Fresh from his everything-winning run for Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr. is headed to Broadway. 

Downey will produce and make his Broadway debut in McNeal, a new drama from Pulitzer winner Ayad Akhtar that will be helmed by Lincoln Center Theater resident director Bartlett Sher, the Tony winner whose 2018 adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird became the bestselling American play in Broadway history.

Downey will play Jacob McNeal, "a great writer, one of our greatest, a perpetual candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature," according to the announcement. "But McNeal also has an estranged son, a new novel, old axes to grind and an unhealthy fascination with Artificial Intelligence."

Lincoln Center calls Akhtar's new play "a startling and wickedly smart examination of the inescapable humanity – and increasing inhumanity – of the stories we tell."

Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The play will be staged at the Vivian Beaumont Theater starting September 5, officially opening September 30 for a strictly limited engagement through November 24.

The venue isn't technically located in the city's Theater District, but is considered to be part of Broadway.

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On Disney's fiscal Q2 earnings call Tuesday, May 7, Disney CEO Bob Iger explained that a promised slow down of Marvel Studios projects is underway.

Amid poor performance from projects including Marvel's Secret Invasion on Disney+, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, as well as box office whiffs like Disney's animated Wish and Elemental, Iger noted to investors, "I've been working hard with the studio to reduce output and focus more on quality, that's particularly true with Marvel."

He continued, "In our zeal to greatly increase volume partially tied to this wanting to chase more global subs for our streaming platform [Disney+], some of our studios lost a little focus. So the first step that we've taken is that we've reduced volume, we reduced output, particularly in Marvel."

To that end, Iger said, "We're slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four, and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two or at the maximum three."

Iger was bullish on "highly anticipated" theatrical releases coming soon, including Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine in July and the "robust" 2025 slate, including the repeatedly delayed Captain America: Brave New World and Fantastic Four.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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In a video posted Tuesday, May 7, of Thing delivering scripts to the players that were, Netflix revealed the cast for the second season of its global hit Wednesday, including an impressive list of guest stars and the characters some of them will play.

These include Christopher Lloyd, who played Uncle Fester in the Addams Family movies; Absolutely Fabulous alumna Joanna Lumley, who will play Grandmama; and Thandiwe Newton from Westworld playing Dr. Fairburn. Other guests include The Sixth Sense's Haley Joel Osment, The Missing veteran Frances O’Connor and Heather Matarazzo from The Princess Diaries, whose roles weren't revealed.

Steve Buscemi is among the new cast members for the second season, playing Barry Dort; Billie Piper will play Capri.

The main cast includes, of course, Jenna Ortega as Wednesday, as well as season 1's returning stars, including Emma Myers (Enid), Joy Sunday (Bianca), Fred Armisen (Fester), Luis Guzmán (Gomez) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Morticia).

The video ends with Thing stopping by Ortega's door and delivering her script. Jenna answers the door in her full Wednesday regalia and greets the disembodied hand. She reads the title page for the first script titled, "Here We Woe Again" then says, "More torture awaits."

In a statement, creators/writers/showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar noted, "We are thrilled that the entire Addams family will be enrolling in Nevermore Academy this season along with a dream cast of icons and new faces."

Incidentally, missing from the cast was Percy Hynes White, who played Xavier Thorpe in the first season. The actor had been accused of sexual misconduct in social media posts — claims he called "false" and part of a "campaign of misinformation."

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The season 7 premiere of ABC's 9-1-1 drew the network's biggest Nielsen live-plus 35-day demo rating in over a year, according to The Wrap. The March 14 premiere of the drama drew 13.47 million total viewers and a 3.46 rating among adults 18-49. Viewership for the 9-1-1 launch nearly tripled the initial live-plus-same-day viewership of 4.93 million on ABC, which more than doubled to hit 10.1 million viewers within a week of viewing across ABC, Hulu and other digital platforms ...

Twilight and Spencer star Kristen Stewart has chosen Latvia over Hollywood to shoot her feature directorial debut, The Chronology of Water. "It's a fledging film culture there [in Latvia]," she tells Net-a-Porter. "Look, I'm all about the way we make movies here [in the US], but I needed a sort of radical detachment. I am not a director yet. I need to make a student film. I can't do that here." The adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir, starring Imogen Poots, explores the author's experiences of addiction and childhood sexual abuse ...

Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik will reprise their roles as Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler in the May 16 series finale of Young Sheldon, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Details are being kept under wraps, but the outlet has obtained first-look photos of their appearance in The Big Bang Theory's sunsetting prequel show, for which Parsons acts as narrator. The quirky TV couple last appeared onscreen together in Big Bang's May 2019 finale ...

