At long last, Julian Schnabel‘s “In The Hands Of Dante” will reach a wider audience after it hit the Lido last Fall. But is anyone still excited about it? First announced in 2011 at the height of Schnabel’s cinematic fame, with Johnny Depp attached to star, the adaptation floundered in development hell for twelve years before finally entering production. Now Oscar Isaac leads the film, in a double role as two real-life writers: Nick Tosche, author of the original novel, and an Italian poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri.

Continue reading ‘In The Hand Of Dante’ Trailer: Julian Schnabel’s Literary Drama Starring Oscar Isaac Hits Select Theaters June 12 & Netflix On June 24 at The Playlist.

Netflix and Martin Scorsese (“Boardwalk Empire”) are reuniting after working together on the mobster event film “The Irishman,” with the beloved filmmaker executive producing the Las Vegas-set casino series “The Roman,” which will be led by actor Oscar Isaac (plays Bobby Red, the casino president at The Roman), as the streaming service has announced more additions to the show’s cast.

Those names confirmed from an announcement made by Netflix yesterday include Betty Gilpin (“Nurse Jackie,” “GLOW”) in the role of Bobby’s formidable wife, Marla Blake, and Alec Baldwin (“The Departed”) taking on the part of Primo, a father figure to Bobby.

Continue reading ‘The Roman’: Betty Gilpin, Alec Baldwin & David Costabile Added To Martin Scorsese-Produced Las Vegas Series Led By Oscar Isaac at The Playlist.

Creative differences lead to all sorts of dust-ups behind the scenes, and in a recent interview, the screenwriter of “Mortal Kombat II” spoke about his reasoning for exiting Marvel Television‘s “Moon Knight” series after disagreements on the vision. Slater was credited as the show’s creator and main writer of the pilot episode and co-wrote the finale with Peter Cameron, Sabir Pirzada, and Danielle Iman.

Continue reading ‘Moon Knight’ Creator/Writer Jeremy Slater Explains Creative Clashes With Director Led To His Exit at The Playlist.

Following his winning collaboration with Netflix on “Beef,” Oscar Isaac is doubling down with the streamer. The Golden Globe-winning actor has signed on to star in and executive-produce a new eight-episode hourlong drama set inside the present-day Las Vegas casino business, with Martin Scorsese executive-producing and “Billions” creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien writing, showrunning, and executive-producing.

Continue reading Oscar Isaac To Star In Martin Scorsese-Produced Las Vegas Casino Drama Run By Brian Koppelman & David Levien at The Playlist.

There is an alternate universe version of the last decade where actor Oscar Isaac (“Frankenstein,” “Moon Knight,” “Dune”) did not arrive as a slow-burning leading man through prestige dramas and riskier character work, but through a giant studio espionage machine. Speaking on Happy Sad Confused this week while promoting Netflix’s second season of “Beef,” Isaac recalled just how close he came to taking the lead in “The Bourne Legacy,” the franchise’s first major attempt to move forward without Matt Damon (and for anyone keeping score, we reported this back in 2011!)

READ MORE: Tony Gilroy On Returning To The ‘Bourne’ Franchise: “I Tried To Give Them A Marvel Universe With ‘Legacy’”

For a minute, it sounded like the handoff might actually happen.

Continue reading Oscar Isaac Nearly Led The ‘Bourne’ Spin-Off Franchise Before ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Broke Him Out at The Playlist.

“Moon Knight” fans have been dying to know when Oscar Isaac will reprise the supernatural/occult hero in the MCU. Still, with a second season of the Disney+ series unlikely, the actor has now given folks hope that the rumored “Mightson Sons” (the video game iteration called “Midnight Suns”) project might actually end up a reality.

During a recent appearance on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast to promote Season 2 of “Beef,” the actor revealed that Marvel Studios is indeed considering something related to “Midnight Sons,” and is keen on the idea of Ryan Gosling (“Project Hail Mary”) playing the new MCU version ofGhost Rider after the actor started a campaign to play him.

Continue reading Oscar Isaac Confirms Marvel Studios Mulling Over ‘Midnight Sons’ Project & Wants Ryan Gosling As Ghost Rider at The Playlist.

Strangers chafe each other over standard issue oopsies every day of the week and twice on Sundays. This is, at once, the thesis, intention, and foible in the first season of Lee Sung Jin’s tragicomedy Netflix series “Beef,” in which a vehicular micro inconvenience between its co-leads, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, molders into a sustained display of breathtaking road rage; their knockdown-dragout dispute mercifully allows for a brighter outcome and a welcome reprieve from the real world, where situations like theirs are as liable to end in bitter adjudication as death. 

