One of the most exciting upcoming video game movies is The Legend of Zelda, starring House of the Dragon's Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link and Renegade Nell's Bo Bragason as Zelda.

GamesRadar+ recently caught up with Ainsworth on Zoom to chat about his role as Daeron Targaryen in House of the Dragon season 3 – but, naturally, we had to ask about Ainsworth's trip to Hyrule, too.

"I can't speak too much on the film itself, but I remember vividly when Breath of the Wild came out – and it might show my age – but I remember being quite young at the time when it came out, and so I didn't have a Switch at the time," he admits. "And so, I was watching gamers play it, and watching playthroughs, essentially."

Ainsworth was born in 2008, and Breath of the Wild, possibly the best Zelda game of all time, was released in 2017. Way to make us feel old…

"And then, upon being fortunate enough to play this role, such an iconic character, going back and realizing the 40 years of legacy and history, and the varied tones, the varied stories, the varied renditions and vocal performances of this character as well," he continues. "Yeah, I'm a big fan, and just really excited, because it was an awesome thing to shoot. New Zealand is a wonderful place. But yeah, can't say too much more."

The Legend of Zelda movie arrives on May 7, 2027, while House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on Sky, NOW, and HBO Max in the UK, and HBO in the US.

You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and, for even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

The Resident Evil movie runtime might have been revealed, and fans are very pleased with it.

AMC lists the film as 1 hour and 35 minutes (via IGN), which is a pretty slim runtime. "Love a tight 90," says one person on Reddit, with another agreeing: "Normalize 90 minute movies"

"This is about the perfect run length for most horror movies, in my opinion. I saw Evil Dead Burn last night, and while I thought it was decent, it definitely dragged a little towards the end and I think it would have benefitted from ten minutes or so being trimmed out," says someone else.

"90min is the sweet spot for action/horror imo. Evil Dead keeps it short and sweet (Burn is the only one longer than 90 minutes) and it's probably the most consistently good horror franchise," says another fan.

"Perfect, 90 minutes feels perfect for this type of movie," says another fan. "BRING BACK THE 90m MOVIE" is another person's thoughts.

"This pretty much confirms he's not exploring any of the Resident Evil lore. Just balls to the wall zombie survival horror movie," thinks another person.

"It feels like one gigantic sequence. Things pop off about five minutes in and it basically stays like that until the end," director Zach Cregger has previously shared. "What I love about the games is that you move from set-piece to set-piece. Every location has a unique challenge... I’m borrowing from the games directly in that rhythm, where you’re just running through a gauntlet."

Resident Evil hits theaters on September 18. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming video game adaptations for everything else that's in store.

Well, this isn't welcome news for Disney. The live-action Moana remake, starring Catherine Laga'aia and Dwayne Johnson, has sunk to new depths at the box office.

Moana has taken $95 million worldwide, with Deadline reporting that it's now on track to lose over $100 million – if it reaches $250 million total.

Whichever way you spin it, 2026's Moana is a near-historic low for Disney's band of live-action remakes.

Its $43 million takings at the US domestic box office pales in comparison to The Lion King ($191 million), Beauty and the Beast ($174 million), and Aladdin ($91 million).

In fact, Moana only 'stacks up' to the much-maligned remake of Snow White, which also accrued $43 million on opening weekend. It's doing slightly better on the global front, however.

Whether audiences are tiring of remakes or not is unclear. After all, we're just a year removed from the Lilo and Stitch remake grossing over a billion dollars. Perhaps its proximity to Moana 2 – which audiences were far cooler on than the animated original – may not have helped matters.

The live action remake's trailers , too, lacked some of the color and charm that fans would come to expect from the franchise.

Maybe we should have seen it coming. Early responses to Dwayne Johnson's Maui wig weren't pretty, neither were the tepid first Moana reactions – which were far from shiny.

Disney isn't stopping live-action remakes anytime soon, though. While the Hercules remake hasn't moved in some time, a Tangled remake is in the works. A live-action Lilo and Stitch sequel has also been greenlit.

For more, check out the new Disney movies currently in various states of production.

It seems like the live-action Naruto movie is one step closer as casting begins. Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton is at the helm, and he recently shared a statement, updating fans.

"Kishimoto-sensei's stories have inspired generations of fans around the world, and it's an honor to bring his world and characters to the big screen in live action for the very first time," he wrote on Instagram. "I'm thrilled to kick off this worldwide casting search for our Team 7 and to bring the incredible universe of Naruto to life!"

Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto is equally thrilled by the news, calling the updates a "miracle". In a new press release (via Gizmodo), he wrote: "Right now, miracles are happening to me, one after another. My work, Naruto, is truly, truly becoming a Hollywood movie! And an even greater miracle is that the film will be directed by the one and only Destin Daniel Cretton. I still cannot believe it!"

The renowned manga artist went on to add: "If so many miracles have already come together, then let us hope for even more. I am eagerly looking forward to the miraculous encounters that will bring us extraordinary and passionate actors! I cannot wait to meet my characters in the film!"

As one of the best-selling mangas of all time, Naruto has been the subject of adaptation before. Most notably, it was made into a long-running and much-loved anime series in the early 2000s. However, this will be the first live-action adaptation.

The story follows Naruto Uzumaki, an orphan who dreams of becoming his village's strongest ninja. His journey takes him from an ostracized and outcast young man into the saviour of the ninja world after joining the prestigious Team 7.

No release date has been confirmed yet for the Naruto movie. Check out our guides on how to watch Naruto in order and our Naruto and Naruto Shippuden filler list in the meantime.

Mortal Kombat 2 director Simon McQuoid says the sequel's multiple deaths were vital to the film (and franchise as a whole), and names one as particularly moving.

Warning: major spoilers for Mortal Kombat 2 below!

"We felt with a title like Mortal Kombat and where death is such an important part of the makeup of it, that we wanted people to feel that and to feel the loss of the character, whatever character it was and however they died or exited," McQuoid tells GamesRadar+. "It needed to literally pack a punch, but emotionally pack a punch as well."

The sequel, which introduces Karl Urban's Johnny Cage as he finds his purpose after his acting career dries up, had a grand total of eight major deaths. This includes King Jerrod, Sindel, Revenant, Kung Lao, Cole Young, Saibot, Shao Kahn, Jax, and Liu Kang. At the end of the film, Jonny and Sonya are the only Earthrealm champions, Kitana is crowned Queen of Edenia, and Scorpion, Jade, and Kano are also alive.

Continues McQuoid: "Those various sort of pairings that were built and created by Ed [Boon] in the Mortal Kombat history, like Liu Kang and Kung Lao and Scorpion and Bi-Han and so on. They're all there, and every character in our second story needed to go on their own journey."

Of all the deaths in the film, McQuoid singles out the scene where Shao Kahn rips off Jax's bionic arms and effectively kills him as the most moving to film, as well as the one with the standout audience reaction.

"I actually thought Mehcad [Brooks] did an amazing job with Jax's death. He handled that so beautifully. I've sat in a couple of screenings where the audience really gasped at that moment. Mehcad really understood, 'Okay, I get why this is happening and I get why this matters, and it's important, and I get why Sonya needs to sort of see that happen and, and how that emotionally hits.' It was great. Amazing. It was quite sort of moving on set actually when that was happening. We were all kind of like, 'Oh, shit. What have we done?'"

As for Liu Kang's death, which definitely came as a shock, screenwriter Jeremy Slater previously said that it's meant to be open-ended... and that we will see him again in Mortal Kombat 3. The third installment hasn't been officially greenlit, but the script has been in progress since it was announced back in October 2025 at New York Comic Con.

Mortal Kombat 2 is out on 4K and Blu-ray disc from July 28. For a deeper dive into the movie, check out our Mortal Kombat 2 ending explained, or look ahead with our list of upcoming video game movies.

Mortal Kombat 2 director Simon McQuoid says working closely with NetherRealm and franchise co-creator Ed Boon made for a much better production process this time around.

"Ed was part of this, the second film, from the get-go, and it actually made the creative process a lot easier and more satisfying," McQuoid tells GamesRadar+. "And the more I got to know Ed, it just became more fun. He's such a lovely guy, and he's just a good guy to hang with. And we had these really good creative conversations that... to be able to just go to the master and ask, 'So what, why is this... Why did you do it that way?'

"And then sometimes he'd give quite a sort of detailed explanation of like, 'Okay, well, it came from here, and it started there.' And then other times I'd say, 'So why did you do that?' And he's like, 'Oh, we just thought it'd be cool.' We were always on sort of strong footing. There was no guesswork. It was just kind of like, 'Oh, well, we'll ask Ed.' And his creative director and storywriter, [Dominic Cianciolo]. He was great, too. So the two of them together were just really, really helpful."

Mortal Kombat was created by Ed Boon and John Tobias as part of Midway Games, now NetherRealm, in 1992. Despite being owned by Warner Brothers Games, NetherRealm wasn't directly involved with the first Mortal Kombat movie, which was distributed by Warner Bros. in 2021. Some fans thought this was strange, given that Boon worked so closely with the original 1995 and 1997 film adaptations that he even provided the voice of Scorpion.

Mortal Kombat 2 screenwriter Jeremy Slater previously said that one of the first film's biggest mistakes was the lack of involvement from NetherRealm, and that they plan to have the studio's involvement in every film going forward. A third movie was announced at New York City Comic Con back in October 2025, though there hasn't been much news since then. McQuoid tells GR+ he wants the second film to have a life on digital and streaming before he starts work on a third movie. It's exciting to know that Boon will still be directly involved, given that he and McQuoid seem to be so in sync.

"As an example, Cappi Ireland, the costume designer... we were sort of chatting about what Johnny was gonna wear in Uncaged Fury," McQuoid continues. "And obviously there's a lot of, through the history of what Johnny's worn over things, there's a lot of different things he wears and different options you have in the game, and we've seen him in different things.

"Cappi was like, 'What do you think about this crazy-looking thing?' And I was like, 'I think that that's good. It sort of has a classic-ness to it, and it's certainly a favorite of those who play the game.' So there was this whole conversation, and I said, 'well, what I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna ask Ed to email me what he thinks Johnny should wear, and I'll, I'm gonna say to him, 'I'll email you at the same time, and then tomorrow when I come in, we'll see what we both said to each other.' It was like, 'Let's flip it over.' He emailed me the same costume, and I emailed him the same costume."

Mortal Kombat 2 is out on 4K and Blu-ray disc from July 28. For a deeper dive into the movie, check out our Mortal Kombat 2 ending explained, or look ahead with our list of upcoming video game movies.

Reactions are in for Moana, Disney's latest live-action remake, and they are not kind.

The film stars Dwayne Johnson as Maui, reprising his role from the original animated film, with Catherine Laga'aia stepping up as Moana herself.

"A shot-for-shot, line-by-line remake without a single original idea. A creatively bankrupt cash grab with ZERO interesting direction. They don't innovate; they imitate," says entertainment journalist Jonathan Sim. "Why watch this when Moana (2016) is on Disney+?! A soulless, miserable financial decision. SKIP!"

"MOANA (2026) shows just how far Disney will go for a quick and easy buck, producing another unnecessary, nearly shot-for-shot, beat-for-beat live-action remake that doesn't offer anything new that wasn't already done better just ten years ago," says Next Best Picture's Matt Neglia. "The visuals are so flat, with a heavy reliance on green-screen use and CGI for so many of its locations, water effects, creatures, and even the musical numbers, that it all comes across as soulless and inauthentic. Dwayne Johnson's inherent charm is weakened by his distracting fake body suit, and Catherine Laga'aia holds her own despite Johnson's outsized presence, but isn't able to leave much of an impression beyond showcasing her lovely singing voice, as the film is too derivative of the original to allow her to distinguish herself. The songs are still catchy and enjoyable to listen to, but I already have an excellent 2016 animated film that I can watch for that instead of this hollow retread."

"MOANA (2026) takes one Disney's most vibrant films of the revival era and turns it into one of the ugliest movies of the year," says Discussing Film's Tyler Llewyn Taing. "The photorealistic style takes more than it gives. Worse, it just doesn't even pretend to have any new ideas."

"The live-action Moana remake is very much just that, a remake, that adds very little to the story aside from a change in medium," says Bleeding Cool's Kaitlyn Booth. "How they managed to make one of the most beautiful locations on Earth ugly, I will never know, but here we are. Catherine is great."

"If you're curious what Moana would be like slower, darker & less whimsical, boy, have I got a movie for you," says Gizmodo's Germain Lussier. "The live-action remake captures some of what made the original so magical with its song scenes, but the rest of it never finds the right tone. Laga'aia innocent."

"Disney's Moana remake is, at best, a cheap imitation and, at worst, weaker in every conceivable way," says FandomWire's Cole Groth. "Two decent performances from Catherine Laga'aia and Dwayne Johnson allow the film to ride on the success of its original, but as with every Disney remake, I ask: what's the point?"

