New Trailers! I Play Rocky, The Batman: Part II, The Hunt for Gollum, Behemoth!, The Incomer, Mayday, The Mongoose, Runner, The Whisper Man, and The Dog Stars
🎥 Ippolito Becomes a Young Stallone, Batman and Gollum Offer Teases, Pascal Takes Up the Cello, Gleeson Finds Fellow Misfits, Reynolds and Branagh Team Up, Neeson and Ritchson Hit the Gas, and More!
🎥 “I Play Rocky” Trailer: Anthony Ippolito Becomes a Young Sylvester Stallone in the Incredible True Story Behind Hollywood’s Greatest Underdog Boxing Movie with AnnaSophia Robb, Stephan James and Matt Dillon — In Theaters November 6th
Sylvester Stallone. An iconic Hollywood action star. Arguably one of the most recognizable movie stars of all time.
But do you know how Sylvester Stallone broke into the movie business? How he fought to star in a film he had written, even when producers wanted a bigger name for the role? That movie would not only become his launching pad. It would become the stuff of legend.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck later credited Stallone with helping pave the way for struggling actors to write roles for themselves, even when the industry seemed determined to shut them out. For Damon and Affleck, it was their Oscar-winning film Good Will Hunting. For Stallone, more than two decades earlier, it was a little boxing movie called Rocky.
I Play Rocky doesn’t appear to be a typical biopic. It tells the unbelievable true story behind the making of one of the greatest boxing movies of all time. But it also happens to feature one of Hollywood’s greatest stories of breaking into the business: a 30-year-old Italian American actor with a lisp who had spent years struggling to land good roles, so he decided to write one for himself.
The good news: major studio executives loved Stallone’s Rocky screenplay and wanted to make the movie. The bad news: no one wanted Sylvester Stallone to star in it. But he held out, turned down more money, and refused to give up the role. In the process, he created one of Hollywood’s greatest underdog stories—a nobody becoming a somebody almost overnight—as Rocky became not only a box-office smash but also an Oscar-winning film.
Relative newcomer Anthony Ippolito, who earned praise for playing a young Al Pacino in the making-of-The Godfather miniseries The Offer, has been cast to play young Sylvester Stallone. And from the looks of it, Ippolito has already adopted some of Stallone’s signature traits, including his gravelly voice, stocky build, and distinctive swagger.
Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Farrelly, once again stepping outside his usual comedy wheelhouse, I Play Rocky follows Stallone’s struggle to get Rocky made and secure the role of Rocky Balboa for himself. As he battles studio executives and confronts his own fear of failure, Stallone begins tapping into the very character he created; an overlooked underdog fighting for his one shot.
Joining Ippolito in the cast are Stephan James as Rocky star Carl Weathers; AnnaSophia Robb as Stallone’s first wife, Sasha Czack (possibly the model for Rocky’s iconic love interest, Adrian); Matt Dillon as Stallone’s father, Frank Stallone Sr.; Jay Duplass as Rocky director John G. Avildsen; and P. J. Byrne as Rocky producer Irwin Winkler.
Toby Kebbell and Tracy Letts round out the ensemble.
Written by Peter Gamble, I Play Rocky is due to roll out in limited theaters on November 6th before expanding nationwide throughout November.
🎥 “The Batman: Part II” Production Teaser: Robert Pattinson Returns to the Cowl as Matt Reeves’ Gotham Crime Saga Begins Filming — Coming to Theaters February 17th, 2028
Look, DC is having a rough time right now after the whole Supergirl debacle. Hmm. So how do you change the narrative when everyone’s suddenly talking about the downfall of DC Studios? Easy: drop a surprise in-production teaser for the highly anticipated The Batman: Part II.
Now, if you think it’s going to be that easy to distract everyone from how badly Supergirl bombed at the box office, well, DC must think we’re a bunch of stupid little fools...
Oh, crap! Did you see the way Robert Pattinson turned his head like that? So, cooooooool.
Look, this far-too-brief teaser leaves much to be desired, as it really only confirms that the next chapter in Matt Reeves’ Gotham crime saga has entered production ahead of its 2028 theatrical release.
