo (2011) – Martin Scorsese

It would be highly reductive to say that Martin Scorsese only makes mobster movies, even if he is very, very good at crafting those kinds of stories. With the likes of Mean Streets, Goodfellas, and The Irishman under his belt, it’s easy to forget that Scorsese also put out great movies like After Hours, The King of Comedy, and my personal favourite, the very dark, disturbing, and thought-provoking Shutter Island.

The twists and turns in this harrowing mystery thriller showcase Scorsese’s work at its most dynamic and gripping. Shutter Island also produces one of the best final scenes of all time, with Leonardo DiCaprio doing incredible work next to Mark Ruffalo. But did you know Scorsese also made the warm and fluffy family movie, Hugo? Just one year after embracing his dark side with Shutter Island, Scorsese poured his heart and soul into a tale celebrating his love of cinema. There’s no blood or violence in this one, just a filmmaker trying to show the world just how much cinema means to him by living vicariously through his characters.

9. Moonlight (2016) and Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) – Barry Jenkins

When Barry Jenkins broke onto the scene with his Oscar-winning romance movie Moonlight, it looked like we had one of the great modern storytellers emerging out of nowhere. Obviously, themes of sexuality, rejection, abandonment, and, more than anything, family, are deeply rooted in Moonlight, and that’s what makes it so mesmerising. It’s authentic and heartfelt, and it has something truly important to say to us as an audience.

It was quite disappointing, then, to see Jenkins eventually become a director for hire to make Mufasa: The Lion King. In fairness, he was attracted to the screenplay, which tackled themes of community – something he has covered previously in his work – and he was excited by the idea of building on The Lion King’s lore. He didn’t do a bad job, either, and he probably made enough money to fund a couple of indie movies in the process. But it will always be a shame that such a distinct voice was busy making live-action Disney movies instead of exploring the nitty-gritty of the human condition.

10. Fish Tank (2009) and Cow (2022) – Andrea Arnold

There’s a good chance that a lot of people won’t have even heard of or watched Fish Tank, and the same probably applies to Cow, too. Some of you might not even know who Andrea Arnold is, but you really should. If the above applies to you, please get on Disney+ and watch Fish Tank, and then log in to Mubi and watch Cow. I promise you won’t regret it. 

The former is a hard-hitting, coming-of-age social realism movie about a young girl who has to deal with teenage life while her mother is distracted by her enigmatic new boyfriend (played by Michael Fassbender, no less). Fish Tank is one of my favourite indie movies, and I still remember how I was blown away by it when I was shown the film at university. It’s very visceral and unflinching, but it’s also packed with stunning shots and powerful symbolism to drive home its messages around adolescence and the idea of freedom.

Meanwhile, Cow is a rather experimental, very direct documentary that offers the viewer the POV of (as you may have guessed) a cow on a farm. There’s no narration, which can be a little jarring for some, but in the end, the impact of this lack of human influence is very effective indeed. While the framing devices of these two Andrea Arnold movies are polar opposite and the divide between fiction and reality is crossed, there’s actually a clear pattern in the director’s work around themes of captivity, albeit with starkly different outcomes.

Thirty-five years after the first official Sundance Film Festival, the most famous indie launchpad in the world looks set for a bumper year. The yearly gathering, which takes place in the snowy ski town of Park City, Utah, can’t claim to have the same cultural clout these days as it did in the Wild West era of the early ‘90s or the twee resurgence of the mid-‘00s. 

However, as films like CODA and Everything Everywhere All at Once have shown in recent years, it’s still possible for a film to premiere there in an unheralded evening in mid-January and go all the way to the Oscars in March of the following year. Almost in fitting tribute to Robert Redford, the recently deceased Hollywood legend who helped found the festival and the Sundance Institute, this year’s lineup boasts a pleasing mix of returning alumni and exciting new talent in both the feature film and documentary sections. 

There are new films from mumblecore legends Jay Duplass (See You When I See You) and Andrew Stanton (In the Blink of an Eye), big name directors in need of a win (Olivia Wilde’s The Invite, Kogonada’s zi) and the usual glut of tasty looking documentaries on as wide ranging topics as the Harlem Renaissance (Once Upon a Time in Harlem), the Wu-Tang Clan (The Disciple), the comedian Maria Bamford (Judd Apatow’s Paralyzed by Hope), the chess prodigy Judit Polgar (Queen of Chess, which Netflix had already picked up) and even Charlie XCX (Aiden Zamiri’s buzzed-to-the-heavens experimental tour doc The Movement). 

That none of these have made my own most-anticipated top ten—which I’ve arranged below in no particular order—says all you need to know about the 2026 lineup. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find some of the filmmakers’ best-known work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. The History of Concrete (John Wilson)

When How to With John Wilson completed its three-season run on HBO in 2023, it was difficult to know what the idiosyncratic documentary maker would do next. With that series, Wilson had used footage he’d been accumulating for years to make a surreal collage on the unique energies of New York City while, episode-by-episode, taking side quests worthy of Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends. 

For his new project, the feature-length documentary The History of Concrete, the documentary maker attends a class on how to make a Hallmark movie and uses the skills he learns to sell a documentary on a grey, gooey substance that we use to make roads and bridges. Sounds like a blast. 

2. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (David Wain)

As the man behind Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models, David Wain’s status as an American comedy icon will never be in question. That said, however, despite working regularly enough since then, he hasn’t come close to hitting those heights in quite some time—neither his 2012 movie Wanderlust nor his romcom satire They Came Together exactly set the world alight.

That could change with his generously titled Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, a movie about a woman from the American Midwest who travels to Hollywood to seek revenge when her husband actually manages to use his hall pass. Zoey Deutsch leads a glittering cast that includes Richard Kind, Sabrina Impacciatore, and a Mad Men alum reunion for John Slattery and Jon Hamm—should be fun.

3. Carousel (Rachel Lambert)

The most talked-about title going into Sundance this year seems to be Rachel Lambert’s Carousel. This is a movie about a divorced, lonely, but mostly content dad (played by Chris Pine) who starts to do a bit of life-reassessment when an old girlfriend (Jenny Slate) returns to town. 

Pine’s hot dad potential has been evident for years now, and nobody does the love interest thing quite like Jenny Slate—if you haven’t seen her with Chris Evans in Gifted, do yourself a favour and check it out. This is Lambert’s follow-up to Sometimes I Think About Dying, a Daisy Ridley movie from 2023 that was about as excellent as it was criminally underseen. That film came with plenty of sharp edges, so I’m guessing we don’t have to worry about Carousel being too cutesy. I couldn’t be more seated. 

4. Chasing Summer (Josephine Decker)

Since catching both Butter on the Latch and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely at the Berlinale in 2014, I’ve followed each subsequent Josephine Decker release with equal parts excitement and interest. Her lively 2018 breakout, Madeline’s Madeline, deserved all the attention it got, as did Shirley, her jagged, Elisabeth Moss-starring biopic on the writer Shirley Jackson.Her latest, Chasing Summer, is described on the Sundance site as being about a woman who returns to her hometown in Texas after losing her job and boyfriend—we can expect something stranger than that. Standup comic Iliza Shlesinger both writes and stars. 

5. Wicker (Alex Huston Fisher & Eleanor Wilson)

“A fisherwoman asks a basketmaker to weave her a husband” is not only the most succinct festival synopses I’ve ever read, but it’s also one of the most eye-catching. Read a little more about Alex Huston Fisher and Eleanor Wilson’s new movie Wicker, and you’ll learn that it also stars Olivia Colman, Aleksander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage and Elizabeth Debicki. Not bad at all.

This is the writer-director duo’s second feature after 2020’s Save Yourselves!, a film about a couple from Brooklyn who travel upstate to touch grass, only for the world to fall apart while their phones are turned off—even typing that gives me anxiety. If you like your indies a little on the absurd side, this might be one to keep an eye out for. 

6. Extra Geography (Molly Manners)

Sundance will always be best associated with the American independent scene. That said, there are always at least a few hotly-tipped International titles that make a splash in Park City each year. In 2026, Molly Manners Extra Geography has every chance to stand out from the crowd. 

This is Manners’ feature-length debut, having made her name in the streaming world, most notably as lead director on Netflix’s One Day, on which she helmed the first three episodes as well as the heart-wrenching finale. The story, which follows two high school girls who decide to fall in love with their Geography teacher, sounds like a classic Sundance coming-of-age tale. 

7. Run Amok (NB Mager)

Never underestimate the theatre kid energy of the American independent film scene. In 2023, Sundance gave us Theater Camp—an underappreciated gem that probably should’ve been nominated for best original song at the Oscars that year—but the 2026 lineup, for better or worse, goes one better with premiers for two theatre-kid-centric movies: Giselle Bonilla’s The Musical (starring Rob Lowe and Gillian Jacobs) and, more enticing still, NB Mager’s Run Amok.

The movie, a debut feature for the director, is adapted from her own 2023 short of the same name and again features Alyssa Martin (a young star from Broadway) in the central role of Meg: a girl attempting to put on a musical about a shooting that happened in her high school a decade ago. Patrick Wilson, Bill Camp and no less than Molly Ringwald round out the cast. Watch this space. 

8. I Want Your Sex (Gregg Araki)

Another returning Sundance legend this year is the queer cinema icon Gregg Araki, who is returning to Park City with I Want Your Sex—his first film in 12 years. Festival prognosticators have been eyeing this one up at least since Cannes last year, so needless to say, the anticipation around it is about as hot and heavy as the synopsis deserves.

Araki first broke out at Sundance with The Living End in 1992, a punky and unapologetic film that cemented his place as a leading light in the New Queer Cinema movement. He rose to more commercially viable fame with Mysterious Skin in 2007, but has spent the last decade working sporadically on TV shows, like Monster and American Gigolo. I Want Your Sex stars Cooper Hoffman as Elliot, a young man who is hired by an artist (Olivia Wilde) to be her sexual muse. Johnny Knoxville and Daveed Diggs also feature. Sign me up. 

9. Buddy (Casper Kelly)

As the man behind the infamous Cheddar Goblin commercial in Panos Cosmatos’ batshit 2016 movie Mandy—you know, the one where Nick Cage makes this face—Casper Kelly’s debut feature was always going to be essential viewing. 

Kelly has been making surrealist comedies for Adult Swim for years, so don’t be surprised if Buddy, a story about a girl and her friends attempting to escape a kids' TV show (or so the log line goes), ends up being pretty weird. Cristin Milioti, Michael Shannon and Topher Grace star. I am still not sure which of them is playing the axe-wielding unicorn. 

10. The Gallerist (Cathy Yan)

Contrary to list-making standards, the final movie on our rundown could have the biggest mainstream potential of any Sundance feature this year. Titled The Gallerist, this is Cathy Yan’s first feature since directing Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in 2020’s Birds of Prey, a movie that was relatively successful with fans and critics at the time. Naturally, this will be more of a return to the director’s debut, Dead Pigs, a breakout at this very festival in 2018.

By the sound of things, The Gallerist is a straight art world/influencer satire—a world that is rife for comedy, though it can be deceptively tricky to pull off without seeming glib. Luckily, Yan has three Academy Award winners (Natalie Portman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Catherine Zeta Jones) to help her out. They will be joined on screen by Zach Galifianakis, Jenna Ortega and Sterling K Brown. What a cast.