However, it's not all doom and gloom, with some mixed to positive reactions, too. "The LA #Moana is unnecessary, but they do enough great things visually in the first and third act to justify its existence (the second act, not so much)," says The Nerds of Color. "As such, it's definitely one of the better Disney LA remakes (not saying much but it's true)."

"Moana is ok at best. It isn't a disaster like other Disney adaptations but it isn't a great adaptation either," says journalist Fabrício Girão. "It is the most copy and paste Disney remake yet, repeating exact lines and shots from the original, but never reaches the brilliance and excellence of the animated movie."

"Honestly a little surprised to admit how much I enjoyed the live-action Moana," says Mama's Geeky's Tessa Smith. "Catherine Laga'aia does a great job continuing the legacy (& has incredible comedic chemistry with Dwayne Johnson). There are some truly stunning shots. Gosh I love this story."

Moana is in theaters this July 10. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Disney movies or the most exciting upcoming movies of the year to fill out your watchlist.

Comedy star Danny McBride has given a promising update on his G.I. Joe movie over at Paramount, and says it could start filming next year.

"I've written one. I'm stoked about it. I'm really fired up about the script," Said McBride to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "Paramount seems fired up about it. So hopefully we're shooting it next year."

Created by Hasbro in the '60s, the G.I. Joe franchise revolves around a special mission force battling against a terrorist organization known as Cobra. The Pineapple Express star revealed that he has been a G.I. Joe fan since childhood. "It was definitely the cartoons and the comics. G.I. Joe was my thing when I was a kid. I liked that more than Star Wars, more than anything," added McBride. "I still have all the characters."

However, the star didn't initially plan to make a movie about Joe right off the bat. "I had an idea for a Dreadnoks movie," said McBride. "So I went to Paramount and pitched it, and they were like, 'Well, the franchise kind of needs to be like it needs to be launched, so we can't come out with a Dreadnoks movie. Would you have an angle for a G.I. Joe project?' And I was like, 'Hell yeah, I'll have an angle for that.'"

In the G.I. Joe world, Dreadnoks are a group of mercenaries and thieves who work for various villainous groups, including Cobra. However, it sounds as though the Dreadnoks may still show up in McBride's G.I. Joe movie. The star revealed, "You're following Duke and a group of other Joes. There's that town in the comic, Springfield, which is a town that's secretly all Cobra, and so that is where our film takes place."

McBride penned the script with his Righteous Gemstones collaborators Jeff Bradley and John Couture. "We sat down, and we cracked something that we really love a lot," added the Tropic Thunder star. But just because McBride is known for his funny bone, he says the new film "weirdly grounds G.I. Joe. It's not a comedy; it's like kind of suspense and action. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

McBride didn't give any casting details away, but he did tease, "We have some pretty interesting people lining up to be in it… it looks like it's going to be pretty fun." Well, if G.I. Joe can replicate the success of Barbie, McBride is onto a winner.

For more, keep up with movie release dates and new movies heading your way.

It sounds as though Zach Cregger's upcoming Resident Evil movie will be a thrill ride from start to finish, just like the video game series it is based on.

"It feels like one gigantic sequence. Things pop off about five minutes in and it basically stays like that until the end," said Cregger to Empire. "What I love about the games is that you move from set-piece to set-piece. Every location has a unique challenge... I’m borrowing from the games directly in that rhythm, where you’re just running through a gauntlet."

However, even though the upcoming movie is set in the second game, 1998's Resident Evil 2, the feature will focus on a brand new character. Rather than following highly capable rookie cop Leon through the zombie-ridden Raccoon City, the movie will focus on a medical courier named Bryan out on delivery who suddenly gets caught up in the outbreak. Bryan is played by Austin Abrams, who previously collaborated with Cregger on the 2025 horror hit Weapons.

But, unlike Leon, Bryan is not your run-of-the-mill hero. "The concept here is that we’re following an idiot. Not that he’s stupid, but he’s not your typical game character, with no combat skills whatsoever and completely inept at survival," added Cregger. "Bryan is very much an everyman who happens to be burdened with this kind of sacred mission that’s going to take him into the heart of everything. It’s kind of like Frodo going into Mordor."

When we caught up with Cregger on the set of Resident Evil, the director told GamesRadar+, "I don't think that me telling a story that's not about Leon is a violation of the Resident Evil world, because the games do that all the time... I'm just going to tell another story that feels like playing in the world of the game, but I'm not stepping on the toes of any of Leon's storyline."

But Cregger's adaptation will stray away from the game in more ways than one. In the Resident Evil trailer, we saw Raccoon City covered in snow. The winter setting contradicts the game, which takes place in a heatwave during September.

Resident Evil arrives in theaters on September 18. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming video game movies and upcoming horror movies heading our way.

Get the tissues ready. The first trailer for the live-action adaptation of Look Back is here, and it looks just as gut-wrenching as its anime movie and Tatsuki Fujimoto's acclaimed manga.

The dreamy trailer for Kore-eda's Look Back charts the friendship between budding mangaka Fujino and Kyomoto, a shut-in generational artist who is gently coaxed back out to the wider world. As their careers begin to develop, they are suddenly hit by personal tragedy.

The Look Back synopsis reads: "Fujino, a young girl with complete confidence in her talent for drawing manga, and Kyomoto, a reclusive classmate whose artistic ability far surpasses her own, are brought together by their shared passion for creating manga. As in the original work, the film follows the thirteen-year journey of the two characters from their elementary school days onward, portraying it with remarkable sensitivity and a vivid sense of youth."

While it does recreate some panels shot-for-shot, the live-action actors Natsuki Deguchi and Aju Makita add plenty of heart-wrenching realism to a story that's often marked as one of the most bittersweet of the past few decades. Furi Nanase and Rokka Okada play the younger versions of Fujino and Kyomoto.

Look Back is set to release in theaters in Japan on September 11. It marks another achievement for Tatsuki Fujimoto, whose early one-shot work was adapted into an anthology titled 17-26.

Of course, the author is best known for Chainsaw Man. A second season of the anime, adapting the International Assassins arc, has been announced.

Need something to watch? Here are the new anime coming your way this summer, plus our selection of the best anime movies ever made.

After a month in theaters, the Mortal Kombat 2 digital release date has been announced, and there's not long to wait till the beat-em-up sequel can be viewed from the comfort of your home stage. Beats the acid-filled Dead Pool, anyway.

Mortal Kombat 2 debuted to pretty impressive reviews for a video game sequel last month, hitting a solid 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. Our own 3* Mortal Kombat 2 review declared it a "bloody fun second round." Didn't catch it in theaters? Or simply keen for a rematch? Then you can pick it up digitally in North America from June 9, that's just one week from today. Fight!

If you're more of a physical media person, then there's a bit more of a wait, with the movie set to hit all the usual formats on July 28. The 4K and Blu-ray release will also contain five featurettes, but you can get a glimpse of one right now, as we have an exclusive clip from "A 'Boon' to Gamers Everywhere" below, featuring Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon and the cast of Mortal Kombat 2 discussing the legacy of the legendary games. Boon even confirms his favorite MK character; you're not supposed to have favorite children, Ed!

Mortal Kombat 2 made a not-too-shabby $128 million at the box office. Whether that's enough for a threequel remains to be seen, though we've known that screenwriter Jeremy Slater has been working on a third movie without an official greenlight since October 2025. Slater even confirmed that one major character 'death' in Mortal Kombat 2 was left ambiguous to set up a resurrection in the third movie. In conversation with GamesRadar+, Slater also revealed the one fighter he cut from the script for Mortal Kombat 2. Could they finally debut in a third film?

As for those physical featurettes, here's what you get if you pick up Mortal Kombat 2 on 4K or Blu-ray:

• Mortal Kombat II: Evolving the Saga (Featurette)
  Returning characters, new alliances and even bigger fatalities! Go behind the scenes to learn all that went into creating the latest chapter in the Mortal Kombat film saga and how the sequel expands the universe to bolder, bloodier heights.
• Building the Realms of Mortal Kombat (Featurette)
  From the decaying streets of Edenia to the terrifying Pit featured in the iconic video game series, discover how the Mortal Kombat II design teams blended practical sets with groundbreaking VFX to create the legendary realms in the film.
• Mortal Kombat II: Choose Your Fighter (Featurette)
  Awaken your Arcana as you meet the cast and explore the brutal weapons, epic costumes and fierce training that went into bringing their characters to life.
• Klose Quarters Kombat (Featurette)
  Cast members and key creatives share insights into how the stunt preparation, intense fight scenes and weapons training shaped both classic moves and new, merciless combat styles.
• A “Boon” to Gamers Everywhere (Featurette)
  Sit down with chief Mortal Kombat mythmaker and creator Ed Boon for a deep dive into the franchise’s storied history and ongoing evolution that spans three decades of near-infinite games, films and comics, culminating with the live-action sequel.

Mortal Kombat 2 releases digitally in North America on June 9, and on 4K and Blu-ray disc from July 28. For a deeper dive into the movie, check out our Mortal Kombat 2 ending explained, or look ahead with our list of upcoming video game movies.

Streets of Rage is the latest beneficiary of the video game movie gold rush.

After years of development limbo, the adaptation of the classic SEGA arcade beat-'em-up has enlisted Sonic the Hedgehog writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller to pen the script, following on from John Wick creator Derek Kolstad departing the project (via Variety).

Excitingly, they have a fantastic director jumping onboard too – Jeymes Samuel, the creative mind behind The Harder They Fall, the Idris Elba-starring western that was criminally underappreciated upon its release on Netflix in 2021.

In a statement, Lionsgate film boss Erin Westerman talked up Samuel as a great fit for Streets of Rage.

“We and our partners at Sega knew that Streets of Rage demanded a bold filmmaker. Jeymes Samuel’s visceral and explosive style – not to mention his signature use of unforgettable music – is perfect for audiences both familiar with and new to the series. We are so excited for how he will bring his own memorable take to this beloved video game IP."

Streets of Rage exploded onto the scene in the early 1990s, gobbling up quarters with its fast-paced, side-scrolling combat as Axel, Blaze, and Adam took to the streets to fight an increasingly fearsome lineup of criminal gangs and bruising bad guys.

After a warmly-received trilogy, the series went on hiatus for over 25 years before 2020's Streets of Rage 4 – an entry that helped launch a cottage industry of arcade revivals across the next few years.

Streets of Rage is currently undated. For more, check out the many upcoming video game movies currently in the works.

Good news, Minecraft fans, Jack Black and co have delivered a huge update on A Minecraft Movie 2, and it looks like Steve may have a bit of competition this time.

As part of Minecraft Live, stars Black and Jason Momoa give us a little update on how filming is going in New Zealand. The video also gives us our first look at Kirsten Dunst as Alex, sporting the in-game character's red hair in a side plait. However, she doesn't seem to be wearing Alex's signature green t-shirt.

But that's not all, as the video also cuts to gaming content creators TommyInnit and Quackity, who announce the sequel's official title: A Minecraft Movie Squared. Now that's much better than the working titles A Minecraft Movie 2 and A Minecraft Movie sequel. Check out the full clip below.

However, the most interesting part of the video is the few seconds we see What We Do in the Shadows star Matt Berry. The star voiced the Nitwit Villager in A Minecraft Movie, but it looks like he may return as a different character. In one shot, Berry said, "I've been told I'm not allowed to tell you who exactly I'm playing in this new film," before a crew member holds up one of Steve's blue vests. Berry says, "That's not turquoise. Steve would not be wearing that."

Does this mean that Berry will be playing Black's character, Steve? That's not exactly clear, but Minecraft fans are certain they know who he is. "That's definitely Herobrine, no doubt," commented one fan. Now, even if you have played the game, you may not know who Herobrine is, as he is not actually a real character. The figure comes from an online urban legend, where players reported sightings of an evil version of Steve with solid white eyes, who would stalk players and destroy their builds.

Bringing a Minecraft urban legend into the fold wouldn't be the first time Hess has played with the game's lore. In the first film, one of the best Minecraft Movie Easter eggs was a pig wearing a crown, which isn't from the game. This was a reference to the avatar used by a longtime Minecraft player and content creator, Technoblade, who sadly passed away in 2022.

Putting fans first seems to still be at the top of Hess' list going into the sequel, as at the end of the video, he and Mojang Studios creative director Jens 'Jeb' Bergensten reveal how players can get involved. Minecraft has launched the Minecraft Movie Build Challenge, which gives one lucky player the chance to have their build featured in the new movie, and the finalists will get to see the sequel early at a private screening.

For more information on the Minecraft Movie Build Challenge, visit the official Minecraft site. A Minecraft Movie Squared hits cinemas on July 23, 2027. For more, check out our picks of the best video game movies of all time, or keep up with other upcoming movies.

In the pantheon of great hero and arch-villain pairings, He-Man and Skeletor are up there with the best. So it's no surprise that, for the first live-action Masters of the Universe movie in almost 40 years, Skeletor makes his glorious return – and he's badder than ever.

