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Somehow, it’s three months into 2025, and the year is really getting started. Here are some entertainment news tidbits that dropped in March. (You can check out February’s round-up here)

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil Movie Coming Fall 2026, Lands at Sony

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot is heading home to Sony Pictures and producer PlayStation Productions. The Resident Evil cinematic franchise has long been under Sony’s purview, but to keep it, the studio had to participate in quite the bidding war. Nevertheless, Sony prevailed and will bring us the next Resident Evil movie, which is helmed by Barbarian filmmaker Zach Cregger.

The release date for the next Resident Evil movie is September 18, 2026.

Robert Pattinson Says He’s Going to Be “A F**cking Old Batman” in The Batman—Part II

The Batman—Part II has had some delays. Rumor has it that it will begin filming soon(ish), and one person who hopes so is Robert Pattinson. He shares, “I fucking hope so,” when asked if he’ll return to Batman’s world soon, “I started out as young Batman, and I’m going to be fucking old Batman by the sequel. I’m 38, I’m old.” Oop, well, we also love an old Batman.

YouTube Offering Less Expensive Premium Tier, YouTube Premium Lite

Are all the ads on YouTube making you batty? Well, now you can take advantage of the perks of YouTube’s Premium tier, namely an ad-free experience, in a less expensive way. YouTube is now offering YouTube Premium Light. YouTube Premium Lite will cost $7.99 per month vs. $13.99 per month, the cost of premium. That’s a pretty steep reduction. YouTube Premium Lite will make “most videos” on YouTube ad-free for subscribers, including gaming, fashion, news, and beauty videos. Music content and shorts will remain full of ads, however. And YouTube Premium Lite will not allow video downloads or background play. Still, for those wanting less ads in their lives, YouTube Premium Lite seems like a good choice.

The post New RESIDENT EVIL Movie Coming in Fall 2026, RPatz Says He’s ‘A F**cking Old Batman, and Other News appeared first on Nerdist.

The trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag immediately caught my eye. There was something very enthralling about its sleek restraint and its overwhelming sexiness, delivered more in the twinkle of Cate Blanchett’s eye and the polished repression of Michael Fassbender’s rigid spine than in any kind of baring of skin. And it is exactly this energy, a blend of actors with crackling chemistry, a polished, minimalist aesthetic, and an at once smoothly jazzy and thrummingly percussive soundtrack, that makes the movie an enjoyable 90-minute experience. Although the specific details of Black Bag‘s plot are largely indiscernible throughout the film, it doesn’t matter that much because the movie’s purpose is more to mediate on manipulation and relationships than to worry too much about the logistics of spycraft.

Black Bag offers a new entry into an increasingly popular genre of fiction, which includes the likes of the Knives Out movies and The White Lotus series. In this genre, a collection of truly terrible people, played by truly magnificent actors, suck you into the dramas and interpersonal relationships of their world as a mystery of a kind plays out. Watching these creations leaves you feeling disgusted, enthralled, and totally captivated. In my opinion, there cannot be enough of this on-screen energy out there—one part gossipy, one part thriller, one part romance, shaken altogether and poured into a tall glass.

But Black Bag‘s offering ups the ante. The players are far more competent than in the usual fare, elevating the conceit. In Black Bag, the main characters are smart, master manipulators. They have a certain elegance which promises violence in a heady way that carries throughout the movie. And so, their deceptions and alliances are that much more striking.

Black Bag is steeped in a more grown-up kind of sexiness and relational dynamic than what we usually see on our screens. The idea that there’s nothing more attractive than someone committing to something, be it a profession, a romance, or a personal ethos, drives the allure of the story. This facet is clearest in the intoxicating tangle between Cate Blanchett’s Kathryn St. Jean and Michael Fassbender’s George Woodhouse. They are two of the best agents in the business and are both agonizingly good at what they do. The only thing more important to them than the work is one another… but what if doubt enters that equation? Well, then, sparks will truly fly.

Surrounding the pair, and appearing as both friends and enemies at once, are a whole cabal of sociopaths. These include Tom Burke’s philandering Freddie, Marisa Abela’s Clarissa, a seemingly brash and naive cyber comms expert who is Freddie’s current girlfriend, Naomie Harris’ Dr. Zoe, a psychologist among spies, and Regé-Jean Page’s James, a rising star with a devilish smile. Black Bag weaves an intricate and tangled web between the six figures (and the three couples) that is the film’s true heart. Not a one of them is less devious than the next. Somehow, all present their amorality in totally differing, and yet incredibly attractive ways.

