Letitia Wright Says Black Panther Has ‘a Lot Coming Up’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: ‘Let’s Just Say … I Would Like to Continue With Shuri’

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Austin Butler revealed in a video interview with BuzzFeed that he unsuccessfully auditioned to play Peeta in “The Hunger Games” franchise. The role ultimately went to Josh Hutcherson, who starred in four “Hunger Games” movies between 2012 and 2015 opposite Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss and Liam Hemsworth as Gale.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Comic book movie fans have more or less assumed that Marvel’s upcoming “The Fantastic Four” will be a 1960s-set superhero story thanks to the illustrated posters the studio has put out on social media for the tentpole. Now that fact is being confirmed by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Speaking on “The Official Marvel Podcast” (via EW), Feige revealed “The Fantastic Four” will be a 1960s period piece set in New York City.

Letitia Wright is teasing a possible return to the Marvel Universe to reprise her role of Shuri from Black Panther.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sheryl Crow recently spoke to the BBC and slammed artificial intelligence being used in the music space to bring back the vocals of dead artists. She specifically called out Drake for using AI to recreate the voice of late rapper Tupac on his Kendrick Lamar diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle” in April. The song was ultimately pulled after Tupac’s estate threatened to sue Drake.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Emma Roberts appeared on the “Table for Two” podcast (via Vanity Fair) and was asked whether becoming a “massive movie star” was a priority for her when she decided to follow in the career footsteps of her father, Eric Roberts, and her aunt, Julia Roberts, and become an actor. Not quite. Emma said that watching aunt Julia become an A-list superstar as a kid showed her how scary that level of fame can be.

How many times have we heard interviewers try to get some sort of Marvel Cinematic Universe scoop from an actor? And it basically never works because these folks have been through some serious media training. That said, sometimes you get a little nugget, such as with Letitia Wright talking about Black Panther.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director British politician and broadcaster George Galloway appeared for an interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” and claimed that Fiona Harvey, the woman who claims she is the real-life inspiration for the stalker character Martha in Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer,” stalked him during the 1980s. Harvey is currently suing Netflix and demanding $170 million in damages due to the show’s depiction of Martha. She also went on Morgan’s talk show herself to deny the stalking and allegations that were depicted in the Netflix series.

Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) has been tapped to star opposite Michael Fassbender in The Agency (fka The Department), George Clooney’s remake of French political drama series The Bureau.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The Sopranos” star Drea de Matteo was interviewed on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” (via Mediaite) and said she’s got a target on her back in Hollywood because she’s an actor who does not endorse Joe Biden for president. The Emmy-winning actor went on to say there are “a lot” of “quiet” Donald Trump supporters in Hollywood, suggesting they won’t go public with their support out of fear of being similarly criticized for going against Biden. “Is there a quiet Trump voter out there in Hollywood?” host Jesse Watters asked.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Paul Walter Hauser‘s interview with CinemaBlend at the “Inside Out 2” press junket is gaining traction on social media for one viral moment in which the Emmy-winning actor calls out Vin Diesel for stories about Diesel allegedly mistreating cast and crew on set. The two actors have not worked together — and it appears that Hauser is not interested due to what he’s heard about Diesel.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Gena Rowlands is living with Alzheimer’s disease, her son Nick Cassavetes announced in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly. Cassavetes, who directed his mother in 2004’s “The Notebook,” said Rowlands is “in full dementia.” A four-time Emmy winner and two-time Golden Globe winner, Rowlands is a screen icon best known for her acclaimed collaborations with husband John Cassavetes, including the films “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974) and “Gloria” (1980). Both performances earned her Oscar nominations for best actress.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Scarlett Johansson confirmed to ComicBook.com that she is, in fact, headlining the next “Jurassic World” movie, which is being directed by “Rogue One” and “Godzilla” filmmaker Gareth Edwards from a script penned by David Koepp. The screenwriter is returning to the dinosaur franchise after having penned Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” (1993) and “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997). “I am an enormous ‘Jurassic Park’ fan,” Johansson said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jodie Foster recently chatted with “The Bikeriders” star Jodie Comer for Interview magazine and got honest about her relationship to acting. The two-time Oscar winner for best actress admitted that she’s “never fell in love with the acting part” of her career and the “technical sides of filmmaking” have always interested her more.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “X-Men” screenwriter David Hayter recently told TMZ that he is thrilled by Alan Cumming‘s recent revelation that the 2003 sequel “X2: X-Men United” is the “gayest film” the actor has ever worked on in his career. Cumming starred as the mutant Nightcrawler in the comic book movie. Hayter, who had sole screenwriting credit on the original “X-Men” movie, co-wrote the “X2” script with Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter “Actors on Actors” Season 20 was the most-watched Emmys lineup in Variety history, garnering 97 million video views across social media and outpacing 2023’s record-breaking TV season. Occurring twice a year during Emmys and Oscars voting, Variety’s “Actors on Actors” spotlights the biggest and buzziest names of each awards season. The 2024 TV lineup included Robert Downey Jr.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Matthew McConaughey recently told Glen Powell as part of an Interview magazine discussion that “it was scary” quitting Hollywood for two years when all that was being offered to him early in his career was romantic-comedy films. McConaughey was a king of the genre thanks to films like “The Wedding Planner,” “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days,” “Failure To Launch,” “Fool’s Gold,” and “Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past,” nearly all of which grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office. But the more rom-coms McConaughey made the less Hollywood wanted him starring in anything else.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kevin Costner continues to double down on his exit from “Yellowstone,” in which he played lead character John Dutton for four and a half seasons. In a cover story for People magazine, the Oscar-winning actor said he “read all the stories” in the press that perpetuated untrue rumors about his decision to leave the show.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director A new Batman is here to save Gotham City. Amazon Prime Video has released a cast announcement teaser for its upcoming animated series “Batman: Caped Crusader,” and with it comes confirmation that Hamish Linklater will be voicing the Dark Knight. The teaser also includes a first listen at the actor’s Batman voice.

Selena Kuznikov Independent media company and film distribution studio Angel Studios will provide early access for its upcoming film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” to audiences with a special free screening June 19 as part of AMC’S Juneteenth programming initiative. Starring “Euphoria” actor Nika King and executive produced by Letitia Wright, the film is inspired by the true story of a small community in East Texas that embraced kids in the foster system no one else would adopt. With the help of Donna Martin and her husband Bishop Martin, 22 families adopted 77 children in the town.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “House of the Dragon” star Olivia Cooke revealed to Elle magazine that she somewhat disagreed with showrunner Ryan Condel when he decided to cut one of her sex scenes from Season 2. The intimate scene was “carnal” and even “animalistic,” according to Cooke. “It was messy as fuck.