Oasis: the comeback that launched a thousand tie-in clothing launches, screaming fans, and parodies. Live 25 was one of the biggest and most anticipated reunion tours in history, with tickets selling out last year in the blink of an eye. Following in the footsteps of Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, it was announced earlier this year that the duo were getting a new landmark documentary – created by Steven Knight no less. Now, we finally have a trailer.

Called Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger, the trailer shows snippets of the new feature-length documentary — a Hulu Original, meaning it'll eventually make its way to Disney+ streaming. Unlike the actual reunion which was years in the making, fans don’t have long to wait for the film which will land in select cinemas on September 11th before releasing on Disney+ later.

The trailer opens with overlapping reports from various news outlets around the globe all talking about the brothers. The clips are taken across the duo’s career, from early days when they were being compared with the Beatles, all the way up to the “days of speculation” surrounding their reunion. There is a mix of footage, some earlier, grainier clips showing the pair significantly younger although with pretty similar hairdos, then more recent videos from 2025.

Later, frontman Liam is seen at the mic in the dark practice room, moments before the concerts kicks off. The two brothers eye each other up in the clip as Noel speaks about past “tension” between the pair in a voiceover. “Will it fall apart again?” he asks.

Then it breaks into the full on behind-the-scenes, crowds-in-full-swing footage that brings chills to your whole body, as the last moment of quiet before the gig kicks off rolls around is quickly replaced with millions of fans, lights, fireworks, and cheering crowds.

According to the official synopsis, the documentary “charts Liam and Noel Gallagher’s triumphant reunion tour" calling Oasis Live ‘25 "one of the most anticipated rock ‘n’ roll comebacks of our time."

"The film is an unapologetically uplifting account of the biggest musical event of 2025, capturing the experience and emotions of the band and their fans across the world," it added.

The unique perspective includes rehearsal, backstage, and onstage access as well as the first joint interview with Noel and Liam in over 20 years. Alongside the band’s sold-out world tour, the film also explores the profound emotional impact of this phenomenal global cultural moment and what their music means to audiences and generations worldwide.

Speaking about the doc, Steven Knight said: “I genuinely cannot wait for the world to see this film. I believe it captures the spirit and emotion of a global cultural moment and does justice to the wit and genius of two exceptional people.

"I wanted to tell the story of the brothers and the band, but just as important, the story of the fans whose lives the music has touched and sometimes changed forever. It is also the story of how music and songwriting can unite generations, cultures, countries and in a time of spite and division, give us all some reason to hope.”

Working alongside Knight is Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace (“Shut Up and Play the Hits”, “Meet Me in the Bathroom”) who have directed the film. The producers are Sam Bridger (who also worked on Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now) and Guy Heeley (Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man). Whilst the rest of the creative team is suitably behemothic — maybe most notably involved is Oscar®-winning sound mixers James Mather (Top Gun: Maverick and Belfast) and Tarn Willers.

The film will be heading to selected cinemas with bookings already open for some UK cinemas.

London's BFI will be hosting two exclusive preview screenings of the documentary, with tickets already available for screens on 9th and 10th September, priced between £24 and £28. You can check out tickets and screenings here.

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The BFI London Film Festival is a London institution, a lighthouse to cinephiles, movie nerds, and ex film students as well as a calling card for people who love a subtitled film. This year’s festival lineup has already been teased, with the fantastic opening and closing films already confirmed.

Now, fresh off the bookender announcements of Jesse Eisenberger’s new comedy and Andrew Scott’s Oscar tipped biopic as the closer and opener of the festival, the films in the running for the Best Film award have been announced.

10 films will be going head to head for the prestigious award, during the festival’s run from 7-18th October.

Ten different countries are represented in the category, with films from the UK, Ireland, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, Hungary, Japan, and Poland all in the running. The winner will be announced on the festival’s last night on 18th October.

The UK’s entry is 7 Miles Out, a new semi-autobiographical film from Carol Morley whom you’ll know from her other work including Dreams of a Life starring Zawe Ashton, and The Falling which starred Maisie Williams and Florence Pugh. It stars California Schemin’ and The Testaments star Lucy Halliday as Anne who, after losing her father in tragic circumstances, finds solace and trouble in Manchester’s music scene in the 70s and 80s.

Act 3, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s rumination on ageing, is an Ireland-UK production, while period drama The Idiot(s), which stars Aimee Lou Wood and Johnny Flynn and is directed by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert is UK-Polish.

European entries include Sergei Loznitsa’s archival Imperium, Giovanni Tortorici’s coming-of-age story Ketticè, Lili Horvát’s domestic drama My Notes on Mars and May el-Toukhy’s drama Woman Unknown.

The three final entries are Benjamín Naishtat’s period-noir thriller Glaxo, a Brazilian-Argentinian production, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Look Back, another coming-of-age story from Japan, and Rubaiyat Hossain’s body horror The Difficult Bride, which is a France-Bangladesh-Portugal-Norway-Germany co-production.

There are plenty of other films featured across different categories in the Festival, including The Audience Awards (Hamnet being its most recent winner), the Grierson Award for Best Documentary, the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature and the Short Film Award. The films shortlisted for these awards will be announced in September.

BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson said: ”As we celebrate the 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival, it’s an honour to have a number of alumni filmmakers represented in the Official Competition alongside those making their first appearance at the festival.

“Our 2026 competition selection brings an astounding array of filmmaking styles to the screen. As ever, it’s been creatively nourishing for myself and the team to encounter each of these works - we’re excited to share these with audiences in October.”

• The new Beatles’ biopics spotted filming at London's iconic Abbey Road crossing

It may have taken a million dreams to get Hugh Jackman to play a circus ringmaster in a massive blockbuster, but it's not going to take any more wishes to see an IRL production of The Greatest Showman, as Disney’s hit film is heading to London stages soon.

It's the latest movie to be given the glitter wand glow up, having been adapted into a musical earlier this year. After a run at Bristol’s Hippodrome, it’s heading to a London stage soon.

Disney isn’t a stranger to commercialising transforming some of its hit animations into IRL musicals, with its most recent production – Hercules – wrapping up its run at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in September. In fact, the little mouse has made a home for itself in London’s historic West End with productions including The Lion King, Frozen, Aladdin, High School Musical, and even Beauty and the Beast having been staged previously. Now, it’s the 2017 Hugh Jackman fronted flick that’s next in line for the treatment.

Roll up, roll up!

The original film followed the ambitious P. T. Barnum trying to leave a creative legacy, and bring something spectacular to the American public, along with his team of misfits-turned-stars. Its musical sister will follow the same storyline, having completed a short run in Bristol before transferring down to the. West End.

The production already boasted some big hitters on the creative side, including director Casey Nicholaw who helmed the musical version of Disney’s Aladdin and whose work you can see all over London stages, including the long-running classic The Book of Mormon. Working alongside him to bring a bit of Broadway magic are the film’s original songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who have written several new tunes to expand the musical, adding a bit of beef to the show's book which has been written by Tim Federle. As well as the music and storyline, the production is expected to incorporate some classic circus skills and scenes, blending the stunts from the film with London's long running connection to Circus spectacles.

Whilst there’s a strong Yankee team on the creative side, thanks to the Bristol tryouts there’s some young British talent bringing the original characters to life on stage. The cast is led by Oliver Tompsett as Barnum and Samantha Barks as Barnum’s wife Charity, who performed in the original Bristol run, and also played Elsa in the West End’s Frozen.

Whilst the musical has been rumoured for a while, with the new cast and confirmed venue, it feels as though London is one step closer to getting the red-velvet jacketed ringmaster and his crew. The Greatest Showman: The Musical will open at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in spring 2027, with an exact date yet to be confirmed.

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There are many famous walks – the walk of shame, walk the walk (of talking the talk), like an Egyptian, On Sunshine... the list goes on. One that definitely makes the list is The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road walk across the zebra crossing from 1969. It’s the walk that launched a thousand posters stuck on the bedroom walls of indie teens for 45 years, and now it has been officially recreated by the new fab four in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics.

Over the weekend, fans were quick to spot Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison) recreate the iconic Abbey Road album cover for The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event. The four were seen in full retro hair and outfits as they recreated the famous album cover moment 57 years after the original.

The quick snippet shows the four actors in London by Abbey Road studios walking across the famous crossing, dressed in familiar outfits that anyone who memorised the album cover will remember – Lennon in a flared white suit, Starr in a wide shouldered black suit and red tie, McCartney walking barefoot in a navy blue suit, and Harrison in a tight double denim combo. This new footage – albeit grainy and fan shot – is another exciting (if brief) look at how the creative teams behind the films are managing the visuals, transforming the quartet into their musical counterparts. All we’ll say about the new looks is that all those long locks are giving us Covid flashbacks.

We’ve only seen very small teases of what the core four look like in their Beatmania transformations so far, with the first official visuals released back in January thanks to a localised marketing campaign in the band’s hometown. Exclusive postcards were distributed at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, an institution co-founded by Sir Paul McCartney himself, which showed a glimpse at the lead actors in character. This most recent footage is the first in action snaps showing the leading men in character whilst filming.

Earlier last year, it was confirmed that Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials Mystery star Mia McKenna Bruce would be starring as Starr’s wife, Maureen Starkey. Saoirse Ronan, Anna Sawai, and Aimee Lou Wood have also been confirmed to star, playing Linda McCartney, Yoko Ono, and Pattie Boyd, respectively.

It's an exciting insight into the new films which have already created a serious amount of hype (and skepticism) from fans of both the music and the filmmakers. Given the films' distant release dates of April 2028, you can't really blame the fans for grabbing any glimpse of the upcoming flicks that they can.

• Anthony Bourdain's London — 8 spots the legendary chef rated highly in the capital

Nolan’s Odyssey has been the film of the year, and one of those big cultural events you know will date you in the 2070s when you tell a kid studying film that you remember the summer it came out. It’s not the only famous Odyssey though, as Picturehouse are rightly reminding us, with the classic sci-fi flick 2001: Space Odyssey turning a whopping 58 years old this year. Putting its own retro spin on the whole vintage Odyssey, putting on a new season of screenings created especially for ZIilenials.

Called 2001: A Big Night Out Odyssey, Picturehouse has created a series of summer screenings especially for Zillenials who grew up on sleepovers with DVDs, and the kind of noughties rom coms we seem to be seriously lacking. The idea is to give the public the chance to revisit those classics in a fun cinema setting, complete with themed nights, dress codes and more. It's sort of like Ali Plumb's Big Film Quiz (which is well worth a visit btw), meets your 2005 birthday sleepover on steroids.

And for those wondering, a Zillenial is a micro-generation of those born between 1993 and 1998 who are technically Gen Z but refuse to accept it. It’s that bracket of twenty-somethings who are old enough to remember an analog childhood but also survived their teenage years with the first wave of social media.

The evenings will each feature a different noughties classic, from Spy Kids to Mamma Mia (our original Greek mythological obsession) across different London cinemas. The first evening kicks off on 20th August, running until 24th September.

The line up includes:

• The Princess Diaries: A slumber‑party celebration for its 25th anniversary at Finsbury Park Picturehouse, with princess‑y touches, pyjamas and peak Hathaway energy.
• Spy Kids: A wild 25‑year throwback at Hackney Picturehouse, packed with gadgets, globe‑trotting chaos and early‑2000s sibling‑powered heroics.
• Legally Blonde: a back‑to‑school night at Finsbury Park Picturehouse, with cocktails, crafting, vision boards and full Elle Woods confidence.
• Surprise Film / Mystery Movie: A chaotic mystery night at Finsbury Park Picturehouse, with games, prizes, drinks and a very of‑its‑time 2001 deep cut.
• Mamma Mia!: A Greek‑island party at Arts Picturehouse, with cocktails, ABBA blasting and big sing‑along energy.
• The Mummy Returns: A spooky‑season opener at Ritzy Brixton, with Fraser, Weisz and a giant CGI Scorpion King, plus tomb‑raiding trivia and giveaways.

It makes a change from the days watching these films hunched over a tiny iPod Nano 2nd Gen whose screen was roughly the size of a singular skinny glasses lens.

Picturehouse has done these kinds of evenings before as part of its Big Night Out series where they put on fun, themed screenings of complete guilty pleasures, Gen Z nostalgia, pop-culturey films. Some of its recent events include Challengers, a Scooby Dooble Feature, Pride & Prejudice (2005), the whole of the Twilight Saga, Mean Girls on October 3rd, 10 Things I Hate About You, an overnight Hunger Games marathon and more.

You can book tickets for 2001: A Big Night Out Odyssey via Picturehouse's website, and if you're under 25 you can get all of the evening antics for £5.99.

• A huge immersive Twin Peaks weekender is heading to London this September

In just under a month, Soho is getting a new retro gaming bar — plus there’s pool and darts if you’re more a Luke Littler fan than a Luigi one.

NQ64’s new London Soho location opens on 11th September and, just like the one in Berwick Street right now, it promises arcade machines, retro consoles, themed cocktails and more.

It’s a two-floor venue found within Orange Yard, just a couple of minutes’ walk from Tottenham Court Road station. And, funnily enough, less than 10 minutes’ walk from NQ64’s current Berwick Street location.

Either that place’s lease is ending soon, or it’s popular enough to justify another location just down the road.

We’re told it will have UV-lit pool tablets, darts enhanced with “augmented reality” games, and loads of retro console stations. What hasn’t been revealed yet is the part we want to know most: what arcade games will be at NQ64’s new Soho spot.

We have pretty high expectations. The Berwick Street branch currently has 31 arcade cabs and two pinball machines — including House of the Dead, Crazy Taxi and Mortal Kombat 3.

The Orange Yard branch is described as NQ64’s “biggest venue yet” so we’re hoping for a haul at least as impressive.

Not been to NQ64 before? Here’s how it works.

You can book a time slot at NQ64, and rather than setting the machines to freeplay, they use tokens. With a standard Arcade Gaming slot you’ll get 25 tokens — 1-2 are required per arcade cab credit. This costs £14 per adult at the Berwick Street branch.

Or over the weekend you can get a Supercharge Weekend slot, which includes “unlimited” game tokens and four cocktails — but you only get a 90-minute slot. That’s a lot of cocktails in a relatively small amount of time.

You can also just enter for free, and buy tokens while you’re there. These cost £10.50 for 15 tokens, £14 for 25 tokens.

Retro consoles are free to play on, but the message from management: “don’t be snide, buy a drink.”

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London’s West End revival of Cabaret has had enough A list actors to rival the Celebrity Traitors’ lineup. Previous stars include Eddie Redmayne, Hannah Dodd, Self Esteem, Callum Scott Howells, and even Love Is Blind co-host and Busted member Matt Willis. Now, two American actors will be taking on the legendary production, taking over the leading roles of Emcee and Sally.

Modern Family star Sarah Hyland will be taking on the role of Sally, following Broadway performances in the Great Gatsby and Little Shop of Horrors, whilst Pitch Perfect alum Skylar Astin will become the new Emcee. This iteration of the show will mark both Austin and Hyland’s West End debuts. Astin will finish his run on December 12th, whilst Hyland will be continuing on until the New Year, with her final performance planned for 23rd January 2027.

The duo are not the only new faces in the show; also joining the company will be Ronan Burns (Matilda the Musical) as Ernst Ludwig and Lindsay Atherton (Top Hat) as Fraulein Kost/Fritzie, as well as Lily Frances, Peter Houston, Samuel How, Bailey Johnson, Ellie Mitchell, Kirsty Anne Shaw, Natasha Wilde, and Nicky Wong Rush.

For those uninitiated, Cabaret is set in 1929–1930 Berlin, and follows American writer Cliff Bradshaw and English singer Sally Bowles as they navigate the hedonistic nightlife of the Kit Kat Klub and the ominous rise of the Nazi party.

The company is currently headed by Olivier nominee Jamie Muscato who is responsible for pretty much all of your favourite (and most hyped) West End shows including The Great Gatsby, Les Misérables, and the upcoming One Day: The Musical – an adaptation of David Nicholls’ hit novel. Moscato is currently starring as the Emcee whilst Tony and Grammy nominee Joy Woods (The Notebook, Little Shop of Horrors) plays Sally Bowles.

Cabaret is currently booking through September 18th, 2027 so it's not exactly like you have to rush to book tickets before it's gone. The production recently surpassed its 1,900th performance, making it the longest-running production of Cabaret in West End history.

This year will mark both the 60th anniversary of the musical, which originally opened on Broadway on November 20th, 1966, and the fifth anniversary of the current production. To mark the occasion, on 20th November, the Kit Kat Club will have a limited allocation of tickets priced at £19.66, £60, and £196.60.

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London is no stranger to a Twin Peaks celebration – just think back to the Prince Charles’ Cinema Twin Peaks marathon last year where they screened the entire series across a couple of weeks. Commitment to the max. And David Lynch fans will soon get another chance to celebrate that bizarre world, this time at Mile End’s independent Genesis cinema.

Since creator, filmmaker and artist David Lynch passed unexpectedly last year, there have been plenty of tributes across the UK, with screenings of some of his most beloved works as well as gigs and art installations. However, Genesis Cinema’s new marathon might just top them all, as the independent cinema will be throwing a huge weekend event where film screenings will be shown, alongside meet and greets with cast members, cosplay, live cabaret, and even a series of interactive accompanying works from some of Lynch’s most beloved shows and films.

If you’re getting slight deja vu, it’s not just the heat. Genesis ran another Lynch weekender last year called Gathering of the Angels. Now, it’s making a comeback. On 26th-27th September, Lynch devotees will be able to gather once again, seeing appearances from quartet of iconic characters including Harry Hoaz who you’ll recognise as the loveable if hapless Deputy Andy in Twin Peaks, Ian Buchanan who play Andy’s cunning love rival Dick Tremayne, and George Griffith who played the disdainful villain Ray Monroe. Sabrina Sutherland who was one of the producers on Twin Peaks: The Return and Lynch’s long time collaborator is also set to be there.

As not all of Lynch’s crew will be able to make it IRL, there will be an online panel as part of the celebrations, featuring a number of Lynch’s closest colleagues and creators. Editor Duwayne Dunham is one of said speakers, alongside legendary special effects man Gary D’Amico. Similar to the previous year, there will be live cabaret performances, this time courtesy of London’s legendary Double R Club, as well as a DJ set from mixmaster and Lynch fan DJ Yoda. Whereas a lot of previous marathons have focused on Twin Peaks, this time round there will be a new theatrical Blue Velvet Immersive Experience. The actual screenings will show both Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me on the Genesis’ massive main screen, which just hosted the premiere for independent British comedy Sunny Dancer.

If you're not a Lynch fan but do love a bit of independent cinema, it's worth checking out some of the other film festivals and events on at Genesis, like the Bloody Mary Film Club special screening of Alien, and the London premiere of The Botanist with a Q&A which you can book tickets for. You can check out the events via their website.

• This tiny South London boozer has just been crowned the best in London

SNL UK was a bigger success than anyone expected much to the delight and smugness of Brits everywhere. Showcasing an incredible lineup of fresh, young comedians, SNL UK proved critics (ahem, sceptics) wrong as season one kicked off with an incredible line up of hosts and musical guests from SNL royalty Tina Fey to Mission Impossible alumnae Hannah Waddingham. Now it's officially back for a second season – and we don’t have long to wait.

Following the hit inaugural season, the live comedy show will return to Sky and NOW on Saturday nights in September with brand new episodes and a fresh season of unpredictable must-watch scenes. Plus, additional shows for 2027 have already been confirmed to be in the works.

A brand new trailer was released today teasing the new series which will kick off on 12th September. There was also news for fans who are desperate to watch the show, as Sky confirmed the public ticket ballot will open on 14th August.

All 11 members of the original cast will be returning for the new series, so you can expect to see: Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young back on your screens.

Broadcast live each week, the series will once again welcome a different celebrity host and musical guest for every episode, alongside topical sketches, live music performances and a British take on the iconic Weekend Update segment. Ania Magliano and Paddy Young's iteration of the Weekend Update was a big highlight for UK audiences, along with plenty of iconic moments from Jack Shep's Princess Diana to an unhappily domesticated Super Mario and Princess Peach.

The first six episodes have been confirmed, kicking off weekly from 12th September until 24th October. However an extension is kinda expected already given the first series was initially planned for a six week run but extended to 8 episodes.

Hopefully, it won't be too long before we get some hosts and guest names confirmed too.

• The Legend of Zelda movie casting update reveals Sam Neill in his final role

You’ve seen Bella Ramsey as a survivor in an apocalypse, a noble woman in a high-fantasy kingdom and heard them as a sheep on a mission to solve a murder. But the young star’s next big film adventure is something a little more down-to-earth.

In Sunny Dancer, Ramsey plays Ivy, a rebellious, self-isolating teenager trying to return to everyday life after going into cancer remission. Her parents decide to send Ivy to a summer camp programme, which she dubs “chemo camp,” to inspire her and allow her to make friends with teens who have been through the life-changing experience of living with cancer. Sunny Dancer takes a more light-hearted approach than most other cancer stories, showing Ivy and her campmates doing normal teenager antics like sneaking out of camp and raving in their cabins. And to great effect: it's currently riding high on a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes:

Shortlist sat down with Ramsey and the film’s director, George Jacques, to ask how their collaboration began, the journey behind the film’s iconic dance scene, and why they weren’t worried about audiences finding the wholesome movie too cringe.

Shortlist: What specifically drew you to this film, Bella? And to George, what made Bella the perfect Ivy for you?

