Mike Baxter, meet Tim Taylor.

Last Man Standing is staging a Home Improvement crossover, of sorts, for its final season.

Star Tim Allen will reprise his former TV role as the Taylor family patriarch and Tool Time host for a surreal Last Man Standing episode which has Allen playing both sitcom dads at the same time.

The episode’s setup: “The Baxters see double when Vanessa hires a home improvement repairman who bears an uncannily resemblance to Mike, who is struggling with an idea for his Outdoor Man 10th Anniversary vlog.”

Here's a preview of the season which includes a snippet from the episode, titled "Dual Time":

Allen's Home Improvement was a hit comedy series that ran for eight seasons on ABC starting in 1991.

The ninth and final season of Last Man Standing premieres at a special day and time, Sunday, Jan. 3 at 8:30 p.m. following the debut of Mayim Bialik's new comedy Call Me Kat. Then the show shifts to Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 7.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• Last Man Standing to end with season 9 
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• Home Improvement stars Tim Allen, Richard Karn to reunite for building competition

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

At first, you don't think the voice on the other end of the zoom call actually belongs to Mads Mikkelsen.

From his roles in major Hollywood projects like Hannibal, Doctor Strange, and Casino Royale, the Danish actor's performances often require him to be so grave, stoic, and frankly rather intimidating. Yet Mikkelsen in real life is warm, friendly, and hugely enthusiastic about his new film Another Round, which reunites the actor with writer-director Thomas Vinterberg, who Mikkelsen previously worked with on The Hunt.

Another Round is the story of four schoolteachers in Denmark who decide to test a theory that a person's life can be improved if they spend all day slightly drunk. Naturally, things don't go according to plan, yet the film isn't the typical anti-drinking morality tale that American viewers might assume.

Below Mikkelsen discusses the film and its ideas and, the secrets to pretending to be drunk, and his headline-making Fantastic Beasts 3 casting.

Entertainment Weekly: First off, what drew you to this project?

Mads Mikkelsen: Predominantly Thomas Vinterberg. We worked together on a film called The Hunt eight years ago and it was one of the best experiences of my working life and he's a wonderful person and we became friends. So when he came around again and asked me to be part of his next film, that was the reason. Then when I read the script, everything made sense. It's a beautifully written story about embracing life during the difficult state of your midlife crisis.

There are a lot of scenes where you're playing different levels of intoxication in the film, and I know this is an obvious question that probably everybody asks, but I'm sure viewers will wonder if the actors drank on set to help play those scenes. 

It's an obvious question and, of course, you have to ask it. We very early on in the process we decided for numerous reasons that it would be a no-go to drink while on set. One, it's very hard to communicate with actors who are drunk. Also, to stay half-drunk for 16 hours a day is not recommendable. Thirdly, there will be numerous times where we have scenes where we are drunk, and right after that, we might have to do a scene where you're driving home in a car.

So instead we decided to do a lot of boot camp rehearsals where we figured out how to talk, how to walk on different levels of alcohol. It's not that we don't know at all – because we're Danish, right? So we have certain experiences with alcohol. But we wanted to test different levels precisely. So we did, and then when that was done, we put the cork back in the bottle and said, "Let's start being actors now." Also, we had one guy on set from Alcoholics Anonymous who stopped drinking seven years ago. So out of respect for that, we figured we'd be in the same boat and just go for the acting.

I've interviewed actors who have said pretending to be drunk is one of the hardest forms of acting as it can so easily swerve into something that's broadly comic or fake-looking.

It's a tricky thing and all actors know it. One of the tricks is if you're like semi-drunk – two, three, maybe four glasses – we how to approach that. The secret is to do what we do in our own lives: We don't want people to see that we are drunk, so we try to hide it. That's the way you approach it. You move a little slower, a little more precise, and, obviously, that gives it away.

It's the next level, that's the tricky one, once you're Charlie Chaplin-drunk, when you're all-in. We watched a lot of Russian YouTube videos, there's a lot of funny examples where people are just out-of-their minds drunk. And one of the things that we learned from that was when you fall – and you will fall when you're that drunk – is that you will never use your hands to stop yourself. You don't care. You're just using your face. So that was very inspiring.

There is a scene early in the film where your character, who is clearly reluctant to drink, is pressured into a sip of vodka at a dinner with friends. The look of resigned despair on your face was my favorite moment of the film. It was fascinating that you were able to convey so much drama while maintaining such an otherwise passive expression. 

I'm so happy you said that; it's one of my favorite scenes as well. It's a key scene for the film and a bold way to portray a man. That scene would normally take place an hour and 20 minutes into a film, but Thomas put it 10 minutes into the film. We were like, "But we don't know this guy yet. Are we seriously gonna have any kind of feelings for this creature who is sitting there feeling sorry for himself?" The camera is focusing on his face. He could still hear his friends. He could hear the people singing next door. But all of a sudden he realizes he's standing on the platform and the train has left the station. He realizes he's messed up it's very heartbreaking and beautiful, but it was also a very risky moment.

I feel an American film would have explained your character's backstory and history with drinking with on-the-nose exposition or even flashbacks. Yet we're told nothing about that. We are left to figure it out ourselves through his current behavior that he's had some problem with alcohol in the past. 

I think Thomas and I might have had different approaches, and I think that people see it with different eyes as well. I had an approach that the man is driving, so he will just have some water. But there was also another side of it where the guy knew that if you open that bottle, he knows what's down at the bottom. So we kind of disagreed a little on that and I think we met halfway. Now it's more like he's doing drinking out of pity and, and through drinking – and through his super-helpful friends – he re-finds his life.

For a movie that's so much about drinking. I was trying it the entire time to discern the movie's attitude toward drinking. I kind of came out thinking this: If the big question is, "Is alcohol wonderful or horrible?" The answer is simply "Yes." The answer is "Yes," to both.

