When news of a live-action Legend of Zelda adaption first broke people were skeptical. In fact many still are, after all, how can you realistically adapt a world like Hyrule with its weird and wonderful characters without losing the essence of what truly makes the games special? Finding the right cast would be tough but fans think Hunter Schafer, who is being eyed for the role of Princess Zelda may be a perfect fit.

There’s simply no denying the fact that Schafer is a dead ringer for the princess. You’d be hard-pressed to find an actress with more Zelda-like features. Looking at the two side by side it’s easy to see why many think she’s perfect for the role.

Not everyone agrees with the potential Hunter Schafer casting

Despite the casting seemingly being as close to perfect as we could possibly get, not everyone was happy with it. Predictably the bigots and alt-right transphobes have come out of the woodwork to criticize the casting purely because Schafer is trans. 

Usually these people will try to hide behind some other lousy excuse to criticize an actor or actress. For a recent example just look at the response to Bella Ramsey’s portrayal of Ellie in The Last of Us, there’s no question they can act the part, but a vocal minority of immature people (the same kind of people that complain about ”too much woke” in Hollywood) have gone after her for not looking enough like the character. 

They claim to only be upset over the changes to the source material but in reality it seems more like an excuse to justify bashing the lead actor who happens to be non-binary.

Outright transphobia

In Schafer’s case there’s really no excuse, the people who disagree with her casting are just outright transphobes. Unfortunately there has been a rise in transphobia in online spaces and in society as a whole thanks to a general shift towards right wing values in the U.S. However, most people would love to see her play Zelda because she embodies the character so well.

Others have put forward Sydney Sweeney as an alternative which, as a Zelda fan I have to say, I really don’t see it.

Been getting death threats over this but now the Republican men are using Sydney to push an anti trans agenda against hunter Schafer as Zelda, I told yall !!! pic.twitter.com/zpkGJJglUw

— kenzie (@pk_kenzie) May 31, 2025

Some have also raised doubts as to whether these people are even fans of the games. Do they really care about the live-action Legend of Zelda movie? Or are they just trying to shove their opinions down other people’s throats">

Right now we don’t even know if Hunter Schafer is genuinely being considered for the role or not, it’s just a rumor, but it does make sense on many levels. Most Zelda fans can see this and most sensible people could not care less that she is trans. As always it’s just a vocal minority making a bunch of noise and spreading hatred.

It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that horror is having a moment right now, but it would be more accurate to say that horror has been having a moment for the last couple of years. Indeed, with the emergence of bodies like A24 and Neon, as well as internet sketch comedians entering the feature filmmaking space, gorehounds and thinkers alike have maintained a fulfilling horror diet for some time now.

The transgressive nature of the genre tends to pave the way for delightfully weird proceedings, and Cuckoo fits that bill pretty firmly. Narratively speaking, Tilman Singer’s sort-of-monster movie had the world in the palm of its hand, and subsequently suffered a bit from what might have been decision overload. Luckily, the rawness of its story is the perfect cult status springboard, and its recent streaming success may be step one on that journey.

Per FlixPatrol, Cuckoo has debuted as the fourth most-watched film on the United States’ Hulu film charts at the time of writing (with a cheeky fifth place overall finish to boot). Competing against it are the likes of an eighth-place Christmas with the Kranks — the Tim Allen-led Christmas movie that’s actually a horror movie and has enjoyed an enduring cult status of its own — and No Way Up, one of the latest knockoffs of a knockoff of a knockoff of Jaws, and certainly not one of the greatest.

Cuckoo stars Hunter Schafer in her first leading film role as Gretchen, an American teenager who just lost her mother and is subsequently sent to live in the Bavarian Alps with her dad, stepmother, and half-sister Alma. Between her grief, lack of familiarity with her surroundings and other people, and her desk job that comes with some very strange rules, Gretchen is having a pretty miserable time. Things get far worse, however, when she gets wrapped up in a conspiracy involving her family, her boss, and an unseen monster with perverted intentions.

