Morbius , the upcoming movie from Sony Pictures and starring Jared Leto in the lead role as the vampiric anti-hero, has been delayed yet again – and it looks like that pesky Spider-Man may be to blame.
The Marvel movie , which follows a scientist-turned-vampire in the same universe as Tom Hardy's Venom, was previously scheduled to release on January 28, but it looks like fans will have to wait until April 1 for its arrival. And no, that's not an April Fool's joke. We hope.
One possible reason for the delay (per Deadline ) is the phenomenal success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, a multiverse-hopping, spell-casting, cameo-burdened fun-fest that saw plenty of old faces from past Spider-Man movies return .
No Way Home released on December 15 in the UK (it launched on December 17 in the US), but the movie's incredible popularity – it's already grossed over $1 billion worldwide , and is set to be one of the highest-grossing films ever made – means it's sure to be entertaining cinemagoers well into this month.
Given Morbius – like Venom – is a character generally associated with Spider-Man, it makes sense that Sony doesn't want similar properties competing for fan attention at the same time. A pushed-back release date helps with that, even if it moves Morbius closer to the May 6 debut of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . Though, given that it's currently unclear how Morbius fits into the wider Marvel Cinematic Multiverse (MCM), that may be no bad thing.
Spider-Man, meet Spider-Man
Warning: spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home follow.
With both Marvel and Sony collaborating on bringing Spider-Man characters to screen, we're entering something of a glut of Spidey and Spidey-adjacent films.
2021 saw Venom 2 and No Way Home arrive exclusively in theaters, while 2022 will see Morbius, animated sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part One , and any other MCU movies that feature Tom Holland's iteration of the webslinger, even in passing.
No Way Home, of course, featured three Spider-Men from different timelines – Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their roles from Sony's two other live-action webslinger film series – whereas the studio's second Spider-Verse movie could include many more beyond that.
Death by Spider-Man? Gauging by the sales success of pretty much every Spider-Man property these days, it's everything a Spider-Man fan really wants. Some film aficionados may think it's overkill at this point, much like the slew of other Marvel Studios productions currently in the works. But, for superhero film fanatics, the plethora of upcoming films, particularly Spidey-based ones, is something to revel in.
And, as long as they keep making Sony (and Marvel) tons of cash along the likes seen with No Way Home and Venom's two films, they'll keep coming.
Knives Out 2 - everything we know so far
When it was first announced in 2018 that Rian Johnson was planning to follow his grueling spell as writer and director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi with a murder-mystery named Knives Out, nobody knew quite what to expect.
Johnson was already booked to take on another Star Wars trilogy, one that would sit outside of the existing properties and take on new worlds and new characters. Given the prospect of building a whole new Star Wars franchise over three years, Knives Out had the feel of a palette cleanser for Johnson – who did have some form with the genre on 2005’s clever, quirky drama Brick – before that work got underway.
Expectations changed somewhat when it was revealed that Daniel Craig would be leading the way as Detective Benoit Blanc. Again, Craig’s appearance had the feel of a sudden opportunity. T he actor was only free because Danny Boyle had left the production of the new James Bond movie and the shoot date had been pushed back six months. The actor would have some fun playing super sleuth before he got back into training to become 007 once again.
Knives Out was shot in just two months at the end of 2018 with a budget of just $35 million. It gathered together a starry cast, with Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer joining Craig.
Upon release, it was a big hit with both critics and audiences., The film grossed over $300 million and scored Johnson an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Suddenly, Johnson’s palette cleanser and Craig’s break before Bond was a serious cinematic proposition. Talk naturally turned to the possibility of a sequel, and, in March 2021, Netflix revealed it had secured not one, but two sequels.
The first sequel is due out at some point in 2022 and we've dug up every piece of information we can find on it.
Release date: Knives Out 2 will be released at some point in 2022.
Cast: Daniel Craig stars as Benoit Blanc. Supporting cast members include Dave Bautista , Edward Norton , Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn and Leslie Odom Jr.