Robert Pattinson is shown back in the Batman cowl, turning his head ever so slightly as lights flash behind him. It’s likely nothing more than a camera test, capped off by a new red Bat-Signal logo confirming that production is officially underway.
It might also indicate that something is gearing up for San Diego Comic-Con next week, where both DC and Marvel are expected to make their presence felt in a big way. So don’t be surprised if some big announcements—or even bigger reveals—start hitting your feeds next week, as we’re sure DC will be coming on strong after taking such a major hit this summer.
The Batman: Part II will see Matt Reeves return to direct and co-write the screenplay with Mattson Tomlin, while Robert Pattinson reprises his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis are also expected to return as James Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth, with Colin Farrell reportedly reprising his role as Oz Cobb, aka the Penguin, alongside several other rumored cast members. The film is currently scheduled to hit theaters on February 17, 2028.
🎥 “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” Behind-the-Scenes Production Promo: Andy Serkis Returns to Middle-earth as Gollum ... and Director! — In Theaters December 17th, 2027
We all remember the first time we saw The Lord of the Rings trilogy in theaters. The thrill of watching that kind of epic storytelling unfold on the big screen was unforgettable. It marked a new cinematic era of sprawling fantasy worlds, groundbreaking visual effects, and blockbuster filmmaking with genuine emotional weight. It felt like the sky was the limit and anything was possible, as long as filmmakers had the ambition and imagination to pull it off. There was nothing else like it.
Then came The Hobbit trilogy... okay. Maybe we had gotten a little too full of ourselves. Maybe the sky did have a limit after all.
Then came The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Hmm. Anime. Sure. It wasn’t something we rushed out to see, but we could see the appeal.
Then came Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power... wait, what now? Okay, we’ve officially lost the plot.
Why can’t we just get back to that old nostalgic feeling we had the first time we saw Peter Jackson’s original trilogy? You know, when we were all checking TheOneRing.net every week for updates, obsessing over pixelated set photos and grainy behind-the-scenes videos. We just want to return to Middle-earth and feel that magic again.
Enter Andy Serkis, back in his ugly gray motion-capture leotard, covered head to toe in tracking dots as he prepares to reprise his role as Gollum for an all-new Lord of the Rings movie. This time, however, Gollum is calling the shots (literally) as Serkis is not only starring but also directing this new Middle-earth adventure.
By the way, just a thought: you’d think all this new technology would have made the leotard obsolete by now, but no. Poor Andy Serkis had to slip right back into it.
Check out this behind-the-scenes, in-production teaser for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, where Serkis walks onto the set like a man on a mission. This time, he is not merely Gollum but the director overseeing a massive undertaking.
Serkis reunites with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, with Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens producing. Walsh and Boyens also wrote the screenplay alongside Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
Set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the story follows the pursuit of Gollum after the One Ring has slipped from his possession. Gandalf and Aragorn are supposedly drawn into the search, racing to find him before his knowledge of the Ring falls into the wrong hands.
Serkis will be joined by Jamie Dornan as Aragorn, with Ian McKellen returning as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, and Lee Pace as Thranduil. Kate Winslet, Leo Woodall, and Anya Taylor-Joy are also reportedly set to appear in the ensemble.
Fingers crossed. Let’s hope The Hunt for Gollum reminds us why these stories have kept us coming back for one more Middle-earth adventure. ’Cuz we hate to say it, but after a few disappointing returns, this world could really use a win.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is slated to hit theaters on December 17, 2027.
🎥 “Behemoth!” Teaser Trailer: Pedro Pascal Plays a Troubled Cellist on the Brink in Tony Gilroy’s New Drama with Eva Victor, Olivia Wilde, and Will Arnett — Arriving In Theaters December 4th
Pedro Pascal as a gifted cellist on the verge of a personal and professional crisis. Writer-director Tony Gilroy returning to filmmaking after spending the past several years showrunning Andor, one of the greatest Star Wars projects ever made.
Enough said... we’re sold!
There’s no denying Pedro Pascal is one hell of an actor. After all, he has earned multiple Emmy nominations for his portrayal of hardened survivor Joel Miller in HBO’s hit series The Last of Us. But after the stink of The Mandalorian and Grogu this year, the conversation surrounding Pascal has shifted toward his legitimacy as a movie star. Again, he’s a hell of an actor... but maybe television is where his talents shine brightest.