Cuckoo is a supremely curious case in the sense that it entertains a number of thematic and tonal personalities without really full-sending any of them. Throughout its runtime, it wears many different combinations of dread, humor, familial estrangement, uncanny isolation, and a large dollop of queerness. But Cuckoo never quite decides on a combination to well and truly dig into, instead preferring that you taste all of its potential identities.

Indeed, it’s a nest of cinematic odd ducks all coming of age together under the watchful eye of a B-movie sheen, seemingly frightened that if it chooses a favorite tone or theme, the rest will be rendered emotionally extinct. Some may chalk this up as indecisive storytelling that tries to be everything and is therefore nothing, and that’s not a completely unfair characterization.

Nevertheless, when you consider the literal events and revelations of the film in the context of the above description, it’s just as easy to conclude that Singer was operating with far more intention than a first glance may suggest.

The film first premiered at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in February, and took its sweet time making it to theaters, which it eventually did in August. It landed on Hulu Dec. 17.

NEON’s Cuckoo is making a buzz for its delightful mix of B movie ideas and arthouse style. However, due to the movie’s unconventional storytelling, people might leave the theaters wondering what exactly happened in the isolated Bavarian resort.

Warning: the following article contains spoilers for Cuckoo.

Cuckoo follows Hunter Schafer as Gretchen, a 17-year-old who crosses the Atlantic after her mother’s ing, a traumatic event that forces her to live with her father in the Bavarian woods. There, Gretchen is chased by a mysterious hooded woman (Kalin Morrow), whose scream causes time-shifting hallucinations. 

Meanwhile, Gretchen also finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy involving the nearby resort’s owner, Herr König (Dan Stevens), and a vengeful detective, Henry (Jan Bluthardt). Yes, this movie is wild, and a lot is going on! So, let’s break things down bit by bit.

Who is the hooded woman chasing Hunter Schafer’s Gretchen in Cuckoo?

The hooded woman is a creature from the Homo Cuculidae species. As the name betrays, this parasite mimics the cuckoo bird’s behavior, which leaves its eggs in other birds’ nests.

The Homo Cuculidae use their unique vocal cords to emit sound waves that paralyze their victims, making them feel displaced in time. Once they locate a fertile woman who can bear their child, the creature implants their eggs into the reproductive organ of their victim. These eggs must be fertilized by a man so that a new baby is born. Humans don’t the whole process because the creature’s voice erases memories, which is a handy ability for parasite species.

The movie suggests that all children born through this unnerving process are female. These babies also refuse to speak or communicate through non-verbal methods, although they are physically capable to. The children are born and raised as regular humans, only developing their Homo Cuculidae traits when they get in touch with their original mother. That’s what makes the creatures so rare, as their over-complex reproduction and development system slowly leads them to extinction.

Homo Cuculidade mothers become uncontrollable without their children, going after any fertile female human they can use to gestate a new baby. That’s exactly what happens in the first scene of Cuckoo when the current mother’s teenage child escapes. Since Gretchen ignores Herr König’s warnings and wanders by herself on the dark roads of the resort in the evening, she’s an easy target.

What does Dan Steven’s Herr König wants with the cuckoo creatures?

By using his resort as a front, Herr König dedicated his life to the preservation and study of the Homo Cuculidae. Since the resort’s bungalows are so charming and romantic, the tourist complex receives many couples. König identifies the potential victims and facilitates the insemination process of a Homo Cuculidade mother. Years later, König finds excuses to bring the family back so that the infant Homo Cuculidae can be brought back to their mother and develop their siren powers.

Henry is investigating König’s resort because his wife died during one of these attacks. The Homo Cuculidae’s hypnotic screech can cause convulsions. Henry’s wife, when attacked, choked on her vomit, pushing the detective into the revenge path that got him kicked out of the force.

As for Gretchen, her stepmother is hired by König to build a new resort because the deranged scientist wants to lure the whole family back. Gretchen’s half-sister, Alma (Mila Lieu), is a Homo Cuculidade child who König intends to become a mother for the next generation of creatures. Furthermore, the kidnapping and transformation of Alma is an urgent matter to König, as the new child is the key to controlling the hooded woman.

Will Gretchen’s sister become a monster?