Bella Ramsey: I find really challenging, dark stuff really fun. But the idea of getting to do that — do challenging, dark, really emotional things — and also do that at the backdrop of a summer camp where I got to go on a water slide and run around and play games. Yeah, that just felt like a really perfect combination.

George Jacques: Bella's name got suggested to me by our casting directors. So I'm so sad I can't take the credit of coming up with you as my first lady, but that's their job, and I listen to them. But, you know, I never thought Bella would do this film. They had just come off The Last of Us and had huge success.

I watch everything that my actors work on, so from Catherine Called Birdy all the way. And I think for me, what I was so blown away by was just the range. And then what I was so excited and nervous about was putting Bella in an utterly stripped-back world where there was nothing to hide behind. This is very much just on Bella's shoulders, this whole movie. And I was just so excited about that and felt so lucky that they said yes and just felt like I had the best number one ever.

SL: My favourite moments were the scenes where Ivy does the group dance to I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ by the Scissor Sisters with her family and friends. What was the process for creating that dance?

BR: It was facilitated by a choreographer called Polly Bennett, who came and worked with us during the rehearsal week. And it started as just random movements and thinking about how we would hold cancer in our bodies. And then progressed into us being partnered up and doing stupid dance games that I was like, “This is a bit cringe.” And then we did it, and then by the end of it, Polly was picking moves that we'd done and we'd all do them as a group. And she stitched it all together beautifully and created a cohesive thing out of us messing about, basically.

GJ: But that's why she's a genius. I brought Polly on to do movement coaching, as you sort of said, to sort of look at cancer and what I might do. But I remember my producing partner was like, “I don't know if we need a choreographer.” The budget was tight for our movie, and it was like, “George, you could do it.” And I was like, “I can't do that. Like, there's no way.” And it was the way that Polly managed to get you all dancing in a really non-cringe way that you kind of slipped into dancing as well. I was watching this happen and being like, “I didn't even know how you… Now I want to dance!” And hopefully that energy is in the film.

SL: You both mention cringe in the last answer. Were you ever worried the film may cross the line between cringe and not cringe?

GJ: What I love about this movie is anytime it slips into cringe, it's called out. There's a moment where Daniel Quinn-Toye, who plays Jake, Ivy's love interest in the film, says…

BR: "I want you to feel like you can tell me anything."

GJ: Yeah, that's it. And then Ivy goes, “Ew, I was about to start having feelings for you. And then you start saying that.” In some of those young romantic films that we see a lot of, that line would just be allowed to slip, whereas in our film we were like, “Let's call it out.” That's so icky.

BR: And that was why I was worried when I got the script there. I was like, this is either gonna be really cringe or, like, really depressing. And I didn't really know how it was gonna work out, and it just wasn't. And that's what I liked about it. Every cringy moment was flipped on its head and made really funny.

SL: Bella, you are often paired with older, American actors in other projects. Did you feel slightly similar to Ivy on her journey to find her community when you had this rare opportunity to work with a cast of young, British actors?

BR: I, like Ivy, was a bit nervous about it and was resistant to it initially, being like, “I don't know how this is gonna go. And I think they're all gonna get on really well, and I'm just gonna be kind of on the outside and not cool and a bit weird.”

But actually it was not that at all. Immediately it felt like everyone fitted into the different roles within the group, but we all got along really well. It was really refreshing and really life-affirming in a way to be like, “Oh, I can really connect with people the same age. We can go out and go for a drink at the pub and then go home and go to bed and get enough sleep.”

Sunny Dancer hits UK cinemas on 14th August.

• The BIG London Cinema List 2026: Film festivals, seasons, Q&As and rep screenings

The movie Tony arrives in cinemas on 14th August, recounting a formative period in the life and career of chef and writer Anthony Bourdain.

Dominic Sessa of The Holdovers seems perfectly cast as a 19-year-old Bourdain, an arrogant and entitled aspiring writer who washes up in a seaside town due to a crush. There he falls into the cheffing world after he takes a summer job at a seafood restaurant.

The late great food and travel presenter was a frequent visitor to London, visiting the UK capital four times throughout his televisual career – and evidently many more times in between shoots.

He took time during each visit to speak of his abiding love for the city and its distinctive old world energy, not to mention its uniquely rambunctious pub culture and underrated (back in the noughties at least) cuisine.

Bourdain visited a varied selection of the capital’s eateries and bars between 2002 and 2016, and a number of of them continue to operate today – a miracle in itself, given the parlous state of the hospitality industry in 2026.

Here, then, are seven spots Anthony Bourdain rated in London that can still be visited today. Bon appetit – or rather, tuck in.

1. F. Cooke Pie & Mash

Bourdain was well known for seeking out the most authentic, locally significant joints in any city that he visited. For London, there was nowhere more authentic or locally significant than F. Cooke – a proper East End pie and mash shop that had been run by the same family since the mid-1800s. Sadly, the original Broadway Market site that the presenter visited in a 2002 episode of A Cook’s Tour closed in 2020, but you can still visit the Hoxton site, which remains true to the spirit of the first venue and under the guidance of the Cooke family.

2. Sweetings

Anthony’s 2012 London visit for The Layover didn’t yield too many practical recommendations – the star seemed a little frazzled for this one following a bad flight – but Sweetings was a standout. This 130-year-old London institution was introduced to Bourdain by Fergus Henderson himself, and you can detect more than a hint of the St. John chef’s old fashioned English eccentricity in its approach. That includes opening only during weekday lunch times, making it a sort of high-grade canteen for city boys and print journalists. Come here for the British classics, as they’ve been served for centuries, washed down by tankards of black velvet (Guinness and champagne).

3. Pepper & Spice

The presenter’s last televised visit to London in 2016 proved to be a fruitful one, despite the downcast post-Brexit vote tone that pervades the Parts Unknown episode. It supplied several spots that Bourdain evidently enjoyed, including Pepper & Spice – a Caribbean restaurant in North London that was recommended to him by The Kills guitarist Jamie Hince. The two chowed down on curry mutton and saltfish callaloo, which supplied the necessary ballast for a boozy night out that visibly broke our hero. Thank goodness for Nigella Lawson and her restorative fried bread.

4. Rochelle Canteen

Rochelle Canteen is a beautiful East London restaurant owned by Margot Henderson, one half of the London food scene power couple that also includes her husband Fergus, of St. John fame (see elsewhere on this list). Margot takes a similarly stripped back, but rather softer and more European-inflected approach to cooking. During Tony’s 2016 Parts Unknown visit, he sat down with Henderson to feast on vitello tonnato and lamb chops with lentils and green sauce. The combination of hearty food, warm company and good white wine visibly lifted Bourdain’s spirits, and the restaurant is still around to perform the same task for you.

5. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Back in 2002, when Gordon Ramsay was an actual working chef rather than a self-promoting meme, Bourdain visited his three Michelin star flagship restaurant in West London. According to the late presenter, it supplied “one of the best things I’ve eaten – ever” in the form of a shin of beef with sautéed foie gras. Ramsay’s eponymous restaurant continues to operate to this day, and has even managed to retain its prestigious three-star status – though it’s now under the command of Chef de Cuisine Kim Ratcharoen, leaving Ramsay free to mug for the camera and advertise food delivery services.

6. Princess Victoria

During his last visit to the UK capital, Bourdain joined his erstwhile The Taste colleague and British national treasure Nigella Lawson at the bar of this posh West London pub for an afternoon pint of Guinness. While there, he was deeply impressed by the accompanying selection of elevated bar snacks, expertly ordered by his classy companion. These included super-crunchy pork scratchings, freshly fried whitebait, and the kind of scotch egg you don’t tend to find at service stations up and down the country.

7. St John

It would be impossible to construct a list of Bourdain’s favourite places to eat in London without mentioning St. John – which is probably why we’ve already done so twice. Fergus Henderson’s legendary Smithfield restaurant made as big an impact on the New Yorker as it did on the UK (and indeed international) dining scene, putting the concept of nose to tail eating firmly on the culinary map. Bourdain called St. John “just about my favourite restaurant in the universe” during his first ever on-camera visit, and the fact that he returned on every subsequent London trip suggests that his opinion barely wavered.

8. Bar Italia

The legendary, family-run Italian espresso bar Bar Italia is a London institution in its own right and hardly needs the seal of approval from anyone, let alone a starry chef. However, great places attract great taste, which is exactly why it made the list with Bourdain being a fan of the Soho spot, calling it "the best cup of coffee, or damn close to it". Bourdain sat down for a round of macchiatos and shots of Fernet Branca (a traditional herbaceous Italian liqueur) with friend and fellow chef Fergus Henderson for a quick refuel during the London episode of The Layover.

• This tiny South London boozer has just been crowned the best in London

As once said by Jack Whitehall during a Shortlist Pub Corner interview, HBO’s new Harry Potter is sort of like jury duty for UK actors – everyone’s going to get the call up eventually. And he wasn’t wrong if the already stellar cast of Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, and John Lithgow are anything to go by. Clearly the author’s abhorrent views on the trans community aren’t off-putting enough to make them turn down a role in the upcoming reboot. Now, Hollywood star Nicholas Hoult is taking on one of the series’ most iconic (if lesser known) characters: Gilderoy Lockhart.

First reported by Variety, the Superman star will be playing the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor (/ numpty and OG catfish) during Harry’s second school year. In translation: that means we won’t be seeing him until the second season of the franchise.

The highly anticipated first series is set to land on HBO on December 25th which has adapted the first novel in the book’s series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Whilst it was confirmed that the series had already been renewed for a second season earlier this year, the casting of Hoult proves that they’re not waiting for audience reaction before cracking on with the next adaptation – not that we’re surprised given the global fanbase. Also this latest casting announcement confirms that the second season won’t be going too rogue and blending different books together, but is staying true to The Chamber of Secrets (aka. the second in the series).

For those who bypassed the Potter craze first time around, Lockhart is a key character in The Chamber of Secrets. Originally portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the film, Lockhart is a famous, if slightly self obsessed wizard, known for his incredible acts of bravery, ingenuity, and skill – taking on vampires, hounds, and other evil spirits, all whilst protecting small wizarding communities across the world. And he has meticulously documented all of his adventures in a series of books. As well as being arrogant and vain, he’s also supposed to be rather good looking, meaning most of the straight, female wizarding community are completely enamoured with him. And boy does he love it. After a quick appearance in Diagon Alley’s Flourish and Blott, we next see Lockhart in the classroom, having been appointed the new Defence Against the Dark Art’s teacher even though it transpires he’s not even slightly qualified for the job, and he’s more devious and less heroic than claimed.

The casting might be the best yet, with Hoult not only known for holding his own in huge franchises (Lex Luthor in Superman, Dr Hank McCoy in X-Men), but also unafraid to play the arrogant, childlike idiot as seen in The Great for which he earned two Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination.

Filming for the second season of Harry Potter is expected to begin in Autumn 2026, before the first season airs.

Dominic McLaughlin is set to play the titular Harry, alongside Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout playing Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley respectively. Other cast members include John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore while Janet McTeer is Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu plays Snape and Nick Frost has been cast as Rubeus Hagrid.

• The Legend of Zelda movie casting update reveals Sam Neill in his final role

All the way back in 2024 we heard about plans for David Fincher — director of Seven and Gone Girl, among many others — to make a Squid Game spin-off. But that project has reportedly been cancelled.

The Playlist cites sources “close to the filmmaker” who say Netflix is “no longer moving forward” with the project.

This may be all we hear of it going forward too, as it was never officially announced by Netflix.

Despite that, we do know a few bits and bobs about this Squid Game project. Heckler was the proposed title, and it was set to be written by Dennis Kelly, who created the brilliant original UK version of Utopia with Channel 4.

Not seen it? Utopia is available to stream for free on Tubi at present, and originally came out in 2013.

There were no major leaks about what Heckler would be about, but it was obviously intended as the English language version of the original Korean show.

The Playlists writes that while it would have been a largely American show, the plan was to set it in the UK.

Since the days of the show’s early rumours, there have been changes to Netflix management, and Fincher has become increasingly busy with The Adventures of Cliff Booth. That’s a sort-of sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, focusing on Brad Pitt’s character.

So what now? Netflix is not going to leave one of its biggest series to fester, of course, but the current suggestion is the streamer may expand out into multiple regional shows rather than focusing on a single English language follow-up. And, of course, Netflix has already confirmed a third season of Squid Game: The Challenge is coming. Goodie.

Since making the original Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk has worked on Korean series The Dealer, another Netflix show that was confirmed earlier this year.

“The Dealer is a crime drama series that follows Geonhwa, a brilliant casino dealer whose wedding plans suddenly fall apart, forcing her to unleash her long-hidden powers and plunge into the dangerous world of gambling,” reads the synopsis. The show is expected some time in 2027.

• The best Netflix shows revealed - this is the TV to stream (August 2026)

A fresh wave of casting announcement reveals have been made for the upcoming, nervously-anticipated The Legend of Zelda movie, and they include some key character roles and big-name stars. Note they’re not yet officially confirmed, but come under good authority from sources speaking to Deadline.

First up, we now seemingly know who will play Zelda’s big bad, series antagonist Ganondorf. Donning the red wig will be Uli Latukefu (Alien: Covenant, MaXXXine, Black Adam), perhaps most famous for playing a young Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in Young Rock. The Australian star certainly has the physique for the imposing baddie — if perhaps a bit too handsome. Stick some prosthetics on the man!

Next, and perhaps just as excitingly, if with a touch of sorrow, comes the news that the late, great Sam Neill has a role in The Legend of Zelda film. While it’s not clear yet what part he will play, it is said to be the Jurassic Park star’s last role before his passing at the age of 78 last month. Plenty of older mentor characters float through the games — it’d be a joy to see Neill voice the Deku Tree, in my opinion.

The heroes of time assemble

Rounding out the casting additions are Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale, Dexter) and Dichen Lachman (Severance, Jurassic Park: Dominion). Again roles have yet to be officially confirmed, but we’ve known about Lachman’s involvement in the film for some time, following set leaks that appeared to reveal her as Princess Zelda’s bodyguard Impa. Lachman has also previously worked with Zelda director Wes Ball on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

If true, they’ll all be joining the only two confirmed members of the cast so far — Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (Pinocchio, House of the Dragon) as the heroic Link, and Bo Bragason (Renegade Nell, The Radleys) as Princess Zelda. Ainsworth has looked every bit the sword-swirling-yet-pensive hero in House of the Dragon, so we’re tentatively confident in his casting.

Plot details, including which, if any, of the games are to be closely adapted remain under wraps, but we do know that principal filming concluded in April. The film is pencilled in for an April 30th, 2027 release.

If I were to make a guess on what’s being partially adapted? I’d go for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — it’s got a great fairytale story, awesome locations and colourful characters, and a killer plot twist. Released in 1998, it’s a fan favourite, and is getting a remaster for the Nintendo Switch 2 later this year.

• The 15 best Nintendo Switch 2 games

The fourth season of Ted Lasso just launched on Apple TV, marking the return of one of the most popular shows on the service.

Across three seasons, and against all expectations (having started out life as an annoying NBC Sports commercial), Jason Sudeikis’s endlessly optimistic coach has won over a huge global viewership.

In the unlikely event that you have no clue what it’s all about, the show follows the travails of a clueless American sports coach airlifted in to manage a struggling English football team. Our bumbling hero doesn’t only need to learn the customs of a strange new land, he also needs to learn the rules of a sport for which he has no working understanding.

It’s classic fish-out-of-water stuff, delivered in a decidedly non-confrontational tone. You could even say that it’s a little cheesy from time to time. OK, a lot of the time.

But there’s a certain well-meaning spirit – an unabashed sense of positivity and empathy – that makes the show feel weirdly revolutionary. Or it did, at least, during its first two seasons.

• "It's the best you're going to get on set": Ted Lasso's new S4 stars Faye Marsay, Abbie Hern, and Jude Mack go offside

After a slightly rocky season three, we’ve got all our appendages crossed that the series can return to form.

The show’s popularity and its rose-tined vision of a particularly affluent slice of London has led to a huge uptick in Ted Lasso tourism. Sure enough, you can visit many of the locations that have formed the backdrop of Lasso’s gently amusing misadventures.

Thankfully, there’s no need to sign up to an oversubscribed Ted tour. Check out the following places you can visit from the show, and form your own Lasso itinerary.

1. Selhurst Park stadium

Lasso’s AFC Richmond play at Nelson Road Stadium (aka "The Dog Track") – a fictitious stadium for a fictitious team. Apologies if that’s shattered the illusions of any of our American readers not totally clued up on UK football. The good news is that the stadium used to stand in for Nelson Road in the show is very much real and open to visits, albeit located an hour or so away from Richmond in South London. Selhurst Park is where Premier League stalwarts and 2025 FA Cup winners Crystal Palace play their home games.

• Holmesdale Road, London, SE25 6PU

2. Paved Court

That cobbled alley leading to Ted’s apartment is just too darned quaint to be real. Surely it’s a set, you might be thinking?

Nope.

Type ‘Paved Court, Richmond’ into Google Maps, and you’ll be taken to a delightfully narrow street in a wealthy South West London suburb, flanked by art galleries, perfumeries, delis, and other delightful independent shops catering to the monied middle classes. Rather conveniently, it also leads you to two of the other iconic locations from the show...

• 1 Paved Ct, Richmond, London, TW9 1LZ

3. Richmond Green

You know those scenes where Ted and Coach Beard sit on a bench in a picturesque English park? Or where Ted wanders through said park, conversing amiably with another cast member or interacting with a member of the Great British public? That’s generally Richmond Green – a park right in the middle of Ted’s neighbourhood, right around the corner from his apartment (in real life as in fiction). Richmond Park is technically owned by the British monarchy, and has been a going concern ever since the Middle Ages, when it used to play host to jousting tournaments.

• The Green, Richmond, London, TW9 1LX

4. The Prince's Head pub

The name of this pub probably isn’t ringing any bells, but it’s the 300-year-old watering hole used for the exterior shots of Ted’s local pub, The Crown & Anchor. And yes, it really is situated right next to Ted’s apartment, as well as his local green.

By all means, head in and sup a pint of London Pride – it’s a Fullers pub after all – but do bear in mind that the interior is not used in the show. They switch over to a set built at West London Film Studios when the action heads indoors. Talking of which...

• 28 The Green, Richmond, London, TW9 1LX

5. The SkyEX Community Stadium

AFC Richmond’s training ground turns out to be yet another real working football location. Ted’s chaotic training scenes are put together at The SkyEX Community Stadium, which is the 3,000-seater home ground of Hayes & Yeading United Football Club.

As you’d expect from these more humble surroundings, it belongs to a team situated much lower in the football pyramid than AFC Richmond, plugging away in the eighth tier of English football. It’s also right next to West London Film Studios, where many of the show’s interior scenes are shot.

• Beaconsfield Rd, Hayes, London, UB4 0SL

6. Richmond riverside

From Ted’s Richmond Green hub, head south-west towards the Thames river. At this point, turn left along the river and you’ll find yourself encountering many of the locations and background elements used in the show, including the Gaucho Argentinian steakhouse and Richmond Bridge.

Keep walking for 40 minutes or so and you’ll eventually come to Eel Pie Island and the Twickenham Rowing Club, where a scene with Roy, his niece Phoebe, and Keeley was shot in season two.

• Richmond, London, TW9 1EP

7. Rivoli Ballroom

Remember the scene in the first season where the team attended a charity gala and aired out their grievances at the dinner table? That was shot in Rivoli Ballroom, a Grade II listed building and the last remaining 1950s ballroom of its kind in the capital.

You’ll need to head over to the South East of the city to see it, but it’s a real slice of history and a frequent cinematic prop. The venue has been used in numerous TV shows and movies besides Ted Lasso, including Killing Eve, Wonka, and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

• 350 Brockley Rd, London, SE4 2BY

8. Wembley Stadium

Two thirds of the way through season two of the show, AFC Richmond play Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Which venue is used to fill in for the prestigious home of football, you might wonder? Well, there isn’t one. That really is Wembley Stadium that the team steps out onto ahead of the game.

It's home of the England national team, host to pretty much every major cup and promotion playoff final in the country’s professional club game, and the go-to stadium stop for any travelling megastar. Hallowed turf, in other words, and well worth a visit regardless of the Ted Lasso link.

• South Way, Wembley, London, HA9 0WS

• The best Apple TV shows you really need to be streaming (August 2026)

Switch on any British panel show from the last 10 years and chances are you’ll have had a laugh with Nish Kumar. Nowadays he’s not only delivering the side-splitters, but also serving up sharp observations (okay, informed digs) about British politics at the same time.

After doing his first comedy gig at Durham university after fellow comedian Ed Gamble signed him up for it, Nish has featured on every comedy outlet you can imagine – hosting Radio 4’s Newsjack, touring his solo stand up shows, digging in on Taskmaster, and hosting his own political satire show The Mash Report. Is there anything in TV he hasn’t done?

“Got Hulu to make a second series of High fidelity” he laments. Safe to say, having been doing comedy for over 10 years, he's basically reset the rules of what a successful comedian looks like. Just get that timeline right.

“Over 10 years? That’s a nice way of putting it," he jokes

"It’s been twenty years. I’ve been doing comedy – and this is a horrible phrase – but I’ve been doing comedy for most of your life. It’s weird when you meet voting age adults who say 'I’ve been watching you on TV since I was a child' and they’re 25.” A backhanded compliment if ever we've received one.

