Tom Cruise stars in action-packed ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ teaser

Tom Cruise stars in action-packed ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ teaser
Tom Cruise stars in action-packed ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ teaser
Paramount Pictures

Tom Cruise is ready for one last adventure in the action-packed teaser for the aptly titled Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Our first look at the forthcoming film, the eighth in the popular franchise, features Cruise’s Ethan Hunt exploring the wreckage of a submarine, hanging off the side of a biplane for dear life and, of course, lots of running.

“Our lives are the sum of our choices,” Ving Rhames‘ Luther says in the clip.

There are also flashbacks to the 1999 original Mission: Impossible and that iconic scene that saw Hunt suspended over an alarm-rigged floor.

Plot details are thin at this point, but Ethan is reminded in the teaser that “the fate of every living soul on earth is your responsibility” as he races against villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) in the hunt for a dangerous AI program known as The Entity.

The film stars returning Mission: Impossible cast members Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Angela Bassett, Henry Czerny and Shea Whigham.

Newcomers include Hannah Waddingham, Nick Offerman, Janet McTeer and Holt McCallany.

Cruise also co-produces alongside director Christopher McQuarrie, a frequent collaborator and director of three previous Mission: Impossible films.

When he started working on Final Reckoning, Offerman joked to ABC Audio about his character and Cruise’s, “I kill him, I kill his character.”

On a serious note, he called the project “astonishing,” adding, “Chris McQuarrie … said, ‘The way we make these movies is we jump out of a plane and then we start sewing a parachute as we fall and hope that we’ll land on our feet.’ And it really has that feeling; like, it’s really intense.”  

The film hits theaters May 23.

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‘Yellowstone’ reveals fate of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton after actor’s exit

‘Yellowstone’ reveals fate of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton after actor’s exit
‘Yellowstone’ reveals fate of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton after actor’s exit
Paramount Network

Yellowstone wasted no time revealing the fate of Kevin Costner‘s character, John Dutton, as season 5 continued Sunday night.

During the premiere episode for the back half of the show’s fifth season — the first new episode in nearly two years — it was confirmed early on that Costner’s John Dutton, the central patriarch figure of the show, was dead.

How did John die? A gun was found next to his blood-splattered body at his Montana ranch. While initially believed to have been a suicide, it was later revealed via a flashback that John was murdered.

Turns out Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) orchestrated a hit on John and for it to be staged as a suicide, a plan she and Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) had previously cooked up.

Jamie — who had been going hard against his father in the first half of season 5 — was tearful about John’s death before Sarah told him it was her doing, and he seemed shocked that she’d gone through with it.

John’s death and how it happened have drawn a line in the sand between Jamie and his siblings, Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), who have their sights set on him moving forward.

Following some behind-the-scenes drama on the series, Costner revealed in a social media post in June that he wouldn’t be returning to Yellowstone for “season 5B or into the future.”

“It was something that really changed me. I loved it and I know you loved it,” Costner said of the show. “I just want to let you know that I won’t be returning. I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies.”

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Dwayne Johnson says his daughters ‘see themselves’ in Moana, talks Maui’s new song

Dwayne Johnson says his daughters ‘see themselves’ in Moana, talks Maui’s new song
Dwayne Johnson says his daughters ‘see themselves’ in Moana, talks Maui’s new song
GMA

Critics and audiences alike will eventually weigh in on Moana 2 — but for Dwayne Johnson, the opinions that matter most are those of his daughters.

The self-proclaimed “proud girl dad” stopped by Good Morning America on Monday to tease the upcoming sequel, in which he plays the demigod Maui, and shared what the title character means to his girls.

“I think for these girls, my daughters, who see themselves in Moana because they are girls of color, really one of the beauties of Moana is little boys, little girls of all colors around the world can see themselves in these characters,” Johnson said.

The actor said his two youngest, Jasmine, 8, and Tiana, 6, gave the film’s trailer their nod of approval at D23 earlier this year but said they wanted to wait and see the movie at its premiere in Hawaii.