At the end of Cuckoo, Gretchen learns that Alma has left a voice message for her deceased mother. Alma is unaware of the whole situation and only witnesses her half-sister crying while calling a mother who’s never there to pick up the phone. So, the girl asks Gretchen’s mother to reply and even invites her to come over for vacation. This beautiful gesture makes Gretchen understand that Alma loves her, leading the teenager to do everything she can to protect the girl.

In the final showdown, König points a gun at the sisters, hesitating to pull the trigger so he doesn’t harm Alma. Likewise, Henry wants to protect Gretchen but has vowed to slay every creature, including Alma. It seems like an unsolvable conundrum until Alma uses her siren voice to hypnotize König and Henry, buying the sisters time to escape. The two men shoot each other after that, meaning there’s no one to chase Alma. Still, the girl’s future is uncertain.

Over the movie, Alma reacts to the Homo Cuculidae noises coming from the woods, so she has had some with grow-up of her species. Nevertheless, she will not be raised by another Homo Cuculidae, as Gretchen takes her sister on a ride with Ed (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey) towards Paris. 

In the final scene of Cuckoo, we see Alma’s ears moving like the ones from Homo Cuculidae, which tease the challenges the sisters will face. Even so, without knowing how many parasites are still on the loose, it’s impossible to know if another creature will rekindle Alma’s transformation. So… sequel, everyone?

With an intriguing concept that feels genuinely fresh and fantastic performances by Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens, Cuckoo is another great addition to NEON’s horror catalog. Still, the movie’s scattered storytelling makes this a divisive release.

Cuckoo is framed through the eyes of Gretchen (Schafer), a 17-year-old forced to move in with her father (Marton Csokas) after her mother’s ing. The turmoil of a teenager’s grieving is amplified by the fact Gretchen’s father has a new wife (Jessica Henwick) and daughter (Mila Lieu), leading her to feel like an intruder barging into the perfect family. The sour cherry on top of Gretchen’s rotten cake is that her father, and therefore her, is relocating to a remote resort in Bavaria, , where her stepmother was hired to build a new tourist complex.

Gretchen’s tragic life is ripe for exploring the horrors of isolation and family drama. Still, from its first act, Cuckoo underlines evil lurks in the shadow of the Bavarian forest. The resort owner, Herr König (Stevens), is obviously hiding a dark secret connected to the strange events happening in the place and the mysterious reason why he demands Gretchen’s stepmother oversee the construction of the new building in person. As an outsider in every sense, Gretchen finds herself in the middle of a grim conspiracy as she and the audience uncover the truth together.

Cuckoo could have used its intriguing background to build any number of spine-chilling stories. Yet, the movie remixes classic creature feature tropes to simultaneously honor horror’s tradition of offering deranged entertainment and the new wave of genre movies that put character before plot. Without spoiling the movie’s surprise, it suffices to say that your mileage might vary depending on how willing you are to go with the flow and accept the weird (albeit fun) things Cuckoo conjures on the silver screen.

It’s curious how Cuckoo fits so well with other NEON 2024 releases. Like Immaculate and Longlegs before it, Cuckoo elevates a concept that would fit like a glove in the B movie scene by giving filmmakers the budget and the autonomy to imprint their unique voices on film. Furthermore, NEON’s horror line boasts astonishing performances by Hollywood veterans and newcomers alike, underlining how horror is a fertile ground to cultivate acting talent.

The menace at Cuckoo’s core is similar to the wacky concepts in classic grindhouse movies — the kind of production with a budget of 20 bucks and half a sandwich. That is not an insult, on the contrary. Independent horror shows a level of creativity that we don’t usually see in mainstream cinema, as filmmakers are free to explore any idea they have without worrying too much about it being commercial. Still, not everyone might enjoy Cuckoo’s level of eccentricity.

At the same time, writer and director Tilman Singer refuses to embrace the B-movie energy of Cuckoo’s concept, trying to stick grandiose motifs in a story that could work better if it leaned harder toward its inherent insanity. Cuckoo has something to say about repressive families, queer identity, the need to reaffirm one’s identity, and even the damage done by a society that reduces women’s bodies to their reproductive capabilities. It’s a barrage of ideas that gets two in the wall to see what sticks, and sadly, not every theme connects cohesively with the main narrative.