Played unrecognizably by Jared Leto, the latest rendition of Skeletor is a cartoon-faithful take on the character with a twist: at the outset of the movie, he wins, plunging Eternia into 15 years of tyranny. Not that it makes the famously petulant Skeletor any happier.

"We loved [Skeletor] and we wanted to make sure that those things that we loved about him came through on the screen," Knight tells GamesRadar+. "He was funny, he was strange, he was scary, he was menacing, he looked cool. He was deeply insecure. He was always insulting his underlings. He had a very distinctive voice and a distinctive laugh. And so making sure that we had all of those things in the character was really important."

Much like Knight, a He-Man fan dating back to childhood, Leto had his "own history" with He-Man, before signing up to play ol' skullface. "He loved He-Man when he was a kid, just like I did," Knight says. "And Skeletor was his favorite character. So he really wanted to create a distinctive villain that honored everything that came before, while at the same time putting our spin on it. And he gave an incredible performance. I just think he's so fun to watch."

Unlike the main star behind a certain masked Mandalorian, Leto gave a full physical performance as Skeletor, donning a prosthetic suit each day on set. Though the final result was achieved using an impressive mix of filmmaking techniques, including a full-CG skull face.

"Ultimately, it comes down to collaboration of disciplines, because he's wearing this incredible muscle suit that was put together by our prosthetics master Barry Gower. He has this incredible costume made by our costumers led by Richard Sale, so he's on set completely performing for his fellow actors, and the only thing that wasn't there on the day was the skull of the face.

"Jared's face was replaced by CG animation," Knight continues. "And the animators did an extraordinary job of capturing the nuance and the personality that Jared brought to the physical and the vocal performance, and so the face is really emotive. You wouldn't think that would be the case for a skull, but there's a lot of personality and a lot of emotion in that skull!"

For Knight, there was no question that Leto needed to be present on set. Leto's vocal performance, meanwhile, needs to be heard to be believed, and lands somewhere closer to Tom Hardy's Bane than Thanos.

"It was important to me, because it's not just the voice or the facial performance. So much of what we love about an actor is what they do with their body. How they physically move, it can communicate so much, so many different types of emotions just based on someone's bearing, how they walk across the room. Jared understood that the physical performance was a big part of it. There's so much that he brings to that aspect of it that has nothing to do with what you're hearing or what you're seeing in his face."

Masters of the Universe stars Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Camila Mendes, and Idris Elba, and reboots the classic Filmnation cartoon. If you're wondering how the new movie reckons with He-Man's "wildly internally inconsistent" mythology, Knight told us all about that, too.

Masters of the Universe releases in theaters on June 5. For more, check out our list of upcoming movies, or plan out your year with our 2026 movie release dates guide.

Norman Reedus has revealed how one anime recommendation from Death Stranding collaborator Hideo Kojima gave him "street cred" – and may prove the catalyst for a live-action adaptation.

When asked by GQ Hong Kong whether he was into anime, Reedus offered, "There's Chainsaw Man, which Hideo Kojima told me about. He said it was his favorite."

From there, Reedus revealed he "went around Tokyo looking for the [manga], 'cause I have a production company and I was looking for cool things to make. I got a lot of street cred for knowing Chainsaw Man."

The Walking Dead actor later watched Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc, but it's Reedus' admission about actively looking for the source material with an eye to adapting it for his bigbaldhead company that might raise a few eyebrows.

After all, Chainsaw Man – one of this fresh anime generation's leading lights – feels ripe for a live-action adaptation. Its anarchic, gory sense of style and blockbuster action scenes are tailor-made for the Hollywood treatment and would join the likes of One Piece in finding favor out west.

Even if that doesn't come to pass, Reedus can rest assured that more Chainsaw Man is on the way. The second season, an adaptation of the manga's International Assassins arc, has been announced, though no release date is forthcoming.

Reedus, meanwhile, is seemingly saying goodbye to his longstanding The Walking Dead character after Daryl Dixon season 4, which is releasing later this year.

For more, check out our complete guide to 2026's new anime, plus all the latest on Chainsaw Man season 2.

While there have been many animated shows, comics, and even a previous live-action movie over the last four decades, Masters of the Universe has never been a franchise where mythology is considered sacred. So when it came to adapting Masters of the Universe once again, director Travis Knight didn't feel beholden to previous takes on the character.

Speaking with GamesRadar+ at a press event in London, Knight – who fell in love with He-Man aged eight through the original Filmation cartoon and action figures – addressed the new movie's relationship to continuity in He-Man canon. "It's certainly something I thought about," he says. "But anytime you've got a property like this, a world and a series of characters that have been around for over four decades, the continuity is going to be all over the place. And it is in this property. It's wildly internally inconsistent. So, in the end, you have to decide what you embrace and what you leave behind."

For Knight, that meant embracing the original source. "It was always going back to the toys, the little mini-comics, and the Filmation cartoon from the '80s. That was really what we used as our foundation. We make choices based on where we want these characters to go, but that really was the baseline. We drew from other sources, some aspects of the '87 live-action movie. There were some obscure newspaper comic strips that we pulled from. But the foundational element was the original '82, '83 era."

That much is plain to see in the movie, which faithfully renders He-Man, Skeletor, Teela, Cringer, Man-at-Arms, and the more obscure/bizarre likes of Fisto, Ram-Man and Mekaneck as if they've just leapt out of the cartoons. In the new movie, Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) is stranded on Earth after Skeletor's forces destroy Eternos. Fifteen years later, Adam returns to embrace the mantle of He-Man, and liberate Eternia from Skeletor's tyrannical rule, but he's not exactly the hero of legend that everyone expects.

Despite heading up stop-motion studio Laika, and working in animation for much of his career, Knight didn't keep up with He-Man's mostly animated output over the years. "[He-Man] was a huge part of my childhood, but there were so many different iterations since then, and that was not something that I vibed on [at the time]," Knight admits. "But getting acquainted with some of that stuff now with fresh eyes as an adult, it was interesting to see what remained and what changed. For me it was always about: hold on to what made it pure and interesting to begin with, which was where it started."

Masters of the Universe might not be picking up directly from any previous adaptations, but Knight previously revealed how the new movie is acknowledging the original animated series by imagining "What would happen if [Skeletor] actually won?" In the same interview, Knight also claimed that fan-favorite character She-Ra will "play a huge part" in any sequel. Thankfully, those sequel prospects are looking promising – early verdicts have billed Masters of the Universe " as one of the biggest surprises of 2026."

Masters of the Universe releases in theaters on June 5. For more, check out our list of upcoming movies, or plan out your year with our 2026 movie release dates guide.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is officially one step closer to its release as star Ben Schwartz confirms that voice recording has now begun. The upcoming fourth movie in the video game adaptation franchise wrapped live-action filming recently.

The actor shared the news on Instagram with a picture of himself with director Jeff Fowler and editor Al LeVine. Alongside the photo in the studio, he wrote: "Voice records for Sonic 4 have begun! I. Am. So. Excited. For. You. To. See. This. Movie."

Live-action production wrapped on the movie in mid-May as Fowler shared a look at Sonic's robotic clone Metal Sonic. Alongside that, he teased that it will be the "best Sonic movie yet". Set for a release date of March 19, 2027, the new movie doesn't have a synopsis yet. But we do have a pretty good idea about what it will feature after the mid-credits scene of Sonic 3 gave us some hints.

That ended with the introduction of Amy Rose, who will be voiced by Kristen Bell in the upcoming fourquel. There were also a whole host of metal sonics introduced in the ending scene, which we know will play a big part in the fourth film.

Not much else has been confirmed, but we are expecting to see the return of most of the major actors in the upcoming fourth film. As well as Schwartz and Bell, Jim Carrey, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, Keanu Reeves, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, and Lee Majdoub are all coming back.

They'll be joined by some other newcomers, as Ben Kingsley, Matt Berry, Nick Offerman, and Richard Ayoade have all been added to the cast.

For more upcoming movies, check out our breakdown of all the new video game adaptations to add to your calendar.

Liu Kang was seemingly one of the main casualties in the bloody sequel Mortal Kombat 2. After fighting Shao Kahn, he was dealt a fatal wound before his body transformed into flames. However, there was a level of vagueness surrounding his passing in the film as he didn't become a corpse, leading us to wonder if he could return at some point.

Now it turns out that his death was originally a lot more definitive, rather than being left open-ended. Speaking on Brandon Davis' podcast, actor Ludi Lin says there were a whole bunch of different endings discussed for his character. One suggestion was a Game of Thrones-style mass killing of everyone but Kitana, while an earlier script killed off Liu Kang a lot earlier.

One other ending was even filmed, but the audiences they tested it with were not big fans. "There's also a version where Liu Kang's death is way more brutal and my stunt double, Tyson Tran, actually shot that scene," Lin explained.

"Liu Kang gets smashed, he slams into a pillar, goes into [the] ceiling, falls down, does a scorpion where he comes over his back, snapping his spine, like ultimate fatality. I think in the end he falls on a spike or something like that. They tested it and the audiences hated it, they were like, 'No he deserves better.'"

For more on how it all went down, check out our breakdown of the Mortal Kombat 2 ending explained. We've also got all you need to know about other upcoming video game adaptations coming in 2026 and beyond.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has officially wrapped filming with blue blur speed, and it's apparently the best movie in the game-to-film franchise so far.

Returning series director Jeff Fowler yesterday tweeted a picture of himself in the director's chair, grinning alongside a menacing Metal Sonic that does not want to be there. "And that's a wrap on SonicMovie4," he writes in the post down below. "On behalf of this amazing cast/crew, we have filmed the BEST Sonic Movie yet and can't wait to share."

Filming began back in March, a short two months ago, when we got our first look at Amy Rose's iconic hammer. Both Metal Sonic and Amy Rose {Kristen Bell) are set to play major parts in the upcoming movie after they were teased in mid-credits scenes at the end of Sonic 3.

Metal Sonic was first introduced as a recurring antagonist in 1993's Sonic the Hedgehog CD - where he also kidnaps Amy Rose - created by big bad Dr. Eggman as a cutting-edge machine capable of rivalling his nemesis' iconic speed.

The sequel's first teaser already gave us a look at Jim Carrey's return to the role of Dr. Eggman, despite the character's death at the end of Sonic 3, so everything's in place for the movie to follow Metal Sonic's origin story, at least loosely.

Paramount has yet to release an official synopsis for the fourquel, but Sonic 3 passed the baton on pretty neatly for Sonic 4 to go zooming. Not only did Team Sonic remain victorious, a post-credits scene teased that Shadow is alive and well, actually, so expect the whole gang to be here (minus, I don't know, Silver?)

Sonic 4 races to theatres on March 19, 2027.

For more, check out our picks of the best video game movies of all time.

The live-action Legend of Zelda movie is now releasing one week sooner than originally announced, as revealed by none other than franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto himself on social media.

Miyamoto took over the official Nintendo Twitter account with his trademark "This is Miyamoto" introduction to let everyone know some good news. Instead of its original May 7, 2027 release date, the Zelda movie will now premiere in theaters worldwide on April 30, 2027. Miyamoto didn't really provide an explanation, but said the production team is working its hardest to get the film on screen as quickly as possible.

"This is Miyamoto. I would like to let you know that the worldwide theatrical release date for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda has been moved up to April 30, 2027, from May 7," reads the English version of Miyamoto's tweet. "The team is working hard to deliver the film to everyone as soon as possible. There's less than a year to go until release, so thank you for waiting."

Although we're less than a year away from seeing the Zelda movie for ourselves, we still don't know a whole lot about it. Nintendo has revealed the two main actors, with Haunting of Bly Manor actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth taking on the role of main protagonist Link and Renegade Nell star Bro Bragason as series namesake, Zelda.

We also know filming began in New Zealand last November, but the biggest question surrounding the project still lingers: which game is the movie adapting, or is it an adaptation of the series as a whole that'll incorporate elements from different entries? Personally, I'd love to see a live-action Twilight Princess movie - and a leaked image of Link's full outfit certainly fits the look - but that game is also just dark and weird enough that it might be extremely difficult to translate to film in a way that appeals to a worldwide office and does numbers at the box office.

With game adaptations being all the rage lately, keep up with everything on the horizon with our guide to upcoming video game movies for 2026 and beyond.

Unfortunately, it looks like the upcoming Voltron live-action remake starring Henry Cavill will not see the big screen, as Amazon confirms the movie will go straight to streaming.

Amazon MGM Studios broke the news during its slate presentation at Amazon Upfront (H/T Discussing Film), confirming that the Voltron movie will skip a theatrical release and debut straight on streaming, either on Prime Video or add-on channel MGM+. The movie is set to adapt the 1984 animated series, Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

This is just the latest setback the project has faced after a series of delays. The movie has technically been in development since 2005, when The Mark Gordon Company announced plans to adapt the franchise. However, over the years, the idea floated around many studios, including New Regency and Universal Pictures, until 2022, when Amazon MGM Studios entered negotiations with Hasbro for the rights, which were granted in early 2026.

