SUBSCRIBER COVER

This month’s exclusive subscriber cover by Moonjam Moonjam,

NICK DE SEMLYEN

Creative Director CHRIS LUPTON Photography Director JOANNA MORAN

DISPATCHES

TEAM EMPIRE ON A FEW OF OUR HIGH POINTS THIS MONTH

LETTER OF THE MONTH

YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD TO BE YOUNG As

THE BIG QUESTION

THIS MONTH WE ASKED: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CINEMATIC CAT?

WELCOME

“WE’RE BACK.” Not just the name of a

PREVIOUSLY, IN EMPIRE...

THE EMPIRE GUIDE TO 1990 JANUARY 1990

The Oscar race reckoning with the dark side of history

ALL THE ESSENTIAL, FROM HOLLYWOOD AND BEYOND

WHY BARBIE DESERVES HER OSCAR MOMENT

IT COULD BE THE DOLL VERSUS THE DOUR IN THIS YEAR’S BEST PICTURE RACE

Godzilla Minus One

UNFILTERED, UNCENSORED, UNCOMPROMISING TRAILER REACTIONS FROM TEAM EMPIRE

MICKEY MOUSE GOES PUBLIC

WHAT COULD LIFE LOOK LIKE FOR THE DISNEY MASCOT WHEN HIS COPYRIGHT EXPIRES?

THE MUTANTS ARE HERE

THE MARVELS’ POST-CREDIT STING JUST BROUGHT US CLOSER TO THE NEW PHASE OF THE X-MEN

The return of the animation king

INSIDE THE LONG-AWAITED NEW FILM FROM HAYAO MIYAZAKI, THE BOY AND THE HERON

NEED TO KNOW

GET UP TO SPEED ON NETFLIX’S 3 BODY PROBLEM

Baz Luhrmann returns down under

THE FILMMAKER IS REVAMPING HIS EPIC AUSTRALIA, WITH NEW SERIES FARAWAY DOWNS

THE EXPERIMENTAL FILM THAT WILL MELT YOUR BRAIN

KOYAANISQATSI CREATOR GODFREY REGGIO GUIDES US THROUGH HIS NEW ODDITY, ONCE WITHIN A TIME

ON OUR MINDS

BETH WEBB IS THINKING ABOUT… FAKE IDS Alamy,

Meg Bellamy

FROM LEGOLAND WINDSOR TO THE WINDSOR FAMILY — MEET THE CROWN’S KATE MIDDLETON

A LONDON CINEMA’S TRAILBLAZING LEGACY

THE FILMMAKERS BEHIND SCALA!!! TAKE US ON A JOURNEY THROUGH ITS RAUCOUS HISTORY

The unlikely rebirth of a trashy titan

WRITER-DIRECTOR MACON BLAIR ON REBOOTING CULT HORROR-COMEDY THE TOXIC AVENGER

THE PIPELINE

EIGHT PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 

CHRISTIAN FRIEDEL AS RUDOLF HÖSS

THE ACTOR ON BECOMING A NAZI FOR AUSCHWITZ DRAMA THE ZONE OF INTEREST

A SEASONAL SLASHER WITH A TWIST

THE DIRECTOR OF IT’S A WONDERFUL KNIFE ON TRADING WINGS FOR BLOODIER THINGS

DUD RINGERS

AFTER DWAYNE JOHNSON’S DISSATISFACTION WITH HIS REPLICA, WE DIVE INTO MISJUDGED WAXWORKS

A literary satire that’s far from by the book

WHY AMERICAN FICTION I S PROVING A CINEMATIC PAGE-TURNER

“We’ve been trapped in Prestige TV’s gilded cage”

