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Kristen Wiig will bring the fan-favorite character Roboto to life in the upcoming live-action Masters of the Universe movie. Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Wiig will voice the mechanical warrior, a role that has been voiced in the past by Justin Long, Alan Oppenheimer, and Michael Donovan.

The Hollywood Reporter first revealed the casting on Friday, noting that the big-budget film is now in post-production. Directed by Travis Knight, known for Bumblebee, the movie is based on the Mattel toy line that first launched in 1982.

The toys were accompanied by comics and eventually inspired the 1983 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series, along with dozens of other toys, series, and films over the years.

Roboto was added to the Masters of the Universe toys in 1985 and appeared in the mini-comic The Battle of Roboto, where he was built by Man-at-Arms. The character is known for his transparent metal body,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited hundreds of artists and executives to join the organization!

Wicked star Ariana Grande, Dune‘s Jason Momoa and girlfriend, Hit Man star Adria Arjona, Superman‘s Rachel Brosnahan and Anora breakout Mikey Madison are among the actors who have “distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures.”

“We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang shared in a statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

Keep reading to see the full list of invitees…

According to the Academy website, “Membership selection is based on professional qualifications, with an ongoing commitment to representation, inclusion and equity remaining a priority. Of the 2025 invited class, 41% are women,...

Oscar has its new voters.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out its annual invitations to membership today, with 534 new invitees. If all of them accept, the new overall membership would be 11,120, of which 10,143 would be eligible to vote for Oscars and run for governance elections.

Among those on the list are newly minted Oscar winners Mikey Madison (Best Actress for Anora) and Kieran Culkin. Among all the invitees this year 91 are past Oscar nominees including 26 winners. The prominent star names include Ariana Grande, Dave Bautista, Jodie Comer, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Gillian Anderson, Stephen Graham, Andrew Scott, Danielle Deadwyler, and on and on.

The Academy said 41% of the new class are women, 45% belong to underrepresented communities and 55% are from 60 countries and territories outside the United States. If all accept, it would result in an overall AMPAS membership of 35% women,...

It’s been six years since the release of “Missing Link,” the fifth stop-motion animated film from the Portland-based animation house Laika. If you don’t remember it, that’s because the $100 million film — though well reviewed with an 88 percent Rotten Tomatoes score — was a financial bomb, bringing in only $26.5 million globally. Prior Laika films were all budgeted in the $60 million range and were almost all consistent performers at the box office with around $100 million globally, but reports at the time estimated “Missing Link” could have lost over $100 million after expenses.

The onset of Covid-19 in early 2020 didn’t help Laika bounce back. The pandemic severely hampered the company’s ability to work by hand in their tactile animation facility in the Oregon woodlands, such that production on the company’s next ambitious stop-motion epic, “Wildwood,” did not formally begin until September 2021. The company’s founder, Travis Knight, in the...

Roll out, Transformers fans -- Mpg-17 Style Gen. Optimus Prime just got a new, detailed look via reveals from the Transformers Generations 2025 book. The annual pseudo-catalog delivered prototype images and production sketches of the figure, as well as an interview with Takara Tomy designer Yuuya Onishi that charts the future of Transformers action figures.

The images revealed multiple design iterations -- even ones that didn't make it through production. It's a rare amount of transparency, letting enthusiasts peek into the Takara Tomy process, but the real juicy details came in Onishi's interview. The prototype images reveal an elaborate figure, with quotes from Onishi revealing how meticulously rendered it was. "While still aiming for top-tier quality, we wanted to ensure that the toy could be enjoyed casually on a daily basis," he said. "The key is simplifying the structure without losing a sense of density or believable transformation mechanics."

Takara...

Laika’S Paranorman Returns To The Big Screen In Remastered Reald 3D For Exclusive Halloween Run Featuring A Brand-new CG Short Film Starring Anna Kendrick And Finn Wolfhard: "Laika’s award-winning stop-motion animated film ParaNorman returns this Halloween for a one-week theatrical engagement.

As with the record-breaking 15th Anniversary 2024 re-release of Coraline in 2D and RealD 3D, Laika will bring the gloriously remastered ParaNorman (originally released in 2012) to global audiences in partnership with Trafalgar Releasing in international markets premiering Thursday, October 23 and Fathom Entertainment in the US premiering Saturday, October 25.

Laika’s delightful second film, which garnered multiple awards including Oscar®, BAFTA® and Golden Globe nominations, as well as multiple Annie Awards®, was written by Chris Butler and directed by Butler and Sam Fell (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget). Offered in stunning, newly remastered RealD 3D and 2D formats, ParaNorman’s return launches a year-long 20th Anniversary celebration of Laika,...