“This one is special to them, so I can’t wait to show it to them,” he gushed.

Johnson also opened up more about his character’s new song in the highly anticipated sequel, “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?,” which follows Maui’s iconic “You’re Welcome” tune from the first film.

“When Lin-Manuel [Miranda] wrote the first song, he thought, ‘Oh, it’s perfect for this character, Maui, to say, ‘You’re welcome. You’re welcome,'” he explained. “But in this case, our female writers [Abigail] Barlow and [Emily] Bear … took this idea of female empowerment and what that means and how important that is for Maui, the demigod Maui himself, to not sing about himself but more so take Moana and tell her, ‘You can do this.'”

Johnson said the song is “crazy” and “there’s a lot of different places it goes to.”

Moana 2 sets sail in theaters on Nov. 27.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Good Morning America.

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Florence Pugh leads ragtag superhero crew in ‘Thunderbolts*’ special look

Florence Pugh leads ragtag superhero crew in ‘Thunderbolts*’ special look
Florence Pugh leads ragtag superhero crew in ‘Thunderbolts*’ special look
Marvel Studios

A special look at Thunderbolts* has arrived.

The new teaser, featuring Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Belova leading a ragtag crew of superheroes, was first shown at D23 Brazil in São Paulo on Saturday, where David Harbour debuted the new look.

The clip begins with a humorous scene of Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian driving Pugh and the team of heroes around in a low-speed chase where they are threatened by a convoy. The crew is eventually saved by Sebastian Stan‘s Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier before Stan fires at the group himself.

After Stan’s heroics, the clip shows the group convening with Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the shadowy CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who assembles the team for a contentious meeting. The group spends the duration of the action-packed special look completing high-intensity tasks like blowing up glass skyscrapers.

The gang of former baddies from various MCU projects includes Hannah John-Kamen‘s Ava Starr/Ghost, Olga Kurylenko‘s Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster and Wyatt Russell‘s John Walker/U.S. Agent.

The special look comes after Marvel Studios released an action-packed teaser for Thunderbolts* in September, showing how the group comes together at the behest of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Pugh shared a behind-the-scenes video from the film’s set in March.

“We’re having an amazing time, and I can’t wait for you to see what we’ve made!” she said in the clip.

Thunderbolts* is slated to release in theaters on May 2.

Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News and Good Morning America.

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‘Captain America: Brave New World’ gets official trailer: Watch here

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ gets official trailer: Watch here
‘Captain America: Brave New World’ gets official trailer: Watch here
Eli Adé/Marvel Studios

The official trailer for Captain America: Brave New World is here.

The trailer — the latest look at Anthony Mackie‘s first film outing as the new Captain America — was first shown at D23 Brazil in São Paulo on Saturday, where Mackie and Danny Ramirez, who plays Falcon, greeted fans.

The brand-new trailer gives a preview of Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America and his dealings with Harrison Ford‘s President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.

When America comes under terrorist attack, Ford looks to use Mackie as Captain America to his advantage before the pair butts heads in their approach.

The trailer hits a climax when Mackie discovers the plot against the country is not what it seems and he is placed under arrest. “Someone’s been pulling the strings on everything,” Mackie says.

At the conclusion of the trailer, Ford, now fully transformed into the Red Hulk, battles Captain America in a flaming fight commenced by Mackie screaming, “You want me? Come and get me!”

The teaser trailer for Captain America: Brave New World was released in July, showing a tense dynamic between Mackie’s star-spangled hero and Ford’s President Ross, the former Hulk-hunting general played by the late William Hurt.

In addition to featuring returning MCU figures like Carl Lumbly‘s Isaiah Bradley and Tim Blake‘s Samuel Sterns, it also introduced a baddie played by Giancarlo Esposito and the newest Falcon, Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres.

The teaser also gave a blink-and-you-miss-it first look at Ross’ alter ego, Red Hulk, tossing Captain America’s adamantium shield with ease.

Captain America: Brave New World is directed by Julius Onah and opens in theaters on Feb. 14.

Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News and Good Morning America.

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‘Wicked’ Broadway stars Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth pose with film’s stars at LA premiere

‘Wicked’ Broadway stars Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth pose with film’s stars at LA premiere
‘Wicked’ Broadway stars Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth pose with film’s stars at LA premiere
Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Broadway Wicked is meeting present-day film Wicked.

Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth — stars from the original Broadway cast — joined Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked on Saturday.

The group of four posed together on the carpet, locking arms with the present stars tucked in between the stars of the 2003 Broadway musical. The Wicked film stars Grande and Erivo in the lead roles of Glinda and Elphaba, respectively.

“I watched it with our ‘Wicked’ family and I bawled the entire time,” Chenoweth, who played Glinda in the original Broadway production, said in a clip posted on the Wicked account’s Instagram Story.

“I was so proud of her. She killed it,” Chenoweth said of Grande. “And Cynthia, we knew she was going to be powerful but the warmth and heart she brings to it. Just like Idina, it was perfect.”

Along with Grande and Erivo, Wicked stars Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessarose and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz.

Wicked: Part One hits theaters on Nov. 22. Wicked: Part Two is slated to arrive in theaters on Nov. 21, 2025.

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In brief: ‘Andor’ gets season 2 premiere date and more

In brief: ‘Andor’ gets season 2 premiere date and more
In brief: ‘Andor’ gets season 2 premiere date and more

Disney+ has set April 22 as the premiere date for season 2 of its Star Wars series spinoff Andor, according to Variety. The series follows Diego Luna‘s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story character Cassian Andor, and his early days with the Rebellion against the evil Galactic Empire. Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Fiona Shaw, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis also star. The 12-episode second season will take place over four years split into three-episode pods, with each pod covering a few consecutive days in each successive year before the events of Rogue One, per the outlet. Disney is the parent company of ABC News …

Actress/singer Andra Day has been tapped to play Athena in season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, according to Variety. Season 2 is based on The Sea of Monsters, the second installment in Rick Riordan‘s acclaimed book series. Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, is one of the most important Olympian characters in the Percy Jackson books. Day joins fellow newcomer Tamara Smart, and series regulars Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell, Dior Goodjohn and Daniel Diemer. Disney is the parent company of ABC News …

Tony Todd, the actor best known for starring in the Candyman and Final Destination horror franchises, died peacefully at his home in Marina Del Rey on November 6, his rep Jeffrey Goldberg tells ABC News affiliate KABC-TV. He was 69. A cause of death was not given. Todd’s other credits include Night of the Living Dead, The Rock and The Crow. He also played Kurn in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Alpha Hirogen in Star Trek: Voyager

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Regina Hall narrates A&E doc ‘Cold Case Files: The Grim Sleeper,’ shares thoughts on ‘Scary Movie’ return

Regina Hall narrates A&E doc ‘Cold Case Files: The Grim Sleeper,’ shares thoughts on ‘Scary Movie’ return
Regina Hall narrates A&E doc ‘Cold Case Files: The Grim Sleeper,’ shares thoughts on ‘Scary Movie’ return
Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage

Cold Case Files: The Grim Sleeper is coming to A&E Friday at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, centering on serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr., who preyed on, raped, strangled and shot many woman in South Central LA for over 20 years. It’s a story Regina Hall was unaware of until she considered narrating the two-part doc.

“It definitely did draw me in. As a woman, a black woman watching those families who lost loved ones,” she tells TV Insider. The doc details how he was finally caught, tried, convicted and sentenced on first-degree murder and attempted murder charges. It also puts a spotlight on the victims.

“To see the victims humanized beyond just being addicts or prostitutes … I loved what A&E did because it gave a great picture of these victims as human beings, as mothers, daughters, and sisters. Seeing the pain those loved ones were left with,” Regina says.

She notes “it was powerful” to narrate the doc “because the story has an insane amount of gravity” and says she “wanted to do it justice because of the people involved.”