Don’t listen to the naysayers: January really is a good time for fresh starts. Of course, it’s not like something changes in our genetic makeup when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, but nothing provides an unearned sense of clarity quite like an untouched calendar.

Now, as we reach the first proper Friday of 2026, the temptation to let those fledgling resolutions slide will be at its most potent. Luckily, there is no shortage of movies to help you stay the course, no matter what rational or irrational life-alteration you’ve decided to devote this most depressing of months to. In the list below, I’ve rounded up ten of the most popular New Year's resolutions and paired them off with recommendations of what to watch for a little extra motivation. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them all on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Quit Smoking: The Insider (1999)

Let’s kick things off with a timeless resolution and a timeless piece of ‘90s cinema. Naturally, when it comes to nicotine, there are plenty of heartwrenching movies we could have gone for in this slot—but hey, January is hard enough as it is.

Instead, why not try Michael Mann’s The Insider, a Russell Crowe/Al Pacino two-hander that might do more by making you think about who benefits from all that cigarette money than any weepy about the “Big C”. As well as packing a substantial punch, this one’s also a gripping thriller—one that fans of movies like Michael Clayton and Erin Brockovich should lap right up. 

2. Dry January: The Spectacular Now (2013)

Like smoking, cinema abounds with movies that make you feel bad about drinking alcohol, but negativity does not always breed good results—sometimes the carrot really is more effective than the stick. A movie that might prod you more lightly in the right direction is The Spectacular Now—an underappreciated indie gem from 2013 that showed both the joys of teenage binging and the lesser-explored pitfalls. 

This is also a movie that helped to launch both Miles Teller’s and Brie Larson’s careers—so if you’re a fan of their more recent work (think movies like Eternity and Captain Marvel), this is one you’ll wanna see. 

3. Veganuary: Okja (2017)

I was tempted to go for Chris Noonan and George Miller’s Babe and its sequel, Pig in the City, for this slot, but they’re just a little too cutesy to affect any habit-forming change. Naturally, there is no shortage of gnarly YouTube documentaries to help one think twice about eating meat, but if we’re sticking to movies, Bong Joon-ho’s Okja feels like an easy medium.This was the director’s last film before Parasite and only his second in the English language, after Snowpiercer, so if you’ve appreciated either of those movies over the years, I recommend looking into this undervalued and action-packed caper. The movie (which features Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and Stephen Yuen) takes place in a not-so-distant future where megapigs are being farmed to help feed the world's growing population. When a young girl from a farming family decides that she’s not quite ready to say goodbye to her porcine pal just yet, all hell breaks loose. 

4. Get Fit: Rocky (1976)

When it comes to fitness motivation, we’re also spoiled for choice, so why not go with the most obvious contender? We’re talking, of course, about the 1976 Sly Stallone classic, Rocky, a film that became a cultural phenomenon, birthed a nine-movie and counting franchise, and won Best Picture at the Oscars. Not bad.

The scene in which Rocky ascends the steps outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art actually became so synonymous with that location (and the fitness heads who flocked there to recreate it) that a bronze statue of Stallone’s character (a version of which originally appeared in Rocky III) was actually unveiled there in 2006. If you are only familiar with the saga from the more recent Creed movies (which are also aces), it’s high time you went back to see where it all started. It might even help get you moving.

5. Touch Grass: Wild (2014)

Afraid to check your average screen time for the last 12 months? Thumb-prints starting to fade from all that scrolling? Maybe a resolution to switch-off and touch grass could be the 2026 life-choice for you. Movie-wise, there are plenty of woo-woo-coded stories to point you in that direction (movies like The Way, The Salt Path, Into the Wild—you know, stuff with those kinds of names), but when it comes to plucky can-do vibes, you can’t go wrong with a bit of Reese Witherspoon.

Wild, released in 2014, is adapted from Cheryl Strayed’s non-fiction best seller about a 1100-mile hike of self-discovery that the writer took along the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995. If you’re curious about the book’s tone, consider the fact that the author legally changed her name to “Strayed,” and you’ll probably have some idea of what to expect.

6. Learn an Instrument: Whiplash (2014)

I’m not sure what to make of the fact that Miles Teller stars in two of the movies on our resolution list. Perhaps the actor, in his earlier years, was particularly drawn to more extreme or obsessive roles. Whatever the case, if you’re looking to pick up an instrument and need a movie to show the least healthy way to go about it, La La Land director Damien Chazelle’s breakout movie Whiplash is still as snare-skin-tight and thrilling as it was when we first saw it over a decade ago.

The movie stars Teller as a young and ruthlessly driven jazz drummer who comes into the orbit of an equally ruthless teacher (played memorably by J.K. Simmons). It might make you think about quitting, but it’s also oddly alluring about the thrills of playing live. 

7. Change Job: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

No less of a cultural taste-maker than Bill Simmons recently placed 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada as the most rewatchable movie of the last 25 years. Whether or not you agree with that, there’s no debating the influence that David Frankel’s endlessly enjoyable movie has had on the world of fashion and magazine journalism—not to mention providing an enduring reference point for the theme of overcoming imposter syndrome.

If you’ve entered 2026 determined to carve out a new career path, this tale of a fashion world noob (played by Anne Hathaway) gradually finding her feet while working under the domineering Miranda Presley (Meryl Streep) could be just the push you need. 

8. Travel More: Lost in Translation (2003)

This is kind of a tough one, as the Tokyo of Sofia Coppola’s immaculate Lost in Translation—a place where no street sign or restaurant menu came in English, and one could go an entire day without seeing another Westerner—might no longer exist. Indeed, in the age of data roaming, it’s difficult to get lost anywhere anymore, yet when it comes to movies that offer a tantalising window into another world, few in the history of the medium have done it better.

Intentionally or not. Coppola's movie was so successful at selling the experience that you can still book out the exact karaoke booth where Scarlet Johansson and Bill Murray’s characters go to sing. This is a film that was a mood before things were moods. If you’re currently getting a little tired of hibernation mode and are starting to dream of a day spent staring out a train window at some unfamiliar landscapes (see also: Before Sunrise and Before Sunset), this is the one for you. 

9. Travel Less: Comfort of Strangers (1990)

On the other side of that coin, if the idea of squishing into a Ryanair flight for two hours only to find yourself walking down another high street filled with familiar fast fashion retailers and coffee chains (and don’t even start considering what all this is doing to old Mother Earth), maybe a resolution to travel less has crossed your mind. If so, there is a whole sub-genre of holiday-gone-wrong movies that we can point you in the direction of. 

There are plenty of horrors to choose from (Hostel being the obvious example). I’m personally partial to a unique subset of movies that began to surface in the early ‘90s, in which a normy couple’s vacay shapeshifts into a psychosexual thriller. Bitter Moon (with Hugh Grant and Kristen Scott Thomas) and Frantic (with Harrison Ford) are both top class, but Paul Schrader’s The Comfort of Strangers, a sultry, eerie adaptation of Iain McEwan’s Venice-set novel, takes the biscuit.

10. Make More Time For The People You Love: Tokyo Story (1953)

Let’s end this on a more gentle note. If, for 2026, you’ve decided to put a little more focus on family and/or friends, there is no film in existence more likely to inspire you than Yasujiro Ozu’s post-war classic Tokyo Story, a movie that many people, myself included, consider to be the best ever made.

Regardless of whether you agree, Ozu’s tale of an elderly couple’s journey to the Japanese capital—where they’re passed around from one disinterested adult child to the next, only to find real compassion in the company of their widowed daughter-in-law—might just be the encouragement you need to reach out to a loved one, whoever that might be. 

As romance lovers, we simply love love in all its forms—and if it comes packaged in a really good story, all the better! While some movie rom-coms can feel a little surface-level, the great thing about a book adaptation is that you can expect a certain amount of care and detail in its plot and character development.

Whether it’s a new adaptation of a period classic like Sense and Sensibility or a bonkers team-up between Nicholas Sparks and M Night Shyamalan (you read that right!), 2026 is set to bring us plenty of playful, emotional, and delightfully bizarre romances to set our hearts on fire throughout the year.

So, whether you’re a romantic at heart or are just looking for a great story to curl up with on a cosy evening, we’ve got you covered with this list of romance adaptations to look forward to in 2026.

1. People We Meet on Vacation (January 9, 2026)

If you love a good ‘opposites attract’ rom-com, People We Meet on Vacation will make for the perfect January watch. Based on Emily Henry’s 2021 novel, the story centres around best friends Poppy and Alex. Alex is cautious and introverted, while Poppy has an insatiable wanderlust and drive for novelty. Despite their differences, they’ve been best friends for a decade and have made it a ritual to meet up for a week-long holiday once a year. But when unacknowledged feelings between them finally surface, Poppy and Alex must figure out if they’re ready to leap into romance.

People We Meet on Vacation is one of the most hotly anticipated rom-coms of 2026, and Henry’s talent as a romance writer has already got Hollywood keen to adapt her other books as well—with Beach Read, Book Lovers, and Happy Place are all reportedly in development at various studios. So don’t miss out on the first of several exciting adaptations to come!

2. Bridgerton Season 4 (January 29, 2026)

Everyone’s favourite fantasy Regency romance series is returning for a fourth season at the end of January! Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn’s delightful series, which consists of eight books, each—like each season of the series—focusing on one Bridgerton sibling and their love story.

Season 4 centres on middle child Benedict Bridgerton, who has so far remained on the sidelines as the bohemian bisexual brother with an artistic soul. Although Benedict’s book (An Offer from a Gentleman) is technically the third in the book series, the Netflix series’ creators chose to delay his story until the fourth season, switching it out for Colin and Penelope’s story in book four (Romancing Mister Bridgerton).

Like any good Bridgerton season, Benedict’s story is full of twists and turns—and perhaps a dose of salacious gossip from newly exposed Lady Whistledown is still to come. While there was much speculation about whether Benedict’s love interest would be gender swapped, it looks like we’re set to meet Sophie, as in the books, a mysterious maid who captures the eye of the second-oldest Bridgerton son.

3. Sense and Sensibility (September 25, 2026)

Queen of romance Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility is getting an exciting new update in 2026. This adaptation stars Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood, who, along with her mother (played by Outlander’s Caitríona Balfe) and sister Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles), finds herself suddenly facing economic uncertainty after the death of the family patriarch, forcing them to move to a modest cottage in Devonshire. Both Elinor and Marianne learn to navigate their new circumstances while also sifting through suitors and their own romantic longings.

The last Sense and Sensibility adaptation was directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee in 1995. The film featured an incredibly stacked cast, including Emma Thompson as Elinor, Kate Winslet as Marianne, and Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman as suitors Edward Ferrars and Colonel Brandon. The film was nominated for seven Oscars and 11 BAFTAs, and has been widely accepted as one of the best Austen adaptations of all time— so, no pressure at all on the new film’s director, Georgia Oakley! 

4. Remain (October 23, 2026)

What do M Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks have in common? I thought nothing—until I read about Remain. The director (in)famous for his twist endings is teaming up with the man behind tearjerking romance novels like The Notebook and A Walk to Remember for a supernatural romantic thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor. 

Gyllenhaal’s Tate Donovan is an architect who, after a stint in a psychiatric facility to treat acute depression in the aftermath of his sister’s death, goes to Cape Cod to reset and work on a new project. There, he meets Wren, who challenges his carefully controlled routines and beliefs. The book itself was written by Sparks with input from Shyamalan and was only released in 2025, so it’s more of an adaptation package. I honestly have no idea what to expect from this collaboration, but it might very well be the team-up we never knew we needed!

