Entertainment

Lea Michele is headed back to Broadway.

Following her run in Funny Girl, which ended in 2023, the actress will be starring in the revival of Chess alongside Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher.

The musical will feature a new book by Emmy winner Danny Strong, with music and lyrics by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and EGOT winner Tim Rice. It’ll reunite Michele with her Spring Awakening director, Michael Mayer.

The show centers on the rivalry between two elite chess players during the height of the Cold War: American Freddie Trumper, played by Tveit, and Russian Anatoly Sergievsky, played by Christopher. Michele plays Florence Vassey, the woman caught between them. The musical spun off the 1985 top five pop hit “One Night in Bangkok” by Murray Head.

Chess is set to debut on Broadway this fall.

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Tom Cruise is thanking fans and the filmmakers behind Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. The actor shared a statement to his Instagram after the film’s success during the Memorial Day box office weekend. “This weekend was one for the history books! Congratulations and thank you to every filmmakers, every artist, every crew member, and every single person who works at the studios,” Cruise wrote. “And most of all, THANK YOU to audiences everywhere—for whom we all serve and for whom we all LOVE to entertain.” …

T’Nia Miller is the latest actress to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She will appear in a major role in the Vision series for Disney+, Deadline reports. Miller is believed to play one of the leads opposite Paul Bettany‘s Vision in the WandaVision spinoff series …

More actors have joined the upcoming Little House on the Prairie adaptation at Netflix. Jocko Sims is set to play Dr. George Tann, a generous and kindhearted man with a charming bedside manner, in the new show. Additionally, Warren Christie will play John Edwards, Meegwun Fairbrother will play Mitchell, Alyssa Wapanatǎhk will play White Sun, Wren Zhawenim Gotts will play Good Eagle and Xander Cole will play Little Puma …

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The plot of Top Gun 3 is “already in the bag,” according to Christopher McQuarrie.

The filmmaker, who co-wrote and produced Top Gun: Maverick, recently appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he talked about the upcoming sequel to the 2022 smash hit film.

McQuarrie told podcast host Josh Horowitz the film is “already in the bag” and that he “already know[s]” its story.

“It wasn’t hard,” McQuarrie said of figuring out the script. “I thought it would be, and that’s a good place to go from is you walk into the room going, ‘Come on, what are we going to do?’ And [co-writer] Ehren Kruger pitched something and I went, ‘Mm, actually,’ and we had one conversation about it and the framework is there. So, no, it’s not hard to crack. The truth of the matter is, none of these are hard to crack.”

The writer/director then explained why that is.

“It’s as you start to execute it, and as you start to interrogate it, as you start [to think] why these movies are made the way they are: It’s not the action, it’s not even the level of or intensity of or the scope and scale of the action [or] the engineering around the action, it’s none of those things — it’s the emotion,” McQuarrie said.

Joseph Kosinski directed Top Gun: Maverick. When asked if McQuarrie would direct the third Top Gun movie instead, the filmmaker said he had given that “absolutely no thought, no thought whatsoever.”

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(SPOILER ALERT) Alexis Bledel returns to Gilead in the series finale of The Handmaid’s Tale.

The actress exited the show after season 4, but made the decision to return to her role as Emily/Ofglen in the series finale, which debuted on Tuesday. Bledel told The Hollywood Reporter it felt right to return to tie up some loose ends and reconcile with Elisabeth Moss‘ June.

“It felt right to bring closure to Emily’s journey and offer the audience a sense of completion,” Bledel said. “[Creator] Bruce [Miller] put together such a kind and talented group, and so many of the original crew were still there in season six. The production runs like a well-oiled machine — everyone brings their best.”

Bledel said it was an “immediate yes” when she was asked back to the show. Moss was equally excited about the idea of Bledel returning.

“I said to [Miller] at the time, ‘You realize now that you’ve told me that, we have to do it?'” Moss said. “And she wanted to do it from the beginning. She didn’t need convincing at all. My first official scene on day one was with Alexis. So it meant a lot to get to work with her again.”

The series finale of The Handmaid’s Tale is available to stream on Hulu.

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The final trailer for Elio has arrived.

Pixar released the new trailer for its upcoming movie on Tuesday. The film follows a young boy named Elio who is beamed up into space and meets an array of aliens.

“When Elio is beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide, Elio’s all in for the epic undertaking,” the film’s official synopsis reads. “Mistakenly identified as Earth’s leader, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions, and somehow discover who and where he is truly meant to be.”

Pixar veterans Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina directed the new film. Yonas Kibreab lends his voice to the starring role of Elio, while Zoe Saldaña voices Aunt Olga, Remy Edgerly voices Glordon, Brad Garrett voices Lord Grigon, Jameela Jamil voices Ambassador Questa and Shirley Henderson voices Ooooo.

“All I ever wanted was to find a place to fit in,” Elio says as he stares up at the night sky in the trailer.

He seems to find that community after he’s beamed up to outer space. “Back home, I didn’t fit in,” Elio tells a new alien friend. “Well, I like you,” they respond.

Elio opens in theaters on June 20.

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There’s a new golden trio headed to Hogwarts.

HBO has cast three newcomers in the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in its upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

Dominic McLaughlin will star as Harry, while Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout will play Hermione and Ron.

