Geek News February 15, 2024: Director Todd Phillips Shares New ‘Joker: Folie á Deux’ Pics of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, ‘Umbrella Academy’ Returns in August

Joker director Todd Phillips shared behind-the-scenes photos on social media of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie á Deux. Phoenix reprises his role as Joker and Gaga plays Harley Quinn in the psychological thriller with musical tendencies.

2019's Joker won Oscars for Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) and Best Original Score. According to Entertainment Weekly, “[Joker: Folie á Deux] is expected contain musical elements as it chronicles Joker's romance with a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, with paparazzi photos from the movie's production in New York City glimpsing Gaga going full clown with a wild face of smudged makeup worn atop a crimson blazer and a checkered bodice reminiscent of the outfit worn by Harley Quinn in DC releases.”

Phillips posted a carousel of three photos of Phoenix and Gaga from Joker: Folie á Deux on Instagram yesterday. The caption reads, “Hoping your day is full of love.”

Joker: Folie á Deux dances its way into theaters October 4.

Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Returns for Its Fourth and Final Season in August

Netflix's The Umbrella Academy will premiere its fourth and final season on August 8. The series about a group of adopted sibling superheroes stars Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, and Aidan Gallagher.

“[It’s] really, really packed with classic Umbrella Academy family nonsense and shenanigans that you look forward to,” said Emmy Raver-Lampman, who plays Allison Hargreeves, to Tudum by Netflix. “There’s some unbelievable new characters and villains that are super exciting.” David Castañeda, who plays Diego Hargreeves, described season four as his “favorite season.”

The official description of The Umbrella Academy Season Four reads: “Based on the comic series of the same name by Gerard Way, The Umbrella Academy premiered in 2019 and follows a group of estranged siblings with superpowers who are reunited after the death of their father.

“Last season ended with a major twist: There’s a new timeline dictated by the family patriarch, Reginald (Colm Feore), and the siblings no longer have their powers. That’s not the only oddity in this timeline, where the stakes are higher than ever before — there are new enemies who want to see them wiped from existence, but how do they face them without their powers? And will the siblings ever get them back?”

Seasons one to three of The Umbrella Academy are available to binge-watch on Netflix.

Rod Stewart Sells Song Catalog for Nearly $100 Million

Tonight's the night that rock legend Rod Stewart sells his song catalog in a deal worth nearly $100 million. The “Maggie May” singer sold his interests in his recordings and publishing catalog to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Stewart boasts a catalog that includes 10 number-1 albums, and he has charted 6 consecutive decades with studio albums that sold more than 1 million copies each. The rights he sold span his solo career as well as his time as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group.”

“Irving and I are a couple of old-timers and I believe we have a mutual respect and admiration for each other,” Stewart said to the WSJ about Azoff. “My life’s work is in safe hands with him.” Iconic Artists Group also owns catalogs of the Beach Boys, Cher, Dean Martin, David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt, and others.

Stewart's 32nd studio album, Swing Fever, drops on February 23.

Oscar Nominee Lily Gladstone Working on ‘The Unknown Country’ Sequel and a Doc About Buffalo Restoration

Killers of the Flower Moon Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone has two projects lined up that expand Indigenous representation in Hollywood. Gladstone narrated and executive produced the documentary Bring Them Home about restoring buffalo on the Blackfeet Reservation. Gladstone also executive produced and played a supporting part in Jazzy, the sequel to The Unknown Country.

“Bring Them Home highlights a crucial story of survival; of Iinnii, our buffalo, of Blackfoot people and our culture, and of the very land which we call home,” Gladstone said in a press statement published by IndieWire. “Like the buffalo, our land does not acknowledge fences, and nor does our changing climate. For the Blackfeet, survival of the buffalo has always been intrinsically connected to our survival as people — the revitalization of this knowledge is essential for not just us, but for all of us who share this planet, and who work to nurture hope for our collective future.”

In 2023, Gladstone won a Gotham Award for her portrayal of Tana, a grief-stricken woman who embarks on a road trip across America. In the sequel, Jazzy, Gladstone plays a supporting role. “One of the greatest gifts of making The Unknown Country with Morrisa Maltz was meeting the Bearkiller-Shangreaux family, and witnessing the unbridled, exuberant creative energy that Jasmine brings into every corner of her young life,” Gladstone said in a press statement. “Her gregarious confidence lent itself to the effortless story construction and improvisation that made the scenes work, and made all of us, who were relatively strangers, feel like immediate family.”

Bring Them Home premieres at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival on February 24 in Missoula, Montana. See if Gladstone wins a Best Actress Oscar when the Academy Awards air on March 10.