READ MORE: 15 Must-See April TV Shows: ‘Beef,’ ‘Euphoria,’ ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ and More

In its second season, “Beef” clings to no illusions as prototypically fictional as the happy ending, though getting into whose end is happiest as Lee’s new narrative resolves would, of course, ruin the enterprise.

Continue reading ‘Beef’ Review: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton & Cailee Spaeny Make Love Hurt In A Stellar Season 2 at The Playlist.

The first season of “Beef” made a freeway-level flash of anger feel like an origin story. Season 2 looks like it wants the opposite: rage with manners—contained, rehearsed, and carefully insulated behind gates where the staff is expected to absorb the spillover and keep smiling.

Netflix and A24 have released an official teaser and new photos for the eight-episode anthology’s second installment, with Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny, Seoyeon Jang, Youn Yuh-jung, Song Kang-ho, William Fichtner, Mikaela Hoover, and BM set to star.

Continue reading ‘Beef’ Trailer: Oscar Isaac & Carey Mulligan Lead Netflix & A24’s Country Club Spiral In Season 2 at The Playlist.

A24’s long-brewing vampire fever dream has shifted shape again. Wagner Moura, fresh off an Academy Award nomination for “The Secret Agent,” has joined “Flesh Of The Gods,” Panos Cosmatos’ lurid ‘80s-set thriller, and the casting move comes with a notable change: Moura is replacing Oscar Isaac in one of the film’s lead roles after Isaac exited due to a scheduling conflict.

Continue reading ‘Flesh Of The Gods’: Wagner Moura Replaces Oscar Isaac In Panos Cosmatos’ A24 Vampire Thriller With Kristen Stewart at The Playlist.

“Beef” was one of Netflix‘s biggest original hits of 2023, a pulse-pounding revenge dramedy that scored extra-high marks from critics and audiences alike (The Playlist’s review awarded S1 an “A-“. Of course, that success guaranteed a second season, and it wasn’t long before the likes of Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny, and Charles Melton signed on to star in S2 in October 2024.

Continue reading ‘Beef’ Season 2 Teaser: Netflix’s Critically Acclaimed Revenge Dramedy Returns On April 16 at The Playlist.

If franchise stars usually sell scale, well, Timothée Chalamet is not afraid to peddle something potentially more unpalatable: unease. Speaking at a CNN/Variety town hall with Matthew McConaughey, Chalamet framed his final run as Paul Atreides as a riskier, freer performance shaped by confidence, technical precision, and an effort to avoid complacency.

Asked to talk about where Paul Atreides goes after “Dune: Part Two,” Chalamet reached for some heavy reference points before immediately catching himself and recalibrating.

Continue reading Timothée Chalamet Says ‘Dune: Part Three’ Is The “Eeriest One,” & A “Sacred Big Swing” at The Playlist.

“Beef” creator and showrunner Lee Sung Jin is back alongside A24 for the next season of the Netflix streaming series, as it’ll debut in April with a whole new group of characters and dynamics. A batch of first-look pics from the new season has made its way online via Vanity Fair, which highlights the series’ impressive casting lineup.

If you weren’t already aware, the cast of Season 2 features Oscar Isaac (“Triple Frontier”) as Josh, Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) as Lindsay, Charles Melton (“Warfare”) as Austin, Cailee Spaeny (“Civil War,” “Alien: Romulus”) as Ashley, Youn Yuh-jung (“Minari”) as Chairwoman Park, Song Kang-ho (“Parasite,” “Memories of Murder”) as Dr.

Continue reading ‘Beef’ First Look: Season 2 Coming This April To Netflix Features Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny & Song Kang-ho at The Playlist.

Director Richard Linklater is on a tear right now, with four movies in four years, including two in 2025: “Blue Moon” and “Nouvelle Vague.” And according to his close friend and frequent leading man Ethan Hawke, Linklater has no plans to slow down, with his next movie a long-gestating passion project Hawke now declares “will be among the greatest films ever made.”

READ MORE: The Most Anticipated Films Of 2026

Of course, the project in question is Linklater’s American Transcendentalist hangout film the director spoke about to Filmmaker Magazine last November.