Well, expect that conversation to shift once again later this year, as it looks like Pascal might be throwing his hat into the ring for a Best Actor Oscar with his leading performance in Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! He certainly has the kind of juicy role actors dream about: a tortured musical genius whose personal life is in absolute shambles and whose career is approaching a critical turning point. One wrong move, and everything could collapse like a house of cards.
Now, if that doesn’t scream, “Hey, Oscar... look at me!” we don’t know what does.
Another strong selling point is that Behemoth! marks writer-director Tony Gilroy’s first feature film in more than a decade. That alone is noteworthy, considering he’s the filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning thriller Michael Clayton and the Emmy-winning Andor.
Pascal + Gilroy = a potentially winning combination.
Here, Pascal plays Alex Serian, a professional cellist who returns home to Los Angeles after spending 20 years on the road. Set to work with an orchestra on a major Hollywood film-scoring session, Alex soon finds himself tormented by old memories and a past he thought he had left behind—including two women with whom he shares complicated histories: his volatile ex, played by Olivia Wilde, and his new love, a young violist played by Sorry, Baby breakout Eva Victor.
Will Arnett also co-stars as one of Alex’s oldest friends... and one of the many people in his life holding secrets that could bring everything crashing down.
With Hank Azaria, Alexa Swinton, Margarita Levieva, and Matthew Lillard rounding out the cast, Behemoth! is due to open in theaters on December 4th.
Now cue the cello... and make those strings sound as ominous and emotionally devastating as a behemoth of pain and regret.
🎥 “The Incomer” Trailer: Domhnall Gleeson Finds Kindred Spirits Among Misfits in This Off-Kilter Comedy with Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke — In U.S. Theaters September 25th
Don’t judge a book by its cover, because some of the strangest characters just might become our greatest allies.
Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson (Peter Rabbit, The Paper) has an incredible ability to turn uncomfortable awkwardness into an endearing trait. He puts that talent to good use in the off-kilter comedy The Incomer, starring as an office clerk who unexpectedly befriends two reclusive, eccentric siblings.
Set on a remote Scottish island, the film sees Gleeson as Daniel, an awkward council official sent by the government to clear out what is believed to be an uninhabited island. Instead, he discovers it has been taken over by two oddball siblings, Sandy and Isla, played by Outlander’s Grant O’Rourke and House of the Dragon’s Gayle Rankin, who have transformed the rugged landscape into a playground fueled by wild imagination and local folklore.
Daniel’s job is to evict Sandy and Isla from the island, but he soon finds himself swept up in their strange yet enchanting world of odd bird-hunting tactics, wizardry, and utter make-believe. Sometimes the people who seem the strangest are nothing more than kindred spirits waiting to be understood.
The Incomer marks the feature debut of Scottish writer-director Louis Paxton, who won the NEXT Innovator Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival following the film’s world premiere. The film, which also co-stars Emun Elliott, Michelle Gomez, and John Hannah, sets out to prove that a simple eviction order can open the door to something far stranger, funnier, and more magical than anyone could have imagined.
The Incomer arrives in U.S. theaters on September 25th.
🎥 “Mayday” Trailer: Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh Become Unlikely Allies in This Cold War-Era Action-Comedy From the Filmmakers Behind ‘Game Night’ and ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ — Premieres September 4th on Apple TV
There are Cold War stories that are all about heartless espionage, bleak double-crossing, and deadly political intrigue. And then there are some like this: a lighthearted buddy action-comedy where two unlikely allies stumble their way through an international crisis with a great sense of fun... and a surprising number of laughs.
In Apple’s new 1987-set original movie Mayday, Ryan Reynolds stars as Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a hotshot U.S. Navy pilot sent on a covert mission into Russian territory. When the operation goes sideways, Troy crash-lands behind enemy lines, where his best chance of survival comes from Nikolai Ustinov, a gruff former KGB agent with an unusual affection for American culture.
Nikolai is played by renowned thespian Kenneth Branagh, who, in a surprisingly fun turn, leans heavily into the comedy... and an outrageously thick Russian accent.