ELLEN E JONES ON WHY ‘PRESTIGE’ AND ‘QUALITY’ TV ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS

How Matthew Perry went beyond Bing

THE LATE FRIENDS STAR’S MOVIE CAREER IS MUCH-MALIGNED, BUT THERE ARE GREAT MOMENTS THAT DESERVE A SECOND LOOK

THE MONTHLY 10 HIXTARE

EMPIRE MIXMASTER AMON WARMANN SELECTS THIS MONTH'S ESSENTIAL TUNES

THE COMIC-BOOK MOVIE THAT’S GOING GUERRILLA

DEADPOOL CREATOR ROB LIEFELD IS BLAZING A TRAIL TO BRING HIS BLOODSTRIKE SERIES TO THE SCREEN

How Much Is A Pint Of Milk

Fred Armisen

MAESTRO

Writer-director-star-chief-tea-maker Bradley Cooper as the legendary Leonard Bernstein.

THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES

Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) gets close to Lucy

ANATOMY OF A FALL

★★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 15 / 152

NAPOLEON

Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) is battle-ready; COULDN’T

CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET

Ain’t nobody here but us chickens: Ginger and

THE ROYAL HOTEL

★★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 18 / 91

EILEEN

★★ OUT 1 DECEMBER / CERT 15 /

A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Hacker/amateur detective Darby Hart (Emma Corrin). BRIT

THE MARVELS

Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) likes to keep her

THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER

Daughter Julia (Tilda Swinton) is in for an

PATH TO PARADISE: A FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA STORY

I LOVE THE SMELL OF A NEW COPPOLA

UNLEASHING OPPENHEIMER

★★★★ AUTHOR JADA YUAN Writer Jada Yuan —

BE USEFUL: SEVEN TOOLS FOR LIFE

★★★★ AUTHOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER Bodybuilder, Terminator, governor... self-help

ALAN PARTRIDGE: BIG BEACON

★★★★★ AUTHORS STEVE COOGAN/ROB GIBBONS/ NEIL GIBBONS The

SCOTT PILGRIM TAKES OFF

Scott (Michael Cera), pulling no punches. Evil

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2

WITH GREAT (PS5 PROCESSOR) POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN TO MORIA

★★★ PC / PS5 / XBOX SERIES X|S

ALAN WAKE II

★★★★★ PC / PS5 / XBOX / OUT

SUPER MARIO BROS. WONDER

★★★★★ NINTENDO SWITCH / OUT NOW It's a

DREAM SCENARIO

NICOLAS CAGE COULD DREAM ABOUT A PEACH FOR

FOR ALL MANKIND: SEASON 4

Space is ace. THE SPACE DRAMA GOES

also out

HEAD TO EMPIREONLINE.COM TO READ THESE REVIEWS IN FULL

Reasons TO BE EXCITED FOR 2024

EMPIRE presents... 24

1 RYAN GOSLING IS Crulsing FOR A Bruising

DIRECTOR DAVID LEITCH’S ODE TO STUNTPEOPLE IS GOING TO HURT

2 THE Primates Take Over

GET ACQUAINTED WITH YOUR NEW HAIRY OVERLORDS

3 An Opus Arrives

DIRECTOR STEVE Mc QUEEN AND PRODUCER BIANCA STIGTER ON THEIR HUGE AMSTERDAM DOCUMENTARY

4 THERE’S A NEW Dragon Slayer IN TOWN

MILLIE BOBBY BROWN’S PRINCESS FLIPS THE SCRIPT

5 Echo Puts The Pedal To The Metal

AND JUMP-STARTS A GRITTIER VERSION OF THE MCU

6 Bong Joon-ho Goes To Space

AND HE’S TAKING ROBERT PATTINSON WITH HIM

7 A Vampire Is Reborn

ROBERT EGGERS AWAKENS AN ANCIENT BLOODSUCKER

8 Furiosa Hits The Gas

READY TO GET BACK ON THE ROAD?