Alongside his current tour Angry Humour From A Really Nice Guy, Nish co-hosts the weekly Pod Save the UK along with Coco Khan. And if you listen you’re in good company, as Nish points out — Sarah Jessica Parker mentioned she was a fan.

After touring his last show Nish Don’t Kill My Vibe “seemingly across the entire planet” Nish is back and has already kicked off his next tour. But he still had time to stop by for a pint in our joint local Hope & Anchor in Brixton to chat about his best and worst career moments, what sitcoms he’d bring back, and some Indian-dad-approved curry spots in Croydon

1. SKETCH COMEDY IS A LOST ART

In a world of TikTok comedians and shock comedy it's easy to forget about the glory days of sketch comedy, when it was one thick roster of Monty Python and The Fast Show getting you through the week. And whilst there's a plethora of fantastic sitcoms gracing the tens of streaming platforms, it's that bygone era of OG sketch comedy Nish misses.

“If we’re talking individual sketches, I really grew up in a golden era of sketch comedy in the UK because there was a lot of money being put into it. Things like Goodness Gracious Me, The Fast Show, Harry Enfield's show. There was a lot of stand alone sketch comedy, and hopefully we’ll see a resurgence with things like SNL UK and so many brilliant comedians doing things on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.”

When it comes to individual sketches that stay with him there's one he hasn't forgotten.

"Goodness Gracious Me was a really seismic piece of television for me growing up in the late 90s in the UK as a British Asian," he recalls.

"The premise of that sketch was 'What if Indians went for an English meal in the same way that White Brits went out for an Indian?', and behaved the same way. It was an inversion and it did all the jokes brilliantly."

2. RANTING IS MORE THAN JUST A TOUR TITLE

Non-comedy laymen (such as us) forget that tours have to be named months and months in advance, meaning that their seemingly incongruous names aren't trying to be cool and detached — they'd just been conjured before any of the actual content had been written.

Saying that, Nish's current tour title Angry Humour From A Really Nice Guy is pretty evergreen. In fact it could describe his entire career in a nutshell. As Nish puts it, "It felt pleasingly cumbersome and also the most accurate description of what I do onstage." But what is he currently ranting about? Well, there's a couple of things...

“I don’t understand Huel, why do you want to drink your dinners, why do you hate joy? What do you have against chewing? That much Huel can’t be good for you," he starts.

“Your mistake here is assuming there are things I rant about off air which I don’t talk about on stage," pondering his other current pet peeves.

"There are certain things people assume I’ve said which were part of a hot mic snafu but they were actually 100% intentional," he adds.

"I think the last thing I ranted about was the whole Clacton by-election – that whole situation is a total mess but I also don't want to talk about that man [Nigel Farage] more than we have to. It’s a classic type of post 2015 conservative who spends 5% of their time saying 'everyone takes offence' and the other 50% saying 'How dare you say that I am upset, I must take action.'

“I think it’s funny that it’s him versus Binface — like, in England, even our joke candidates have to be members of the landed gentry. Even Binface had to have inherited money — we just can’t fathom someone being in politics without a title.”

3. HE'S GOT MORE THAN A COUPLE OF FAMOUS FANS

As someone who started out his solo living years with fellow comedian Ed Gamble, and has since collaborated with almost every famous funny face in the UK, we thought it was pretty safe to assume he had more than a couple of famous fans of his own.

“There have been some cool ones," Nish admits when probed.

"The coolest was when I did a talk show with Eric Idol – Monty Python is totemic in British culture – and someone went to introduce us and he went 'No, I know who you are, I watch the Mash Report, I really like it.' That was pretty mad.

"I’ve worked with most of the writers from Goodness Gracious Me as well. Sarah Jessica Parker said in an interview that she listened to Pod Save the UK which is the funniest thing I’ve heard," he laughs.

"No idea if it’s true or not."

4. THERE IS SOMETHING THAT MAKES HIM PATRIOTIC

Nish Kumar and patriotic aren't natural word associations, as anyone who has listened to some of his stand up probably will have gathered. However, that doesn't negate his love of Britain – or rather, some of the things that Brits produce.

“There are few things I’m patriotic about," Nish agrees, "But our comedy scene is so brilliant and produces so many fantastic people.

"There has been a deficit in TV comedy but potentially there's a resurgence coming," he reflects, nodding to the young talent of the new SNL UK cast in particular as a signpost.

"If I could revive one thing..." he ponders. "The thing is, you don’t want to invest in too many revivals, you want something that feels new.

"My honest answer is I’d like to revive the premise of giving artists money and creative freedom. I’d bring back a properly funded BBC. If you have public broadcasters they can take risks . We used to have a good televisual ecosystem with people taking more risks. Then if they did well, they'd get picked up by other channels."

But on a lighter note, "the Hulu reboot of High Fidelity" also made the list. "I didn’t think we needed it, then I watched it and I loved it."

5. UK AND US AUDIENCES ARE MORE ALIKE THAN YOU THINK

English humour and American humour are notoriously different. Ask any comedian how they calibrate their sets and they'll outline how they have bombed on stage trying to do it the same on both sides of the Atlantic. For Nish though, it's less about politics and more about pints.

“The only genuine difference I can say is American audiences are louder. They’re more immediately convinced that this is going to be good. In a lot of British shows the audience has to warm up into it whereas the Americans come in quite hot.

"I think my [international] audiences would get along with one another, they’re quite similar unrelated to nationality. I look out to my crowd and I see a lot of Big Thief tee shirts, a lot of t-shirts with left leaning politician slogans on there. I know my guys."

6. HIS WORST DAY ON THE JOB ENDED IN A NEWS HEADLINE AND AN 80 MINUTE EXPLAINER

On paper Nish is the modern benchmark for what a successful career in comedy looks like. But somewhat reassuringly, there's just as much failure that has pitted his path there.

“I had a gig so bad that it was in the news," Nish points out. "Failure is interesting because it’s part of the process."

"I’ve been chased off stage by a heavy metal band. I’ve been escorted out of at least three venues by security staff because there were people waiting to beat me up. A man once unplugged my mic during a set. He went and found the tech booth, and unplugged me," he laughs.

"This gig [in 2019] was so bad," he reminisces.

"The headliner was Brett Goldstein and he and I planned to go for a drink after. What’s funny is no matter how many Emmys he wins, and movies he makes with Jennifer Lopez, he can still physically recall the tension in that room. He’ll just bring it up, recounting the trauma. Even working with JLo and Harrison Ford can’t erase that trauma – and it didn’t even happen to him!"

7. A NISH TRAVEL DOC COULD HAPPEN – BUT IT WOULD ALL BE ABOUT COFFEE SHOPS

"In October 2026 it will be exactly 20 years since the first time I did stand up comedy," Nish says.

"What an absolutely pointless thing to have devoted half your life to. It’s like being good at the recorder. It’s like why have you done that?” he laughs.

But how have things changed in that time? Heading into his latest tour, he shared the things that have been upgraded and the traditions that have stayed the same in that time.

"Zero megabuses. Call me Mr Bigtime. Sleeping in an actual hotel," he counts off. "Touring was hard 15 years ago when we were all driving through the night, sleeping on university hall floors or on all night megabuses," he adds.

"Tour essentials nowadays are still the same — I like to get into a specific album or artist’s discography, because you're spending a lot of time in transit. And the cinema, going to the movies is a pretty essential part." It's pretty rock n roll stuff.

"The things that have changed are my fancy dinners, and my nice coffees. I've sort of got a working network across the UK of the cool, delicious coffee shops in whatever city I'm in, and it's great."

Does it sound like the tamest Netflix travel documentary ever?

Yes.

"Me going to hipster coffee shops doesn't even touch Jack Whitehall's [Travels with my Father]," Nish rebuts. "That's not even pejorative."

8. HE IS A SOUTH LONDONER THROUGH AND THROUGH

Finally, we can't leave a chat with a born and bred Londoner without asking them for their favourite spots, and refreshingly, as Croydon-born and South London-stayed guy, Nish's recommendations are largely South faves:

"Singnburi has moved, it was in Leyton it's now in Shoreditch. There are various coffee shops I love, like F Mondays, and Stir in Brixton. And Kaffeine, with a K, cause it's 'Kool'. Everything with a K is cool, apart from the KKK.

"There's a restaurant called Tindli in Croydon and that is, and I cannot stress this enough, Indian food that meets the approval of my father – the crankiest and most Indian man in human history. There's also a restaurant called Fern in East Croydon, really great."

Basically, just head to Croydon. And no, he's not on their tourism board, we checked.

You can catch Nish on his tour Angry Humour from a Really Nice Guy across the UK from 9th September until 27th November 2026. You can find more information and tickets via his website.

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Ok, so we knew people were fond of Spider-Man, but we didn’t quite expect this. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has reached a billion dollars of box office takings in less than a week.

It’s apparently only been beaten to this milestone once in the past by Avengers: Endgame, which was before the public had started truly flagging on the whole superhero thing. But it’s comfortably a series best.

According to Box Office Mojo, the film made $49 million in the UK over its opening weekend, equivalent to £36 million.

This is despite Spider-Man: Brand New Day competing for some of the country’s biggest and best screening rooms with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

It looks like the heat on this one isn’t dying down too quickly either. While we wouldn’t expect Brand New Day to get close to its first-weekend numbers this weekend, it’s still pulling out some impressive feats in Leicester Square.

Scanning through the available seats at Cineworld Leicester Square, Vue, and Odeon Luxe, today’s evening screenings at close to sold out if not already there. And Friday’s screenings aren’t far off either — your best bet are the screenings at Odeon Luxe, which we think may only be more readily available thanks to their perhaps less desirable timings.

Want to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day in its very best form? You might want to try and see it in ScreenX.

Where IMAX, in its top screening rooms, provides a very tall picture, ScreenX goes panoramic with a 270-degree view that kinda bends around the audience’s field of vision.

ScreenX screening rooms in London are found at Cineworld O2 Greenwich, Wandsworth and Hounslow. It's a Cineworld-exclusive cinema presentation in the UK.

Bucking the recent trend of diminishing returns for superhero movies, Spider-Man’s most recent outing No Way Home (2021) is the franchise’s highest grossing to date, with $1.92 billion to its name.

Spider-man: Brand New Day easily beat that film’s opening weekend, with $360 million netted in its opening weekend in the US, to $260 million for No Way Home. Let's see how this one pans out over the weeks.

• The BIG London Cinema List 2026: Film festivals, seasons, Q&As and rep screenings

2022’s Violent Night was a fun diversion from cloying and sentimental Christmas movies, and director Tommy Wirkola is back with a second movie in the series, out this December.

Violent Night 2 will be in cinemas from 4th December, and a new trailer gives us an idea of what to expect. Avoid the video below if you want to enter the cinema spoiler-free.

Yep, David Harbour is back as a retribution-ready Santa Claus, but this time he starts the movie off all washed up after the events of the first film. He’s stripped of this powers, and has ended up on the naughty list he once tended to.

Caution: there are even more standard trailer story spoilers in this teaser:

While it might be tempting to see this storyline as a nod and wink to the hot cultural water Harbour found himself in after Lily Allen’s 2025 album West End Girl was effectively an expose of their relationship. But let’s not forget plans for Violent Night 2 were confirmed in 2023, and multiple drafts of the scripts had been written by mid-2024 — not to mention entering production by the end of that year.

“It’s time to save Christmas, and get off the naughty list,” says Harbour’s Santa in the teaser, while apparently attempting — and failing — not to dole out extreme violence to a bunch of baddies who have invaded a local mall.

This is not the first 2026 Christmas movie to star an actor more contentious than he once was too. Ebenezer stars Johnny Depp as Scrooge in an eyebrow-raising adaptation of A Christmas Carol that also features Ian McKellen, as Jacob Marley, and Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit.

Traditional Christmas cheer is apparently not the order of the day this Christmas, although we expect to see some fluffier fare pop up in time.

The original Violent Night was a solid success, netting $76.6 million at the box office off a $20 million production budget.

You’ll also get to see David Harbour in Avengers: Doomsday, as Red Guardian, due in cinemas on 18th December, while he is also set to star alongside Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown in what Netflix calls an “upcoming spy drama series.”

• The best Christmas movies of all time

Each August Edinburgh sucks up a whole lot of the UK’s comedy and theatre talent, but there’s another festival much closer to home too, the Camden Fringe.

This year’s Camden Fringe festival began on 3rd August, and there are more than 450 shows across the month. The festival winds down on 30th August.

There are now even more shows than we highlighted earlier this year, when the programme was announced.

Since then the Camden Fringe has expanded to include 41 venues across London.

We highly recommend rifling through the festival’s listing page, although there’s so much going on it may be an idea to filter by “genre,” date or venue. Or you’ll liable to feel smothered by the sheer number of shows within minutes.

Tickets are sold per show, per performance, with no magic wristband on offer to let you spend the entire month swanning between venues.

If you’re mostly keen to see well-known comedians, in our flick through the listings we’ve found Andrew O’Neill on 9th August at Aces and Eights and Abbie Murphy on 20th August at Museum of Comedy.

You may be best of diving into something you like the sound of, and hoping for the best, though. There’s absolutely loads of low-cost theatre available throughout the month.

The Camden Fringe has been around since 2006 and was devised as a way to give performers a more affordable and approachable alternative to the Edinburgh Fringe.

That stands for London-dwelling punters too, of course, what with Edinburgh accommodation costs skyrocketing each and every August.

London is not a cheap city to stay, drink or eat in, but is an ideal Edinburgh alternative for some already London-based acts.

Looking for something higher-profile? Camden’s Roundhouse is also holding a comedy festival this month, with acts including Brian David Gilbert, Ivo Graham, Sarah Pascoe, Jack Rooke and Joe Lycett. It offers shows most days until 18th August.

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Ted Lasso is the show that launched a thousand previously disinterested parties into being able to confidently say they enjoy football. Sure, we had to skirt around the fiction versus non fiction bit, but the heartwarming, Emmy-nominated show has proved that there is far more to the sport than dives, penalties, and questionable chants.

Set around the world of the fictional team AFC Richmond, it looked as though Ted Lasso had come to a natural ending point with season three: the men’s team had won a hard earned victory, Ted was heading back to the US, Trent Crimm had wrapped up his manuscript, and Keeley’s PR company was back up and running thanks to angel (and bestie) investor Rebecca. Everything was tied up with a bow, except for one thing — a mock press release reading “AFC Richmond: Women’s team” courtesy of Keely.

Luckily for fans, Sukedis and Waddingham fought for another season, picking up on the story of the women’s team for a new batch of episodes that sees Ted “taking on his biggest challenge yet: coaching a second division women’s football team.” Season four now kicks off on Apple TV on August 5th.

So what else is new? As well as Sex Education star Tanya Reynolds joining the coaching side of the cast, we also have a whole new team of players, including Faye Marsay, Abbie Hern, and Jude Mack who play vivacious Lizzie, hard-core Gemma, and ambitious Boots.

We sat down with the trio ahead of season four’s release to find out what it was like joining the cast, the relief to be in tracksuits over tights and corsets, and their (okay, our) plans for a Sport Relief x Ted Lasso special.

SL: Hey guys congrats on Season 4! How did it feel joining such a beloved show?

Faye Marsay: I used to play as a kid so it was like being able to live out my childhood dreams. As a kid I always wanted to be the first woman to play in the Premier League.

Abbie Hern: You still could...

Faye: Yeah, it’s not happened yet, but that’s okay we’ve got our own league, and some would argue it’s somewhat better!

Abbie: Maybe it’s because they’re waiting for you to join it?

Faye: Maybe!

SL: I’m sure a lot of people will be asking about the training and how much work you had to do to get ready for actually playing a footballer. But I want to know if you had to do a three legged race with any other player from AFC Richmond, men’s or women’s, who do you think your character would make a good pair with?

Abbie: Could you imagine [my character] Gemma and Jamie [Tartt] in a three legged race? It would be the most incredible thing you’d ever see.

Jude Mack: I think you’d snog each other.

Faye: I would pick Lizzie going with Boots [Jude Mack's character] because I think Boots is deliciously ambitious and Lizzie has been lacking that at home and needs that so I think they’d smash it.

Abbie: And then Sam [Obisanya] and Siobhan [played by Rex Hayes in S4].

Jude: Yeah they’d smash it.

Faye: They’d win.

SL: Every couple of years we get SoccerAid, where celebrities come and play a big charity match against each other. Is there ever a world where we get the AFC men’s and women’s team playing a match against each other IRL?

Faye: I would love that to happen

Jude: If you wanna organise it we’ll turn up. Is this actually just a pitch?

SL: 100%

Faye: Sign us up!

Jude: I will say that we’d win.

Abbie: We did once play [the boys] at darts and sorry but we beat them – we kinda wiped the floor with them.

Faye: We are just better at football, and that’s fine, that’s okay no one needs to get upset about that...

SL: Ted Lasso has a lot of celebrity fans, and although you’ve got a great cast, I reckon you could get some seriously cool cameos. If you could have anyone – actor, comedian, singer – making a cameo who would you love to see and as what?

Jude: [Immediately] Cher – Cher in the Ted Lasso universe just feels like it makes sense.

SL: As Ted’s Aunt maybe? In a custom sequinned football kit?

Faye: I would love to see Daisy May Cooper and I’d want her to be the opposing team’s manager and have a fight with out Tanya [Reynolds].

Abbie: Write that down!

Jude: Get the producers on!

Abbie: If I don’t meet Ella Toone now I'm in the world of football then there’s kind of no point.

SL: I’m seeing a kind of Sport Relief comic relief sketch happening... This is a slightly random question, but Abbie and Faye you’ve both been in period dramas where there’s a lot of corsets and uncomfortable costumes. How did Ted Lasso compare? Was it bliss being in sports gear?

Abbie: It was trackies every day!

Jude: It was unbelievable!

Faye: Yeah it was phenomenal. The kit designs this year are incredible too. There are three designs and they’re all beautiful.

Abbie: I’d arrive at work more uncomfortable than I’d be whilst filming. It was take your jeans off and put your trackies on when it’s usually the other way round.

Jude: It’s the best you’re ever going to get on set.

Ted Lasso season four is available to stream from 5th August on Apple TV .

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BFI announced it would be opening its annual film festival with a bang last week, confirming that the Oscar-tipped Ian Charleson biopic Elsinore would be kicking off the whole shebang. Now, the closer for the festival has been revealed, and it's just as starry and impressive.

Jesse Eisenberg’s new film will be taking the coveted closing spot. Called The Debut, the new comedy-drama will be bringing its all-star cast to London’s Royal Festival Hall to bring the curtain down on the famous festival’s 70th edition on 18th October.

Ironically, The Debut is not Eisenberg’s own film debut, and its arrival on South Bank marks the writer-director’s third feature film at London’s Film Festival.

The Debut boats an incredible cast. Eisenberg co-stars in the film, alongside Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey, Havana Rose Liu, and Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters.

The Debut follows Moore as Mona Friedman, “a shy woman [who] is unexpectedly cast in a local production of an original musical. Under the spell of the strong-willed and enigmatic director, she loses herself in the role and the high-stakes world of this community theatre production.”

Note the plot point of "an original musical", meaning that we should be in for plenty of new tunes. The film's score has been written by Emile Mosseri, and Jesse Eisenberg has penned the songs. Between Halle Bailey, Havana Rose Liu, and Bernadette Peters you’ve already got some pretty heavyweight musicians and singers so we’re likely in for an auditory treat.

Emma Stone and husband Dave McCary are also attached to the project through their company Fruit Tree productions. The pair's production company was also involved with Eisenberg's writing debut, A Real Pain.

The film’s LFF feature will coincide with other cinema screenings across London and the rest of the UK, celebrating the film’s UK premiere before its official release in January 2027. The screenings will be running across four partner cinemas in London’s West End including: Curzon Soho, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Prince Charles Cinema and Vue West End. The Debut will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2026, before its UK premiere on BFI London Film Festival’s closing night gala.

“I am both honored and honoured to be bringing The Debut to the 70th BFI London Film Festival," said Eisenberg.

"What a wonderful thrill to be the Closing Night gala, and I can’t wait to share the incredible performances by the cast with a London audience.”

The 70th BFI London Film Festival takes place from Wednesday 7th October to Sunday 18th October 2026. The full festival programme will be revealed on Wednesday 2nd September 2026, with tickets on general sale from 17th September.

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Whilst you’re sweating from your Zone 4 bedsit and frantically Googling which places nearby have air conditioning it might be a little hard to fast forward your mind to October, imagining the scary thrills of Halloween, along with all things pumpkin spiced and wearing actual jumpers. However, the arrival of the cooler months will also be bringing a new arrival with it: an award winning European immersive horror show.

Called The Nightmare Realm, the spectacle – beloved by a host of celebrity guests – will be making its way to UK shores for the first time ever.

The Nightmare Realm is making its UK debut in October, running for just 18 nights from 9th October until 1st November, transforming the historic Avery Hill Mansion in Greenwich into an immersive world of fear, with a brand new theme: A Nightmare from Overseas.

Think Punchdrunk, think Arcade Arena, think Phantom Peak, Absurd City – all incredibly detailed, stunningly immersive experiences which take you from mere viewer to do-er as you step into the action. The Nightmare Realm is like a Halloween-y version of this where instead of simply waking through a haunted house, guests become part of an unfolding story where every character, location, and encounter has its own history.

