movies

Naruto: Charles Melton to Play Kakashi Hatake

Published

30 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

Charles Melton, who recently landed an Emmy nomination for his role in the Netflix series Beef, is in final negotiations for a key role in the live-action Naruto movie set up at Lionsgate, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

Destin Daniel Cretton, who is currently in theaters for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is set to direct the movie based on the manga series by Masashi Kishimoto.

Naruto is the coming-of-age story of a young and enthusiastic ninja named Naruto Uzumaki who wants to grow up to be the leader of his ninja village but also happens to have the spirit of a nine-tailed demon fox inside him. The story was serialized in Japan’s popular Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2014, and later spawned a couple of popular animated series that ran for years on Cartoon Network and Disney XD.

A search is underway to find the young actor to play Naruto. Melton is said to be playing Kakashi Hatake, the elite ninja mentor figure to the main character and his friends. Kakashi is one of the most popular characters in the long-running and massively popular manga.

Lionsgate had no comment on the casting.

Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Emmy Yu are producing for Arad Productions with Jeremy Latcham. Cretton is producing alongside Jeyun Munford through his company, Hisako.

Cretton, whose credits also include the Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is coming off the massive success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. With its current $2 billion at the global box office, it is one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. Naruto is set to be next up for the director and is eyeing a production start around February 2027, according to sources.

Melton broke out as a star on the long-running CW series Riverdale where played Reggie Mantle and then transitioned into more prestige fare beginning with Todd Haynes’ May December, where he starred opposite Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. His other credits have included Alex Garland’s Warfare and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell.

The actor is a longtime fan of anime and manga and is also extremely proficient in martial arts. He is a second degree black belt taekwondo and competed in the Junior Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea.

movies

Ron Perlman Joins Lily James in Horror Thriller Seasons

Published

2 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

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Ron Perlman has joined the cast of Seasons, the horror thriller that Drew Hancock, the filmmaker behind Companion, is directing for Amazon MGM Studios.

The grizzled actor, who is part of the Sons of Anarchy cast returning for FX’s new and unique spinoff limited series, has joined Lily James and Jack Reynor in the feature, which is heading toward a September production start in Ireland.

Hancock wrote the script adapting the book by Matt and Harrison Query, which in turn was based on a short story by Matt Query that first appeared on Reddit.

The story follows a husband and wife who buy their dream ranch only to discover the land is alive with ancient spirits, and survival means submitting to increasingly disturbing rituals with each turn of the season.

Reynor is playing the husband with James as the wife. Perlman will play a neighbor who knows little about those rituals.

Producers are 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy and Dan Levine; Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s Jason Blum and Michael Clear; and 12:01 Films’ Scott Glassgold. Dan Cohen, formerly of 21 Laps, will also produce.
Judson Scott is an executive producer for Blumhouse Atomic Monster, and Alayna Glasthal is the executive overseeing the company.

Perlman is currently appearing opposite Javier Bardem and Amy Adams in the Apple TV+ limited series Cape Fear. The actor, who is also known for playing the titular character in the Hellboy movies of the early 2000s, is due to reprise — sort of — his acclaimed role for a meta take on Sons of Anarchy in FX and Hulu’s Legends limited series. That show will shoot next year.

Perlman recently signed with Independent Artist Group for representation and is also repped by Link Entertainment.

movies

‘The Odyssey’ Becomes Highest-Grossing R-Rated Movie Ever

Published

9 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

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It’s official: Universal’s The Odyssey has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie at the global box office with $1.352 billion, unseating Deadpool & Wolverine, which ended its worldwide run in 2024 at $1.33B.

Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds spilled the beans on social media prior to Uni making the record official.

Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of The Odyssey for becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. That is one helluva car. pic.twitter.com/s7QzTza21l

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 19, 2026

The pic is already director Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing movie at the worldwide B.O. surpassing his previous high, 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises ($1.085B). The ensemble starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, John Leguziamo, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya and Charlize Theron is also one of five movies to cross $1B this year; the feature take of Homer’s epic poem is now the second highest-grossing worldwide YTD behind Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($2.039B).

Broken out, The Odyssey has made $835.6M overseas and $516.3M stateside through Wednesday.

Additionally, The Odyssey opened to $264.1M global, the biggest over for Nolan ahead of Dark Knight Rises ($249M WW). The pic’s $139.6M opening at the overseas B.O. was also the director’s biggest ever internationally ahead of Oppenheimer and Dark Knight Rises in like-for-like markets.

What’s interesting is that Deadpool & Wolverine still owns the biggest global opening for a R-rated movie with a reported $444.7M as well as stateside ($211.4M). The Odyssey‘s record speaks to the power of legs, and, yes, a long run in Imax.

The Odyssey‘s domestic opening of $123.5M was the third best for Nolan after Dark Knight Rises ($160.8M) and Dark Knight ($158.4M). The movie, which opened July 17 at the North American box office, is entering its sixth weekend of release.

movies

‘Seasons’: Ron Perlman Joins Amazon Horror Film

Published

16 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: Ron Perlman (Apple’s Cape Fear) is set for a role alongside Lily James and Jack Reynor in Seasons, Amazon MGM Studios‘ horror film marking the sophomore feature of Companion‘s Drew Hancock.

Character details are being kept under wraps.

Hancock’s script is based on a viral horror short story by Matt & Harrison Query, which first appeared on Reddit and was later adapted into a full-length novel. It’s the story of a husband and wife who buy their dream ranch, only to discover the land is alive with ancient spirits. For the couple, survival will mean submitting to increasingly disturbing rituals with each turn of the season.

21 Laps’ Shawn Levy and Dan Levine are producing alongside Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Michael Clear, 12:01 Films’ Scott Glassgold and Dan Cohen. Judson Scott is executive producing for Blumhouse Atomic Monster, with Alayna Glasthal overseeing for the company.

Currently, Perlman can be seen starring alongside Javier Bardem in Apple TV’s Cape Fear series, exec produced by Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Also recently seen on Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Fallout and Poker Face, he is repped by Independent Artist Group and Link Entertainment.