At some point in production, Cuckoo got stuck between philosophical arthouse ambitions and the unhinged nature of its main idea. As a result, Cuckoo stretches itself too thin in multiple directions, failing to do anything as well as it could.

Cuckoo is still able to enthrall those willing to accept its shortcomings. While the movie never gets too scary, Singer has crafted an atmosphere of constant confusion and paranoia that slowly sucks you into its bizarre version of a Bavarian resort. The movie’s editing, in particular, contributes to the audience feeling lost, a sensation they share with Cuckoo’s protagonists. Once the shell of secrecy is broken and Cuckoo has hatched its terrors, every piece falls nicely into place. However, until then, Cuckoo makes you question what you see and hear while your brains spin around trying to make sense of the quirky story. Disorientation is a powerful tool in genre cinema, and Cuckoo masterfully uses it.

However, the two main reasons to watch Cuckoo are Schafer and Stevens. As Gretchen, Schafer holds all the falling pieces of Cuckoo together, delivering what’s arguably her best acting yet. Gretchen is a layered character struggling with complex emotions while trying to survive an impossible situation, a character that would fall flat without an acting powerhouse to it. Even though Cuckoo is Schafer’s debut in horror, she shows an instinctive talent to handle the genre’s subtleties in one of the year’s best performances. We can only hope Cuckoo will open more somber doors for her to explore her screen queen potential.

On his turn, Stevens is no stranger to the uncanny, having led one of the strangest and most brilliant TV shows ever, Legion. Still, it’s always a pleasure to see him in horror, a genre where he’s visibly at home. His Herr König is a constant menace, hiding his twisted intentions behind sweet words and fake hospitality. He’s controlled, centered, and cynical, the perfect contrast to Shafer’s Gretchen. The duo’s dynamics alone can carry Cuckoo even when things threaten to fall apart, and Singer owns them both a lot for the movie’s eventual success.

The rest of the ing cast of Cuckoo also have their moment to shine. Lieu is adorable as Gretchen’s naive younger sister, and Jan Bluthardt deserves a special nod for his take on Detective Henry. Added to the movie’s high production value, these significant side characters raise the Cuckoo experience.

All in all, despite its divisive script, there’s a lot to love in Cuckoo. Plus, when you get to be this creative, you should gain a free to some of the eventual pacing problems of your movie. So, while Cuckoo is not the best NEON movie released in 2024, it deserves the hype that has been following it since its trailer release, and it’s a fine addition to this year’s genre landscape.

Yorgos Lanthimos went from a buzzy name to a household one after his 2023 hit Poor Things. A year later, he’s getting ready to release another highly-anticipated film featuring more than a few of his favorite muses.

The official teaser for Kinds of Kindness instantly got film fans talking. After a couple of absurdist period pieces directed from Tony McNamara scripts, Lanthimos is going back to modern settings and partnering back up with his faithful Greek collaborator Efthimis Filippou, with whom he made his first hits Dogtooth, The Lobster, and Killing of a Sacred Deer.

What is Kinds of Kindness about?

Described as a “triptych fable” in Searchlight’s official synopsis of the film, Kinds of Kindness is an anthology made out of three segments about “a man without choice who tries to take control of his life,” “a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing at sea has returned and seems to be a different person” and “a woman who is determined to find a specific someone destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.”

Who stars in Kinds of Kindness?

Yorgos Lanthimos’ film boasts a star-studded ensemble cast. The director’s Oscar-winning muse Emma Stone is back along with Poor Things cast mates Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, and Mamoudou Athie.

Joe Alwyn, who starred with Stone in Lanthimos’ 2018 film The Favourite, is also ing Kinds of Kindness, as well as The Whale‘s Hong Chau, Euphoria‘s Hunter Schafer, and Jesse Plemons (whose filmography is so rich it’s hard to name just one film, so we’ll name a few: Civil War, The Power of the Dog, Killers of the Flower Moon, plus many more).

