Stephen King’s Newest Book Just Came Out And Already Has A Movie Deal And A Big-Name Director

During Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest earnings briefing, CEO David Zaslav announced that a new Lord of the Rings movie is now in development. It’s in the script phase, the executive said.

And in news that may please fans of the series, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens–the architects of the Oscar-winning original trilogy–are involved in the new movie as producers. Details remain scant on the story, but Zaslav said it will tell a new story within the Lord of the Rings universe, which means it likely won’t be a remake or a reboot.

Specifically, Zaslav said the new Lord of the Rings movie will “explore storylines yet to be told,” adding that Jackson, Boyens, and Walsh are involved “every step of the way.” It remains to be seen who will write or direct the new film, though, nor do we know who could star in it. In any event, Zaslav said Lord of the Rings is “one of the most successful and revered” franchises in film history, and he believes there continues to be a “significant opportunity” for the franchises from a theatrical perspective.

Zaslav also mentioned on the call that Lord of the Rings, as well as Harry Potter and DC, are “underused” within the company, which suggests it might be planning to leverage them further in the future. The executive has said the company will focus on its tentpole franchises and sequels going forward.

Prior to this, WBD announced a Harry Potter TV series. As for DC, James Gunn and Peter Safran are the new co-heads of DC Studios and have ambitious plans for the future of DC film and TV projects, beginning with a new Superman film in 2025.

LOTR fans don’t have to wait until 2026 for a new entry in the film series, though, as an animated LOTR movie, War of the Rohirrim, is coming this December.

The Lord of the Rings movies from Jackson, Boyens, and Walsh earned billions at the box office and won numerous Academy Awards, including Best Picture for Return of the King. Jackson came back to the fantasy universe with a trilogy of Hobbit films. They also made gigantic sums of money at the box office, though these films were not as well received by fans.

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Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is reportedly looking for even more ways to cut costs and make more money, and this could include a price hike for Max and additional layoffs. Bloomberg reported these details and more ahead of WBD’s earnings briefing on May 9.

WBD has already cut more than 2,000 jobs in the past year, though the scale and timing of any future cuts is unknown. The report also said WBD might look to slash “hundreds of millions of dollars” from the company’s streaming division, mostly in marketing and technology.

In terms of a price hike for Max, the report said a price increase is coming, but it’s not clear when this could take place or what the new rate might be. Currently, Max costs $10/month with ads or $16/month without ads.

A spokesperson for WBD declined to comment on a potential price increase for Max or about the reported cost-cutting moves, but said the company is “focused on the long-term growth of the business overall.”

In terms of what WBD does plan to spend money on in the future, Zaslav has said the company will focus on franchises and tentpoles that have the best shot at making a profit. To that end, WBD has announced a Harry Potter TV show and an additional Game of Thrones spin-off.

Additionally, Zaslav has said he believes the company’s big money-makers, including DC and The Lord of the Rings, are currently “underused.” This could be a signal that WBD plans to invest further in these franchises in the future.

In other news, Conan O’Brien, who just launched a new TV show on Max, recently poked fun at the decision to change the name of HBO Max to Max on an appearance on Hot Ones. He said, “Is it HBO Max or just Max? I can’t get used to it. It’s not a better name.” He added: “They used to call it HBO, but people found that too popular. So now it’s Max because that really rolls off the tongue.”

Amid WBD’s layoffs, cuts, and the high-profile cancellation of Batgirl, Zaslav recently saw his pay rise in 2023 to $49.7 million, up from $39.3 million in 2022.

WBD will release its next earnings report and answer questions on May 9, so keep checking back for more.

Amazon has announced that Prime Video’s ads are getting more intrusive. In a blog post (via The Verge), Amazon announced an “expanded suite” of ad formats with the aim of pushing you to buy stuff and to help Amazon make more money.

Amazon said Prime Video will soon have “shoppable carousel ads” on TV shows and movies. This will display a sliding lineup of products that viewers can quickly add to their Amazon cart. Upon interacting with it, this ad will pause to allow users to browse through it. Whenever the viewer stops interacting with the ad, the programming will continue.

The next type of ad is what’s called an “interactive pause ad.” This means when you pause a TV show, movie, or live sport on Prime Video, an ad may pop up, along with options for “Add to Cart” and “Learn More.” Viewers can resume their TV show or movie whenever they want.