Laika’s award-winning stop-motion animated film ParaNorman returns this Halloween for a one-week theatrical engagement. As with the record-breaking 15th Anniversary 2024 re-release of Coraline in 2D and RealD 3D, Laika will bring the remastered ParaNorman (originally released in 2012) to global audiences.

Trafalgar Releasing is partnering with Laika to re-release the film in international markets on Thursday, October 23, and Fathom Entertainment in the U.S. on Saturday, October 25.

Laika’s second film, which garnered multiple awards including Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe nominations, as well as multiple Annie Awards, was written by Chris Butler and directed by Butler and Sam Fell (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget).

Offered in newly remastered RealD 3D and 2D formats, ParaNorman‘s return launches a year-long 20th Anniversary celebration of Laika, it was announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The studio’s new CG animated short film, ParaNorman: The Thrifting, is directed...

Award-winning stop motion studio Laika has announced a Halloween 2025 re-release for its 2012 classic ParaNorman in newly remastered RealD 3D and 2D formats, with a one-week theatrical engagement.

The story of a little boy who can speak to the dead, ParaNorman was Laika’s second film as a studio and garnered Oscar BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations, as well as multiple Annie Awards.

It was written by Chris Butler (Missing Link) and directed by Butler and Sam Fell (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget).

The re-released film will be accompanied by a new, CG animated short film, ParaNorman: The Thrifting, directed by Laika’s lead character designer Thibault LeClercq and written by Butler.

It will feature the voice work of Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard and Anna Kendrick, reprising her role of Norman’s older sister, Courtney Babcock. It is produced by Passion Pictures.

The re-release follows in the wake of...

If you are a fan of animation — or of cinema in general — and are going to be in Los Angeles at some point in 2026 or 2027, you have a mandatory stop to make. Today, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced its slate of exhibitions for 2026. It includes invaluable new materials that hail from major animation studios like Studio Ghibli and Laika, as well as a centennial homage to one of Hollywood's biggest icons: Marilyn Monroe. The exhibitions run from February 2026 to September 2027, with different intervals for each segment.

It's impossible not to think of Laika Studios and not immediately associate it with one of its biggest hits, the 2009 stop-motion animated movie Coraline. Titled Hidden Worlds: The Films of Laika, the exhibition will showcase how Laika managed to revolutionize stop-motion filmmaking over the course of two decades by combining their unique visual style with trailblazing technology. Visitors will be able to...

The Academy is set to give Marilyn Monroe the recognition she rightfully deserves. Despite never receiving an Oscar nomination during her lifetime, the ‘Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon’ exhibition will now be dedicated to the legendary actress, born Norma Jean Mortenson.

The exhibition, scheduled to open on May 31, 2026, and run through February 28, 2027, will present hundreds of original objects, including posters, portraits, photographs, production documents, letters, and rarely seen personal materials—many of which will be on display for the first time—the exhibition will give unique insight into her agency in becoming a Hollywood icon.

The exhibition will also feature an extensive display of Monroe’s screen-worn costumes, ranging from a dress featured in Love Happy (1949) to items from her final and unfinished film, Something’s Got to Give (1962). Major highlights include two costumes by Orry-Kelly from Some Like it Hot (1959), as well as the rarely exhibited famous pink dress...

A petition asking Square Enix to release the canceled Kingdom Hearts Missing-Linkhas already gathered over 500 signatures in under a day. Square Enix announced the title in 2022 as a mobile Ar game similar to Pokémon Go, requiring players to get up and go outside to interact with the game. The game was supposed to take place in Scala ad Caelum following bridge the gap after the events of Union X, following a new cast of characters and building on established Kh lore.

Earlier this week, Square Enix announced that Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was officially canceled, as the developer "determined that it would be difficult for us to offer a service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time." A petition started by Illty Anon on Change.org asks the company to release the game anyway, to give fans of the series a chance to experience the game in "some form or other.

Laika has signed Captain Marvel filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck to write and direct a live-action film based on the upcoming Taylor Jenkins Reid novel Atmosphere.

The novel, to be published next month, centres on a romance between two pioneering female astronauts during the early days of the US space shuttle programme in the late 1970s.

Laika will produce in association with Circle M+P. Producers are Laika president and CEO Travis Knight, the company’s president of live-action film and series Matt Levin, Boden and Fleck, Jenkins Reid and Brad Mendelsohn. Jeremy Kipp Walker is executive producer.

Boden...

Following the cancellation of another Kingdom Hearts game, Square Enix has released the first new screenshots for Kingdom Hearts 4 in over three years. The upcoming game will continue the story of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, which combines the storytelling and developed characters of Square Enix with Disney characters. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the fourth game in the series since it was announced during the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event.

