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It’s all happening. At CinemaCon 2026, Paramount confirmed that Top Gun 3 is in the works and it is really happening. Not too long ago, any kind of Top Gun sequel felt like just a pipe dream. But everyone, including us, absolutely LOVED Top Gun: Maverick, which means, yep, Top Gun 3 is on the way. Tom Cruise will almost definitely return for Top Gun 3 as Pete Mitchell, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer will as well. Paramount Pictures

Top Gun: Maverick told the story of Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as he headed back to his flight school to help a new era of pilots learn how to run a mission. We also got to see the sun of “Goose,” Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, played by Miles Teller. Goose, of course, died in the first movie. At Nerdist, we gave Top Gun: Maverick a solid score 3.5/5 stars. We’ll have to see if Top Gun 3 can beat that.

We first heard about Top Gun 3 in 2024. And as of September 2025, Bruckheimer confirmed the movie was still in development. Previously, Tom Cruise stated, “Yeah, we’re thinking and talking about many different stories and what could we do and what’s possible. It took me 35 years to figure out Top Gun: Maverick, so all of these things we’re working on, we’re discussing Days of Thunder and Top Gun: Maverick. There’s numerous other films that we’re actively working on right now…” But this is the first time the movie has been officially presented as happening by Paramount.

For now, all we know about Top Gun 3 is that it’s happening and a script is in the works. We’ll have to stay tuned for more details on Tom Cruise’s next flight. If this Top Gun 3 news has you itching for the franchise, you can stream Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick on Paramount+ right now.

For more CinemaCon coverage, you can check out our tag here.

The post TOP GUN 3 Is HAPPENING, Script in the Works appeared first on Nerdist.

Nerdist made our way to Las Vegas for CinemaCon 2026 and it is quite the spectacle, indeed. From star-studded special presentations from major production entities to social mixers, it is a place where theater owners, technology and beverage companies, journalists, and influencers alike all come together with excitement. One of the coolest experiences we had at CinemaCon was to watch exclusive clips during an early press experience for Masters of the Universe. A small group gathered together in a theater to watch three scenes from the film and to hear some refreshing insight from two leading cast members, Nicholas Galitzine (Adam/He-Man) and Camila Mendes (Teela), as well as director Travis Knight. Amazon MGM Studios

First, Knight gave us some insight into his background as an ’80s kid who found connection with He-Man during a time where a lack of emotional depth and hyper masculine heroes were all the rage. To him, He-Man showed that you could be strong and decent. Now, he’s bringing his vision of Eternia (and having a nerdy good time) to the big screen. Knight called MOTU cheeky, fun, playful, and sincere, and was clearly proud of 2.5 years of work finally coming together.

Now, let’s talk about those scenes from Masters of the Universe!

Skeletor Actually Gets to Win And Sieges Eternia

We all know the basic formula of most Masters of the Universe episodes from the ’80s animated series. Skeletor comes up with some scheme of the week to gain power and rule the universe. He-Man stops him and Skeletor promises to come back and try again. Well, in this Masters of the Universe clip, Skeletor actually gets a win. He arrives with his band of Evil Warrior to attack, but Duncan (Man-At-Arms) and soldiers give him one heck of a fight back. Duncan tells King Randor that he will keep his wife and young son Adam safe, and promises his frightened mentee/spiritual daughter Teela the same thing.

And behold, Trap Jaw shows up so he can go toe-to-toe with Duncan, who gets the upper hand, but not before the tables turn. We don’t fully see what happens there but it such a great scene where Idris Elba shines. Speaking of him, Knight says he is one of the coolest guys to exist, no shade to Nicholas, who agrees. “When I met him, he’d just gotten off his motorcycle,” he said. “He was wearing his leathers. He walked in slow motion, like a John Wick movie. They’re like pigeons flying behind him. Shit, he’s so cool. And as we all know, he’s an extraordinary actor. He’s a great action hero and he’s really, really funny.”

