Entertainment

A first look at the new trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King debuted exclusively on Good Morning America on Friday.

The highly anticipated Barry Jenkins-directed film, arriving in theaters Dec. 20, is a prequel to 2019’s The Lion King.

The exclusive first-look opens with Rafiki telling a story about two brothers: Mufasa and Taka, and how they embarked on a journey to find a new home and start a new kingdom.

The clip shares a glimpse of the adventure the brothers go on and the characters they meet, including Zazu and Sarabi, Mufasa’s future mate and Simba’s mother in the 2019 film.

According to a synopsis for the film, Rafiki tells the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala.

“Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka — the heir to a royal bloodline,” the synopsis reads.

“The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny — their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.”

The new look at the film comes after Walt Disney Studios released the official trailer for the film in August.

The star-studded cast for Mufasa includes Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Blue Ivy Carter, Donald Glover, Mads Mikkelsen, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and Anika Noni Rose.

Mufasa: The Lion King is set to release in theaters on Dec 20.

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

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Lucasfilm is reportedly teaming up with X-Men writer/producer Simon Kinberg on a new Star Wars trilogy. Deadline hears the films will be comprised of episodes 10 through 12 of The Skywalker Saga that began with George Lucas‘ eponymous 1977 film. However, insiders have disputed that, saying Kinberg will begin a new saga, alongside other Star Wars projects in the works from James Mangold, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Taika Waititi and Donald Glover. Lucasfilm is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News …

CBS has given full season orders to the prequel spin-off NCIS: Origins and the comedy Poppa’s House, the network announced on Thursday. NCIS: Origins centers on the younger version of Mark Harmon‘s character Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Austin Stowell. Poppa’s House stars Damon Wayans as as “legendary talk radio host and happily divorced ‘Poppa’ who has his point of view challenged … when a new female co-host is hired, and at home where he finds himself still parenting his adult son (Damon Wayans Jr.), a brilliant dreamer who is trying to pursue his passion while being a responsible father and husband.” Poppa’s House airs Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET, followed by NCIS: Origins at 10 p.m. ET …

Bravo has dropped a new trailer for season 14 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which finds Kyle Richards, Garcelle Beauvais, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley and Sutton Stracke all returning, with new housewife Bozoma Saint John. Kathy Hilton also returns in her friend role, with Jennifer Tilly joining as a new friend. Camille Grammer, Faye Resnick and interior designer Martyn Bullard will all appear throughout the season. Season 14 of RHOBH premieres Nov. 19 … (Trailer contains censored profanity.)

The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Lola Tung, Grotesquerie’s Nicholas Alexander Chavez, The Walking Dead‘s Austin Nichols and model/musician Gabbriette have been tapped to complete the cast of Sony Pictures’ I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel, according to Deadline. They join Freddie Prinze Jr., who starred in the original film, alongside Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers and Jonah Hauer-King. The film hits theaters in July 2025. I Know What You Did Last Summer, which starred Jennifer Love Hewitt, Prinze, Prinze’s now-wife Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe, followed a group of friends stalked by a hook-handed maniac after hoping to hide a tragic accident …

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One of the biggest shows on TV finally makes its anticipated return on Paramount Network on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. ET, when Yellowstone rides on. 

The show had been on a nearly two-year hiatus, and after rumored static between producers and lead Kevin Costner — which he denies — and the dual Hollywood strikes, the drama’s stars tell ABC Audio they were eager to get back in the saddle. 

“[F]or us to go back to work, it felt like we had a gift in our hands,” expresses Kelly Reilly, who plays fiery Beth Dutton. “We wanted to make it as special and to be a gratitude to be back in work, and to be back together with each other, with this crew in this beautiful landscape. You don’t want to take that for granted. And this year especially, we felt that.”

Luke Grimes, who plays Beth’s brother Kacee agreed, saying, ” … [C]oming back from the long break, you know, everyone was super excited, but also knowing that this is the end, and this is the last season, sort of gave it some weight that it didn’t have in seasons past.”

Cole Hauser, who plays Beth’s husband Rip Wheeler, is grateful Rip and Beth have such a loyal fanbase — some of whom have named their baby boys Rip in his honor. “[A]s an actor, your intention is to affect people,” he says. “And certainly I believe that Kelly and I have done that.”