Troy and Nikolai become unlikely partners as Nikolai agrees to help Troy escape the Soviet Union alive, while Troy reluctantly promises to help Nikolai secure asylum in America once they make it there in one piece. Very much in the vein of classic ’80s buddy action-comedies like 48 Hrs. and Midnight Run, the two find themselves trading insults, dodging bullets, and slowly forming a genuine friendship as everything around them spirals out of control.
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the filmmaking duo who previously directed Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, are behind this new Cold War-era action-comedy, bringing their sharp comedic timing and knack for mismatched characters to this Ryan Reynolds vehicle.
Also starring Maria Bakalova, Marcin Dorociński, and David Morse, Mayday is slated to premiere on Apple TV on September 4th.
🎥 “The Mongoose” Trailer: Liam Neeson Puts the Pedal to the Metal in This High-Speed Police-Chase Action Thriller with Marisa Tomei, Ving Rhames and Michael Chiklis — Hitting Theaters October 30th
You simply don’t mess with Liam Neeson... or his loved ones. Unless you want to end up on the receiving end of his very particular set of skills. And in this case, those skills involve getting into trouble and driving as fast as humanly possible.
The Mongoose is yet another ridiculously over-the-top action thriller elevated by the sheer gravitas of Liam Neeson as a man of honor who somehow always finds himself in the middle of escalating chaos.
While trying to help his ex-wife, played by Marisa Tomei, escape her abusive husband, Neeson’s Ryan Flanagan, a highly decorated former Special Forces soldier, lands in deep trouble when the confrontation turns deadly. Unjustly accused of murder despite acting in self-defense, Flanagan is forced onto the road in a red race car (because, of course) triggering a cross-country police hunt.
With lines like “Bring it on!” and “Take him out!,” Flanagan taunts the police as he uses his formidable driving skills to stay one step ahead of the law while keeping one foot firmly planted on the gas.
“Where are you headed?” Flanagan is asked over the radio after hours on the road in a now-televised police chase, with supporters beginning to cheer him on from the sidelines.
“The Mongoose,” he replies with complete confidence, as though we’re somehow supposed to know what that means. And in a way, it doesn’t matter, as long as Neeson gets to drive fast, stare down the authorities, and growl a few tough-guy one-liners along the way.
Ving Rhames co-stars as one of Flanagan’s old war buddies, while Michael Chiklis gets to chew up scenery as the coldhearted Texas police chief leading the nationwide manhunt.
Former stuntman and veteran stunt coordinator Mark Vanselow makes his feature directorial debut after frequently working as Neeson’s stunt double on several of his action films, including the Taken movies, The Grey, and The A-Team.
The Mongoose careens into theaters on October 30th. Burn rubber... and make sure you always know where you’re headed.
🎥 “Runner” Trailer: Alan Ritchson Races to Deliver a Life-Saving Organ While Hunted by Black Market Criminals in Scott Waugh’s Off-the-Wall Action Thriller with Owen Wilson — Coming to Theaters September 11th
One delivery. One life hanging in the balance. And absolutely no room for delays. Just another day for Alan Ritchson—and nothing a little brute force and reckless driving can’t handle.
Ritchson puts his Reacher-honed action skills to work in Runner, a high-speed action thriller about a former soldier now making his living behind the wheel as an ordinary delivery driver. His latest assignment sounds straightforward enough: transport a donated liver to a sick little girl before time runs out.
Naturally, nothing about this trip goes according to plan.
When the life-saving package puts him in the crosshairs of ruthless black-market hijackers, an urgent delivery becomes a relentless chase filled with speeding vehicles, armed pursuers, and increasingly limited options. With every mile bringing new danger, he must keep the organ intact, stay ahead of the people hunting him, and figure out who can still be trusted.
Owen Wilson joins the ride as an unlikely ally who may be the only person capable of helping him reach the finish line alive. Wilson also brings some much-needed levity as the straight man caught up in Ritchson’s increasingly ridiculous action-hero antics.
Scott Waugh, director of Act of Valor and The Expendables 4, once again leans into the muscular action flair he’s known for: dangerous roads, totaled cars, and characters forced to make split-second decisions under extreme pressure.