It seems as though fans are not too happy with the news and are taking the project's streaming release as a bad sign. One fan said on Twitter, "Is it that bad that they have to cancel theatrical release? Because a movie like this would have sold tickets," and another added, "Not every blockbuster needs theaters, but giant robots fighting in space definitely feels like one that does." On the other hand, some prospective viewers are excited to watch the ne movie in the comfort of their own homes, as one said, "Love the hell out of this. Going to theaters is in the past for me."

The Voltron movie, directed by Red Notice’s Rawson Marshall Thurber, will follow a group of pilots who command five robot lions that fit together to create super robot Voltron. After being transported from Earth to Princess Allura's planet Arus, they use the machinery to fight Warlord King Zarkon, Haggar, and monsters called Robeasts.

Alongside Cavill, the cast also includes Daniel Quinn-Toye, Sterling K. Brown, Rita Ora, John Harlan Kim, Alba Baptista, Samson Kayo, Tharanya Tharan, Laura Gordon, Tim Griffin, Nathan Jones. Witcher star Cavill will reportedly play warrior King Alfur, and Brown will play his nemesis and the movie's primary villain, Zarkon.

The Voltron movie is expected to be released in 2027. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2026 and beyond

Critics and audiences are in agreement that Mortal Kombat 2, which has just hit theatres, is a huge improvement on the first film, and that might be because the developers of the Mortal Kombat game franchise were more involved this time around.

In an interview with Forbes, writer Jeremy Slater, who was brought on board for the sequel, said, "One of the mistakes we wanted to rectify from that first movie was not having NetherRealm Studios as creatively involved as they could have been." So, for round 2, the team made sure that the creators were "involved every step of the way."

Despite being owned by Warner Brothers Games, NeatherRealm was not really directly involved with the first Mortal Kombat movie, which was released under Warner Brothers Pictures in 2021. The movie was by no means a flop, but it was clear the video game adaptation lacked franchise insight, which you can only really get when those making the movie know the source material inside out.

"You can go on Wikipedia and ask, 'What are the most popular stages? What are the best finishing moves?' But it’s so different to be able to go directly to the horse’s mouth, the guy who has been interacting with the fan base for 34 years," said Slater. Mortal Kombat was created by Midway as an arcade game in the early '90s. However, NetherRealm later bought out the franchise and went on to release a string of new games from 2013 onwards.

By involving NetherRealm, Slater had a "sort of cheat sheet available anytime we had questions about the lore and mythology," which seems to have paid off. Mortal Kombat 2 opened to $40 million in the US over the weekend, which is a vast improvement over Mortal Kombat's $23 million domestic opening. Critics recognise the franchise's growth too, as the sequel currently sits at 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, 10% higher than the first film. In our Mortal Kombat 2 review, we call the sequel a "step up from 2021’s bizarrely tournament-less Mortal Kombat that lands some killer blows."

Looking to the future, if Warner Bros. does decide to go for round 3, Slater says his "dream is that they will be this creatively involved with every installment of Mortal Kombat going forward because they are the lifeblood of what we're doing here."

Mortal Kombat 2 is out in theatres now. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies or our full list of upcoming movie releases.

Mortal Kombat 2 writer Jeremy Slater has already confirmed one dead character will return in the threequel.

Spoilers for the Mortal Kombat 2 ending follow.

"My pitch in the round table was you need two shocking deaths," Slater told Variety. The first happens early on in the movie, and sees Cole Young (Lewis Tan) brutally dispatched by Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford).

Kahn also disposes of another major character – Ludi Lin's Liu Kang. But as he perishes in flames, his fate is left decidedly open-ended. Those familiar with the games, of course, will be acutely aware of the character's re-emergence as the Fire God.

To that end, Slater says Liu Kang will be back in some form in the upcoming (and undated) Mortal Kombat 3.

"We always had planned to kill him in this movie," Slater admitted. "We always knew that we would be bringing Liu Kang back in some regard in the third movie."

Yet, it appears the original vision for Liu Kang's death was something that was ultimately changed in the final version. Now, there's a little more wiggle room for Liu Kang to return as something other than a revenant – and maybe take his rightful place among Mortal Kombat's collection of deities.

"We did wind up altering his death a little bit to make it more of a choice," Slater revealed. "So we’re not sure if he actually died or did he ascend to some other plane? What actually happened to him in that moment is absolutely a mystery that’s going to be explored in Mortal Kombat 3."

Mortal Kombat 2 is now in theatres.

Mortal Kombat isn't the only cinematic kombatant that made its name on consoles. For more, check out our guide to upcoming video game movies.

Mortal Kombat 2 star Max Huang wants a Shaolin Monks spin-off following that pretty sick Blue Portal fight scene between Kung Lao and Liu Kang.

"Something that I personally would love to explore would be a Shaolin Monks spinoff," Huang told IGN. "Ludi [Lin] has talked about it. I've been talking about it. It would be great to see those two characters' origins and how they were raised by Bo' Rai Cho and trained and exploring the White Lotus. Yeah, the lore of Mortal Kombat is huge."

Given that Mortal Kombat 2, the movie, adapts the second Mortal Kombat game from 1993, it would make sense for its 2005 retelling, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, to eventually get its own adaptation as well. However, the Shaolin Monks game simply spans the events of the second game and doesn't focus on giving us the epic origin story of Liu Kang and Kung Lao (that, I would personally enjoy as a fan). As Huang said, a true spin-off would see their upbringing at the hands of Bo' Rai Cho (Mr. Puke Puddle himself) and explore the White Lotus Society (founded by Raiden and the Shaolin Order of Light.

The new sequel also did pretty well in its first weekend at the global box office... and a third movie is on the way (though it has not yet entered production). That said, we can expect to see more Mortal Kombat in the near future. Excellent!

Mortal Kombat 2 is in theaters now. For more of what's on the way in 2026 and beyond, check out our list of upcoming video game movies and our list of movie releases this year.

Mortal Kombat 2 producer Todd Gardner is walking back his attack on critics following the film's successful opening weekend.

"I wanted to address a comment I made regarding some of the critical responses to our movie," Garner wrote. "I realize that, in my eagerness to defend the people who worked so hard on this film, I lost sight of the fact that our job is to create the best possible movie, not only for the fans, but for anyone coming to the cinema. Once that movie is out in the world, no one is above criticism. For that, I apologize."

The apology comes after the movie pulled in $63 million at the global box office, against a budget of $80 million (H/T BloodyDisgusting). Though some reports are referring to the numbers as an "underperformance," it's actually a series best. Mortal Kombat opened in 2021 to just $23 million against a budget of $55 million. The original 1995 movie also opened to $23 million, with 1997's Mortal Kombat Annihilation debuting to just $16 million.

Gardner had previously taken to Twitter to comment on negative reviews, writing: "Some of these reviews are cracking me up. It's clear they have never played the game and have no idea what the fans want or ANY of the rules/canon of Mortal Kombat. One reviewer was mad that a guy 'had a laser eye!' Why the fuck do we still allow people that don’t have any love for the genre review these movies! Baffling."

Mortal Kombat 2 debuted to a 74% Rotten Tomatoes score following early critics screenings, though it has since dropped to 66%. The audience score, however, sits at a much higher 89%, meaning fans are really loving the new film. The 2021 film sits at a 55% critic score, but still has a significantly high 85% audience score. To Gardner's point, the Mortal Kombat movies are indeed for the fans and seem to ignore conventional filmmaking (similar to what the Five Nights at Freddy's movies seem to be doing, though MK is much, much more coherent).

Mortal Kombat 2 is in theaters now. For more of what's on the way in 2026 and beyond, check out our list of upcoming video game movies and our list of movie releases this year.

It won't come as a surprise that a lot of people die in Mortal Kombat 2; wincingly violent fatalities are a trademark of the series, after all. But you might have been a little surprised that a major character from 2021's Mortal Kombat met such a swift and definitive demise in the sequel. Turns out that swing of the hammer was motivated by extreme negative fan reaction, according to writer Jeremy Slater.

Warning: full spoilers for Mortal Kombat 2 follow. Not seen the film yet? Check out our Mortal Kombat 2 review.

Speaking exclusively with GamesRadar+, Slater addressed the unceremonious death of Mortal Kombat (2021) protagonist Cole Young (Lewis Tan). Despite returning to fight for Earthrealm in the sequel, Cole is far from a central figure this time around, and dies in one of the film's first fights against Shao Kahn. According to Slater, who wasn't involved in the first film, the "very vocal" reaction to the character of Cole Young – an original character who wasn't drawn from the games – sealed his fate.

"The idea was very much we need some deaths that are going to shock everybody," Slater tells GamesRadar+. "I love Lewis Tan. I think Lewis is the best, but Cole was a character that the hardcore fans did not respond to in the first movie, and they were very vocal about that, and very vocal about calling for his head. So Cole was a great example of a character where killing him would shock the casual fans, the people who are not terminally online and just went to see the movie and enjoyed it. It's going to be a really shocking moment for them, but the hardcore fans are expecting him to die."

The flip side of the coin to Cole Young's early exit is Liu Kang's surprise 'death' during the film's climax, which clears the way for Kitana to take her vengeance on Shao Kahn and win the tournament. In contrast, Liu Kang's demise was designed to shock fans, who know that the character has canonically won the tournament in the games.

"You contrast [Cole's death] with someone like Liu Kang, and there's a character that is not going to be that shocking for the casual fans, but for the hardcore fans who know that canonically, Liu Kang is the guy who wins the tournament, Liu Kang is the guy who kills Shao Kahn – that is a shocking moment that tells you, 'Oh, the gloves are off now. Nobody is safe.' We have now diverged from canon in a way that leaves the ultimate fate of the tournament up in the air.

"So it was really about figuring out who are those deaths that are going to have the most impact, that are going to really drive the story forward, and who is going to surprise the most amount of people, and then just trying to find a satisfying balance."

If you've seen Mortal Kombat 2, you'll know there's a significant loophole when it comes to character deaths, however. Thanks to the presence of necromancer Quan Chi, characters can be brought back from the dead, opening the door for Liu Kang, and even Cole, to return for a third film, potentially in new guises.

"Knowing that we are Mortal Kombat, we always do have the ability to resurrect fallen characters or bring back actors we like in different ways," Slater notes. "So even though some of those characters I love quite a bit, and love the actors playing them, some of those people who got a little bit less to do this time around, it doesn't necessarily mean that's the last time we're going to see them in a Mortal Kombat movie."

Mortal Kombat 2 is in theaters now. For a full breakdown, head over to our Mortal Kombat 2 ending explained, or check out our list of upcoming video game movies.

With dozens of champions to choose from across the games, determining which fighters to feature in Mortal Kombat 2 was no easy feat for the beat-em-up sequel's screenwriter, Jeremy Slater. And while many characters were considered, only one almost appeared in the movie, before being cut at the script stage.

"You know, we almost had Tremor in the movie at one point for the Sonya fight, just because I've always liked Tremor and he's got really fun, really cool powers," Slater says during a conversation with GamesRadar+. Tremor, for the unfamiliar, is a ninja with geokinetic powers who can control rocks, metals, and even lava. Fun fact: he's also the second-tallest Mortal Kombat character, behind only Goro.

Tremor was set to square off against Sonya Blade in one of Mortal Kombat 2's first fights, and would have met a grisly end, until Slater realized the character "just wasn't working," replacing the Earth Elemental with Sindel, Kitana's mother, who has been brainwashed by Shao Kahn.

"We realized we had Sindel already on the table, and she wasn't being used in an exciting enough way, so it was one of those smack my own forehead moments of like, Tremor wasn't working because I wasn't able to devote enough time to sort of sell him as a character. Once we swapped [Tremor] out [for] Sindel, it immediately became more visceral, and there's just more skin in the game. And Sindel's powers were so much fun that it felt like she belonged in that pit of spikes in a way that never felt right with Tremor."

Tremor may only be familiar to Mortal Kombat fans with serious ball-knowledge, as the palette-swapped ninja has only appeared in the mainline games as a DLC character. He first popped up in 2000 spin-off title Mortal Kombat: Special Forces for the PS1.

As for Slater, he's no doubt riding high, as Mortal Kombat 2 is currently one of the highest-rated video game movies ever on Rotten Tomatoes, and is on track for a big weekend at the box office. Flawless victory.

Mortal Kombat 2 is in theaters now. For more, read our Mortal Kombat 2 review, and when you've seen the film dive into our spoiler-filled Mortal Kombat 2 ending explained.

Mortal Kombat 2 has debuted to mostly positive reviews and has even become one of the highest-rated video game adaptations ever made. However, producer Todd Garner still isn't pleased with some of the critical response, calling out "baffling" responses that he's read.