Trailer: there's no trailer yet, but a sneak peek was offered as part of Netflix's 2022 Movie Preview.
What happened in Knives Out?
Knives Out opens with the discovery of the body of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) just hours after he had celebrated his 85th birthday with his family in his vast Massachusetts estate.
Thrombey, a wealthy mystery novelist, is found by his housekeeper with his throat slit. The police quickly reach the conclusion that the death is a suicide, but private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is anonymously paid to investigate.
After sitting down with various family members, Blanc quickly discovers that all is not well within the family. Affairs are being had, egos have been bruised and money is being stolen. Things deteriorate further when Thrombey's will is read and, to everyone's shock, his nurse Marta Cabrera (Ana De Armas) is the sole beneficiary.
From there, things ratchet up, the family tries desperately to get Marta to renounce the inheritance with the tactics getting more and more drastic.
All these shenanigans take place under the watchful eye of Craig’s Benoit Blanc, an eccentric Sherlock Holmes-esque sleuth who sees everything and faces down the murderer.
Knives Out 2 release date: what we know
Netflix likes to keep release dates close to its chest, so there’s no confirmed drop date for Knives Out 2 just yet.
However, a recent Variety report indicated that the film was planned to drop at the end of 2022 with the potential of an awards campaign. In response to the article, Netflix wouldn’t be drawn on any release date.
Daniel Craig has also hinted at a release late in the year, with the actor telling his Skyfall co-star Javier Bardem in Variety : “It’s in the can. Rian [Johnson] is editing now, and it’ll be out, I think, in the fall of this year."
So filming is complete, with Johnson confirming that production had finished in the middle of September 2021.
Unlike the first movie, which was shot entirely in Massachusetts, the sequel has more of a global feel, with production having taken place for a month on the island of Spetses, Greece as well as in New York City and Serbia.
Knives Out 2 cast: who is in?
Aside from Daniel Craig, none of the key cast from Knives Out will return. There’s no room for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who starred in Johnson’s Brick and Loop and collaborated with the director on his TV variety series. Maybe he’s saving him for the third film? Who knows?
Much like the original, the new cast is a very starry list, with only Madelyn Cline and Jessica Henwick relative unknowns.
Cline has had small roles in Stranger Things and The Originals and is one of the leading lights in Netflix’s teen drama Outer Banks. Henwick was first announced with a key role in Netflix’s Marvel collaboration Iron Fist. After a big role in The Matrix: Resurrections , Henwick not only has a part in the Knives Out sequel, she’s also in Netflix’s other tentpole, The Gray Man .
The key Knives Out 2 cast looks like this:
As yet, we don’t know which characters this new cast will be playing. Ethan Hawke has revealed that his role is a small one, telling Screen Rant : "Knives Out 2, I just have a cameo in that movie. Don't expect much from me."
We caught a glimpse of six cast members, including Hahn, Hudson and Bautista, in the first preview, which is below:
Knives Out 2 trailer - is there one?
There’s no standalone trailer for Knives Out 2 just yet, but we did get a small preview of the film as part of Netflix’s preview of all their 2022 movies. Skip to minute 2:34 for a very quick glimpse of Craig in action as he prepares to board a boat…
You can expect a full trailer to drop in the weeks before the release date, but, as we said, there’s no confirmation on when that will be.
Knives Out 2: who is making it?
Rian Johnson acts as writer, director and producer on the sequel and he has recruited many of the same people who helped make the first film such a success.
Cinematographer Steve Yedlin, who has worked with Johnson on all of his films, going all the way back to Brick, has once again been at the wheel, while Nathan Johnson is back to compose the score.
Likewise, Johnson’s producing partner Ram Bergman and editor Bob Ducsay, who first worked with Johnson on the hit sci-fi drama Looper, are back on the crew for the sequel.
Knives Out 2 - how much did Netflix pay?
A pretty penny indeed.