If the setup were any simpler, we might mistake it for a typical action movie. This one, on the other hand, has a deadline, a donated organ, and Alan Ritchson turning rush-hour traffic into a demolition derby.
The clock is ticking, the bad guys are closing in, and slowing down is not an option. Runner races into theaters September 11th.
🎥 “The Whisper Man” Trailer: Robert De Niro and Adam Scott Reopen a Terrifying Serial-Killer Case in This New Missing-Child Thriller with Michelle Monaghan — Premiering on Netflix August 28th
After starring in one of the year’s creepiest thrillers, Hokum, Adam Scott appears to be continuing his descent into horror territory with yet another deeply unsettling project. This time, he shares the screen with legendary actor Robert De Niro... and no, that’s not the unsettling part. This unlikely duo will face a serial killer who may have returned to resume his terrifying reign.
In The Whisper Man, Scott plays Tom Kennedy, a widowed crime writer whose world collapses when his eight-year-old son is abducted. With nowhere else to turn, Tom asks his estranged father, retired detective Pete Willis, played by De Niro, for help.
It seems Tom’s child may have been taken by a serial killer known as the Whisper Man. All the signs point to the same chilling methods used decades earlier. The problem is, the so-called Whisper Man was caught by Pete 30 years ago, convicted, and thrown in prison. The question now is: How could he possibly be killing again after all these years?
Tom and Pete’s search leads them back to the decades-old serial-killer case. But as the investigation unfolds, their fractured father-son relationship becomes tangled in a mystery involving missing children, buried memories, and the possibility that the case was never truly finished.
Michelle Monaghan, coming off a spectacular turn in Season 3 of The White Lotus, co-stars as the police detective investigating the recent kidnapping and forming her own conclusions about what may have happened.
Co-starring Hamish Linklater, Owen Teague, Acston Luca Porto, and Will Brill, this Netflix original is based on Alex North’s bestselling thriller novel of the same name.
New Zealand-born filmmaker James Ashcroft directs from a screenplay by Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer.
Ashcroft previously directed the critically acclaimed psychological thrillers Coming Home in the Dark and The Rule of Jenny Pen, making him a fitting choice for this new serial-killer mystery built around the threat of a murderer who may not be finished... or may not be working alone.
The Whisper Man is set to premiere on Netflix on August 28th.
Quick suggestion: Keep the lights on for this one... unless you want to hear someone whispering from the darkness. Eek!
🎥 “The Dog Stars” New Trailer: Jacob Elordi Takes Flight Through a Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland in Ridley Scott’s New Survival Thriller With Josh Brolin and Margaret Qualley — In Theaters and IMAX August 28th
Legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott is showing no signs of slowing down, as he has already jumped onto a new film... and a new genre: the post-apocalyptic thriller. And he has chosen Jacob Elordi, fresh off his Oscar-nominated turn in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, to lead this post-pandemic survival thriller about finding hope in an otherwise bleak and hopeless future.
Based on Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, The Dog Stars takes place after a devastating flu pandemic has nearly wiped out humanity. Elordi stars as Hig, a civilian pilot who has lost his wife and almost everything else, leaving him to survive at an abandoned airbase alongside his loyal dog and Bangley, a heavily armed former Marine played by Josh Brolin.
The two men have built a fragile existence protected by aircraft, weapons, and Bangley’s ruthless willingness to eliminate anyone who gets too close. But their defenses can only hold off savage scavengers for so long. Hig, meanwhile, has not completely surrendered his belief that something better could still be waiting beyond their isolated refuge. And when push comes to shove, he is left with no other choice but to find out for himself.
When Hig picks up a mysterious radio transmission, that flicker of hope becomes impossible to ignore. Following the signal means leaving behind the only safety he has known and venturing into a dangerous world where survival is far from guaranteed.
Margaret Qualley co-stars as Cima, a fellow survivor Hig meets along the way, with Guy Pearce, Allison Janney, and Benedict Wong rounding out the ensemble.
Blending post-apocalyptic science fiction, survival adventure, and mystery, The Dog Stars appears less interested in rebuilding civilization than asking whether hope remains worth the risk after everything else has disappeared.
The Dog Stars opens in theaters August 28th.
