SUBCRIBE COVER

Kingsley Nebechi, Marco Vittur This month’s exclusive subscriber

Editor NICK DE SEMLYEN

Creative Director CHRIS LUPTON Photography Director JOANNA MORAN

DISPATCHES

TEAM EMPIRE ON A FEW OF OUR HIGH POINTS THIS MONTH

THE FORCE IS UNUSUALLY STRONG

My midi-chlorians must have been doing their thing,

THE BIG QUESTION

THIS MONTH WE ASKED: WHAT FILM WOULD YOU LIKE

PREVIOUSLY, IN EMPIRE...

THE VERY FIRST REVIEW OF THE YEAR DECEMBER 1989

WELCOME

AS WE REACH the end of the year,

The yellow brick road to glory

EMPIRE INVESTIGATES THE PLANET-CONSUMING SUCCESS OF WICKED — AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR CINEMA

Crafting a menagerie of misfits

FLOW FILMMAKER GINTS ZILBALODIS ON CHANNELLING HIS EXPERIENCES (AND PETS) INTO HIS ANIMATED ADVENTURE

“For years, Hollywood has been overusing exposition that makes zero sense”

AMELIA TAIT ON HER LOW TOLERANCE FOR MOVIE-DIALOGUE CLICHÉS

It’s off to the Best Picture races!

WITH NO CLEAR FRONTRUNNER IN SIGHT FOR 2025’S CROWNING ACADEMY AWARD, TEAM EMPIRE CHOOSE THEIR FIGHTERS

THE HORROR HIT THAT GOES POSTAL

THE FILMMAKERS BEHIND PUTTING THEIR OWN STAMP ON THE GENRE DEAD MAIL ARE

BATMAN BARGAINS

YOU CAN KIT YOURSELF OUT AS GOTHAM’S PROTECTOR, IF YOU HAVE BRUCE WAY N E MONEY

Ethan Herisse

THE NICKEL BOYS BREAKOUT STAR IS FINDING LIGHT IN THE DARKEST STORIES

WHY HOLLYWOOD CAN’T QUIT CADY

WITH A SERIALISED TAKE ON TO APPLE TV+, WE CHART THE JOURNEY OF AN ICONIC VILLAIN’S STORY CAPE FEAR HEADED

Steven Soderbergh faces his fears

THE FILMMAKER CONTINUES TO VENTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN WITH HAUNTEDHOUSE MOVIE PRESENCE

NEED TO KNOW

GET UP TO SPEED ON...

From secrets and lies to honest words

MIKE LEIGH AND MARIANNE JEAN-BAPTISTE ON REUNITING FOR DARK COMEDY HARD TRUTHS

THE KEY TO UNLOCKING ORLOK

BILL SKARSGÅRD ON EMBRACING THE INFAMOUS UNDEAD COUNT IN NOSFERATU

One A Role STEPHEN GRAHAM IS HENRY ‘SUGAR’ GOODSON

THE ACTOR PLAYS AN EAST END BOXER IN PERIOD SERIES A THOUSAND BLOWS

A GOLF-COMEDY SEQUEL TEES UP

WHY ADAM SANDLER’S INCOMING IS CAUSING A STIR HAPPY GILMORE SEQUEL

ON OUR MINDSON

DAFT MUSINGS FROM THE WARPED MINDS OF TEAM EMPIRE

The ultimate antiromance

JACK QUAID AND SOPHIE THATCHER ON THEIR BOUNDARY-PUSHING THRILLER COMPANION

THE PIPELINE

EIGHT PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

The fruitbusting stunt that made history

EMPIRE REPORTS FROM THE SET OF FOLKLOREINSPIRED EPIC WILLIAM TELL

HOW A MILITIA MOVIE TOOK ON NEW MEANING

JUSTIN KURZEL ON MAKING CRIME THRILLER ROOTED IN NEO-NAZI REALISM

THE MONTHLY ΜΙΧΤΑΡΕ

EMPIRE MIXMASTER AMON WARMANN SELECTS THIS MONTH'S ESSENTIAL TUNES

How Much Is A Pint Of Milk!

Billy Eichner

NOSFERATU

19 DECEMBER 2024 — 15 JANUARY 2025 A sticky

BETTER MAN

Totally bananas. LET ROBBIE-WILLIAMS-AS-A-CHIMP ENTERTAIN YOU ★★★★ OUT

A REAL PAIN

★★★★ OUT 8 JANUARY / CERT 15 /

HOT FROSTY

★★ OUT NOW (NETFLIX) / CERT PG /

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM

Hèra (Gaia Wise) brings the fight to Wulf

MARIA

Prima donna: Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas. ANGELINA

WE LIVE IN TIME

Getting closer: Tobias (Andrew Garfield) and Almut (Florence

FROM UNDER THE TRUCK

A BROLIN STONE GATHERS NO MOSS ★★★★★ THERE’S

STAR WARS ENCYCLOPEDIA

★★★★ The latest update to DK’s ultimate Star

NORA EPHRON AT THE MOVIES

★★★★ The “fairy godmother of romantic comedies” earns

ALFRED HITCHCOCK: ALL THE FILMS

★★★ There’s hardly a scarcity of books about

SKELETON CREW

Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) and crew; Space

FEAR THE SPOTLIGHT

S TAY IN THE SHADOWS WITH THIS AFFECTIONATE

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD

★★★★★ PC, PS4/PS5, XBOX SERIES X|S Arriving a

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: HEART OF CHORNOBYL

★★★ PC, XBOX SERIES X|S S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE

★★★★ PC, PS4/PS5, XBOX SERIES X|S Half chilled

NICKEL BOYS

A new angle: Nickel boys Elwood (Ethan Herisse)

WICKED

Magic: Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. DING DONG, THE

BABYGIRL

The look of lust: Samuel (Harris Dickinson) and

also out

HEAD TO EMPIREONLINE.COM TO READ THESE REVIEWS IN FULL

STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY

BEAUTIFULLY BRUTALIST MOVIE LANDMARKS

SEEING RED

AS ANTHONY MACKIE’S SAM WILSON PICKS UP THE SHIELD IN CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, HE FINDS HIMSELF UP AGAINST NOT JUST A HUGE POLITICAL CONSPIRACY, BUT A CERTAIN ROUGE-HUED BEAST. PREPARE FOR WHAT MIGHT BE THE MCU’S ANGRIEST MOVIE YET…

REMEMBER US?