The company announced yesterday that it was canceling development on the live-service mobile game Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, but was continuing to work on the next game in the series. Today, Square Enix has revealed a collection of new screenshots from Kingdom Hearts 4on the Kingdom Hearts X account. The new images show some familiar faces, high-quality environments, and a potentially playable Mickey Mouse.

To our Kingdom Hearts community,We’re currently working hard on Kingdom Hearts IV and will...

Bad news for fans hoping to bide the time until Kingdom Hearts IV with the Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link mobile game. Following a previous delay that pushed the title out of a 2024 release window, Square Enix announced that Missing-Link has been canceled completely. According to the statement, Square Enix decided to cancel the game because they determined “it would be difficult for us to offer a service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time.” The announcement went on to reassure players that the series will continue, and they’re still “hard at work on Kingdom Hearts IV .” Related: Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link Mobile Game Release Pushed Out of 2024 Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was first announced during a 20th anniversary event back in April 2022, which is also when Kingdom Hearts IV was revealed. Here’s the full development team announcement: We have made the decision to cancel the development of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link.

The planned live-service title Kingdom Hearts Missing-Linkhas been officially canceled by Square Enix. The game, which was originally planned for a 2024 release, would have been a live-service mobile game that utilized Gps. The result would have been a mix of the Kingdom Hearts storytelling and lore and Pokémon Go-style physical gameplay.

Unfortunately, Kh fans will never get a chance to experience the title. According to a statement on the official Kingdom Hearts website, Square Enix has "made the decision to cancel the development of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link." After working to develop the title, the studio has "determined that it would be difficult for us to offer a service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time." The studio also assures fans that it's still "hard at work on Kingdom Hearts 4."

What Was Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link? Kingdom Hearts Storytelling Meets Pokémon Go Gameplay

Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was...

Laika's latest ambitious stop-motion adventure, Wildwood, will now be hitting theaters later than expected. Although it was initially planned to finally release in 2025, the studio has now confirmed to ComicBook.com that the long-gestating adaptation of the novel by Colin Meloy will not see the light of day until sometime in 2026. It's the latest twist for a film that has been in development since 2011, began production back in 2021, and only just last year received its first teaser. Hailing from CEO Travis Knight, who also previously directed Bumblebee and Kubo and the Two Strings, it will mark the animation company's sixth feature film production and their first in seven years after Missing Link in 2019.

That Wildwood is taking so long isn't necessarily surprising, given that stop-motion is a notoriously difficult medium to work with and, according to Knight, this project is particularly complicated. It's based on the first title in a wider...

Nicholas Galitzine and Bill Skarsgard are to star in the World War II movie ‘Mosquito Bowl’.The 30-year-old actor and the ‘Nosferatu’ star, 34, have signed on to lead director Peter Berg’s upcoming film for Netflix, Deadline reports.Based on author Buzz Bissinger’s 2022 novel ‘The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II’, the picture will take place in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor and follow four of the nation’s top college football stars who put their athletic careers on hold to join the U.S. Marine Corps. As they train for the gruelling invasion of Okinawa, they take part in a legendary football game - one that brings together some of the greatest players of the era, and for many, serves as their final time on the field.Berg wrote the screenplay for ‘Mosquito Bowl’ with Mark L. Smith, and will...

Fumi Kitahara, the animation publicist who guided award-winning campaigns for DreamWorks, Aardman, Laika, Netflix, Disney and independent studios during her distinguished 30-plus years in the industry, has died. She was 56.

Kitahara died Monday in Los Angeles of complications related to her long battle with a rare blood cancer, a spokesperson for Walt Disney Animation announced.

Among the many acclaimed animated features she helped to publicize are the first three Shrek films, Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, How to Train Your Dragon, Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, Over the Moon and The Sea Beast.

She also oversaw the awards campaigns for numerous Oscar-winning shorts, including such recent titles as The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse and War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.

Born on March 2, 1968, Kitahara graduated from California State University Northridge with a degree in business marketing.

Fumi Kitahara, a respected publicity executive who guided award-winning campaigns for studios including DreamWorks, Aardman, Laika, Netflix and Disney, died Monday of complications related to a rare blood cancer. She was 56.

Among the features Kitahara helped publicize are the first three “Shrek” films, “Chicken Run,” “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Coraline,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “Over the Moon” and “The Sea Beast.”

She oversaw awards campaigns for Oscar-winning shorts such as “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse,” and “War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.”