Kelsey Asbille, who portrays Kacee’s wife Monica Dutton, teases fans of the remaining episodes, “I think we we set out to accomplish what we did in season one, which is really [discovering] what the Dutton legacy means.”

Hauser says of the story’s conclusion, “It’s not what you expect.”

“And even when you think you know what’s happening, you don’t,” Reilly continues. 

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As a guy who spent years trying to get Deadpool off the ground, Ryan Reynolds says he feels for his pal Channing Tatum, who never got the chance to play the X-Men hero Gambit onscreen — until Ryan brought him into Deadpool & Wolverine, that is.

Tatum tried to get a Gambit project off the ground before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, but his hopes were dashed when that deal went through. 

After the blockbuster success of D&W, however, it seems there’s renewed hope for Tatum’s Cajun, card-slinging, mealy mouthed mutant. 

“I honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they’re obsessed with him in that role,” Reynolds tells Entertainment Weekly‘s Awardist podcast.

Reynolds compared Tatum’s journey to his own, when the success of leaked test footage of him playing Deadpool convinced Fox to greenlight the 2016 smash hit original.

“It’s kind of like the same situation I went through,” Ryan says. “Once you show that it works well, that’s really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action. And Channing is so singular in how he plays that character. But also he’s so beautiful physically, the way he moves and the way he can pick up steps.”

As reported, Tatum remained optimistic — but realistic — regarding his future in the role. He told Collider some months back, “You never know. I mean, literally, I could never be in another Marvel movie again, and it wouldn’t surprise me because I’ve had it in my hand before, and it’s gone away.” He added, “I’m always grain-of-salting it, but I’m hoping that [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] will allow me in.”

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Real Time host Bill Maher has announced his 13th comedy special for HBO. 

Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This? debuts in January on the network and will be recorded in front of a live audience at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

The comedian and Club Random podcast host noted in the announcement, “I almost called this special You Won’t Feel Safe, because if you’re purely a team player in American politics, you won’t.”

Seemingly prescient after the results of the 2024 election, Maher added, “This one is for the 80% of Americans who want to see crazy called out no matter where it comes from. And the last twenty minutes on my sex life, that’s for everybody.”

Nina Rosenstein, HBO’s EVP of Late Night & Specials Programming, trumpeted, “Bill’s comedic commentary has been an extraordinary part of HBO for 12 specials and 22 seasons of Real Time with Bill Maher. We truly value his steadfast commitment to honesty and humor, which we know will be front and center in his next special.”

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Heritage Auctions has put on the block some priceless works of comic art, with some benefiting the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.

“Priceless” is of course not literal, seeing as bidding has already begun for original art for page 14 from The New Mutants No. 98 — otherwise known as the debut of Rob Liefeld‘s Wade Wilson/Deadpool — and bidding reached a quarter million bucks within minutes. 

The page that hit the block hasn’t been seen since it entered a private collection in the 1990s, “just as Deadpool was taking over the Marvel Universe like few characters in its storied history,” Heritage says. 

“Deadpool’s debut in New Mutants No. 98 was as much a cultural phenomenon as a page in comic book history,” says Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Todd Hignite. “For fans and collectors, this is an unparalleled opportunity to own a piece of the origin story that would eventually define a generation of comic book storytelling.”

Also up for grabs is comics legend John Romita Sr.‘s original concept art for the character Wolverine from 1974. The bids for that piece are already soaring past $105,000. A portion of the proceeds will go to hurricane relief.  

Also hitting the block is original art from another Marvel icon, Steve Ditko: The Amazing Spider-Man #8 from 1964, as well as Frank Miller and Klaus Janson‘s original art from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #2 Dark Knight Triumphant.

Many more pieces of comic book history are available as part of Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction, which officially runs from Nov. 21 to Nov. 24. Check out all the details here.

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The hit Alien: Romulus will be free to stream for Hulu subscribers on Nov. 21 and will also be available to stream via Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers.

To that end, a chilling new trailer just debuted.

The movie from director Fede Alvarez stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu and “takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its iconic roots,” according to 20th Century Studios. 

The movie centers on a group of young space salvagers who “come face-to-face with the most relentless and deadly life form in the universe.”

Alien: Romulus was Certified Fresh on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and has earned more than $315 million worldwide since its release on Aug. 16. 

20th Century Studios is a division of Disney, the parent company of ABC News. 