Although it has run for 17 years in Ireland, The Nightmare Realm creates entirely new worlds from scratch, with mythology, fresh storylines and brand-new environments meaning no two seasons are ever the same. Translation: you can go multiple times, year on year, and it doesn’t count as re-watching. Or whatever the immersive theatrical equivalent of re-watching is.

This year's London debut features two brand-new headline experiences. Avery Hill Asylum invites guests inside a Victorian institution where the brilliant but dangerously obsessive Dr Thorne has pushed medical experimentation beyond the limits of humanity. Sundown Manor follows an ancient Irish bloodline that has crossed the Irish Sea in search of fresh victims, bringing a distinctly Irish horror story to London's Halloween season.

Connecting both experiences is Halloween Town, The Nightmare Realm's own supernatural midway. It’s not just a corridor connecting the two attractions – it’s a living village where stories spill into the streets and every resident has their own history, rivalries and secrets. Guests may overhear conversations, uncover hidden mysteries and even discover secret rooms concealed within the town. Halloween Town isn't a break between stories, it’s the bonus episode, extended track edition of the same story, keeping guests guessing.

To keep the set thrillingly alive, more than 70 live actors will be putting on performances, practical illusions, adrenaline-fuelled moments, and immersive storytelling all with cinematic set design, and plenty of special effects designed to blur the line between theatre and horror.

Over the years, it has attracted celebrity guests including Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly, Wednesday star Emma Myers, and Sweet Tooth star Christian Convery. 2026 marks its biggest chapter yet as it brings its unique brand of cinematic horror to London for the very first time.

Tickets go on sale on Monday 3 August 2026 via the website, with prices starting from £38.

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After two decades of popping up across various locations like a quirky, art student’s whack a mole, Secret Cinema is putting down roots. After appearing in disused warehouses, parks, and anywhere it could convincingly recreate a dystopian future or 1950s high school, Secret Cinema is finally set to open up its first ever permanent site over in Greenwich – and it's officially one step closer to opening its doors...

Back in March, it was announced that Secret Cinema would be setting up a permanent shop on Greenwich’s iconic peninsula, but now it has officially received the green light for building the new 1,500-capacity site which has been council-approved for medium-term stay – aka. up to 10 years. We know it will be neighbouring the beloved Troubadour Theatre on Greenwich’s peninsula, offering a 1,500 seat auditorium to the Troubadour’s 3,000 seater.

The business has now applied to the council for a premises license which will allow its new locale to remain open (and sell booze) until 11.30 on weekdays, and until midnight on weekends.

It looks as though Secret Cinema will be utilising the waterside location to its fullest, with the inaugural production set to be a Pirates of the Caribbean special. In partnership with TodayTix, Secret Cinema will be taking the hit blockbuster from the high seas to the high street, as Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure heads to London. It will have a strictly limited 10-week run, kicking off from February 2027, and its run will mark the first time the franchise has been adapted into an immersive theatrical experience.

Secret Cinema has said the new purpose-built venue will be designed specifically for “immersive storytelling” (no surprises there), giving itself the space to go bigger and run experiences for longer. In plain terms: fewer short runs in random locations, more blockbuster-style productions that stick around.

The new venue will sit a short walk from North Greenwich station, joining an area that’s already stacked with cultural heavy hitters, including The O2 and the Design District. Secret Cinema will have to agree to co-ordinate its exit times with Troubadour, the O2 and the Magazine London events venue before it can open, so that exit times at each space will be staggered.

Greenwich Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee B will decide whether to grant Secret Cinema’s new premises licence on August 11. The premises licence application has received a couple of objections from local residents. Both feared the new venue would create the opportunity for late-night noise and disturbance to nearby residents, and fears sites like the Thames Paths will be blocked.

If you just can't wait for a bit of immersive movie action, you can catch Secret Cinema's Grease The Immersive Movie Musical at Battersea Park until mid-September.

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London has plenty of cinematic antics; firstly, its entire surroundings are downright movie-like, with bars, restaurants, and galleries providing the perfect backdrop to gaslight you into thinking you’re in a romcom rather than the more mundane reality. Then there are the cinemas: indie bijoux boxes converted from old factories, outdoor pop ups, and Soho institutions which have seen more stars than the night sky. Plus you’ve got London’s various film festivals: BFI, SXSW, and speciality ones like the Queer dedicated BFI Flare, the immersive film-dining festival TASTE, and the animation dedicated Flatworld & Friends to name a few. Now there’s a new one on the lineup – and it’s entirely dedicated to Latin American Cinema.

The festival is set to run from 2nd until 6th October, and like many prestigious film festivals, it will be debuting at the iconic Barbican building in central London, packed with plenty of guests and stars to help bring an extra cinematic flourish to the events.

Guests set to appear during the event will include Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta, Argentine actor Óscar Martínez and Cuban actor Jorge Perugorría, who will hold question and answer sessions after screenings. The festival has been set up by the Cuban actress Ketty Rodriguez, who having moved to London in May 2025, said she had been surprised by how little Latin American culture she could find in the city.

The festival's aim is to "build a cultural bridge" between London and "fearless new filmmakers" who "bring the pulse and passion of Latin America to the big screen". As well as bringing lesser-known creative names to the forefront of London's culture, the Latino Film Festival "exists to disrupt the passive consumption of films... turning overlooked voices into headlines, challenge audiences with perspectives they didn’t know they needed."

Some of the feature films at this year's festival include: Baracoa (2026), Cartas a Mis Padres Muertos (2025), Cielo (2024), Concepción (2025), Querido Trópico (2024), and Sugar Island (2024). There are six other feature films, as well as 10 short films.

Some of the other events taking place throughout the festival include an appearance by Carlos Acosta - former Royal Ballet principal - who is set to appear alongside a screening of Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story, the 2018 film about his childhood in Havana.

The programme will also feature three masterclasses at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, as well as dance classes.

As well as a whole host of screenings and talks, the festival will also include an exhibition showcasing rare Cuban film posters. According to the organisers, the posters were hand printed in Havana by Cuba’s national film institute so you can imagine how intricate and stunning they’ll be. Each design has been hand- stamped and will be shown at Eclectic Gallery, running from 28th September for three weeks.

Speaking about why she set up the festival, Rodriguez said: "I couldn't find my people," after moving to London earlier in the year, adding that "Europe has an incredible art scene and a rich, cinematic past, yet very few people know about Latin cinema.

"It's extremely underrepresented despite a big community here, so I decided to do something about it."

You can find more information about the festival at its website and Instagram, although there isn't a load of information yet, so if you're keen to go you may want to check back closer to the festival dates.

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Being directed by Martin Scorsese before you've finished secondary school sets a pretty high bar. Somehow, Asa Butterfield has kept raising it ever since. The Islington-born actor has spent almost two decades hopping between prestige dramas, cult indies and global streaming hits without ever standing still. Two decades on from breaking through at just nine years old in the acclaimed The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and starring in Hugo, the 29-year-old has since won over a whole new generation as Otis Milburn in Netflix's Sex Education. Now, he's delivering another bold left-field performance.

In fact his newest film, Our Hero, Balthazar, may be his most challenging yet: After an online troll becomes convinced he's uncovered a potential mass shooter, the film spirals into a razor-sharp dark comedy about loneliness, internet culture and the dangerous search for belonging.

Hot off the back of international acclaim for the latest role, Shortlist caught up with Butterfield to get real about tackling his darkest character to date, why Hollywood isn't speaking to young audiences, his favourite London hometown haunts and the action movie still sitting at the top of his bucket list…

Shortlist: How do you sum up Our Hero, Balthazar?

Asa Butterfield: It's a very, very dark comedy about two lost young men in America who bond over the most unlikely - and borderline - problematic subject matter.

Speaking of problematic, the subject is obviously dark, but it's also a comedy. What kind of research went into that for you?

Being a Brit, I'm blissfully removed from this specific American experience. I didn't go through these shooter drills at school. I never have and I will never have to worry about that or think about that.

So, it was about getting into the mindset of what could drive a young man to do something like this, and then to empathise with them. Solomon [Butterfield’s character, .ed] is a complex and tragic figure who is totally misunderstood and mislabeled to the point of driving him to really consider doing something awful.

For me, playing a character unlike anything I'd got to play before was really exciting. It was a challenge to step into the shoes of someone with a totally different life experience to myself, and to showcase what I can do to audiences who perhaps think of me in other ways, because of the roles I've done.

The film has had fantastic reviews. How has that reaction felt for you?

It's always really great to see how audiences connect with the film, particularly young audiences, because it really is for them.

It feels like there aren't enough films being made that speak to young people these days. This film feels so in touch with the lived American experience, but not just American - around the world there's this sense of isolation, this annihilation mentality, this desire to be seen, connected and be a part of something, and the extreme lengths that some people can go to if they're driven to.

Is that something you've noticed in the scripts that come your way - that there isn't a lot being made for young people?

Well, it's not that it's not being made for young people. It's that people think it is being made for young people, but young people are watching these trailers and seeing these movies and being like, "So what? What is this? I don't see myself in this.” We are getting some young filmmakers who are able to do that, but I think people are so scared to invest in these more daring, independent films.

Having said that then, would you ever want to direct and get behind the camera?

Maybe one day! It scares me, directing. I've had the privilege of working with some incredible directors and seeing their process, and their ability to have this entire film or TV series in their head and really understand every facet of it. I don't know if I'm ready yet, but I hope one day.

At Shortlist, we're always looking for the best London recommendations. Being a Londoner born and bred, what are some of your favourite spots in the city that you always take visitors to?

I went to school in Hackney, so a lot of East London. Clissold Park is my favourite park in London. Walking down Regent's Canal is great. I love Brick Lane for some vintage shopping, or to get a bagel, or a curry.

Dalston's got some great locations. I’ve discovered Gillet Square lately - some people love it, some people hate it. It’s a residential block, but there's often open food markets, good music events and a couple of jazz clubs on either side of it. Then, the Dalston Curve Garden is a really cute spot near Dalston Junction station. It's relatively low-key.

It's just been announced you're going to star as The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein in the upcoming series, Hamburg Days. What are you most excited about for it?

I just think the character's fascinating. Getting into that world; the costume and the voice... I'm a big music fan, so just being part of a TV show where music is so in its veins is exciting.

You've worked on so many different projects from such a young age. What's something you haven't done yet that you'd still love to do?

Let's do a proper action movie, with some cool fight scenes! Or a swords-and-sandals type of thing. That'd be fun. I haven’t done any sword training yet though - not other than just swinging around stuff and imagining it!

Our Hero, Balthazar is out on digital release from 11th August 2026.

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Ariana Grande was set to appear in London’s revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, but the singer and actor has pulled out of the performances amid a planned wholesale step back from public life.

The production is set to come to the Barbican next summer, with tickets due to go on sale this Autumn.

“Following the announcement from Ariana Grande's team, we can confirm that she has decided to step back from Sunday in the Park with George. We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support,” the Barbican posted.

“The production will open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, and casting will be announced in due course.”

Jonathan Bailey is the star of the upcoming production, but Grande’s departure from the show will no doubt dampen some fans’ excitement for it.

"Endless, ongoing public scrutiny"

So what has happened?

An Ariana Grande representative told People magazine, she will be “taking a step back” from public life, following “endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”

This came to a head of sorts over the weekend with the release of her new single (and album), Petal, and its music video — a short film from Christian Breslauer. It features Grande as a would-be starlet attending auditions, but after more than nine million views and 57,000 comments, the reaction to it has focused more on the star’s weight than her singing.

However, Grande has intimated multiple times over the last year she may need to take a career break.

“I think that it would probably be healthy to [take a break],” she told Vogue Japan in January. “These past few years have been pretty nonstop. And by few, I mean 15.”

She’s not wrong. But this announcement lands at one of the busiest periods of UK activity of the singer’s entire career.

She is set to embark on a 10-night run at The O2 this month, and there is no current suggestion her team’s statement on stepping back will affect this run. That entire concert series is sold out, equivalent to around 200,000 tickets.

Does she deserve a break, though? Absolutely.

Will she get one? That remains to be seen. Ariana Grande stars in Focker-in-Law, due in cinemas in late November, and we can imagine she may be contractually obliged to take part in promotion for the film around its release.

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If there’s anything as embarrassing as being a teen, it might be seeing yourself acting on screen.

For Yahya Kitana, who was cast three years ago in Ish, his first film, aged 12, one day that sticks in his mind was shooting a pivotal scene in which his character Maram is alone on the street.

“They mugged me so bad,” he says, shaking his head, “the angle they got me was just nuts.”

We’re chatting on Zoom and at this point producer Dhiraj Mahey jumps in with “what happened after the cameras turned off? Everyone clapped you.” His co-star Farhan Hasnat, who plays the titular Ish and is just two years older, now 17, remembers it differently too: “He’s saying that but I was sitting next to Imran as he was doing that particular scene. Everyone was in tears at Yahya. Imran was crying, everyone on set, tears were falling down.. and as I was watching him act, I was like, this kid’s sick, he’s got talent.”

Imran is Imran Perretta, a visual artist, composer and now feature film director - Ish is his debut. And while he’s now in his 30s with a wife and two kids of his own, this coming-of-age story set in Luton pulls from his own upbringing in Streatham, South London — specifically how children like him were seen by themselves and their communities versus how they were seen by the state.

We talked in an air-conditioned green room at BFI Southbank during a sweltering London heatwave at the start of July. Perretta, cool and calm throughout, explained how he wanted to look at how young men from marginalised backgrounds are “so often framed as adults.”

(Note: Discussions about plot, character and themes ahead, so read on after you’ve seen the film if you want to keep it 100% spoiler-free).

The film follows 12 year-old boys Ish and Maram as they mill about, make a den in the forest, button bash at fighting games and smash berries for pretend fist-fights one long summer.

“When you spend enough time with those boys, you see the love and care and affection they have for each other and the playfulness,” he says. “And, of course, some of that can be a little bit edgy or it can be physical but it comes from a place of love. Their play is treated as dangerous and a moral aspect is pushed onto it.”

Is he talking about the characters or the actors? Not enough has changed since Perretta was that age for that question to matter all that much. The pair of first-time actors got the parts after Perretta and casting director Lara Manwaring auditioned 900 local schoolboys in Luton - Farhan jokes that when it got down to the last four, he told Yahya to “be as shit as you can” with the others. The director has credited Farhan with ‘co-creating’ the central character of Ish and a lot of the relationship-setting between the two boys was captured as naturally as possible. In real life, their families have been friends since they were “in nappies”.

“Imran was like an older brother on set, he was like our safety net, we’d be like ‘yo, help us out’”, says Farhan.

“I would struggle mentally about not doing it right. Imran would be there like, ‘just have fun with it, be true to yourself’’. It was much the same for Yahya: “The way I performed was all ‘cos of Imran, from how he made me feel comfortable in that space.”

For such an elegant, assured film as Ish, one concerned with moods, feelings and images more than on-the-nose political debates, there’s a lot bubbling beneath the surface. When Perretta was around 13 years old, he was out with a friend and suddenly pulled into a police van for a stop-and-search. This was not long after 9/11, with all the over-reach by the state of the ‘hostile environment’, which followed for British Muslim, South Asian and Middle Eastern communities in the UK.

It’s hard not to feel the spirit of both Satyajit Ray’s classic Pather Panchali and the British social realism tradition, complementarily, within Ish. But narratively, Perretta is also threading a different, fine needle. A similar incident of police aggression to the van stop, followed by the subsequent impact on Ish and Maram’s friendship, works as an emotional hinge-point for the whole story, a la Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris or Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women. Both Ish and Maram have stuff going at home too: Maram’s father appears as a harsh disciplinarian and Ish’s mother has recently died. His wise, old Nanu, always-at-work father Naeem and warm, no-nonsense sister Samira (played sweetly by singer Joy Crookes in her acting debut) offer both relief and confusion to the young boy.

To do justice to these layered emotional stakes for the characters, with two street-cast child actors more than carrying the lead roles, marks Perretta out as a major new voice in British film-making.

Imran Perretta’s Luton

Perretta cleverly intersperses the film with unsettling surveillance footage from police vans — which would hound certain areas like Luton — with timestamps, radio noises, bleeps and blurred out or targeted faces on passersby. Its memorable opening shot is of a bicycle and a single trainer in the middle of the road, then suddenly, whoosh, black as the door slams shut: we’re inside the van. He says they didn’t crack the “visual language” of the van the first time round on the main shoot in 2024 so additional footage was shot later during pickups. “It just became really clear, once we’d done the majority of the edit, that we needed to establish the ‘bad guy’ so to speak, imply what the stakes are early without really understanding what it is we’ve looked at.”

Citing Lacan’s ‘mirror stage’ theory, which suggests how babies first come to recognise themselves and an ‘identity’ arises, Perretta has, as an adult, dug into what those police stops — the racial profiling happened multiple times — did to his psyche.

“It was a moment of coming to understand how the world saw me,” he says.

“There was some sort of ego death or existential reckoning there and I totally quietly, privately melted down about it. Because I was like ‘oh shit, outside my family home people see me as a threat and I’m not a threat.’ A formative brain just goes mental with that information. That moment politicised me and gave me an art practice.”

That classic coming-of-age ‘loss of innocence’ we so often see in cinema comes across beautifully in Farhan’s mournful eyes and Yahya’s defensive posture, with a shot of Ish’s feet not quite touching the bottom of a swimming pool making its scene full of peril.

“Don’t get me wrong, they wind each other up like no-one’s business,” Perretta notes, “but they both have this sort of worldliness to them that was just immediately obvious through the audition process. They’ve both seen a lot in their lives and you can feel that.” Perretta jokes that they’re both “a foot taller and a lot hairier” now than they were back at the start but they’ve taken this “incredibly bizarre life experience”, of playing versions of themselves to an extent on-screen, in their stride.

The alienating distance of the roaming van camera feeds are thrown into sharp relief by the way Perretta has chosen to shoot Luton: in luminous black-and-white. He was partly inspired by the work of documentary photographers like Tish Murtha and Chris Killip, whose monochrome work felt “timeless” compared to colour images.

“It made Luton feel monumental, the concrete felt like marble,” he says. “I take a lot of photographs when I’m researching a place, what you saw in colour was urban decay and that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to flatter the place.” The choice to “recast” Luton as a “classic, cinematic landscape” was also bound up with Ish and Maram’s point of view: “It’s not a small town to them, it’s a big town, that’s their manor.”

The counterpoint to all this is Perretta’s conception of a Luton pastoral, right on the edge of the M1 motorway: “There was this view that I became really obsessed with, through the hoardings where you come out of the forest. I love the idea that you come out and you’d just be hit with this main artery.” It’s a stunning shot in the film, almost the classic John-Wayne-in-the-open-doorway composition, only it’s Ish climbing through a gap in some fencing. For the director, Ish and Maram’s makeshift den in the forest is “where they could be the fullest version of themselves”, climbing trees and getting up to mischief sure and yet “where you can feel part of nature but also sheltered and enclosed”.

Making Magic

The crescendo to Perretta’s love letter to the forest comes with a sublime sequence that makes the monochrome film-making really sing. Ish, Maram and three other boys have got their hands on a bunch of fireworks (nicked from a shop) and they’re running through the trees, waving flares, setting them off and causing mayhem. When your actors are all under sixteen, you have to abide by strict working hours and this was a night shoot... on the last day.

“So we had seven minutes left with the boys,” Perretta says. “Jermaine, the DP, and I were just like ‘fuck it’ we’re just going to get them to run around and we’ll just follow ‘em, like you just do your thing.” Perretta shouts out Jermaine Canute Edwards, his director of photography who also shot Akinola Davies Jnr’s My Father’s Shadow last year: “In every way he’s a genius but his handheld I would say is particularly unique, the way that he moves with people, he does this incredible dance with the camera that I just find extraordinary.”

The team lit everything, all ready for the fireworks and then two minutes into their final seven minutes…

“All the generators conked out, so we were in complete blackness, all the monitors went. And we’re just following them in the pitch black, there was no additional lighting, just them running with the flares. To me, it’s one of the most magical parts of the film. Visually, and performance wise, it’s just so free and it feels so true. The film gods decided to pull the plug and they gave us the greatest gift.”

Hearing about the young actors’ complete ignorance of the technical glitch makes the whole night sound even more surreal. “All five of us were running around,” says Farhan, “and we just hear Imran in the background, talking to people like ‘generator’s gone’. But we just carried on what we were doing. We heard Jermaine, he was stressed about somethin’ but we were just running around with fireworks, jumping around, so much fun.”

'A Family Show'

The film family that Perretta and his producers put together for Ish included Irish playwright and screenwriter Enda Walsh, who co-wrote the script after seeing a first draft. There’s a Steve McQueen rhyme to this set-up here: Walsh co-wrote Hunger with McQueen, alongside collaborations with Lynne Ramsay and Clio Barnard. And Perretta is primarily known as a visual artist, with exhibitions including A Riot in Three Acts at Somerset House and Manchester’s Home. His film work ‘the descendants’, which won him a Turner Prize bursary in 2020, has just opened at Tate Britain, showing until June 2027. But Perretta originally encountered Walsh’s plays back at art school. “Enda’s a real hero of mine,” he says. “The material was so close to me. I’m just so grateful for how much of himself he brought to it. We’ve already started to write some other bits together.”

The final element which makes up Perretta’s multi-hyphenate practice is music. He’s made audio-visual and music concrète works in the past and he composed the score for Ish, working closely with Jens Rosenlund Petersen and Nina Hartstone on the sound design. Using percussion and choral voices, the music really ratchets up at points until it feels inescapable.