From the film’s official synopsis as well as the promotional materials released so far, we’ll bet that Dafoe, Chau, Qualley, and Plemons will be headlining the guru storyline, while Stone and Alwyn take the lead on another one of the film’s segments. Athie appears to be playing the cop in the third storyline. It also looks like most of the actors will play a part in all three sections.

When is Kinds of Kindness coming out?

Kinds of Kindness is making its debut in competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in May, before heading to theaters worldwide a month later.

Searchlight Pictures is distributing the film in the United States, where it will be released on June 21, 2024. A week later, on June 28, it’ll make its way to theaters across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its Greek release will happen earlier, on Mary 30.

Is there a trailer for Kinds of Kindness?

There are two one-minute-long trailers for Kinds of Kindness teasing the roles of each of the cast in what looks like another Lanthimos banger. The director is famous for his outrageous black humor and provocative visual style.

The music choices for each are definite highlights and a good preview of the film’s seemingly offbeat tone: Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, and Dave Stewart’s “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” and Cobrah’s “Brand New Bitch.” Take a look at the movie poster, below.

Kinds of Kindness, whose script was initially titled And, was filmed in New Orleans from October 24 to December 16, 2022, and has a runtime of 2 hours and 44 minutes, making it the longest film in Yorgos Lanthimos’ filmography.

A group of demonstrators gathered outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York as President Joe Biden was set to appear on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Feb. 26, 2024. Among them was 25-year-old actress and Euphoria star Hunter Schafer, who was taken into custody.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 50 protestors were arrested at the demonstration, a number confirmed by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the event organizer. The NYPD says only 30 demonstrators were arrested. Summons for tres and disorderly conduct were issued, and everyone was released.

As pictures of Shafer spread on social media, wearing a “ceasefire now” t-shirt and in handcuffs, a Jewish Voice for Peace representative confirmed Shafer was there that day.

Hunter Shafer was at a pro-Palestinian protest

The New York demonstration was intended as a pro-Palestinian rally, stemming from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war launched after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks inside Israel. Since then, President Biden’s policies and for Israel in the conflict have drawn increasing scrutiny. A Jewish Voice for Peace said the purpose of the demonstration was to pressure “Biden to stop ing the Israeli government’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

At the demonstration, those gathered held a banner reading: “Jews to Biden: Stop Arming Genocide” while chanting “Let Gaza Live.” Another banner read, “Never Again for Anyone.”

Hunter Shafer is known for political activism. Referring to her involvement, JVP’s communications director Sonya Meyerson-Knox said, “We commend Hunter Schafer’s commitment to Palestinian freedom and to a future of justice for everyone.” 

Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía has been steadily growing into one of today’s most influential pop artists. As a result, her dating life has come under the microscope – as always tends to happen with celebrities. As her circle grew, other equally popular figures from her generation started getting linked either platonically or romantically with the Motomami singer.

One of those connections was Euphoria and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes‘ Hunter Schafer. The two were frequently seen together in 2019, as they attended industry events like fashion shows and awards ceremonies. At that year’s Billboard Women in Music gala, Rosalía brought Hunter along as her date, and during her acceptance speech for the Rising Star award, the musician thanked the actress for ing her and professed her love for her.

Their relationship, whether romantic or otherwise, eventually fizzled out, but in 2023 it was revived by fans of Rosalía on social media, who claimed her June single “Tuya” was about Hunter. In a short clip promoting the song, the Spanish songstress seemed to be using female pronouns in the lyrics, instantly making listeners wonder who she could be talking about.

The leading theory was that Rosalía was referring to the actress and their short alleged fling from 2019, right before the musician met her current fiancé, Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro. Neither Rosalía nor Hunter have ever claimed to have been together as anything more than friends, and the rumors stem solely from fan theories on platforms like Twitter.

When “Tuya” finally came out on June 9, it became less clear whether the song was about a woman or fans had misheard the lyrics on that initial promotional snippet. According to Genius, Rosalía sings “Solo esta noche soy tuya, tuya. Solo esta noche ere’ mío, mío,” which translates to “Just for tonight, I’m yours. Just for tonight, you’re mine.” In Spanish, the word “mine” can have both female and male forms, and the singer uses the latter in her song.

