Divisive writer making "secret" Star Wars movie

And a new Marvel movie trailer? Already?

What to know

• Damon Lindelof and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy are making a “secret” Star Wars movie… Remember how on Thursday, I was like, “I’d be shocked if Lucasfilm makes any Star Wars movie within the next 3 years.” Please allow me to wipe the egg from my face. Divisive writer Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers, Watchmen) is penning a new Star Wars movie and Ms. Marvel helmer Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has come onboard to direct. Deadline reports that production is still “far out,” but this Star Wars movie has the most momentum at Lucasfilm right now. How nice to get a drop of water in the desert that has been Star Wars movie news. I like Lindelof’s work (though you might disagree) and thought Obaid-Chinoy did well with Ms. Marvel, so this sounds good to me. ✨

• David Tennant and Catherine Tate returning to Doctor Who for 3 special episodes next November… Jodie Whittaker’s groundbreaking turn as the Doctor and Chris Chibnall’s less celebrated tenure as showrunner has come to an end. Former and once-again showrunner Russel T. Davies is starting his new era off with a bang by bringing back fan favs Tennant and Tate (plus Neil Patrick Harris as a new villain, but more on him later). This is surprising and welcome news, and enough to get me and I suspect many other fans who might have fallen off back interested in the show. After the specials, Ncuti Gatwa will take over as Doctor. 🇬🇧

• Black Adam, Ticket to Paradise prove star power still matters… While their reviews weren’t great, The Rock, Clooney, and Roberts combined forces to deliver the biggest box office weekend in months. You can’t beat old fashioned star power, even if $67 million and $16.2 million seem soft in the grand scheme of things. Dwayne Johnson is rightly touting Black Adam’s 90% audience score, saying making the fans happy is what matters. He’s not wrong. ⭐️

• Marvel drops Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania trailer… Come for the Ruben Rabasa cameo, stay for Jonathan Majors’ re-entry in to the MCU. This is a pretty wild trailer, but what most shocks me is how much of a departure this is from the previous two Ant-Man movies. Will it work? Time will tell. 🐜

• Variety: She Said deserves Best Picture attention, daring Hollywood to confront its Weinstein complicity… Keep an eye on this award season narrative. What happens to She Said could speak volumes. 🗞

• Apple raising the price on its TV and music streaming services… I guess $200 billion in cash reserves isn’t enough for the tech company? 💰

• Henry Cavill officially back as Superman… OK? I think Cavill and DC want us to be *very excited* about this, but all I’ve got is a shrug. 🤷🏻

• Succession debuts season 4 trailer ahead of spring 2023 debut… Your favorite rich fuck-ups are coming back. 📺

• Taylor Swift breaks single-day album streams and artist streams records on Spotify… It’s her, hi. 🕛

• Life of Pi stage adaptation coming to Broadway in March… Will it have a live tiger? 🐅

• CAA drops Kanye West, MRC shelves upcoming documentary… Bye bye! 👏

• Actor and comedian Leslie Jordan has died at 67

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What’s new

• Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities — Oct 25 | Netflix anthology series | 🍅

• The Good Nurse — Oct 26 | Netflix drama film | 🍅 77%

• Wendell & Wild — Oct 28 | Netflix animated film | 🍅 89%

• Till — Oct 28 | Drama film in theaters | 🍅 99%

• Tár — Oct 28 | Drama film in theaters | 🍅 95%

• The White Lotus s2 — Oct 30 | HBO/HBO Max drama series | 🍅 100%

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What to watch

Netflix’s Uncoupled, created by Darren Star and Jeffrey Richman and led by Neil Patrick Harris, is essentially gay Sex and the City. It even recycles some plots and character archetypes from the groundbreaking HBO sitcom. But here’s the thing, Star along with Richman happen to be very good at making this type of show (Star also created Emily in Paris) and Neil Patrick Harris happens to be very good at acting it — and it’s as important as ever that series like this, with wall-to-wall gay representation, get featured in the mainstream. Uncoupled is as breezy, funny, and slyly touching as the heights of Star’s previous work.

Star and Richman keep plots moving at an engaging and surprising clip, giving the dramatic beats of the story their due (NPH’s character is dealing with the break up of a longterm relationship) while rotating through sexual adventures, boyfriends of the week, and other more fun sitcom-y tropes. They’re also unafraid to push the envelope and talk openly about gay sex lives. Star is again repeating what made Sex and the City so revolutionary (women talk about sex?!), but potentially opening mainstream eyes to an even more othered and for lack of a better term, closeted world.

Harris is fantastic and built to anchor a show like this. This feels like a return to form for the actor as his years of experience leading grounded TV dramas and comedies pay off dividends in this show. He plays Michael with the charm and wit of Barney Stinson while bringing the warmth of Doogie Howser. He’s just so good in the small reaction shots and often overlooked line deliveries.

Star and Richman also did the important and necessary work of fleshing out the supporting cast, giving them interior lives and journeys of their own. Tisha Campbell, Marcia Gay Harden, Michael Emerson Brooks, and Brooks Ashmanskas are all on the same page and clearly enjoying being apart of this Manhattan universe. They’re also central to selling the show’s main theme of friends being your found family, and boy do they nail it. Uncoupled is, more than anything else, comfortable. It has the confidence of a show that’s been around for years, when it’s only just getting started.

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!