“So much of the sound design that Jens and I worked on was about amping up those everyday sounds. You could feel the atmosphere getting on top of the boys, particularly Ish,” he explains.

“My intention with one motif was to make it sound like an old-fashioned siren. Our ears are just really tuned to it.”

A couple of times during our chat, Perretta notes that it’s not just Farhan and Yahya who are first-timers, he’s a first-time feature director too.

“I never thought I’d get to do anything like this, I didn’t think I was capable of doing it,” he says.

“And I’m not because you have to make it with lots of people. It’s a family show.”

From Grime Vids To The BFI

For all the awards and acclaim, Perretta still gets stopped at airports. It’s reductive to lump works of art together based purely on the heritage of the artists but Ish and Perretta’s installation works can be seen as part of a positive wave, shifting the narrative away from ideas that all brown boys and men are dangerous and instead looking deeper at the individuals. Especially when Reform UK and Restore are intentionally whipping up hate in deprived neighbourhoods at the first opportunities.

There’s Sufiyaan Salam’s Manchester-set novel, Wimmy Road Boyz, which follows three friends and shares some of Ish’s rhythms and concerns about what goes unspoken among friends — in this case, they’re in their early twenties. And there is, of course, Riz Ahmed and his recent TV show Bait, starring Guz Khan as his character Shah’s cousin Zulfi, whose big business idea is ‘Muber’. (“But Uber in London is already Muslim?”) Both of these lean more towards comedy than Perretta’s film but they share an underlying melancholy in how these men understand they are perceived by strangers.

Perretta says he’s always two years behind on movies and albums; he’s still catching up on the films that did the festival circuit with Ish in 2025. For the BFI Player — the film is distributed by the BFI, co-developed and financed by BBC Film — he’s picked out a few classics including Wim Wenders’ seminal Paris, Texas.

“So often when I see films, I know that I couldn’t make them. I couldn’t get that feeling because that’s someone else’s signature. It’s like that with Wim Wenders’ slightly hallucinatory thing. It’s got a big heart, there’s so many memorable images.”

He’s been listening to a lot of grime this summer, a callback to his teen years. In fact, it wasn’t an auteur that got him into cinema in the first place, it was music videos. And not the big-budget Spike Jonze ones, but the homemade videos shot on cameraphones and playing on digital channels like Channel U.

“There’s a huge visual culture around grime,” he says. “There were all these DVDs that used to do the rounds. And that’s when it felt achievable to me. So I made basketball videos with my friends and that was the beginning of it.”

The Boys

Farhan and Yahya are bothered by the fact that the iPad they’re using to Zoom keeps automatically zooming in and out. Later on, Yahya’s phone starts interrupting and Farhan tells Siri to “chill, bruh”. It’s an infectious, friendly chaos that’s impossible to fake and one that translates wonderfully on-screen in the film. They listen to each other carefully and when Yahya says out loud that he should stop answering the questions with slang, Farhan responds straightaway with a reassuring “it’s calmed down though”.

Their film and TV faves right now are a fabulous mishmash of jokes, teen staples and exploration. Farhan loves the shows The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf and he’d love to be in “supernatural stuff” in future, as well as potentially pursuing voice acting in animation and gaming. He aspires to be like actor Dylan O’Brien in particular: “he’s so sick, everything he does.” Yahya rates Blackish and Spider-Man — “the one that’s coming out the same day as ours” — but it's the 2000s and 2010s “schoolboy” American comedies that he really likes. He shouts out Big Momma’s House and the pair of them pitch me an inspired UK version of the Wayans brothers’ White Chicks, set in Hackney and starring themselves.

As for what’s next, Farhan already has an agent and has done some modelling work — “don’t believe him” — and he’s currently working on a book project. “I just wanna put myself out there, maybe the book that I’m writing, I might be able to direct or act in one day.” And Yahya has joined the Next Generation Youth Theatre in Luton. “Everyone’s got haters, but I’ve only just started in this scene, moretime I got more haters, you get me? I wanna fly through this industry and show people what it’s really about.”

A Premiere in Luton

It’s something that’s on Perretta’s mind too when I ask about the reception to Ish so far and what he hopes for when the normies get to see the film. He’s expecting all sorts of responses: “You’d be surprised. Haters gonna hate.” But it’s all positive vibes, really.

“It feels like there’s a lot of great energy around the film,” he says, “and I hope that people feel some way about it, whether they like it or not, they take something from it.”

Ish just got a ‘premiere’ screening in Luton, for locals and close family and friends of the cast and crew to watch ahead of the wide release, which the boys were psyched about when we chatted. Otherwise it’s all about Imran: “He changed our lives,” says Farhan. And as for Yahya: “Working with Imran was a blessing and a half.”

Ish is in cinemas from 31st July and on BFI Player from 7th September.

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If there was ever a signifier that a film was going to be a winner, the words “Andrew Scott” and “BFI Film Festival opener” are pretty good starts. Coincidentally, it’s also words associated with Elsinore, a new Ian Charleson biopic which is heading to London’s Southbank Centre for its European Premiere to open the city’s biggest film festival.

It’s sort of fitting that its premiere will be just moments away from the National Theatre where a lot of the film’s scenes are set. The film, which is already generating Oscar buzz, stars Andrew Scott in the leading role as the famous actor Ian Charlson.

It follows the final months in the life of the highly acclaimed actor whilst he was battling AIDS, and reprised his role of Hamlet in the West End just months before he died, aged 40. Charleson was also one of the first public figures who wanted his cause of death to be openly confirmed in public in a bid to help reduce stigma about the condition. This decision has been widely credited as a huge turning point in changing the public’s perception of AIDS at the time.

Simon Stone is directing and it has been written by Stephen Beresford – who last worked with Scott on the seminal 2014 film Pride.

Charleson rose to fame through roles in blockbusters like Gandhi, Chariots of Fire, and his numerous theatre roles. He originally stepped into the role of Hamlet in 1989 shortly before his death as a last minute sub after Daniel Day Lewis suddenly exited the role. He had played the role 15 years before, and persuaded director Eyre to let him reprise the role despite Eyre’s fears over his health. At the time of the performance, Charleson’s face was swollen owing to the illness – cast, crew, and audiences were told that this was because of a recent sinus operation, rather than septicaemia.

He performed the role for six consecutive weeks, with the run lauded as one of the best ever seen on stage. In a bit of wholesome theatre history, Sir Ian McKellen was awarded ‘best actor’ at that year's Evening Standard awards, but actually refused the accolade, and gave his statue to Charleson instead.

Elinsore has a pretty stacked cast joining Andrew Scott: Olivia Coleman will be playing Charleson’s doctor, joined by Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn and Monica Dolan. Dickie Beau, who toured a one-man tribute to Charleson’s Hamlet for six years, also features, while David Dawson plays Derek Jarman. Fellow theatre and film heavyweights Juliet Stevenson and Peter Mullan are rumoured to be playing Charleson’s parents.

The BFI Film Festival kicks off on 7th October with the festival running until 18th October. The full programme will be announced on 2nd September at BFI's website.

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When Spider-Man: Brand New Day rolls into cinemas on 29 July, it will represent the fourth standalone appearance of Tom Holland’s web-slinging hero, and his seventh in the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

That’s a whole lot of narrative baggage to be dragging around with you. If you’re not au fait with the character’s films to date (where have you been?), or have simply forgotten all the ins and outs of his reality-warping escapades, a little light revision might be in order.

We’re not suggesting that you wade through Marvel’s entire cinematic and televisual back catalogue on Disney+. Rather, we’d suggest that you hone in on as many of the following movies and TV episodes as possible.

Between them they’ll introduce you to all of the characters, themes and plot points that seem to be feeding into Spider-Man: Brand New Day – going by the trailer footage we’ve seen and the rumours we’ve heard, at least.

Work your way through these entries over the coming days and weeks, and you’ll be able to enter that blissfully air conditioned theatre with confidence.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first. Spider-Man: Brand New Day appears to represent the end of Spidey’s original arc in the MCU, as well as the start of a possible new one. To that end, the best revision you can be doing for the new film is to rewatch the original trilogy, which started off in 2017 with Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s here that we meet gifted high school student Peter Parker, potential love interest MJ, and best buddy Ned, as well as establishing the tone and themes that will run through the entire tetralogy.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

The second Tom Holland Spider-Man movie is the first to have a direct relationship to the major plot points of Brand New Day. It’s here in Far From Home that events are set in motion that will result in our hero cutting such a lonely, forlorn figure at the outset of the latest film. It’s also, unfortunately, the worst of the first three Spidey movies, though it has its moments. In particular, it shows our hero contending with the loss of a major mentor figure, Tony Stark, and the burgeoning of his relationship with MJ.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

We’ve boldly stated that you should be watching all three Spider-Man films in the series ahead of Brand New Day, like we don’t all lead busy lives. If time is of the essence and you need to take a Spidey crash course, however, just watch the last film. Not only is Spider-Man: No Way Home a really good movie in its own right, the events contained within lead directly into those of Brand New Day. Specifically, we learn why Peter is so isolated in the new film, observing his friends from afar and scrabbling around for guidance from senior figures.

Daredevil (Season 2)

Some of the most striking footage of the Brand New Day trailers has been of our favourite web slinger going head to head with a gang of red-clad ninjas. These would appear to be The Hand, a shady organisation that we previously ran into during Charlie Cox’s original Daredevil run on Netflix (and now on Disney+). They were heavily featured in The Defenders crossover series, but we wouldn’t put you through the ordeal of having to watch that. Check out The Hand’s introduction in the second season of Daredevil instead. The season also helpfully introduces us to another key character...

The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026)

Brand New Day’s packed cast list includes John Bernthal’s The Punisher. You could watch both seasons of the made-for-Netflix Punisher series if you really wanted to do a deep dive on this iteration of Frank Castle. But given that Daredevil Season 2 doubles as a handy introduction to the character, you can probably learn everything else in this one-off Disney+ episode. It only launched a couple of months ago, so it should offer the ideal lead-in to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with our grizzled vigilante finding a new (dare we say heroic?) purpose.

The Avengers (2012)

Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is all set to inherit the role of Spidey’s senior Avengers advisor in Brand New Day, while his Hulk alter ego will seemingly face off against Spidey at some point. Given that there is no standalone movie featuring this version of the character (come on Marvel), the best showcase for his whole Jekyll and Hyde dynamic remains the original Avengers movie from 2012. It’ll grant you a neat introduction to the character and his unique (often mutually exclusive) combination of brains and brawn.

Dark Phoenix (2019)

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is heavily rumoured to serve as a narrative stepping stone into Marvel’s X-Men reboot. Not only is mutation a prominent theme, judging from the trailers, but team member Jean Grey is tipped to feature in some sort of antagonistic role, potentially played by Sadie Sink. If you want to head that possibility off with a cinematic introduction to the powerful telepath, you could always check out the original X-Men movie from 2000. We’ve picked 2019’s Dark Phoenix, not because it’s a particularly good film, but because it features a younger, more dangerous Jean Grey at the centre of it.

Captain America: Civil War

This one’s more of a bonus round than essential viewing, but it might just dot the final few i’s and cross the t’s for the uninformed. If you’re at all curious as to how this iteration of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man came to rub shoulders with the wider Marvel universe, take a look at Captain America: Civil War. The second standalone feature for Chris Evans’s time-displaced super soldier is a de facto third Avengers movie, and also pulls Spidey into his first scrap with his fellow Marvel heroes.

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Comic-Con news is already abuzz with the A* casting of David Jonsson as Black Panther in the upcoming sequel, but the MCU panel wasn’t stopping its starry slew of announcements there. Whilst it may feel like Ryan Gosling is already part of the MCU as it seems he's a part of every blockbuster release, the Canadian actor has officially joined the legendary world in a new reboot.

After years of rumours (and hope), Ghost Rider is returning to Marvel Studios, and Ryan Gosling is taking over Nic Cage’s shoes (or combat boots) and stepping into the role of Johnny Blaze. Talk about hot news.

Continuing the hot streak of starry names attached to the project, Star Wars Starfighter director Shawn Levy is set to direct Gosling’s MCU debut.

Call it proof you’ve got to (very publicly) go after what you want, as Ryan Gosling’s casting comes after some pretty unsubtle campaigning that he wanted the role. The casting choice isn’t exactly a surprise, partly because of the above, and partly because if anyone can handle some serious motorbike action man antics, it’s Ryan Gosling – just watch The Fall Guy if you don’t believe us.

The reboot has been given a 2028 release date, making it 16 years since the last iteration of the film – Nicolas Cade’s 2012 sequel Spirit of Vengeance, was released and 21 years after the first stand-alone Ghost Rider flick.

For anyone who hasn’t seen the Cage classic, Ghost Rider centres around the character Johnny Blaze, a man who literally sold his soul to the devil, wields actual hellfire, and also has a flaming skull in place of a head.

In the comics, he appears in many forms. He’s a human-demon hybrid who has appeared in multiple comics, both in his own storyline and affiliated with Thunderbolts, New Fantastic Four, SHIELD, Defenders and others. Originally a stunt motorcyclist, Blaze agrees to give his soul to the devil (actually a baddie called Mephisto) to save the life of his foster father. As you or anyone who's read Faustian-inspired fare will be familiar with, a deal with the devil ain’t ever that simple. Although his father is saved from his illness, he later dies in a stunt accident. Johnny then becomes bonded to a supernatural demon, the Spirit of Vengeance (hence the sequel name) and is able to transform into the now familiar flaming skull-headed biker. Basically, it’s a lot of riding a fiery motorcycle, and wielding blasts of hellfire, so get ready to see some super cool stunts, motorbike action, and presumably a lot of (hopefully fake) fire.

Cage isn’t the only person to portray the role, with Gabriel Luna playing the Robbie Reyes version of the comic book character in the TV series Agents of SHIELD. Luna was set to reprise the role in a standalone series for Hulu, but that project was ultimately scrapped in 2019.

Shawn Levy seems like a sensible pair of hands to sign up to the project, having proved his action-film MCU chops with Deadpool & Wolverine back in 2024.

Although Blaze is well documented in past films and comics, we don’t exactly know what Levy’s Ghost Rider will be like, nor what kind of storyline he’ll be following. We also don’t know who else is being eyed up to star in the film – although given Gosling’s wife Eva Mendes starred alongside Nic Cage in the original films, it would be a pretty neat opportunity to reunite the couple on screen, having last starred together in The Place Beyond the Pines in 2012.

Levy called Gosling “the absolute shit” at Comic Con when the announcement was made. “I say that with tremendous respect,” he added. “We spent a lot of time last year making Starfighter, and the opportunity as Ryan started talking about this character, I was like, ‘Bro, let’s ride.’"

Gosling and Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter will be released before any of the Ghost Rider stuff, heading to cinemas on May 28th 2027.

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The Tate Modern’s iconic Turbine Hall has been given another makeover. It has been transformed into a maze of sorts, as part of an art installation that will be in place until 31st August.

As this is an art gallery, not a hedge maze out in the countryside, there’s a concept behind the piece. And its walls are not so high or vision-blocking you’ll actually get lost in the thing — but it’s still definitely one to experience if you’ll be nearby this summer.

The installation is called Serendipity Island, and is designed by artist-musician Lina Lapelytė. It’s made up of wooden barriers inspired by the queue dividers you get at airports.

As visitors, we’re invited to participate in the installation, stomping and humming along to audio cues.

“Listen out for sounds that invite you to move or make a noise, and perform a series of actions that contribute to a ‘score’. The sounds and actions you make will join with others, creating a shared composition,” says the Tate’s explainer on the exhibition.

This one should be as fun to watch as it is to participate in, particularly if you’re there when a game group arrives.

As a Turbine Hall exhibition, you don’t need to pay anything or to be a Tate member to see Serendipity Island. It’s part of the Uniqlo Tate Play series of art projects, which are a perfect fit for school summer holidays.

The last was Holiday Make Studio, which ran during the May half term, encouraging kids to turn the Turbine Hall into a “playscape of funnels, spheres, and tubes.”

Serendipity Island is not Lina Lapelytė’s first takeover of a large space with bits of wood either. Earlier this year her exhibition We Make Years Out of Hours saw Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof filled with 400,000 wooden blocks, while visitors were invited to build stuff out of them.

Considering a visit to Tate Modern? Current major exhibitions include Frida: The Making of An Icon — we recommend booking for this one as tickets currently sell out in advance — Ana Mendieta, Julio Le Parc and Tracey Emin: A Second Life.

Entry fees for those alone aren't far off justifying an £84-a-year Tate membership.

Serendipity Island opened this weekend just gone, on 25th July, and will be in place throughout August.

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Comic-Con - or at least America’s version - is like a symposium of insider movie knowledge where the biggest announcements are teased, new footage to drip-fed to overexcited fans, and entertainment writers are up until late, furiously typing until steam emanates from their laptops. But it’s all worth it when you get a reveal like we had over the weekend courtesy of the Marvel Studios panel, where one Brit was announced as the latest star in the Black Panther franchise.

David Jonsson, star of Industry, Wasteman, and The Long Walk is set to star as Black Panther in the upcoming Marvel sequel. The 32 year old British actor will be starring as the adult version of the son of T’Challa, originally played by the late Chadwick Boseman in the first film.

During the always-anticipated Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con, director Ryan Coogler and Kevin Feige officially confirmed a sequel threequel to the Black Panther franchise, as well as announcing it will hit cinemas on December 15th 2028.

Appearing on stage (to a rightly overjoyed crowd) Jonsson said “Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and privilege and the blessing to join.”

Black Panther 3 is expected to pick up from where its predecessor Black Panther: Wakanda Forever left off, although it is Marvel, so there could be some kind of time jump or other sci-fi-tastic twists. To recap, Wakanda Forever ended with the revelation that T’Challa (Boseman) had a son with Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), who Nakia had been raising in secret, which was revealed in a mid-credits scene. Boseman was originally set to reprise his leading role in the sequel, but the film’s focus shifted following his death to his on-screen sister Shuri’s storyline (Letitia Wright), who was tasked with leading and defending Wakanda following T’Challa’s untimely death.

With a release date of December 2028, Black Panther 3 will air after Avengers: Secret Wars. It was confirmed Letitia Wright and other stars of Black Panther will be featuring in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, although it’s unlikely Jonsson will make an appearance.

Whilst Wright and Winston Duke have both been confirmed to return in the latest installment, we don’t know if any of the wider cast will be joining Jonsson. Back in June 2025, Coogler confirmed Denzel Washington’s casting after Washington had teased Coogler was writing a role for him. The wider cast has previously included Michael B Jordan, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, and Angela Bassett who became the first performer nominated for an Academy Award for a performance in a Marvel film.

Jonsson is a bit of an acting powerhouse already, having made his professional stage debut on the West End in 2017 in a production of Mary Stuart, appearing again later in the year with a production of Don Juan in Soho starring alongside David Tennant. On screen, he has starred in the (criminally underrated) rom com Rye Lane, the BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy, and won the EE Rising Star Award after his role in Alien: Romulus as Andy, amongst other nominations and awards. Basically, his upcoming role as T’Challa II / Toussaint is a fantastic bit of casting, and a smoke signal that the franchise is in safe hands.

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If there’s one thing we’re always in permanent need of (other than an Aperol Spritz on a sunny beach) it’s comedy. Specifically, comedy films which offer two hours of pure, silly escapism. Sure, we have the police dramas, the true crime spin offs, and tense family dramas, but sometimes nothing beats a good comedy – and a sports comedy at that too.

Luckily, Jake Johnson is here to fill the void with his new film The Dink. Written by Sean Clements, directed by Josh Greenbaum and with Ben Stiller on board producing, it follows in the fashion of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, bringing a ridiculous sports framed comedy to our screens.

The Dink follows Jake Johnson as washed up former tennis prodigy Dusty Boyd who has been reduced to coaching unruly children at his father Chuck’s (Ed Harris) suburban country club. Desperate for his father’s approval, Dusty blindly supports Chuck’s vendetta against the new craze taking over the club: pickleball. But when Dusty re-aggravates an old injury, taking away his ability to play tennis, he resorts to the unthinkable in the name of rehab. He not only tries pickleball, but, thanks in part to his enchanting new partner, Candace (Mary Steenburgen), he finds himself actually enjoying it. Torn between two worlds, Dusty is forced to finally face the ghosts of his past athletic failures, including his childhood nemesis, Andy Roddick (Andy Roddick). Ultimately, Dusty is drawn into a desperate battle for the future of the club, his father’s affection and his very identity.

Over Zoom, we chatted to the film’s leading trio – Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, and Aaron Chen – about the new film, and got them to play a little game to put how well they know each other to the test.

SL: Hello from the UK! So we’ve got a game for you three, it’s called Virtual Strangers and it will hopefully take your friendships up a level. We’ve got some of the most random fun questions you can ask to bring you closer together – how do you feel your knowledge of one another is at the moment?

Jake Jonson: High

Aaron Chen: 100%

JJ: The three of us are best friends, we travel together, we live together, we’ve only been separated four fourteen hours since we filmed

AC: We have a triple bunk bed

JJ: And this is the order [Aaron, Mary, Jake]

Mary Steenburgen: These two keep me up all night

JJ: We’re debating major topics!

SL: Obviously. So we’ve got our work cut out for you to feel closer at the end of this than you currently are. What is your least favourite household chore?

