Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito has owned up to releasing too much content, too fast, and has vowed that the company is now shifting gears.

Speaking to Empire, D’Esposito said, “It’s been a rough time,” before adding that he believes this July’s Deadpool and Wolverine could help Marvel find its footing again.

“If we just stayed on top, that would have been the worst thing that could have happened to us. We took a little hit, we’re coming back strong,” he said. “Maybe when you do too much, you dilute yourself a little bit. We’re not going to do that anymore. We learned our lesson. Maybe two to three films a year and one or two shows, as opposed to doing four films and four shows.”

That’s the same range that Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned on an earnings call when he was discussing Marvel’s output going forward.

Marvel’s Kevin Feige is also quoted in the piece, and he remarked that he feels “much more comfortable being the underdog.” Most would agree Marvel Studios as a movie company is very far from being an underdog given the size and scale of its operation, but Feige said Marvel’s struggles in 2023 might set the company up for success in 2024 and to “exceed expectations.”

“You’d have to live under a rock not to know that the last few Marvel movies have failed to ignite the world in the way that so many did,” he said.

Before this, Iger pushed back against the idea that so-called superhero fatigue led to Marvel’s movies coming up short at the box office recently. Instead, Iger admitted that Marvel’s latest films were simply not good enough to convince people to go see them.

Deadpool and Wolverine releases on July 26. It’s directed by Shawn Levy and features a long list of cameos, including potentially Taylor Swift as Dazzler.

Game of Thrones fans eager for news about the next spin-off are in luck today, as The Hollywood Reporter revealed new information about the prequel series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Starting off, the show has a new name.

Previously known as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, the show is now simply called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. THR said this name is not final and could change prior to the show’s debut in 2025.

Additionally, it’s been revealed that Owen Harris–who directed the fan-favorite Black Mirror episode “San Junipero”–is directing the first three episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. He also directed the Black Mirror episode “Be Right Back.”

What’s more, the report revealed the show’s episode count. There will be six episodes in Season 1, which is four fewer than the 10 that House of the Dragon had for its first season. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on George R.R. Martin’s 160-page novella The Hedge Knight.

The series follows the story of two unlikely heroes wandering through Westeros. These are the young and naive knight Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell)

“Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends,” reads a line from the show’s description.

THR said A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is not the kind of “sweeping war epic” that Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are, but instead a more “intimate” series with a lighter tone.

In other Game of Thrones news, the other spin-off series that was under consideration, a show about Jon Snow starring Kit Harington, is no longer moving ahead.

Since starring in the Oscar-winning film, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Michelle Yeoh has had a pretty busy schedule on TV with stints on American Born Chinese, The Brothers Sun, The Witcher: Blood Origin, and the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 movie for Paramount+. But now, Yeoh is adding another franchise to her credits.

Via Variety, Yeoh has been cast in a leading role in Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming original series, Blade Runner 2099, which acts as a sequel to both Blade Runner 2049 and the original Blade Runner. Variety’s report states that Yeoh will be playing Olwen, a replicant who is near the end of her life.

Yeoh won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. And she has extensive experience in film, including leading parts in Crazy Rich Asians, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Memoirs Of A Geisha, and more.

Former Halo supervising producer Silka Luisa will be the showrunner and executive producer of Blade Runner 2099. Blade Runner director Ridley Scott is also attached as an executive producer alongside David W. Zucker, Clayton Krueger, Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, and Ben Roberts.

Blade Runner 2099 will be filmed in Prague, and Jonathan van Tulleken is slated to direct the first two episodes and also executive produce the series. Prime Video hasn’t set a premiere date for the show yet.

For two movies, Chris Pine played American spy Steve Trevor, the love interest of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, and her alter ego, Diana Prince. A decades-old character from the comics, Trevor was a pilot who was shot down and later rescued by Diana and brought back to the world of man to save it from evil forces. It also looks like Wonder Woman 1984, the sequel to the original, will be the last time Pine dons the aviator jacket in the role.

Despite the first movie being the most critically acclaimed DCEU film, it got caught up when Warner Bros. overhauled its DC Comics universe in 2022 with director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran as co-CEOs of DC Studios, rebooting every film franchise on deck. Pine couldn’t figure out why they would cancel the budding franchise.

“I’m stunned that they said no to a billion-dollar franchise and decided to pivot elsewhere,” Pine told Business Insider. “I don’t know what the reasoning was behind that; it’s above my pay grade, but Wonder Woman is an incredible character; Patty [Jenkins] is such a thoughtful director.”

When asked if he felt the films had any unfinished business as a third movie was originally in the works and was soon scrapped with the reboot. Pine didn’t mince words about he wouldn’t have been involved anyway.

