Welcome to Popped Bites, where we bring you the hottest news within the entertainment industry in bite-size pieces to get you up to speed. While movie and TV news wasn’t as hefty this week, ongoing controversy pertaining to the upcoming Academy Awards sure made up for it. Alongside all the hullabaloo over there, we got a Netflix slate for the year, and a handful of fun casting information for some exciting new projects. Here’s what’s been popping in entertainment the week of January 25-31.
Oscars Controversies — Big Trouble In Little Dolby Theater
Emilia Pérez has been quite the hot topic in conversation surrounding this years Academy Awards. The Netflix film got the most nominations out of any film at the Oscars this year with a whopping 13 nominations. One nomination in particular is now cast in doubt due to resurfacing tweets.
Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón and star of Emilia Pérez has found herself in hot water after her old posts surfaced. The tweets are incredibly hateful and primarily target Muslims and the religion of Islam. One tweet in particular reads, “Islam is becoming a hotbed of infection for humanity that urgently needs to be cured.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there, as Gascón’s old tweets also targeted the COVID-19 vaccine, China, and BTS. Gascón even once made poor remarks regarding her costar Selena Gomez, calling her a “rich rat.” Perhaps the worst of it all is her attempt to rationalize the horrific actions committed by Hitler.
Gascón’s comments have called her nomination into question and many believe these comments should disqualify her. There has been no announcement on the matter issued at this time. Hate of any magnitude should absolutely never be tolerated. This behavior is disgusting and incredibly upsetting to see coming from Gascón.
A Big 2025 For Netflix
This week Netflix took over the Egyptian theater on Hollywood Boulevard to preview its 2025 slate. The streamer debuted new looks at a handful of its biggest Movie and TV titles set to premiere this year. When it comes to films, Netflix has quite a few highly anticipated ones set to release this year. Projects like Wake Up Dead Man and Guillermo Del Toro‘s Frankenstein are confirmed to premiere this fall, with the latter in November. Charlize Theron will return this July in The Old Guard 2, for which Netflix released a brief teaser. Other films such as Happy Gilmore 2, RIP starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Fear Street: Prom Queen starring Ariana Greenblatt, and Havoc starring Tom Hardy were also confirmed for release this year with no specific release window.
While Netflix has some big films coming, the series may be the real heavy hitters this year. New series like The Residence, Long Story Short, and Devil May Cry will debut their first seasons in 2025. The Residence will release on March 20, and Devil May Cry on April 3. Arguably the biggest news regarding Netflix to come out of this event was about all the series that are ending. Netflix previewed first looks at the final seasons of Squid Game, You, and Stranger Things. The third and final seasons of Squid Game and You debut on Netflix on June 27 and April 24, respectively. Stranger Things is certainly the biggest release for Netflix this year and they’re certainly treating it as such. No release date was confirmed, but The Duffer Brothers certainly hyped up the final season saying “This is our biggest and most ambitious season yet. It’s like eight blockbuster movies.” Finally, Wednesday will return for Season 2 later this year, the streamer confirmed. The first season broke records and became an instant pop culture phenomenon. No release date was revealed but they did reveal some of the first footage from Season 2.
Hollywood Castings: Odysseys, Oceans, & Ghostfaces – Oh My!
A whole heap of movie and TV casting news hit the entertainment world this week for all sorts of different projects — whether it be horror, mythology, or even from a popular musician! Perhaps the biggest casting news this week came from the horror genre. With the seventh entry in the Scream franchise currently in production, casting announcements are still being made for the film. Earlier this week, the trades reported that Scream 3 star Scott Foley would be returning for the film, previously playing Roman Bridger, the half-brother of Sidney Prescott. Overshadowing that, came the report and official confirmation of Matthew Lillard’s return as Stu Macher, one of the two original Ghostface killers.
Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey is shaping up to have quite the ensemble cast as Nolan enlists previous collaborators. Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton and John Leguizamo have now joined the cast. Many will recognize Page from Inception, Patel from Tenet, and Bill Irwin’s voice might ring a bell as TARS from Interstellar. Details on their roles remain under wraps.
Famed musician Frank Ocean is back! No, he’s not making new music… sorry if you got excited. The artist is making his move into the film industry, casting Rye Lane and Alien: Romulus star David Jonsson as the project’s lead. Plot details and further casting remain under wraps but production has already begun in Mexico City.
Marvel Mix-Ups
Just last week, Benedict Cumberbatch surprised fans by revealing that he would not be returning for Avengers: Doomsday. In an interview with Variety, Cumberbatch explained that he did not have a role in that film, but that he would be in “a lot” of Secret Wars. This news would not go without a follow-up for very long. This week, Cumberbatch confirmed he would indeed return for Doomsday saying “Don’t ever believe anything I say.”
Late last year it was reported that Chris Evans is returning for the upcoming Avengers films. This news excited fans, but of course no official comment on the casting came. In an opposite situation to Cumberbatch, Evans would address the report as false, claiming he’s “happily retired.” Have people not grown tired of these games of werewolf? With both films set to release in the next two years, it’s safe to say we haven’t seen the last of rumors like this.