JJ: I’m going to go putting dishes away from the dishwasher

MS: Putting clothes away after they’ve been washed and dried

AC: I’d say changing the sheets – it’s the hardest one, it’s technical

SL: Do you get confused turning it inside out?

AC: I turn it inside out

JJ: In our apartment - where we all sleep - it’s just sleeping bags, and we all have little flashlights so we can all read and stay up late

SL: I hope you’re reading to one another

AC: Oh yeah, usually Mad Max

SL: Q2, what is the best pasta shape in your opinion?

MS: Cavatelli, because I make it by hand. It’s like a little curly Q, like a spiral. I have a little board and dowel and you roll the pasta off it

AC: That’s a fancy shape

MS: I’ll make it for you next time you’re round

AC: Mine’s a fusilli

JJ: I think my favourite is a Luca Del Trecce

AC: Is that a friend of yours?

JJ: He’s the writer of Sunset PI…

MS: Are you promoting your next show??

JJ: Yes

SL: What fictional detective do you think you’d make a good duo with?

JJ: [Since you bring it up] I think Sunset PI… A PI show I’m doing that’s coming out soon

AC: Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed if you watch that show…

MS: Stop promoting his other stuff!!

JJ: Come on that was a good one

MS: Mine would be Happy Doll – there’s books about him, he’s a character in Jonathan Ames detective novels which I love

AC: Mine would be Inspector Rex, do you know that guy?

MS: IS that a T-Rex?

AC: He’s like a dog, but we’d watch his TV show in German class to learn German but sometimes there were nude scenes and the teacher would have to come and cover the screen

MS: How’s your German then? Come on, let’s hear some

AC: *mumbles in German * I stopped in eighth grade…

SL: Next up, do you guys ever get shows you’ve been in come up on streaming platforms as part of you ‘For You’ algorithm? And do you ever watch them?

MS: Oh it’s definitely happened – I don’t usually watch them though. I usually watch things I've been in once and then don’t watch them again. Apart from Step Brothers. I do like to occasionally indulge in. And Elf at Christmas. May have to watch The Dink more than once…

JJ: None for me, I’m not my own demo. I never come up on my own algorithm

AC: You’re lying, this is a lie detector test now

JJ: And I just failed. I watch all my own shows, they’re the only shows I watch. Home videos, anything

MS: Old podcasts?

AC: I will actively look for it each morning which definitely affects the algorithm

JJ: [To Mary] Wait speaking of podcasts you just passed on my podcast

MS: No I didn’t!!

JJ: You were supposed to come in person

MS: I am going to come in person, I worked it out with Natalie – you’re so behind. See women run things. You have no clue what’s going on

[*Everyone communally makes clock it snaps*]

SL: I think that’s all we’ve got time for, but do you feel like you know each other any better?

AC: A lot better

MS: I think it’s more the living and sleeping in the same room and hearing them snoring

JJ: It’s the bunk beds, but also this

SL: We'll take it

The Dink starring Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, and Aaron Chen is streaming on Apple TV from Friday 24th July.

• Get hyped for Nolan's The Odyssey with these 8 epic Greek mythology movie and TV adaptations

Death Note: The Musical is coming to London in less than a week. And as it’s a fairly short run, we think it’s time for a refresher on what the show is all about.

The Barbican Theatre plays host to Death Note: The Musical from 30th July to 12th September.

Gallery seats and a smattering of lower desirability ones elsewhere start at £50, rising to £165 for the best of the best stalls spots.

There’s decent availability throughout most of the run, barring the official press night on 11th August, including a handful of tickets for the very earliest of performances.

Death Note: The Musical is an adaption one of the more famous manga series. It’s about a teenage boy, Light, who finds a notebook with dark powers. When someone’s name is written in the book, that person will die.

Spooky stuff.

Across two hours 20 minutes, we get a retelling of the story in musical form, pitting Light against his nemesis Detective L.

It’s far from the first adaptation of the source material. Netflix is currently streaming the two-series animated show and the 2017 live action movie version. The original manga came out between 2003 and 2006 in Shonen Jump magazine.

This musical has deeper roots than you might guess too. It was originally staged in Japan in 2015, and had its first UK version performances in 2023 at the London Palladium, on 21st and 22nd August, before jumping to the Lyric theatre for just a few more September 2023 shows.

While it didn’t quite receive quite as widespread reviews and coverage as we hope to see for this more substantial 2026 run, the enthusiast press were, well, mostly enthused about that earlier English-language staging.

WhatsOnStage called it a “a West End thrill ride” in its 4-star review.

“The rapidity and punchy brutality of the storytelling creates a thrill-ride ending that combines fantastical shocks with edge-of-the-seat twists – earning a big thumbs up along the way.”

The Love London Culture blog even went as far as to give the show a full five-star review.

This new 2026 run is not a straight re-treat of the 2023 season, though. It’s directed by Stephen Whiteson with choreography by Fabian Aloise, while Nick Winston headed up direction and choreography in the earlier run.

We don’t think you need to be a manga fan to be hooked in by the dark-themed story of Death Note, which helped elevate the other adaptations as picks to recommend to folks who don’t devour the stuff every week.

• All the A-list celebrities starring in London’s West End theatres (and beyond) in 2026

The name Tom Holland is often accompanied by the words “generation run” of late, having completed somewhat of a holy trinity with another Spiderman flick, Telemacus in Nolan’s seminal Odyssey, and marrying Zendaya. Whilst many actors may take a well earned break after such a busy period, Tom Holland is doing the opposite of slowing down – in fact, he’s already in training for his next project: a Fred Astaire biopic.

Holland confirmed he would be doing all the dancing himself for the upcoming biopic, which isn’t surprising given his previous roles like his first role as Billy Elliot in London's West End. He’s praised his early dance and acrobatics background, saying it ultimately helped him land the role of Spiderman. The combination of the two are sure to be useful training for the upcoming role.

The 30-year-old Brit is currently promoting both The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day which are being released within two weeks of each other, sort of like his own personal Barbenheimer. During his recent press rounds, Holland confirmed his next project is a film all abut the Hollywood star Fred Astaire on Good Morning America.

Fred Astaire is one of those names everyone knows, even if you were born after he died, and is synonymous with that glitzy Golden Age of Hollywood. He is considered not only one of the biggest stars of the era but the best dancer of all time. He starred in classics like Top Hat, often alongside fellow starlet Ginger Rodgers, as well as fan favourite flick Funny Face alongside Audrey Hepburn.

The upcoming film is set to be directed by Paul King, the visionary behind Wonka and Paddington which gives us an early indicator of the film's style.

Talking in the interview, Holland confirmed the film is in pre-production, saying “We have Fred Astaire next, which is what we’re planning on doing. As soon as I finish these tours I’m diving back into the dance studio,” he explained. “I did my first few rehearsals recently, and it both filled me with excitement and absolute dread because I’ve got so much work to do to try and do Fred proud.”

He also explicitly mentioned he didn’t want to rely on doubles, instead preferring to do everything himself. I have a desire to use no doubles,” he said. “To do all of the dancing, to shoot those dances in one shot – how [Astaire] would have done it.”

Given it’s Fred Astaire, expectations are pretty high for some spectacular dance scenes.

Currently, we don’t have any further word on casting, like for example who might be playing his partners Robyn Smith and Phyllis Potter. In fact, there's a lot we don't know yet about the project, but if it continues its trajectory of fantastic casting, we're in for a right treat. Can anyone else hear an Oscar calling?

• Go behind the music (and the drama) as Lily Allen's life gets the documentary treatment

Sing and Son of Rambow director Garth Jennings is making a documentary about iconic band Pulp, and it will be out in cinemas later this year for one day only.

Pulp: What Do You Do For an Encore? is a doc about Pulp through the ages, their long trudge through relative obscurity, their breakthrough in the 90s and their biggest arena show to date at The O2 Arena in 2025.

You can have a sample of what’s coming in it with this just-released trailer:

Pulp: What Do You Do For an Encore? is not going to be difficult to see. It’s coming to MUBI later this year, although we don’t have a firm date just yet.

We do have one other release date: 18th September. This is when, for one day only, Pulp: What Do You Do For an Encore? will be shown in UK cinemas. Which cinemas? That bit is still TBC.

Those in the US can see it on 24th September, and the Canadian contingent the day before on 23rd September.

The roughly 90-minute documentary features voiceover work from Jarvis Cocker himself, and loads of archive footage from back in the day.

As you’re probably picking up by now, this is anything but an unofficial biography piece. Jennings also has plenty of history with the band, as well as being something of a British icon in his own right.

Jennings directed some Pulp music videos back in the 1990s, including Help the Aged and A Little Soul. It’s where he cut his teeth as a film-maker before shifting to films 20 years ago with the likes of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

He’s also worked with other big UK names in music like Blur, Fatboy Slim and Radiohead. A full-on music doc is still somewhat out of the ordinary for the director, mind.

Cocker says the film is “a vibrant tribute to a band of brilliant misfits, whose unique blend of irony, rebellion, and razor-sharp social commentary resonated with generations of listeners.”

News of Pulp: What Do You Do For an Encore? was first outed in June, this latest announcement bringing us the trailer and cinema release details.

Set to land on streaming some time in the Autumn, the doc follows a new live album, called Live!, which is out on 28th August.

If you fancy catching Pulp actually live, and not on CD, streaming or vinyl, their next UK dates are at Wythenshawe Park on 28th August — album release day — and as headliners at the End of the Road festival on 5th September.

• The best music documentaries (and where to watch them)

Lily Allen isn’t exactly known for subtlety, as anyone who caught her tour ‘fits will have seen, and her latest album West End Girl was just as much a tell-all as a banging soundtrack to your 2025/6. Now, a new feature length documentary about Lily Allen’s life and career is heading to Prime Video soon.

The film will be a bit of a retrospective that follows the singer’s journey from the early start, becoming dubbed the Queen of MySpace, her subsequent rise to fame, all the way up to her career today.

The documentary is being directed by Mat Whitecross who’s mainly known for The Road to Guantanamo. It will feature interviews with people close to the 41-year old singer and is set to land on our screens in 2027.

She signed with Regal Recordings in 2005 and created an account on MySpace where she posted her demos which attracted thousands of views. She released her debut album, Alright, in 2006 which contained one of her breakout hits Smile, which went onto become a number one. She has more than a few huge hits like Smile, such as Alfie and Not Fair, before she took a break from music turning to acting instead.

Presumably, this stint in London’s West End was the inspiration behind the title for Allen’s latest album when she returned to music last year. Her now infamous album West End Girl told the story of the dissolution of her relationship with Stranger Things actor David Harbour. The pair had originally got married in September after a year of dating. The album detailed the breakdown of their relationship and his alleged infidelity, and was one of the cultural break outs of the year.

Allen is currently touring the album, performing across London and later Europe.

It’s not known if Harbour will feature in the documentary, although previously all he has said on the topic was that the album’s contents “wasn’t my experience” in an interview with Variety.

Hopefully, we'll have more details, including an exact release date soon.

• Bob Dylan goes classy with five night London Royal Festival Hall residency

London is semi famous for the amount of quirky venues it has sequestered under its historic wings. From secret cinemas that transform into wooded wonderlands, to hidden music gigs rocking out on stunning viewpoints, the big city has some pretty impressive artsy spots. One lesser-known addition to the big smoke’s artistic goings-on is Theatreship, a non-profit performing arts space onboard a historic ship in Canary Wharf’s old docks, which hosts free mystery cinema nights.

The space –or should we say boat – hosts a roster of events, from Q&As with directors and writers, to film screenings, and live performances. It’s the world’s largest floating arts centre and it’s actually made from an old cargo ship. Perhaps the best part is the free cinema screenings it hosts every Wednesday. The only catch – or gimmick, depending on your preference – is that you don’t know what you’re seeing, a bit like watching a dirty movie for the first time. And whilst it’s free to attend, you will need to grab a ticket in advance – and as you can imagine they get snapped up pretty quickly.

The free cinema evenings are mystery nights, where the film is only revealed as you’re seated and about to press play. Although if you know your films, you may be able to work it out from the cryptic clues posted on Theatreship’s Instagram during the week. If you guess right, you can get a free round of drinks – although only the first person to guess correctly gets the prize, so you might want to get your guess in pretty sharpish.

As well as the movie nights, there are plenty of live music gigs and art sessions. Recently they’ve hosted a golden hour session of modern trad music, folk nights, modern pop, and even their flagship (literally) Songs on the Water night which is a live folk singalong where everyone is invited to share songs and tunes. There are plenty of talks too, from book launches with local authors, as well as live podcast evenings.

Like any good cinema, it has a well stocked bar with open seating areas on the boat’s deck, so you'll be surrounded by some stunning scenes you as you sip. It also means that if you were perhaps dragged against your will to see some live music which doesn't really float your boat, you can grab some liquid entertainment to keep you company, and make the night slip past quickly. Sort of like the dads-and-a-gift-shop in historical buildings equivalent.

Theatreship isn't the only local artsy berth either; as well as its sister ship Artship (which is currently undergoing restoration), they are moored on the new Arts and Heritage Berth which brings together ships of public or historic interest.

It's a proper community spot, designed for locals to celebrate the wonderful creatives, whilst also giving the creatives a space to showcase their art. It's proof that you don't have to have an expensive annual art pass or drop serious dough on a museum ticket to get a front row seat to cultural events. Sure, it's a small scale operation, but that's the charm of it.

If you want to see what's on each week, head to their Instagram, or you can snap up tickets to their upcoming events here.

You can find Theatreship at Millwall Cutting, London.

• A brand new live music venue is heading to North London

The Donmar Warehouse might not be the first venue you think of when you hear “London Theatre” or "West End shows" – probably because it’s actually just off the city's iconic West End. Nestled in Covent Garden, the 251 seat theatre might be one of the capital’s more boutique venues, but it has just a storied history as the rest of the red-curtained sites. Currently showing a sold-out run of The Guilty starring Russell Tovey, the theatre has just unveiled its 2026 winter programme – and it’s a corker.

First up on the docket is Ilford Boy, Danny Lee Wynter’s semi-autobiographical comedy-drama about coming of age as a mixed race teenager in 90s London. That production will be running from October 10th until November 28th with Sinead Matthews and Ria Zmitrowicz in leading roles, alongside Leo Whitfield-Harris who will be making his (professional) theatrical debut as the protagonist, Ted. This production is the play’s world premiere.

The show with the biggest star power on the lineup is a revival of the legendary Harold Pinter’s play No Man’s Land – not about the London Dating Scene (that would be No Available Men’s Land), but follows the bizarre unsettling antics of Hirst and Spooner, a duo of older men who have a series of strange encounters at Hirst’s luxurious home in North London. This will be the first major London production of the play since Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart did a run at Wyndham’s Theatre in 2016. It's crytpic, it's nuanced, and it's running from February 13th until April 10th (2027), wrapping up the theatre's winter season.

In between both of those shows is a new play by Stuart Slade called The King’s Ransom. Big time director Matthew Dunster is helming this production’s debut and it’s a dramatisation of the shocking events of 1977 when just 13 days after his passing, the police thwarted an attempt by four men to steal Elvis Presley’s body from a mausoleum, and their planned $10 million ransom for its safe return. We don’t have any casting announcements yet, but as the play is running from December 5th until February 6th hopefully we’ll get an update soon.

Matthew Dunster who is directing the whole shindig is known for securing celebrity actors to take leading roles in his shows (he was the man responsible for Lily Allen’s West End Era and look how that turned out), so eyebrows are already twitching over who may be making a cameo in the show. He’s also the man behind 2:22 A Ghost Story which was basically a who’s who of celebrity faces by the end of it, starring Giovanna Fletcher, Laura Whitmore, Sophia Bush, Stacey Dooley, and plenty more famous names. Could he be calling on old colleagues? Potentially... I would definitely pay to see Stacey Dooley playing Elvis Presley. Even if it is a corpse-only role, we could still see a Tony nomination on the horizon.

Tickets for every production in the winter 2026/7 season at The Donmar Warehouse will be heading on sale on 31st July.

• This famed London pizza spot is launching a new tasting menu

If you want to dig into queer cinema, MUBI should already be high on the list of your must-have streaming services. But it’s now out to support queer cinema more explicitly in its new partnership.

MUBI and Gay Times have teamed up to launch a Queer Short Film competition, one that culminates in a London screening event for its three selected winners.

We don’t yet have details on how, or if, you’ll be able to get tickets to the the show, but we do know it’s currently pencilled in for some time between the 13th and 15th November.

Its theme is “Queer Life: The Beauty and the Chaos” and entrants need to be between 10 minutes and 20 minutes long.

“At a time where forces are attempting to dismantle LGBTQIA+ rights and community, this project focuses wholly on showcasing the creativity, beauty and the joy of queer existence. Together, Gay Times and MUBI are creating a platform to encourage and celebrate those telling the stories of our community with honesty, integrity and passion,” says Solomon Thomson, Managing Director at Gay Times.

Mubi's queer collection

Each of the three winners will be given £1,000 in prize money — some of which will likely to go funding their travel to the showcase as MUBI and co. won’t be comp’ing that part.

There’s no word as to whether these shorts will eventually end up on the MUBI platform yet either, but the streamer has plenty for you to try out beforehand.

Within MUBI’s library you’ll find the Pride Unprejudiced collection, which offers a load of slices of LGBTQIA+ cinema, including new films and oldies.

There’s Luca Guadagnino’s Queer from 2024, and classics like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and The Times of Harvey Milk.

Want to dig in? A MUBI subscription costs £11.99 a month, while the £18.99 a month MUBI GO also includes a selected weekly cinema ticket.

To any aspiring filmmakers hoping to enter, the competition closes on 14th August and films made in 2025 or 2026 are eligible.

• The BIG London Cinema List 2026: Film festivals, seasons, Q&As and rep screenings

Boomtown is a bit like a festival equivalent of onomatopoeia, with the whole Hampshire shindig popping off from start to finish with a boom, a bang, and a shedload of great music. Now, Wake the Tiger, the team behind the festival, is heading to London to unveil a new immersive experience in Shepherds Bush.

London is no stranger to an immersive experience, from adaptations of big hitting TV shows like Crystal Maze and Race Across the World to historical exhibitions which transport you back to Viking ages or the reign of Cleopatra. The latest arrival to the big smoke is called Absurd City, and it’s set to be Europe's largest immersive art experience. According to the creators, Absurd City is “a parallel world where the lines between art and storytelling blur”. The experience invites visitors to “travel through the portal, explore a vividly charged cityscape filled with surreal installations, hidden corners, and mind-bending visuals.” As for Absurd City itself? It's a domed metropolis in the parallel world of Meridia, obviously.

A bit like a Punchdrunk production, your journey through Absurd City is a self-guided one, so there’s no one prescribed story or route that you’ll do, meaning everyone could theoretically get a completely different experience. So you could just be strolling through the streets, hunting for secrets, or actively joining a covert resistance group known as The Wunderground and save the city. If the city needs saving that is. Maybe you’re one of the rebels uprising, not the saviour you were told you’d be. Basically, it’s a Black Mirror-esque equivalent of an immersive experience. Or is it…

Other than that, the group are being quite tight lipped on what the site will actually look like, and further details are thin on the ground – although that's not exactly surprising given the experience is all about mind bending realities. It sounds like it's more of a "you had to be there" kind of day out.

The alternate world will be located in Westfield London (Shepherds Bush), so you can easily step from the real to the absurd without having to hop on a long tube to a disused shipyard or other suitably horror-film-esque setting.

As well as general admission, the organisers have both after hours, 18+ only sessions and Calm Sessions, specifically designed with SEND in mind, it allows people to explore the world in a slightly less chaotic and intense manner.

Absurd City takes over the whopping 80,000 square foot space that was formerly the home of KidZania, the interactive children’s play space. The creators have confirmed that there will be four different distinctive ‘districts’ that you’ll be able to explore, packed with secret passageways, statues, artwork, lighting, and plenty of storytelling.

Tickets are already on sale for the experience which opens up on 15th October. Tickets for general admission come with a £31.50 price tag which is about the same as a cheap theatre ticket. You can find out more about the experience and book tickets here.

• The best exhibitions in London this summer: From Escher to Bowie to Marilyn Monroe

If your knowledge of the Titanic is largely limited to lads slipping off wooden planks and Kate Winslet being drawn like a “French girl,” it’s time to check out a new London exhibition.

The real story of the RMS Titanic — the 270m-long supposedly unsinkable cruise liner that absolutely did sink in the North Atlantic Ocean back in 1912 — is told at Olympia London in a show that opens this weekend.

While Hyper Japan takes place over at the main Olympia London space, the Titanic Exhibition takes over Olympia West from 25th July. Sure, it may not be quite as epic an affair as the Titanic Belfast museum, which is a belter, but if you’re looking for something to do this school Summer holiday season without leaving the capital, it should prove a great fit.

The London Titanic exhibition features recreations of the ship’s bridge and epic anchor, as well as recreations of parts of the wreckage.

These bring the kid-friendly flavour to the distinctly smaller-scale “real artefacts” that help to tell the story of the ship with a bit more authenticity, for all the adults in the room.

Expert talks

“Every object has a story to tell, revealing the scale, beauty, ambition and tragedy of Titanic in a way no reconstruction alone ever could,” says the exhibition team.

Its makers claim this is the UK’s “largest Titanic exhibition,” and it’s on tour. Don’t hang about as it’s only on at Olympia London from 25th July to 16th August.

