Editor NICK DE SEMLYEN

Creative Director CHRIS LUPTON Photography Director JOANNA MORAN

DISPATCHES

TEAM EMPIRE ON A FEW OF OUR HIGH

COMMENT

LETTER OF THE MONTH A FABELMAN FOR ALL

WELCOME

Newsstand cover: Ruven Afanador. Background digital imaging: Jacey.

Inside Hollywood’s historic civil war

ALL THE ESSENTIAL INTEL, FROM HOLLYWOOD AND BEYOND

Why the year’s sexiest film is about tennis

ZENDAYA AND HER CHALLENGERS CO-STARS ON BRINGING THREE-LOVE TO THEIR COURT-SET ROMANCE

NEED TO KNOW

GET UP TO SPEED ON JAMES GUNN’S SUPERMAN: LEGACY

From box-office queen to queen of the box

ZOE SALDAÑA TAKES UP ARMS FOR NEW SERIES SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS

A BOGUS JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF YOUTUBE

ALEX WINTER RETURNS WITH NEW TECH-DOC THE YOUTUBE EFFECT, AS SCARY AS ANYTHING YOU’LL SEE THIS YEAR

FIVE GO WILD WITH NICOLAS WINDING REFN

THE CONTROVERSIAL DANISH DIRECTOR IS ADAPTING ENID BLYTON’S FAMOUS FIVE SERIES. YES, REALLY. WE IMAGINE WHAT MIGHT ENSUE

The Spotlight Archie Madekwe

THE STAR OF GRAN TURISMO AND ARI ASTER’S GO-TO GUY IS MOVING INTO THE FAST LANE

THREE SONGS THAT POWER A DUBLIN MUSICAL

FLORA AND SON DIRECTOR JOHN CARNEY ON THE EVOLUTION OF HIS NEW TUNES

Ken Loach’s last orders

FOR HIS FINAL FILM, THE OLD OAK, THE BRITISH FILMMAKER TAKES HIS POLITICS TO THE PUB

THE BANSHEES BOOZER FINDS A NEW HOME

ON THE SUBJECT OF PUBS, THE WATERING HOLE FROM THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN IS NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. AND YES, IT’S DONKEY-FRIENDLY

ON OUR MINDS

DAFT MUSINGS FROM THE WARPED MINDS OF TEAM EMPIRE

Rewriting the exorcism playbook

DAVID GORDON GREEN ON UPDATING AN ICONIC HORROR WITH THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER

“ This is going to be one genie that’s hard to cram back into the bottle”

EMPIRE’S CHRIS HEWITT ON RESURRECTING ACTORS FOR THE SCREEN

The R-rated comedy is back to save cinema

AFTER YEARS RELEGATED TO STREAMING, FOUL-MOUTHED FUNNY FILMS ARE MAKING A THEATRICAL RETURN. EMPIRE FINDS OUT WHY

THE PIPELINE

EIGHT MOVIES IN DEVELOPMENT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

Where the Wickiverse goes next

STRAP ON YOUR BULLETPROOF VEST — JOHN WICK SPIN-OFF THE CONTINENTAL IS COMING IN HOT

THE MONTHLY MIXTAPE

EMPIRE MIXMASTER AMON WARMANN SELECTS THIS MONTH’S ESSENTIAL TUNES

PEDRO ALMODÓVAR HEADS TO THE WILD WEST

THE SPANISH FILMMAKER RIDES INTO NEW TERRAIN WITH HIS STARRY SHORT FILM STRANGE WAY OF LIFE

Trailer Talk Wonka

UNFILTERED, UNCENSORED, UNCOMPROMISING TRAILER REACTIONS FROM TEAM EMPIRE

THE CONTROVERSIAL MOVIE STORMING THE SUMMER

SOUND OF FREEDOM HAS DEFIED ODDS TO BECOME A BOX-OFFICE SENSATION

THE BANS THAT NOBODY SAW COMING

WITH BARBIE LANDING IN HOT WATER, WE EXPLORE WHY CERTAIN MOVIES GOT THE CHOP

How Much Is A Pint Of Milk? Clive Owen

DOES CLIVE KNOW HIS CREAM? THE ACTOR TAKES ON OUR ESOTERIC QUESTIONNAIRE

JOY RIDE

A RAUCOUS ODYSSEY OF SEX, DRUGS AND CENTURY EGGS

BARBIE

LIFE IN PLASTIC: CROWDPLEASINGLY FANTASTIC

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING SEASON 3

BECAUSE HOMICIDES ALWAYS COME IN THREES

SCRAPPER

★★★★ OUT 25 AUGUST / CERT 12A /

RUBY GILLMAN: TEENAGE KRAKEN

★★★ OUT NOW / CERT PG / 91

THEY CLONED TYRONE

BLAXPLOITATION IS BACK — AND IT’S MULTIPLYING

OPPENHEIMER

OR, HOW CHRISTOPHER NO LAN LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND FILM THE BOMB