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On Thursday, Paramount+ dropped the trailer to Dear Santa, the Christmas family comedy starring Jack Black and brought to you by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the siblings behind the smash hits Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary. 

As reported, the film centers on a boy named Liam (Robert Timothy Smith) who writes to Santa for proof he exists, but, as the trailer narrates, “Liam is a crappy speller.”

To that end, his letter addressed instead to “Satan” finds its way due south of the North Pole — and the other guy in red shows up, to Liam’s surprise.

“Who did you expect?” Black says as the other guy, complete with horns on his head. “In the movies the reindeer has usually have the antlers, not you,” Liam replies.

Black’s character offers Liam three wishes in exchange for his soul — a bargain he insists genies “stole” from him. “You ain’t never had a friend like me!” Black growls happily, adding, “OK, that I may have stolen from Aladdin: Now we’re even.” 

However, Liam proves “incorruptible,” even when Satan grants him riches and a bro hug from Post Malone, playing himself.

Along the way, Liam tries to get the Devil to break good: “What about doing something out of kindness?” he offers. “I don’t know what you just said — I mean I know all the words, but I just never heard them in that order,” Black retorts. 

Dear Santa hits Paramount+ for free, and digital platforms for rent or purchase, on Nov. 25.

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Joan Vassos‘ suitors reunited on Wednesday night for a heartfelt “Men Tell All” episode of the Golden Bachelorette.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the men reminisced about their journey on the show in front of an audience and revisited some of the hilarious memories they shared.

“The bromance here was just absolutely unbelievable,” Gary said about the group of men.  Host Jesse Palmer also highlighted how the men supported each other despite the fact they were all vying for the heart of Vassos.

The audience was moved to tears when Jonathan, the 61-year-old shipping consultant from Oakland, Iowa, read a sweet message that Mark left him one morning on a post-it note.

Fan favorite Charles L. also spoke about the friendship he has with all the men and how the The Golden Bachelorette experience has given him the confidence to start dating again.

“I was worried [about] what my daughters would think about me, to date again … and also I was not sure what my relatives would think about me [dating] due to my cultural background,” he said. “But the support I received, the love I received from my daughters and my family and relatives — that worry is gone.”

An audience member then suggested that Charles should be the next “Golden Bachelor.”

After Pascal‘s dramatic exit in last week’s episode, the 69-year-old salon owner from Chicago, Illinois, took the hot seat to discuss his “difficult decision” to say goodbye to her in Tahiti.

“I hope I didn’t hurt her,” Pascal said, adding, “She’s a wonderful woman and now I’m watching and I see her say that she’s not worthy of love — she’s totally wrong. I think she is worthy of love, I just wasn’t able to give her what she was looking for at the time.”

When it finally came time to talk to Vassos, Pascal said he hoped him leaving the show led to Vassos finding the right person. She said she has no hard feelings towards him, and that she wants “nothing but the best” for him.

Vassos also told all the men that she wanted to remain friends with them.

Next week, we’ll see how Vassos’ journey as the Golden Bachelorette ends in part two of the season finale, as she heads to Bora Bora with Chock and Guy.

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Samuel L. Jackson is set to star alongside singer/actress Andra Day and Emilia Perez actor Edgar Ramirez in the action comedy The Honest Liar, according to Deadline. Jackson will play “an award-winning actor tasked with teaching rookie undercover cops how to act like criminals so they can save their own lives when on the job,” per the outlet. Filming is set to start in early 2025 …

Squid Game breakout actress Hoyeon has been tapped to star opposite The Gentlemen‘s Theo James in The Hole, according to Variety. The story follows James as “a successful professor living abroad in South Korea, who is bedridden after a devastating car accident that killed his wife,” played by Hoyeon, per the entertainment publication. His Korean mother-in-law steps in to care for him, but his road to recovery is threatened when she learns the devastating truth behind Owen and his marriage to Sandy …

Get Out‘s Lil Rel Howery is set to direct the comedy-horror film Haunted Heist, in which he’ll star opposite Girls Trip‘s Tiffany Haddish, according to Deadline. The movie follows “four estranged friends” who “reunite at what appears to be a typical house,” though one is really there to steal an antique worth a fortune and needs the others’ help, per the outlet. They have bigger problems, however, as the house ends up being “straight up haunted” …

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