Back in March 2021 when the deal was announced, it was revealed that the streamer had agreed to pay $469 million for the rights to two sequels. That’s a staggering amount of money, which will reportedly see Daniel Craig earn more than $100 million by the time he’s completed work on the third film. T hat windfall is the highest salary ever paid by a streamer . It’s double what The Rock has managed to land for Amazon’s forthcoming festive adventure Red One.
Both Amazon and Apple had worked hard to persuade Johnson to sign up with them for the Knives Out sequels, but in the end, they balked at the final price.
One of the losing bidders told Variety: “The math doesn’t work. There’s no way to explain it. The world has gone mad. It’s a mind-boggling deal.”
Netflix, though, are happy with the deal, with an insider telling the Hollywood Reporter : "Yes, it’s overpaying, but Netflix is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers,” says one streaming executive familiar with the deal. “It takes a proven theatrical commodity off the board and puts it in their pocket. And it’s another way they re-educate audiences to think of streaming and their company above a studio.”
What can we expect from Knives Out 2?
The plot is under wraps, but the cast members have been lining up to extol the film’s virtues.
Dave Bautista gushed about the sequel, telling People magazine : “I really think it’s going to be as good, if not better, than the first one. I’m always afraid to say that because I don’t want anybody to get offended saying that we’re going to be better, but I really do think this. I think the characters are just so much more colorful. I think people are really going to dig this.”
He went on: “The characters are just so great. They’re so different. Everybody’s cast so well. I was working with a couple of my castmates and was mesmerized by their performances and just how well they’ve adapted into these characters. I think the characters in this are even more quirky than the first one.”
Knives Out 3 - what do we know?
We know it’ll happen, Netflix has shelled out enough money to make sure of that, and we know that Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson are confirmed. But, beyond that, we’ve got nothing, no production start date or hint of a release date. When we get closer to Knives Out 2’s release date, and the cast and Johnson start doing interviews, we will know a lot more.
Knives Out 2 will be released on Netflix in 2022.
The Witcher season 3: everything we know so far
It seems that the wheels of really starting to turn on The Witcher season 3. The hit Netflix series' last instalment only aired in December 2021, but it appears that its third season is about to enter full production imminently.
Why do we think that? Because there has been plenty of online speculation that principal photography on The Witcher season 3 will begin very soon. It's about time, too, seeing as we had to wait two years for the popular Netflix show 's second season to arrive. That's after its showrunner told us (in December 2021) that work was continuing on season 3 without a set start date yet. That was over three months ago, though, and it's likely that lots of pre-production has been completed since.
That's not the only piece of news surrounding The Witcher's third season. Rumors suggest that new cast members have been hired ahead of its shooting start date, while filming locations have been selected in preparation for production to begin. Suffice to say, Netflix and The Witcher's chief creative team seem like they're ready to get season 3 in front of our eyeballs as soon as possible.
Below, you'll find even more information on The Witcher season 3's development. We cover its potential release date, cast announcements, possible plot, and the show's future post-season 3. If you've only just started watching with the fantasy series, you'll want to check out our spoiler-free season 2 review , plus our extensive chat with The Witcher's showrunner and main cast .
Spoilers follow for The Witcher seasons 1 and 2, as well as Andrzej Sapkowski's novel series.
The Witcher season 3 release date: what we know
It's hoped that The Witcher season 3 will arrive more quickly than season 2 did. The Witcher season 1 landed on Netflix in December 2019, but it would be another two years – due to the ongoing pandemic – before its sequel was released.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar in December 2021, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich revealed that, while season 3’s scripts were nearly complete, there was still plenty of work to be done at the time.
“This is our last week [December 3] in the writers’ room,” Hissrich said. “We’re almost done with the scripting phase… but the creative process is now really just starting. We have the scripts, and now we’ll bring the directors on, the actors back in, and start delving in deeper and reflecting back and making sure that it’s the perfect season.”
Since then, however, plenty of pre-production work has been carried out. The show's chief creative team has spent the first few months of 2022 scouting locations for The Witcher season 3.
Additionally, according to Witcher fansite Redanian Intelligence , which has been correct about other aspects of the show’s production, filming will begin in March 2022. Principal photography is due to take place at Longcross Studios in the UK.