“Homie is dead. Steve is gonzo,” Pine replied. “It would be ridiculous to try to bring me back.”

Pine, who makes his directorial debut with Poolman, released this week, turned down the role of Trevor twice before Jenkins broke down how the role would actually play out, contrary to Pine’s thoughts of being just a boyfriend.

“In talking to Patty, the way she described it was, ‘Forget the superhero of it all, this is a romance, this is ‘Casablanca,’ that’s the movie I want to make,’ he explained. “I was like, oh, now that is very cool because when have you seen a superhero film that was a love story, ultimately? That had nothing to do with blowing shit up.”

Gunn nor Saffran have confirmed who will play Wonder Woman this time around for their universe, but Gal Gadot had mentioned she’s working on a project with Gunn. Wonder Woman herself has not been tied to any movie project just yet, but in the first chapter of the new DCU slate, “Gods and Monsters,” an HBO TV series titled Paradise Lost is in development that will focus on “a Game of Thrones-type story about Themyscira.”

Three decades ago, Speed was a breakout action film for both Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. While Reeves skipped Speed 2: Cruise Control in 1997, he reunited with Bullock for The Lake House in 2006. And during a new joint interview with Bullock, Reeves voiced his desire to team with her again.

“I mean, you know–we’d freakin’ knock [Speed 3] out of the park,” said Reeves during his appearance with Bullock on the 50 MPH podcast, which chronicles the making of Speed.

“There’s no formula. It just is,” added Bullock when asked about her on-screen chemistry with Reeves. “Before I die, before I leave this planet, I do think that Keanu and I need to do something in front of the camera. Are we, you know, in wheelchairs or with walkers? Maybe. Are we on little scooters at Disneyland?”

“It does feel like there is a siren call to it, like there’s something that wasn’t done,” said Reeves. “I would love to work with you again before our eyes close.”

Bullock reprised her role as Annie Porter after Reeves declined to return as Jack Traven in the sequel. In Jack’s absence, Annie started a relationship with Alex Shaw, another officer with the L.A. police department. Speed 2 also featured a hijacked luxury cruise ship, rather than a bus. The audience response was lukewarm, and it only made $164.5 million worldwide after the original Speed hit $350.4 million three years earlier. There hasn’t been talk of another Speed sequel since.

At Marvel’s peak in 2021, the studio had four MCU movies in theaters and five shows on Disney+. But going forward, those numbers are a thing of the past. Via Variety, Disney CEO Bob Iger laid out the studio’s strategy during an investment call. The new status quo is two Marvel TV series a year, and no more than three MCU movies a year.

Because of last year’s Hollywood strikes, Deadpool and Wolverine is the only Marvel movie heading to theaters in 2024. But there are four on the schedule for 2025, including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four, and Blade. Considering the behind-the-scenes turmoil that Blade has already had, it seems possible that could slip into 2026.

Iger emphasized that the slowdown in production is part of an attempt to refocus on the quality of the shows and films, before adding “that’s particularly true with Marvel.”

“We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three. And we’re working hard on what that path is,” continued Iger.

It’s unclear if the new plans for two Marvel shows on Disney+ include animated series like X-Men ’97, What If…?, or the yet-to-be-released Spider-Man: Freshman Year and Marvel Zombies. Marvel’s upcoming live-action shows include Agatha, Ironheart, and Wonder Man.

Netflix‘s breakout hit Wednesday has started production on its Season 2 and has added a dozen actors to its cast. Filming has begun in Ireland on the series, produced by Tim Burton, with Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams as she attends and investigates the inner-workings of Nevermore Academy.

The new backdrop is a change from the first season, which was primarily shot in Romania. Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán are returning as Morticia and Gomez Addams, respectively. Isaac Ordonez and Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo are also back as Wednesday’s brother Pugsley, and Deputy Ritchie Santiago.

Fan-favorite Thing delivered new scripts to cast members on set and is the main character on Netflix’s newly launched Tik Tok channel, aka “Thing Tok,” dedicated to all things Wednesday from Thing’s unique perspective.

The series has added Steve Buscemi (The Big Lebowski, Boardwalk Empire), Billie Piper (Scoop, I Hate Suzie), Evie Templeton (Return to Silent Hill, Lord of Misrule), Owen Painter (Tiny Beautiful Things, The Handmaid’s Tale) and Noah Taylor (Law & Order: Organized Crime, Park Avenue) all as new series regulars.

In addition to that, the new season will feature a slew of guest stars including Addams Family alumni and Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd (Addams Family, Back to the Future), Joanna Lumley (Fool Me Once, Absolutely Fabulous), Thandiwe Newton (Westworld, Crash), Frances O’Connor (The Missing, The Twelve), Haley Joel Osment (The Kominsky Method, Somebody I Used to Know), Heather Matarazzo (The Princess Diaries, Scream) and Joonas Suotamo, with roles yet to be announced.

