From Halloween preparations to a bunch of movies to watch if you want to hit the theaters this weekend, here's what's happening in entertainment.
Haunted Houses
First HBO adapted The Last of Us video game into a chilling, yet renowned series on its Max streaming platform and now Universal Studios is looking to bring the zombie apocalypse to life in a new haunted house attraction.
It's all part of the company's annual Halloween Horror Nights at its parks in Hollywood and Orlando. Details about what attendees can expect once they enter the houses are expectedly sparse, so as to not give away the scary surprises, but it is clear that they should expect to be met with some violent zombies that have been infected with cordyceps, a violence-inducing fungus.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79JVUnQToU4&t=89s[youtube]
The attraction comes amid the video game's tenth anniversary and just after the first season ended on Max. Universal is set to announce nine other haunted houses at both parks, with at least one of them being Child's Play themed, which the company revealed late last year.
[twitter]https://twitter.com/HorrorNightsORL/status/1587187958410579969?s=20[twitter]
The haunted houses are slated to go live in September and will run through Halloween.
John Boyega on Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx still hasn't been seen publicly seen since an undisclosed medical complication left him hospitalized in April. Now, as Foxx prepares for new projects, actor John Boyega wants to make sure people know just how special the actor, comedian and singer is.
On the red carpet at the American Black Film Festival, Boyega spoke about starring alongside Foxx in Netflix's upcoming film, They Cloned Tyrone.
"That's someone that I'm very much inspired by," he told Variety. "He's definitely been one of the major hands behind my career that helped me to get roles, get opportunities and I appreciate it."
Foxx is set to star as a pimp in the sci-fi comedy about a massive conspiracy that involves the government kidnapping locals and conducting experiments on them. The film is set to premiere on Netflix on July 15.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S3M1xFVdVg[youtube]
Weekend Watches
Need some viewing options for the weekend? If you don't feel like cozying up on the couch with your favorite streaming service and our weekly What to Stream guide in tow, there are plenty of options for you at the movie theater.
The Flash, starring the controversial Ezra Miller, is finally hitting theaters this weekend. Surprisingly, the project has received glowing reviews despite Miller's off-camera conduct. The movie will track the Flash as he travels back in time to save his family, but the trip has dire consequences on the future. Michael Keaton reprises his role as Batman for the first time since 1992 and, ironically, the Flash is looking for him to come out of retirement to help save the world from annihilation.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jprhe-cWKGs[youtube]
Disney and Pixar's Elemental will be available in theaters after also receiving rave reviews. In fact, the movie closed out the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and reportedly received a five-minute standing ovation. It's about an unlikely couple sparking a relationship after embarking on an adventure. They come from two very different worlds and are even elemental opposites (water and fire) but somehow make the budding relationship work – even when their families don't agree.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXzcyx9V0xw[youtube]
Chris Hemsworth is coming back to the big screen this weekend in Extraction 2. He plays a black-ops mercenary who, at least at the beginning of the film, is on the mend after a near fatal fight in the first Extraction film. After recovering, he's tasked with perhaps his most important mission ever: saving the wife and kids of a nefarious gangster.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO0OuR26IZM[youtube]
The Blackening is also due in theaters. Fittingly released on the weekend of the Juneteenth holiday, a group of friends find an old board game that has dire consequences. Play the game, based on Black trivia, or die. The film is framed as horror-satire, which you can quickly gather from the trailer.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moiRCJR4ToY[youtube]