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Break out the boutonnieres and corsages: the new teen comedy Prom Dates is now streaming on Hulu.

Julia Lester stars as high school senior Hannah, who is freshly out of the closet and ready to find her perfect prom date the night before the big dance. This marks Lester's first leading role in a film, and she tells ABC Audio she couldn’t have had a better experience.

“I had just come off of doing High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and this project was the perfect next thing for me to do following that — still in the line of, like, a feel-good teen comedy, but a little more graduated, a little more raunchy, which I just had so much fun doing,” Lester said.

While co-stars Terry Hu and Jordan Buhat found inspiration in other teen comedies like Booksmart and American Pie, Lester looked to an unexpected high school movie.

“One of my dear, dear friends threw a Twilight and wine night party right after I booked the part, which was just so special,” Lester said. “I definitely watched Twilight to prepare for this.”

Kenny Ridwan, who co-stars as Hannah’s ex-boyfriend, Greg, said he didn’t have to look elsewhere for inspiration.

“I took maybe less inspiration from actual movies than I have from my actual life,” Ridwan said. “Greg comes from years of being a hopeless romantic.”

How does the movie compare to Lester's real-life prom experience?

“My prom was much tamer than this,” Lester said. “I planned everything in advance, so there was no 24-hour-before scramble. It was definitely a lot chiller. But I had a really great time at my prom. So, maybe that's also a difference, is that I actually enjoyed prom.”

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Celebrities served their best fashion looks on the 2024 Met Gala red carpet Monday, May 6.

Held in New York City, the theme, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," is positioned to be an exploration of "rebirth" and "renewal" that uses nature as a metaphor for the impermanence of fashion, according to a release from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In addition to this year's theme, there is an associated dress code titled "The Garden of Time," which is inspired by J.G. Ballard's 1962 book of the same name.

Here are some of the night's most memorable looks:

Zendaya: A co-chair of the event, the Challengers actress wore not one but two looks. She stepped out earlier in the evening in a Maison Margiela gown in hues of blue, accessorized with a unique headpiece and dramatic makeup. She then appeared in a black 1996 Galliano gown for Givenchy with a flower bouquet headpiece.

Tyla: At her first Met Gala, the singer wore a Balmain dress designed by Olivier Rousteing that appeared to be made of sand. Due to the unique material of the dress, she had to be carried up the stairs.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo: The Wicked costars walked the carpet together, with Ari in a mother-of-pearl Loewe gown and Erivo in a bright pink rose petal-adorned outfit.

Cardi B: The rapper’s voluminous black dress, made by Chinese designer Windowsen, needed an entourage to help spread out its massive tulle train.

Mindy Kaling: The actress wore a stunning sand-colored sculptural gown by Indian designer Gaurav Gupta. “It’s called the melting flower of time,” Mindy told Vogue on the carpet.

Noticeably missing from the night was Rihanna, who reportedly came down with the flu and had to cancel her appearance, according to People.

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2023 Miss USA pageant winner Noelia Voigt announced Monday that she had "made the very tough decision" to resign from the title, citing her mental health.

Voigt, who won the title of Miss Utah USA 2023 in April last year, made the announcement in an Instagram post. The official Miss USA account later confirmed the news in a separate post.

"In life, I strongly value the importance of making decisions that feel best for you and your mental health," Voigt wrote. "As individuals, we grow through experiencing different things in life that lead us to learning more about ourselves."

"My journey as Miss USA has been incredibly meaningful, representing Utah with pride, and later the USA at Miss Universe," she continued. "Sadly, I have made the very tough decision to resign from the title of Miss USA 2023. I am grateful for the love and support of the fans, old and new, my family, my friends, my coaches, former state and local directors, and my darling beloved Miss Teen USA, UmaSofia [Srivastava]."

Voigt wrote, "I realize this may come as a large shock to many. Never compromise your physical and mental well-being. Our health is our wealth. A million thank you's to all of you for your constant and unwavering support. Time to write the next chapter. I hope you'll stick around to see what's next."

The Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organizations addressed the news, saying in part, "We respect and support Noelia's decision to step down from her duties. The well-being of our titleholders is a top priority, and we understand her need to prioritize herself at this time."

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Jennifer Lopez will walk the red carpet at the 2024 Met Gala on May 6, and while she's focused on that, she's also making plans for the summer. Specifically, she wants to convince her twins, Max and Emme, to join her on her upcoming tour.