“We are thrilled that the entire Addams family will be enrolling in Nevermore Academy this season along with a dream cast of icons and new faces,” showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar said in a statement.

Ortega will also be teaming with Burton on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to his 1988 horror comedy, in theaters on September 6.

Netflix’s The Witcher recently started production on its fourth season, which marks a turning point for the series. Henry Cavill stepped aside from the leading role as Geralt of Rivia, with The Hunger Games’ Liam Hemsworth taking over the part for the show’s final two seasons. While fans haven’t yet seen Hemsworth in action as Geralt, his co-star, Freya Allan, is hopeful that the show’s viewers will give him a chance to prove himself.

“I don’t want to speak for him, but from what I’ve understood, I feel like he’s really wanting to try and bring the heart,” Allan told Collider. “He’s been training. I feel sorry for him, honestly, because, number one, that fan base can be very attack-y, and it’s not an ideal situation to be in taking up someone else’s role. But I’m really excited to see what he does. And he’s such a lovely guy. I just hope that people give him the time of day, you know?”

Allan, who plays Princess Ciri on the series, also spoke about where her character arc will go in the upcoming season.

“Our characters, all the storylines are going their separate ways this season,” said Allan. “So it’s very much my own journey. Obviously, Geralt’s always going to have a massive weight on my character, but it’s very much her. She’s got a lot going on this season. She goes to some very dark places within herself, and also just discoveries, and coming into being a woman, basically. So yeah, she’s got her own separate thing. There isn’t much of an interaction there.”

Allan is currently starring in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which will hit theaters on Friday, May 10. The Witcher Season 4 is expected to premiere in 2025, and the series was recently renewed for a fifth and final season by Netflix.

2023 was one of the best years for cinema in its post-pandemic era, but between blockbuster hits like Barbie and Oppenheimer, the most profitable film was The Super Mario Bros. Movie. According to Deadline’s estimates, The Super Mario Bros Movie was the highest-grossing Illumination movie of all time with its $1.36 billion take at the global box office, and once production, advertising, and several other costs were removed, its final gross was an impressive $559 million.

As Deadline noted, the film’s production cost was $100 million and that fee was split 50-50 between Nintendo and Illumination’s parent company Universal Pictures. Advertising is estimated to have cost $150 million alone, while residuals, distribution expenses, and other vital parts of the movie business saw that overall figure rise to $400 million to make the movie.

Other successful elements of the campaign to drive audiences to watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie included partnership deals with McDonald’s and 7-Eleven, integration in a Nintendo Direct livestream, and several other promotional takeover events.

Universal and Nintendo also cleverly leveraged the appeal of March 10–Mario Day–to sell tickets ahead of the film’s April release. Overall, the film did much better than the infamous live-action Mario Bros. movie–even if it did star Dennis Hopper as a hyper-evolved dinosaur politician–breaking several box office records in the process and finishing the year as the second-highest-grossing movie globally.

A Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel is naturally in development and is currently scheduled to land in theaters on April 3, 2026.

In 2018, Maze Runner: The Death Cure wrapped up 20th Century Fox’s adaptation of James Dashner’s Maze Runner trilogy. But the next chapter in the franchise is now in development. Via The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Studios is negotiating with screenwriter Jack Paglen to write a new Maze Runner film. Paglen’s previous credits include Alien: Covenant and Netflix’s adaptation of Mark Millar and Olivier Coipel’s The Magic Order, which was cancelled before production began.

THR’s story calls the new Maze Runner film a “reboot,” but revival is the more accurate term since this is reportedly not a remake of the first novel. Nor is it a direct sequel to the trilogy. Instead, it will be a new story that takes place in the same world with some connective elements between the latest film and the movies that came before it. It’s similar to the way that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes continues the reboot timeline that began in 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Teen Wolf’s Dylan O’Brien starred in the original Maze Runner films as Thomas, a teenager whose memory was erased before he was placed in an encircled area known as the Glade alongside teenage boys who were just like him. The only way out of the Glade was through a deadly maze that few of the boys managed to survive. Thomas’ ability to navigate the maze led him to become a leader among his group as they unraveled the conspiracy behind their imprisonment.

Since the new film won’t be a sequel, O’Brien and the other cast members from the trilogy aren’t expected to return. It’s also unclear if the new movie will be based on Dashner’s Maze Cutter novels, which are sequel stories that takes place decades after The Death Cure.

Wes Ball, the director of The Maze Runner trilogy, will produce the new film alongside Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Lee Stollman, Wyck Godfrey, and Marty Bowen.