I think you said the smartest thing of all the interviews I've done so far. That's exactly what we're trying to put on the screen. It actually started out as being a tribute to alcohol and then we quite quickly realized we had to touch upon the other side of the coin as well. But we don't want to make a film just about the dark side of drinking because that's been done numerous times to perfection, and we also did not want to be immoral about it. We wanted to remind people that human beings been drinking for 7,000 years. There must be a reason – whether to take the load off your shoulders or to get more inspired or to somebody who doesn't have the balls to pick up the phone and make that phone call.

Thomas normally asks – when there's a crowd of people asking him this question – "How many of you met your spouse without alcohol involved?" There's not a lot of hands coming up. We all know how beautiful it can be, how richer a conversation can be after a couple of glasses. We also know after a bottle how it's not that interesting anymore. But we know if you can hit a perfect zone, as we argue in the film, there is something to gain there. I mean, look at Winston Churchill, what he did while he was completely soaked. Look at Ernest Hemingway what he did while drunk. So there is something there, and that's what we saying. It can go both ways. And as you said: Is it bad? Or is it good? And the answer is "Yes."

I was going to ask about that – the seeming paradox of inspirational figures who were known for working while inebriated. The question is whether their genius was partly because of their drinking, or would they have been even greater without it?

We will never know! Churchill and Hemmingway are difficult to predict. But I have a hunch that quite a few musicians would not have done what they did if they were not under the influence of something, you know? I don't want this to sound [like I'm telling musicians], "hey, keep drinking."As for actors, there were some comedians from the 1960s and '70s who were great, but I have a hunch they would have been better if they were not as drunk as they were most of the time. It's just a matter of balancing it.

There is also, and I won't say anything to spoil it, a dance sequence in the film. Many probably don't realize you have quite a bit of dancing experience. What was that like to shoot?

That was brutal. I think it's maybe 30 years ago since I last took a step, so I felt fairly rusty and my body was aching for a couple of weeks. I had my doubts when we did it that it was the right approach. I thought it might risk being pretentious. But Thomas insisted and he was absolutely 100 percent right and I was wrong.

On another subject, you've obviously made headlines for being cast in Fantastic Beasts 3. How is your Grindelwald going to be different than the versions we've seen?

Well it's going to be me, so that's a difference. No, this is the tricky part. We're still working it out. There has to be a bridge between what Johnny [Depp] did and what I'm going to do. And at the same time, I also have to make it my own. But also we have to find a few links [to the previous version of the character] and some bridges so it doesn't completely detach from what he's already masterfully achieved."

What was it like to get that call under such dramatic circumstances?

Job wise, it's obviously super interesting and nice. It's also a shocker that it came after what happened, which is just super sad. I wish both of them the best. These are sad circumstances. I hope both of them will be back in the saddle again really soon.

Another Round is now in theaters and available on demand Dec. 18.

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• Mads Mikkelsen serves up a tipsy Danish export with Another Round: Review
• It's official: Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts 3 
• Mads Mikkelsen breaks silence on Fantastic Beasts 3 casting

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

The Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon has released some teaser concept art.

The images include a look at a dragon that's a bit unlike the ones we've seen in the original hit series, which ran for eight seasons on HBO:

A tweet from the official Game of Thrones account declared, "Dragons are Coming," and confirmed that the show would begin production in 2021.

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's House Targaryen chronicle Fire & Blood and set 300 years before Game of Thrones. The famed Dance of Dragons — the Targaryen civil war occasionally referenced in GoT that ripped apart Westeros — will be tackled during the series.

Paddy Considine was the first actor to be cast in prequel series, as King Viserys I Targaryen. More casting announcements are expected soon.

House of the Dragon is from Martin and co-showrunners Ryan Condal (Colony) and Miguel Sapochnik (Game of Thrones). The show is planned for 2022.

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• Review: George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood is a great, big, imperfect pile of story

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

Whoa: Warner Bros. is going all-in on HBO Max.

The studio is taking the unprecedented step of not just releasing Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max this month, but also every one of its films in 2021 — the whole slate, from Dune to The Matrix 4. Every film will be released day-and-date in theaters and on the new streaming service.

The lineup of 17 films includes The Little Things, Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In The Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Reminiscence, Malignant, Dune, The Many Saints of Newark, King Richard, Cry Macho, and Matrix 4. The company released a promotional video, above, touting the news.

“We’re living in unprecedented times which call for creative solutions, including this new initiative for the Warner Bros. Pictures Group,” said Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios. “No one wants films back on the big screen more than we do. We know new content is the lifeblood of theatrical exhibition, but we have to balance this with the reality that most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021. With this unique one-year plan, we can support our partners in exhibition with a steady pipeline of world-class films, while also giving moviegoers who may not have access to theaters or aren’t quite ready to go back to the movies the chance to see our amazing 2021 films. We see it as a win-win for film lovers and exhibitors, and we’re extremely grateful to our filmmaking partners for working with us on this innovative response to these circumstances.”

It's difficult to imagine theater-owners agreeing with that "win-win" sentiment, as they've been battered heavily by the pandemic and were looking forward to the release of vaccines — which are expected to begin distribution in the United States this month — as a light at the end of the tunnel for their financial crisis. The move hints at a future where theatrical releases being put on streaming services might become routine, not just a pandemic response.

While Warner Bros. parent WarnerMedia has some pressures of its own — HBO Max is a major initiative for the company, but the service has only signed on 8.6 million U.S. subscribers since it launched last May (compared to Disney+ gaining 60 million members since launching in late 2019). The company hopes to have 50 million subscribers by 2025.

Added Jason Kilar, CEO, WarnerMedia: "After considering all available options and the projected state of moviegoing throughout 2021, we came to the conclusion that this was the best way for WarnerMedia’s motion picture business to navigate the next 12 months. More importantly, we are planning to bring consumers 17 remarkable movies throughout the year, giving them the choice and the power to decide how they want to enjoy these films. Our content is extremely valuable, unless it’s sitting on a shelf not being seen by anyone. We believe this approach serves our fans, supports exhibitors and filmmakers, and enhances the HBO Max experience, creating value for all."