5. The Love Hypothesis (2026)

Who doesn’t love a sizzling secret academic romance? That’s the basic premise around Ali Hazelwood’s 2021 novel, The Love Hypothesis, which centres around third-year PhD candidate Olive Smith, who starts an experiment with her professor, Adam Carlsen, to test their opposing hypotheses about love and attraction—only to find there might be a less controllable chemistry between them than either had thought. 

The adaptation stars Riverdale’s Lili Reinhart as Olivia, and Tom Bateman as Adam—so we already know the hotness quotient will be out of control. Even more intriguing, The Love Hypothesis originated as Star Wars fan fiction imagining Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren and Daisy Ridley's Rey pairing off in the unlikeliest of romances. We can only hope it will be as steamy as romantic fan fic tends to be!

6. The Other Bennet Sister (2026)

I’m hoping this dark horse BBC series might be the one to scratch my Jane Austen itch—but with a fun modern update. The Other Bennet Sister is an adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel, focusing on the distinctly overlooked Mary Bennet. The story starts in the aftermath of Pride and Prejudice, when Mary suddenly finds herself free of her sisters and on a path of discovery, self-acceptance, and love. 

While she is often dismissed and depicted as ridiculously untalented and socially inept in Jane Austen’s novel, The Other Bennet Sister gives Mary her dues and sees her transform in her own way and at her own pace—and maybe even find true love. I’m hoping for some sort of cross between the ‘90s BBC Pride and Prejudice, Too Much, and Bridget Jones!

7. You Deserve Each Other (2026)

At some point in 2026, we are going to need a light-hearted rom-com, and I can only hope that that time coincides with the release of You Deserve Each Other. Adapted from Sarah Hogle’s 2021 novel, the plot follows an engaged couple, Nick and Naomi, who both get cold feet after falling out of love before the wedding and begin to act out in increasingly outrageous ways to get the other to end things. But in ramping up the stakes and finally being authentic with each other, they might just risk falling in love all over again.

You Deserve Each Other is, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated rom-coms of 2026 for the casting alone. If you’re still recovering from the sight of Penn Badgley covered in blood while playing a psycho stalker serial killer in You, his role as Nick might be just the antidote you need. He is joined by Meghann Fahy, who more than earned her stripes in a series of stellar performances in The White Lotus (Season 2), The Perfect Couple, and Sirens. I cannot wait to see these two pull out all the stops in this lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers extravaganza. 

Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys has gone on to become one of Prime Video's most successful television shows. First screening in July 2019, the series is a superhero property like no other. It follows an eponymous group of vigilantes determined to bring down egomaniacal Homelander and the company that created him, Vought International.

Originally intended to be a trilogy of movies, The Boys was eventually developed into a television series by Eric Kripke. The showrunner is no stranger to creating a hit TV show, having previously devised spooky juggernaut, Supernatural, which lasted for an impressive 15 seasons. 

Over Supernatural’s 327-episode run, hundreds of actors appeared in the show, and so it is no surprise that there has been some overlap. Since The Boys began, Supernatural fans have been treated to a raft of cameos, and for the fifth and final season, Kripke is bringing out the big guns. An announcement was made at the end of 2025 that both Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins, aka Sam Winchester and Castiel, had been cast. Their roles have yet to be disclosed, but Kripke confirmed that the duo will share screentime with another former Supernatural star, Jensen Ackles. So, it looks like Sam, Dean and Cas will be reunited once more. 

There are, of course, far more actors than just these three who have appeared on both shows. From heavy hitters to supporting roles, The Boys is littered with Supernatural alumni. To save you the anguish of trying to figure them out for yourselves, here’s a handy guide of all those that crossed over, listed in the order that they made their The Boys debut. 

Nathan Mitchell - Kelvin / Black Noir

It didn’t take The Boys long to begin recycling Supernatural cast members, and one was present right from the very first episode, ‘The Name of the Game’. Despite staring fans in the face from the outset however, actor Nathan Mitchell has likely passed viewers by, namely due to him playing the forever clad in a mask, Black Noir. Mitchell had a two-episode arc on Supernatural, playing one of Castiel’s few angelic allies, Kelvin. 

While that role was fairly small, his involvement on The Boys as Black Noir has been more prolific. Black Noir is a member of Vought’s most darling of supes, ‘the Seven’, and is a rare friend of Homelander. In addition to never revealing his face, Black Noir doesn’t speak, so Supernatural fans can be forgiven for not connecting the dots. 

Christian Keyes - Michael / Nathan

As Supernatural progressed, it went from being a story of two brothers searching for their missing father to something more Biblical. The arrival of Angel Castiel during the fourth season opened up the lore. Supernatural quickly became fixated on the dynamic of archangel brothers Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel. These angels inhabited a variety of human vessels, with Christian Keyes being one of Michael’s during a visit to Apocalypse World. 

The brotherly theme continued for Keyes in The Boys, where he plays Nathan, the coach and brother of speedster A-Train, one of the elite Seven. Nathan arrived during the show’s third episode, ‘Get Some’, and although a supporting character, Nathan has been pivotal in the advancement of A-Train’s arc. Nathan’s former frustration with his brother’s lying and showboating looks set to change during the final season now that A-Train appears to be Team Starlight. 

Kai Bradbury - Casey / Young Kenji Miyashiro

Before going on to star in 35 episodes of Virgin River, actor Kai Bradbury was a key component in the creation of some of The Boys’ most important lore. Appearing through flashbacks in the sixth episode of Season 1, ‘The Innocents’, viewers were treated to an insight into Kimiko’s past. In addition to meeting a young Kimiko, there was the introduction of her brother, Kenji. Before that, during the earlier years of his career, Bradbury had a very minor role as a clerk named Casey on Supernatural.  

Alvina August - Tasha / Monique Milk

During the penultimate episode of the first season of The Boys, ‘The Self-Preservation Society’, the audience was given a glimpse into the personal life of Mother’s Milk when it introduced his wife, Monique. For that appearance, the character of Monique was played by Alvina August, who Supernatural fans should recall as having played the titular Tasha Banes in the Season 12 episode, ‘Twigs and Twine and Tasha Banes’. Although the character of Monique has continued to be a part of The Boys, her subsequent appearances have been played by actress Frances Turner. 

Jim Beaver - Bobby Singer / Secretary of Defence Robert A. Singer

In Supernatural, former Deadwood actor Jim Beaver played the beloved surrogate father to Sam and Dean, Bobby Singer. The bourbon-drinking hunter with a proclivity for calling others ‘Idjits’ was a firm fan favourite, and his arrival in The Boys was met with cheers of delight.  Beaver’s entrance in season one’s closing episode, ‘You Found Me’, had him playing the Secretary of Defence. 

An extra point of fun is that his The Boys character was nearly identically named as Robert Singer. His name wasn’t strictly a nod to his Supernatural character, however, as Bobby himself was inspired by a real-life Robert Singer, who was one of Supernatural’s executive producers and directors. 

Isaiah Adam - Forensic Tech / Lance Corporal Dan Miller

In contrast to Jim Beaver’s obvious-to-spot appearance, the next actor in the Supernatural / The Boys shared universe was much harder to spot, having had much smaller roles on both shows. Isaiah Adam starred in Supernatural fleetingly as a Forensic Tech in the Season 7 episode, ‘Hello, Cruel World’, but was fractionally more prominent in The Boys, where he played Lance Corporal Dan Miller, a soldier who posed with Homelander and Queen Maeve during the season two opener ‘The Big Ride’. Outside of these two shows, Adam’s most notable credit is a three-episode stint on The Expanse.

Adrian Holmes - James Turner / Dr Park

Originally, actor Adiran Holmes had a brief stint as a generic demon in Supernatural before going on to be cast as James Turner. James was the son of Sam and Dean’s psychic friend, Missouri (played by the excellent Loretta Devine). The character initially clashed heads with Dean Winchester, but ultimately the two became friends. Holmes was then called upon to play the role of Dr Park in The Boys’ season two episode, ‘Proper Preparation and Planning’. Holmes is proof that sometimes being a background actor is the perfect way to get your foot in the door. 

Lesley Nicol - Katja / Connie Butcher

Perhaps better known for playing Mrs Patmore across Downton Abbey, actress Lesley Nicol took on the role of Butcher’s mother in the penultimate episode of the show’s second season. The episode, entitled ‘Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker’, gave a rare peek into Butcher’s family life as Connie sought to inspire a reconciliation between her son and his father. In Supernatural, Nicol played Katja, the witch from the fable of Hansel and Gretel, who was eventually shoved into an oven by the Winchester brothers.

Jensen Ackles - Dean Winchester / Soldier Boy

When it comes to having Supernatural stars in your TV show, they come no bigger than Dean Winchester himself, Jensen Ackles. Except for the odd demonic or angelic possession or two, Dean was always a hero, and fans were dubious as to whether he could sell the villainous Soldier Boy. Any worries were immediately quelled when the character arrived on screen during Season 3’s second episode, ‘The Only Man in the Sky’, where his ego and aggression were plain to see. 

Riffing off of Marvel’s very own Captain America (a role which Ackles came close to playing), Soldier Boy was the first ‘superhero’ in Vought history and set the template that all subsequent supes would follow. During his time on The Boys, Soldier Boy has played for both sides, and although previously thought to be dead, was revealed at the end of season four as being very much alive. Ackles will return in the role for the final season (and that epic Supernatural reunion as well as The Boys prequel, Vought Rising. 

Alexander Calvert - Jack / Rufus

Although technically Alexander Calvert has yet to appear in The Boys, his character of Rufus has been a recurring character across both seasons of the sister show Gen V. In Supernatural, he was the young and innocent Nephilim son of Lucifer, Jack. The character quickly won over audiences, which was certainly not the case for fratboy walking redflag of toxic masculinity Rufus. 

Unlike The Boys, there are far fewer Supernatural stars on the Gen V roster, most likely because it features a younger cast of characters, but should Gen V return, it would be nice if Kripke could get some familiar faces attached. Osric Chau (who played Prophet Kevin Tran) would be a great addition.  

Jeffery Dean Morgan - John Winchester / Joe Kessler 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is one of those actors who is known to different fandoms for different reasons. To The Walking Dead fans, he is Negan, for lovers of the movie Watchmen, Morgan is the dastardly Comedian, and to Grey’s Anatomy stans, he was charming heart transplant patient Denny. In Supernatural, he played Sam and Dean’s daddy, John Winchester, a character whose disappearance spurred his sons onto their fifteen-year mission. 

Despite only starring in a handful of episodes, the presence of John / Morgan was felt throughout, and so when he landed on screens in The Boys, fans were overjoyed. His role of Joe Kessler was confined purely to scenes involving Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher, but knowing that he and Jensen would have shared a set was enough to keep the Supernatural homefires burning.  

Rob Benedict - Chuck / Splinter

When fans of Supernatural sat down to watch The Boys episode, ‘Life Among the Septics’, during the fourth season, they were left screaming, ‘Oh my God!’ The episode features one of the craziest sequences in which Benedict’s character, Splinter (who can make copies of himself), is seen having intimate relations with himself. 