Redanian Intelligence has also reported that The Witcher season 3 will comprise a six-month shoot in locations including Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia. If that’s the case, filming should end in September 2022.
According to executive producer Steve Gaub , The Witcher season 3's crew is hard at work crafting the required sets for the next instalment's many locations. All signs, then, point towards filming beginning very soon on the show's next entry.
Still, taking all of the above and the show’s lengthy post-production phase into account, we wouldn’t expect the show’s third season to release before spring 2023 at the earliest. Of course, we'd love to be proved wrong. But, as long as the cast and crew take the necessary time to make season 3 as good as possible, we're happy to wait for its arrival.
The Witcher season 3 cast: who is returning?
You can expect all the show’s key players, plus the majority of its sizable supporting cast, to return:
Most of the above characters have played significant parts in The Witcher so far but you can expect those who haven’t to have expanded roles in season 3.
Emperor Emhyr is the most notable of that contingent. As the season 2 finale shockingly revealed, Duny – the knight Geralt saved in season 1, and also Ciri’s father – is not only still alive, but he’s the leader (aka The White Flame) of Nilfgaard’s forces. And he wants to be reunited with Ciri, so he can use her abilities for his own nefarious means.
We expect Philippa Einhart to feature more regularly in season 3, too. She was only present in a couple of season 2 scenes but, based on what we know of her novel counterpart, she has a bigger role to play. That expectation also extends to King Vizimir and Sigismund Dijkstra, with the kingdom of Redania becoming more prominent as the story in the novels unfolds.
Other season 2 newcomers, including Adjoa Andoh’s Nenneke, Simon Callow’s Codringher, Liz Carr’s Fenn, Kaine Zajaz’s Gage and Sam Hazeldine’s Eredin/King of the Wild Hunt, may also be back. Until we hear official confirmation on this front, though, we haven’t included them above.
As for who may not return, Kim Bodnia’s Vesemir and other Witchers including Coën (Yasen Atour) and Lambert (Paul Bullion) might not be back. That’s based on Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri deciding to leave the Witchers’ Kaer Morhen stronghold in the season 2 finale. Unless the trio has to make an unexpected return, Vesemir and company aren’t likely to return just yet. Netflix’s Witcher series has diverged slightly from its source material at times, though, so Vesemir and company could still be included in season 3 in some capacity.
Finally, there are plenty of characters from the books who could be introduced. Again, though, until we receive official cast announcements, we can’t say who will show up. But, according to Redanian Intelligence, a fan favorite female character in Mivia , as well as a new villain known as The Professor , may have supporting roles. Redanian Intelligence also claims that Safiyya Ingar (Summer of Rockets, Faith) has been cast in an undisclosed role, while the same website has unearthed a supposed audition tape belonging to Howard Corlett (Outlander), who may portray a character called Applegatt, a royal Aedirn messenger.
The Witcher season 3 plot: what's the story about?
Major spoilers follow for The Witcher books and TV show.
Little is known about season 3’s plot, but we do have some idea of where it’ll go. That’s based on Sapkowski’s books, as well as what Hissrich and the show’s cast have said.
Hissrich exclusively told TechRadar that season 3 will be based on the second main novel in The Witcher saga – i The Time of Contempt. “I’m really thrilled with how season 3 is shaping up,” Hissrich told us. “Because it’s based on my favorite book in the saga, which is The Time of Contempt [and] I feel like seasons 1 and 2 have been laying the playing field for everything huge that’s about to happen.”
Chatting with Collider , Hissrich also reaffirmed her desire to stick as closely to the source material as possible, saying: “I don’t feel the need for our story to go beyond where the books go. I think Andrzej had a natural end in mind. Now actually, since we started the show, he’s released more books, so we’ll have to see how that fits into it.”
It sounds like season 3 will incorporate plot points from other books in the series, too. In the same Collider interview, Hissrich confirmed that a “big story from Blood of Elves”, the first novel in The Witcher saga, will form part of the third season’s story.
