Simon Pegg

As was confirmed in the behind the scenes featurette at Comic-Con, we know that Simon Pegg has a minor role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens — it’s not one you’ll notice when the film hits theaters, since the actor was entirely covered in an alien costume. But the fact that Pegg wanted to appear in the film, even in a totally unnoticeable part, is proof positive of his Star Wars fandom. In the spirit of that fandom, Pegg sat down for an interview where he ranked all six of the previous Star Wars films.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation hits theaters this week, and it’s already been earning crazy good reviews for the latest installment in Tom Cruise’s action-packed franchise. There’s plenty to love in the sequel, in which Cruise continues to fully dedicate himself to some insane stunts. But as with most films, there were some pretty awesome scenes that hit the cutting room floor due to time, like this 10-minute scene with Alec Baldwin described by director Christopher McQuarrie.

Alec Baldwin is just four years older than Tom Cruise. In the mid-’90s, they were both action stars. When the first Mission: Impossible movie came out in 1996, it would not have been inconceivable in the slightest for Baldwin to play super-spy Ethan Hunt; Baldwin was the first actor to play the role of super-spy Jack Ryan in 1990’s The Hunt For Red October; in 1994, he headlined a pair of big Hollywood productions, The Shadow and The Getaway.

Last week Paramount debuted a new video from the set of Star Trek Beyond to promote a massive, six-week-long charity contest asking fans to donate $10 to their charity of choice for the chance to win a special trip to the set or a walk-on role. That video was not only the first official confirmation of Idris Elba’s casting, but it was the first in a planned series of videos from the set. The second has arrived featuring Simon Pegg and Anton Yelchin, as well as a sneak peek behind the scenes.

As confirmed by that behind the scenes footage that debuted at Comic-Con, we know that Simon Pegg has a cameo role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens — okay, it’s not so much a cameo as it is a minor, unrecognizable background role. It wasn’t long ago that Pegg himself revealed that Daniel Craig is playing a Stormtrooper in the film, but what does Craig himself have to say about that? “F—king hell!”

This delightful new video from the set of Star Trek Beyond offers fans a chance to boldly go where no Star Trek fan has gone before — with a walk-on role in the upcoming sequel. But this isn’t your average contest. Fans are encouraged to contribute to the Omaze charity fundraiser in order to participate, meaning that your goodwill could earn you a very good time.

The new Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation trailer doesn’t offer up anything drastically different from the usual Mission: Impossible movie — Tom Cruise, shadowy government agents, an elegantly dressed woman kicking ass, insane stunts, an improbable task — but it does all those things (and does them all so well), it’s hard to not get excited for the upcoming fifth installment.

After a series of fits and starts with Roberto Orci, who was supposed to write and direct the film before dropping out of the project, Star Trek 3 (supposedly aka Star Trek Beyond) is falling into place under the direction of Fast & Furious filmmaker Justin Lin. After Orci left, the script for the film was rewritten by Doug Jung and the reboot series’ Scotty, Simon Pegg. In a new interview with The Guardian, Pegg explained why Paramount hired him to revamp Orci’s screenplay. According to him, the studio is looking to make Star Trek “more inclusive”:

One of Robin Williams’ final projects was lending his voice to the comedy Absolutely Anything, in which Simon Pegg is granted immense power to do, well, anything in the world, thanks to some scheming aliens. The first trailer paints the film as something like Bruce Almighty, but with aliens instead of God.

News about Star Trek 3 has been coming at a slow trickle, but at least it’s a positive, nourishing trickle that has us thinking the third film in this still freshly-rebooted universe will be a significant course correction after the disappointing Star Trek Into Darkness. And, strangely enough, the rumored title for the next movie only adds to the behind-the-scenes narrative of “Yes, we’re sorry. We’re fixing it. We promise.”