Meanwhile, Skeletor and his gang corner Randor and his family. He says the reign of Randor is over, and the king sends his child and wife away to run towards safety before boldly battling everyone. After being apprehended yet still holding a weapon very close to Skeletor’s face, our favorite villain says he will take his head and then proceeds to slice off the head of a statue. Skeletor takes the crown off Randor’s head and seems to rename the place Eternos as Evil-Lyn strides in. The scene ends with a much more humorous note as Skeletor raises his fist and cackles for a little too long, causing everyone around him to look confused. He is annoyed that they didn’t realize that was the crescendo and the scene ends.

Adam Vs. Beast Man Doesn’t Go Well But Teela Saves the Day

Many years later, an adult Adam is in the back of a cop car. The officers poke fun at him about his big ole sword before things get serious. Beast Man appears in gridlocked traffic and starts tearing vehicles up. He gets to the cop car, but Adam has already broken out of it with his sword. They fight as 4 Non Blondes “What’s Going On?” plays in the background, with Beast Man getting the upper hand and nearly taking Adam out. Thankfully, Teela shows up to save him, sending Beast Man crashing off the bridge and giving us a cool superhero landing. Adam is shocked to see her and she extends her hand, asking him if he’s ready to go home.

Amazon MGM StudiosAdam Becomes He-Man and Thrashes Trap Jaw

In this scene, Adam, Teela, and a haggard (and hilarious) Duncan are hiding from Trap Jaw and his not-so-merry gang. Adam wants to use his superior customer service skills to reason with him and, well, that goes as badly as Teela said it would. Trap Jaw is there for the fight, baby, and Adam has literally no power against him. Teela yells for him to use the sword and he sees a vision of his mom, who tells him to say the iconic line “By the power of Greyskull, I have the POWER!”

And his transformation into He-Man is epic and feels very anime and magical transformation inspired. You see him glow, his veins bulge, and his muscles expand. When asked about this, Knight said the following, “I was always told the guys that whenever we were at some kind of a crossroads was just to go back to the source [material]. And so even though we took liberties for some of that stuff and we want to make things look modern and cinematic, we always went back to the Filmmation cartoon… Actually, when Adam transforms for the first time, we’d see the spirit of Grayskull right behind him. It’s kind of a blink and you miss it moment, but it’s there.”

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He continued, “And I think that level of devotion to the original source material is something you’ll find all throughout the whole movie. For me, seeing Adam transform into He-Man was a really moving experience… as we go through the movie, I think that you’ll experience to see him become this person after all he’s endured is actually a very emotional thing. And I think we wanted to try to do visually was showcase how what was inside of him was finally coming out to the exterior.”

Back to the scene. The fight commences and Adam is shocked at how easily he gets the upper hand. But Trap Jaw gets in a sneak attack that makes Teela and Duncan look like the eyeball emoji. In the end, He-Man rips Trap Jaw’s arm off and uses it to take out the remainder of his men.

Nerdist

That’s just a taste of what we will get when Masters of the Universe hits theaters on June 5. Thank you to the team at Amazon MGM Studios for an powerful experience.

The post We Reveal Three Incredible MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Scenes appeared first on Nerdist.

Big news for Call of Duty fans straight out of CinemaCon: the live-action film from Paramount Pictures will hit theaters on June 30, 2028. We got a little look at what to expect from the film with some animated images and words from Peter Berg, who is set to write, direct, and produce the film, and his collaborator Taylor Sheridan.Activision

They note that they wanted to capture the authenticity of the beloved video game franchise but also bring a wild and expansive scope that will lead to an epic summer splash. We will surely get more news as June 2028 draws nearer and Call of Duty makes it to theaters.

The post CALL OF DUTY Live-Action Film Sets June 2028 Release Date appeared first on Nerdist.