The ‘Oh my God’ sentiment from most viewers was because of how depraved the scene gets, but there was an extra layer of meaning to Supernatural fans as, during the course of the show, the author Chuck was revealed to – SPOILERS – actually be God. Although his time on The Boys was brief, there is no doubt that Benedict’s appearance left a lasting impression.

The Stranger Things finale has been a divisive topic since it dropped on Netflix on New Year’s Day. While some fans were left fully satisfied by how the Duffer Brothers concluded the show – a supernatural horror, ‘80s-set pop cultural phenomenon – others were left hungry for more. But what about Dungeons & Dragons fans? Stranger Things has been rooted in the world of the iconic fantasy role-playing game from the get-go – even borrowing inspiration for its central villain, Vecna, from it.

That’s why, if you’re au fait with all things D&D and get a kick out of every reference to the game, great and small, in the show, you would have been delighted by the surprise inclusion of another famous D&D villain right at the end of the series’ final (yes, final…) episode. For everyone else, it’s an incredibly minor, easy-to-miss detail among the spectacle and emotion of the last battle and the extended epilogue. But digging deeper into this Easter egg gives it wider resonance at the conclusion of this 10-year story, so let’s do just that.

What Is the Strahd Easter Egg in Stranger Things’ Finale?

Towards the end of Season 5, Episode 8, ‘The Rightside Up’ and several months after the climactic final battle with Vecna, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max gather for one last D&D game. The activity kept most of them bonded throughout their childhoods in Hawkins, as well as provided much of the terminology, lore, and survival tactics they used to understand and fight against the supernatural events unfolding around them. Here, on the cusp of adulthood, it’s set up as one last adventure, albeit one that’s ‘theatre of the mind’ rather than real-life danger.

The scene we’re shown is at the end of a campaign run by Dungeon Master Mike, where the other four players are about to face the Big Bad. Mike dramatically places a mini figure in front of the Dungeon Master screen, revealing that this final hurdle between them and victory is a vampire called Strahd (for whom a fully-committed Mike even puts in a set of false fangs to role-play as). 

Who Is Strahd, and Why Is He So Important In D&D?

In the world of D&D, Strahd von Zarovich is a powerful and ancient vampire who rules the land of Barovia with a tightly-clenched, iron fist. He’s a master of necromancy and other forms of magic, as well as a formidable warrior, and resides in Castle Ravenloft – a gothic fortress full of dark secrets and deadly traps.

The character was created by husband and wife Tracy and Laura Hickman in 1978, born out of their frustrations with the First Edition of the game not being sufficiently narratively-driven. Like Dracula, Strahd comes with a tragic and twisted backstory, a gothic setting, and an atmosphere of dread; friends who playtested their early versions of the game – initially called ‘Vampyr’ – loved it, leading to the couple adapting it for an official module in 1983’s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, called Ravenloft. 

The setting and character, like the vampire myth itself, have endured through decades of new D&D editions, all the way up to 2016’s Curse of Strahd, a relaunch of the original Ravenloft adventure for 5th Edition. The Edition has been one of the most successful in the game’s half-century history, thanks, in part, to putting storytelling at the heart of its construction, just as the Hickmans wanted back in the late ‘70s.

As a villain with rich lore, his own distinctive domain, and a ‘sandbox’ campaign that players have to puzzle and fight their way through, Strahd is naturally (or unnaturally) as beloved as ever, maybe even more so, to some, than the godlike lich, Vecna.

Why Strahd Is the Perfect Mirror of Stranger Things’ Vecna

The ‘Vecna’ you get to know in Stranger Things is similar to his D&D counterpart in name and appearance alone (as well as some psychic and illusionary abilities, I suppose). In fact, the Duffer Brothers’ character actually has a lot more in common with Strahd. 

Both are formerly human, Strahd once a prince and warlord, and Vecna a boy in the 1950s called Henry Creel; both were ‘infected’ by a dark magic, of sorts, Strahd by the vampire curse, and Henry by an interdimensional entity, and made pacts with them for power at the cost of a symbiotic relationship and outcasted life (Strahd was said to have made his with Death itself); both rule over domains separate from ours from hard-to-reach fortresses – Castle Ravenloft is functionally the same as Vecna’s kaiju-like ‘Mind Flayer’ – and both cut off the hero party from the outside world: Barovia is a pocket dimension that can only be left when Strahd is slain; Vecna’s actions put Hawkins into lockdown in Season 5.

In Curse of Strahd, the vampire lord covertly offers select players the chance to work with rather than against him in the way that Henry, or ‘One’, as he was known in Hawkins Lab, tries to persuade Eleven to join him. They’re both master manipulators and obsessively paranoid control freaks who use others as spies and puppets. And on a thematic level, Strahd and Stranger Things’ Vecna are figures you can both sympathise with and easily root against. 

In the end, the ultimate tragedy is that neither wants to nor can be saved: you either throw your lot in with Strahd or slay him. Mirroring this, when Will attempts to broker an alliance with Vecna in the series finale, suggesting they team up against the entity with which Vecna made a pact, he immediately turns it down. You can regret having to kill these antagonists, but you can never redeem them.     

All of this is to say that Strahd is more than just another D&D reference in Stranger Things. That tiny figure of plastic and paint encapsulates the entire arc of the show. Mike and Co. slayed their monster, escaped their Barovia, and now can lay their weapons down at last.  

If you haven’t gotten on board with Industry just yet, there is still some time to brush up before the hotly anticipated fourth season begins. The first episode is set to drop on BBC iPlayer on January 12, from which point it stands a decent chance of becoming the most talked about show of the year—though A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Pitt season 2, both of which will be competing for eyeballs very soon, may have something to say about all that.

If you’re new to the show’s world of misbehaving stock traders and horny financiers, you’re not the only one—this is a show that needed a couple of seasons to shake off the doubters. For me, it really found its groove in 2023, during its blockbuster third season, when writers Mikey Down and Konrad Kay (who based the show on their own personal experiences) began not only directing each episode but also taking some big creative swings. 

If that standard is upheld in season 4 (where Down and Kay have again directed every episode), fans will be in for a treat—especially since the showrunners have added more famous names and recognisable faces to their established roster of stars. Read on to learn more about them and the returning cast, and use the guide below to discover some of their other work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

Ken Leung (Eric Tao)

Every big new show, especially when it comes to HBO, needs a big name to help get things rolling. As untested newcomers, Down and Kay might not have had the clout to attract an A-lister. In Ken Leung—a reliable “that guy” actor of ‘00s TV and movies—they rediscovered a long-underappreciated gem.

Leung really caught the world’s attention with the attitude he brought to playing Miles on the last three seasons of Lost, but he had been popping up in the films of big-name directors for almost a decade before landing that iconic part—including Stephen Spielberg (A.I.), Tony Scott (Spy Game) and Spike Lee (Inside Man). 

Since Lost ended, however, Leung went a little off the radar, but his gutsy performance as Eric Tao has sparked an overdue comeback—alongside Season 4 of Industry, you’ll be able to catch him opposite Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary this year. I’ll be seated for whatever comes after.

Marisa Abela (Yasmin Kara-Hanani) 

The first few seasons of Industry alone have already helped launch the careers of David Johnson (who departed after season two before popping up in Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk) and Harry Lawton (who appeared in the Joker sequel and is still in the running to be the next James Bond). Given how season three ended, it was unclear if Marisa Abela, whose performances as Yasmin Kara-Hanani have only gone from strength to strength since the pilot in 2020, would be returning for another run, but thankfully, it looks as if she’ll be one of the main players again when Industry returns. 

If it’s to be her final season with the show, it will not come as a huge surprise—after appearing in a small role in 2023’s Barbie, the actress has gone on to win positive reviews for her portrayal of Amy Winehouse in Back to Black and more or less stole the show in Stephen Soderbergh’s starry Black Bag last year. Look out for her in John Wick director Chad Stahelski’s Highlander reboot—though you might have to wait a minute for that one.

Kit Harington (Henry Muck)

Concerns that Kit “Jon Snow” Harington was a bit of a one-trick pony were mostly put to rest with his wonderfully greasy performance as Henry Muck in the last season of Industry. Like Jasmin, fans weren’t sure if they’d seen the last of the character when the series wrapped up in 2023, but it looks like he’ll be coming back to stir the pot once again—presumably putting those already fragile-looking nuptials to the test with more of his petulant, privileged behaviour.

Perhaps it was karma for the final season of Game of Thrones, but it certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing for the actor since that long running HBO show ended—his most notable credit since has been a little movie called Eternals—but with Industry and a decent cameo in Lena Dunham’s Too Much in the last couple of years, his career seems to once again be trending in the right direction.

Myha’la (Harper Stern)

Of all the up-and-coming actors to sign on for the first season of Industry, the quickest to make a wider splash in the movie business was Myha’la. Soon after the first season aired, the mononymous and remarkably confident actor started popping up all over the place: first in Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, then in Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money, then opposite Ethan Hawke in the megahit Netflix movie Leave the World Behind.

Alongside reprising her role as Harper Stern this year, you’ll be able to see Myha’la in the upcoming Dead Man’s Wire, a period-set true-crime movie from the great Gus Van Sant.

Kiernan Shipka (Hayley Clay)

Having played little Sally Draper across all seven seasons of Mad Men (and later starring in the Sabrina reboot for Netflix), Kiernan Shipka, the first newcomer on our list, feels like a perfect addition to the business world of Industry.

Outside of those two well-established series, Shipka has been threatening a big screen breakout for several years now—notably appearing in Longlegs, Twisters and The Last Showgirl in 2024 alone. It’s difficult to say how big a role Shipka will play in Season 4 as Hayley Clay, an ambitious executive assistant, but don’t be surprised if she walks away with it.

Charlie Heaton (Jim Dycker)

Our next Industry newcomer, Charlie Heaton, is an actor who needs no introduction to any fan of Stranger Things—the Leeds native played Johnathan Byers for nine years on the hugely successful Netflix show, even meeting the apparent love of his life in the process.

Outside of that, Heaton hasn’t racked up too many credits elsewhere, but with the Hawkins saga finally coming to an end, he may be looking to spread his wings a bit in the next few years. His role as journalist Jim Dycker in Season 4 of Industry comes after co-starring alongside Al Pacino in Billy Knight last year. Watch this space.

Max Minghella (Whitney Halberstram)

When The Social Network was released in 2010, most people presumed that Max Minghella—handsome son of legendary director Anthony Minghella—would quickly establish himself as an up-and-coming star in Hollywood. Then, for whatever reason, it didn’t quite work out.

Naturally, Minghella hasn’t disappeared —you can see him in memorable roles in movies like Babylon, Darkest Hour and The Ides of March—but he’s had to wait a while for his next big part. Here’s hoping that his role as Whitney Halberstram—a CFO of a payment processor called Tender (where Shipka’s character also works)—in Industry Season 4 is the launch pad he’s been looking for.

Toheeb Jimoh (Kwabena Bannerman)

Since breaking out with his endearing—and Emmy-nominated—performance as Sam Obisanya in Ted Lasso, Brixton-born actor Toheeb Jimoh’s star has been rising steadily. Outside of that beloved Apple TV+ show, he appeared briefly in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch in 2021 and played Romeo in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Almeida theatre in 2023.