“This hybrid exhibition model enables us to best support our films, creative partners and moviegoing in general throughout 2021,” added Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “We have a fantastic, wide-ranging slate of titles from talented and visionary filmmakers next year, and we’re excited to be able get these movies in front of audiences around the world. And, as always, we’ll support all of our releases with innovative and robust marketing campaigns for their theatrical debuts, while highlighting this unique opportunity to see our films domestically via HBO Max as well.”

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

The Simpsons, once again, did it first.

Fox's uncannily predictive animated classic has yet again proved unintentionally prescient after Austin's mayor was caught in an embarrassingly hypocritical situation.

Mayor Steve Adler has come under fire for posting a video in November stressing to residents they "need to stay home" during the COVID-19 pandemic surge – while he was secretly vacationing in Cabo San Lucas.

“We need to stay home if you can," Adler said in a Facebook video filmed after the mayor took a private jet to Mexico along with seven others for a weeklong trip following his daughter's wedding. "This is not the time to relax. We are going to be looking really closely. ... We may have to close things down if we are not careful."

Yet The Simpsons' ethically compromised Mayor Quimby already hit this beat in season 4 – during an episode that involved a flu outbreak, no less.

Adler apologized on Wednesday after The Austin American-Statesman broke the story of the mayor's location during his video.

“I regret this travel,” Adler wrote in a statement. “My fear is that this travel, even having happened during a safer period, could be used by some as justification for risky behavior. In hindsight, and even though it violated no order, it set a bad example for which I apologize.”

The Simpsons episode, "Marge in Chains," was previously cited early in the pandemic for seeming to predict the outbreak itself – as well the wave of stories about Murder Hornets that followed.

The Simpsons team pushed back on that a bit, worrying that online trolls were using elements in the episode for "nefarious purposes" and that Simpsons prediction stories, in general, are "mainly just coincidence because the episodes are so old that history repeats itself," said the episode's writer, Bill Oakley.

The Adler story comes amid a series of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do scandals of civic leaders scolding the public to follow pandemic rules and then doing something entirely different in their private lives – such as a Los Angeles County Supervisor who dined at a restaurant in Santa Monica hours after voting to ban outdoor dining, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting a salon in San Francisco after her city restricted indoor hair-care appointments.

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

Amazon Studios is revealing enough new actors for its The Lord of the Rings TV series to pack the Green Dragon pub.

The streaming service announced 20 actors who have joined the cast of the sprawling Middle-earth epic based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy world.

Names include Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Power, Spartacus), Benjamin Walker (Heart of the Sea) and Peter Mullan (Westworld), pictured above.

“The world that J.R.R. Tolkien created is epic, diverse, and filled with heart," said showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay in a statement. "These extraordinarily talented performers, hailing from across the globe, represent the culmination of a multi-year search to find brilliant and unique artists to bring that world to life anew. The international cast of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series is more than just an ensemble. It is a family. We are thrilled to welcome each of them to Middle-earth.”

Other actors joining the show include Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), Ian Blackburn (Unbreakable Beau), Kip Chapman (Top of the Lake), Anthony Crum (The Wilds), Maxine Cunliffe (Power Rangers Megaforce), Trystan Gravelle (The Terror), Sir Lenny Henry (famed British comedian; Broadchurch), Thusitha Jayasundera (Donmar), Fabian McCallum (You, Me & The Apocalypse), Simon Merrells (Knightfall), Geoff Morrell (Grassroots), Lloyd Owen (Apollo 18), Augustus Prew (Into the Dark), Peter Tait (a The Lord of the Rings veteran who played an orc in The Return of the King), Alex Tarrant (Filthy Rich), Leon Wadham (Go Girls) and Sara Zwangobani (Doctor Doctor).

Below are the rest of the new actors joining the show. The series has been described as a prequel to the events in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films and is expected to debut in late 2021 or 2022.

The new cast members join Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman who were announced earlier this year.

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

Fantastic Beasts 3

• Movie

• Fantasy

Mads Mikkelsen is opening up about the "shocker" moment he got the call to replace Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts 3.

The Danish actor was cast last month as the dark wizard Gellert Grindlewald after Warner Bros. asked Depp to resign from the Harry Potter prequel franchise. The shakeup came after Depp lost his libel lawsuit against a U.K. publication that alleged he was abusive towards his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard.

During a discussion about Mikkelsen's new film, Another Round, EW asked the Rogue One and Hannibal actor how his take on the villainous character will differ from Depp's.

"Well it's going to be me, so that's a difference," Mikkelsen quipped, then he got serious. "No, this is the tricky part. We're still working it out. There has to be a bridge between what Johnny did and what I'm going to do. And at the same time, I also have to make it my own. But also we have to find a few links [to the previous version of the character] and some bridges so it doesn't completely detach from what he's already masterfully achieved."

We also asked Mikkelsen about his reaction to landing the role, which came about under such dramatic circumstances.

"Job wise, it's obviously super interesting and nice," Mikkelsen said. "It's also a shocker that it came after what happened, which is just super sad. I wish both of them the best. These are sad circumstances. I hope both of them will be back in the saddle again really soon."

Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production and will be released July 14, 2022. But you don't have to wait years to see Mikkelsen in a new role. Another Round has the actor playing a despondent Danish schoolteacher who makes a pact with his colleagues to test a theory that life is better if you spend your whole day just slightly drunk (in other words, like half the world during the pandemic). Read Leah Greenblatt's review for more details. Another Round opens in limited theaters Friday and is available on demand Dec. 18.

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

Taylor Swift has released a first listen to one of her back catalog re-recording efforts.

The singer shared a clip, below, of one of her fan-favorite classics, "Love Story," from her 2008 breakthrough sophomore album, Fearless.

The tune is bundled into a Match.com commercial made by Ryan Reynolds, so you have to sit through some yes-2020-was-terrible dating app advertising synergy before you get to the good stuff.

