Dr. Seuss is an iconic author, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn't heard that name, let alone who hasn't read at least a handful of his books. There's obviously 1957's The Cat in the Hat, 1960's Green Eggs and Ham, 1971's The Lorax, 1990's Oh, the Places You'll Go!, and so many more.

One could pretty easily argue that The Cat in the Hat is Dr. Seuss' most iconic book, having been made into other forms of media, including more than a handful of animated movies and shows. But in 2003 came the live-action adaptation with Mike Myers that really put The Cat in the spotlight. Unfortunately, the movie did not go over well, and the world hasn't seen a movie adaptation since—until now. 

Now, Warner Bros. Animation is giving the world an absolutely delightful and joyful film, The Cat in the Hat, that truly does justice to the world and characters Dr. Seuss created. The Cat in the Hat stars Bill Hader as the titular character, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Xochitl Gomez as Gabby, Quinta Brunson as Sherri from HR, America Ferrera as Carmen, Matt Berry as Waffles the Fish, and more.

Three years later, and Toho’s Big G is finally back on the silver screen. Godzilla Minus Zero, the follow-up to Takashi Yamazaki's pathbreaking Godzilla Minus One, is finally here, bigger, badder, and higher octane than before. It’s hard to find ways to make cinema’s greatest kaiju, sure, but Toho found a way via a truly worthy antagonist. It's one of the coolest, boldest films of the year.

Godzilla Minus Zero was a gigantic phenomenon, even relative to Godzilla's other characteristically sizable appearances. The film premiered December 1st, 2023, netting over $113 million globally on a ~$10 million budget. The film went on to be the first Oscar nomination and win for the franchise, netting Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards.

Since the original 1954 film, the franchise has been a lot of fun, with city-destroying monster battles and rogue alien species galore. It's spanned a wide range of genres, including the horrors of the original or the excellent Shin Godzilla. Godzilla Minus One returned the franchise to that wheelhouse with a scary yet emotional tale. 

A new wave of original horror is resonating on a massive scale thanks to breakout hits like Obsession and Weapons, but one country doing a lot of heavy lifting in this regard is Australia. Australian horror films like Talk to Me, Leviticus, and Bring Her Back have broken through on a global scale, with fresh ideas and bold styles, and now Kick On is punching its way onto the scene following a premiere at TIFF’s Midnight Madness program.

Directed by Nick Kozakis, Kick On blends hefty amounts of gore and tension with intense fight sequences worthy of a John Wick film. Zeroing in on a group of friends on a night out in Melbourne, things go awry after the group “kicks on” (continues the party) at a volatile drug lord’s den, where things spiral out of control and descend into bloody madness.

While on the red carpet at TIFF for Kick On’s premiere, Kozakis and cast members Markella Kavenagh, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Ras-Samuel, Nikita Chronis, Kaitlyn Boyé, Julian Weeks, Lana Golja, and Finola Xie explained how their film adds something new to this fresh wave of Gen Z horror, which scenes will have audiences squirming in their seats, and what films they would kick on with after watching Kick On.

Everyone knows who Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat is, but right alongside that embodiment of well-intentioned chaos are Thing 1 and Thing 2—two truly unpredictable rascals who are all but the right-hand helpers of The Cat. These small creatures wear red jumpsuits and sport bright blue hair, and they tend to destroy most things they touch.

Usually, in the original books and the adaptations, the world has gotten up to this point, and there are only two of them. However, with Warner Bros. Animation's upcoming The Cat in the Hat film, that all changes. Starring Bill Hader and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Xochitl Gomez, the film, which hits theaters on November 6, reinvents everything you think you know about The Things. Now, there aren't just two of them; there are over one hundred of them for audiences to enjoy.

The Direct sat down with The Cat in the Hat director and writers Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni to discuss why they decided to reinvent everything we knew about The Things, how they invented a hilarious new language for them to entertain the audiences with, and the duo's extreme commitment to their comedic bits throughout the movie.

Forgotten Island has become a beloved animated film, and it only came out a month ago. The film's vibrant colors, chaotic energy, and unique world hooked everyone who saw it. With the film now available digitally on demand, The Direct sat down with the film's directors, Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado, to discuss a very important question: What memory did Jo's Lola give to Batiba?

The animated film introduces Jenny Slate's Batiba early on in the film, but after a while, audiences are let in on the secret that she's actually a memory-stealing demon. She's the reason Jo and Raissa couldn't remember their adventure on Nakali—they had unintentionally given their memory of their crazy night right to Batiba, adding to her already abundant power. In the film's climactic moments, Jo even almost gave away the memory of her entire friendship with Joe.

At the start of the film, it's told to audiences that Jo's Lola has visited Nakali and had her own adventure there. Given that fact, one would have to assume that she also ran into Batiba, meaning she would have given a memory as well.