Kitahara graduated from Cal State Northridge and started her career in 1992 at Walt Disney Studios in the office of Howard Green, working with him on features including “The Lion King,” “Pocahontas,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Toy Story,” and “Frank and Ollie,” in addition to a variety of live-action titles.

Beyond the main Transformers toy line, there are several other branded collectibles based on the franchise in other properties. This includes Funko Pop! dolls, with a new collection taking three Transformers back to their plastic roots.

Previewed on social media, three new Funko toys are being released based on classic Generation 1 Transformers. In the case of two in particular, they evoke the designs of their original toys instead of the more popular animation models. Another figure also showcases an infamous Autobot at a pivotal moment, and it's possible that similar figures in this vein will also soon see a release.

Related Transformers' Grimlock Gets a Modern Update in First-Look Reveal for New Action Figure

A new third-party action figure by De-Fence recreates the bestial design of Grimlock from one of the most acclaimed Transformers video games.

Funko Unleashes Pop! Figures Based on G1 Transformers Toys View this post on InstagramA...

The Costume Designers Guild has fashioned its 2025 Spotlight Award recipient. Emilia Pérez co-star and Lioness lead Zoe Saldaña will pick up her prize at the 27th annual CDG Awards hosted by Jackie Tohn on February 6 at The Ebell in Los Angeles.

The Spotlight Award celebrates an actor whose talent and career personify an enduring commitment to excellence, including a special appreciation of the importance of costume design. The guild notes that Saldaña is a fitting honoree in that she can inhabit a costume and make the character come alive no matter how elaborate or otherworldly — from Neytiri in the Avatar films to Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and beyond.

She plays cartel lawyer Rita Mora Castro in Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical crime comedy Emilia Pérez, which is riding huge awards-season buzz. Saldaña is nominated for Golden Globe, Critics Choices and other awards for the role. She...

Despite some excellent movies hitting theaters, 2024 was, to use a sports phrase, a rebuilding year. The 2023 Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes ground Hollywood to a halt before the studios ultimately agreed to some much-needed concessions for the folks who physically make the films and TV shows we all love, and the downstream effects of that unnecessarily drawn-out labor stoppage spilled into 2024. Movies and shows that were supposed to come out needed time to restart production, studios delayed some releases into 2025, and the industry as a whole experienced a contraction. The first half of this year was rough at the box office, but thanks to several major wins near the end of the year, theatrical exhibition managed to stay alive and make up a ton of ground.

While we'll likely be seeing the effects of the strikes and the subsequent contraction for a while, the floodgates are preparing to open for...

Two Generation 1 Autobots from the original Transformers continuity are set to receive upcoming toys that are both old and new. Ironically, one of these characters is an obscure Transformer that even most hardcore fans won't recognize.

Sunstreaker and Cordon are the latest additions to the Transformers: Missing Link toy line that combines modern engineering with the classic designs of the original Transformers toys. In fact, Cordon in particular homages the pre-Transformers roots of those toys -- a concept that's further homaged through an interesting extra addition to the new retro figures.

Related New Transformers Masterpiece Scale Prototype Recreates a Stunningly Detailed Optimus Prime

A prototype for an upcoming third-party Transformers figure recreates a complex movie version of Optimus Prime in unexpected levels of detail.

Sunstreaker & Cordon Represent the "Missing Link" Between Transformers and Diaclone

The new Transformers: Missing Link Sunstreaker and Cordon figures aren't mere reissues of classic toys,...

It's been over two years since Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was first revealed as an action-rpg with Gps-based mechanics and a new story. Square Enix previously had it lined up for release on iOS and Android devices sometime in 2024, but a delay has pushed it out of the year entirely. There's no new date at the moment, so we'll have to see where Missing-Link lands. Here's what the official X (formerly Twitter) post had to say: While preparing for the launch of "Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link", we have made the difficult decision to delay the release. We sincerely apologize to all players who have been looking forward to the release. We appreciate your patience. Please look forward to further information. Related: Square Enix Officially Announces Kingdom Hearts 4 Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was first announced during a 20th anniversary event back in April 2022, which is also when Kingdom Hearts 4 was revealed.  Source: Official X...

The following contains major spoilers for Smile 2, currently playing in theaters.

Smile 2 is full of Stanley Kubrick Easter eggs, from the creepy smile that took inspiration from Jack Torrance's stare in The Shining to the movie's casting of Jack Nicholson's son, Ray Nicholson, as Skye Riley's boyfriend Paul. It also happens that the Smile Entity plays tricks on people in a similar way that the Overlook Hotel does.

Smile 2 follows pop superstar Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) as she becomes infected by the Smile Curse. Throughout the film, the Smile Entity taunts Skye and makes her relive past traumas. Smile 2 takes the protagonist on a violent journey that leads to her eventual demise in a scarily haunting way. There are many parallels between Parker Finn's latest work and Stanley Kubrick's classic ghost movie.