For me, second to Blanchett, Abela’s Clarissa truly steals the show, offering a masterclass on developing a character and unfurling unexpected depths. Of course, I am always a fan of any performance that Regé-Jean Page delivers. This role allows him to flex a new kind of acting muscle. He offers a shrewder and colder performance than we’ve seen in his other major turns.

As important as the characters is Black Bag‘s very specific aesthetic. The movie paints us an incredibly minimalistic backdrop, perfectly highlighting the close-to-the-chest game its main actors are playing. Everything feels very austere and angular, often empty, and sharp-edged, to be sure. But every so often, the jazzy slide of David Holmes’ soundtrack comes in to offer lushness around the edges, hinting at hidden secrets leaking out. Steven Soderbergh, of course, serves as cinematographer and editor, in addition to director. And his deft hand crafts the movie with incredible certainty. Finally, we would be remiss not to also mention costume designer Ellen Mirojnick. The extensive, immaculate array of turtlenecks, leather jackets, watches, and glasses that parade through this movie, all in a tasteful palate of neutrals, were key to that efficient erotic energy Black Bags exudes—quiet luxury on high.

Less critical to the movie is its plot. Ostensibly, the whole film hinges on the theft of a cyber-program called Severus, which we eventually learn can destabilize nuclear reactors. But this part of the movie is fairly difficult to understand fully and to really keep track of. It almost seems like Black Bag isn’t that interested in explaining to you the intricacies of spy work and international tensions at play here. More so, the movie seems to hope that you can just come aboard to the idea that something important has gone missing and bad things could happen because of it. Isn’t that enough? If the movie had been any longer or less well acted, no. In this case, we’ll give it a pass. Cate Blanchett’s half-smile will have us agreeing to just about anything.

Black Bag pulled us into a world of erotic menace and masterful manipulation. Though the movie didn’t care too much about every detail, the ones it chose to focus on were delivered with breathless precision. It knew exactly how to deliver on its strengths and left us wondering how we would fare in a world full of so many sharks. We may never know, but we can enjoy a brief foray into the fray with Black Bag.

Black Bag releases in theaters on March 14, 2025.

⭐ (3.5 of 5)

The post BLACK BAG Is a Sexy Mediation on Manipulation and Love (Review) appeared first on Nerdist.

Attention, all of you giant monster aficionados out there. While we eagerly await news of the latest Godzilla x Kong continuation on the big screen, the world of the Titans will continue to expand in other media. Titan Comics and Legendary Comics are expanding the Monsterverse later this year in Return to Skull Island, a brand-new comic book series set in Legendary’s Skull Island: The Animated Series universe, currently streaming on Netflix. The first Issue will arrive in comic shops later this summer. It showcases a gorgeous cover by artist Inhyuk Lee, featuring our favorite giant ape in battle with a sea creature. You can check out the cover, as well as several interior pages from issue one, in our gallery down below:

Click To View Gallery

Here’s the official description from Titans Comics and Legendary Comics on Return to Skull Island:

Set against a backdrop of giant monsters and deadly intrigue, the comic follows a group of survivors stranded on the perilous island in the South Pacific. As they uncover its dark secrets, they face life-threatening challenges and fight for survival in a land where every creature is a threat—including Kong himself. The series is written by Simon Furman (Transformers) and illustrated by Christopher Jones (Doctor Who: Once Upon a Time Lord).

So where exactly does the new Return to Skull Island comic book series fall in the overall Monsterverse timeline? At this point, there have been five live-action films in this saga, starting with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla in 2014. Not to mention an animated show, as well as the series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Fortunately, we have a handy infographic that shows exactly where Return to Skull Island takes place, which you can see above. This comic is a ’90s flashback, set in 1993, right after the events of the animated show. So we say put your earbuds in, and read along while listening to some TLC or Nirvana tunes.

The first action-packed issue of Return to Skull Island hits comic book shops on June 4, 2025.

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

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For better or worse, the Enola Gay is a hugely important part of American military history. Unfortunately, that history may now be inadvertently erased thanks to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whose anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives mistakenly flagged references to the aircraft for removal simply because it contains the word “gay.”

The potential elimination of Enola Gay’s imagery is just one of thousands of examples of pictures and other archival records being flagged for removal because of Donald Trump’s executive order to wipe out what he and his ardent followers deem to be DEI-related content. Hegseth is in charge of the project at the Pentagon, and so far, over 26,000 images have been tagged for elimination. That number is expected to rise to more than 100,000, including written posts.