There are only two major Blood of Elves storylines not included in season 2. The first concerns the Scoia’tael, a group of non-human guerillas who fight for Nilfgaard and attack Geralt, Ciri, Triss and Yarpen Zigrin’s dwarven contingent in the novels. Hissrich has confirmed (per Polygon ) that the Scoia’tael will be part of season 3, so their introduction should cause problems for Geralt and company.
The second, though, is far more important. It relates to Geralt telling Ciri about the roses of Aelirenn, an elf who led the last band of elven youths against an invading human army. Aelirenn’s forces were massacred by their foes and, given that only young elves can produce offspring, the demise of Aelirenn’s forces inadvertently led to the elves’ slow march towards extinction. Expect this particular story to tie back into events concerning Francesca and her murdered elven baby in season 2.
Lastly, where Hissrich’s quotes are concerned, she teased the prospect of more action in season 3 and that the show’s next instalment will take place across a shorter time period – a welcome plot point for fans after season 1’s many time jumps drew criticism.
She told The Wrap : “There’s tons of action, there’s tons of things that are just jaw dropping when you get to them. So we’re really letting that lead our storytelling. Season 3, for instance, takes place on a very, very small timeline. Not a lot of time passes, because it doesn’t need to.”
As for the cast, lead actor Henry Cavill wants the show to follow Sapkowski’s novels more closely than before. Speaking during The Witcher Unlocked , a filmed spoilercast released post-season 2, Cavill said: “I'm a huge fan of the books and staying loyal to them, and it's about making sure that story happens without too much in the way of diversions or side things going on to muddy the waters.”
So we should expect season 3 to contain less in the way of plot diversions. Or should we? Speaking to Newsweek , Jaskier actor Joey Batey said: “There are inevitably going to be plot lines that deviate from the books, so we're no longer trusting the books... we're obviously completely trusting the books but there's so much trust in Lauren.” We’ll have to wait and see if Cavill gets his wish, then.
Anya Chalotra, who plays Yennefer, wants season 3 to incorporate more of the maternal relationship between her character and Ciri from the novels. Chatting to Glamour , Chalotra said: “[I want to see] everything that happens in the book where she gets to develop a mother-daughter relationship with Ciri. She also calms down a bit and she realizes she is enough.”
Finally, Reddit has rounded up so potential spoiler-y content from Hissrich (based on some Twitter replies to her followers) about certain season 3 character arcs. You can read about them here but, be warned, they do reveal new locations and development of specific characters in season 3. We'd advise you not to click the link if you want to go into The Witcher's third season with no prior knowledge.
The Witcher season 3 trailer: is there one?
No, and there won’t be for a long time. Once one is released, we’ll update this section.
The Witcher season 3: what does the show's future hold?
Netflix hasn’t renewed The Witcher for a fourth season yet – but we’d be surprised if another installment isn’t greenlit. Speaking to Collider , Hissrich revealed that she’s mapped out a seven-season arc for the show, but her plan will depend on its continual renewal.
Cavill has also expressed a desire to star in all seven seasons, telling The Hollywood Reporter (THR) that he’s “absolutely committed” to Hissrich’s vision. Freya Allen, who portrays Ciri, also told The Radio Times that she wants to finish Ciri’s story in the mainline series, but not be part of any Witcher side projects.
Speaking of spin-offs, there are a few offshoot productions in the works for Netflix’s Witcher-Verse.
First up is The Witcher: Blood Origin prequel series. Set 1200 years before Netflix’s mainline Witcher series, Blood Origin will cover the creation of the first Witcher. The show will also follow events leading up to and during the Conjunction of the Spheres, the cataclysm that results in the collision of multiple universes and their human, elven and monstrous races. Blood Origin is due to be released sometime in 2022.
Other Witcher spin-off productions currently in development include a family-friendly animated series and a second anime movie, both of which were announced at Netflix’s Tudum fan event in September 2021. Neither project has been given a concrete release date yet.