Scary Movie is back, baby. The first trailer for the franchise’s return brings back some fan favorite characters like Shorty (Marlon Wayans), Ray (Shawn Wayans), Cindy (Anna Faris), Brenda (Regina Hall), and more for wild parody action. When we arrived at CinemaCon 2026, we were greeted by this sight, and knew that Scary Movie would be a big part of Paramount Pictures special presentation on April 16. Nerdist

And we were right because a new Scary Movie trailer dropped to give attendees a closer peek at footage that will hit the big screen this summer. A few cast members, specifically the Wayans brothers and Anna Faris, came out to make the audience laugh. They say laughter is the best and even better in a theater.

We see Ghostface stirring a tea cup just like Get Out before he tells Shorty to sink into the chair. He ends up in a sunken place that makes Shorty high. There’s news that Ghostface is back and only Cindy can stop him. She reunites with Brenda, who notes her dropping boobs.

Weapons also shows up with kids high on candy, the Sinners vamps sing The Jeffersons “Movin’ On Up” song, which gets a boo from Brenda, Ray, and Shorty. And, Brenda even jokes that no one watched the John Wick universe Ballerina movie. Of course, we get Shorty and friends with Ghostface yells WAZZUP.

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SCARY MOVIE Moves Release Date Up a Week Following Trailer

Scary Movie will hit theaters on June 5.

The post SCARY MOVIE Brings Very NSFW Laughs In New Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 sped into CinemaCon 2026 with just a little teaser footage. In it, we see Maddie and Tom setting up a friendly race between Sonic, Tails, and Shadow. Sonic is hilariously wearing a rubber duck float around his waist. The clip acknowledges the success of this billion dollar franchise. Paramount Pictures

Then we see Sonic flying through the sky, Knuckles running fast (presumably straight towards chaos), and Amy Rose looking adorable as she wields her hammer.

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The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 footage shows the return of Jim Carrey’s Robotnik as he threatens to get back into chaos. It doesn’t give away any specific plot details but it is just enough that makes us even more ready for the film to arrive in theaters on March 19, 2027.

The post SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 4 Teaser Footage Features Speedster Action appeared first on Nerdist.

Bluesky has been experiencing ongoing service disruptions since just before 3 a.m. ET.

One of the biggest questions in Hollywood right now involves one of the industry’s most iconic characters. It specifically revolves around the fact that the iconic role remains unfulfilled. Every spy fan wants to know one thing. Who will be the next James Bond? The newest entry in the franchise already has a big-time director in Dune‘s Denis Villeneuve. What it still doesn’t have is a 007. And that might be a good thing, because Amazon MGM Studios says it’s taking its time to make sure they get this right. At CinemaCon, Amazon MGM Studios confirmed they have NOT yet cast a new actor to play James Bond.MGM

Amazon MGM Studios‘ Film Head Courtenay Valenti offered a James Bond casting update at this year’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas. It wasn’t the announcement fans have waited for. Instead, Valenti confirmed that James Bond has NOT yet been cast. And yet, this news should make fans feel good, considering the general angst around the studio’s acquisition last year of complete creative control and plans for a 007 cinematic universe. Valenti said, “Please know that we’re taking the time to do this with care and deep respect. It is the dream of a lifetime for all of us to bring audiences this next chapter. And it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly.”

MGM

So when will we hear who is replacing Daniel Craig in these big cinematic shoes? Valenti, after praising the directing, writing, and producing team already in place, said, “When the time is right, we’ll have much more to share.”

We believe Amazon MGM Studios is treating the responsibility of casting the new James Bond with care and deep respect. We also know no matter who gets the part a lot of fans won’t be happy. Then the movie will come out, and we’ll all find out for sure if the new James Bond is worthy of having been the answer to one of Hollywood’s most important questions.

The post Amazon MGM Confirms New JAMES BOND Is NOT Yet Cast appeared first on Nerdist.

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In the world of The Boys, it is not easy to be a good person. Now, after four seasons of battling Supes and the evil corporation they work for, Mother’s Milk has resigned himself to not making it out of this war alive. He hasn’t given up the fight, though. Nor has he lost his soul entirely. What’s it like playing a very different version of a character after all this time? We spoke to Laz Alonso about MM’s transformation in the show’s final season and his performance in episode three. The Boys star also told us what it was like to shoot a scene with just Giancarlo Esposito, being in your own head as an actor, the shocking truth about fake cigars, and more.Prime Video

Nerdist: You have filmed with Giancarlo Esposito before, but in episode three of The Boys season five, you have that intense scene where it’s just the two of you alone in a small room. What was it like shooting that sequence with him?