For the new season of Industry, Jimoh is playing a trader named Kwabena Bannerman at Mostyn Asset Management, which will presumably be a key location in the upcoming run of episodes, given how things ended at Pierpoint at the end of Season 3.

Kal Penn (Jonah Atterbury)

Since the end of season one, each new run of Industry episodes has introduced a new big fish or two for the show’s cash-hungry sharks to nibble at. Season 2 gave us Jay Duplass’s Jesse Bloom, a hedge fund manager, while season three brought in both Harington’s green energy CEO, Henry Muck, and Roger Barclay’s billionaire investor, Otto Mostyn. If the trailers are anything to go on, the season four equivalent looks to be Kal Penn’s Jonah Atterbury, the CEO of Tender.

If you know Penn from anything, it’s probably for being the latter half of the Harold & Kumar movies, a series of stoner comedies that brought the humour of Cheech and Chong to a new generation in the early ‘00s. We can expect his vibe in Industry to be a little less chill.

Amy James-Kelly (Jennifer Bevan)

The last new recruit for Industry Season 4 is Amy James-Kelly, an Antrim-born actress who began her career in Coronation Street when she was eight years old—playing Maddie Heath for 131 episodes from 2003-2005. More recently, James-Kelly starred as Anne Boleyn in Netflix’s Blood, Sex and Royalty. Now Industry has come calling.

In Season 4, James-Kelly will appear as Jennifer Bevan, a newly promoted Labour Party minister who, I expect, might have her morals tested in the show’s seedy world of corporate greed. All will soon be revealed.

If, like me, you turn into the Leo pointing meme from Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood whenever an unexpected (yet somehow familiar) face appears on screen, you probably had a field day watching Marty Supreme. Josh Safdie’s awesome new movie—which stars Timothee Chalamet as real-life 1950s table tennis pro, Marty Mauser—is packed to the brim with unexpected cameos from the world of film, TV, sports and YouTube. 

This is Safdie’s first outing since parting ways with his brother Benny, his co-writer and co-director on a run of great films that culminated with 2019’s Uncut Gems—another movie that filled its cast with interesting faces, though aside from the NBA star Kevin Garnett and character actors like Eric Begosian, there’s a good chance you probably hadn’t seen them before. 

Many of the cameos in Marty, however, are famous in their own unique ways. Read on to find out where you might know those faces from, and use the guide below to discover some of their work on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

15. Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson's cameo in Marty Supreme is so tiny that pretty much nobody realised it was even there until the director revealed its existence during a recent q&a. The Die My Love actor doesn't appear in person, but you can hear his voice during the British Open sequence early on, where he plays the umpire. In 2017, Pattinson—an actor who seems to love working with filmmakers he reveres (think High Life)—became the first bonafide Hollywood star to work with the Safdies when he took the lead role in Good Time. Marty can now be counted as their second collaboration together—hopefully it won't be their last.

12, 13 & 14. George Gervin, Kemba Walker and Tracey McGrady

Having made one of the most original basketball movies of all time in Uncut Gems—drawing a memorable performance from Kevin Garnett along the way—it’s no surprise that Safdie was able to convince a few NBA legends to appear in his latest sports movie. 

Kemba Walker, a four-time NBA all-star turned coach, and Tracey McGrady, a retired seven-timer, both appear as Harlem Globetrotters during the European tour, where Marty and Kletzki are providing the halftime entertainment. Meanwhile, George Gervin, a nine-time all-star and bona fide legend, plays the manager of the table tennis club where Ted Williams also appears. Make sure you go see it, and keep those eyes peeled if you do!

11. Izaac Mizrahi as Merle

In terms of cameos in Marty Supreme, my personal favourite was someone I’d honestly never heard of before: Izaac Mizrahi. The well-known fashion designer just kills for every second he appears on screen as Merle, the publicist to Paltrow’s golden age star, including absolutely stealing the scene when Marty comes to visit her dressing room late on.

Mizrahi is a popular personality in the fashion world, having appeared as a judge on shows like Project Runway and RuPaul’s Drag Race and as himself in episodes of Sex and the City and Gossip Girl. Acting-wise, he apparently had a tiny role in Men in Black, but Marty is surely his best to date.

10. Penn Jilette as Hoff

If you need a guy to play a cantankerous and potentially dangerous farmer who abducts a dog, why not ask one of the most famous magicians in history? Penn Jillette is best known as the more talkative half of Penn & Teller, a duo who rose to worldwide stardom after successfully making the move from Vegas act to television fame in the 1980s.

Though he’s appeared as himself in various movies and TV shows, Jilette has also acted in a few scripted roles over the years—including a part in Hackers and opposite Uncut Gems star Adam Sandler in the 2017 comedy Sandy Wexler. 

9. Luke Manley as Dion Galanis

You probably need to have been following the NBA in 2021 to know who Luke Manley is. The first time actor, who plays Marty’s larger than life business manager Dion Galanis, gained notoriety that year after a NSFW video he appeared in (outside Madison Square Garden after a New York Knicks game) went viral, prompting appearances on popular social media pages like New York Nico and Barstool Sports.

Safdie discovered him with the help of his casting director, Jennifer Venditti, and is said to have written the role with him in mind. 

8. Philippe Petit as the Brussels MC

Even keener-eyed viewers might have clocked the MC at the tournament in Brussels to be none other than Philippe Petit. The French high-wire artist became something of a living legend in 1974 after walking (without a safety rope or permission) between the two towers of the World Trade Centre on a tightrope. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance, but one that rhymes perfectly with the movie’s “Dream Big” ethos. 

In 2008, Petit’s fame was given another boost with the release of the Academy Award-winning documentary, Man of Wire. Robert Zemeckis then adapted that story into his 2015 immersive film, The Walk, in which Joseph Gordon Levitt played Petit. So, if you’re looking to learn more about him, both are well worth checking out. 

6 & 7. David Mamet and Fred Hechinger as Glenn Nordmann and Troy

If you need someone to play a macho playwright in your movie, why not just hire a macho playwright? Nobody ticks those two boxes like David Mamet. The Broadway legend appears in Marty Supreme as Glenn Nordman, the director of Kay Stone’s—the Gwyneth Paltrow character’s—play. Cinema fans will know Mamet as the writer behind movies like The Untouchables, Ronin and Glengarry Glen Ross—the latter of which was adapted from his own play.

Keen-eyed viewers might also have spotted Fred Hechinger playing Stone’s Brando-like co-star in the play—a relatively famous face that Safdie never quite gets close enough for you to recognise. Hechinger shot to fame for playing Quinn in Season 1 of The White Lotus and has since appeared in movies like Gladiator 2 and Thelma.

5. Fran Drescher as Rebecca Mauser

Viewers on this side of the Atlantic probably still know Fran Drescher for playing Fran Fine on the long-running ‘90s sitcom, The Nanny and for playing Connie in Saturday Night Fever. In Hollywood, the actress is probably best known these days for being the leader of the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, and for essentially being the face of the actors’ strike in 2023. 

In Safdie’s film, she gives a delightful performance as Marty’s long-suffering mother, Rebecca.

4. Ted Williams as Ted

If you were vertical and conscious for the early years of YouTube, you might have done a double-take when Ted Williams’ face appeared in Marty Supreme. The so-called “Man With The Golden Voice” is probably better known to American audiences for his continued work as a sports announcer. However, even UK viewers should recognise him from an uber-viral video that began to circulate in 2011. 

If you haven’t seen it, the video shows a then-homeless Williams impressing a passing driver with his radio-perfect voice. Williams had been a fixture on the radio in the ‘80s before losing it all to addiction, but the video helped to get him back on his feet. In Marty, Williams plays Ted, an employee at the club where Marty practices and gets to share a couple of memorable moments with Chalamet. 

3. Géza Röhrig as Bela Kletzki

If something seemed familiar about Marty’s competitor-turned-friend, Bela Kletzki, it’s probably because the actor who played him, Géza Röhrig, has played a similar role before. Röhrig’s face will certainly be known to anyone who saw the powerful 2014 film Son of Saul, as the actor is basically shown in close-up for much of that relentless film’s running time.

Of course, that Auschwitz-based film features no table tennis, but Safdie was still shrewd to cast him as a character based on Alojzy Ehrlich, a table tennis pro who really did survive the Nazi death camp. In Marty, Röhrig’s Kletzki recounts an astonishing story involving honey bees that is apparently taken from Ehrlich’s memoir—it’s also probably the best scene in the movie. 

2. Abel Ferrara as Ezra Mishkin

The film’s other main bad guy, Ezra Mishkin, is played by one of modern cinema’s great bad boys, Abel Ferrara—a filmmaker who started in the porn industry before moving into feature filmmaking with provocative gems like The Driller Killer and Bad Lieutenant. 

Safdie actually cast the director in Daddy Longlegs, one of his earliest films, when Ferrara was still struggling with alcohol addiction. Since moving to Rome in the early ‘00s, however, the director has gone sober and has since become a kind of mascot and godfather to the thriving New York independent film scene. As Mishkin, he gets to bare his teeth and, more often than not, steal the show. 

1. Kevin O’Leary as Milton Rockwell

Given his fame and how much screentime he has as Marty’s best pal, Wally, I felt there wasn’t any need to add Tyler “The Creator” Okonma to this list. That said, Kevin O’Leary probably has even more lines than Okonma, yet his role feels more like the kind of stunt casting the Safdies are known for—especially from the POV of UK and European viewers. 

If you don’t know him, O’Leary is a hugely successful businessman who is famous in America for being the most charismatic judge on Shark Tank—basically the US version of Dragon’s Den—where he’s earned the nickname “Mr Wonderful”. In Marty Supreme, he plays the film’s main antagonist (a pen magnate named Milton Rockwell) with oily charm—he even gets to spank the world’s most famous actor with a paddle. 

As much as I love Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt, the film’s success slightly caught me off guard. First came a moment when I was shopping for Christmas presents and saw a whole rack of Blu-rays devoted to it, neatly arranged between Materialists and I Know What You Did Last Summer. 

Next came the announcement that the film had not only secured a nomination for Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language, but also for Best Original Score, placing the Berlin-based DJ Kanding Ray in a category with Hans Zimmer (F1), Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein) and Ludwig Görenson (Sinners). Not bad. 

These events, of course, are more than welcome as the film is a one of a kind — and still my personal favourite of 2025. The story follows a father’s attempts to locate his daughter among the dust and sweat of an illegal rave scene, in and around Morocco’s dazzling Atlas Mountains — think Sorcerer meets Mad Max: Fury Road and you’ll have some idea of what awaits. Whether or not you’ve already seen it, however, there is naturally no shortage of great Spanish-language films available to watch at home. 

I’ve limited the following list — which I’ve arranged in no particular order — to one film per director, as we could easily be here all day. I’ve also tried to share the wealth between some different countries, but given the strength of the Spanish and Mexican film industries, the list is naturally quite skewed in their direction. 

Read on to learn more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

If you’ve enjoyed the recently released Frankenstein on Netflix (or like any of Guilermo del Toro’s other work, like Shape of Water) and for some reason have yet to see Pan’s Labyrinth — a story set just after the Spanish Civil War about a young girl who escapes reality by discovering a wondrous but terrifying world — I think it’s still the director’s greatest masterpiece. 

The beloved Mexican director’s breakout hit won three Academy Awards (cinematography, art direction, and makeup) in 2007 (aka Scorsese’s Departed Oscars) but managed to lose the Foreign Language gong to The Lives of Others. What a year! 