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM

TURTLE POWER REMAINS UNDIMINISHED

KIND OF A BIG DEAL

DON’T ACT LIKE YOU’RE NOT IMPRESSED BY THIS HISTORY OF A COMEDIC MASTERPIECE

ARNOLD

★★★★ EDITOR DIAN HANSON / OUT NOW /

ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE: THE ART OF THE MOVIE

★★★★ AUTHOR RAMIN ZAHED / OUT NOW /

SCROUNGING

★★★ EDITOR MARGARET RHODES / OUT NOW /

THE BEAR: SEASON 2

BEAR WITNESS TO ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS CURRENTLY ON TV

THE BLACKENING

THE ‘BLACK GUY DIES FIRST’ TROPE GETS A WELCOME RIPOSTE

THE FIRST SLAM DUNK

FILM ★★★★ OUT 30 AUGUST / CERT TBC

THE INNOCENT

FILM ★★★ OUT 25 AUGUST / CERT 15

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE -DEAD RECKONING PART ONE

DEAD RECKONING: DEAD GOOD

ALIENS: DARK DESCENT

“NUKE THE SITE FROM ORBIT — IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE”

FINAL FANTASY XVI

★★★★ PS5 / OUT NOW Set on the

OXENFREE II: LOST SIGNALS

★★★★ SWITCH, PC, PS4, PS5, ANDROID, IOS /

THEATER CAMP

THIS YEAR’S BIGGEST OFF-OFF-OFF-OFF-BROADWAY HIT

COMMAND Z

THE STEVEN SODERBERGH PROJECT SO SECRET, EVEN DANNY OCEAN COULDN’T HEIST IT

also out

HEAD TO EMPIREONLINE.COM TO READ THESE REVIEWS IN FULL

Loose Cannon

RIDLEY SCOTT ’S NAPOLEON TAKES ON HISTORY’S INFAMOUS INVADER. PREPARE FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE

ACTION MEN

EVER SINCE TRAINING DAY , DENZEL WASHINGTON AND ANTOINE FUQUA H AV E BE EN MAKING PHYSICAL, NO-NONSE NSE CINE MA. AS THE EQUALIZER 3 CLOSE S A BRUTAL CHAPTER, WE SPEAK TO THEM ABOUT BRINGING THE PAIN

OFF THE DEEP END

How does director Yorgos Lanthimos follow absurdist masterpiece The Favourite? With something even crazier, of course. Get ready, if you can, for POOR THINGS

The Immortal Bruce Lee

He was the most ferocious, most charismatic action star the world had ever known. Now, with the martial- arts master inspiring a whole new wave of actors and filmmakers, some of them pay tribute to the G.O.A.T

SHAPE SHIFTER

HAVING BROKEN THROUGH AS PRINCESS DIANA IN THE CROWN, EMMA CORRIN SWIFTLY ESTABLISHED THEMSELF AS AN ACTOR WILLING TO TAKE ON ALL CHALLENGES, NEVER DOING THE SAME THING TWICE. WE SPEAK TO THEM ABOUT CHANGING THINGS UP AND GOING THE DISTANCE

HOOKED on a FEELING

CELINE SONG’S PAST LIVES, ABOUT A WOMAN RECONNECTING WITH HER CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART, HAS BEEN ELICITING TEARS AT FILM FESTIVALS. MAKING IT PROVED JUST AS EMOTIONAL

ROME BURNS

CALIGULA

The dungeon masters

A FRESH LOOK AT HOME ENTERTAINMENT

The Killer

JOHN WOO’S ICONIC BALLET OF BLOOD

PICKS OF THE MONTH

1___ PRETTY RED DRESS (7 AUG, BR) Dionne

Time Capsule Terry Gilliam

THE ANARCHIC DIRECTOR ON HIS LIFE IN PICTURES

The Ballad Of Rocket Raccoon

AS GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 BRINGS JAMES GUNN’ S MCU RUN TO AN END, HE REFLECTS ON HIS FAVOURITE CHARACTER

TALES FROM KIM'S CRYPT

THIS MONTH SHARKS I SAW JAWS on a

CRYPT KEEPERS

KIM’S PICK OF THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL

When Harry Met Sally

HOW ICONIC IMAGES CAME TO LIFE

PETER JACKSON

WHY HE GETS A MENTION IN THE END CREDITS OF THE KING’S MAN (2021)

The Ranking

Pink Panther movies

THE TOP TEN

1 A SHOT IN THE DARK (1964)

Evil Dead Rise

DIRECTOR LEE CRONIN O NTHE SURPRISES OF HIS DEADITE-DRENCHED SEQUEL

The Ultimate Empire Quiz

THIS MONTH

WIN!

CAMPFIRE AUDIO EARBUDS

THE ENDING Five Easy Pieces

DANO: “There’s a scene from Five Easy Pieces