FRNS

The Mandalorian And Grogu Split Critics And Surprise Scorsese Cameo

Star Wars is back in theaters for the first time in seven years with The Mandalorian and Grogu, and critics are literally split down the middle — one outlet called it the most entertaining Star Wars since the eighties, another gave it a four out of ten and said the franchise has never been duller. Martin Scorsese, the guy who famously trashed Marvel movies as theme parks, shows up as an alien food truck chef in what might be the most ironic cameo in Hollywood history. The real problem isn't whether it's good or bad, it's that Disney promoted a streaming show to theatrical release and critics can't agree if that cozy, small-screen energy works on IMAX or just proves Star Wars doesn't know what it wants to be anymore.

Sherlock Holmes 3 Scrapped And Teased For Fifteen Years

Guy Ritchie just said it's amazing Sherlock Holmes 3 still hasn't happened after fifteen years, and honestly the reason why is more complicated than just scheduling. Robert Downey Jr is locked into playing Doctor Doom for multiple Avengers films, Ritchie is juggling four projects including a Young Sherlock prequel series, and Susan Downey admitted they almost made a third film but killed it because the script didn't work. Now they're considering moving Holmes to Gilded Age America, but neither Downey nor Jude Law have said a single word publicly about whether they actually want to do this, and Warner Bros hasn't greenlit anything.

James Bond Nina Gold Sparks Wild Search For New 007

Amazon MGM just confirmed the next James Bond search is officially happening and hired Nina Gold to find him — the casting legend who discovered entire Game of Thrones and Star Wars casts from unknowns. They're looking for a fresh-faced British actor in his late twenties to early thirties, which likely rules out internet favorites like Idris Elba and Henry Cavill, while names like Callum Turner and Jacob Elordi are quietly surfacing. Denis Villeneuve is directing and this is the first Bond film developed entirely under Amazon's control after the Broccoli family stepped back, so we're either getting something revolutionary or watching them turn 007 into a cinematic universe.

Paper Tiger Lands At Cannes Shocking James Gray Return

James Gray's crime thriller Paper Tiger just got added to Cannes last minute with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, and the festival director literally compared it to Gray's gritty 90s debut Little Odessa — which is a massive deal if you know his work. Meanwhile, there are only two American directors in the entire Palme d'Or competition this year because US studios have basically stopped making the kind of films Cannes wants, and Neon now has six films competing after winning the last six Palmes in a row. So Gray's showing up with what sounds like a scrappy indie about the American dream falling apart at the exact moment American cinema is barely present at the world's biggest film festival, which honestly could not be more on the nose.

RZA Builds Movie Empire With One Spoon Of Chocolate

RZA just launched his own film distribution company, 36 Cinema Distribution, and the first release is a revenge thriller he spent thirteen years writing called One Spoon of Chocolate, presented by Tarantino and hitting theaters next month. This isn't a rapper making a movie, this is a Wu-Tang founder applying the same ownership philosophy that revolutionized hip-hop deals in the nineties to cinema infrastructure. He's not just directing anymore, he's controlling the entire pipeline from production to theaters, and if it works, he's building a door for other artists to actually own their distribution instead of just collecting checks.