2. El Mariachi (1992)

Something you will start to see a lot of in this list are early films by directors who went on to have great careers in Hollywood. El Mariachi is one of them: the film that Robert Rodriguez made for $6000 and invented his own myth (both in terms of the story and his rise as a filmmaker) in the process. The story itself is the stuff of classic B-movie Westerns, following a lone-gun guitar player who seeks to avenge his murdered family. 

El Mariachi would become known as the first instalment of the Mexico Trilogy, which later featured Desperado (in which Antonio Banderas stepped into the lead role) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, so if you like those films (or are even a fan of early Tarantino), you’ll definitely want to check this one out.

3. Y tu mamá también (2001)

Our third early classic from a now well-known director is Alfonso Cuarón’s Y tu mamá también. This is the one where two horny young guys take a road trip with an attractive older woman — so, if you’ve ever had a crush on Diego Luna (Andor) or Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries) this one might just take your fancy. 

After the film’s release in 2001, where it basically became an instant cult classic, Cuarón directed three films in English (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, and Gravity) before returning to Mexico with his remarkable Spanish-language film, Roma. If you’re looking for a double bill, look no further. 

4. Volver (2006)

Given how Pedro Almodovar has pretty much continued to work in Spain (and in Spanish) for the majority of his career, it was tricky to know which of his celebrated movies to choose. We could easily have gone for his breakout hit, Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, his first Oscar winner, All About My Mother, or his more recent biographical work, Pain and Glory, but Volver just felt like a nice place to start.

Set in La Mancha, where Almodovar grew up, this is a beautiful melodrama about a family of six women (the Best Actress prize was famously shared between the six actresses at the Cannes Film Festival that year) that also features murder, a ghost, and betrayal — all the classic telenovela elements that continue to inspire the director’s work. 

5. The Orphanage (2007)

Before directing Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in The Impossible, and later Chris Pratt in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, J.A. Bayona broke box office records in his native land with his debut feature The Orphanage, a gothic horror set in 1970s Spain. 

The story follows a woman who moves back into the orphanage where she grew up, hoping to turn it into a school — but of course, creepy stuff starts to happen. If you enjoy the supernatural horror of movies like The Lodge or The Others, you’ll definitely vibe with it. 

6. Amores Perros (2000)

Another early Spanish language classic by a now established director is Amores Perros. This is a movie that felt, upon release in 2000, like Mexico’s answer to Pulp Fiction — another story of crime and interweaving plotlines, although with a much darker tone than Tarantino’s movie. 

Perros was the debut of Alejandro González Iñárritu, a filmmaker who has gone on to win two Best Director Oscars for Birdman and The Revenant — so if you’re a fan of either of those you might want to see how the filmmaker made his name.

7. [Rec] (2007)

From an unheralded premier at the Venice Film Festival in 2007, Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza’s [Rec] has gone on to become regarded as one of the defining movies of the found footage horror genre. If you tend to enjoy putting yourself through films like Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, you should definitely get onto this one.

The story takes place in a quarantined building, where a TV host and her cameraman discover — you guessed it — they’re not alone. 

8. Wild Tales (2014)

The only Argentinian film to make our list is Damián Szifron’s Wild Tales but it is the most financially successful Argentinian film in history, so there’s that. The movie is an outrageous anthology of six short stories, each one more darkly funny, violent and/or horny than the one before.

Wild Tales premiered in Cannes in 2014 and made it all the way to the Oscars, losing out on the Best Foreign Language award to Pawel Pawlikowski’s excellent Ida. For a good comp, imagine the genre anthology thrills of a film like V/H/S mixed with Almodovar’s (who also co-produced) sense of humour and you’ll have some idea.

9. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

If you’re in the mood for something a bit more classic, Victor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive is an overwhelmingly beautiful story about childhood and cinema that fans of Del Toro, in particular, will love. The director has often noted it as a major influence on Pan’s Labyrinth, and if you’re a fan of that great film, you’ll immediately see the similarities.

The story follows a girl in Franco-era Spain who watches a screening of James Whale’s Frankenstein at her local cinema and starts to believe that the creature is real. Director Victor Erice has only made two films since. Both are worth seeing, of course, but his 2023 comeback Close Your Eyes is a triumph, too.

10. No (2012)

In more recent years, the director Pablo Larrain has been making interesting portraits of famous women who were touched by tragedy — Jackie (starring Natalie Portman), Spencer (Kristen Stewart) and Maria (Angelina Jolie). His earlier work is also more than worth revisiting, especially this excellent political thriller from 2012.

No is set in 1988 and follows a young advertising executive who uses the methods of American marketing to try and help bring down the dictator Augustus Pinochet — who the Americans, of course, helped to put in place. 

You’d be forgiven for thinking that movies like Zootopia – and its brilliant sequel – are little more than animated fodder to keep young kids and their parents entertained for a couple of hours. Sometimes, that’s all a film really needs to be, and that’s absolutely fine.

But sometimes something special happens: animated movies released into the wild have a profound impact, even altering the way we behave. That’s especially true of films featuring animals, as we learned in the wake of the release of Zootopia 2, after which something interesting happened in China.

‘Zootopia 2’ Spurs a Reptile Craze in China

The incredible success of Zootopia 2 – a film that’s already broken Frozen 2’s record to become Disney’s highest-grossing animated feature of all time – has led to one character becoming so popular that he’s totally changed the perception of reptiles in China. 

The new character, Gary De’Snake, voiced brilliantly by Ke Huy Quan, is a blue viper who goes against stereotypes. Snakes are often portrayed as villains, but not this time. Gary is a loveable, gentle fella, and now some fans want their own, real-life version of him.

As per a report from CNN, Beijing citizen Qi Weihao is just one of those reptile aficionados, and he’s invested in an Indonesian pit viper that very much resembles Gary. Apparently, Qi had wanted to own the snake for years, but always felt like he would be shunned for what many in China previously perceived to be a “weird taste for creepy creatures.”

Thanks to the new Disney movie, that’s changed. Qi said: “Zootopia 2 helps give reptile pets a better image – they’re not oddballs, and Gary is the most representative character among them. I love his enthusiastic attitude and his sense of responsibility.”

There’s a clear correlation between the release of Zootopia 2 and the ongoing increase in search volume and pricing for pit vipers in Chinese e-commerce markets. There are now over 17 million exotic pet owners in China, and by the end of 2025, more than 50% of that is attributed to snakes.

Pit vipers may be venomous, but clearly, more and more people are willing to take on that risk. With Gary warming hearts across the world, who can blame them?

How ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘Star Trek IV’ Helped Protect Sea Creatures

This is not the first time Disney (or more specifically, Disney Pixar) has helped to positively impact the animal kingdom. Finding Nemo – one of the very best Pixar movies, in my opinion – was so effective in representing marine biology and all the weird and wonderful creatures in our oceans that it prompted the launch of a whole host of initiatives and campaigns to protect the Great Barrier Reef and its inhabitants.

The core concept is that “fish aren’t made to be put in a box.” Sometimes, the boxes (and the animals) are a little bigger, but films can still help to change things. And it’s not just Disney’s animated catalogue that’s responsible for these positive contributions towards conservation efforts.

In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Captain Kirk and his crew go back in time to Earth. There, they prevent an alien attack that threatens to vaporise our oceans, with humpback whales the key focus of the rescue mission. The Enterprise’s on-screen success was replicated in the real world, with a heightened awareness of the plight of the humpback whale; so much so that their population recovered from the brink of extinction and is no longer considered an endangered species.

Let’s not forget, though, that movies don’t always lead to a happy ending for animals. Jaws may have made waves when it became the first bona fide summer blockbuster in 1975, and it’s stood the test of time as one of the greatest movies of all time, but its legacy is tainted. The mass fear generated by the great white shark at the heart of the story bled into society, and the creature was hunted so much that the species saw a 50% decline in population across North American waters.

Animal Rights Improved Thanks to ‘Babe’ and ‘King Kong’

Away from the seas, animals have enjoyed greater protection thanks to films like Babe and Peter Jackson’s 2005 version of King Kong.

After seeing that adorable little pig chattering away and living out his dream as a sheepdog, many viewers naturally decided meat wasn’t for them. The film was so influential, in fact, that the term ‘Babe effect’ was coined, and animal exploitation in farming was heavily scrutinised. Lead actor James Cromwell even became a vegan himself, and he remains a prominent animal rights advocate to this day, thanks to his experience of working on the 1995 flick.

Likewise, when Jackson was promoting his remake of the classic 1933 hit King Kong, he and the stars of the movie used their platform to advocate for gorilla conservation. Jackson very vocally backed the International Gorilla Conservation Programme and pushed back against threats like habitat damage and hunting. He also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the efforts to prevent the extinction of one of mankind’s closest relatives in the animal kingdom.

By and large, the portrayal of animals in film over recent years has had a more profoundly positive impact on the world around us than in the past. Whether intentional or not, filmmakers can achieve truly incredible things through their work. The snakes, whales, clownfish, and pigs of this world quite literally owe their lives to the films mentioned above; isn’t that wonderful?

In hindsight, it’s always easy to say you never doubted James Cameron. I, for one, can admit some uncertainty as to whether a third Avatar film (one released so soon after Way of Water and not exactly offering much new stuff compared to that previous adventure in terms of plot) would make anything close to the franchise’s usual astronomical figures. At the time of writing, those doubts are on their way to being proven wrong.

But while we’re on the topic of fire and ash projections (ahem), Avatar: Fire and Ash does pack a few novelties alongside all that reliably eye-popping and mind-boggling Pandora action. One is a prolonged period in the Skypeople city, another is on board the air tribe’s ships, but the best are the sequences amongst the Mangkwan Clan, led by the fearsome Varang, who live at the base of a volcano. This got us thinking about all the other memorable volcano sequences in movies—from iconic action settings to romantic moments and villainous layers—ten of which I’ve listed below in no particular order.

Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find out where to stream them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. You Only Live Twice (1967)

Let’s begin with one of the most beloved and most obvious. When we think of volcanoes in movies, it’s only natural for the mind to wander to the image of jumpsuit-clad ninjas rappelling into Blofeld’s lair in You Only Live Twice. This sequence basically cemented the idea of the elaborate supervillain’s layer—a trope that is still relentlessly parodied today, almost 60 years later.

The movie itself is one of the best of Sean Connery’s tenure as 007. If you like Dr No or Goldfinger, it’s naturally a must-see!

2. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Mike Myers might have been riffing on Bond when he made Dr Evil’s base into an active volcano in Austin Powers, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a mention here. It’s especially great because it combines Blofeld’s layer with the Mt. Rushmore base of North by Northwest, which itself has been parodied in as wide-ranging movies as Richie Rich and Team America: World Police.

The Spy Who Shagged Me (in which the base plays a more central role) probably hasn’t aged the best, but if you like Myers’ vibe in movies like Wayne’s World, you won’t be left wanting for laughs with this one, baby.

3. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

Of course, no list of this sort would be complete without a mention of good old Mount Doom—the only place I would personally recommend going to if you’re looking to cast something into the fiery chasm from whence it came. 