There are other male nouns all over the lyrics to “Tuya,” indicating listeners might have jumped the gun by assuming the track was about a woman. However, there are sections of the song where it does sound like Rosalía is saying “mía” (the female form of “mine”).

Viola Davis is set to star in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as the head gamemaker. The Hunger Games prequel movie will follow an eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) and reveals how he becomes the ruthless president of Panem.

Per a report from Variety, Davis will play Volumnia Gaul, who will help teach Coriolanus about strategy, consequently teaching him how to conduct his own methodology in this most violent game. President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group has commented on what the talented actress brings to the feast.

“The Hunger Games films have always been elevated by their exceptional casting, and we are thrilled to be continuing that tradition with Viola Davis as Volumnia Gaul. Her formidable and powerful presence will add layers of complexity and menace to this story,”

In the novel by Suzanne Collins, Dr. Gaul is both the Head Gamemaker of the 10th Hunger Games and an instructor at the University. Her intelligence is beyond reproach as she plays a pivotal role in the Capitol’s experimental weapons division at the Citadel. Despite her high levels of intellect, her cruelty shouldn’t be underestimated.

Lawrence also had kind words to say about the award-winning actress and what audiences can expect when she appears in the movie. Said Lawrence, “Dr. Gaul is as cruel as she is creative and as fearsome as she is formidable. Snow’s savvy as a political operator develops in no small part due to his experiences with her as the game’s most commanding figure.”

Francis Lawrence will be directing the movie, and he’s more than familiar with Collins’ dystopic world. He’s directed Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1, and Mockingjay Part 2. The story will revolve around Coriolanus mentoring Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from District 12. Lucy is a magnificent singer, and Coriolanus will have to help her use all her gifts if she hopes to win this treacherous game.

Davis s Peter Dinklage as Casca High Bottom, the dean of the Academy, and Hunter Schafer as Coriolanus’ cousin Tigris Snow.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes comes to theaters November 17, 2023.

Euphoria‘s Hunter Schafer has been cast in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes from Lionsgate. The movie is a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy, which starred Jennifer Lawrence as archer extraordinaire Katniss Everdeen, and will center on young Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth.

The report from Variety confirms Schafer will play the cousin of Coriolanus Snow, Tigris Snow. She’s his trusted confidante, and canonically an old acquaintance of Cressida and Plutarch. She’s a gifted stylist who resides in the Capitol and her family name gives her a wealth of access beyond that of normal citizens.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place in post-war Capitol, and will see Snow mentor District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) for the 10th annual Hunger Games. He’ll show signs of his psychopathy in his younger years, before he fully becomes the irredeemably terrible autocratic leader Katniss and her team righteously bring down.

Schafer is best known for her role as Jules in Euphoria, a teenage trans girl trying to find her way and the love interest of Rue (Zendaya). The series gets a lot of flack for its mature themes, but co-star Sydney Sweeney said she felt safe shooting the intimate scenes the story calls for.

Schafer’s currently in production on Cuckoo, and will star in the horror feature Luz directed by Tilman Singer.

Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One, and Mockingjay Part Two, will direct The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes, which comes to theaters Nov. 17, 2023.

Euphoria star Hunter Schafer has revealed on the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live that she visited her co-star, Zendaya, while she was on the set filming the Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Schafer, who plays main character Jules Vaughn in Euphoria, explained that being a comic book illustrator was once her “dream job.”

“I love Spider-Man. I grew up on comic books,” she said. Schafer graduated from the visual arts program at North Carolina School of the arts and was set to attend the prestigious art college Central Saint Martins before her career blew up and plans changed.

The actress then recounted visiting Zendaya at the place she was staying at in Atlanta while they were filming and “got to go see the set and stuff in their little, like bunker, that Ned and MJ stay in and stuff,” referring to the basement of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange in the Sanctum Santorum, where many of the villains were held captive in the film.

“I came by; it was insane,” she said, adding that much more of what was filmed on set was done practically, as compared to being done entirely in computer-generated imagery, as one might assume.