Wrote Swift on Twitter: "Okay so while my new re-records are NOT done, my friend @VancityReynolds asked me if he could use a snippet of one for a LOLsome commercial he wrote so...here’s a sneak peak of Love Story! Working hard to get the music to you soon!!"

At first blush, the song sounds very close to the original, though with perhaps a bit punchier of a production soundscape.

Swift is re-recording her early albums after her Big Machine Label Group catalog was sold against her will to Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings in 2019. The catalog was, in turn, re-sold last month to Shamrock Holdings for a reported $300 million. As Swift's contract gives her the right to re-record material from 2006's Taylor Swift, Fearless, 2010's Speak Now, 2012's Red and 2014's 1989, the artist is doing just that. It's a potentially savvy counter move that will presumably drive fans to her re-recordings (which she owns) and devalue her old recordings (which she doesn't). The re-recordings would also allow her to license the songs to movies, TV shows and, as in the above case, commercials. While any company that licenses the old versions of her songs once these new versions are available risks alienating Swift.

"I'm very excited about doing because my contract says that starting Nov. 2020, so next year, I can record albums one-five all over again," Swift said in a GMA interview last year. "I'm very excited about it. Because I think that artists deserve to own their work. I feel very passionate about that."

She added to Billboard last year, "Every week, we get a dozen synch requests to use 'Shake It Off' in some advertisement or 'Blank Space' in some movie trailer, and we say no to every single one of them. And the reason I’m rerecording my music next year is because I do want my music to live on. I do want it to be in movies, I do want it to be in commercials. But I only want that if I own it. It’s going to be fun, because it’ll feel like regaining a freedom and taking back what’s mine."

When Swift's catalog was recently re-sold, she released a statement condemning the move. “A few weeks ago my team received a letter from a private equity company called Shamrock Holdings, letting us know that they had bought 100% of my music, videos, and album art from Scooter Braun,” Swift wrote. "This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge. The letter told me that they wanted to reach out before the sale to let me know, but that Scooter Braun had required that they make no contact with me or my team, or the deal would be off.”

Clearly Swift is not afraid and confident she'll make it out of this mess.

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

Fargo

• TV Show

• FX

• Drama
• Crime
• Anthology

Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley breaks down the season finale of the most ambitious chapter yet in his History of True Crime in the Mid West: his sprawling season 4 Kansas City crime epic that pitted two mob families, led by Loy Cannon (Chris Rock) and Josto Fadda (Jason Schwartzman), against each other. The season had the usual Fargo-ian elements of murder, mayhem, and pitch-black comedy, but also with the added and timely resonance of looking at race relations in America. Below, Hawley takes some of our lingering questions about the season in general and Sunday's finale in particular (spoilers ahead!).

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So what made Zelmare (Karen Aldridge) killing Loy the right move, creatively speaking?

NOAH HAWLEY: It's a very loaded question, right? We had a lot of conversations in the writers' room about it. Because he's a Black man in 1950, it didn't feel realistic that he was gonna win. And as the head of a criminal organization, his days were numbered no matter what. He's either gonna end up dead or behind bars. And we certainly didn't want to put him behind bars and send that message. And so what felt right was an individual betrayal catching up to him. We take him from defeat to victory and back to defeat again when he's told that half his business was being taken away from him, then he goes home and he looks in the window and he sees his family and his son he thought was dead. And he thinks, "Well, I always thought I needed more power to make us safe, but we've never been safer than we are right now." So maybe this is the happy ending? And then the knife comes out. And what he sees is not the state coming to arrest him or an enemy, but somebody he betrayed who deserves justice. And because hopefully we all love Swanee and Zelmare and it feels like, "Okay, I can live with that. I don't like that it happened, but it feels like justice to me."

This is a random reference but it, weirdly enough, reminded me of Carlito's Way — the overlooked younger gangster who was snubbed and you forgot about returns when you least expect it to take out the protagonist right as he thinks he's achieved his goal.

And the first time I saw No Country for Old Men, and Josh Brolin goes, "I'm going to make you my special project," and you think, "Okay, it's on," but then 10 minutes later Brolin is dead in a motel room, killed by this Mexican cartel. It's perfectly real, but I didn't see it coming.

The finale was notably a bit of a shorter episode than all the other episodes. I know you had that break in production due to the pandemic. So I guess my first question was whether you had to cut anything you had hoped to include?

It was a 30-page script, and for the international release we actually had to try to lengthen it. That that was just how much story was left, and it didn't feel like it made sense to move some things from [episodes] 9 and 10. I just went ahead knowing that most people live in a streaming world and it doesn't matter if it's a 30-minute episode or a 65-minute episode.

What do you want to say about the Ghost Slaver and why the ghost would protect Ethelrida (E'myri Crutchfield) from Oraetta Mayflower (Jessie Buckley) in that moment?

I think he's protecting his "property," if you know what I mean. Like, "No, nobody gets to mess with her except me." It's like the devil is not willing to share. I also thought it was kind of funny that by far the most demonic character in the show, this sociopath, has got nothing on the actual devil, you know?

Speaking of Oraetta, she kept reminding me of two iconic characters that I wondered if either was an inspiration at all. Stephen King's Annie Wilkes and this other — just the way she walked and talked and carried herself — it reminded me a bit of Miss Gulch from The Wizard of Oz, the pre-tornado Wicked Witch of the West, just in case that was another Oz inspiration this season.

I did not think about King's character at all in the creation of Oraetta. When you say The Wizard of Oz out loud, considering our other homage, I would like to say that that's in there — because it would make me look smart — but if that's in there, it's only because Jessie put it in there, it wasn't a note I gave her.

Oraetta's line while standing in front of her grave along with Josto Fadda, "Can you shoot him first so I can watch?" is perhaps one of my favorite lines you've written. It's just so bonkers, yet perfectly in character.

And Jason, who is told in the first act, "You say 'what' a lot," gets one last "What?" right before he's killed. If ever Josto thought that he was anything more than just a pawn in this whole story, he's proven otherwise. He doesn't even have the dignity of being prepared for his death.