Smile 2 References Stanley Kubrick's The Shining

The promotional posters of Smile 2...

The Copeland Brothers have found a new home.

Chris and Justin Copeland, who have worked on “Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts,” “Batman: The Killing Joke” and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” cartoon, have joined stop-motion studio Laika to develop animated feature projects. Travis Knight, president and CEO of Laika, made the announcement.

The Copeland Brothers, as they are collectively known, have been working for the past five years on feature and series projects for DreamWorks Animation. The feature they were working on for DreamWorks is not going forward; hence their pivot to Laika, TheWrap has learned. However, a short film that they were working on for the studio is coming soon.

The Copelands join a growing list of filmmakers who are working on projects for the Portland, Oregon-based animation studio, including Pete Candeland, who has directed a number of Gorillaz music videos; Víctor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, who...

As it rolls out new animated series “Barney’s World” on Max and Cartoon Network and prepares a live-action “Barney” movie with Daniel Kaluuya, Mattel will be driving into live action non-pre school premium TV series to grow its brands and properties, Josh Silverman, Mattel’s chief franchise officer, announced on Sunday at his MipJunior leadership keynote at Cannes, entitled Beyond the Toybox: Shaping the Future of Play.

Silverman also confirmed the Netflix release date of “Thomas & Friends: The Christmas Letter Express” one-hour holiday special as Nov. 21 in the U.S. Global launches will be made across a bouquet of broadcast and streaming platforms including Milkshake! on Channel 5 and Nick Jr. in the U.K. and Cartoonito in Italy.

“We always done a really nice job on the kids animation side. We’ve had some some great offerings on the unscripted side,” Silverman told Variety.

“One area that we’re...

Jim Henson's 1986 film "Labyrinth" is a deeply beloved classic among kids of a certain age. It presents the raw sexuality of David Bowie, playing a sexy goblin lord in tights, his bulging package kickstarting millions of kids' puberties. At the beginning of the film, the main character, the 16-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) wants nothing more than to live in a fantasy world, happy to remain in her pretty-princess phase indefinitely. However, when Bowie's goblin king kidnaps her baby brother Toby (Toby Froud), she learns that living in such a world is wild and off-putting. Most of the film is a random, light adventure, but one scene points out that Sarah is unduly clinging onto her childhood trinkets.

She learns the lesson of I Corinthians 13:11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man,...

The Kingdom Hearts franchise is a long and complicated one, but something that has become quite a cult classic, with diehard fans detailing the complex lore that stretches across 13 different entries. To say that it has become completely unapproachable for newcomers is an understatement, putting it in competition with the Yakuza series for the most impenetrable narrative. However, it seems like that's all about to change, although Kingdom Hearts veterans are going to be quite disappointed.

The 13 Kingdom Hearts games have definitely made things a little complicated, earning the series the right to join the small but substantial list of games with terrible naming conventions. Luckily, at least for newcomers, the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 4 will change all of that with a new update from its creator, Tetsuya Nomura, delivering some long-awaited news. However, while it may appeal to those who've never touched a Kingdom Hearts game before, those who've been...

The Transformers franchise continues to move forward by looking to the past, with the Transformers: Missing Link subline updating classic toys from Generation 1. Now, the line is continuing with a toy based on two classic Autobots, one of whom never had her official G1 figure actually produced.

Via TFW2005, Arcee and Sunstreaker are the next characters in the Missing Link line, with these figures expertly recreating their original toys with modern engineering. Ironically, the Arcee figure is based on an unproduced prototype of the female Autobot's corresponding concept art. While it never saw a release in the 1980s, the neo-retro toy finally puts her in the palm of fans' hands.

Related Transformers' Most Unusual Optimus Prime Figure Yet Will Be Made-to-Order for Over $4000

A new Optimus Prime figure exclusive to an upcoming Transformers Expo in Japan sees the Autobot leader turning into an obscure cultural item.

An Unrealized Arcee Toy...

The recently-begun "Missing Link" subline is a nostalgic step forward for the Transformers brand, as it takes the original toys and gives them a modern update. Such was the case for the line's take on Autobot leader Optimus Prime, with the toys meant to actually help fans relax.

A translated interview with designer Hironori Kobayashi sheds new light on the creation of the toy, which goes back over two decades. Intended to give fans something old-school and modern at the same time, the interview notes how the goal wasn't to have a particularly complex figure. However, Kobayashi also hints that there's much more to the Missing Link line than meets the eye.