With her own production company and a deal with MGM Alternative, Regina says she’s looking to explore and produce more true crime stories “because it is a space that I’ve been interested in and watched.”

With another Scary Movie just announced, Regina, who appeared in the films as Brenda Cooks, says she’s excited to see the Wayans at the helm again.

“We’ll see if Brenda is in this new world,” she adds. “I’m thrilled at the possibility that the band could get back together again. That would be fun.”

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James Van Der Beek opens up about Stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis

James Van Der Beek opens up about Stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis
James Van Der Beek opens up about Stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images

James Van Der Beek is opening up about his cancer diagnosis, days after revealing he was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer.

The Dawson’s Creek star sat down for a new interview with People and discussed the journey he and his family have been on in the last year.

“What do you do when you’re staring down a Stage 3 diagnosis? This has been a crash course in [the] mastery of mind, body [and] spirit,” he said.

The 47-year-old recalled going in for a colonoscopy in August 2023 after experiencing some symptoms.

“The gastroenterologist said, in his most pleasant bedside manner, ‘It is cancer.’ And I think I went into shock,” Van Der Beek said.

Van Der Beek said he went in for additional scans, which confirmed he had Stage 3 cancer but also offered a bit of a silver lining.

“Found out it was still localized. It had not spread, but it was Stage 3, which is not what you want to hear,” he said.

Van Der Beek said his cancer diagnosis ushered in a new and unfamiliar chapter.

“And thus began, the full-time job of having cancer, signing up for all the various medical portals and getting on the phone with insurance and creating appointments … I was not prepared for just how much of a full-time job that it really is,” he continued.

Although the cancer news came as a shock, Van Der Beek said it was also a catalyst and motivating in a sense.

“I really didn’t feel like this was going to end me. I really felt like this is going to be the biggest life redirect,” he said. “I’m going to make changes that I never would have made otherwise, that I’m going to look back on in a year, five years, 30 years from now and say, ‘Thank God that happened.'”

Colorectal cancer begins in the colon or rectum, often referred to as colon or rectal cancer based on its location, according to the American Cancer Society, which added that most cases start as polyps — growths on the inner lining of these organs — that become more common with age. For that reason, regular screenings with colonoscopies can not only help detect colorectal cancer, but can help prevent it, too, since a polyp can take as many as 10 to 15 years to develop into cancer.

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Rashida Jones honors dad Quincy Jones with heartfelt tribute: ‘He was love’

Rashida Jones honors dad Quincy Jones with heartfelt tribute: ‘He was love’
Rashida Jones honors dad Quincy Jones with heartfelt tribute: ‘He was love’
Arnold Turner/Getty Images, FILE

Rashida Jones is remembering her late father, famed music producer Quincy Jones, in the wake of his death.

The Parks and Recreation alum, 48, shared a photo of her and her father from when she was a baby to Instagram on Nov. 7 and recalled a sweet memory from her childhood.

“My dad was nocturnal his whole adult life. He kept ‘jazz hours’ starting in high school and never looked back,” she began. “When I was little, I would wake up in the middle of the night to search for him. Undoubtedly, he would be somewhere in the house, composing (old school, with a pen and sheet music). He would never send me back to bed.”

“He would smile and bring me into his arms while he continued to work…there was no safer place in the world for me,” she continued.

Rashida Jones, who co-directed and co-wrote the 2018 documentary Quincy about her father, called him “a giant,” “an icon,” “a culture shifter” and “a genius,” adding that music and all he created were “a channel for his love.”

“He WAS love. He made everyone he ever met feel loved and seen. That’s his legacy,” she wrote. “I was fortunate enough to experience this love in close proximity. I’ll miss his hugs and kisses and unconditional devotion and advice.”

She added, “Daddy, it is an honor to be your daughter. Your love lives forever.”

Quincy Jones was dad to seven children during his lifetime, sharing Rashida Jones with ex-wife Peggy Lipton. He died Nov. 3 at the age of 91.

Lipton, an actress and singer, died in 2019 at the age of 72.

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