Shawn Levy Talks New ‘Star Wars’ Movie, ‘Deadpool 3’ and ‘Stranger Things’ Kids Aging: ‘Our Makeup Department Is Pretty Exceptional’

Shawn Levy is revealing a key inspiration for his upcoming MCU film Deadpool 3!

Jaden Thompson The SAG-AFTRA strike has officially ended, and David Harbour is ready to return to Hawkins as the beloved, curmudgeonly police chief Jim Hopper. On the red carpet for the BoxLunch Gala honoring Feeding America, where Harbour was named the Giving Ambassador, he expressed his excitement to return to the set of “Stranger Things.” He relayed a sense of urgency to get back to work, sharing that production could resume in just “a couple of days.” When asked what comes first on his post-strike agenda, Harbour said, “I mean, we got to film that last season of ‘Stranger Things,’ don’t we? I got to be down there, like, in a couple of days.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Jasmina Kuhnke, a German-born writer, actor, author and activist, has signed with CAA for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. Kuhnke’s debut novel, “Black Heart,” is a bestseller. The semi-autobiographical book recounts her experience growing up on the outskirts of the Ruhr region in Germany in the ’90s, and how she grappled with racism.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Hengameh Panahi, the celebrated French-Iranian producer who founded Celluloid Dreams and forged long-standing bonds with auteurs around the world, has died. She was 67.

Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy is using a key Star Wars scene as the inspiration for what he wants to do in his new film.

Don’t go into Netflix‘s adaptation of All The Light We Cannot See expecting it to be a direct translation of Anthony Doerr’s bestselling novel.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paris-based company 2425 Films, recently acquired by Mediawan, is working with a pool of rising filmmakers on timely movies, including Charly Delwart’s “1,5 degré,” Ilan Duran Cohen’s “Le coup d’apres” and Thomas Kruithof’s “Les Braises.” 2425 Films, founded by Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber, has been thriving with smart, high-concept commercial movies, such as Yann Gozlan’s “La boite noire” and “An Ideal Man,” as well as the thriller “Burn Out.” The company also presented Gozlan’s latest film, “Visions,” a thriller starring Diane Kruger (co-produced by Eagle Team Entetainment) at this year’s Angouleme Film Festival. Duran Cohen’s “Le coup d’apres” is a film set in the world of French politics, with a duo of French stars, Marina Fois and Laurent Laffite, who previously co-starred in “Papa ou Maman,” a French hit comedy franchise.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Aria Mia Loberti, the breakout star of Shawn Levy‘s Netflix limited series “All the Light We Cannot See,” has narrated a new audio edition of Jules Verne’s classic novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” Loberti, a writer, human rights advocate and Fulbright Scholarship recipient, made her acting debut in “All the Light We Cannot See,” an adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning novel which will premiere on Netflix Thursday. In the show, Loberti plays Marie-Laure, a courageous blind teenager living in Nazi-occupied France during WWII.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Bhutan’s official Oscar entry “The Monk And The Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom,” has been bought by a raft of well-established international theatrical distributors. Following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, “The Monk and the Gun” has been sold by Films Boutique to Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent). Earlier this week, the crowdpleaser was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Wanda Sykes will embark on her “Please & Thank You” comedy tour in 2024, the veteran stand-up comedian’s first major tour in six years, Variety can report exclusively. The first 29 dates of the tour will begin on March 1 in Concord, N.H., and carry through June 15 in Kansas City, Mo., with more dates to be added into the fall.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France’s Musée Grévin took Dwayne Johnson‘s comments and social media outcry over the star’s botched wax figure to heart. Within 24 hours, his figure was updated by artists who gave it a slightly darker skin tone with meticulous strokes of oil painting.

Chase Sui Wonders has a new man in her life!

At this point, given the ongoing SAG-AFTRA guild strike, who knows when Shawn Levy will shoot “Stranger Things” Season 5? But the longer the wait to shoot the Netflix show’s final season, the older its troupe of once-child actors will look. Fear not, says Levi: EW reports (via Variety) that the director and series executive producer promises he’ll use “all the tools available to us” to keep the “Stranger Things” teen looking like, well, teens, even if they’re in their early twenties.

It’s Ryan Reynolds‘ birthday, and the actor is stepping out to celebrate with Shawn Levy!

As you’re probably aware, “Star Wars” and Lucasfilm are at an inflection point. Having pivoted towards streaming for several years, “The Mandalorian,” etc., “Star Wars” Celebration earlier this year indicated that the new future would return to cinemas, announcing three “Star Wars” movies by Dave Filoni, one formerly from Damon Lindelof that will include Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker, and a prequel set in ancient Jedi times from filmmaker James Mangold.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon, German film master Wim Wenders said he shares Martin Scorsese’s deep concern over Hollywood’s obsession with sequels, and worries about AI in line with U.S. actors who are still on strike.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While artificial intelligence has been one of the biggest points of contention in the WGA and the SAG-AFTRA strikes, back in France, Newen Studios has taken a deep dive into AI to deliver daily soaps, as well as source talent and pitch projects in their own metaverse space. During Mipcom, Newen’s head of innovation, Marianne Carpentier, launched the second edition of the banner’s Meta Pitch Contest.

According to Marvel, “the louder the source, the more powerful the output. This can manifest in a variety of different ways. Dazzler began by creating her own light shows, but learned that she could blind people with it.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent MK2 Films has acquired a collection of films and TV series directed by Bruno Dumont, the award-winning French director behind “Life of Jesus,” “Slack Bay” and “Humanity.” The acquisition, unveiled during Mipcom Cannes, covers the bulk of the director’s work, spanning eight films and TV series including “Li’l Quinquin,” which premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. MK2 Films will represent rights to these titles in France and international markets.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Mipcom Cannes, the international TV conference, opened on a solemn note with market director Lucy Smith paying tribute to the “innocent victims in Israel and Gaza.” Smith addressed the reverberations of the Israel-Hamas conflict at the market and within the industry. Out of the 70 Israeli industry executives who had registered for Mipcom, only a few were able to attend due to the devastation brought by Hamas’ attack on Oct.