Posting on X, the movie producer wrote: "Some of these reviews are cracking me up. It’s clear they have never played the game and have no idea what the fans want or ANY of the rules/canon of Mortal Kombat. One reviewer was mad that a guy 'had a laser eye!' Why the fuck do we still allow people that don’t have any love for the genre review these movies! Baffling."

The producer went on to respond to several people, reiterating that they "made it for the fans" rather than critics. He added to another: "It’s called Mortal Kombat 2 for a reason…" However, one fan did point out that there "a lot more good reviews than bad ones".

Indeed, it seems the sequel has been a much bigger hit with critics than the first movie, which came out in 2021. Currently, it's got a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 81 reviews. This makes it the highest rated Mortal Kombat movie as well as third highest video game adaptation film on the review aggregation site, just behind Werewolves Within and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Our own Mortal Kombat 2 review gave it three stars, calling it "a bloody fun second round" and giving particular props to Karl Urban's Johnny Cage who joined the franchise for the second movie.

"Karl Urban adds irreverent energy as a post-Deadpool Johnny Cage, while the all-important fights mostly deliver the goods," reviewer Jordan Farley wrote. "A step up from 2021’s bizarrely tournament-less Mortal Kombat that lands some killer blows, but it’s far from a flawless victory."

Mortal Kombat 2 releases in theaters on May 8. For more of what's on the way in 2026 and beyond, check out our list of upcoming video game movies and our list of movie releases this year.

Following the success of A Minecraft Movie in Spring 2025, the highly anticipated sequel has started filming, and star Jack Black has marked the occasion in the most Steve-centric way.

The star took to Instagram and shared a painting of himself as Minecraft character Steve sitting on a throne and wielding fire from his hand. The artwork contains nods to the paintings from the Minecraft games, such as the skull and the blocky flame. The caption reads, "And so it begins." Check out the post below.

The painting is more iconic than you might realize, as it was painted by Swedish artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand, who created 40 paintings for the Minecraft video game. It sounds as though he might be involved in the sequel too, as in the background of his post about Black's commissioned piece, we can see paintings from the game hanging in the background. Could they be for the new movie? Perhaps Black's commissioned piece will appear in Steve's new digs? Check out the image below.

According to The New Zealand Herald, A Minecraft Movie 2 has already begun filming in Huntly and in various locations across Auckland. The news comes months after the sequel was announced back in October 2025. Since then, director Jared Hess and the cast have kept their lips sealed regarding the sequel's plot, but we do know that Kristen Dunst has been cast as the game's female playable character, Alex.

A Minecraft Movie hit screens in April 2025 and opened to a whopping $313.7 million globally, marking the largest opener for a video game film ever. But aside from its commercial success, the project also created a bunch of cinema trends which led young fans to throw popcorn when certain lines were spoken, with one moviegoer even bringing a live chicken to a screening. The movie grossed just under $1 billion by the end of its theatrical run.

A Minecraft Movie 2 hits cinemas on July 23, 2027. For more, check out our picks of the best video game movies of all time, or keep up with other upcoming movies.

If you have questions about Resident Evil lore, you ask TheBatman – a mega-fan who once put together a 2700-page document all about the canon timeline of the Capcom horror series (H/T Eurogamer).

The series' unofficial loremaster, though, is preaching patience for those concerned about the timeline and conflicting canon of Zach Cregger's upcoming Resident Evil movie.

Already, there has been controversy over Resident Evil being set parallel to the game events of Resident Evil 2, despite there being snow and smartphones in Raccoon City.

Speaking to IGN, TheBatman commented, "To be fair to Zach Cregger, he admitted early on that his movie would not abide to the strict storyline or canon to the games and the trailer certainly reinforces that. It is evident his focus is on recreating the feeling of being in a Resident Evil game or playing one for the first time rather than adapting any storyline… I think this is going to be largely unrelated to any of the games."

They added, "I would urge people not to get riled up about 'canon' and just enjoy the ride."

Resident Evil follows Austin Abrams' Bryan through, as the first trailer shows, a mad dash across a Raccoon City populated by the undead. Those nasties even include creatures pulled from the controversial Resident Evil 6, often derided by fans as the weakest mainline entry in the series.

"You'll see a lot of Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 6," production designer Tom Hammock says during a set visit attended by GamesRadar+. "So Zach and I went through and pulled specific creature elements that we like from the games, whether it's tentacles, the teeth integration, and then tried to take that language and move it over to these creatures."

Resident Evil hits cinemas on September 18. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies.

If you thought Mortal Kombat was just about colorful characters butchering each other in all manner of bloody and brutal ways, think again. Mortal Kombat 2 features a drastically different take on fan-favorite characters Kitana and Jade, with the former the revenge-fuelled beating heart of the blockbuster sequel.

Though a follow-up to 2021's Mortal Kombat, with many returning cast members, Mortal Kombat 2 is something of a creative reset for the series (one star even considers the first film a "prequel" to the main event), with Adeline Rudolph's Kitana at the center of the fight for supremacy between the champions of Earthrealm and Shao Khan's Netherealm. Best known for wielding razor-sharp fans, Kitana is the tyrannical Shao Khan's adopted daughter. But Kitana has no love for the man who murdered her father, and secretly plots to take him down.

For Rudoloph, who has form with live-action video game adaptations, having previously appeared in Netflix's Resident Evil, bringing Kitana to the screen involved much more than martial arts training. "Besides putting in the groundwork of exploring the lore and then marrying that with the script version of Kitana, really just approaching her from a very human standpoint and a more grounded standpoint was important to me, Rudolph tells GamesRadar+. "That's what I was trying to bring to her. Especially in regards also to her relationship to Jade and the underlying sisterhood that they have."

Jade has been Kitana's protector for 20 years when we catch up with them in Mortal Kombat 2. And while Jade is still loyal to Shao Khan out of fear and duty, their connection causes Jade to question the cause she has dedicated her life to. "This is the first time since the '90s versions of the films that we've seen these two characters [on screen], and our creative team have built a really epic but yet still very grounded world," says Gabrielle, who previously starred with Rudolph as sisters in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. "So it's like 'How do we make Jade and Kitana fit into that while still giving the fans what they want of these characters?' But making them more relatable, making them easier to connect to."

'Connecting' is the name of the game in Mortal Kombat 2: connecting kicks to heads, staffs to sternums. For Gabrielle – a black belt with a martial arts background – the no-punches-pulled action was a major part of the appeal. But one fight in particular from the film stands out. "The Blue Portal… that's one of our favorite fights in the whole movie," Gabrielle says with a grin. Set in a stage which will be familiar to players, the fight sees Liu Kang and a revenant Kung Lao go toe-to-toe, to the death.

"It looks epic. It's got some really epic moves in there that fans are going to be really excited about. But, truthfully, every fight has a fatality that's sprinkled into it that fans can pick up on depending on who their favorite characters were growing up."

Mortal Kombat 2 releases in theaters on May 8. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies or our full list of upcoming movie releases.

If you saw 2021's Mortal Kombat, you probably noticed a major omission: the tournament that has defined the blood-spattering fighting game since its inception. Imminent sequel Mortal Kombat 2 course-corrects that strange choice by structuring the entire film around five fights to the death, with Earthrealm on the line.

It's understandable, then, that even the first movie's lead actor, Lewis Tan, views 2021's Mortal Kombat as a "prequel" to the main event, with the star detailing his thoughts during an exclusive conversation with GamesRadar+ in London.

"I think the story and how many characters there are, and the lore behind it, it takes some time to set up," says Tan, who plays Cole Young – a character who has never appeared in the games. "At least in my opinion, I look at the first movie as kind of like a prequel in the sense that this second film is just from the very beginning, the tournament, non-stop action."

Mortal Kombat 2 also recenters the action around a new adversary – Shao Khan (Mad Max: Fury Road star Martyn Ford) and his adopted daughter, Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), with Cole among those fighting for Earthrealm. Evening the odds (sort of) is Earthrealm's newest champion: Johnny Cage (Karl Urban).

"Now we're fully into the world. We don't need to set anything up," Tan continues. "We're there from the moment the movie opens, it's just non-stop action and chaos. We tried to take as many things from the game and put it into into the film and make one of the best action movies of all time."

This echoes Mortal Kombat 2 director Simon McQuoid's recent words to SFX Magazine: "The thing we wanted to embrace was the outrageous nature of Mortal Kombat," McQuoid said. "I got better at seeing that as an advantage. Then we amplify things, so that we carve out our own unique space in the greater cinematic landscape."

Sitting alongside Tan and man-mountain Ford, Jax actor Mechad Brooks notes that "both the films were made by Mortal Kombat fans for Mortal Kombat fans, but we turned up the dial on the second film." Producer Todd Garner's recent claims that studio Warner Bros. didn't know what it had with Mortal Kombat may go some way to explaining the series' newfound confidence in its video game origins.

"It's everything you want," Brooks tells GamesRadar+. "All of us grew up as Mortal Kombat fans and the first movie was good, but this one is exactly what you want if you're a fan of the game, period."

Mortal Kombat 2 releases in theaters on May 8. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies or our full list of upcoming movie releases.

When writing a Mortal Kombat movie, we imagine one of the best people to have on speed dial is one of the founders of the fighting game franchise.

And so it proved with Mortal Kombat 2, as cast member Ludi Lin – who returns once more as Liu Kang in the sequel – revealed that co-creator Ed Boon provided the perfect sounding board for writer Jeremy Slater.

"I was speaking with Jeremy, and he was just saying what a goldmine [Ed Boon] was," Lin said at a virtual press conference attended by GamesRadar+.

"Anytime he wasn't sure what direction to go, what to add [from] the game, the best stages, the best fatalities, all he had to do was call you up and go, 'What do you think people like?' Then he would write it in. Then our stunt team, [and director Simon McQuoid] would just take it to another level."

For Slater's part, the writer (who has worked with Marvel Studios and on the Godzilla franchise in the past) wanted to tap into his button-bashing days of putting quarters into an arcade machine to play Mortal Kombat – while trying to leave his virtual opponent a bloody mess.

"I really tried to write the movie that the 14-year-old me would have walked out of the theater saying that was the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life [and to] make it a sort of love letter to these characters in this world that Ed Boon and NetherRealm have created over the last 30 years," Slater explained.

To that end, Mortal Kombat 2 finally introduces its fabled fight-to-the-death tournament structure, with a roster of newcomers – led by Karl Urban's Johnny Cage – going toe-to-toe with series returnees such as Josh Lawson's Kano and Lewis Tan's Cole Young. May the best fighter win, and may the losers die a glorious death.

Mortal Kombat 2 hits cinemas on May 8. For more, check out the upcoming video game movies currently in the works.

The new Resident Evil movie will take inspiration from one of the video game franchise's more controversial installments: Resident Evil 6.

"You'll see a lot of Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 6," production designer Tom Hammock says during a set visit attended by GamesRadar+. "So Zach [Cregger, director] and I went through and pulled specific creature elements that we like from the games, whether it's tentacles, the teeth integration, and then tried to take that language and move it over to these creatures."

"I spent a lot of time in medical research libraries, so everything comes from nature," he adds. "But we also went as far as diseases. I used to work as a virologist long ago, so just having access to medical libraries gave us a really grounded starting point for all the creatures. And then you try to mix that with, you know, the insanity."

Released in 2005 and 2012, respectively, the fourth game is widely considered a classic (and was remade only a few years back), but the sixth installment was a more controversial entry in the franchise (GamesRadar+'s own Resident Evil 6 review criticized the game's "mostly terrible boss battles" and "nearly nonstop quick-time events").

The game was a maximalist effort that contains four different storylines, so there's plenty to wrap your head around in the creature department. Based on what GamesRadar+ saw on the movie's set, creature FX designers Legacy Effects seemed to be cooking up some messed-up monsters that could be drawing from the HAOS and Ogroman. Still, we'll have to wait until the movie hits the big screen to get a proper idea of just how it takes inspiration from Resident Evil 6.

As for Resident Evil 4, Cregger has already pointed out a subtle nod to that game that eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed in the first Resident Evil trailer. "I took the green herb from Resident Evil 4 and replicated the bucket exactly… which is probably the game I've played most out of the series," he said.

Resident Evil arrives in theaters on September 18. In the meantime, check out our list of the other best upcoming video game movies.

Think Resident Evil and you probably think of one or two things: either the body horror nasties that populate the sewers, prisons, and basements of Raccoon City, or the desperate search for herbs, ammo, and ink ribbons in a bid to survive.

While there's been plenty of discourse about how authentically Resident Evil Zach Cregger's upcoming Resident Evil movie actually is, the director has more than proven he knows his stuff by pointing out a couple of fascinating details you may have missed in the new trailer.

In one moment, Austin Abrams' Bryan is frantically searching for resources in a house – all while being hunted by the undead.

For Resi fans, it's a moment that perfectly captures the spirit of the games (personally, I'm still reeling from creeping through the hospital with Grace as Requiem while Chunk prowls the corridors). Cregger, though, knows that cuts deep with players.