Sam Neill Plays a Man Accused of His Wife’s Disappearance on Peacock’s ‘Apples Never Fall’

Sam Neill and Oscar nominee Annette Bening seem a picture-perfect couple until she disappears and he comes under suspicion on the Peacock series Apples Never Fall. The mystery-drama based on Liane Moriarty's novel of the same name also stars Alison Brie, Jake Lacy, and Georgia Flood.

The official synopsis published on IndieWire reads: “Former tennis coaches Stan (Sam Neill) and Joy (Annette Bening) Delaney have sold their successful tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. While they look forward to spending time with their four adult children (Jake Lacy, Alison Brie, Conor Merrigan-Turner, Essie Randles), everything changes when a wounded young woman knocks on Joy and Stan’s door, bringing the excitement they’ve been missing. But when Joy suddenly disappears, her children are forced to reexamine their parents’ so-called perfect marriage as their family’s darkest secrets begin to surface.”

Apples Never Fall premieres March 14 on Peacock. Click here to watch the trailer.

Original ‘Repo Man’ Director Returns for ‘Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer’ Sequel

Repo Man director Alex Cox returns 40 years later for a sequel to the sci-fi black comedy titled Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer. Kiowa Gordon will play Otto, a character played by Emilio Estevez in the 1984 cult classic.

Cox — who wrote and directed Repo Man 2 — told IndieWire that the sequel takes place in a world of self-driving cars and an even more urgent threat of global destruction. “The advent of incredible technology means, for the repo man, that everything has changed — and nothing has changed,” said Cox.

According to IndieWire, “The new movie picks up closely after the events of the 1984 original. Having tracked down the mysterious 1967 Malibu from the original film, a car connected to a recent alien sighting and carrying a toxic substance in its trunk capable of disintegrating anyone who looks inside, Otto has driven off into the infinities of space and time. But although the world around him has flashed forward into the present day it’s as if no time has passed for him at all.” This explains why Kiowa Gordon will play Otto, since 61-year-old Estevez would have trouble convincing audiences that “no time has passed” since 1984 without expensive de-aging effects.

“Otto used to spend all night cruising around bad neighborhoods looking for cars. Now he spends all night on the internet doing the same thing,” said Cox. “Instead of hot-wiring the vehicle, Otto takes control of the onboard computers and directs it to the repo yard, or the sheriff’s substation. Yet this is not enough for Otto, who has only aged by 90 minutes in the last 40 years. He yearns for past simplicities: beer, booty, and no nuclear war.”

Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer has not yet started production. According to IndieWire, the director “will present the project to buyers at the upcoming European Film Market during the Berlin Film Festival in hopes of securing some presale funding to get it made.”

‘Evil' Will End After Season Four on Paramount+

The world is getting a little less Evil soon. The Paramount+ supernatural series starring Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi will end with its upcoming fourth season.

The official Evil description reads: “Evil is a psychological mystery that examines the origins of evil along the dividing line between science and religion. The series focuses on a skeptical female psychologist who joins a priest in training and a contractor as they investigate the Church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries, including supposed miracles, demonic possessions, and hauntings. Their job is to assess if there is a logical explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work.”

According to Variety, “New episodes of the series will debut in May, with Paramount+ also ordering four bonus episodes to supplement the season. Production will begin on the new episodes in New York City in the coming weeks.”

“Robert and Michelle King created a unique and deeply entertaining way of exploring the intersection of religion and science,” said Jeff Grossman, executive vice president of programming at Paramount+. “We thank Robert, Michelle and the immensely talented cast and crew of Evil and are incredibly proud of their collective work on the series. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for these characters, in what is sure to be a nail-biting, wild ride of a final season.”

Click here to watch a teaser trailer for the fourth and final season of Evil.

‘Greenland' Sequel Starring Gerard Butler Finally Gets a Start Date

The sequel to the apocalyptic disaster movie Greenland starring Gerard Butler will reportedly start production in April. Titled Greenland: Migration, the Ric Roman Waugh-directed sequel will also feature Morena Baccarin reprising her role from the 2020 movie.

According to Variety, “In Greenland, Butler stars as John Garrity, a structural engineer who attempts to flee Atlanta along with his wife Allison (played by Baccarin) and diabetic son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd) after a comet threatens to destroy the planet. After John, Allison, and Nathan are separated, the family struggles to reunite while fragments of the comet rain down on Earth, threatening an extinction-level event.

“In the sequel, which is set after the comet has decimated Earth, the Garrity family are forced to embark on a perilous journey across what’s left of Europe to find a new home.”

