Lupita Nyong'o

Star Wars fans were delighted with word that Rey, Jyn, Leia, Hera and more would lead a new vision of the animated universe, and there’s more good news on that double-sun horizon. See the first Forces of Destiny trailer right now, and find out the July premiere!

Well, folks, here it is: possibly the most anticipated Marvel trailer in recent memory. Black Panther is the titular superhero’s first solo outing since he was introduced in Captain America: Civil War, and is also the first Marvel movie with a predominantly black cast. Welcome to Wakanda, the African nation T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) presides over, which has been in turmoil since the untimely death of T’Challa’s father, the former king. The country is also the subject of some contention due to its proximity to a very important (yet fictional) metal.

The photo that launched a meme that inspired a social media dream is now becoming a reality because sometimes the internet has some okay ideas (sometimes). Rihanna and Lupita Nyong’o are teaming up to co-star in a buddy movie directed by Ava DuVernay from a screenplay by Issa Rae — if that sounds too good to be true, that’s because it was…until it wasn’t.

It’s always interesting to see which bits of the source material superhero movies choose to form their story. In the case of Black Panther, the writers had a wealth of recent storylines to draw from, and it looks like at least parts of the movie will dip a toe into Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, and Yona Harvey’s World of Wakanda spinoff series — namely, the awesome gay female warrior stuff.

The first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi debuted this morning, and…wow, we’re gonna need a minute (or 20) to process, especially with Luke Skywalker’s suspenseful voiceover. We were promised we’d get to hear Mark Hamill speak, and speak he does — throughout most of the trailer, ending with a fairly chilling line: “It’s time for the Jedi to end.” But what does that mean?! Is Rey the eponymous last Jedi, or is Luke? That’s something we probably won’t know until December. For now, join us as we try to break it all down and take a closer look at the most thrilling (and possibly telling) moments with GIFs and screenshots from the trailer.

Star Wars is great, everyone’s pretty much on the same page about that one, but the problem is that it’s just so dang long. Eight movies, with more on the way? And they’re all two-plus hours? And there are TV shows?! It would take a viewer days if not weeks to wade through all of that action, and so the minds at Lucasfilm and Disney have done us all the service of condensing Star Wars into segments a little closer to bite-size. In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes; likewise, in the future, new Star Wars content will be between two and three minutes long.

Disney movies about triumphant characters overcoming great odds often come with a heavy serving of sap, hyperbolizing struggles and achievements with a glossy Hollywood veneer. Mira Nair’s Queen of Katwe doesn’t entirely do that. While there is a sweet and sentimental flourish, Nair’s film about a young Uganda chess champion plays like a sincere biopic that isn’t desperate to pry tears from your eyes or exploit a minority tale for dramatic effect.

Rian Johnson has wrapped production on the next Star Wars installment, but according to Lupita Nyong’o, who is going to reprise her role as Maz Kanata, her scenes haven’t been shot yet.

Captain America: Civil War introduced two more Marvel heroes: Tom Holland’s new Spider-Man, and Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther — both of whom will hit the big screen in their own solo films over the next couple of years. We know a little about Spider-Man: Homecoming, but not very much at all about Black Panther, aside from the fact that it has a great cast and director. And thanks to one of those actors, we now have our first plot details for the upcoming film.

Chadwick Boseman made one hell of a debut as Black Panther in this summer’s Captain America: Civil War. As T’Challa, the new King of the African nation of Wakanda, Boseman gave a terrific and intense performance as both the angry diplomat (and grieving son) and the tough-as-nails superhero. And when your nails are made out of unbreakable vibranium, that means you’re pretty damn tough.