Going back in time a bit, I loved the episode "East/West" and wondered if you talk about the decision to do the hour in black-and-white, aside from the obvious Oz homage.

There was a point early on where I told FX, "The good news is I've decided not to film the entire season in black-and-white," so you should feel lucky we're just doing this one hour. The Wizard of Oz was always built into the season on some level, and that includes cinematically in that hour of going from black-and-white to color. If you're going to do that, you have to start with black-and-white. And obviously, the twister comes in just a few minutes before the end of the episode.

And with the black-and-whites, I do think in some ways they were kind of driving into the past as well. You have all the historical markers throughout the episode and the sense this history of America and the history of these places and this boarding house and these people who seemed like almost like they were still living in the '20s or the '30s. So the black-and-white also felt like it played into that. So that was the origin of it; it wasn't just an affectation of saying, "Well, let's just try this."

With Odis (Jack Huston) and all his tics: Whenever I saw him, because of having watched on film sets how many times and different ways each scene is shot, I just kept thinking how utterly exhausting it must have been, going through those tics, hundreds of times, and there must have been days when that was exhausting for all involved, having to film that.

Because he has all these tics and because he calls Josto "boss," Jack thought [when the character is introduced in the season's second episode, which Hawley directed] I wanted him to have a kind of obsequiousness, a toadyism about him. And I said, "No, think about how the smallest dogs are always the most anxious, but they're also the most aggressive, right? He needs to be hostile, and he's hostile because his anxiety is spiking." I was glad that I got to work with Jack in those first couple of hours to really dial in where that character lived.

A lot of characters in the Coen Brothers universe have had kind of random fates and accidents, but Gaetano (Salvatore Esposito) might have been the most out-of-nowhere one.

In some way, that's what gave it its power. First, we had just given Odis this kind of epic depth in which, after a lifetime of torment from his tics, it suddenly goes away and he has this moment of peace when he realizes it's all ending. Then you have Gaetano starting to work back to the car and he trips — and we've seen him trip at least twice in the season before — and falls and shoots himself accidentally. It's tragic because he and Josto finally managed to repair their wounds. I wanted it like the death of the state trooper in Fargo: It's shocking because it happens so quickly and it's gory, it's graphic, and seems a bit over-the-top, so it becomes what violence actually is, which is overwhelming in the moment.

There's the reveal that Loy's son Michael (Rodney L. Jones III) grows up to be season 2 fan-favorite Mike Milligan. How much did connecting those dots influence the season?

When you think back on season 2, you don't necessarily think first, "Oh, it's the Molly Solverson origin story." It's the same way this is the Mike Milligan origin story that is tangentially about Mike Milligan on some level, but it's not by any means the season's defining feature.

And finally, any thoughts on a Fargo season 5? Any new lightbulbs having gone off since the last time we spoke?

I think so. I don't know where this thing goes or where it ends. I certainly don't want to overstay my welcome. I'm sure there are some people who think that four seasons are too many. I have the germination of an idea, but there's a lot of work that has to be done to make sure it's worthy. Fargo has never really been a story where "this happens, then this happens, then this happens." There's a lot more that goes into it, and the bar is high, and I certainly have no desire to be the last guy at the dance going, "Oh, it's still good."

Do you have a time period, or too early to say?

It feels more contemporary. It'll be set somewhere in the recent past. But I don't know where it would come in terms of writing and producing it. I'm working right now to finish a long-overdue book. And then we'll see what comes next.

Related content:

• Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley explains why Chris Rock is perfect for season 4
• Chris Rock on Fargo season 4: 'This is the best part I'll ever have'
• EW reviews Fargo season 4

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

The C-3PO actor has played the golden android for more than 40 years across all three movie trilogies and voiced the charmingly uptight character in many other productions, commercials, and attractions. His latest turn as C-3PO is in the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, which includes a fast-paced mash-up of Star Wars characters as Rey goes on a time-traveling journey across the franchise's past and present. The new special has been generally well-received by fans and critics, breaking the brand's long-standing Holiday Special curse. Still, Daniels enjoyed recalling making the original, which had stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher awkwardly reprising their New Hope roles in a campy TV variety show.

"This thing was meant to be a happy Life Day, then we're in this giant set draped with black, it was just awful," Daniels recalls. "It was like being at a weird funeral, you have to watch it on YouTube for the full horror. Watch the last 10 minutes, and you'll see why [the new show] contrasts rather well and is rather fun. Poor Mark, poor Carrie, poor Harrison – you can see it on their faces! They're gritting their teeth and it shows; they're like hanging onto each other. I think people learn their lesson, and I think we may be on track to make a regular Life Day holiday special, and why not?"

Daniels was one of the few original actors from the films (along with Billy Dee Williams and Kelly Marie Tran) to reprise their voices in the new animated show. As Daniels always seems down to play his iconic character, we asked if he's uncomfortable with the idea of somebody else voicing C-3PO.

"Until I choose to retire, I would not be comfortable with [somebody else playing the character] because it wouldn't be Threepio as I have known him for 40-something years," Daniels says. "I don't want that to happen while I'm still cognizant and able to do it because -- and this is not me aggrandizing myself -- he's the way he is and he's the way he is is because of me. And if I'm around, that's the way it should stay. Eventually, I will leave this planet, and I want him to go on and somebody will take over as that's the nature of show business. I would not like him to disappear from the galaxy, even though I have."

Here's the trailer for the new special:

The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney+.

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

Disney+'s blockbuster The Mandalorian has fixed a rare goof that went viral last week – an anonymous crew member who was just barely seen in a shot from Chapter 12, "The Seige."