"I feel like this is the last time that I'll get to do something like this with them," J-Lo told GMA. "They're 16, and next time they're gonna be like, 'No, Mom.'"

She said she's still "negotiating" with her kids about when they'll join her on the road, but she's hoping it'll be for the month of July. Her tour runs from June through August in support of her latest album, This Is Me... Now.

"I'm gonna use the last little bit of force I have on them to be like, 'You have to come at least for a little while,'" she added. "Hopefully they'll acquiesce to that."

As for the Met Gala, Jennifer — who's one of the star-studded event's co-chairs — wouldn't dish on her dress, except to say that she's "barely" able to walk in it. "The Met Gala looks ... it's not about comfort," she laughed.

Jennifer also talked about her upcoming movie, Atlas, in which she stars as a data analyst who must overcome her distrust for artificial intelligence, and other people, to survive. She said reading the script made her "sob at the end."

"My character is disconnected ... hasn't let anybody in. Doesn't trust AI, doesn't trust people, feels they always disappoint. And little by little, this AI kind of chips away at her, chips away at her soul," she said. "Together, they kind of become more human."

Atlas begins streaming on Netflix on May 24.

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Vin Diesel's next adventure as the night vision-enabled intergalactic anti-hero Riddick will get underway on August 26, according to Variety.

Riddick: Furya, the fourth film in the sci-fi franchise that started with 2000's Pitch Black, is named after the character's home planet to which he finally returns, "a place he barely remembers and one he fears might be left in ruins," says the trade, quoting from the movie's logline.

It is there, the trade continues, "he finds other Furyans fighting for their existence against a new monster — and some of these Furyans are more like Riddick than he could have ever imagined."

Aside from comics and video games, the original film also spawned 2004's The Chronicles of Riddick and 2013's Riddick, all of which were written and directed by The Fugitive veteran David Twohy, who's back with Vin as star and producer for the fourquel.

Diesel has been mum about the project on social media, but over the weekend he hinted something was up when he posted a photo of himself as the character, which was liked nearly 243,000 times by his followers.

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Legendary comedian Tracy Morgan will star in the title role of a forthcoming Paramount+ comedy called Crutch — a spin-off of CBS' hit The Neighborhood.

That show's star, Cedric the Entertainer, will be executive producing the series with Morgan. Tracy stars as Francois "Frank" Crutchfield — "Crutch" to his friends — "a Harlem widower whose empty nest plans are put on hold after his millennial son and free-spirited daughter move back home," CBS Studios teased.

Production will get underway later in 2024.

Owen Smith, who wrote the premiere script and will also serve as showrunner, last teamed up with Morgan on the comedy series The Last O.G. 

Ced said in the announcement, "I'm excited to be expanding our The Neighborhood universe ... with the legendary comedian Tracy Morgan," explaining Crutch is the "close cousin" to his Neighborhood patriarch, Calvin Butler.

Cedric calls Crutch "a 'say-it-like-it-is' dad who will undoubtedly have a lot to say when his once-empty nest is filled again."

"[L]et's say there will be several comedic complications," he adds.

For his part, Morgan said, "Crutch will be navigating the ups and downs of having his kids and grandkids back under one roof, and you know if I am doing this, there will be plenty of laughs along the way." He noted he's "so happy to be able to do this with my brother Cedric The Entertainer."

Tracy added, "Get ready for your new favorite show!"

Jeff Grossman, the executive vice president of programming at Paramount+, called the spin-off a "natural fit" for CBS' sister streamer, where subscribers can stream The Neighborhood. "We can't wait to see what the immense talents behind Crutch ... bring to this new series," Grossman added.

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Lucasfilm has released the teaser to LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, in which the very fabric of space and time in the LEGO universe has been jumbled up like a messy kid's bedroom.

In the tease, the heroic Jedi Bob warns, "The building blocks of the galaxy are getting mixed up!"

To that end, whole planets are shown getting destroyed and reassembled in weird ways, as are its vehicles, buildings and inhabitants.

Like something of a galaxywide "what-if," scenario, Imperial AT-ATs become Rebel weapons of terror, Rebel X-Wing fighters get TIE fighter makeovers and cuddly Ewoks become feared bounty hunters.

The tease of the film ends with perhaps the ultimate swap-out: Darth Jar Jar. "Meesa gonna hurt yousa," the normally dopey Gungan says after igniting a red lightsaber.

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy hits Disney+ on September 13.