Laz Alonso: It was great on many levels. First, because he’s one of my heroes in this business, just as an actor. Having that moment to work opposite him in a very precarious situation, because we’re on opposite ends of the spectrum here, we’re on opposite ends of the fight, yet it was a moment of truce. It was awesome.

It was also awesome to see him work. To see his process, how he changes things up on the fly, and be able to play with him. I knew that because he was a theater actor who came up in New York, that would be the energy that he brought. Very spontaneous. I’ve worked with him before, but in more of a group setting. But here, where it was more personal, man, it was fun. And it was good to feel both of our characters, who had so much history, finally be able to talk about it.

You said he’s one of your acting heroes. You’ve been doing this a long time, you’ve shared the screen with lots of big names, you’ve given this amazing performance, but when you’re working with him, do you still find yourself a little intimidated or overwhelmed or just in awe?

Alonso: Starstruck, man. Starstruck. I love that feeling. I had that feeling recently at the Saturn Awards when I got to meet Laurence Fishburne. He’s a hero. These are people I looked up to and hope to one day share the screen with. And this business just has a way of pinching you when you forget. “Oh my God, this is someone that at one time in my career, I thought one day I hope to be there with them, and here we are.” It was an amazing moment, an amazing scene. And he and I also have really good rapport personally. So we had a fun day on set anyway, and you can’t top that.

Prime Video

MM hasn’t given up the fight or lost his humanity, but his new cynicism has made him a lot less anxious and a lot looser this season. What was it like getting to play this version of the character versus previous seasons?

Alonso: It was challenging because you get to a certain point where you know the character so well that you react as the character. But I had to remind myself, “Oh, that’s not MM this season.” And I had to basically create a new version of him. Every scene I was in, whatever my instincts wanted to do, I had to do the opposite. So there were a lot of moments where I was in my head, where I may not have felt as authentic, and I had to battle through that. Because for the last eight years I’ve been living as this character, and it really does take over.

When you’re on set, you just move a certain way, and you do things a certain way, and you gravitate to certain things as the character. And I had to switch all that up. This was probably the most challenging season for me out of all the other seasons that I’ve done.

Prime Video

Well, MM is physically carrying himself differently this year. Did you consciously have to think about that aspect of your performance, or was it a natural outgrowth of this emotional state?

Alonso: No, everything was conscious this season. Everything was intentional, everything was conscious. Everything was trying to give people a different version of what they think or what they have seen for so long, to the point where they notice it. You know when you know someone, and they’re off, and you can’t really put your finger on it? “What’s wrong with that guy, what’s gotten into him?” That’s what I wanted people to feel like. “What’s gotten into MM?”

Obviously, Eric Kripke and I had a lot of talks about it. He gave me a lot of reassurance. He liked the work I was doing. I was questioning it like, “Eric, are you sure? I can do that scene again.” But he was like, “No, man, you’re killing it. We love what’s happening here and just keep doing what you’re doing.” And so that was kind of where we decided to really lean into.

What was your process like when you were trying to figure out the right balance between portraying his resignation to his assumed fate without losing the character’s natural desire to fight and be a good person?

Alonso: There are moments in the script that still give him a glimmer and a glimpse of who he really is. In episode two, where he saves Countess Crow, that’s the old MM. But then the new MM can look at Soldier Boy and leave. The old MM would never have been able to do that. The older MM would’ve sat there and risked dying to make sure he’s dead. And then go make sure he’s dead in person. Kick the body a few times.

The new version of MM, there is something liberating about not caring. And we played down the OCD this season because we wanted to show that when he lets go, there are other things as well. The trauma attached to his need to control, he also lets it go. And so yeah, there were a lot of things that allowed us to give it a different color.