Related Transformers' Newest Collectors Toy Recreates the Og Optimus Prime With an Autobot-Worthy Design

A new collector-oriented Optimus Prime statue from Takara allows Transformers fans to transform the iconic Autobot leader with the touch of a button.

Transformers...

Great Gwildor’s beard! Industry insider Jeff Sneider is sending shockwaves through Grayskull this Wednesday by saying Jared Leto is reportedly getting offered the role of Skeletor in Amazon’s upcoming Masters of the Universe. Bumblebee‘s Travis Knight directs the live-action adaptation of Mattel’s beloved action figure franchise from a script by Chris Butler, with Nicholas Galitzine leading the film as He-Man, Camila Mendes as the virtuous warrior Teela, and Alison Brie as the villainess Evil-Lyn.

The InSneider says Academy Award-winning actor Jared Leto could play the skull-faced, blue-skinned thorn in He-Man’s side. Leto would command his army of iconic henchmen while shaking his fist and cackling, wielding influence and magic like the malevolent sorcerer fans know him to be. In his relentless pursuit of power, Skeletor longs to learn the secrets of Castle Grayskull and conquer the land of Eternia to feed his ego and seemingly limitless power.

15 years after its original theatrical release, Laika's stop-motion animated classic "Coraline" has become a wildly unexpected hit at the box office. The folks at Fathom Events partnered with Laika to bring director Henry Selick's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's story back to the big screen recently, and to say that it has gone well would be a dramatic understatement.

This past weekend, "Coraline" pulled in $5 million, which was on its second weekend of re-release. Amazingly enough, it made more than Lionsgate's "The Crow" remake ($4.6 million) in its debut. It dropped less than 50% on weekend two, and to date has pulled in $24 million domestically. It's one of Fathom's most successful re-releases ever. What's perhaps most amazing is that Fathom already had success with a re-release of the film last year, which pulled in more than $7 million. That led to this 15th anniversary celebration, which has been surprisingly fruitful.

The commercial potential of re-releasing archive titles in cinemas is not news to the US studios, which are increasingly looking for spots in the calendar to reissue classic titles. And especially what may be termed modern classics: films that resonate with audiences who perhaps first saw them – in theatres or at home – 10 to 20 years ago.

But the success of last week’s 15-year reissue of Laika stop-motion animation Coraline – by Fathom Events in North America and Trafalgar Releasing in international markets – is currently concentrating minds in both distribution and exhibition.

Re-released in both 2D and 3D on August 15, Coraline opened...

Re-releases of classic films aren’t supposed to make much of a mark at the box office. They usually serve as a helpful stopgap for theaters to bring in a little extra revenue during slow periods on the release slate. But “Coraline” has proven otherwise — and its newfound success has caught the attention of Hollywood.

The debut film from stop-motion animation Laika Studios returned to theaters courtesy of Fathom Events and Trafalgar Releasing this past weekend for its 15th anniversary, and set a record for those distributors with the most successful re-release in their history with $29.3 million grossed worldwide. Last weekend, the film grossed $9.6 million from Friday to Sunday, enough to put it in the top 5.

For comparison, in its original theatrical run from Focus Features in 2009, “Coraline” earned an unadjusted $75.2 million domestic and $124.5 million worldwide. For an inflation-proof comparison, turn to Mexico, where “Coraline” sold 1.6 million tickets. As of Tuesday,...

With the current re-release of Henry Selick’s Coraline netting a rather staggering $11.3 million at the U.S. box office, Laika is back in the conversation. The Oregon-based animation studio isn’t just hanging on its laurels, however, as they are in production on their next feature Wildwood, which is set for a release in 2025, marking the longest break they’ve had between features as it’s been six years since 2019’s Missing Link.

Directed by the company’s CEO Travis Knight (who also directed Kubo and the Two Strings and Bumblebee) and written by Chris Butler, it’s based on the 2011 novel from The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy, which featured illustrations by Carson Ellis. Featuring a voice cast of Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant,...

With Coraline back in theaters for its 15th anniversary, Laika Studios has revealed the first Wildwood teaser. While the film has no release date yet, it is expected to open in theaters in 2025.

In addition to the Wildwood teaser, we’ve also included Laika’s recent video that takes you behind the scenes of the stop-motion animated film and a video featuring Coraline introducing the company’s newest hero, Prue McKeel.

Wildwood is based on the series of novels by Colin Meloy, lead singer for The Decemberists, and illustrator Carson Ellis. The film is currently in production at Laika Studios outside Portland, Oregon.

The cast includes Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Andi Mack), Jacob Tremblay (Room), and Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).

Also on board are Oscar nominee Angela Bassett (What’s Love Got to Do With It...