The third new type of ad for Prime Video is what’s called an “interactive brand trivia” ad. This will show “factoids” about a specific brand and then encourage them to shop or learn more about the product or brand in question.

Amazon is announcing these new ad types ahead of the company’s upfronts presentation on May 14.

For context, Hulu has had ads on paused videos since 2019. YouTube is now testing ads when you pause.

Amazon upset people earlier this year when it introduced ads to Prime Video’s premium tier. Users can bypass the ads by paying an extra $3 per month. Amazon is now facing a potential class-action lawsuit that alleges the company deceived subscribers with this new plan.

One of the next big releases for Prime Video is The Boys Season 4, which releases on June 13. Check out the newest trailer above.

Furiosa, a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, has a new trailer out now–and it’s absolutely epic. Not only that, but tickets to the George Miller-directed movie are on sale now.

Furiosa stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the title character, Furiosa, who was played by Oscar-winner Charlize Theron in Fury Road. Chris Hemsworth plays the main antagonist, Dementus. Furiosa is a standalone Mad Max movie that digs into the origins of Furiosa, and as this newest trailer shows, there is a lot to know about who Furiosa is and where she came from.

“As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus,” reads a line from the movie’s description. “Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.”

Alyla Browne and Tom Burke also star in Furiosa. Miller also co-wrote the script with Fury Road’s Nico Lathouris. Behind the camera, Furiosa brings back a number of people in the costume department who won Oscars for Fury Road.

Furiosa releases in theaters on May 24, just in time for the Memorial Day long weekend in the US. International markets get the movie first, however, starting on May 22.

The film had its debut in Sydney, Australia on May 2. It is the biggest movie ever filmed in Australia, and it received tax breaks for shooting down under.

Earlier this year, Greg Daniels, the man who developed the American version of The Office, revealed that he was planning a new follow-up series for the hit comedy. Now, Peacock has officially ordered The Office follow-up series, and set production to begin this summer.

Daniels co-created the new show with Michael Koman, who previously co-created Nathan For You. The duo cast Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore in the leading roles in April. While details about their characters have yet to be revealed, the connecting thread between this show and the original series will be the documentary crew that followed Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton employees for over a decade. The crew will reunite to chronicle the story of “a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.”

“It’s been more than ten years since the final episode of The Office aired on NBC, and the acclaimed comedy series continues to gain popularity and build new generations of fans on Peacock,” NBCUniversal Entertainment President Lisa Katz in a statement. “In partnership with Universal Television and led by the creative team of Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, this new series set in the universe of Dunder Mifflin introduces a new cast of characters in a fresh setting ripe for comedic storytelling: a daily newspaper.”

The new series doesn’t have an official name yet, and the rest of the ensemble cast will presumably be in place when the show begins filming in July.

Twisters will apparently explore what happens when you shoot fireworks into a tornado. The act is courtesy of Glen Powell’s character Tyler Owens, who confidently says at one point in the sequel’s new trailer: “We don’t need PhDs and fancy tech. Sometimes the old ways are better than the new.” Not to be outdone, Kate Cooper (portrayed by Daisy Edgar-Jones) responds: “Well, you can always trust a guy who puts his face on a T-shirt.”

This banter and more are part of the action-packed new trailer for Twisters, which can be seen below. The video also features a fire tornado and Owens walking in the rain with a cowboy hat and wet white T-shirt. There’s also a truck getting pulled into the air by a tornado and a water tower collapsing, among other destruction.

The twin tornadoes from the first Twisters trailer also make an appearance, combining to create a super whirlwind. We also, once again, see how Cooper is roped back in to chasing storms and comes across the boisterous Owens, who’s known as the Tornado Wrangler. While there don’t appear to be any connections to the original Twister, there is a chance Cooper, for example, could be the daughter of Helen Hunt’s Jo Harding and Bill Paxton’s Bill–especially since his last name is never given.

This sequel to Twister was given the green light back in 2022, with Powell coming on board roughly a year ago. Twisters takes place in central Oklahoma and will also feature Anthony Ramos (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts), Brandon Perea (Nope), Sasha Lane (Loki), and Maura Tierney (Liar Liar, The Iron Claw). The movie is directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who previously worked on Minari and Mandalorian.

Twisters is set to premiere in theaters on July 19.