Mount Doom gets pretty good screen time in all three movies, but it naturally takes centre stage for the eruptive finale of Return of the King, as Frodo and Sam make their fateful ascent. This is one for the Tolkien heads, naturally—and if you like it, make sure to check out the Hobbit trilogy and Rings of Power for some additional Doom-core action later. 

4. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Another trilogy that ended in a fiery chasm was, of course, George Lucas’s initially-maligned and now widely-adored prequel trilogy. Yes, there was much about this return that irked people, but even at the time, most agreed that this sequence in Revenge of the Sith successfully delivered the origin moment that fans of the franchise had been craving.

The acting is a little over the top, the dialogue a little arch, but hey, if you’re gonna finally push Annakin Skywalker into becoming Darth Vader, why be subtle about it? If you haven’t revisited these movies in a while, or are suffering from a little Star Wars burnout, I’d suggest a rewatch followed by Andor and Rogue One to get you back on board. 

5. Dante’s Peak (1997)

If you grew up in the ‘90s, any mention of a movie volcano will probably remind you of Dante’s Peak. The disaster flick, which came in the wake of Michael Crichton’s hugely successful geo-chaos movie Twister, basically did for flowing lava what that film did for unruly gusts of air. 

Dante’s Peak stars Pierce Brosnan as a volcanologist who discovers that a so-called “big one” eruption is imminent. It was Brosnan’s second massive movie in 1997, after his GoldenEye follow-up Tomorrow Never Dies—so, if you appreciate that era of Bond, you’ll probably enjoy this movie, too. 

6. Moana (2016)

If Disney decides to make a movie set in Hawaii, you just know they're gonna tap into that volcanic lore. Moana is a 2010’s gem and has a rousing central song that is pretty much as catchy as any tune that the Mouse House has produced this century, but it also features a volcano god showdown that appears like an awesome mix between the titans of Hercules and something out of Shadow of the Colossus.

The movie is a family flick that anyone can enjoy, especially if you like that era of Disney animation—think Zootopia and Frozen. 

7. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

Given their suggestive connotations, it’s surprising how few romantic comedies have used the volcano as a shorthand for emotional combustion. One of the few is the underappreciated Joe Versus the Volcano, a classic of the Big/Splash era of Tom Hanks comedies—and a movie that pretty much does what it says on the tin.

The story follows Joe, a man who thinks he’s dying and so accepts a millionaire’s offer to jump into the titular lava pit. Along the way, he meets a character played by Meg Ryan (in their first of three iconic collaborations that decade). We’ll leave the rest to you. 

8. Fire of Love (2022)

While we’re here and on the topic of volcanic-based romance, why not try Fire of Love, a phenomenal 2022 documentary on the real-life volcanologists Katia and Maurice Kraft. Directed by Sara Dosa, the movie uses archival footage from a time when the Krafts would risk life and limb to get up close and personal with these things. The result is some of the most otherworldly volcano footage ever caught on camera.

Needless to say, their relationship was occasionally just as combustible, making the doc an engrossing watch even when not at the edge of a burning crater. A year later, no less than Werner Herzog would release his own take on the Kraft’s story, but Dosa got their first and, IMO, did it better.

9. Into the Inferno (2016)

That said, Herzog is surely one of the filmmakers who inspired Dosa to make her movie—not with his Krafts doc, of course, but with his incredible run of extreme and surreal nature documentaries which began in the mid ‘00s. This started with remarkable films like Grizzly Man and Encounters at the End of the World before leading to an inevitable documentary on volcanoes (called Into the Inferno) in 2016.

For the movie, Herzog travels with the explosively named Clive Oppenheimer to active fissures in Indonesia, Ethiopia and even North Korea. While there, he ponders the meaning of it all in those reliably Germanic tones. IYKYK.

10. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

I mean, sure, Fallen Kingdom is hardly anyone’s favourite Jurassic Park movie—most people, I reckon, would not even have it in their top FIVE. But it is the only Jurassic Park to use a volcanic eruption as a central plot point: a geological sneeze that results in the movie’s best sequence.

That the trailer for J.A. Bayona’s addition to the franchise basically only featured this scene—in which Pratt, Howard and a sea of dinos flee from an oncoming flow of lava and a variety of geological missiles—probably says everything you need to know about the surrounding movie. All that said, when it comes to iconic volcano scenes, it’s worth a mention—especially for diehard fans of the franchise or the Mesozoic era in general. 

Studies should be done (and probably have been done) on the time vortex that most of us fall into on the shapeless days between the 25th and 31st of December—and for most people in 2025, the weekend after that, too. 

Knowing what to watch on those days can be a crucial decision, especially with family around: pick anything divisive, and you may run the risk of upsetting some already strained relationships; choose something too dull, and you run the risk of putting everyone, including yourself, to sleep. 

The ideal post-Christmas/post-NYE hangover movie should be welcoming and, wherever possible, unprovocative. It should also have enough plot to keep people engaged, but not so much as to cause the elder members of the family, if present, to ask too many questions. A few, but not too many, should also threaten the tear ducts—as, let’s be honest, there are no other days in the year when we’re this emotionally relaxed and cosily sensitive to a pull of the heartstring. 

Each movie that I’ve selected below should tick at least one of those boxes, some of them all four. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. Knives Out: Wake up Dead Man (2025)

When Netflix bought the Knives Out franchise for a gazillion dollars in 2021, it obviously had a plan for when it wanted to let one of its new crown jewels loose. Then, after the success of Don’t Look Up around Christmas of that year, it became very clear when most people gathered around the TV in search of some comedic brain candy to chew on.

The first Netflix entry in the series, Glass Onion, was sadly a bit of a disappointment—one of those self-aware sequels that proves a bit too self-aware for its own good—but this third instalment, Wake Up Dead Man, is a return to form. If you appreciate a good murder mystery (Clue, Murder on the Orient Express), this one will keep the sitting room locked-in for more than two hours. 

2. Eternity (2025)

Another recent release that offers an engaging concept, light humour, but also a good dose of old-school romance is the new A24 movie Eternity, which is also, fittingly, a good name for the week between Christmas and New Year's. This is the one where Elisabeth Olsen and Miles Teller play a couple who die and meet again in the afterlife, only for the Olsen character’s first husband—a hunk (Callum Turner) who died in the war—to appear.

This turn of events creates an unlikely love triangle, prompting her to have to choose between two ideas of happiness: the actual one she had and the one who got away. It’s a delightful, charming and occasionally moving film that boasts the high concept of a Pixar movie, like Inside Out, along with the big, romantic swings of classics like A Matter of Life and Death. It also features Da’vine Joy Randolph in her first major role since winning an Oscar for the next movie on our list. 

2. The Holdovers (2023)

If you are feeling a bit cooped up in a claustrophobic space, perhaps surrounded by moody teenagers—or at least adults who are quickly regressing into a similar state—Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers is the movie for you. In my opinion, most Christmas movies should go back into a locked safe as soon as the clock strikes midnight on Christmas night, but Payne’s film begins on the 22nd and saves most of its emotional epiphanies for the days around New Year's Eve, making it a perfect watch for those in-between days.

Payne’s melancholic and dryly funny brand of cinema (Nebraska) is usually a treat, and this one’s no different. It also features the great Paul Giamatti, so if you’re a Sideways fan, you know what to do. 

3. The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025)

If you like humour, heartache, and Cary Mulligan singing folk tunes in close harmony, the 2025 release The Ballad of Wallis Island is going to feel like a hug from that friend you haven’t seen in a while. If some family members are starting to get a little tetchy, put this one on, and in roughly an hour and a half, they’ll probably find they have something in their eye. 

If you grew up in the ‘00s, you’ll feel a twinge of nostalgia and perhaps be slightly jarred to see a film use Mumford (aka Mr Cary Mulligan) and Sons-era stomp-and-shout indie as a retro device, but that won’t get in the way of your enjoyment here. Fans of the recent sitcom The Paper will also get a nice kick out of Tim Key’s touching performance. 

4. Groundhog Day (1993)

Let’s throw a classic in. This is another title, like Eternity, that has a way of summing up the feeling of life between the 26th and 31st, when every meal seems to consist of sliced turkey, and the temptation to have a drink before 2 pm is all too real. We’re talking, of course, about the Harold Ramis/Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day, a title so influential it has since entered the common lexicon. 

The movie follows Murray’s arrogant weatherman, Phil Connors (and if you love the actor’s early run of Ghostbusters and Scrooged, you’ll love this), on a journey towards self-understanding that involves repeating the same day ad-infinitum. I once read that the movie’s script suggests that Conners stays in the loop for 10,000 years, which gives the movie a feeling of cosmic futility that we can all probably relate to during our post-Christmas hangovers.

5. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

If you included Joe Dante’s first Gremlins movie in your Christmas watching this year, I highly recommend throwing on Gremlins 2: The New Batch in the days that follow. Critics didn’t quite know what to make of it at the time, but Dante’s follow-up has only gained in popularity since then and has become a true cult classic.

This is the one where the scaly critters take over a newly erected skyscraper in New York, causing chaos wherever they go. For the sequel, Dante and his legendary creature designer Chris Walas (who also worked on The Fly and Naked Lunch) threw every idea they could think of at the wall—up to and including introducing a flirty female Gremlin, a horrifying spider hybrid and, best of all, an intellectual. 

6. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Like with Dante’s Gremlins, if you already enjoyed your annual festive rewatch of Die Hard 1 and 2, what better time to throw on the underappreciated Die Hard with a Vengeance? This is the one where Bruce Willis runs around New York defusing bombs with Samuel L. Jackson, and the villain, played by Jeremy Irons, wears a baby blue vest and speaks with a German accent.

By switching to the summer months, the movie never got the annual rotation enjoyed by its predecessors, but it’s a great rec for fans of classic buddy cop movies like Lethal Weapon and 48 Hrs. 

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

If one of the post-Christmas days is looking especially devoid of plans, why not dive into a full-on epic? When it comes to the festive season, it’s hard to do much better than Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. You can even just put on the first instalment, The Fellowship of the Ring, and see how it goes down before continuing—it’s such a perfectly contained film that it’ll satisfy whoever’s watching, regardless of whether you finish the saga or not.

This is one for the fantasy fans in the family, especially (think Percy Jackson, Narnia), and one that slightly younger family members can also get involved with. 

8. Zootopia (2016)

Speaking of younger audiences, here’s one that’ll please just about anyone in the house—pets included. According to our metrics, the hugely successful Zootopia 2 has been inspiring viewers to revisit the original ever since the sequel began packing out cinemas at the beginning of December. These post-Christmas days could hardly be better suited for it: this is a movie that will delight the kids while giving the adults (and even the grandparents) some classic movie and TV references (think Godfather, Breaking Bad) to enjoy.

The story, which follows a bunny from the countryside who hopes to become a police officer in an animal-run metropolis, also packs a decent message about prejudice and a good dose of emotion to go along with all its action and humour. You can’t go wrong. 

9. One Battle After Another (2025)

If you’re looking for something fresh, funny and action-packed that will also get you informed for the fast-approaching awards season, why not try Paul Thomas Anderson’s new-to-streaming masterpiece One Battle After Another—one of the most enjoyable “Best of the Year” movies in ages. This one won’t be for younger members of the family, but it’ll offer all kinds of excitement, humour, and engagement for anyone with a slightly sore head.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary whose daughter is kidnapped by an old rival, played by a rarely better Sean Penn. If you like Anderson’s movies, like Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood, it’s a must-see.