The impassable wilderness beckons. Laika Studio, the team behind stop-motion animated hits ParaNorman and Coraline, are back with their sixth stop-motion movie, Wildwood. The studio has released the title reveal for the epic fantasy, and it looks dark.

Wildwood is written by Chris Butler, based on the novel written by Colin Meloy, the lead singer/songwriter for The Decemberists, and illustrated by artist Carson Ellis.

In the film, “Beyond Portland’s city limits lies Wildwood. You’re not supposed to go there. You’re not even supposed to know it exists. But Prue McKeel is about to enter this enchanted wonderland. Her baby brother Mac has been taken by a murder of crows into the forest’s depths, and she – along with her hapless classmate Curtis – is going to get him back. Prue might think she’s too old for fairytales, but she’s just found herself at the center of one.

Coraline takes viewers through the doorway to the world of Wildwood in a new animated cover for Empire magazine created by Laika Studios.

Laika Studios is truly an iconic production house if ever there was one, with such beloved animated classics as Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link. Now they are unveiling a glimpse into their sixth animated feature film, Wildwood. Based on the book by Colin Meloy, the film will feature a lush wilderness that acts as the backdrop to the story of Prue McKeel, the film's protagonist. Laika unveiled their new hero--and the stunningly vibrant world she will inhabit--in an all-new original animation created by Laika Studios themselves for the magazine cover of Empire.

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It’s obvious in every frame to hit the screen that each Laika movie is a labour of love. The studio is dedicated to the painstaking craft of stop-motion animation, resulting in the likes of Coraline, Kubo And The Two Strings, and most recently Missing Link. But even by Laika standards, their next film is a feat of mind-boggling complexity – a decade-in-the-making fantasy epic that’s set to push the studio’s capabilities to a whole new level. Get ready for Wildwood, transforming Laika’s home of Portland, Oregon, into animated form – and sending young hero Prue on a dangerous journey into a fantastical forest realm.

As director Travis Knight tells Empire in an exclusive new interview, the film, based on Colin Meloy’s acclaimed novel, is “the hardest thing we have ever done” – hence its especially lengthy development. “A huge part of the reason it’s taken us so...

Every new film from Laika is something to be cherished – each one a stop-motion animated marvel boasting breathtaking levels of craft, deeply affecting narratives, and a real sense of cinematic magic. And so, in the wake of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo And The Two Strings, and Missing Link, the impending arrival of the animation house’s sixth feature is one to eagerly anticipate. Get ready to venture into Wildwood, a lush and imaginative new fantasy epic that’s set for release next year. And to introduce the film, Empire has something very special indeed – a completely original, stop-motion animated digital cover created exclusively for us by Laika, with none other than the iconic Coraline unveiling the new film’s protagonist, Prue McKeel. Watch it here:

This stop-motion digital cover is the first of its kind, incorporating a newly restored Coraline puppet and featuring brand-new sets and costuming created specifically for the production.

The legendary Laika, the animation wizards behind Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link, are back with another groundbreaking achievement. Known for their mind-blowing stop-motion animation, Laika is ready to wow us again. This time, theyve teamed up with Empire, the worlds biggest movie magazine, to create the first-ever stop-motion digital magazine cover, which can be viewed here. Yes, you read that right a magazine cover brought to life with stop-motion magic. How did this come about, though? Remember Coraline, the first stop-motion animated film ever shot in stereoscopic 3D? LAIKAs been smashing barriers like that since day one. They even bagged an Oscar for their innovation in rapid prototyping. And now, theyre about to introduce us to Prue, the fearless female protagonist of their sixth film, Wildwood, set to hit theaters in 2025.

The Transformers franchise has had some strange collaborations over the years, including unexpected crossovers that were much more than meets the eye. Now, the Takara and Hasbro brand is teaming back up with an anime and trading card franchise that it united with last year.

Revealed on social media by Takara Tomy and detailed on TFW2005, the new Transformers x Duel Masters collaboration is actually the second of its kind. Featuring cards based on Generation 1 versions of two iconic Autobots, the cards tie into both franchises well. The collaboration is also happening as both properties are celebrating major milestones in 2024.

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Three years after announcing its intention to expand into live-action, the renowned Oregon animation studio Laika has acquired Crumble, an original script by Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You), which he’ll direct for the studio as a live-action feature.

Crumble tells the tale of a married couple who go on a world-traversing adventure in the hope of finding a cure to an ancient curse. Oscar winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller as well as Aditya Sood will produce through their Lord Miller banner, with Duffield also set to produce. Lucy Kitada and Nikki Baida from Lord Miller will serve as executive producers.

