THIS MONTH

SO, THIS IS IT: my final letter to

EMPIRE

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO THIS MONTH

TALK TO US

COMMENT ON THE MONTH

Marvel’s most risky movie yet

THIS MONTH’S FILM MOMENTS THAT MATTER

The Game Of Thrones guy goes sci-fi

He shot GOT’s biggest episodes — now Miguel Sapochnik is swapping dragons for robots (and Tom Hanks) in FINCH

BLACK IN FOCUS

AMON WARMANN chews over the main moment in Black film and TV this month

The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain

[ ON-SET REPORT] BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH stars as the Victorian oddball artist with a penchant for pussycats in Will Sharpe’s off-kilter biopic

Revealed: Taika’s surprise cameo

Empire exclusively reveals Taika Waititi’s secret role in Louis Wain

Inside the year’s most unlikely spin-off

How a minor character became the star for surprise ArmyOfTheDead prequel ARMY OF THIEVES

House of Gucci

Unfiltered, uncensored, uncompromising trailer reactions from team EMPIRE

Swords, ghosts — and an exploding body part

With PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND, Nicolas Cage finds an equally wild spirit in subversive Japanese director Sion Sono

From Fear Street — to real horror

Why the director behind the Netflix smash is taking on a real-life scare story

MEMORIA

TILDA SWINTON HEADS TO THE JUNGLE FOR A FEVER DREAM OF AN ART FILM

Yep! It’s Nope

Six clues from the NOPE poster that hint at the mystery behind Jordan Peele’s next horror

Jaden Michael

MEET THE TEENAGE ACTOR HAND-PICKED BY AVA DUVERNAY TO STAR IN HER NEW MINISERIES

When civil war breaks out in Hollywood

Unprecedented lawsuits and a public war of words — why are A-list stars and studios going head-to-head?

“I wanted it to make people angry”

The three filmmaking methods that ensure Covid care-home drama HELP will pack an emotional punch

Emilia Clarke’s comics career change

The Game Of Thrones actor on writing M.O.M: Mother Of Madness, her first comic book, about a superpowered single mum

Dealing with a fanfavourite horse god

And four other challenges facing the showrunner of new fantasy series THE WHEEL OF TIME

INANIMATE OBJECT ROMANCES

The course of true love never did run smooth — especially for these weird cinematic love stories

Finding new shades to Jamie Dornan

With Kenneth Branagh’s BELFAST (after that scene-stealing turn in Barb &StarGoTo VistaDel Mar), the Northern Irish actor is finding different dimensions to his career

“Big stars, big action... big budget!”

With a near $200 million budget, Red Notice is one of Netflix’s biggest blockbusters yet. What did they splash the cash on?

PREDATOR FILM AIN’T THE NEW GOT TIME TO BLEED

Four ways that prequel Skull will be a fresh start for the franchise

A new master of British brutality

BULL, which screens at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, sees filmmaker Paul Andrew Williams on savage form

CHRISTOPHER WALKEN

Jill Furmanovsky, Getty Images, Shutterstock Hello, Mr Walken.

Jake Scott goes back to his roots

The filmmaker (and son of Ridley) revisits the band who kickstarted his career with Oasis Knebworth 1996

KAREN GILLAN

ILLUSTRATION ARN0 When were you most starstruck? Well,

ANNETTE

BIG SCREEN. SMALL SCREEN. YOUR REVIEWS BIBLE STARTS HERE

THE STORY OF LOOKING

★★★★ 17 SEPTEMBER / CERT 15 / 90

GAGARINE

★★★★ OUT 24 SEPTEMBER / CERT 12A /

GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE

“Anyone got Uma’s number?” ★★ OUT 17 SEPTEMBER

CANDYMAN

Clockwise from main: Michael Hargrove as the hook-handed

BOSS LEVEL

★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 15 / 94

CINDERELLA

★★ OUT 3 SEPTEMBER (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO) /

COPILOT

★★★★ OUT 10 SEPTEMBER / CERT 15 /

MISHA AND THE WOLVES

★★★★ OUT 3 SEPTEMBER / CERT TBC /

PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND

★★★ OUT 17 SEPTEMBER / CERT TBC /

SHORTA

★★★★ OUT 3 SEPTEMBER / CERT 15 /

RESPECT

Soul sisters: Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin with

FREE GUY

The wool falls away from Guy’s (Ryan Reynolds)

LOCAL HERO

Each month, Empire puts a much-loved indie picture house in the spotlight

WILDFIRE

★★★★ OUT 3 SEPTEMBER / CERT 15 /

PEOPLE JUST DO NOTHING: BIG IN JAPAN

★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 15 / 97

ROSE PLAYS JULIE

Rose-tinted Julie (Ann Skelly). ★★★★ OUT 17 SEPTEMBER

REMINISCENCE

Paul McKenna would have to watch his back.

SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS

★★ OUT NOW / CERT 12A / 121

OASIS KNEBWORTH 1996

★★★ OUT 23 SEPTEMBER / CERT TBC /

SEE: SEASON 2

Here: Jason Momoa grumps up as warrior Baba

WHAT IF...?

“Super-soldier serum? Don’t mind if I do!” Agent

THE NORTH WATER

“You got a light, old pal? Didn’t think

ON SCREEN CHECKLIST

Your at-a-glance view of this month’s reviews

FAROUT

EDGAR WRIGHT IS BACK WITH INTENSE THRILLER LAST NIGHT IN SOHO. SO WE TOOK THIS CHANCE TO LOOK INSIDE HIS LATEST (AND MOST SURPRISING) FILM, PLUS ALSO CELEBRATE HIS ECLECTIC, ELECTRIC CAREER

MIRROR MIRROR

OTHER MOVIES THAT HAVE USED REFLECTIVE GLASS TO OUTSTANDING EFFECT

THE WRITER'S TALE

FROM PULLING PINTS IN SOHO TO OSCAR NOMINATIONS AND STAR WARS, KRYSTY WILSON-CAIRNS’ ASCENT HAS BEEN AS ACTION-PACKED AS HER SCRIPTS. THE LAST NIGHT IN SOHO CO-WRITER TALKS US THROUGH HER UNLIKELY STORY

HORROR

IT LASTS 93 SECONDS AND IS A TRAILER FOR SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T EXIST, YET THE GORY, CAMEO-PACKED DON’T IS AS INVENTIVE AS EDGAR WRIGHT’S ACTUAL FILMS. WE DIVE DEEP INTO THE MADNESS

MAKING A SCENE

FROM MUSICAL DOG BARKS TO GUEST-STAR PILE-UPS, EDGAR WRIGHT SEQUENCES ARE ALWAYS FULL OF SURPRISES. CAST AND CREW FROM THREE OF OUR FAVOURITES SHARE THEIR MAKING-OF STORIES

SOUND AND FURY

EDGAR WRIGHT AND GEORGE MILLER ARE FILMMAKING TITANS WHO BOTH CONTINUALLY PUSH THE ENVELOPE. HERE, IN A WARM, FRANK CONVERSATION, THEY DISCUSS THEIR FRIENDSHIP AND HOW THEY CONTINUALLY INFLUENCE ONE ANOTHER —

THIRST CLASS

SEX EDUCATION HAS BLAZED A TRAIL OVER T WO STUNNING S ERIES. AS THE THIRD ARRIVES, WE ASSEMBLE THE KEY PLAYERS TO DIS COVER HOW IT WILL CONTINUE GOING PLACES OTHER SHOWS DARE N’T

ORIGINAL GANGSTERS

BLOODY HITS. GOOMARS. MADE MEN IN A PORK STORE. WHILE THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK MAY HAVE ALL THE INGREDIENTS YOU’D HOPE FOR FROM A SOPRANOS PREQUEL, IT’S NOT, SAY ITS CAST AND CREW, THE FILM YOU’RE EXPECTING

MICHELLE PFEIFFER

This month: The screen siren with an affinity for outsiders

Call to arms

INDISPENSABLE HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Young at heart

SEAN YOUNG on the roles of her controversial career

THIS MONTH END-TITLES MUSIC

THE CRITIC AND SCALA RADIO PRESENTER CHOOSES HIS ULTIMATE CINEMATIC SOUNDTRACKS

THE MASTERPIECE

Night Moves

THE WIT AND WISDOM OF ALAN SHARP

NIGHT MOVES IS AS QUOTABLE AS ANY THRILLER YOU’D CARE TO NAME. HERE ARE A FEW OF ITS MOST MEMORABLE EXCHANGES

THE CULT OF KIM NEWMAN

The critic and novelist on this month’s weirdest straight-to-video picks

CULT HERO OF THE MONTH

Illustration: Neil Edwards. Getty Images Writer-director John Murlowski

Deep dive

Director Bill Duke on how he turned DEEP COVER into a modern cr ime classic

THE STORY OF THE SHOT

How iconic images came to life

The Fast & Furious franchise

Four Empire writers. Ten movies. Ordered definitively

THE TOP TEN

1 FAST FIVE (2011) Helen: “Each generation has

THE VIEWING GUIDE

A deep dive into the must-see moments from the month’s big release

6 OF THE BEST

Team Empireon the month’s essential movies

E.T. The Extra -Terrestrial

Standout sequences from the great movies