Continue reading Ethan Hawke Hypes Richard Linklater’s Upcoming 1840s “Hippie” Hangout Film: “I Believe It Will Be Among The Greatest Films Ever Made” at The Playlist.

MARRAKECH – Mexican master filmmaker Guillermo del Toro turned heads at the 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival on Friday with a provocative meditation on mortality, declaring himself “a big fan of death” while defending emotional storytelling against what he sees as modern civilization’s embrace of cynicism.

In a nearly two-hour In Conversation session moderated by Kim Morgan, screenwriter of “Nightmare Alley” and del Toro’s wife, the director discussed the influence of Romantic poets on his filmography and his 50-year journey to adapting “Frankenstein.”

The three-time Oscar winner received one of the Marrakech festival’s highest honors, with the 22nd edition celebrating his contribution to world cinema alongside fellow honorees Jodie Foster, Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmi, and Moroccan actress Raouya.

Continue reading Guillermo Del Toro Shocks Marrakech: ‘I’m A Big Fan Of Death,’ Defends Emotion Against Modern Cynicism at The Playlist.

When “Flesh of the Gods” was first announced in 2024, an 1980s vampire thriller set in Los Angeles from “Mandy” director Panos Cosmatos that has a script from veteran screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker (“The Killer,” “Se7en,” “Psycho Killer”) with actors such as Kristen Stewart (“Love Lies Bleeding”), Oscar Isaac (“Frankenstein”), and Elizabeth Olsen (“Eternity”) assembled to star in lead roles, it felt like a no-brainer that it would end up an awesome genre project that should be quickly rushed into production given the demanding schedules of the film’s high-profile main cast.

Continue reading Kristen Stewart Reveals ’80s-Set Vampire Thriller ‘Flesh Of The Gods’ Co-Starring Oscar Isaac & Elizabeth Olsen Still “Looking For Financing” at The Playlist.

Oscar Isaac is having a bit of a moment with his latest film, “Frankenstein,” from writer/director Guillermo del Toro, finally bringing his Gothic sci-fi tale to the big screen and Netflix with the beloved actor in the role of the iconic but dubious mad scientist Victor Frankenstein. And is now talking about a potential return to the “Star Wars” franchise, but it would require Lucasfilm‘s parent company, Disney, to not “succumb to fascism” in the wake of their near-firing of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel at the behest of President Trump and FCC chair Brendan Carr (behind not so covert threats of nixing broadcasting licenses if displeased by statements or jokes made at Trump’s expense, an attack on free speech).

Continue reading Oscar Isaac “Open To Having A Conversation” About His ‘Star Wars’ Return If Disney Doesn’t “Succumb To Fascism” After Jimmy Kimmel Free Speech Dust-Up at The Playlist.

Earlier this year, when he made the press rounds at the Berlinale for “Blue Moon,” Richard Linklater hinted that he and friend Ethan Hawke had a long-gestating project set in 19th-century America that they wanted to make soon.  Now, in a new interview with Filmmaker Magazine, the director splurged on what that film will be about, and who else besides Hawke wants to be involved.

Continue reading Richard Linklater & Ethan Hawke’s Secret Film Is An 1800s “Hippie” Story; Oscar Isaac & Natalie Portman May Appear at The Playlist.

Are audiences ready for Guillermo del Toro‘s “Frankenstein“? In honor of Halloween, Netflix has a new trailer for del Toro’s latest, a passion project he has been waiting for his entire career to make. But is there an audience for a new “Frankenstein” adaptation, much less done with the director’s singular creative sensibility?

READ MORE: ‘Frankenstein’ Review: Jacob Elordi Shines In Guillermo Del Toro’s Passion Project [Venice]

That’s what Netflix is finding out now, with the film in a brief theatrical run before it premieres on the streamer next week.

Continue reading New ‘Frankenstein’ Trailer: Guillermo Del Toro’s Passion Project Is In Select Theaters Now, Hits Netflix On November 7 at The Playlist.

Netflix and Guillermo del Toro are ready to bring a monster back to life. After years of anticipation, del Toro’s long-gestating adaptation of “Frankenstein” finally arrives this fall, reimagining Mary Shelley’s gothic masterpiece with a star cast led by Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth. The film will open in select theaters on October 17 before streaming globally on Netflix on November 7.

Continue reading ‘Frankenstein’ Trailer: Guillermo del Toro Reanimates Mary Shelley’s Classic With Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi & Mia Goth at The Playlist.

Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro‘s “Frankenstein” is being screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the writer/director has announced that he’s reteaming with Oscar Isaac for a new thriller titled “Fury.”

During a TIFF panel, del Toro announced the project (via Deadline) and said, “I’m writing a project to do with Oscar [Isaac]. I’m writing it right now, and it’s called ‘Fury,’ and essentially it’s going back to [the] sort of thriller aspects of ‘Nightmare Alley,’ very cruel, very violent.

Continue reading ‘Fury’: Guillermo del Toro & Oscar Isaac Reuniting For “Very Cruel/Violent” Thriller Described As ‘Nightmare Alley’ Meets ‘My Dinner With Andre’ at The Playlist.

The primal fight-or-flight response that makes us not be able to look away from a car crash also fuels a desire to escape a situation we feel can’t do us any good. Julian Schnabel’s “In the Hand of Dante” triggers the latter, a film akin to entrapment for those unlucky enough to have to sit through its painfully stretched 151 minutes. 

READ MORE: 2025 Venice Film Festival Preview: 23 Must-See Films To Watch

Adapted from the eponymous book by Nick Tosches, Schnabel’s bloated affair inexplicably stars the always great Oscar Isaac as the fictional Nick, a New York author roped into a violent scheme to steal and authenticate the original manuscript for Dante Alighieri’s epic poem “The Divine Comedy.” Joining him on the blood-covered trek to Palermo is Gerard Butler’s Louie, a brass hitman with a penchant for punctuating every sentence with a fully pronounced slur and fashioned with a synthetic-looking toupée that makes him look like Megan Rapinoe. 

“In the Hand of Dante” seesaws between this modern-day heist and 14th-century Italy, where it finds Isaac as the lauded poet in the months preceding his writing of the classic masterpiece.

Continue reading ‘In The Hand Of Dante’ Review: Gal Gadot & Jason Momoa Tank Julian Schnabel’s Irredeemable Epic Starring Oscar Isaac [Venice] at The Playlist.

When the titular puppet is first brought back from death in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” the divine entity who once jolted him to life is quick to dampen all the excitement about his newfound immortality. “Life can bring great suffering,” she tells him. “Eternal life can bring eternal suffering.” 

READ MORE: 2025 Venice Film Festival Preview: 23 Must-See Films To Watch

This passage summarizes del Toro’s follow-up, “Frankenstein,” his passion project adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel that the Mexican filmmaker dreamed of directing since watching James Whale‘s 1931 version in the cinema as a child.

Continue reading ‘Frankenstein’ Review: Jacob Elordi Shines In Guillermo Del Toro’s Passion Project [Venice] at The Playlist.

Guillermo del Toro‘s dream project “Frankenstein” is finally arriving, getting the whole red carpet treatment at the Venice Film Festival. The film is one of the biggest yet for the director and today the entire team talked to the press and weren’t afraid of being candid.

READ MORE: 2025 Venice Film Festival Preview: 23 Must-See Films To Watch

Every conversation in Hollywood these days about is about AI, the role it will play, the effect it will have on jobs, and how it will impact creativity.

Continue reading “CGI Is For Losers”: ‘Frankenstein’ Team Talk Practical Effects, AI, & Netflix at The Playlist.

The fall festival corridor is competitive turf, but Toronto is hoping to get an edge by launching a market. It’s still in its early stages, but buyers who decide to make the trek will be eager to battle for the rights over this little hot tomato.

‘Roofman’ Trailer: Crime Drama Starring Channing Tatum & Kirsten Dunst Arrives October 10

Channing Tatum, Oscar Isaac, and Zazie Beetz are teaming up for “Kockroach,” a film that Deadline describes as a story about a stranger who takes on big power players in New York City’s underworld.

Continue reading ‘Kockroach’: Channing Tatum, Oscar Isaac & Zazie Beetz Team For Kakfa-Esque Crime Tale at The Playlist.

There’s good news and bad news and good news in the world of “Behemoth!,” Tony Gilroy’s follow-up film to his critically acclaimed “Star Wars” series “Andor.” The good news is the rumors are true: Searchlight Pictures is coming on board to finance and produce the picture, which is good because Gilroy called the movie expensive and was worried it may not get made.

Continue reading ‘Behemoth!’: Pedro Pascal Eyeing Tony Gilroy’s Searchlight-Landed Music Scoring Movie After Oscar Isaac Drops Out at The Playlist.