"One of the things that is so integral to playing Resident Evil is you're constantly searching for healing items and ammunition, right?" Cregger said to IGN. "That's what he's doing in these scenes where he's going through the drawers: he's found a shotgun; he's got no shells, he's gotta find the shells. He's gotta comb this house for vital bits of ammunition. You can't do a proper love letter to the games without that."

But if you're still on the fence about whether Cregger is the right person for the job, the fact he somehow snuck in an impossibly deep cut Resident Evil 4 Easter egg and placed it into the movie speaks volumes about his passion for the franchise.

"I took the green herb from Resident Evil 4 and replicated the bucket exactly… which is probably the game I've played most out of the series."

For more, we have the intel from our Resident Evil movie set visit, as well as confirmation from Cregger himself that the Nemesis won't be popping up in his movie.

Resident Evil is returning to our screens later this year with a new reboot from the mind of Weapons director (and Resi superfan) Zach Cregger. However, while this will be the eighth movie in the franchise, it acts as a new start for the game on the big screen. This means it won't be linked to Paul W.S. Anderson's movies nor the panned 2021 film Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

Instead, Cregger's version tells an original, fresh story set in the game universe. Don't expect to see Resident Evil legend Leon S. Kennedy, though, as this version introduces new characters to the franchise. Weapons star Austin Abrams leads the cast as a previously unseen hospital courier, and is joined by Paul Walter Hauser and Zach Cherry in the mysterious new story. So for everything we know about who they're playing – as well as what the new trailer reveals – we've compiled a comprehensive guide to the Resident Evil movie below.

This features details on the cast and plot news, as well as when exactly the movie will hit our screens. We've also got a whole load of exclusive insight from Cregger himself from our set visit last year to help you get up to speed. Read on for all the zombie-filled fun – and while you're at it, check out our guide to the best Resident Evil games.

Resident Evil movie release date

Resident Evil will be released in theaters on September 18, 2026.

Zach Cregger first got involved in the movie in 2024, signing on as a co-writer and director with casting happening that summer. Filming on the movie took place in Prague in October 2025 with post-production in full flow by early 2026, making it a pretty quick turnaround to its release later this year.

Resident Evil movie cast

The Resident Evil movie cast has been confirmed, but don't expect any familiar characters to appear. The film tells an original story in the franchise meaning we won't be getting Resi legends like Leon or Jill Valentine on screen, despite being key figures in the games.

"Leon exists in the games. I don't want anyone to ruin that for me," Cregger explained to GamesRadar+. "I figure if I am honoring the games, I'm just going to tell another story that feels like playing in the world of the game, but I'm not stepping on the toes of any of Leon's storyline. I'm not recasting Leon, god forbid. You know, I'm letting Leon stay Leon."

Instead, the movie features a cast list of relatively well-known actors, including Weapons breakout Austin Abrams in the lead role. Check out the full list below.

• Austin Abrams – Bryan, a medical courier
• Zach Cherry – Dave, a scientist
• Kali Reis – Pauline, an ex-military character
• Paul Walter Hauser – Carl
• Johnno Wilson – Max

Resident Evil movie plot

The Resident Evil movie follows Bryan (played by Austin Abrams) who is a hapless medical courier tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital in Racoon City. However, he soon encounters more than he bargained for when he gets trapped in the snowy mountains en route to the medical center amid a terrifying outbreak. The story follows him as he attempts to survive the night as zombies close in from all around.

Although it is an original story, Cregger has confirmed when it takes place in the game's timeline. Speaking to GamesRadar+ on our set visit in 2025, he explained that the story sits "on the periphery" of the second game. "You know, where Raccoon City is having its big night, but tell just another story that could be happening in parallel to that," he said.

It seems like the movie will also feature a whole load of references for fans of the Resident Evil games too as Cregger is a massive fan of the franchise. "A lot of the references to the games, if you don't know them, they're just gonna go right over your head, and they're not gonna waste your time," he promised when we quizzed him on what would be included.

Is there a Resident Evil movie trailer?

The most recent Resident Evil movie trailer has just dropped, and you can watch it for yourself above.

In this new teaser, we get more insight into Austin Abrams' character, but the most striking moments are toward the end of the clip, which is packed with action. There aren't a lot of clear zombie shots, but there is plenty of gore, shotguns, and blood-stained snow. Classic Resi vibes.

For more, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way and our round-up of all the upcoming video game movies in the works.

GamesRadar+'s visit to the set of the Resident Evil movie does not quite go to plan. Just after we arrive at the cavernous Jordan Studios on the outskirts of Prague on a cloudy December afternoon, everyone else starts to leave. Director Zach Cregger is unwell, and filming has been shut down for the day. Instead of housing its usual hive of activity, the sound stages are abandoned, and I'm tempted to call out, "Hello? Is anyone there?", final girl-style, as I embark on an eerily quiet walk through the deserted warehouse from the press tent to the bathrooms. Here be zombies, after all.

In Cregger's new take on the survival horror franchise, rather than video game mainstays Leon S. Kennedy or Chris Redfield, it's Bryan who takes on the undead. He's a hospital courier on a job from hell, as he encounters horrors even worse than the gig economy over the course of one fateful night. Played by Weapons breakout Austin Abrams, Bryan is an original character with no link to the Resident Evil games. "I never wanted to tell the story of any of the characters from the games," Cregger tells us over Zoom a few months later.

"Leon exists in the games. I don't want anyone to ruin that for me," he continues. "I don't think that me telling a story that's not about Leon is a violation of the Resident Evil world, because the games do that all the time. Leon's not in 7 or 8. So I figure if I am honoring the games, I'm just going to tell another story that feels like playing in the world of the game, but I'm not stepping on the toes of any of Leon's storyline. I'm not recasting Leon, god forbid. You know, I'm letting Leon stay Leon. And I feel like that's the most respectful thing I could do."

Return to Raccoon City

Back in Prague, everyone, including leading man Abrams, is incredibly apologetic about the disruption on set, but there's still plenty to see, and people are still busy behind the scenes – including our guide for the day, production designer Tom Hammock. "I play video games, but I'm not… I mean, Zach is obsessed," Hammock, who worked with Cregger on Weapons, tells us with a laugh as he shows us around. "I remember being in college in '96 and my roommate got Resident Evil 2, and I'd come home and he'd be playing in the dark and completely petrified himself. That's what Zach wants to capture. The first time you played the game, you didn't know what was going to happen, so he's trying to recreate all the scares, the flashlight work, the amount of darkness, the tension as you move through these spaces."

Don't be fooled by the film's first trailer, which sees Bryan arrive at a creepy remote farmhouse in need of a phone: Raccoon City is still on the map. "It takes detours," says Cregger. "The whole point of the movie is he's got to get from hospital A, through the mountains and into Raccoon City to deliver something to hospital B. And as he's going over this mountain pass, things turn bad." There's no hint of rural America in Jordan Studios, though: we've touched down in Raccoon City.

Hammock gives us a tour of a handful of sets: a dark, damp sewer, a hospital ward (sticky with the residue of 500 gallons of fake blood), and a few floors of a skyscraper, complete with working elevator, all built from scratch. We also venture into the production design office, which is a veritable treasure trove of storyboards, models, and a "creature wall", which does what it says on the tin, showcasing mock-ups of zombified rats, dogs, and more. "You'll see a lot of Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 6," Hammock says, gesturing to the creature wall. "So Zach and I went through and pulled specific creature elements that we like from the games, whether it's tentacles, the teeth integration, and then tried to take that language and move it over to these creatures.

"I spent a lot of time in medical research libraries, so everything comes from nature," he adds. "But we also went as far as diseases. I used to work as a virologist long ago, so just having access to medical libraries gave us a really grounded starting point for all the creatures. And then you try to mix that with, you know, the insanity."

Although this movie may be a standalone piece, Cregger explains that the story occurs "on the periphery" of the second game. "You know, where Raccoon City is having its big night, but tell just another story that could be happening in parallel to that."

That extends to the production design, too. "We really designed the city based on Resident Evil 2, trying to get that look," says Hammock. "Lots of brick, lots of texture, lots of rain, and then the only change we really made was going heavier with the snow. We even found somewhere that looks exactly like the police station, by chance here, by the Opera House, which is pretty exciting."

But the hardest part of recreating Raccoon City in Prague? "It sounds so foolish, but one of the hardest things on the movie is Zach had me make Raccoon City manhole covers for the top of the sewers," Hammock says. "So hard to do. Everybody made their manhole covers, like, 50 years ago. It's not such a thing anymore."

Cregger reiterates that the movie is a "very simple and self-contained" story that doesn't depend on the viewer being as big a fan of the games as he is – but, if you are, there'll be some fun extra nuggets. "A lot of the references to the games, if you don't know them, they're just gonna go right over your head, and they're not gonna waste your time. I don't spend a whole lot of time talking about stuff that's only in the games," he explains. "The pacing of the games is very much in the movie. But if you don't know the games, that's not going to penetrate; you won't realize it. And the graduation of guns. You start with a pistol, you graduate to a shotgun, and then by the end, he's holding a machine gun. All the gamers are going to understand exactly what's happening, but if you've never played it just won't register."

Along with the pacing, Cregger says he also pays homage to the visual "vocabulary" of the Resident Evil games. "Sometimes I jump into first person, sometimes I use standard coverage if he's having a conversation with someone. But I really, really wanted to embrace that immersive feel that I get when I play the games, and so I feel like, to use their visual language… why wouldn't I do that? It's so cinematic anyway," he says, after flicking through a hardbound book of the movie's storyboards for us. "People who love the games are going to feel seen in a lot of ways, I hope, when they watch this movie, but I hope that the visual vocabulary is something that's really going to punch."

Away from the PlayStation, Cregger notes that he took inspiration from movies as far-reaching as Son of Saul and Evil Dead 2, but he wasn't thinking about any of the previous Resident Evil adaptations (six movies were released between 2002 and 2017, with a reboot following in 2021) – because he hasn't seen them. "Frankly, the reason I didn't see them is because I was such a fan of the games, and they just didn't look like the games to me, you know? And it was so obvious that they were not the games that I was like, it's not for me," he says. "Maybe they're great. I have no idea. But I just wasn't interested in that, because I feel like what's great about the games is they're shrunk down into this single perspective, and it's about this pacing and this horror, and those movies just didn't look like horror things to me."

Labor of love

If the work of Legacy Effects is anything to go by, however, Resident Evil certainly will look like a "horror thing." The Legacy team, who have worked on everything from Avatar to The Mandalorian, has set up camp in what appears to be a dressing room, lined with lightbulb-studded mirrors and furnished with makeup storage, but instead of lipsticks and powders, they're covered with displays of "messed up" models. Legacy is showcasing their favorite creations from the shoot for us: a mottled stretch of life-like skin, freakishly long limbs, something with three eyes. "I suppose it's a compliment when people think it's all done with computers," creature FX designer Shane Mahan (an industry veteran whose career began four decades ago with The Terminator) tells us amidst this gleefully gory tableau.

"Within the first two minutes, the audience should not be aware what they're looking at and just believe what it is," he adds. "Otherwise, there's no fun in that. If you don't believe that it's really there, there's no fear. Part of the fun is being frightened."

Some of these creatures will appear in a scene in a hospital ward. But, this is Resident Evil, after all, so this hospital has huge, fiberglass egg-like membranes and an assortment of tentacles clinging to its walls, and Hammock points out some cleverly concealed holes when we walk through the plasticky smell of fake blood to take a closer look at the set.

"There's a whole steel structure above with grids and pulley rigs. And what's going to happen is stuntmen, upside down, have been training to hold their breath so they're there against that membrane," he explains. "They pour, like, 50 gallons of slime in with the stunt guys, and it oozes down. And then the membrane breaks, and they fall into the sets, in-camera, which is pretty cool… It took, like, 15 people two weeks to glue the tentacles. Every one is hand-cut and then glued, and then held up. So it's this labor of love."

Lastly, we're taken to see a real, working elevator built on a sound stage, a short drive from the rest of the set. Construction is still underway, and Hammock has to raise his voice to be heard above the drilling and hammering. After climbing a flight of metal stairs, we find ourselves in a fresh paint-scented corridor with six doors on it. Cregger noticed that there are "too many doors" in Resident Evil, Hammock notes, and is working with "misdirection" in this set piece. "Just like in the game, you go to the side [just] to have something burst out of the other door, out of your peripheral vision."

Now we're inside the skyscraper itself, which is based partly on Guy's Hospital in London (the tallest hospital in the world), partly on a brutalist Swiss ski resort, and partly on '20s Czech cubism as "an homage to where we're shooting." Climbing a flight of concrete stairs, we get a better look at the elevator itself. The team has modified a sports stadium-style cable camera to operate vertically. "It goes all the way up and down, so it could track next to Austin as the elevator moves with him." It really is a fully functioning elevator, built from scratch, which will be involved in an action-packed set piece that we're not allowed to allude to further.

