Warner Bros has just released the first trailer for the long-awaited sequel Mortal Kombat II. The bloody footage shows the Mortal Kombat tournament kicking off with Earth’s fate at stake. Raiden and Sonya Blade recruit Hollywood star Johnny Cage to fight for 'Earthrealm'.

Karl Urban enters the world of Mortal Kombat as Johnny Cage, the protagonist of this sequel. Cole Young (Lewis Tan), the main character from the first installment, has a smaller role in this new film.

Story

The official synopsis reads: "From New Line Cinema comes the latest, blood-soaked chapter in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory: Mortal Kombat II."

"This time, fan-favorite champions – now joined by Johnny Cage – face off in the ultimate, merciless, blood-soaked battle to defeat the dark reign of Shao Kahn, who threatens the survival of Earthrealm and its defenders."

New And Familiar Faces

The trailer offers a first look at many new characters, including Jade (Tati Gabrielle), Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), and the main villain Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford).



Returning warriors include Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), Kano (Josh Lawson), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), and Sub-Zero/Noob Saibot (Joe Taslim). The film will hit theaters on October 24.

Fans of the iconic Alien films have something to look forward to next month. The new series Alien: Earth will premiere on Hulu and Disney+ in August. Are you ready for it?

Alien: Earth is an American sci-fi horror series from 2025, created by Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion). The series is based on the Alien franchise and serves as a prequel to the original film Alien from 1979.

New Invention

Set two years before the events of the original film, the story takes place in 2120. An unknown spaceship crashes on Earth, near the futuristic Prodigy City. It turns out to be the USCSS Maginot spaceship.

At the same time, the major corporation Prodigy presents its latest innovation: hybrid synthetics. These are humanoid robots equipped with human consciousness, with a robot named Wendy as the first prototype.

Battle For Control

Her existence not only represents a technological breakthrough but also raises profound ethical and existential questions about the definition of humanity. A conflict arises among five powerful companies, all vying for control in this new world.



Wendy and a small group of soldiers are sent to investigate the site of the spaceship crash. There, they discover something far more dangerous than they expected. Multiple deadly extraterrestrial forms, including the notorious Xenomorphs, are present.

Hulu And Disney+

The series stars Sydney Chandler (Don't Worry Darling, Pistol) as Wendy, Timothy Olyphant (Justified, Deadwood) as Kirsch, Alex Lawther (The End of the F***ing World, Black Mirror) as CJ, and Samuel Blenkin (Black Mirror, Atlanta) as Boy.

The first season of Alien: Earth consists of eight episodes, released weekly. Watch the first two episodes starting August 13 on Hulu and Disney+.

Taika Waititi, known for films like Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, is attached to a new adaptation of the iconic British comic series Judge Dredd. Waititi will take on directing duties for this ambitious production.

The script is being written by Drew Pearce, who was previously responsible for screenplays for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Iron Man 3, Hotel Artemis, and The Fall Guy.

Friendship As The Foundation For Collaboration

Waititi and Pearce have been friends for many years and both grew up reading the Judge Dredd comics. They have long been looking for a project to work on together, and this adaptation seems to be the perfect opportunity.

The original comic series was created in the seventies for publisher 2000 AD. The story is set in the dystopian megacity Mega-City One, where officers act as judge, jury, and executioner. Judge Dredd is one of the most feared and respected law enforcers.

Strong Production Team And Search For Studio

The production is backed by a team of experienced names including Chris Kingsley, Jason Kingsley, Ben Smith, Roy Lee, Jeremy Platt, Natalie Viscuso, and Drew Pearce himself. The project is currently actively being pitched to studios and distributors.

"I am the law!"

Judge Dredd is headed back to the big screen with Thor: Ragnarok's Taika Waititi directing and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation's Drew Pearce writing. pic.twitter.com/CM8QUHbqhO

— IGN (@IGN) July 18, 2025

Judge Dredd has previously been adapted twice. The first attempt was the large-scale but poorly received film from 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone. In 2012, a second version, Dredd, starring Karl Urban, was released and received much better reviews from critics and fans alike.

A Second Chance For The Source Material

The 2012 version was directed by Pete Travis, but it is widely believed that screenwriter Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) actually took on much of the directing responsibilities. This film captured the atmosphere of the comics better but did not receive a sequel.

The new film promises to stay closer to the original tone of the comics, with an emphasis on dark satire and extensive world-building. There is even speculation that this project could be the start of a broader franchise.

Sometimes projects emerge that seem to have all the ingredients to become a classic. In 2018, Amazon greenlit an ambitious miniseries about the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. With Steven Spielberg as an executive producer, Javier Bardem in the lead role, and a script that drew from the work of Dalton Trumbo, success seemed guaranteed. Yet Cortés vanished quietly from the radar.

The idea for the project dates back to 1965 when Trumbo penned a script about the confrontation between Cortés and Aztec ruler Montezuma II. That script sat on the shelf for years. In 2014, Steven Zaillian, known for Schindler’s List, revived it. What started as a feature film ultimately morphed into a four-part miniseries. Bardem officially signed on for the lead, and Spielberg remained on board as producer.

Big Plans, Early End

The series was grandly set up: filmed in Spanish, Nahuatl, and Chontal-Maya and directed by Colombian duo Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego. Everything pointed to a series that aimed to combine historical scale with moral complexity. Bardem said at the time in a statement: "The best and worst sides of humanity come together in this story. It's a privilege to portray that."

But just as preparations were in full swing, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in the works. Production was halted in 2020 and never resumed. Amazon ultimately decided to cancel the series. Thus, a project that had the potential to measure up to epic series like Shōgun, where history, violence, and tragedy go hand in hand, disappeared.

Will It Ever Revive?

Whether Cortés will ever be resurrected is uncertain. However, the combination of the involved creators and the dramatic core of the story ensures that the canceled series remains intriguing. Not every failure is a missed opportunity, but in this case, it certainly feels like one.

British actor Jack Lowden, known for his role in Slow Horses, takes the lead in a new crime series currently in production at Apple TV+. The series is based on Metropolis, the final book in the globally successful Berlin Noir series by author Philip Kerr. Set in the vibrant yet tense Berlin of 1928, moral boundaries blur, and violence in both street and politics escalates.

The Berlin Noir series, which consists of a total of fourteen parts, has achieved great commercial success internationally. The stories follow Bernie Gunther, a policeman trying to navigate the rapidly changing Germany during the interwar period. Translations have appeared in many countries, particularly achieving high sales figures in the United Kingdom and the United States, receiving praise from crime authors like Michael Connelly and Lee Child. The book Metropolis, released just before Kerr’s death in 2018, serves as a prequel and is now the basis for the series.

Berlin Before The Storm

The story of Metropolis begins as Bernie Gunther is transferred to the notorious Murder Squad in Berlin. While hunting a serial killer targeting marginalized groups, political tensions and social unrest drive the city toward the inevitable. The Nazis are not yet a direct factor, but their rise is palpable. Gunther constantly balances between justice and survival.

Peter Straughan (Conclave) writes the screenplay and acts as showrunner. The direction is in the hands of Tom Shankland (House of Guinness). The series is produced by Bad Wolf and Playtone, the production company of Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. They previously collaborated with Apple on the series Masters of the Air.

Apple Plays It Safe Again

With Berlin Noir, Apple is once again securing a prestigious book series, following adaptations of works such as Pachinko and Slow Horses. The choice of Lowden as Gunther aligns with expectations, given his previous success with the streamer. Filming will take place in Berlin and is expected to start in the fall of 2025.