Here's the shot before the fix (oval added) from a scene where Greef Karga (Carl Weathers, who also directed the episode), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) get into a shootout:

And now, he's vanished:

Jeans Guy (a.k.a. T-Shirt Guy a.k.a. Admiral Blue Jeans) stepped into the camera's line-of-sight and into our hearts after being quickly spotted by fans after the episode debuted on Nov. 20, spawning jokes like this one:

EW pointed out the eerie similarity to another Jeans Guy crewmember who wandered into the left side frame on another George Lucas-related production from decades before, during this scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark:

The goof also led to comparisons to the infamous Game of Thrones season 8 coffee cup error, though HBO fixed that one a bit quicker (within a few days), whereas it took Disney about a week jettison Jeans Guy. Anonymous crew members being left in scenes, apparently, is not the way.

Related content:

• The Mandalorian reveals Baby Yoda's name and backstory  The Mandalorian finally reveals its live-action Ahsoka Tano 
• Giancarlo Esposito discusses the second half of The Mandalorian season 2

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:James Hibberd

The writer-director is leaving The Nevers, his quasi-superhero series centered on a group of young women in Victorian-era England.

The move comes amid a controversy surrounding Whedon's time directing the Justice League reshoots for Warner Bros. Actor Ray Fisher has publicly accused Whedon of "abusive, unprofessional" behavior on the set of the 2017 film, and his claims are being investigated by the studio. (Whedon and WB have disputed some of Fisher's allegations.) Warner Bros. and HBO are both owned by WarnerMedia.

"We have parted ways with Joss Whedon," HBO confirmed in a statement Wednesday. "We remain excited about the future of The Nevers and look forward to its premiere in the summer of 2021."

The Nevers was going to mark the return of Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) to television after spending several years working on big-screen projects, such as writing and directing Marvel's first two Avengers movies.

Whedon also released this statement, first reported by Cinemablend: "This year of unprecedented challenges has impacted my life and perspective in ways I could never have imagined, and while developing and producing The Nevers has been a joyful experience, I realize that the level of commitment required moving forward, combined with the physical challenges of making such a huge show during a global pandemic, is more than I can handle without the work beginning to suffer. I am genuinely exhausted, and am stepping back to martial my energy towards my own life, which is also at the brink of exciting change. I am deeply proud of the work we have done; I'm grateful to all my extraordinary cast and collaborators, and to HBO for the opportunity to shape yet another strange world. The Nevers is a true labor of love, but after two-plus years of labor, love is about all I have to offer. It will never fade."

Here's HBO's official description of The Nevers: "In the last years of Victoria's reign, London is beset by the 'Touched:' people — mostly women — who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities, some charming, some very disturbing. Among them are Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of… well, pretty much all the forces — to make room for those whom history as we know it has no place."

The cast also includes Olivia Williams, James Norton, Tom Riley, Ben Chaplin, Pip Torrens, Amy Manson, and Nick Forst. Bernadette Caulfield, Ilene S. Landress, Doug Petrie, and Jane Espenson are executive producers.

Author:James Hibberd - Source: EW

Game of Thrones

• TV Show

• HBO

Streaming Options

Emilia Clarke had a lot of badass moments playing Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, but one of her most impressive feats of acting was one that fans never knew about.

During the filming of season 5, Clarke improvised a lengthy scene in the show’s fictional language of Valyrian.

As recounted by director Jeremy Podeswa in an exclusive outtake from the reporting for my book about the making of GoT, Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, this was for the scene where Daenerys ordered the execution of one of three Meereenese noblemen who may (or may not) have been conspiring against her.

During the first couple takes, the scene was shot as it was originally scripted, with Daenerys taunting the terrified men in English.

“Then [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] came down – they were watching the scene being shot – and they said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if the scene was in Valyrian?'" Podeswa recalled. The director thought that could work too. But typically the show's Valyrian or Dothraki dialogue is scripted months in advance by the show’s linguist, David Peterson. Also, the actors usually spend a considerable amount of time memorizing and practicing any dialogue when it’s in a fictional language.

“There’s usually a lot of preparation for that sort of thing and so much consideration that goes into it and she had quite a big monologue before she sets the guy on fire,” Podeswa says. “I went over to Emilia and I was like, ‘I know this is a really big ask, but do you think you could figure out a way to do this in Valyrian?’ She said, ‘Yeah, sure, I think I can do this.' And I'm all, "Really?" Then she went off and cobbled together things that [Daenerys] had said in the past that made sense. She came back in 10 minutes and had this whole monologue down."

Watch the resulting scene, above, you can see how using Valyrian might also sound more menacing in this torch-lit shot (and given that she’s executing a man without regard as to whether he’s guilty or not, it shows Dany embracing her ancestral language and merciless methods as she slips into “dark side” mode). Clarke smoothly delivers line after line, perfectly naturally, as if she'd been studying her made-up phrases in a fictional language for weeks.

“I just had to hand it to Emilia for taking on the challenge and making it completely credible,” Podeswa adds. “Every single take, every intonation, and the way she phrased everything, you completely understood what she was meant to be saying. Then the subtitles all seemed authentic to what she was doing. She knew the language well enough at that point to make it all work. It wasn't tracking perfectly in Valyrian, but no fan ever noticed it. She did an amazing job.”

Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon is available now.

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Episode Recaps

Game of Thrones

HBO's epic fantasy drama based on George R.R. Martin's novel series 'A Song of Ice and Fire.'

Streaming Options

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Author:James Hibberd - Source: EW

The Mandalorian

• TV Show

• Disney+

Streaming Options

Last year Baby Yoda was kept such a secret that retailers didn't even have basic plush toys of The Mandalorian breakout character ready to ship until months after the first season had concluded on Disney+. This year, however, the merch machine is high gear, with a slew of tie-in products being revealed after each episode on "Mando Mondays."

One new item this week, however, probably wouldn't last long amid the most die-hard Star Wars fan's collectibles: Mando macarons from Williams Sonoma – just like the ones Baby Yoda gobbled in last week's Chapter 12, "The Siege."

In the episode, Baby Yoda used the Force to swipe a package of them from a kid who wouldn't share (adding fuel to the intense/hilarious debate swirling around Baby Yoda's eating habits).