While it seems there's going to be some pretty gruesome stuff in this movie, Cregger says he never had any pushback from the studio. "They gave me the keys of the car, and I got to drive it where I wanted to drive it," he says. "And honestly, the person I feel the most responsible to is the [person] who loves the games, so that really was who I'm trying to please with this."

Resident Evil arrives in theaters on September 18. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other upcoming video game movies to add to your watchlist.

Mortal Kombat 2 star Karl Urban has revealed that he really did do one of Johnny Cage's iconic moves – but not without almost injuring himself.

"I think my biggest concern was the challenge," Urban told ComicBook.com. "You know, and this was, without a doubt, the most difficult physical challenge that I’ve ever encountered in making a movie. And I’ve made a few. And starting from scratch, starting with just learning how to move, agility, doing speed drills, then learning movement and form and style. Everything is so specific, and it’s not like a brawl where you can just push your way through it."

"I will say I was not injured," he added. "Almost injured. Yeah, I did do the splits." Johnny Cage does the splits as part of his classic Nut Punch move, which brings him low enough to… well, I'm sure you can guess.

First reactions to Mortal Kombat 2 have been pretty positive so far, calling the sequel a "crowd pleaser" with "improved action sequences" from the first movie. That's not the only way it's set to best its predecessor, either – it's set to double the opening weekend takings of the first Mortal Kombat movie at the box office, with predictions of up to $50 million compared to the first film's $23 million in 2021.

Urban joins Tati Gabrielle as Jade and Adeline Rudolph as Kitana as the sequel's new faces, joining returning cast members like Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, and Josh Lawson.

Mortal Kombat 2 arrives in theaters on May 8. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other biggest upcoming video game movies on the way in 2026 and beyond.

Mortal Kombat 2 has got some positive early reactions from fans and critics, calling it a vast improvement on the original movie. The sequel to the 2021 adaptation transports the action to a new tournament where the champions of Earthrealm are forced to battle it out once again.

This time, they're joined by some new reinforcements, including Karl Urban's Johnny Cage and Adeline Rudolph's Kitana. Both of the new arrivals have been at the center of early praise for the movie, alongside its "arcade energy" and "faithful" fights. Check out some of the first reactions below.

Film critic Michael Lee writes: "Mortal Kombat II is a fun popcorn flick. The fights are bloody, the stakes higher, and the dynamics stronger than its predecessor. Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage brings meta comedy and JCVD energy, while Adeline Rudolph’s Kitana gives the carnage emotional weight. "

Meanwhile, The Movie Podcast's Shahbaz Siddiqui admits it's got a lot of fan service in there, even when it doesn't quite work as a movie. "MORTAL KOMBAT II pulls its punches when it matters most, but seeing these characters on screen is still a total blast," they wrote. "It’s pure arcade energy and features a LIU KANG fight that absolutely RIPS! A messy ride for sure, but the fan service carries it."

Comic Book's Chris Killian praised the fidelity to the games, adding that it's a "stark improvement over the first one in just about every way possible - better fights, cooler costumes, and nastier fatalities." They added on Twitter: "It’s all still quite campy, but hot damn it’s a gory good time. MK2 is fun as hell and the most faithful #MortalKombatmovie yet."

Multiverse of Color agreed on the game adaptation, adding: "Mortal Kombat II is for fans of the game, featuring improved action sequences and gruesome fatalities that will impress. Johnny Cage and Kitana provide the beating heart of the story."

"Mortal Kombat II is a hell of a movie," That Hollywood S's Hunter Bolding tweeted. "Hits the video game styling, crowd-pleasing moments aplenty, satisfying story, it’s all here. I was struck by Johnny Cage and Kitana’s story the most."

Meanwhile, Journalist Law Shama says the movie "absolutely rips". They wrote on X: "It improves on everything that worked from the first one while improving the narrative, character motivations, and upping the action. Johnny Cage, Kano, and Baraka are hilarious. Kitana is perfect. I’m ready for round 3."

Mortal Kombat will be kicking its way into theaters on May 8, 2026. For more upcoming movies, check out our guide to all the upcoming video game adaptations out over the next few years.

Uh-oh. The Legend of Zelda movie's director of photography might need the Ocarina of Time to undo a big mistake – after they accidentally leaked Link's look.

In now-deleted social media images from Gyula Pados (which you can see below, as the internet kept them from prosperity nano-seconds after they were posted), there is a fun Link to the Past-style memento for the camera department. More importantly for audiences, however, is a taste of how Link will look in the upcoming Legend of Zelda movie.

As you can see, Link's iconic green tunic is present and accounted for – as is the Hylian Shield and Master Sword.

What might catch your eye, though, is how Twilight Princess-coded this all feels, complete with cap, a darker green (compared to Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, anyway), and bracers.

But there is something slightly different about Link's sartorial choices here. Namely, he is rocking a cape – something that is rarely, if ever, a part of the Hero of Time's outfit.

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have included Link, in a different design, rocking a cape, but this would be a little out of the ordinary for Hyrule's protector.

Intriguingly, the movie look is similar to scrapped Breath of the Wild character concept designs from way back when, suggesting director Wes Ball may have shaped Link's costume from documents in the Nintendo archives.

It's worth noting that this might not be a 1:1 reaction to how Link looks in The Legend of Zelda movie, but we imagine it's pretty close to what we'll see on screen in almost exactly a year's time.

The Legend of Zelda movie, hitting cinemas on May 7, 2027, stars Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link and Bo Bragason as Zelda.

For more, check out the upcoming video game movies on the way. Then, hyaaah your way over to our ranking of the best Zelda games.

After first premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, Exit 8 is now one of the highest-rated video game movies of all time.

Based on the viral indie horror video game of the same name, the movie follows a character known only as The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) who learns that his girlfriend is pregnant and panics at the idea of becoming a father. When he gets off the train, he finds himself trapped in an endlessly looping corridor. Much like the game, The Lost Man must proceed to Exit 8 by identifying the anomalies in each corridor... or be sent back to the very beginning. Genki Kawamura directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Kentaro Hirase.

The film currently sits at a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, with some critics calling it a "triumphant realisation and expansion of the original concept," and a "surprisingly heartfelt exploration of life, regret, and self-reflection." The score is based on a whopping 88 reviews (and there aren't enough audience reviews to reflect a Popcorn Meter score just yet).

As of right now, the highest-rated video game movie on Rotten Tomatoes is Sonic the Hedgehog, with 86%... as of right now, this makes Exit 8 the highest-rated video game adaptation on Rotten Tomatoes (though the list doesn't seem exact at the moment and has yet to be given a proper update to reflect Exit 8 as number one).

Exit 8 releases in theaters in the US now and will hit the UK on April 24. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies.

Exit 8 director Genki Kawamura says the inspiration for the horror film's unique sound design comes from none other than 1980's The Shining.

"I paid a lot of respect to Stanley Kubrick and The Shining in this film," Kawamura tells GamesRadar+. "And when [Danny] goes down the corridor in the tricycle, there was a different sound the tricycle made when it was on wood versus when it was on the carpet. I think that level of difference really kind of gets under our skin and mentally kind of like corners us, which is what I wanted to do."

The movie, based on the indie horror video game of the same name, follows a young man, known only as The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) who learns that his girlfriend is pregnant and panics at the idea of becoming a father. When he gets off the train, he finds himself lost in an endlessly looping corridor. Much like the game, The Lost Man must proceed to Exit 8 by identifying the anomalies in each corridor, or be sent back to the very beginning. He comes into contact with a little boy known simply as The Boy (Naru Asanuma), and the two decide to figure out the puzzle together.

The corridors of Exit 8 are not unlike the hallways of The Overlook Hotel in The Shining, and you could even go as far as to say that the character of The Boy is a much more demure (and possibly even a little bit sadder) Danny Torrance. When The Boy is walking through the corridors, the sound his shoes make is a very different sound from that of The Lost Man. The character of The Walking Man (who can also be seen in the video game) also has his own creepy footsteps, differentiating between his human and NPC (Non Player Character) forms. Kawamura explains that all of these effects were done with great purpose... and that they even held "auditions" for certain shoes.

"The shoes… The Walking Man is an NPC [in the film]," Kawamura explains (and I won't give much more context so that you can go see the film for yourself!) "When he's first walking through the corridor as an NPC, he's supposed to act like this CG type of character. And when he's walking through the corridor as a human, we actually used different shoes to get the squeaks. So it was a crazy thing: 'Well, what kind of shoe represents a CG character, an NPC, and what kind of shoe squeak represents a human?' But it's that level of detail that I think really comes across because the film is so simple, it takes place in such a liminal space."

Continues Kawamura: "We actually had a shoe audition. So our Foley artist brought like 40 different shoes [to figure out] what sound would be the best type of emotion we wanted to convey."

Exit 8 releases in theaters on April 10 in the US and in the UK on April 24. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies.

Exit 8 director Genki Kawamura says he wanted the upcoming horror film to blur the lines between movie and video game.

"So when this game came out, people were playing the game on streaming," Kawamura explains to GamesRadar+. "I was very impressed with the overall game design. But I also watched a lot of different streamers. And because the game is so simple, it served as this backdrop, and there were as many stories in there as there were players and videos on stream. So I thought that this game almost served as a device to explore something much more human."

The Exit 8 is a 3D walking simulator where the player is stuck in a loop inside the Japanese metro and has to pass through several corridors in order to reach the final exit. It functions a little bit like a spot-the-difference game where the player must identify anomalies in each corridor: if there are none, the player can proceed toward the next exit. If there is one, the player must walk back the way they came... or be set back to Exit 0.

In the movie adaptation, a young man, known only as The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) learns that his girlfriend is pregnant and panics at the idea of becoming a father. He gets off the train and finds himself lost in an endlessly looping corridor. Much like the game, The Lost Man must proceed to Exit 8 by identifying the anomalies in each corridor, or be sent back to the very beginning. And some of the anomalies are, uh, terrifying. The film became the first video game adaptation to ever screen at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, and currently sits at a near-perfect 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.

"I think video games are amazing in their own right. There are many people who play them, many people involved in the development of them," Kawamura continues. "But looking at Exit 8, this was developed by a single person, a twenty-six-year-old kid based in Kyoto… Kotake Create [is the] company. But I think because a single person saw it from end to end, the vision is very, very clear. It was almost like you're looking at fine art or a novel. There was something very inventive and knew about it, and it was a very direct reflection of the creator's vision."

"And when making a movie, I think that's what we really want to see. And I wanted to replicate that with Exit 8 in a way. I wanted to reinvent sort of the movie format, if you will. So instead of looking at this as a video game, adapted into a movie, I thought of it almost as well... we want to create a brand new experience where the borders between the movie and game mediums are blurred."

Exit 8 releases in theaters on April 10 in the US and in the UK on April 24. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies.

After it was reported that the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie was filming in New Zealand, it's been confirmed that the pic is filming in the same locations as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

According to CBR, the production is currently underway in Otago, which includes the small town of Glenorchy. This means the lush landscape and dreamy cinematic wilderness from the Legend of Zelda video games will indeed be real and practical... rather than CGI.

Official photos of stars Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason, who play Link and Zelda, respectively, were released last year after a set leak showed Bragason in what appears to be Zelda's blue outfit from Breath of the Wild. The official (albeit vague) synopsis for the film reads as follows: "The Legend of Zelda follows Link, a young warrior destined to protect the magical kingdom of Hyrule from the forces of darkness. The land is under threat from Ganon, a ruthless warlord who seeks the Triforce – an ancient relic said to grant limitless power. To stop him, Link must embark on a perilous journey, battling monstrous creatures, exploring treacherous dungeons, and solving intricate puzzles to uncover sacred artifacts that can aid him in his quest."

Wes Ball, perhaps best known for helming The Maze Runner trilogy, directs from a script penned by Derek Connolly (Detective Pikachu) and T.S. Nowlin (The Maze Runner). The film was originally slated for a March 26, 2027 release date, before creator Shigeru Miyamoto took to Twitter to announce that it would be pushed to May 2027 instead...and less than two months truly isn't that bad.

The Legend of Zelda movie is set to open on May 7, 2027. For more, check out our guides on upcoming video game movies and the best Zelda games.

Yakuza writer Masayoshi Yokoyama has heard Jack Black wants to star in a live-action adaptation of the hit game series, and he wants to help.

Yokoyama has written on multiple Yakuza games and has been a producer since Yakuza 5, and he's been the head of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio since 2021.

"I can't think of any role at all, and I don't even know their contact info, but maybe I should reach out (lol)," said Yokoyama on Twitter (via the platform's translation).

Black has already starred in multiple video game adaptations, including A Minecraft Movie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, its sequel The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and the Borderlands movie.

"So I'm going to throw my hat in that ring," Black said recently of his hopes to appear in a Yakuza project. "I don't know if there [are] any parts for me, like a portly American, but talk to me. Sega, give me a jingle."

