John Goodman

Once we’d gotten past the “why” of ABC’s Roseanne revival, there was still the “how” of John Goodman’s Dan taking part. The character famously served as one of the series finale’s heavier twists, but new details of the revival seek to undo poor Dan’s fate.

Surprised though we were that Roseanne was next on the list for revival, we knew ABC would put up a fight to host it. So it is, that the broadcast network has beaten out Netflix for the chance to bring back Roseanne, currently eying the return for midseason.

With the recent announcement that Transformers: The Last Knight would be hitting theaters two days earlier  —  moving from Friday, June 23 to Wednesday, June 21  —  fans are closer than ever to seeing their favorite Autobots (and humans) throw down against a reluctantly evil Optimus Prime. This is the summer of heel turns by beloved franchise characters; first we saw Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto betray his family in The Fate of the Furious, and now we’re counting down the days until Optimus Prime stabs Bumblebee in the face. Rough summer for heroes, it would seem.

Oh, the Pandora’s Box we opened with even one sitcom revival. Latest off the nostalgia conveyor belt is none other than Roseanne, which will follow Will and Grace and Fuller House with its own modern revival, complete with original cast.

Man-hunts-down-other-men-who-did-something-to-his-dog seems like it’s become an action movie subgenre of its own ever since John Wick came out, and now Bruce Willis is trying out the trope, playing a private eye who goes on a rampage after his dog gets stolen by drug dealers.

Kong: Skull Island may be set in the early 1970s, but it’s clearly engineered for modern sensibilities. The film’s trailer drew comparisons to Apocalypse Now, but director Jordan Vogt-Roberts seems less inspired by Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War film than its iconic poster of a fiery setting sun, an image Skull Island returns to over and over. Even if it bears superficial similarities to Coppola’s classic, it’s little more than A-picture gloss on a big-budget B-movie. Naming one of your characters after Joseph Conrad doesn’t make your film Heart of Darkness; the only thing at this movie’s heart is the (admittedly accurate) belief that when a giant ape punches a giant lizard in the face with a boat motor it looks totally freaking awesome.

Each new trailer for Kong: Skull Island offers a little more humor than the last, and in the final trailer for the King’s revival, it’s not just John C. Reilly who’s monkeying around. Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and Corey Hawkins also get a few comedic beats in during the latest sneak peek, which is cleverly set to The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.” And there are plenty of good reasons to get the heck off of that island.

Summer movie season starts a little earlier every year, and in 2017, it has consumed May, April, and even our beloved March. Logan will kick off the big-budget bonanza in the first weekend of March, and then cede the floor to the gargantuan Kong: Skull Island the weekend after. Even so, these two releases in particular inspire hope rather than dread when reflecting upon the studio-fronted franchise releases encroaching beyond their summer stomping grounds. All the previews have suggested that these two films will have something original to bring to the table, and the latest clip for Kong: Skull Island confirms that if nothing else, we’ll have some delectable character acting to enjoy.

With the movie only a couple months away, it’s about time for Kong: Skull Island to drop another bit of footage — or four. Today, Legendary has gifted us a bunch of new short TV spots that have a few new shots in them and give us a better idea of who all these non_kong characters really are. The first one, above, reiterates the Godzilla connection while also letting us know that, yes, Samuel L. Jackson is going full Samuel L. Jackson villain mode for this one too, never fear. Or, if you’re one of the people stuck on the island with him, fear a lot.

Director Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg are tackling two devastating events in recent American history in their latest films. Following the recent Deepwater Horizon, the filmmaker and actor’s next film this year will follow the tragedy of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing in Patriots Day.