SAMUEL STERNS ISN’T THE ONLY LONG-DORMANT CHARACTER WHO COULD MAKE AN MCU COMEBACK

DOUBLE OR NOTHING

JUST WHEN CAMERON DIAZ THOUGHT SHE WAS OUT JAMIE FOXX PULLED HER BACK IN A DECADE AFTER SHE RETIRED FROM ACTING DIAZ HAS REUNITED WITH HER OLD BUDDY FOR BACK IN ACTION. WE SIT DOWN WITH THEM TO DISCUSS WHY THIS DREAM TEAM JUST CAN'T QUIT

DRUTE FORCE

FOR YEARS, BRADY CORBET HAS BEEN CHIPPING AWAY AT HIS AUDACIOUS ARCHITECTURAL EPIC, AS HE AND HIS CAST TELL US, MAKING IT WAS AN APPROPRIATELY MONUMENTAL TASK

THE REVIEW OF 2024

WELL, 2024, YOU DID NOT DISAPPOINT: THERE HAS

THE MIGHTY WAR RIG

The War Rig in its full glory. ONE

A BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP

Illustration exclusively for Empire by Robot Dreams’ art

GOTHAM'S CUTTHROAT CRIME BOSS

Top to bottom: Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti)

DEMI MOORE TURNING INTO A MONSTER

FOR ALL THE headlines about freaking-out audiences fleeing

PRIMATES

IN 2024, CINEMA WENT SIMIAN

A RED-HOT SHOWDOWN

ONE OF THE most spectacular TV moments of

MADAME WEB ’S PEPSI CAMEOS

PEPSI HAS BEEN SHAMELESSLY HAWKED IN movies before.

A HEROIC VICTORY

Top to bottom: Superpowered South Londoners assemble;

THE BODILY-FLUID BONANZA

Top to bottom: Events get hairy for

THE DESERT DUEL

Above: Let battle commence: Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet)

NUNS

THIS YEAR, CINEMA GOT BACK IN THE HABIT

THE ULTIMATE SAMURAI EPIC

Clockwise from main: The warlord: Lord Yoshii

COTTON EYE JOE’S CINEMATIC COMEBACK

AH, REDNEX. WHAT A BAND. OR WERE THEY?

FILMS OF THE YEAR

AS VOTED FOR BY TEAM EMPIRE, HERE ARE 2024’S FINEST SLICES OF CINEMA

THE BIGGEST THINGS ON THE SMALLER SCREEN

1 SHŌGUN 2 SUPACELL 3 INDUSTRY 4 THE

GOING GAGA

WITH ITS SPEAKING SPERM AND BLABBERING BABIES, LOOK WHO’S TALKING CAME FROM NOWHERE TO BECOME ONE OF THE BIGGEST — AND WEIRDEST — ROMCOMS OF ALL TIME. THIRTY-FIVE YEARS ON, DIRECTOR AMY HECKERLING TELLS EMPIRE ABOUT THE CHAOTIC MAKING OF THE “MOST PROFITABLE PRIVATE JOKE EVER”

BABY TALK

THE MOST MEMORABLE INFANT WISECRACKS FROM THE LOOK WHO’S TALKING SERIES

THE PECULIAR LIVES AND DEATHS OF WILLEM DAFOE

“CHAO SREIGNS, ” SAID THE FOX

The Chris(tmas) Chronicles

CHRIS COLUMBUS TALKS EMPIRE THROUGH HIS RUN OF ICONIC YULETIDE MOVIES

A Christmas Carol adaptations

FOUR EMPIRE WRITERS. LOTS OF EBENEZER SCROOGES. MERRY CHRISTMAS

Coven garden

AGATHA ALL ALONG SHOWRUNNER JAC SCHAEFFER ON HER WITCHES’ BREW

Wake In Fright

TED KOTCHEFF’S BOOZE-SOAKED AUSTRALIAN NIGHTMARE

PICKS OF THE MONTH

1 JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX (OUT NOW, VARIOUS)

Strange Darling

DIRECTOR THE BEST BITS OF HIS TWISTY THRILLER JT MOLLNER ON

HORROR TRENDS

LEGENDARY AUTHOR AND CRITIC US HIS UNIQUE TAKES ON CULT CINEMA KIM NEWMAN BRINGS

CRYPT KEEPERS

KIM'S PICK OF THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL

Jaws

BLONDE VS. SHARK

MACON BLAIR

REBEL RIDGE DIRECTOR JEREMY SAULNIER ON GIVING PROPS TO HIS BEST BUD

Daisy Ridley

THE MAGPIE STAR ON THE IMAGES OF HER CAREER (SO FAR)

The Ultimate Empire Quiz

CHRISTMAS MOVIES

SCALEXTRIC FILM-TIE-IN KIT

REMEMBER WHEN THE best bit of Christmas Day

‘LA MARSEILLAISE’ Casablanca

Dan Aykroyd: “The scene in Casablanca,