News of the project comes following word in June that Laika’s founder, President and CEO Travis Knight will next helm an animated adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s bestseller Piranesi for the studio. Duffield comes to it after working alongside the Lord Miller team as a...

For the past 15 years, Laika Studios has been beguiling audiences around the world with their works of stop-motion animation. From deliciously dark fantasy Coraline to zombie comedy ParaNorman, dairy-infused delight The Boxtrolls, soulful samurai epic Kubo And The Two Strings, and, most recently, sasquatchian swashbuckler Missing Link, every one of the Portland-based outfit’s animated features to date has been an Oscar nomineed. Now, with Laika: Frame x Frame — a free exhibition being presented alongside the BFI’s Stop Motion: Celebrating Hand-Crafted Animation on the Big Screen season this summer — the studio is preparing to showcase the art and science behind their beloved films like never before.

Ahead of the exhibition’s launch at the BFI Southbank on 12 August, we took the opportunity to sit down with Laika productions’ Dan Pascall and Chief Archivist Alina Campbell over Zoom and pick their brains about the art and craftsmanship that goes in to a Laika movie,...

The past decade has been a remarkable era for stop-motion animation, showcasing the medium's unique ability to blend meticulous craftsmanship with imaginative storytelling. During this time, studios like Laika and Aardman Animations have continued to push the boundaries of stop-motion, producing visual masterpieces and emotionally resonant tales. Laika's Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link stand out for their groundbreaking animation techniques and compelling narratives, earning critical acclaim and several award nominations. Similarly, Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs received widespread praise for its intricate visual style and poignant story, further solidifying Anderson's reputation for creating distinctive animated films.

This period has seen an increased diversity in the themes and styles of stop-motion films. Anomalisa brought an adult-oriented, introspective narrative to the medium, exploring complex human emotions and relationships through painstakingly detailed animation. Recent releases like The House, an anthology film with a darkly humorous edge, showcase how...

Amazon Prime Video is the place to go for movies this month, with a plethora of original films as well as new library additions for just about every movie fan. The Emma Roberts-led original Space Cadet hits the streaming service aptly on the Fourth of July, for anyone looking for a fish-out-of-water style comedy. My Spy the Eternal City, the newest film in the Dave Bautista-led family action series also drops on July 18.

Action film fans are also in for a treat with recent films The Beekeeper and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning coming to Prime Video in July.

As far as TV shows go, the most notable addition this month is the adult animated series Sausage Party: Foodtopia, a continuation of the 2016 film Sausage Party.

Here’s everything coming to Prime Video and Freevee in July – Amazon originals are designated with an asterisk.

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Laika has acquired the international best-selling fantasy novel Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Laika’s President and CEO, Travis Knight, will direct the animated feature film.

A New York Times and Sunday Times best-seller with over four million copies sold, Piranesi was awarded the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Image Courtesy of Bloomsbury

“Piranesi is a treasure and very dear to me,” said Knight. “As a filmmaker, I can scarcely imagine a more joyful experience than wandering through the worlds Susanna dreamed into being.

“She’s one of my all-time favorite authors, and with Piranesi, Susanna has created a beautiful, devastating, and ultimately life-affirming work of art. I’m humbled that she chose Laika as her home.”

“Animation is one of my favourite things,” said Clarke. “I’ve been inspired by so many animated movies; and Laika has produced such extraordinary work — movies like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings,...

Laika president and CEO Travis Knight is lining up to adapt an animated version of UK author Susanna Clarke’s fantasy novel Piranesi.

Set in a dreamlike alternate reality, Piranesi follows the titular character who lives in a unique house with infinite rooms, endless corridors, and an imprisoned ocean that can flood rooms in an instant.

However before long the inquisitive Piranesi finds evidence of another person dwelling there, and a terrible truth. The book was published in 2020.

Knight, who previously directed Kubo And The Two Strings and Bumblebee, called the book “a treasure”, adding: “I can scarcely imagine a...

Portland-based Laika will explore a labyrinthian alternate reality in “Piranesi,” one of its upcoming stop-motion animated features, adapted from Susanna Clarke’s best-selling fantasy novel. Laika president/CEO Travis Knight will direct, pushing stop-motion further into the domain traditionally occupied by live action.

In “Piranesi,” the eponymous protagonist lives in a strange house comprised of infinite rooms, endless corridors, and walls lined with thousands of statues. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. Piranesi, who believes that he’s always lived in the house, studies the tides and architectural pattern as part of his exploration. He meets another person, the Other, who visits twice a week and asks for assistance in his research about the house. Piranesi soon discovers dark secrets and a world beyond what he’s always known.

“’Piranesi’ is a treasure, and very dear to me,...