Like the first stack of Advent calendars at your local supermarket, the annual awards season seems to arrive earlier and earlier with each passing year. This has had the knock-on effect of making almost every race look done and dusted before a single envelope has been opened—but there are always a few that stay stubbornly erratic right up until the moment of truth. 

It’s too early to say if Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value will win anything at the Academy Awards, but it will certainly bag a bucket-load of nominations and, I think, be competitive in three of the four acting categories as well as Best Original Screenplay. At the time of writing, quite a few are very much still at play. 

This all comes in what already looks like another landmark year for non-English language representation at the Oscars—2026 could see up to four non-English language films competing for Best Picture: It Was Just and Accident (the Iranian winner of the Palme d’Or), No Other Choice (the latest from Korean Master Park Chan Wook), The Secret Agent (a ‘70s-set genre mashup from Brazil) and Sentimental itself. 

This is a movie from Norway that’s been leaving audiences in floods of tears ever since its premiere in Cannes earlier this year, where it went home with the Grand Prix—essentially the festival’s second prize. Read on to discover more about Sentimental Value and whether or not you might want to see it!

What Is Sentimental Value About?

Sentimental Value is a story about a house and the family that has lived there for four generations. We see the tumultuous earlier years in flashback, but the film is chiefly concerned with Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), an arthouse filmmaker, and his two adult daughters, a theatre actress named Nora (Renate Reinsve) and her younger sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas).

The drama begins with the funeral of Nora and Agnes’ mother, where the news surfaces that he is the sole inheritor of the house and plans to shoot a late project there. Having been selfishly absent for long periods when they were growing up, this turn of events prompts Gustav to nudge his way back into his daughters’ lives—Royal Tenenbaum style. 

To do this, he offers the lead role in his film to Nora, which she declines, so Gustav ends up hiring a famous American actress (played by Predator: Badlands’ Elle Fanning) instead—a choice that helps the project get made but threatens to distance him even further from Nora and Agnes. As they each attempt to navigate this situation in their own way, memories resurface, and old wounds are reopened.

How Sad Is Sentimental Value?

As I referenced earlier, things get quite weepy in the latter stages, but it’s a cathartic kind of sadness. And besides, Trier and his long-term screenwriter Eskel Vogt have always been attuned to their fellow countrymen’s endearingly dry and self-deprecating sense of humour. Combined with the director’s offbeat editing style, it wouldn’t be entirely crazy to describe the film as a dark comedy. The director tends to be quite melancholy, as seen in his earlier films, Reprise and Oslo: August 31st (both excellent portraits of sad young men), but Worst Person in the World (a film about being rudderless in your 30s) was a hoot from start to finish. 

Sentimental (a film about a slightly later phase of life) essentially splits the difference between these two modes, yet even the heavier moments are offset by the beauty of the images and the pure charisma of the cast.

How Likely Is Sentimental Value to Win at the Oscars? 

I wouldn’t be surprised to see all four of its principal actors nominated at the Oscars, where the possibility of three acting wins is growing less impossible by the day. 

In a less competitive year, Skarsgård would be an absolute shoo-in for a career recognition win: over four decades, the actor has done pretty much everything you can do—from Lars Von Trier movies to The Avengers and Andor—and what better way to honour that longevity than with a film that both interrogates and celebrates what it means to make art.  

Is Sentimental Value Worth Watching?

Absolutely. In recent weeks, I am getting the sense that some critics are starting to turn on it a little, but I wouldn’t let that stop you from seeing it—especially if, like me, you’re a little more susceptible to certain kinds of movies around this time of year. As I mentioned, Trier is a director with a nose for comedy and a knack for drawing great performances out of his actors. 

This is evident once again with Fanning, Skargard and Lilleaas, but if you can only see it for one reason, it’s Reinsve—an actor whom Trier essentially discovered (she had a small role in Reprise) before essentially making her a star with Worst Person—a film she probably should have been nominated for in 2022.

I recently heard the actress described as one of the “most eloquent blushers in the history of cinema,” and I’m inclined to agree with that statement. Seeing her face go bright red—or flicker in an instant from anger to shame, or joy to embarrassment—is one of the great gifts that European cinema has given us this decade, and if you’d like a chance to see that on a big screen, go see Sentimental Value, but make sure to check out Worst Person while you’re at it, and then go watch her alongside Sebastian Stan in A Different Man, a great indie from last year. In 2026, she’s set to appear in new films from Joe Talbot (The Governess), Cristian Mungiu (Fjord) and Alexander Payne (Somewhere Out There). Hop on while you can.

When it comes to the best calendar year for cinema releases, we’ve heard arguments for 1939 (The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Gone With the Wind etc.), 1971 (The French Connection, The Last Picture Show, McCabe & Mrs. Miller etc.) and 1999 (The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, Magnolia etc.), but maybe it’s time to consider something a little more recent? 

A new theory has recently started doing the rounds that 2007 might be in with a shout — if not the best year ever, then perhaps the most recent “great year” in American cinema. What’s interesting about each of those years is that they all come at pivotal moments for the movies: a final flush before WWII, the early, anything-goes days of New Hollywood; the last days before digital took over; and both the last year before the MCU and the year that the iPhone launched. 

Looking back, it’s interesting how blockbusters shifted, but it’s especially glaring how many great comedies we used to have. Read on to discover more about the films of 2007 and use the guide below to find out where to stream the best of them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.  

1. There Will Be Blood

Let’s start with the last film to be released that year, Paul Thomas Anderson’s modern classic, There Will Be Blood: a great American saga that is also probably the majority of people’s pick for the greatest film of that decade. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a self-proclaimed “oil man” whose relentless quest for greed and power does little to compensate for his bottomless well of hatred. 

It remains one of Day-Lewis’s defining performances, and if you like what the actor did in Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, or appreciate PTA’s latest classic, One Battle After Another, you should definitely check it out. 

2. No Country For Old Men

At the 2008 Oscars, where movies from 2007 competed, most major categories were a showdown between Anderson’s movie and another modern Western: the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men. Unluckily for Anderson, the Coens basically went home with the lot for this air-tight and darkly entertaining adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s New Mexico crime novel—a film that you will especially love if you’ve been enjoying watching Fargo in more recent years. 

Looking back, 2007 was actually a great year for Westerns, with Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma both receiving recognition at the Oscars. Anderson’s movie now has the greatest reputation, but I certainly wouldn’t hold it against the Coens—it’s a great movie, and they deserved their crowning triumph.

3. Superbad

2007 was also a standout year for comedies, with Blades of Glory (starring Will Ferrell), Hot Rod (Andy Samberg), and Knocked Up (Seth Rogen) all released at various points during the summer. Better than all of them, in my opinion, was the Rogen-scripted Superbad — a film I’ve watched (and laughed at/with) countless times, and I think will continue to do so for years to come. 

Perfectly cast in a story about three high schoolers trying to buy booze for a party, the film launched the careers of Michael Cera, Jonah Hill and the now two-time Academy Award winner Emma Stone, so if you’re a fan of their more recent work in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street or La La Land, you have to go back and check this one out.

4. Zodiac

After There Will Be Blood and No Country, the third movie you will likely see on most Best-of-the-Decade lists is David Fincher’s Zodiac, which might also be the most influential of those three. This is the film (along with Fincher’s spiritually connected series Mindhunter) that created what would become the go-to style for true crime shows and documentaries going forward—and if you want a fascinating rundown of those trends, make sure to check out Charlie Shackleton's excellent new doc, Zodiac Killer Project.

Fincher’s film is a relentlessly gripping and frightening procedural about a journalist attempting to track down the Zodiac killer, who terrorised the people of San Francisco with a series of murders in the 1960s and 1970s. If you’re a fan of Fincher’s movies (particularly Se7en and Gone Girl), you know what to do. 

5. Hot Fuzz

If you’re looking for a different kind of comedy than the ones I’ve listed above, 2007 also boasted a few more offbeat classics. The John C. Reilly-starring music industry satire Walk Hard has basically become the go-to litmus test for every sincere music biopic that’s come since—a This is Spinal Tap for dramatised “true stories” of how famous musicians made it to where they are.

Another is the movie adaptation of John Waters’ Broadway smash, Hairspray—think Grease except with Waters’ sense of humour and Travolta in drag. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez also released their Grindhouse experiment, which features QT’s much-overlooked exploitation movie, Death Proof. Perhaps the best of these inventive genre mashups, however, was Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, his home-run follow-up to Shaun of the Dead—a movie that did for ‘80s action (like Commando) what Shaun did for zombies. 

6. The Bourne Ultimatum 

For all its charms, you would be hard-pressed to argue that 2007 was a classic year for blockbusters. The box office top ten for that year features Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (both solid) alongside a bunch of fine, third-in-the-franchise instalments: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Shrek the Third, Spider-Man 3.

The best of these third instalment movies was easily The Bourne Ultimatum, an awesome film that closed out the definitive action franchise of that decade with typical thrills and frantic energy. If you’ve seen the first two, you know what to do, but if you’re new to the series, it’s best to start from The Bourne Identity and work your way up!

7. Juno

Away from the big studios, there were plenty of newly-minted, indie classics hitting cinema screens in 2007, too. The micro-budgeted Irish movie Once made it all the way to the Oscars as Noah Baumbach released Margot at the Wedding and Todd Haynes brought out his experimental Bob Dylan movie, I’m Not There.

The most beloved and successful indie that year was, without a doubt, Juno, a movie that brought together the writer-director team of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman and launched the career of Elliot Page, each of whom was nominated for Oscars for their efforts. After the success of Little Miss Sunshine the previous year, Juno confirmed that American independent cinema was a force to be reckoned with again.

8. Ratatouille

It clearly wasn’t enough that 2007 had some of the best action, comedy, indie and prestige movies of the decade; it also had arguably the greatest Pixar film too—certainly up to that point. At the Oscars in 2008—which, as you can imagine, was absolutely STACKED—Brad Bird’s Ratatouille (a gorgeous story about a friendly rodent who secretly becomes the most talked about chef in Paris) bagged five nominations, including Best Original Screenplay. 

This is a beautiful film if you are in any way romantic about the French capital, but also if you’re a fan of that golden age of Pixar (think movies like Up and WALL-E).

9. Michael Clayton

Another conspicuously abundant genre in 2007 was the crime movie. Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, was a big hit, and we even got Sidney Lumet’s swansong, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, with Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The best crime movie of the year, and a work that’s only become more influential in the years since, is Michael Clayton. This is a film about shady corporate conspiracies that stars George Clooney and was written and directed by Tony Gilroy—and if you enjoyed the intelligent, resonant writing that Gilroy brought to Andor, you really need to check this one out.

10. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

We’ll cap this list with a quick rundown of all the exciting things that were happening in international cinema. At the Oscars at the beginning of the year, The Lives of Others beat Pan’s Labyrinth (both instant classics) to the Oscar. In Venice, Ang Lee’s erotic thriller Lust, Caution won the Gold Lion as the Spanish found footage horror [REC] shocked audiences in an out of competition slot—it has since gone on to become a cult classic.

The best international movie that year, however, was Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a still shocking, fiercely serious, but deeply moving film about abortion rights and state control that deservedly beat both No Country and Zodiac to the Palme d’Or in Cannes. If you’re looking for something a little outside the mainstream, it is well worth seeking out!