Let's take a closer look at the confections, which are technically called "Nevarro Nummies":

Getting some of these green-blue (Um, teal? Cyan? What color are these, exactly? It's sort of maddening...) macarons won't come cheap. You might have to sell your old landspeeder for this. They're $49 for a dozen cookies. Plus, it costs about $11 for shipping, so you're really looking at $60 all-in.

The macarons also come with a warning from Williams Sonoma that you must click to accept before purchase: "This is a made-to-order item and cannot be returned." So if you decide these ... seafoam? Aqua? Cerulean? Darn it! ... these uniquely colored treats are not to your liking – or if you, for instance, barf them up during your Life Day party, just like how Baby Yoda tossed his cookies on the Razor Crest – you'll just have to use your Jedi-like calm to accept your decadent purchase as is. There are no refunds in the Outer Rim.

Here's the official description: "Inspired by a sweet moment when a young Nevarro student debated sharing his treats with the Child..." (nice spin, is there a PR team on Nevarro?) "...21st-century artisans in California have created these ethereal French-style almond macarons capturing the essence of this scene with Nevarro Nummies™. For authentic galactic flavor, each exquisite treat is artfully hand-piped with a rich, creamy vanilla filling."

They do indeed sound yummy. Hopefully, there be some Frog Lady Gummy Eggs soon as well!

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• Lucasfilm executive defends The Mandalorian's controversial Baby Yoda moment
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• Bryce Dallas Howard worried her kids would spoil Baby Yoda surprise

The Mandalorian

The live-action Star Wars series follows a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy.

Streaming Options

Author:James Hibberd - Source: EW

The Mandalorian

• TV Show

• Disney+

Streaming Options

Four-time Emmy nominee Giancarlo Esposito made his return to The Mandalorian last week as the villainous Moff Gideon. While we've barely glimpsed the Darksaber-weilding galactic warlord so far this season, some new light was shined on his mysterious plan for The Child in Chapter 12, "The Siege" (spoilers). Our heroes led by The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) broke into an Imperial station and discovered Gideon wants The Child's blood for its "m-count" (midi-chlorians, presumably) for some sort of lab-clone experiment. Plus we learned Gideon's now backed up by a squad of formidable dark troopers. Below, Esposito teases the secretive back half of season 2 of the Disney+ series.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why do we always have to wait so long to see you each season?

Giancarlo Esposito: They're dangling the carrot. They want you to be surprised. I think part of it is that they're stringing out the penultimate showdown that happening between certain characters. But I hope that everyone gets excited when I finally get into the season. Also, I think it's partly a design of the construct of the show – you focus your attention on the journey. Let's see where The Mandalorian and The Child will go and what their allegiances may be as they flow through that.

But it looks like we’re getting more of you, this season, overall, given the way things are going?

It seems that way. But I have a feeling you'll see more of me next season. More than likely you're going to see a lot of Moff Gideon. I can't be sure of that, but it seems as though this iconic journey that they want you to feel it. I think you're going to start to see other storylines start to creep in. When we start to realize there's such a deep connection [between the show's storylines and] the rest of the galaxy and what's really happening. Maybe you'll get an inkling of what he wants.

The show seems to be telling us that Moff Gideon wants The Child's midi-chlorians, perhaps to make his own line of Force-sensitive super-soldiers. Can you say if that theory's in the galactic ballpark?

Well, in the galactic ballpark, I think we're all trying to figure out what does he really wants. Somewhere in my brain, I hold out something and he has some kind of ethical consideration here. When people flow out of control and there are all these different Moffs who've been assigned different areas to be wardens of, isn't there one person or someone that may have guidance over all of them? They're questions that are answered. It could be super soldiers. It could be that he wants to save the galaxy. Also, why does Moff Gideon know everything about what's going on everywhere? He has some kind of incredible intelligence source. So I always hold out that there may be an altruistic reason that he is taking control or trying to. Certainly, the child represents the possibility of a new humanity of a new consciousness.

Fans noticed your armor this season has a breastplate not entirely unlike that of Darth Vader. What are your thoughts on that?

I love making that connection! It's any adult manchild's dream come true to be equated in a certain way with Darth Vader. But I don't wear a helmet. I don't know what the storyline might bring up in regard to Moff Gideon's relationship to Darth Vader. But I certainly correlated one in my own brain.

I feel like, at this point, there's also a part of you that wants to play the good guy.

You know, we all have our dark and our light side. And then we justify our reasons for doing what we do. We don't know what his reasons are yet. But for me, to make him a well-rounded human being, there has to be some kind of consciousness within me that allows me to go, "Maybe there's something there that he really wants to do that will help people." It could be doubtful, but it could be true as well. He's playing a long game and I think that's why you see me interspersed in this season the way I am.

Speaking of dark sides, what’s your take on the greatest ethical debate of our time: Is Baby Yoda terrible for eating Frog Lady’s eggs?

No, I don't think so. Baby Yoda is a very pure spirit, and yet 50 years old, so he's someone who's very highly intelligent, but also has to survive. And we need to keep that baby happy. We've all fallen in love with The Child and The Child has some compassion and is funny and is absolutely the cutest thing you've ever seen.

Did you do any different training or preparation for this season?

We jumped right in on this one. I trained my attitude and I'm a physical actor so I do things to keep my body high and tight, and thank goodness I did, because as you will see in episodes to come I have a certain physicality to exude.

Is there anything else you'd care to add, or tease about the episodes moving forward?

I'll tease the past. We are able to refer to the historical nature of mythology that has already been laid down in previous Star Wars incarnations. This particular incarnation allows us as family members to really plant the seeds to realize a more cohesive world. So I love the fact that we're in such a futuristic show that throws back to the history and knowledge of what a warrior really is and where the line between good and evil sometimes gets blurred with desire. It allows me to dream really big and to realize that no matter what we want to do in life, if we have the aid of people and entities that share the same feelings, then there's hope again.

So there's going to be a lot of battles and stormtroopers and all the dark troopers – everyone will get involved. We're all in a fresh new place to bring it home. I'm so excited to be a part of the show that is the best there is.

