HBO announced on October 17th that Natasha Lyonne, known for her role in Poker Face, and Broadway performer Trisha Paytas will join the cast for the next season. Several other new actors will also appear, including Gideon Adlon, Bill Bodner, Colleen Camp, Homer Gere, Jessica Blair Herman, Hemky Madera, Kwame Patterson, Rebecca Pidgeon, Bella Podaras, Cailyn Rice, Eli Roth, Madison Thompson, Jack Topalian, Sam Trammell, and Matthew Willig.
Holland told Deadline that while they have a general idea of what will happen with Georgie’s story, the timing of those events is still flexible. This allows them creative freedom to weave those plot points into the narrative in a way that feels both organic and unexpected.
The main characters return, with the story picking up in 1982, a few years after the first film. Finney Blake (Mason Thames) and his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), are still living in north Denver. Though Finn is known as the boy who survived and defeated the Grabber, he hasn’t been celebrated for it. Instead, he’s struggling with his past and is shown aggressively confronting a classmate who mentions it, risking becoming the bully he once feared. Gwen, who possesses psychic abilities that helped her find her brother in the first movie, is now ostracized at school and labeled a witch. She’s also plagued by new, disturbing dreams. These dreams reveal her mother, Hope (Anna Lore), as a young girl in 1958 making a mysterious phone call near Alpine Lake, a Christian youth winter camp. In 1982, dream-Gwen answers the call.
The film unfolds over a single day, beginning late at night when Rashid and his family are forced to stop at a roadside garage after accidentally hitting a dog. There, a mechanic named Vahid recognizes Rashid’s prosthetic leg and believes him to be Eqbal, the man who brutally tortured him in prison – a torturer known as “Peg Leg.” Suffering from ongoing health problems caused by the abuse, Vahid kidnaps Rashid, intending to bury him alive, but starts to question if he has the right man. He seeks help from another former prisoner, who leads him to Shiva, a photographer currently shooting a wedding for a fellow ex-detainee, Golrokh. Shiva then involves her ex-lover, Hamid, who may have suffered the most from Eqbal’s cruelty. Together, this group of traumatized former prisoners embarks on a journey to confirm the man’s identity as the infamous Peg Leg and decide what to do with him.
To celebrate the season, let’s revisit 15 of the most memorable episodes, beginning with the Halloween special that launched this tradition.
In 2025, we’re sadly remembering the passing of legendary actors like Diane Keaton, known for her captivating presence in films for over half a century; Val Kilmer, the versatile star who led many popular action movies in the 80s and 90s; and Robert Redford, a beloved Hollywood figure who supported independent filmmaking and helped shape a new era of cinema.
I have to tell you about *Hush*, one of my favorite modern horror movies by director Mike Flanagan! It’s a slasher film, but it’s so smart about how it uses the familiar tropes of the genre. What I really loved is that it feels incredibly realistic – it’s basically a home invasion story, but terrifying. The killer isn’t some supernatural being, just a masked man, and the protagonist, Maddie, is a deaf horror author who communicates through sign language. The remote setting really cranks up the tension. It’s not overly gory, but trust me, *Hush* is absolutely phenomenal and had me shouting at the screen – it’s a truly gripping experience!
‘SUPERMAN’ debuts at #4 on Nielsen’s Streaming Movie Top 10 after just three days on HBO Max!
Okay, so as a huge Wicked fan, I was *really* curious about how they’d handle the duet between Elphaba and Fiyero in the movie. Everyone who’s seen the show knows things get pretty heated after that song! On Broadway, they’re all over each other from the start – constant touching, faces close, just a really physical connection. But in the film, director Jon M. Chu is doing something different. Apparently, Fiyero spends the song looking at the propaganda posters painting Elphaba as wicked, and it makes him realize how strong and kind she still is, even after everything. He basically just tells her she’s beautiful, and Chu thinks *that* intimacy – focusing on their connection through words and looks – will actually feel even more sensual than the physical stuff. It’s a totally different approach, but honestly, I’m intrigued to see how it plays out!
Zach Cregger, the creator of the hit horror film *Barbarian*, returns with *Weapons*, a standout movie from the summer of 2025. And now, you’ll soon be able to stream it – it’s coming to HBO Max in just a few days!