9 Gotham’s Kingpin Rises

COLIN FARRELL’S CRANKY CRIME-BOSS GETS THE SPOTLIGHT

10 The Clown Prince Goes Gaga

WHY THE JOKER’S RETURN GIVES US REASONS TO SMILE

11 DANIEL KALUUYA Gets Cooking

THE ACTOR TURNS DIRECTOR WITH A DISTURBING SOCIAL DRAMA

12 Things Are Gonna Get Emotional

NEXT YEAR, BIG FEELINGS ARE BACK

13 The Bear Goes Home

OUR TENDER HEARTS CAN’T HOLD OUT MUCH LONGER. BECAUSE:

14 Axel’s Back

AND HE’S BRINGING THE 1980S WITH HIM

15 Coppola Goes Big

THE DIRECTOR’S EPIC VISION IS FINALLY UPON US

16 Rapman Powers Up

THE BLUE STORY DIRECTOR ON MAKING A VISIONARY TV SHOW

17 Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

OH NO, WHAT HAVE WE DONE…

18 THE SPY GENRE TURNS Inside Out

MATTHEW VAUGHN IS MAKING MISCHIEF AGAIN…

19 Zack Snyder Doubles Down

WITH REBEL MOON ALMOST HERE, THE DIRECTOR CUES US UP FOR THE SEQUEL

20 The Ghostbusters Return

BACK ONCE AGAIN WITH THE ZUUL BEHAVIOUR

21 It’s Clobbering Time

PREPARE TO MEET WRESTLING’S MOST NOTORIOUS FAMILY

22 Jason Statham Gets Buzzy

DAVID AYER’S REVENGE THRILLER KICKS OFF

23 The Jedi Are Coming

THE ACOLYTE OUT TBC IT IS A period

24 The Bible Gets A New Messiah

JEYMES SAMUEL’S EPIC BREAKS THE MOULD

AND 24 MORE

BECAUSE 2024 IS FIT TO BURST…

SKELLINGTON CREW

Three decades ago, a gang of outsiders created an offbeat adventure that, appropriately, didn't fit in. Yet as TIM BURTON and his ConoRts tell us, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS' ever-increasing Popularity has Surprised even them

CUSTOM BUILT

TWO DECADES IN THE MAKING, MICHAEL MANN’S RACING DRAMA FERRARI IS AS PRECISION-ENGINEERED AS THE CARS THEMSELVES. WE TALK TO HIM, ADAM DRIVER AND PENÉLOPE CRUZ ABOUT LEAVING NOTHING TO CHANCE

Plastic fantastic

GRETA GERWIG’S BARBIE BLEW EVERY OTHER BLOCKBUSTER AWAY THIS SUMMER. SHE REFLECTS ON ITS GROUNDBREAKING SUCCESS AND WILDEST CREATIVE SWINGS

Let’s talk about sex

IRA SACHS, DIRECTOR OF PASSAGES, ON THE STIR SEX SCENES CAUSE IN MODERN CINEMA

STEVEN YEUN AND BO BURNHAM

WHY THEY GET A MENTION AT THE END OF PAST LIVES

Checking in again

A S PSYCHO II TURNS 40, WRITER TOM HOLLAND TELLS EMPIRE ABOUT FOLLOWING IN HITCHCOCK’S FOOTSTEPS

Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies

The Ranking

El Conde

PABLO LARRAÍN ON HIS SCATHING HORROR- COMEDY SATIRE

TALES FROM KIM'S CRYPT

THIS MONTH

CRYPT KEEPERS

KIM'S PICK OF THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL

Catherine Hardwicke

THE TWILIGHT DIRECTOR ON IMAGES FROM HER ECLECTIC CAREER

Napoleon

THE CRIME MASTER PIECE

PICKS OF THE MONTH

1 SCRAPPER (OUT NOW, DVD/BR) Yes, there are

The Ultimate Empire Quiz

EVERY MONTH. WE WILL TEST YOUR MOVIE KNOWLEDGE. ARE YOU READY?

FOUR MOVIE TIE-IN BOOKS

THERE’S A LITERARY mood in Crossword Corner this

THE GREAT ‘ESCAPE’ Brazil

Wheatley: “The torture and rescue of Sam Lowry