New set photos from Lilo & Stitch 2 showcased the best look yet at Stitch's pink-furred companion, Angel, in action, and she looks perfect. Just over a year after Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch remake became a box office hit and grossed over $1 billion worldwide, the House of Mouse has already returned to Hawaii to start filming the sequel. Coming to theaters on May 26, 2028, Lilo & Stitch 2 won't adapt any of the 2002 animated classic's many direct-to-video sequels, and will instead forge its own path with an original story. The sequel is expected to bring back most of Lilo & Stitch's original cast, including Maia Kealoha and Chris Sanders as the titular duo, but there will be at least one major addition.

Reel News Hawaii released a new set video from the Lilo & Stitch 2 production in Hawaii that features Stitch and his iconic love interest Angel's puppet stand-ins walking side by side down the street, setting up their romance. The video serves as the best look yet at the pink Angel's design in the movie, which seems extremely accurate to her appearance in Lilo & Stitch: The Series.

When Lilo & Stitch 2 reaches theaters in Summer 2028, Stitch and Angel will be CGI creations from Industrial Light & Magic, but the team uses on-set puppets for lighting, reference, and to give the cast something tangible to perform with. Still, as the Stitch puppet is clearly accurate to his live-action design, this is almost certainly how Angel will appear when she is fully animated as well.

The Toy Story franchise just put a new spin on which Buzz Lightyear as the "real" one. Back in 2022, coming off a stretch of sending Soul, Luca, and Turning Red straight to Disney+, Pixar returned to theaters with Lightyear, starring Chris Evans as Buzz instead of the Tim Allen-voiced toy fans grew up with. The reason for the swap was simple: this wasn't the toy at all, but the actual Space Ranger from Star Command it was based on. That "real" Buzz crashed and burned, only grossing $226.4 million at the global box office, and now, in 2026, a new interpretation of the "real" Buzz Lightyear has entered the picture.

Digital Eclipse's new Toy Story: Retro Roundup! collection brings 11 versions of five classic games from the franchise's early days to modern consoles. One of the deeper cuts in the lineup is the 2000 Buzz Lightyear of Star Command game, a tie-in to the animated series of the same name.

For those not old enough, or who were too old at the time, this cartoon ran from 2000 to 2001 and followed Buzz and his fellow Space Rangers as they battled the Evil Emperor Zurg across the galaxy. It had nothing to do with Woody and the other gang of toys, but it also fit nicely into the canon of Toy Story and Andy's love for the character.

Prime Video's Drive: The Pretenders officially made Sarah Jenkins' story even better by ensuring that actress Lisa-Marie Koroll's real-life scars are included in the movie (which serves as an added boost for the film). The 2026 romance film follows Sarah, a determined race-car mechanic vying for a seat in a male-dominated, Formula One-style world. Sarah's ambitions prompted her to stage a fake engagement with a troubled Formula One star, Dante Annunziata (Amin Baahmed), leading to a complicated romance. While the fake relationship (echoing elements from Prime Video's The Love Hypothesis) is initially poised to rescue Dante's damaged public reputation, the main crux of Sarah's arc centers on her efforts to try and get her own shot behind the wheel to forge her entry into the racing world. 

Drive: The Pretenders presented Sarah as competent, ambitious, and grounded, with a chip on her shoulder, trying to prove to everyone that she has what it takes. Lisa-Marie Koroll has a visible neck scar as Sarah Jenkins in Drive: The Pretenders, and its inclusion benefits her arc in the movie by reinforcing her realism and grounded nature. The scar made her relatable while conveying a sense of history and resilience without dialogue. 

Netflix Animation's upcoming film Ray Gunn has been a passion project of legendary filmmaker Brad Bird's for roughly 30 years. For those who may not immediately know, Brad Bird is the man behind some of the biggest and most beloved animated films in the last three decades, such as The Iron Giant and The Incredibles.

Now, his dream project, Ray Gunn, is finally just weeks away from being projected into the eyeballs of audiences around the world. The story follows Sam Rockwell's Ray Gunn, a private investigator in Metropia, a gigantic neo-noir utopian city in the future. After a case comes across his desk and spirals into much more than he signed on for, Ray is thrown into a whirlwind of conspiracies, all of which center around a multimedia star named Venus Nova (played by Black Widow's Scarlett Johansson). 

The Direct's Sabeen Faheem caught up with the cast and filmmakers behind Ray Gunn at the film's Los Angeles AFI Fest red carpet premiere, where we spoke to them about bringing this unique futuristic tale to life. The talented filmmakers we spoke to included writer and director Brad Bird, star Michael Chernus (Sam Stelfreeze), and composer Michael Giacchino.