Now, as much as we would love to see this crossover, there don't appear to be any actual plans for a live-action Yakuza starring Black at the moment. Here's hoping it happens someday.

In the meantime, though, you can hear Black's vocal talents in the The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which sees him reprise his role as Bowser. The film has debuted to a lukewarm reception from critics, with our own The Super Mario Galaxy Movie review reading: "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie surpasses the original thanks to relentless energy and creativity, but its starry-eyed ambitions fizzle out thanks to the bizarre treatment of Brie Larson's Rosalina and an undercooked story."

For more on the movie, check out our roundup of all the Super Mario Galaxy Movie Easter eggs.

It seems that there is only one thing that Disney fans can talk about at the moment: Maui's wig in the Moana live-action remake. But the hair is here to stay, as star Dwayne Johnson says it's part of the character.

"The wig was very crucial and important because, in holding onto the integrity of the character from the animated version, Maui was very proud of his hair. And he had beautiful hair, beautiful demigod hair," said Johnson to Entertainment Weekly. It is important to note that the interview took place before the trailer hit the internet.

Since the first trailer for the upcoming live-action Moana movie dropped on Monday, March 23, Johnson's new hairstyle has attracted a lot of attention online. "I can’t take The Rock seriously in the live-action Moana with that wig on," said one fan on Twitter, and another echoed, "I just can't get over the idea that they just slapped a wig on The Rock for live-action #Moana and called it good. That's just... I can't stop laughing."

The trailer even caught the attention of comedian Weird Al Yankovic, who pointed out the similarities between the new Maui and his satirical character. The comedian posted a screenshot of Johnson on Instagram, writing, "We’ve told all the casting agents that the Weird Al biopic sequel is currently on hold, but they just keep sending in headshots."

Despite the criticisms, it doesn't sound like Disney will budge. Johnson said that a lot of thought went into Maui's hair, and the filmmakers even thought about using digital effects to bring the demigod's flowing locks to life. "There were a handful of iterations that we were looking to apply," added Johnson. "But ultimately, we have to go back to the main thing, which is, what’s the best thing for the film and the audience’s experience?"

So the team settled on the wig. But the hairpiece wasn't just thrown on as suggested by people online, Johnson had to sit in the makeup chair for two and a half hours each day, whilst artists perfected Maui's wig and the 40-pound prosthetic bodysuit.

Moana releases on July 10. For more, check out our list of the best Disney movies, and keep up with more upcoming Disney movies on the way.

Netflix's long-delayed upcoming live-action Gundam movie is finally making moves, as Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Scorpion star Michael Mando joins the cast.

Deadline reports that Mando has closed a deal to join Netflix and Legendary‘s Gundam movie in an undisclosed role. Both studios declined to comment. However, Mando shared the news over on Twitter, writing, "Entering this beautiful sci-fi opera. A love letter to anime."

Mando joins Sydney Sweeney, Noah Centineo, and Jason Clarke, who were all previously cast in the project. The movie, which is said to start production this April in Australia, will be directed by Jim Mickle, who also penned the script.

The live-action Gundam movie has not had the easiest road to release and has faced a series of delays after it was first announced way back in 2021, with Jordan Vogt-Roberts attached to direct, but then exited the project. But it seems to be full steam ahead ever since Netflix nabbed the distribution rights earlier this year.

Netflix is keeping plot details tightly under wraps, but we do know that the movie is based on the beloved Gundam anime franchise, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino. The franchise kicked off in 1997 with the Japanese TV show Mobile Suit Gundam, and has spawned multiple spin-off shows, movies, mangas, and graphic novels over the years. However, the upcoming film will be the first live-action Gundam project.

Set in the futuristic past where the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon are at war, the main series follows a teenager who becomes the pilot of the new, advanced robot known as RX-78 Gundam. However, in a bid to defend his colony, the teen is pulled into the troubled world of war, politics, and giant robot combat.

While we wait for more news on Gundam, check out our picks of the best anime shows and the best anime movies for some watchlist inspiration.

The new Moana trailer has sailed in, and with it we've finally got a first glimpse of major figures like Tomatoa, Te Fiti, and, of course, Dwayne Johnson's Maui. This live-action adaptation is arriving just 10 years after the original Disney animation, but with Hamilton director Thomas Kail – who knows a thing or two about musicals – at the helm, there's plenty of promise.

Ahead of the trailer's release, GamesRadar+ sat down with Kail as he finishes work on the film to discuss Maui, the choice to remake Moana relatively soon after the original animation, confirmation of an exciting returning cast member, and the all-important question: will there be any new songs? Check out the full trailer above before reading on!

The original animation is beloved, and with Moana 2 going on to make over a billion dollars at the box office in 2024, there's every chance this could be one of the biggest upcoming movies of the year. But for now, check out our exclusive interview with Thomas Kail below. Oh, and you're welcome. (Note: this interview has been edited for length and clarity).

GamesRadar+: We finally see Dwayne Johnson's Maui in this new trailer. What were the challenges of translating such a distinctive character into live action?

Thomas Kail: In a way, it's a microcosm for the whole experience: how do you take something that existed that you want to honor? The way that Maui is constructed and shaped in that first film feels perfect for that world. But if Dwayne's playing [Maui], you want Dwayne, so how do we make sure that we're really featuring that? Maui looks more like Dwayne than in [the] 2016 [movie], but I think that the spirit is the same. There's a way that we connect to Maui, in this film, where you feel his history in a way that Dwayne really was interested in uncovering. And he's got a lot of new jokes!

"You're Welcome" is iconic. Will Maui be introduced the same way in this film?

When he arrives, we try to give him the entrance of the demigod that he is. And again, how do you demonstrate someone who can do all of these things that, in animation, you buy into it because of the spirit of animation and the elasticity of how things can move there. So we wanted to make sure that our film, which is really grounded in the island of Motunui, could have those moments of elevation. "You're Welcome" is an incredible opportunity for that, because that number has the build that it does and has the structure that it does, it felt like a way to introduce Maui to our audience and let them experience all of the wonderfulness, and his trickster qualities as well. So, those things we really tried to embrace.

How much R&D went into Dwayne's wig?

It's funny, in thinking and talking about it, I was so used to seeing Dwayne on set that I forgot that he didn't have hair! But we had a lot of fun. And it was so rewarding to watch Dwayne and Catherine [Laga'aia, Moana], because their back and forth and repartee is really the heartbeat of the film. It's about these two people who don't think they need each other, who have to go across the world and do the impossible. And, also, Catherine was just completely unintimidated and right there dishing it back. So that made for some good crackle between the two of them.

Why did it make sense to adapt Moana into live action a decade after the release of the original animated movie?

I think there are lots of reasons. One of the core reasons was the opportunity to preserve and try to take the culture of the Pacific Islands and put it in a photo-real world. The original Moana and Moana 2 communicated so much about the culture to so many millions of people. And with live action, hopefully you'll get all the people that watch the animated film, and also some folks that might say, 'Animation is not for me, but I'll step into this experience.' That was something we thought about a lot – how do we use that opportunity? The sense of danger when you see Catherine, this teenager, in the middle of this storm, it feels different when it's a person inhabiting that. And so I think the sense of adventure and danger feel really heightened in that regard. And none of that takes away from the fun or the entertainment of it, but I think that gives it a beautiful counterbalance to all of the joy that we're trying to deliver.

How faithful to the original story is your film? Are you taking the opportunity to deviate at all in terms of the story you're telling?

The story is the story of 2016, for sure, because it certainly didn't seem like it was broken to us. The way that the characters move through that larger arc feels like it's certainly trusting of that. You know, there's new dialog, there's stuff that we're expressing that wasn't expressed, there's opportunities in comedy that are completely new to our film. And so we tried to embrace those whenever it felt like it was still trusting the path forward, but we didn't go into it with fear. We knew that the foundation was so strong that it could withstand and we could find new moments, or find a different way to approach a scene, even if it's the same setting. So I'm excited for people to experience that.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is back for your movie. Are there going to be new songs?

Of the things that I can and can't say, that is one of them. But being back with my pal… you know, Lin and I met in May of 2002, so to be sitting on set with him, in the middle of this village of Motunui, 23 years later, it was very meaningful for me. We've continued to collaborate over these last almost 25 years. We've got new stuff we're doing now. And Moana was something that he wrote while we were doing Hamilton. So when I was trying to get Hamilton done, I was like [incredulously]: 'What are you doing? Stop doing that!' Little did I know that it would serve me so well. So it felt really nice to be able to meet each other on this one, having been just an admirer and a fan who had nothing to do with the first one, but to be back together, watching these new interpretations of the songs. And, certainly, the way that we tried to capture the songs was our version of them. The way that our cast interprets the songs is completely recognizable if you know the story and the score, but it's their own. And we tried to do the same thing with how we were photographing and capturing those numbers.

We get a quick glimpse of characters like Tamatoa and Te Fiti in the new trailer. Did any one character pose a particular challenge in translating them to live action?

It's like the question about Maui; Tamatoa, you could take a still frame of him, put it anywhere in the world, and everyone's like: "Oh, Tamatoa!" There is a way that Tamatoa moves through space and time that feels deeply inherent to animation. So how do we show the mass and the size and have that sort of devilish menace? Getting a chance to have Jermaine [Clement] come back and do the crab again was a particular joy for me. It was the same thing with our Te Fiti, if it were to live in a world where people are moving through space and time the way that we do, and then there are also demigods and a singing, dancing crab, and a lava monster. All those things were enormous challenges. Bill Westenhoffer and the VFX team are absolute best-in-class, and so that's been a really wonderful collaboration that continues. That's what we're always after, is trying to do something that can deliver the majesty and the magic of this film.

Moana releases on July 10. Keep up to date with everything else on the way from Disney with our guide to all the upcoming Disney movies.

Robert Kirkman has offered a promising update on the live-action Invincible movie, almost a decade on from it being first announced.

"It's definitely a long process, and it's something that hopefully will come together sooner rather than later," Kirkman told ScreenRant, noting that the team's "focus right now" is the ongoing TV series. "There's certainly movement here and there behind the scenes, but nothing that we can reveal just yet."

Having premiered back in 2021, the Invincible TV show centers on 17-year-old Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), as he's taught how to be a superhero by the most powerful one on the planet, his father Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons). Before long, though, Mark realizes that juggling a personal life and saving the world is much harder than his morally ambiguous pops makes it look.

Four years earlier than its first episode, it was reported that executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg had plans to turn the graphic novels in which it's based into a big-screen adventure for Universal Pictures. But little has been heard on the project since. In the years that followed, Yeun has expressed doubt on whether or not he could convincingly play a teenager in a live-action take, while 28 Days Later: The Bone Temple helmer Nia DaCosta has expressed interest in directing a non-animated feature.

"The comic and cartoon are amazing," the filmmaker wrote in a recent Reddit Q&A. "I know exactly how I'd want to translate that world, and that amazing father/son relationship, to screen. I also just love the idea of making something in a superhero world that has some real grit and viscera – and sex!"

Invincible season 4 continues on March 25. While we wait for a new episode, check out our picks of the best shows on Prime for some watchlist inspiration.

A Minecraft Movie 2 has found its Alex in Spider-Man's Kirsten Dunst – a joyous full-circle moment after the star said only last August that she'd happily appear in the video game movie sequel "to make a pile of cash." The news come via Deadline.

Alex was teased in the first film's post-credits scene, when Steve (Jack Black) knocks on the door of his former home in the real world, which is promptly answered by a red-headed stranger. "Is this about that chest in the attic?" the person, who is seen only from behind, says. "I'm Alex, by the way." Dunst didn't appear in the original film, with Alex played physically by Alice May Connolly, and voiced by Kate McKinnon.

One of two main, playable characters in Minecraft, along with Steve, Alex's most distinctive characteristics are her default green tunic and red hair, which she wears in a ponytail. It doesn't take a genius to work out why the team behind A Minecraft Movie 2 might have thought famous redhead Dunst would be a good fit for the character.

Directed by Jared Hess, the first Minecraft movie was an enormous hit in 2025, launched a wave of Chicken Jockey madness, and ended the year as the highest-grossing domestic release, just beating out Lilo & Stitch. The sequel was, unsurprisingly, announced soon after. A teaser poster confirming the film's July 2027 release date was released last October.

While plot details for the sequel are scant, producer Roy Lee recently hinted that big bad, the Ender Dragon, will make its fiery debut in the sequel. "A lot of people said, 'Yeah, just make that movie, but make sure the Ender Dragon is in it.' I think that's what a lot of the requests have been." Will Alex team up with Steve, Garbage Man (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers), and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) to take the fearsome beast down? With casting now fully underway, it won't be long till the first details are revealed.

A Minecraft Movie 2 releases on July 23, 2027. In the meantime, check out our list of upcoming video game movies, or dive into our list of the best video game movies ever.