“There was a lot of real stuff,” Schafer said.

When asked by interviewer Kimmel whether Schafer was approached by Marvel producers to perhaps sign some kind of agreement to keep private the plot elements she might see while visiting the set, the actor said, “Surprisingly no, not that I .”

Given Marvel Studios’ notorious policies of plot point secrecy for that movie in particular, including keeping under wraps some of the film’s main characters, Schafer agreed “it’s kind of strange” they didn’t make her sign anything.

Watch season two of Euphoria on HBO and HBO Max now, the next episode of which airs on Jan. 23.

Tom Holland is a busy man right now. The Spider-Man: No Way Home star has just finished promoting the massive MCU hit, and he also has several other film projects in the pipeline. However, he has also found the time to be the face of Prada’s 2022 Spring ad campaign. 

Formed by Mario Prada in 1913, Prada is one of the most famous and prestigious luxury fashion houses on the planet, with many of its items, both new and vintage commanding high price tags and long waitlists. The 2022 campaign promotes the companies Spring Summer 2022 range of clothing. 

This range was designed by two legendary fashion designers, Miuccia Prada, the current head designer of the Prada fashion house, and Belgian designer Raf Simons, who Kanye West credited with inspiring his Yeezy Season 1 collection. 

The campaign is photographed by legendary British fashion photographer David Sims and directed by Ferdinando Verderi. The photos show Holland wearing several of the season’s new pieces, including a new suit and a stunning red jacket. 

The video accompanying this campaign features many close-up shots of Holland dressing, showing how the fabric and details on the pieces move and shift while the outfits are being put on. While this plays out, Holland’s voice can be heard listing off steps, almost like he’s presenting a tutorial to the clothes. 

According to Prada: 

Tom Holland performs as ‘himself’ in a series of photographs by David Sims. In a re-contextualising of a figure world-renown for his action hero roles, Holland here becomes an embodiment of today’s Prada man.

The company is running a similar campaign for its female line. This campaign is fronted by Hunter Schafer, best known for playing Jules Vaughn in the hit show Euphoria. Schafer began her career as a model before landing the Euphoria gig that kicked off her acting career. This campaign is very similar to its male counterpart, and Prada explains it as: 

Minimal diptychs present a cast of women – lead by the actor Hunter Schafer alongside models Selena Forrest, Julia Nobis, and Lina Zhang – captured in the act of dressing, or undressing. Striking details express a sense of closeness, drawing the viewer in. The picture plane is stripped back – our focus is on these women, their focus is on themselves.

Tom Holland is everywhere right now. However, this campaign shows why the actor is in such high demand. As he can make something great, no matter what he turns his hand to, be it pulse-pounding action or beautiful high-fashion. 

A month ahead of its North American theatrical release, Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle has an English trailer. The casting is especially significant given the importance of song in the animated film about a schoolgirl who becomes a famous singer — and the trailer is our first glimpse at an all-new English soundtrack.

In her first major role, Kylie McNeill will play Suzu and her virtual persona, the titular Belle. McNeill will also perform the songs originally written in Japanese and performed by singer-songwriter Kaho Nakamura. GKIDS says Taisei Iwasaki, Takayuki Chiyo, and Ludvig Forssell supervised the soundtracks’ adaptation into English.

ing McNeill in the main cast are the more veteran voice actors Chace Crawford as Justin, Manny Jacinto as Shinobu, and Hunter Schafer as Ruka. GKIDS shared the names of the entire cast in an announcement on Twitter.

Belle is Hosoda’s twelfth feature film and his fourth with Studio Chizu. Hosoda co-founded the studio with producer Yuichiro Saito in 2011 and has received critical acclaim for all of his productions there, most notably 2018’s Mirai.

The film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was released in Japanese theaters in July. The film’s North American distributor, GKIDS, produced the English dub of Belle along with the recording studio NYAV Post. GKIDS also announced that the soundtrack (featuring McNeill’s performances) will be available on Jan.14 via Milan Records.

Belle will see an IMAX release on Jan. 12 and get a limited theatrical release in the US and Canada on Jan. 14.