Twists are a big part of the movie-going experience, especially for the horror genre—just look at all the Saw movies. But it's rare when a movie has such a big twist that it changes the entire film halfway through the experience. Well, that's exactly what The Cycle does, and before we dive deeper, if you haven't seen the movie, it might be best to turn back now.

When The Cycle, which is now streaming on Shudder, first starts out, it introduces itself as a simple, dark murder investigation storyline in the vein of True Detective. Dr. Meg Garland's (Daredevil: Born Again's Deborah Ann Woll) life is turned upside down when the body of her estranged father is found alongside other brutally mutilated corpses. The first half follows her, alongside Jeffrey Donovan's Marks, and other police members, as they earnestly try to figure out who is responsible.

However, halfway through the movie, the truth is revealed: it's actually been a werewolf this entire time. As it turns out, dying does not break the werewolf curse. So, every full moon, the corpse of Meg's father turns into a werewolf and brutally slaughters anyone nearby.

A Talent for Murder is in theaters now, and it turns out some of the creatives involved in it are more than happy to leave audiences guessing. The Direct's David Thompson spoke exclusively with star Alden Ehrenreich and director Anton Corbijn about the twisty new literature-based thriller, which sees Ehrenreich go head-to-head with Helen Mirren in what he called a "battle of wills."

After chatting with both key parts of A Talent for Murder, one thing was made clear: there's no one right answer to what really happens in the movie. 

Ehrenreich said "different people are going to have different understandings of who's who," while Corbijn said viewers "can create their own ending of the film." Even the filmmakers didn't have it all figured out at first either, with Corbijn adding that they were "quite confused when filming it as well."

Mongoose brings iconic Hollywood action star Liam Neeson, who was recently seen in The Naked Gun, back to the movie screen, this time behind the wheel of a bright red Shelby Mustang. Mongoose follows Neeson's Ryan "Fang" Flanagan, a former Special Forces Army captain and highly decorated military veteran who finds himself being accused of a crime he did not commit, leading him and law enforcement on a crazy high-speed pursuit across state lines.

Joining Neeson in Mongoose, which hits theaters on October 30, are Marisa Tomei as Ryan's ex-wife, Tara, and Fantastic Four's Michael Chiklis as Major Walter Pope.

The Direct spoke with Mongoose stars Liam Neeson and Michael Chiklis, alongside director Mark Vanselow, to talk all about their new thrilling high-speed action film.

Laika's newest stop-motion animation masterpiece, Wildwood, has hit theaters and makes a fair few changes to its source material. The illustrated novel of the same name by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis is an ambitious dark fantasy adventure for children, set in an enchanted forest filled with magic and warring factions. Laika spent 15 years bringing Wildwood to life in its classic stop-motion style, but the adaptation process altered a few things in Prue and Curtis' journeys.

The Wildwood novel was released in 2011, and Laika (known for stop-motion classics like Coraline) began development on a movie adaptation shortly thereafter. The story follows young friends Prue and Curtis as they venture into the Impassable Wilderness to try to rescue Prue's kidnapped baby brother, abducted by crows on the streets of Portland. While Laika stays true to the core narrative and spirit of Wildwood, the film also has several differences from the novel it is based on.

Wildwood was released in theaters on October 23rd. The movie, directed by Masters of the Universe's Travis Knight, features a voice cast that includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, and Mahershala Ali.

The concluding chapter of the Dune franchise officially unveiled the first look at Paul and Chani's children (and their appearance is more important than fans think). Directed by Denis Villeneuve and set to be released on December 18 (the same day as Avengers: Doomsday), Dune: Part Three adapts the events of Frank Herbert's 1969 novel Dune Messiah, chronicling the ruthless reign of terror of Padishah Emperor Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he grapples with the consequences of the holy war he unleashed, the personal cost of power, and the betrayal that looms from within. Dune: Part 3 is being treated as an action-packed conclusion to Paul's arc, tying into the cycle of violence he endured and his complicated relationship with Zendaya's Chani. 

Warner Bros. officially revealed the final trailer for Dune: Part Three, and it featured one of the most intriguing recent reveals: a first look at Paul and Chani's twin children, Leto II and Ghanima Atreides. 

Obsession has become, in many ways, one of the biggest movies of the year, and one that came out of left field for so many—including star Inde Naverette, whose life has changed so dramatically that she's become a founding member of the X-Men in the MCU. The key premise of Obsession follows the idea of a wish gone wrong, a very relatable idea, and one that Fantastic Fest's Pathetic Fallacy also explores in its own, surreal way.

Pathetic Fallacy, which just premiered at Fantastic Fest 2026 (and doesn't yet have a wide release date), tells the deep love story of Asher (Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi) and Iris (Jessica Rothe, who also starred in Fantastic Fest's Beware Boiúna). Unfortunately for them, however, their romance is cut short when Iris passes away from cancer.