Prime Video

One thing you still get to do is be a tough guy. You get tossed around in this episode, but you don’t actually have to fight. Do you prefer when you get to sit out the combat, or would you rather be more physically involved, like in episode one?

Alonso: It’s a balance of both. I’ve always loved the physicality of an action sequence. I love going to rehearsals. I love learning the choreography and then adding character elements to the choreography. That part’s always fun. And we have a lot of fun doing it with Brand X and those guys. But there’s also a type of gratification in being able to be the mental one of the team and just building the DNA of the character that allows him that kind of leeway to also be the thoughtful guy, the emotionally aware guy.

Considering the show has Amazon money, how good were the cigars they gave you?

Alonso: Bro. They were fantastic. And here’s the thing: I’m a cigar smoker, and they were specific on-set, no tobacco cigars. They were that special leaf that is supposed to be disgusting. They were amaaaaazing. Fake cigars, to the point where I would never be able to tell that they were fake. And I’m an avid cigar enthusiast. Fantastic smokes.

Do they smell like cigars?

Alonso: They smell like cigars. To the point where we were questioning whether or not they were real or not. We just didn’t get the buzz.

Prime Video

I was thinking about that, what being in that small little area with all that cigar smoke was like.

Alonso: It smelled like a cigar room. It smelled like a cigar lounge, but there were no effects. The residual stuff you get from cigar smoking, there was none of that. Went to sleep that night, woke up the next day, didn’t even feel like I smoked. I was like, “Wow, this is great.” I thought I was going to wake up feeling like crap.

Can’t get any better than that.

Alonso: We probably went through at least 25, 30 cigars to shoot that scene. It was wild.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He really hopes MM is wrong and he lives. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post THE BOYS’ Laz Alonso on MM’s Big Changes and Fake Cigars appeared first on Nerdist.

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Gamers around the world were looking at their phones and shouting “YES! YES!” like M. Bison on Thursday morning because the Street Fighter movie trailer forward, down, down-forward, punched its way out of CinemaCon and into our eyeballs on Thursday morning. The latest trailer for Legendary and Paramount’s highly anticipated video game adaptation is much more story-focused than the teaser we saw at The Game Awards in December. Between iconic moves taken directly from the games and some seriously deep-cut Easter eggs, Street Fighter is clearly made with a lot of love for its source material, especially 1991’s Street Fighter II: The World Warrior.

Set in 1993, Street Fighter puts the focus front-and-center on Ken Masters, Chun-Li, and Ryu as their paths converge on the World Warrior Tournament, a competition between the greatest fighters from around the globe. The tournament will seemingly take place under the auspices of Shadaloo, a mysterious criminal organization run by the delightfully camp dictator-in-training M. Bison.

Why, you ask? Well, to make money! Running a shadowy organization ain’t cheap. But presumably also to lure out a world-weary Ryu to pit him against the demonic Akuma, who we glimpse in action toward the end of the trailer both doing battle with and exerting his influence on the hadoken-launching hero. Could this be the “deadly conspiracy that forces [our heroes] to face off against each other and the demons of their past” as promised by the synopsis? Probably, but only time will tell.

While the trailer gives us our best insight into the film’s narrative, it doesn’t skimp on the action either. Longtime Street Fighter players will spot moves like Ken’s Shoryuken, E. Honda’s Hundred Hand Slap, Guile’s Flash Kick, Akuma’s Empyrean End, and Ryu’s Hadoken, just to name a few. Plus, I’m pretty sure there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it look at M. Bison using his Psycho Power around the 2:30 mark.

And is it just us or is that shot of Chun-Li entering the shower a reference to Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie? Considering we saw Vega get launched through a wall in the first teaser, it seems like that might be a favorite of director Kitao Sakurai.

So when can you put your quarter up to see the movie? Legendary and Paramount’s Street Fighter will spinning bird kick its way into theaters on October 16, 2026.

Editor’s note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks

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