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On his Threads account on Monday, May 6, writer-director James Gunn posted the first official photo of David Corenswet in his Superman suit.

In the photo, Supes is sitting down as he puts on one of his red boots, suiting up likely to deal with a threat visible through the window behind him: a pink energy beam shooting from an eyeball-like entity in the sky, down onto Metropolis.

The writer-director, who is also the co-CEO of DC Films captioned the shot, "Get ready. Superman 7.11.25."

The suit appears weathered from previous battles. Gunn gave credit to the costumers without naming them by noting that unlike most super-suits you see in movies, there was no CG-sweetening to enhance it.

"The above photo was taken on set by Jess Miglio and was entirely in-camera," Gunn commented.

Jessica Miglio has worked on previous productions with Gunn, snapping on-set shots on his movies, including The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III. and on his Max spinoff series, Peacemaker.

As reported, joining Corenswet's Man of Steel/Clark Kent in the film will be Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Emmy nominee Nicholas Hoult as Superman's archnemesis Lex Luthor.

The cast also includes Gunn movie mainstay Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner; Santa Clarita Diet's Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen; Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific.

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Prime Video's video game adaptation Fallout stayed atop Reelgood Streaming Charts in the TV category for the third straight week.

The company monitors 20 million viewing decisions across all streaming platforms, week to week.

In the movie category, the Sydney Sweeney/Glen Powell romantic blockbuster Anyone But You debuted at #1 for the week April 25 through May 1.

Coming in second in TV was Netflix's Baby Reindeer, followed by Hulu's Under the Bridge in third, Hulu's Shōgun in fourth place and Netflix's new Dead Boy Detectives to round out the top five.

In the movie category, following Anyone But You was Shudder's Late Night with the Devil in second place; Argylle took third on Apple TV+, followed by The Beekeeper on MGM+ and the Oscar-winning drama The Zone of Interest on Max.
 

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A host of celebrities came to take their shots at Superbowl champ Tom Brady on Sunday night, as part of Netflix's first live roast, The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady.

As one might expect, there were no shortage of outrageous jokes at Brady's expense, most of which are unprintable, spanning his legendary career, his fitness regimen and even his divorce from Gisele Bündchen after 13 years of marriage.

Host Kevin Hart was the first to draw blood, making a joke about Gisele's reported relationship with her former Brazilian jiu jitsu teacher Joaquim Valente. "8 classes a day!" Hart joked. "And she's still a white belt!"

Hart then introduced the Roastmaster General, Jeff Ross, saying "there is no GOAT without a butcher."

Ross was dressed as O.J. Simpson, at first wearing his football uniform spattered with glitter for blood.

"I just came from hell. Aaron Hernandez says hello," Ross began of Brady's late former teammate who was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2013. Ross said of Brady, "I dressed like O.J. because I'm about to kill this white b**** right here."

One tense moment came during Ross' set when he made a reference to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's arrest for soliciting prostitution at a massage parlor; the charge was later dismissed.

Brady got up and whispered to Ross, "Don't say that s*** again," to which Ross agreed and continued.

Other highlights included Nikki Glaser earning a standing O for her blistering set and Will Ferrell reprising his Ron Burgundy role at the podium.

Incidentally, when Brady's rumored post-Gisele girlfriend Kim Kardashian took the podium, there was a strong undercurrent of boos from the crowd, which Hart tamped down from his seat. In the end, the crowd warmed to her short set.

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The Fellowship was reforged over the weekend, when The Lord of the Rings veterans raised their glasses together on Friday.

In an Instagram post, Dominic Monaghan shared a photo of the reunion of the stars from the blockbuster franchise including himself, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood and Billy Boyd.

In the snap, the actors can be seen raising shot glasses and smiling while sitting together at a dining table.

"3 hobbits and an elf and the CONVERSATION tonight was VAULTED," Monaghan wrote in the caption.

The reunion took place ahead of the group’s appearance at Liverpool Comic Con in the United Kingdom this weekend.

Prior to getting together with the group, Monaghan also posted a throwback photo of the cast members last week, displaying their early days as young actors while working on the film franchise.

"This weekend we form like voltron at #liverpoolcomiccon," he captioned the post.

In response, Bloom added the comment, "Best photo [red heart emoji]."

In the Oscar-winning trilogy, which ran from 2001 to 2003, Bloom played the role of elf Legolas Greenleaf, while Wood, Monaghan and Boyd respectively played hobbits Frodo Baggins, Meriodoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took.

After the series ended, the actors continued to portray their characters in The Hobbit prequel trilogy.

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