The original Greenland garnered decent reviews and made $52.3 million worldwide against a $35 million budget, which isn't bad considering it got released in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘The Sympathizer' Trailer: Robert Downey Jr. Plays Several Supporting Roles on the HBO Limited Series

HBO dropped a new trailer for the limited series The Sympathizer starring Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, Sandra Oh, and Robert Downey Jr., the latter of whom plays several supporting roles and serves as executive producer. The satirical spy thriller is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Sympathizer “follows the Captain (Hoa Xuande), a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy through the final days of the Vietnam War and in his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.”

The Sympathizer premieres April 14 on HBO. Click here to watch the new trailer.

‘Terminator' Actress Linda Hamilton Owns Her ‘Badass' Sci-Fi Queen Status

We have known that Terminator actress Linda Hamilton is a badass sci-fi queen for decades, but it's nice to hear her own it. Hamilton played “Mother of the Future” cyborg slayer Sarah Connor in The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Terminator: Dark Fate (pictured). Hamilton currently plays General McCallister on Syfy's Resident Alien and will appear on the final season of Stranger Things.

“We hear things as actors like, ‘Oh, you taught me that I can be strong,’ and it’s lovely to have heard that for years, but I don’t necessarily feel strong all the time,” said Hamilton to Yahoo Entertainment. “I don’t think any actor goes, ‘This is how it’s going to unfold.' Did I see myself as an action star? No. Or the tough woman? No. I was going to be a Shakespearean actress.” Hamilton says that “pride, jealousy, greed, and power” are quintessential Shakespearean tropes, which is what attracts her to the sci-fi genre.

Hamilton continued, “It was only after I finished Terminator: Dark Fate, or was halfway through, that I woke up one day and went, ‘I’m a badass!’ You see, there’s a difference between acting like a badass and being a badass. It was never something that came natural to me. I don’t assign to myself what other people see, but after getting through that — the physical hardships, my age, the constant stress of the character for months on end — only then did I realize that I’m a badass.”

In addition to her roles on Stranger Things and Resident Alien, Hamilton will appear in the sci-fi movie Osiris. “I’m having a good time,” said Hamilton. “Sci-fi has come so far in the last 30-something years. It used to be all about dragons and things, but now it’s just so rich, so much smarter than it was.”

Alan Cumming Has a Theory Why a ‘Romy and Michele's High School Reunion' Sequel Is Taking So Long

Alan Cumming has a theory why a sequel to 1997's Romy and Michele's High School Reunion has taken so long. In the movie, the actor plays Sandy Frink, who has carried a flame for Michele (Lisa Kudrow) since high school.

Mira Sorvino, who plays Romy, confirmed that a sequel to Romy and Michele's High School Reunion is in the works. The cult classic stars Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow as the titular women who exaggerate their success to impress former classmates at their high school reunion.

“Yes, it seems like it’s finally… they’re doing deals and there’s no script yet,” said Cumming to Deadline. “There’s no script yet but it seems like it’s actually… an ongoing situation rather than not.”

He continued, “My theory is that because they’re two women. If they were two men this would’ve been our fifth sequel by now. I think the misogyny in Hollywood is huge. I think it’s just taken changes in society and also these many decades for it to happen. So now, I guess it’ll be Romy and Michele’s 40th High School Reunion.”

At the end of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Sandy and Michele end up together. Where does Cumming think they are today? “I hope they’re still together,” he said. “I think that’s what’s great about when you come back to characters, there’s got to be some surprises and things like that.”

Anya Taylor-Joy Goes Full Arrakis at the London Premiere of ‘Dune: Part Two' To Announce Her Part in the Sequel

Anya Taylor-Joy went full Arrakis desert chic at the London premiere of Dune: Part Two to confirm that she has a part in the sci-fi sequel directed by Denis Villeneuve. She joins a cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, and Christopher Walken.

Variety confirms that Taylor-Joy plays a major character from the franchise, although to identify said character would spoil it. In a live-streamed interview with Warner Bros. TikTok, Taylor-Joy said, “This is a dream come true. The books are incredible, but with this cast and with Denis, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

Taylor-Joy added that Dune: Part Two is “one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Genuinely, Denis has killed it.”

In an interview with Total Film, Villeneuve said, “The first movie was more meditative and contemplative. We were following a young man discovering a new planet, a new culture. The second movie… it’s more of an action film than the first part. It’s more muscular.”

Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two now featuring Anya Taylor-Joy premieres in theaters on March 1, 2024. Click here to watch the second trailer.