It then relocates to Farnborough, from 23rd October to 21st November, and pops up just a few days later in Edinburgh, from 28th November to 14th February, 2027.

The bad news: our London stint costs a bit more than the other venues. You’ll pay up to £35.83 for adult tickets (15+), £14.75 for kids, while those five and under get in for free.

For something a little more special, you can also book the Titanic London exhibition’s Expert Pass. This costs £63.23 a person, including fees, and grants access to a talk with Dik Barton. He has dived down to the wreckage of the Titanic in person, more than 20 times. He'll chat about what the experience was like, and there's a Q+A section afterwards too.

That tickets nets you the £6.99 guide book, and is available Tuesdays to Sundays, with slots at 10am and 1pm daily.

• The best exhibitions in London this summer: From Escher to Bowie to Marilyn Monroe

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey had a gangbusters first weekend in cinemas, but the director has suggested he’s going to need a break before tackling his next movie project.

And given how Hollywood works, this means his next movie is likely a healthy handful of years away.

Nolan said we should expect “at least” a gap of three years before his next film arrives, in an interview with Today.

The Odyssey is his largest production budget movie to date, at $250 million without marketing spend, before accounting for inflation. And certainly his most “epic” film so far, and not just because it’s based on an actual epic poem.

He's earned a break, not that we're actually persuaded Nolan will actually take much time off.

“I definitely hit the limits of my own stamina and everybody’s stamina,” Nolan said during the interview, talking about the film's production.

Breaking new ground

The Odyssey is the first movie shot entirely on IMAX cameras, and as usual for Nolan it features loads of practical effects rather than immediately taking CGI or — gasp — AI shortcuts. That included filming an actual recreation “viking” ship, the Draken Harald Hårfagre, out on the water.

To give you some idea of the timeline of a big Nolan film, the Odyssey was officially announced in December 2024, began shooting February 2025, and took roughly three months to film across a handful of countries including the US, Iceland, Scotland, Morocco, Greece (obviously) and Italy.

This one absolutely was not just shot in green-screen-ready studio rooms.

The Odyssey made $264 million over its opening weekend, with no extra preview days. That’s Nolan’s biggest earner to date, at least before adjusting for inflation. The Dark Knight Rises made $249 million over its opening weekend, which is around $360 million in today’s money.

We have no particularly strong leads as to what Nolan will take on next, but recent interviews have at least offered some clues.

In the past, the director has expressed some interest in one day making a horror-adjacent movie, helming an instalment of the James Bond series and even making an adaptation of The Prisoner — the 1960s show in which Patrick McGoohan is stalked by a creepy white balloon.

• The best Christopher Nolan movies, ranked: from The Following to The Odyssey

The Bear deserves to be in the conversation as one of the best TV shows of the 21st century - if not all time - alongside The Wire, Fleabag, The Studio and Severance but I think it might also be my favourite show. Which is something else entirely. Christopher Storer’s five-seasons-and-a-movie is funny and stressful and sweet and chaotic. It’s a hang-out show, a foodie show, a competence porn show and a grief show.

Sure, it’s not always perfect: those restaurant industry cameos aren’t always the most natural, hey. But when The Bear slaps, it really slaps. Richie singing along to Taylor Swift in his car in Forks? Carmy melting down cos he’s stuck in the fridge? The “I’m not like this because I’m in Van Halen, I’m in Van Halen because I’m like this.” The beef, the sauce, the snow, THE FAKS. Pure television magic.

Beyond the iconic shouty scenes and the calming kitchen montages, the show’s whole project of taking a group of pretty normal, working-class people and seeing what they’re capable of, with the right care, attention, time, money and ambition, is also just really fucking moving, too. Look at where Sydney, Tina, Marcus, Sweeps, Ebra, Richie - even Neil! my heart - start in the first episode and where they end up. (I think Richie’s S1-2 is possibly my fave character arc of all time, kudos to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for his magnificent performance).

Storer’s genius, bringing us back to that walk-in fridge, is to set all this in contrast to both Mikey, who gave most of them work in the first place, and his brother Carmy, the character who sees all their potential but has an intensely love-hate relationship with being a chef himself. The post that’s doing the rounds on social media of the first and last stills of Carmen Berzatto’s face in the series says it all.

The Bear is also the thing that made me start to think I’d been wrong about food. I’ve always had quite a lot of fun declaring to friends with better (culinary) taste than me that food can’t be art. It’s too practical and functional for starters: like Brian Eno says, a knife handle can be art but not the blade itself. You. Eat. It. Without it, we starve etc. And the people who pay silly money to eat in tyre-starred restaurants are just elitist wankers. Food isn’t democratic enough to be a true, universal artform. Poor people can’t access the best stuff at cheapo-cheapo prices, unlike books, cinema, music, theatre. OK, a Van Gogh might cost millions but you can probably go see it for free in a public museum. So food might be pretty, it might taste new and innovative and it might be pretentious but it simply does not equal art.

Then I watched The Bear. I watched the Berzattos, and the people they gathered around them, make food for each other “family style” before each shift in the restaurant. I watched Carmy and Syd make the same dishes over and over, illustrating them, tweaking them, tasting them, perfecting them, teaching them. I watched Tina and Marcus get schooled in fancy cooking and pastry techniques; Sweeps developing his sommelier tastebuds and “cousin” Richie mastering the delicate arts of conversation, ambience and front-of-house hospitality with his surprise-and-delight specials.

Most of all, these characters - who made me laugh a lot and I wanted to hang out with - were expressing themselves, their ideas, family histories, relationships through the dishes they were dreaming up and then making real. Sydney’s Coca Cola-braised short ribs, Marcus’ box of mints, Carmy’s seven fishes.

For sure, part of it was the novelty of watching these processes: I’ve never really watched Masterchef, Bake Off or any cooking shows unless someone else has it on and so, I’ve lost the TV battle. Another element is that The Bear’s packaging around these ‘food stories’ is much more my thing - rather than awkward conversations, regional British accents and pat sob stories, The Bear offered up rapid-fire screwball scripts, an immaculate soundtrack, editing that swings and subtle blink and you miss them call-backs which reward conscientious viewers like me. It’s all my jam.

The Bear hasn’t turned me into a chef-in-training or anything. And I’m still very much a future candidate for a robot cook. And yet, something shifted. A few years ago, I got intrigued by the whole endeavour. I started cooking by myself, for myself (with some Hello Fresh help) and actually enjoying it for the first time in my life. Essentially, kinda like how standing in front of Rothko’s Yellow Square, tipsy, at the Royal Academy one night unlocked the abstract expressionists for me, The Bear unlocked food for me, after decades of not getting it.

Two other things increased my food-is-art suspicion around the same time: Roadrunner, the 2022 Netflix doc about Anthony Bourdain which is genuinely inspiring, despite how it all ends and Tran Anh Hung’s beautiful 2023 film The Taste of Things, which shifted my perspective on the thorny ‘women doing the cooking’ feminist quagmire of it all. The film made me want to try out some of the course-making. The doc just made it all look quite rock ‘n’ roll, creative and world-expanding. Of course, I’m sure Pixar’s seminal 2007 masterpiece Ratatouille laid some of the structural framework for all of this deep contemplation in my mind.

Just to be clear - and very much SPOILER ALERTS from now on - Sugar and Richie have a chat late on in Season 5 about how $190 feels like a special occasion dinner but $200 is pushing it too far. So I could very much not afford to go to the fictional Chicago restaurant The Bear (unless I’m not paying). And when someone is sitting in the other room getting hungry, cooking still very much feels like a chore to be completed before steam starts coming out the top of my head like a Looney Tune, rather than an act of expression. But this TV show about small, ordinary transformations also had a small, ordinary transforming effect on me and a pretty unexpected one.

All of which is to say, to honour the show’s finale (which phew, sticks the landing with some characteristically lovely moments) I made six of The Bear’s signature dishes. Bear in mind, I’m much better at writing than cooking. Every second counts.

Sydney’s French Omelette for Sugar

OK in season 2, episode 9, Natalie ‘Sugar’ Berzatto is knackered and pregnant and bumps into Sydney. Syd’s like “let me make you something” and what she makes is this awesome french omelette with yummy Boursin inside. The omelette gets to the heart of literally nourishing someone you care about with food you’ve prepared. So simple and sweet. Again, something I used to think of as maybe slightly retrograde and to be avoided getting sucked into if you’re a good feminist who doesn’t want to get stuck in the kitchen.

Syd’s omelette is a perfect little ‘elevated’ dish, you know, that feels achievable but also on rewatch of the ep, there’s bougie but fun details like Sydney carefully rubbing butter along the top of her slim, folded up omelette, before finishing it off with chopped-up chives and broken-up sour and onion crisps sprinkled over the plate.

Even I couldn’t fuck this one up. My sister did say my first attempt was perhaps a little pale but definitely cooked enough to still be tasty. I followed this recipe - there are tons of people’s versions and tweaks of The Bear recipes online by now.

Confession: I did have to go with Pringles as the Big Sains didn’t have any other sour cream and onion-flavoured crisps but you know what, they worked. I stuck plenty of Boursin in there. And I used two eggs rather than three, just personal preference. Sydney’s French Omelette is quick, light, delicious and feels a bit special. Low effort, high reward.

The Original Beef of Chicagoland Sandwich

Hoo boy, this was a bit of a production but worth it and I couldn’t not do the OG braised-beef sandwich.

First of all, it’s a ‘cook the night before and then fridge it overnight’ situation, a fact which reminded me that I should always read through the whole recipe - in this case the LA Times version - at the start rather than randomly guessing how long things take…. Soooooahh, second, I’m not spending £12 on beef sirloin and risking drama and disaster so I enlisted my sister again to take care of flipping the beef in the pan. While she did that, I added all the herbs and spices and whatnot - oregano, dried basil, chilli flakes, paprika etc - into the sauce/jus/broth.

This and the chicken piccata felt the most like quote-unquote cooking of the whole lot, for the sheer amount of jars I had going, plus some shallot (a swap-in for onion), garlic and beef stock. Then our beef went in the oven for an hour, cooled down on the side before it was time to go in the fridge overnight.

I had a train to catch the next day so I had real Berzatto bro energy as I sliced the hunk o’ beef into thin strips and put the whole thing back in a pan on the hob again for ten minutes. Baguette, beef in, spoon over the sauce, my take on giardinieri on top, wrap it up and boom - an elite train sandwich. Plenty left for the rest of the fam who said that it was good, “like really good”. Could I be living my life like this all the time?

Mikey’s Family Spaghetti (Carmy’s Version)

So Mikey’s spaghetti sauce famously only has four ingredients: basil, tomatoes, oil and 10 cloves of garlic. San Marzano tomatoes and the small cans taste better, specifically. Like if you finally open up the cans, as Carmy does at the end of Season 1, you might find Mikey’s secret restaurant-saving cash stash. So I was pretty stoked when we found small tins of San Marzano tomatoes at the supermarket; suddenly it wasn’t an intimidating suburban soul-drain but a magical place full of treasures. Result!

Then I remembered Carmy’s version of his brother’s recipe, which adds butter and onion and I danced back and forth between the two - even after I started! - about which version to do. (My allegiance to this fictional family needs to be studied.) I went with Carmy’s in the end because I was cooking for others. Turns out that after you halve the onion, fry them, then leave them in the tomato sauce while it simmers for 20 minutes - you Take Them Out before you serve. Thank you for your service, onions. Italian cooking!

The ‘fancy’ bit of this recipe involved pureeing the basil (pre-soaked in olive oil, so chic) and smashed garlic with a handheld food processor - mine still looked quite bitty so I strained it too - then adding this oil to the tomato sauce midway through the simmer sesh. While I was perfecting my sauce, because with quick-cook spaghetti what else was I gonna do, I took what I reckon is my most Bear-coded pic, of the San Marzanos bubbling away in the pan with big dollops all around on the hob. You can feel the heat coming off it, right. My chef’s whites ( a t-shirt) was also pretty destroyed.

Less chic and more basic: the sauce was tasting a little acidic so instead of baking soda, I did add some sugar at the end: listen, I had dinner guests. Tastefully sized portions and a few basil leaves to garnish: another quick-ish success. Oh and bonus, I accidentally made enough for like a week.

Carmy’s Chicken Picatta Masterclass

Another classic Season 1 callback, Carmy teaches The Beef’s staff how to make a perfect Italian lemon chicken picatta pretty early on. A couple of things: carefully slicing chicken breasts in half horizontally (rather than, say, dicing them) and then bashing them flat felt super cheffy, similar to rubbing the salt and pepper on the beef for the sandwich. I’m not a huge meat-eater, particularly at home, so that was interesting to discover. And, obviously, it means they fry way quicker.

For the sauce, it was lemons, capers, shallots, chicken stock, grapeseed oil, white wine, butter and garlic - I followed this recipe - and to finish, parsley sprinkled on top. For my first batch of parsley, I did chop before I took the stalks off because this instruction was not in the recipe - fail. I also made my Mum hyperventilate with laughter over a misunderstanding about how many stock pots I needed.

Otherwise, it all went without a hitch, if it took ages as all my cooking does, but when I plated the picatta up with some new potatoes and greens and took my first bite of chicken: all I could taste was lemon. I’d completely forgotten to taste-test it towards the end, horror-show. All was not lost though, it was a little on the lemony side overall but you could still taste all the other flavours and it got thumbs ups around the table. With both this lemon chicken piccata and the simple-ish spag, I could see myself trying out new versions of these too. (Food is art/ is food art?) Lessons, lessons everywhere.

The Haribo-Style Plum Gelée

One example of Carmy’s NYC kitchen lore that he shares with dessert chef Marcus is the plum gelée that took a year to perfect, requires veal fat to get the Haribo-style consistency right and takes twelve people to prep. I’d not made jelly since I was a kid so I thought I’d try a simplified version with, for instance, no Japanese plum wine and unsalted butter in place of the veal fat.

So, I’m not sure what I made could be classed as jelly, let alone a gelée. It was a sort of slightly chewy, half-frozen plum thing. The instructions said to strain the plum mixture and leave the mushy remains behind but if I’d have done that, I wouldn’t have had much left at all… ohhh, right, yeah tiny restaurant portions. I guess that was my main mistake.

My jelly wobbled a little when… how should I put this, forced to… but overall, yeah, too dense a texture for the brief. My thinly sliced plums on the side looked pretty, though, and while the flavour was quite intense, it wasn’t bad exactly. And I did buy some jelly pots as a back-up. Which is good because this one will mostly be going in the food bin, I think. The biggest fail in terms of taste, though not on presentation...

The Frozen Chocolate Banana for Uncle Jimmy

At the end of Season 2 when The Bear opens for friends and family, we get one of my all-time Bear moments: Richie presenting Uncle Jimmy, who stumped up half a million dollars to help the restaurant get off the ground, with a frozen chocolate banana, wrapped in plastic and finished with a bow. It’s a sweet callback to the most stressful TV episode of all time, S2 ep 7 ‘Fishes’, set years earlier, when a younger Jimmy mentions to a younger Richie at the Berzatto’s house how his dad used to take him to a chocolate-covered frozen banana stand when he was a kid.

There’s no getting round this: my two attempts both kinda looked like poop-on-sticks. The first try, with melted dark chocolate chips, an improvised metal skewer and a not-quite-frozen-enough banana, was a total clusterfuck. Choc dripping everywhere, the banana almost splitting in two over the bowl as I dipped and dripped.

Before the second go, I went out, bought and ate a Twister for the lolly stick, made sure the banana was 100% frozen enough, bought some more chocolate (Dairy Milk) and it was... pretty similar to the first attempt, if maybe a teensy bit neater. The chocolate just sets so, so quickly, another near-impossible art for me to practice. I think perhaps having a lot more chocolate might help too. We did find a bow for it. So there’s that.

There are a few of these moments throughout the show where the staff get to serve their family and friends: Carmy pouring broth over frozen grapes for Claire or Sydney explaining to two diners that the Coca-Cola ribs were something her mum used to make. Or Marcus’ final touch: cutting the candle on the table in half as it’s hiding the caramel sauce for his banana ice-cream sundae (with brioche crumbs!) But Jimmy’s reaction to the chocolate banana is my favourite and sums up The Bear in one simple scene: everyone’s allowed to get emotional about all kinds of family when they step into this restaurant, even curmudgeonly old uncs.

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Chris Nolan's latest epic is here. The much anticipated, highly-hyped, press-tour-gold The Odyssey hit UK cinemas on 17th July. Despite many English Literature professors, Classics scholars, and film critics all ready to dip their pens in vitriol, the film has already scooped up some pretty favourable reviews. From the acting chops to the direction and cinematography, viewers are happily being transported back to ancient Greece, all without having to leave central London.

Pre Oppenheimer in 2023 and the fabulous Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan made his mark with the time-twisting, mind-bending trio of Following, Memento and The Prestige, and to date has made 13 feature films.

Post Batman, Nolan raised the intellectual bar for the big money summer blockbuster. Inception and Interstellar combined big ideas with amazing action set-pieces, groundbreaking cinematography and impactful performances from some of Hollywood’s finest. Oppenheimer had one of the most legendary runs in box office history – part in thanks to its pink-powered competing counterpart (Barbie). Now The Odyssey is looking to surpass it.

Perhaps the last true auteur in the mold of Scorsese and Lynch, Nolan also wins points among purists for continuing to shoot on film. His 70mm IMAX screenings of films like 2017’s Dunkirk and his latest epic are a zenith of the modern cinemagoing experience. Plus, there's been a whole lot of Hans Zimmer music, large dollops of Michael Caine, and recurring starry leads – what’s not to love?

From his big hitting blockbusters to his lesser remember time-twisters, this is our definitive ranking of the best Nolan films so far. Where will The Odyssey sit among them?

1. The Dark Knight

Perhaps Nolan’s crowning achievement, The Dark Knight transcended the silver screen to become a lasting cultural phenomenon. Noted for its pulse-raising action set-pieces and bleak vertigo-inducing depiction of Gotham (the IMAX version? Wow!), the true highlight is the depth of its performances. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart. However, Heath Ledger’s Joker is in an unsurpassed league of his own. Joaquin Phoenix recently admitted he’s simply “standing on the shoulders” of his favourite actor.

Stream now on NOW TV

2. Inception

Many viewers were lost in the mind-bending dream world concocted by Nolan, but those who persevered (and paid attention) through multiple levels of non-reality were rewarded handsomely as the puzzle unraveled. Some found this complex sci-fi thriller a little masturbatory, but it remains visually spectacular with depth of concept few directors could fathom.

3. The Prestige

The Prestige is a truly magical piece of filmmaking, in more ways than one. Nolan is masterful in telling the story of two warring illusionists desperate to outdo the other with ever more daring tricks. A stylish tale of heartbreak, obsession, love, envy and genius, with brilliant turns from Christian Bale and especially Hugh Jackman. David Bowie as an oddball Nikola Tesla was some seriously inspired casting too.

Stream now on NOW TV

4. Memento

The film that cemented Nolan’s reputation as the smartest writer/director in cinema. Memento threw mainstream chronology out of the window in portraying a grieving amnesiac attempting to piece together the events surrounding his wife’s death. Unable to form new memories, Guy Pearce’s Leonard Shelby stores information through a collection of polaroid photos and body art. We spend the film solving the case with him, right up to that gut-wrenching plot twist, when we realise Leonard has been quite the unreliable narrator.

5. Interstellar

Another sci-fi thriller that keeps us guessing until the tear-jerking climax. Written by his brother Jonathan, Nolan’s Interstellar offers a bleak glimpse into humanity’s likely future. Crops are falling to disease and a smothered atmosphere leaves post-truth humanity on the brink of extinction. While a crew of astronauts venture through a worm hole in search of a new home, one of Earth’s smartest minds is trying to solve the biggest obstacle to a mass human exodus: gravity.

6. Batman Begins

One of the best origin stories ever committed to film (nothing tops The Godfather Pt. II), and the most well-rounded and substantial of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Begins raised the bar for what a Superhero movie could be, before the MCU was a twinkle in Kevin Feige’s eye. In the opening installment Christian Bale gave us our most introspective look at Bruce Wayne, the man behind the manor, quickly establishing him as the definitive Caped Crusader.

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7. The Dark Knight Rises

The third and concluding chapter of any trilogy is historically the most difficult, as Nolan found in The Dark Knight Rises. The incredible action, special effects and high stakes arguably surpass its predecessor, but it feels forced and meandering compared to The Dark Knight. Tom Hardy’s Bane is a conceptually fine villain, but doesn’t match up to Ledger’s Joker as an adversary. The funny voice didn’t help either. Still, Anne Hathaway returned credibility to Catwoman after the Halle Berry debacle, and Michael Caine gave the Alfred role a suitably conscionable send-off.

8. Dunkirk

Dunkirk was a highly ambitious project given the gravity of the subject matter and its reverence within public consciousness. Nolan handles it with artful grace. An often-uncomfortable watch, the director does an incredible job depicting the desperation of the allied soldiers’ plight without ever resorting to the gore and violence we’ve come to expect from WWII films. The rich visuals make Dunkirk perhaps the best proponent of Nolan’s insistence on shooting on real film. A true epic without Nolan’s epic run time (just 106 mins) for once.

9. Insomnia

Probably the least ‘Nolan’ of all of the great director’s movies, partly because it’s a) a pretty conventional serial killer flick, b) a remake, and c) Nolan’s first picture made under a studio. Perhaps most remembered for Robin Williams’ descent into darkness and that rarest of beasts, an excellent 21st century performance from Al Pacino as the sleep-deprived big city detective clinging onto his sanity.

10. Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan's first attempt at a biopic does not disappoint. This 3-hour epic tells the story of the creation of the atomic bomb through the lens of the life of J Robert Oppenheimer. It's a fascinating, and sometimes grim, watch with plenty of the bold directorial choices for which Nolan is known. It jumps between timelines but, don't worry Tenet haters, you shouldn't have too much trouble weaving sense out of them. Equal parts thrilling and depressing, it's a compelling way to spend three hours.

11. Tenet

Chris Nolan's obsession with time continues with Tenet. Where he used different timelines in Dunkirk, touched upon backwards timelines in Memento and completely warped the notion of time in Inception, Tenet takes this even further (or should that be closer?) with its spy-focused tale about the prevention of World War III. It's a movie that begs to be unpicked, and you'll need a physics degree to do it. But that doesn't mean it's not a thrill ride: it is. It's also too clever for its own good but we admire what it's attempting to do.

12. Following

Nolan’s directorial debut is a whip-smart neo-noir thriller set in his hometown of London. The low-budget black and white flick tells the story of a struggling writer who follows random people for inspiration. Things take a turn when the young man breaks his own rule by following the same person twice. While stylistically and thematically faithful to the noir genre, it also introduces us to Nolan’s signature penchant for timeline-jumping and twists within twists. Incredibly, this treasure of independent British cinema was made for just $6,000.

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Sometimes, the glitzy world of film stars feels millions of miles away, other times they’re a hop skip and a jump down the road starring in a phenomenal West End play. From Chris Pine to Richard E Grant, London’s many theatres, festivals, and spoken word ceremonies are littered with fabulous actors. Two TV titans are the latest to tread some of London’s historic boards, as Lesley Manville and Anna Maxwell Martin head to Shaftesbury Avenue.

The pair are set to star in Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize winning play August: Osage County when it opens in the West End next year.

You may recognise the name of the play which was also adapted into a hit film in 2013 starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. It’s regarded as one of the most defining American plays of the 21st century, and follows the dysfunctional Weston family as they reunite at their Oklahoma home for a funeral.

It’s been around 20 years since the show was last performed in the West End, having been run at National Theatre as well as on Broadway. The latest production, directed by Jeremy Herrin will open at the Noel Coward Theatre in January 2027.

It’s a pretty weighty lineup in terms of acting prowess, with The Crown star Manville taking on the role of the family’s matriarch Violet Weston. Manville recently scooped up a Tony award for her role as Jocasta in the London iteration of Robert Icke’s Oedipus which transferred to London from its Broadway run. Meanwhile, Maxwell will be taking on the role of Barbara Fordham.

Manville said she was “ delighted” to be taking on August: Osage County, adding that the play is “an epic piece of American literature” and praised the “truly great” Tracy Letts.

Director Jeremy Herrin also praised the play, describing it as “a darkly funny and gripping family drama that transcends its form.” He added that “as a brilliant actor himself and long-standing member of Steppenwolf, Tracy knows how to write for actors.” Herrin admitted he’s a longtime fan of Maxwell Martin “whose work [he’s] long admired” and was “thrilled to reunite with Lesley Manville”, saying that he “couldn’t wait to see [the two] square up” against one another.

The play itself received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and Letts later penned its big screen adaptation. The show was nominated for a whopping seven Tony Awards, winning six of those, including the coveted 'best play' category.

August: Osage County will run at the Noel Coward Theatre from January 18 2027 to April 10 2027, with tickets on sale at 12pm on 17th July.

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The Bear has been one of the biggest cult TV shows of recent years, leading to an epidemic of people squeezing past one another in kitchens, on buses, and in workplaces yelling “behind!” and “corner!” and hoping the recipient gets the reference.

After breaking our hearts, making us hungry, and leaving us open-mouthed at the incredible cameos (whoever booked Will Poulter and Olivia Coleman, give them a raise), season five wrapped, leaving our Apple Watches telling us to stop stressing out, and a hole in our TV hearts.

Whilst there's not going to be another season of the hit show (sob), series five ended on as close to a high as the stress-inducing smash hit allows, bringing all the heart and hope its served up over the last half decade.

Want one final taste? As the show wrapped, we caught up with star Edwin Lee Gibson, who plays the quiet, thoughtful Ebraheim, who chatted to us about the emotion and expectation behind the final season, as well as his expert cheffing credentials IRL.

Shortlist: Hello from London

Edwin Lee Gibson: One of my favourite cities, London.

SL: Really?

ELG: Oh yeah, I was scheduled to come back there for the season five screenings but things changed.

SL: Where are some of your favourite places to go in town?

ELG: Everywhere! I mean, I usually stay in Waterloo as I’ve worked with The National [Theatre] so I can go right into The Cut which I love. Eat, drink, be merry, I'd say.

SL: Very Shakespearean

ELG: But I also like over in Borough, just down from Longstreet, going to the market. I spent a lot of time there. But also Brixton, I love Brixton – such a great market and culture. And I love East London as well, so, the whole city, I love its energy.

SL: You've picked a lot of the foodie spots as well, like Brixton Market and Borough Market, which feels very on brand with The Bear.

ELG: Piccadilly Circus has a great area over there too, where I go and smoke cigars, right off St. James. I love the entire entire place.

SL: Talking about The Bear, congratulations on season five — I think everyone was equally heartbroken that it's come to an end. When you've worked behind the scenes on a show, we imagine it affects the way you then see the final finished episodes. Do you have a similar feeling now with food at restaurants you visit, what with your experience in the kitchen of The Bear?

ELG: I have even more appreciation. For what's done and the time it takes for it to be done. I was always really good about that anyway, but I've become even better. It's got to be something hugely egregious, [for me to complain] but I understand things happen, so I think doing the show has made me even more appreciative of the restaurant industry, especially why things close, what it takes to get them open... Personnel, all those things.

SL: One of the reasons we love the show so much is that the ensemble is so well realised. Everyone has such a great storyline, each character has their own established arc, their own backstory, which is really interestingly explored. And there's no bad character. So I was wondering, if you had to swap characters with someone else, even if it was just for a scene, who else would you like to play?

ELG: I think I'd like to play... Carmy. And I say that because I came up with this thing that I noticed early on, which was that as anagrams go, Carmy – Bear – and Ebra [my character's nickname] are an anagram of each other. I discovered that at the end of season one, and so I was just like, "this is this cool". But I'd also like to play Richie, I think Ebon [Moss-Bachrach] is having a little bit too much fun.

SL: The Bear historically has had such good cameos. You've had Will Poulter, you've had Olivia Coleman. I mean, British audiences are screaming with jealousy, watching these people walk on. Do you have a dream person that you would have loved to have seen make a cameo in it? Is there someone you fangirl over who could have made a feature?

ELG: Well, I was hoping Olivia would come back, she and I had a great chat. She didn't recognise me because I look very different when I'm not Ebraheim. And so what she did, she went like, "Oh really love you." Oh, and I was like, "Well, no, I really love you." Broadchurch and everything else. Big fan.

I would really like Wumni Mosaku, she and I know each other a bit and I think, if Ebraheim had a daughter I want it to be her.

SL: Fans were treated to the surprise flashback episode "Gary" in between season four and five. But if you could get a surprise extra episode from another TV show, what would you love to see?

ELG: I'd like to get a flashback episode of Top Boy where Shane and Sully don't die. I would like that because I really think there's some redemption that those characters go through, that I think that they should be allowed. I would never get tired of Line of Duty, – if you can tell, I'm a big UK TV fan.

SL: Broadchurch too!

ELG: Love Broadchurch!

SL: You can never have too much!

EGL: Agreed!

You can watch all episodes of The Bear seasons 1-5 on Disney+

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There’s a communal hype that sweeps the world when a big event happens. No, we’re not just talking about the World Cup (it’s a bit of a sore subject) but Batman. The good news is that we’ve finally had an update for one of the most anticipated sequels, the bad is that it might take a little longer than thought.

After what feels like roughly 104 years, we’ve finally got a first proper glimpse at The Batman Part II, courtesy of Matt Reeves, the show’s writer-director who posted a snapshot of a camera test on Vimeo. The clip, although very brief, has already sent fans into a sleuthing frenzy – and by fans, we mean us… Here are six things we spotted.

1. It’s delayed… again

Not a ground breaking observation by any means, but one worth noting The updated release date was unveiled at the end of the footage with February 18th 2028 becoming the new theatrical release date. It’s not exactly a surprise for fans either as the film has already been subjected to severe delays (not to sound like the Northern Line). The Batman (the film’s predecessor) came out in 2022, with the next installment originally planned for October 2026. Then 2027. Now, it's 2028. Hopefully it will be the last one.

2. It’s staying as a standalone franchise

The delays got so bad that at one point there were rumours that Warner Bros. intended to merge Reeve’s Batman-verse with the DC Universe and make Pattinson the only big-screen Caped Crusader rather than having two competing versions. However, the new release date – although an age away – proves that for now, the R-Paz/Reeves Batman-verse is staying as its established stand-alone.

3. The cinematographer may have changed, but the cinematography style hasn’t

Erik Messerschmidt is shooting the movie, having replaced Greig Fraser as the film’s cinematographer. Fraser was a key player in the construction of the gritty, noir styling of The Batman, which in turn was a crucial part of its success. His camera shots and lighting gave the film its darkly stylistic aesthetic, reminiscent of David Fincher. Luckily, the camera test, although brief, shows that the sequel will retain the original’s style and iconography.

4. It’s taking place in winter

Whilst you may associate Batman with Halloween – probably because The Batman (2022) began on Halloween, this sequel is firmly taking place in winter. Speaking of the retained iconography, the mini clip shows snow falling around the dark night sky, lit up by sirens as Batman / RPaz turns slowly around to face the camera.

A snow laden Gotham has the potential to be pretty visually stunning, thanks to the contrast with the dark cinematography and Batman’s signature gothy-emo threads. It will be interesting to see if Reeves takes any inspo from Tim Burton’s Batman Returns which was set during Christmas.

5. Batman could be changing

The brief footage, shared by Reeves on social media, shows Pattinson standing in the rain wearing Batman’s updated suit before turning towards the camera. But, as a fan pointed out, the cowl appeared to have noticeably longer ears than those seen in the first film, which Reeves responded to on X, writing: “You are not crazy.” Does this mean Batman could be undergoing some kind of metamorphosis? Perhaps.

6. We *could* be getting some cameos

We don’t actually know too much about the plot yet, and it's not like the teaser clip was as transparent about returning characters as Avengers: Doomsday was. But, there have already been rumours that we might get a little cameo or tease from the Penguin spin off series, with The Court of Owls (a mysterious organisation within the DC comics) featuring. The potential inclusion of DC characters like Two-Face/ Harvey Dent suggests we could be getting another story about the twisted and corrupt history of Gotham.

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Last week, I made my West End debut at the London Palladium. Well, kind of. I was on stage in a scaffold cage with around 74 other members of the audience of Jesus Christ Superstar watching Sam Ryder making his West End debut as Jesus.

Many Londoners know Sam Ryder as 'that long-haired guy in the spangly suit who almost won us Eurovision'. Now, the Brit-nominated singer-songwriter is hitting the headlines in the lead role of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera, which tells the story of the last days of Jesus’ life through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.

It’s been highly anticipated. After performing the show’s iconic song Gethsemane on the BBC’s Big Night of Musicals, Ryder 'broke the internet' (not in a Kimmy K kinda way, I should add). So many people flocked to grab a ticket that the booking site crashed momentarily.

There’s also been a buzz about the show’s immersive on-stage standing tickets and lots of people have been wondering what it’s like to see the show from behind the cast. I got my hot little hands on a pair to find out.

Joining the mob — and leaving time behind

Firstly, the logistics. Because I would be onstage, I got an email beforehand with key information: wear dark clothing without large logos, don’t bring big bags (you can’t take anything with you onto the stage) and arrive in plenty of time (an hour before the show starts and no later than 40 minutes before – if you’re not there on time, you’ll have to miss the first half as they won’t let you in until the interval). Thankfully, I’m an early bird by nature and there was no chance I’d miss the first half.

I had to join a separate queue specifically for those with onstage standing tickets. It was clearly signed but the snake of all-black outfits was an immediate clue. Once the doors opened, we shuffled through the security process: being scanned with metal detector wands, adorned with scarlet wristbands and locking phones and smartwatches into Yondr pouches that we couldn’t open until after the show.

After all this, the staff asked us to be back by the doors by 7pm to be let onstage and there was some consternation as we realised we had no way of telling time. Apart from two of the 75 onstage audience members with analogue watches, we had all just sealed our only time-telling devices securely into the locked phone pouch.

The guidance to dress in dark, plain clothes is taken seriously – one lady was asked to remove her striking necklace of large, colourful stars in case it glinted in the stage lights and distracted the seated audience. After more security checks, we were each given a bottle of water and escorted past several props – including the iconic crown of thorns – to our place under the scaffolding.

No singing, no touching

A member of the crew – who stayed with us throughout the show – briefed us on how to behave and reminded us not to sing along. Most importantly, we were not to touch any of the cast. This stern warning sounded slightly silly until the show erupted around us and Sam Ryder was standing so close that I could make out the lace front of his wig (although his own natural hair is pretty perfect for the role of Jesus, this made sense when I saw the amount of blood and glitter plastered to his luscious locks in the second half).

Had I reached out (I didn’t, promise) I would have easily been close enough to touch him, and some of the ensemble even knocked into us at times as they clambered through our enclosure to their position onstage.

Being onstage was an assault on the senses. With the orchestra sitting directly above our heads and the cast swirling on all sides, I didn’t know where to look. As well as the action exploding all around, we caught other moments like Ryder whispering with the stage manager just offstage or the superfan in the pink shirt in the second row who sang along to every single word.

At the interval, we had to leave the stage and had just 10 minutes to get to the loo (or bar) and back to start our security checks again. One lady had clearly missed the memo that drinks from the bar aren’t allowed onstage and had to chug two glasses of wine at the door. As we trailed back in like kids on a school trip, we glimpsed the cast preparing for the Last Supper scene that opens the second half.

The highlight of the show was the monumental Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) in which Jesus asks God what is the point of his sacrifice. Even though I could only see the back of Ryder’s head while he nailed every note, it gave me chills. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a standing ovation happen part-way through a show and I was only disappointed I couldn’t be part of it, given that I was already on my feet.

Worthy of a second coming

I wanted to ask Ryder what it was like taking on this epic role with such demanding vocals. I figured our instructions not to touch the cast also extended to not subjecting the cast to spontaneous onstage interviews so I loitered around the stage door afterwards to try to nab a word. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one. The street was choked with fans hoping for a signature or a selfie and I realised I’d been far closer to the star onstage all evening than I had any chance of getting at the stage door.

My attempts to ask Ryder few questions via his PR team were also foiled (he’s a very busy man these days!) but he shared a few thoughts on Instagram about how grateful he is to be part of the production – a journey which started in the studio with Lloyd Webber in 2023 when Ryder pushed his luck by asking if they could perform Gethsemane together. “He said yes and proceeded to play it up a tone from the original key (imagine the fear) but I guess that was my audition,” he writes.

His joy at being part of such a prestigious production is palpable during the (second) standing ovation as the show closes. “I think I’ve been searching for the last six years for the feeling that I got when I sang Gethsemane for the first time,” he says in one Instagram video. “I guess I am trying to follow the breadcrumbs as to where I can make that happen more.”

Although I can't really count treading the boards at the Palladium as my West End debut, 15 of the cast can. “There’s something absolutely beautiful about a show that celebrates a legendary piece of theatre with 56 years of history and heritage while simultaneously welcoming so many new voices onto such a prestigious stage for the very first time,” Ryder writes.

By the time we were led back out to the foyer and unlocked our phone pouches, I had decided that I only want to see musicals from onstage from now on. But when Johan Persson’s incredible press photos came out, they were so spectacular that I felt a bit sad that I hadn't been in the audience to see the extravaganza from the front. The only solution, I suppose, is that I’ll have to go back.

Sam Ryder is starring as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at The London Palladium until Saturday 5 September 2026, and at Theatre Royal Drury Lane from Friday 16 October 2026 to Saturday 9 January 2027. The show goes on its UK tour from 11 February to 23 October 2027. Tickets are available via london.jesuschristsuperstar.com and uktour.jesuschristsuperstar.com.

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Christopher Nolan’s latest opus arrives in cinemas on 17th July, and this time he’s looking to ancient myth for inspiration.

The director of Inception and Interstellar has never wanted for ambition, but with The Odyssey he really is reaching for the stars. Not only does the movie adapt a foundational text in modern literature – and indeed culture – but it also represents one of the most technically ambitious productions ever.

Nolan has used his biggest budget yet (a cool $250 million) to shoot entirely using the 70mm IMAX format – the first film ever to do so.

Throw in the director’s insistence on shooting on location and with practical effects, not to mention a ridiculously extensive cast (Matt Damon, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland among them), and The Odyssey is shaping up to be one of the biggest movies of its generation.

The closely related worlds of cinema and TV have long used Greek mythology for inspiration, of course, whether though broadly faithful adaptations or playful riffs on deeply embedded texts.

Here, then, are some of our favourite Greek mythology movie and TV adaptations.

1. Troy (2004)

Christopher Nolan himself was initially hired to direct this 2004 adaptation of Homer’s The Iliad – the events of which lead directly into those of The Odyssey. Don’t call it a prequel. The studio ultimately opted to award the project to Wolfgang Petersen, leaving Nolan with a lingering sense of unfinished business that would ultimately lead to his latest project.

In the event, Troy itself is far from a perfect film, but it’s an undoubted thrill to watch a prime Brad Pitt’s pouty warrior Achilles going up against Eric Bana’s stout-hearted Prince Hector – with Brian Cox’s hammily haughty Agamemnon raging on the sidelines.

2. Kaos (2024)

Kaos is another to add to the list of promising Netflix shows cruelly cut off ahead of their time. The fact that it didn’t receive a second season shouldn’t put you off watching this bracingly fresh take on Greek mythology, however.

The concept is simple: what if the Greek pantheon was real and ruling over modern society? These gods and goddesses are precisely as capricious and avaricious as the Hellenic forms we’re all familiar with, memorably led by Jeff Goldblum’s Zeus – part needy gazillionaire tycoon, part ruthless dictator.

3. Hercules (1997)

We’d venture that no mythological Greek character has been placed onto the big or small screen as often as Heracles. The prototypical superhero went by the Roman version of his name in this 1997 Disney animation, and that was far from the only liberty that they took with the source material.

Still, this snappily paced adventure has come to be regarded as something of an overlooked gem in Disney’s stellar ‘90s catalogue, thanks to its impressive animation, snappy humour, and memorable villain (Hades, voiced by James Woods). If nothing else, this is the only list entry you’d show to a young child.

4. Blood of Zeus (2020–2025)

This blood-soaked animated Netflix series positions itself as a lost tale from Greek mythology. It’s an original creation, of course, but it uses the Gigantomachy – the fight between the gods and giants of Greek mythology – as its backdrop, and has a clear love for the source material.

Lead character Heron is another of Zeus’s half-human sons, pressed into service to fend off a demon army. There are three seasons of this beautifully animated show to sink your teeth into, which is good going for a modern Netflix show.

5. Clash of the Titans (1981)

Desmond Davis’s 1981 epic is likely to have been the first contact with Greek mythology (at least in a cinematic context) for many Gen-Xers and older Millennials. Loosely based on the on the story of Perseus, it stars Harry Hamlin as the half-human son of Zeus, with various members of acting royalty (Laurence Oliver, Maggie Smith, Burgess Meredith, Ursula Andress) in support.

The true stars of the movie, however, are Ray Harryhausen’s jerkily expressive cast of stop-motion monsters, from Pegasus the winged horse to the ship-crushing kraken.

6. The Return (2024)

You wait years for an adaptation of The Odyssey, then two come along at once. Well, not quite. The Return landed in 2024, for one thing, and it doesn’t tell the whole story of Odysseus’s protracted return journey from the Trojan war. It’s a much smaller scale affair that focuses in on an old, battered Odysseus as he finally arrives home to find that not all is well in his realm.

Ralph Fiennes puts in a fine (arf) performance as the wily-but-weary war vet, while Juliette Binoche plays his embattled wife with typical poise.

7. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Here’s another cinematic romp through Ancient Greek mythology that’s been greatly enhanced by the stop motion brilliance of Ray Harryhausen (see also Clash of the Titans).

The visual effects maestro’s practical model work might look rather quaint to a modern eye. But you just watch the movie’s most famous scene, where a gang of skeleton warriors rushes our questing hero and his companions. It’s genuinely thrilling stuff – and downright unsettling to boot. In truth, Don Chaffey’s film is full of such memorable set pieces, which is why it’s held up as a classic example of the genre.

8. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

How does a quirky Coen brothers film about a trio of petty criminals escaping a chain gang in 1930s Mississippi have anything to do with Greek mythology? Fans of the film will know that among its many-layered delights, O Brother, Where Art Thou? tracks the plot of The Odyssey quite closely.

We have seductive sirens, a hulking cyclops, and a main character named Ulysses – the Romanised version of Odysseus – who yearns to return to his wife Penny (Penelope?) before she remarries. Nolan might be taking a more direct approach to adaptation, but he’ll do well to create a film half as memorable.

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