Consumed by the grief and rage of losing the love of his life, Asher finds himself in a mountain town called Samdi, which promises to have the cosmic answers to bring her back to him. All he has to do is make a wish to a talking brain spider—what could possibly go wrong?

After Universal Pictures failed to produce a movie adaptation of the iconic video game BioShock when it acquired the rights in May 2008, Netflix announced in 2022 that it had partnered with 2K and Take-Two Interactive to produce a live-action flick of its own. The streamer enlisted Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence (Catching Fire, Mockingjay) along with Logan scribe Michael Green. But after four years, fans have been wondering when cameras will finally roll.

The Direct spoke one-on-one with Francis Lawrence as part of the press junket for his next movie, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and asked him whether production on Bioshock was next up after his latest trip to Panem. Producer Roy Lee hinted in a previous exclusive interview with The Direct last year that BioShock was "just waiting for [Lawrence] whenever Hunger Games is completed," which it finally will be when the dystopian epic releases in November.

Lawrence assured us that "we're getting close" and that the major difficulty in adapting a story like BioShock was taking the player character into account and "creating that character from scratch into that world:"

It's hard to argue that Disney is still the predominant box office force. Other studios, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and more compete, some even have surpassed Disney (Universal actually earned more than them in 2023), but there's no denying the studio's dominance. In 2025, they've had major hits like The Devil Wears Prada 2, Toy Story 5, and have Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday hitting theaters on December 18. While major IP-driven franchises like Marvel and Star Wars are a huge part of Disney's long-term plan, their more traditional slate of movies still have incredible potential.

Much of Disney's box office future will be defined by sequels and spin-offs of their most popular animated film. Disney Animation Studios and Pixar and cranking out a wide variety of upcoming films over the next few years, and several have mega box office potential as highly-anicipated sequels coming (in some cases) 10+ years after its predecessor. 

Many fans want more and more original stories, but its hard to argue with recent box office receipts. Just this year, Hoppers, a Pixar original, was well recieved, yet earned more that $700 million less than Toy Story 5, an established Pixar sequel.

Laika, a stop-motion animation studio known for legendary films such as Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, is finally back in theaters with another incredible flex of their creative and storytelling talent with the new movie Wildwood. The movie follows thirteen-year-old Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), who is thrown into a magical world of fantasy, magic, and talking animals after her infant brother is abducted by a murder of crows.

The Direct sat down with the two stars of Wildwood, Peyton Lee Elizabeth and Jacob Tremblay, in an interview where Tremblay, who plays Curtis in the movie, revealed a surprising detail about the movie.

Tremblay revealed that, amongst all the incredible filmmaking achievements Laika accomplished with Wildwood, there was one small thing in particular that Laika couldn't have done ten years ago: Prue's bike.

One of Marvel Studios' upcoming X-Men stars just made a major movie cameo almost two years ahead of his MCU debut. Christopher Abbott was announced as one of the leads of the X-Men reboot at D23 earlier this year and will play Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, alongside co-stars Inde Navarette, Sadie Sink, Maya Boyd, Kit Connor, and Adam Driver. But before his turn as Professor X, Abbott made an unexpected appearance in one of the most secretive movies of the year–and it's not a Marvel project.

A24's new documentary You Can See Everything has begun to be released in theaters across North America and follows Nathan Fielder's (known for HBO's The Rehearsal) attempts to get inside the mind of the controversial businesswoman Elizabeth Holmes. Holmes was initially sentenced to 11 years in prison for defrauding investors by claiming that her company, Theranos, had developed a device capable of running any medical test. You Can See Everything examines the lives of Holmes and her boyfriend, Billy Evans, in the weeks leading up to her 2023 prison sentence.

Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for You Can See Everything.

Red Rising author Pierce Brown has faith that the Hollywood film adaptation of his popular novels will follow the same strategy as The Lord of the Rings. The Red Rising series has sold millions of copies across its six releases and has been a popular pick for a screen adaptation. Since the first book's release in 2014, it's been a long road to bring Red Rising to the screen, with several failed adaptations along the way, but now there's renewed hope in the latest announcement.

In mid October, news broke that Paramount Pictures had acquired the film rights to Brown's Red Rising novel and had attached The Hunger Games franchise filmmaker, Francis Lawrence, to direct, with Justin Rhodes writing the script. With both film and series adaptations of Red Rising having fallen apart in the past, fans are rightly skeptical about whether this one will be any different. However, Brown had some reassuring words during his recent book tour across the UK. 

As shared by @george.andthedragons on TikTok, Brown spoke to fans about the new film adaptation of Red Rising and how it differs from past attempts to adapt the book to the screen. Brown noted that he had previously "got a little arrogant" about the adaptation process, wanting "every scene to be represented [and] every character to be represented."