The Mandalorian releases new episodes on Fridays on Disney+.

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The Mandalorian

The live-action Star Wars series follows a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy.

Streaming Options

Author:James Hibberd - Source: EW

The Stand (2020 series)

• TV Show

• CBS All Access

• Fantasy
• Horror

The director of the new version of Stephen King's The Stand is looking to set the record straight on that Marilyn Manson rumor.

The goth rocker has been rumored to be secretly a part of the CBS All Access limited series for months, perhaps in the role of the pyromaniac Trashcan Man. Then after an EW report last week that Fantastic Beasts actor Ezra Miller was cast in the role of Trash, rumors continued that Manson must have shot footage for another role, The Kid, and was cut out of the production.

“Just to clarify, Marilyn Manson and I had long-discussed him taking on the role of The Kid in The Stand," Josh Boone, who directed the premiere and finale, wrote in an email. "He and the great Shooter Jennings even recorded a killer cover of The Doors song, 'The End,' that ultimately proved too expensive to use. The show was made on a very tight budget and some of the dreams we had went to the wayside. The Kid was another casualty. When Manson wasn't able to make it work schedule-wise, the storyline was ultimately excised and never shot, which is for the best, as no one could have slayed that role like Manson would have. Hope to work with him in the future."

The Kid is a character from King's extended version of his 1978 post-apocalyptic novel. The character is a pure psychopathic who drives a classic hot rod and has a fanatical love of Coors beer. The character isn't essential to the story, however, as his narrative purpose is simply helping drive Trashcan Man to Las Vegas.

"We thought we were going to be able to restore the character of The Kid, but there really isn’t a lot of reason for The Kid to exist," showrunner Benjamin Cavell previously told EW.

In the show, a plague kills 99.4 percent of humanity, leaving thousands of struggling survivors scattered across the United States. A Boulder-based group of largely "good" people is led by the angelic Mother Abagail (Whoopi Goldberg) while a Vegas team is led by the demonic Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard).

The cast also includes James Marsden as Texas everyman Stu Redman, Odessa Young as the heroic Frannie Goldsmith, Jovan Adepo as troubled musician Larry Underwood, Amber Heard as the mysterious Nadine Cross, and Owen Teague as the bitter Harold Lauder.

Filling out the cast is Henry Zaga as Nick Andros, Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen, Irene Bedard as Ray Bretner, Nat Wolff as Lloyd Henreid, Eion Bailey as Weizak, Heather Graham as Rita Blakemoor, Katherine McNamara as Julie Lawry, Fiona Dourif as Rat Woman, Natalie Martinez as Dayna Jurgens, Hamish Linklater as Dr. Jim Ellis, Daniel Sunjata as Cobb, and Greg Kinnear as Glen Bateman.

The limited series premieres on CBS All Access on Thursday, Dec. 17.

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The Stand (2020 series)

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Author:James Hibberd - Source: EW

Jeopardy

• TV Show

• Game Show

Answer: Ken Jennings.

Question: Who will be the next person to host Jeopardy!?

The iconic daytime game show announced Monday that filming will resume in the wake of longtime host Alex Trebek's death earlier this month.

Rather than naming a permanent replacement for Trebek straight away, producers have decided to have "a series of interim guest hosts from the Jeopardy! family."

First up is 74-time winner and fan-favorite Jennings.

Other hosts will be announced at a later date.

"Alex believed in the importance of Jeopardy and always said he wanted the show to go on after him," executive producer Mike Richards said in a statement. "We will honor his legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved."

A series of guest hosts is a frequent move when a production – whether a talk show, game show or news program – isn't yet certain about who will fill a position. It gives the show an opportunity to see different people in the role, to gauge fan reaction to each host, and buys some more time before having to make a permanent decision.

Jennings first gained national attention in 2004 when he went on the longest Jeopardy! winning streak ever. In September, he was hired as a consulting producer for the show, which included reading categories on the air.

Trebek died at the age of 80 after struggling with pancreatic cancer. He hosted more than 8,200 episodes of the syndicated hit.

"Alex wasn't just the best ever at what he did," Jennings wrote on Twitter at the time. "He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I'm grateful for every minute I got to spend with him."

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

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Jeopardy

Author:James Hibberd - Source: EW

Fantastic Beasts 3

• Movie

• Fantasy

It's official: Mads Mikkelsen is the new Gellert Grindelwald.

The Hannibal and Rogue One star is confirmed to replace Johnny Depp as the notorious dark wizard in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

The news after Depp was forced out of the Harry Potter prequel franchise (and after EW suggested Mikkelsen — among a few others — as a replacement for Depp).

Warner Bros. had to move quickly given that the third film in the series is already in production in the U.K.

Some fans pushed for the studio to hire Colin Farrell, who already played Grindelwald — albeit in disguise — in the franchise's first film, 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But Farrell is currently filming another Warner Bros. title, playing The Penguin in Matt Reeve's The Batman, and is unavailable even if the studio would have wanted to go that route.

The studio asked Depp to resign from the film after the actor lost his libel lawsuit against a U.K. publication that alleged he was abusive towards his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Depp reportedly only shot a single scene for the film so far, yet the studio still had to pay his eight-figure salary as part of their "pay or play" deal with the actor.

Depp's own suggestions helped physically design his version of Grindelwald: a deathly pale specter with spiky, platinum blond hair, a modest mustache, and one odd "scary eye." It's unclear how much of that, if any, will carry over to the new iteration of the character.

The film's release date was previously set for next year, but with the recent recasting news, the film has been pushed back to July 15, 2022.

The third film is once again directed by longtime Harry Potter franchise veteran David Yates and is based on a screenplay by author J.K. Rowling along with Steve Kloves. Stars Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, and others are set to return. Filming was supposed to begin in March, then was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and production recently commenced.

Story details about the third film are scarce, but we know that it takes place largely in Rio de Janeiro and leads up to the Wizarding World's involvement with World War II.

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Fantastic Beasts 3

Author:James Hibberd - Source: EW