The upcoming HBO show is described as a faithful adaptation of the books by author J.K. Rowling, who serves as an executive producer on the series. Multiple seasons of the show are planned, with each one bringing the Harry Potter characters on new adventures. It will stream exclusively on HBO Max.

Francesca Gardiner serves as the showrunner and executive producer on the series, while Mark Mylod will direct several episodes and also executive produce. They both say they’re delighted to have found the young actors to play Harry, Hermione and Ron.

“After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron,” they said in a statement. “The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.”

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Disney recently shared release information for a couple of highly anticipated movies. The Dog Stars, a 20th Century Studios project, is a post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. It’s due to hit screens in March 2026 and will star Saltburn‘s Jacob Elordi. And Avatar fans can rejoice: the newest film in the series, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is set for release on Dec. 19, a few months after the Oct. 3 rerelease of 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water …

Prime Video has announced there will not be a fourth season of its action-adventure fantasy series The Wheel of Time. Deadline reports the decision not to move forward came after “lengthy deliberations” and as a result of financial issues. The Wheel of Time is a TV adaptation of the book of the same name, starring Rosamund Pike …

Paramount Global and Advent Allen Entertainment plan to bring a Top Gun experience to the Las Vegas Strip. Based on the iconic Tom Cruise films, the new experience is described as an “adrenaline-charged, immersive” theme park that will combine “daring rides” and “cinematic storytelling.” The venture will include fighter jet stimulators, immersive technology and a reimagining of Top Gun: Maverick‘s Hard Deck bar and restaurant with live piano sing-alongs …

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Move over Barbenheimer, it’s time for Lilo & Stich-ible.

Lilo & Stitch teamed up with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to produce the largest Memorial Day weekend at the box office of all time.

Disney’s live action remake of its 2002 animated film was the weekend’s #1 film, bringing in an estimated total of $183 million in its first week, according to Box Office Mojo. Meanwhile, the eighth entry in the Tom Cruise-starring spy series came in second with an estimated $77 million debut.

The top five also included Final Destination: Bloodlines at #3 with $24.5 million, Thunderbolts* at #4 with $11.6 million and Sinners at #5 with $11.23 million.

All that and more added up to a total box office haul of a history-making $322 million across the holiday weekend, Variety reports. It beats the previous best Memorial Day weekend gross set in 2013, when a slate including Fast & Furious 6, The Hangover Part III and Star Trek into Darkness brought in $314 million.

Here are the top 10 films at the box office:

1. Lilo & Stitch – $183 million
2. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – $77 million
3. Final Destination: Bloodlines – $24.5 million
4. Thunderbolts* – $11.6 million
5. Sinners – $11.23 million
6. The Last Rodeo – $6.267 million
7. Friendship – $5.736 million
8. A Minecraft Movie – $2.851 million
9. The Accountant 2 – $2.548 million
10. Hurry Up Tomorrow – $931,000

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Duck Dynasty star and patriarch Phil Robertson has died, his family confirmed.

The reality star and businessman, who starred on the popular A&E series from 2012 to 2017, was 79.

“We celebrate today that our father, husband, and grandfather, Phil Robertson, is now with the Lord,” Robertson’s family said in a statement Sunday, which was also shared to several family members’ social media pages. “He reminded us often of the words of Paul, that we ‘do not grieve like those who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.'”

“Thank you for the love and prayers of so many whose lives have been impacted by his life saved by grace, by his bold faith, and by his desire to tell everyone who would listen the Good News of Jesus,” the statement continued. “We are grateful for his life on earth and will continue the legacy of love for God and love for others until we see him again.”

Robertson’s family announced in December 2024 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, among other health issues.

Duck Dynasty followed the family-owned Duck Commander business, which Robertson founded in 1972, as well as the day-to-day lives of the family’s members.

Robertson previously came under fire for comments he made about homosexuality in an interview with GQ in 2013 — for which he was briefly suspended from the show before A&E reversed the decision days later — as well as his controversial remarks at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference.

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Barry Keoghan is speaking candidly about his struggle with drug addiction. 

The Saltburn star, 32, revealed in a recent interview with Hollywood Authentic he is aware of and accepting of his sobriety struggle.

“I’m not in denial anymore. I understand that I do have an addiction, and I am an addict,” Keoghan told the outlet. “You know, when you accept that, you finally can move on, and learn to work with it.”

During the conversation, which also included details about his “tough” upbringing in Dublin, Keoghan admitted that although he lost both parents to drug addiction, it was hard for him to keep clean. 

“My father passed away as a result of [something] similar and I lost my mum to it. I’ve lost two uncles and a cousin to drugs. That should be enough to go, ‘OK, if I dabble here, I’m f*****,'” he said. “But your curiosity is a powerful thing. Sometimes it’s beneficial, and sometimes it’s detrimental. For me, it was detrimental.” 

Keoghan said “even my own son coming into this world” didn’t stop his curiosity and that being part of the Hollywood lifestyle provided “an enormous amount of pressure.”

During the interview, Keoghan pulled up his sleeves to reveal marks on his arms from drug-induced injuries.

“I’ve got scars here to literally prove it,” he said. “They’re a result of using.”

Keoghan noted, “I’m at peace now, and responsible for everything that I do. I’m accepting. I’m present. I’m content. I’m a father.”

“I feel like I’ve arrived,” he added. “I [apologize], too, mainly to myself more than anything else for all the pain I’ve put people and myself through.”

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