Latest news with #DanStevens
Geek Tyrant
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Dan Stevens To Play Fallen Jedi in LEGO STAR WARS: REBUILD THE GALAXY – PIECES OF THE PAST — GeekTyrant
The Legion and Beauty and the Beast star Dan Stevens has officially been cast as Solitus, a fallen Jedi on a mysterious quest, in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past . The new Disney+ animated series continues the chaotic, canon-bending LEGO Star Wars fun introduced in 2024's Rebuild the Galaxy. According to the show's description, Stevens' character is 'a fallen Jedi who's looking for access to the Forcehold – a secret realm full of discarded pieces of the past.' Alongside Stevens, the project stars Ashley Eckstein returns as LEGO BrickHeadz Ahsoka Tano, and Ben Schwartz will bring the fan-favorite rabbit-like smuggler Jaxxon to animated life. The returning cast includes Gaten Matarazzo as Sig Greebling, Tony Revolori as Darth Dev, Bobby Moynihan as Jedi Bob, Marsai Martin as Yesi Scala, Michael Cusack as Servo, and Ahmed Best as Darth Jar Jar. Oh, and Mark Hamill is also showing up as Luke Skywalker. The story picks up where Rebuild the Galaxy left off, with a wild twist: 'A new threat rises in the galaxy, and Sig Greebling and Darth Dev must combine their powers of Force Building and Sith Breaking to stop it. Alongside Jedi Bob, Yesi Scala, and Servo, they will journey into the deepest corners of LEGO Star Wars lore, uncovering pieces of all the galaxies that have come before.' The series is written and executive produced by Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit ( Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ), and directed by Chris Buckley. LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past is set to premiere on September 19, 2025, a
UPI
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Dan Stevens to voice Solitus in new 'Lego Star Wars' special
1 of 3 | Dan Stevens will voice Solitus in "Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Pieces of the Past." File Photo by Derek French/UPI | License Photo July 1 (UPI) -- Downton Abbey and Beauty and the Beast actor Dan Stevens is joining the cast of a new four-part Lego Star Wars special. Stevens will lend his voice to the villain Solitus in Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Pieces of the Past, a sequel series to Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy (2024). The new special is due on Disney+ Sept. 19. The voice cast also includes Gaten Matarazzo, Tony Revolori, Bobby Moynihan, Marsai Martin, Michael Cusack, Ahmed Best, Mark Hamill, Ashley Eckstein and Ben Schwartz. Solitus is ready to shake things up. Dan Stevens joins LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Pieces of the Past, a four-piece special event, September 19 only on @DisneyPlus. Star Wars (@starwars) July 1, 2025 "With the new villain, Solitus, entering the scene, things are about to get a lot more complicated for this Force Builder in training," an official synopsis says of Sig Greebling's (Matarazzo) character arc. "There really isn't a tug of war between the good and the light with Solitus. It really is just a pure evil force whose main desire is control and order..." Matarazzo said. May the 4th: Fans channel the Force on Star Wars Day Star Wars fans turned out in full costume to honor the Force in in Yokohama, Kanagawa-Prefecture, Japan, on May 4, 2025. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Netflix fans gripped by Downton Abbey star's horror movie hailed as 'an all-time favourite' with extreme gore and 'proper mystery'
Netflix fans have been gripped by a Downton Abbey star's horror movie, hailing it as 'an all-time favourite' with extreme gore and 'proper mystery'. Apostle, released in 2018, sees Dan Stevens - best known as Matthew Crawley in the iconic ITV period drama - looking rather different. The horror film, set in the early 1900s, has Dan play a man trying to rescue his sister from a remote Welsh island, where she is being held for ransom by a religious cult. It was written and directed by Welshman Gareth Evans, well known for co-creating 2020 British action series Gangs of London, starring Paapa Essiedu and Peaky Blinders ' Joe Cole among others. The Netflix original movie has an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 79 per cent - and fans have now rediscovered it, taking to the review site to express their praise. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The horror film, set in the early 1900s, has Dan play a man trying to rescue his sister from a remote Welsh island, where she is being held for ransom by a religious cult One said: 'I'm generally not a fan of supernatural thrillers but this is a story mostly of people behaving badly with just a little supernatural thrown in to make it a little more creepy. 'Not good for "sensitive" souls as it comes with plenty of blood but not overdone in my opinion. Well done cinematography.' Another commented: 'As a huge fan of quality horror films, Apostle stands out. 'A slow burn of anxiety and dread, it makes the most out of its settings and concepts. It could have seemed slow if not for the proper use of mystery. 'It doesn't shy away from gore, but the violence is by no means senseless here. 'Apostle is by no means perfect. However, it's among one of the all-time favourites of the genre.' Similarly, one person said: 'Definitely one of the best horror movies I have seen.' Someone else was just as keen on it: 'It's a violent, imaginative gothic tale with plenty to think about, thanks to the brainpower of Gareth Evans. Fans have now rediscovered film, taking to review site Rotten Tomatoes to express their praise 'The cast are superb as is the cinematography. It's one I had to rewatch to truly appreciate its depth and beauty as a film. I'm glad I did.' Alongside Dan as protagonist Thomas Richardson, the cast boasts some other starry names too. Michael Sheen plays the cult leader Malcolm Howe and British-American actress Lucy Boynton (Miss Potter) stars as his daughter Andrea. Rising star Kristine Froseth, known for her recent turn in 2023 Apple TV+ period drama The Buccaneers, plays the daughter of Malcolm's deputy Quinn. And while others are full of praise for their performances, some viewers were not so keen. One brutally said: 'This is genuinely one of the worst movies, if not the worst movie, I have ever watched. Waste of two hours entirely.' Another was particular disappointed: 'Interesting concept and story. Started out strong with good acting. Then 45 minutes of total boredom and static. 'Watching wet paint dry would have been more interesting. But while others are full of praise for their performances, some viewers were not so keen 'Then it picked up the pace again but became muddled in a series of spasmodic, disjointed and confused nonsense.' Director Gareth, well known for his work on the Indonesian action film series The Raid, told Collider about how he tried to make Apostle different to other horror movies. 'With horror, usually, all of those suspense builds and tension builds are to jump scare, but then the release is really quick, he explained. 'They just say, "Pop", and it's gone. You've got the little jolt and then you carry on. 'For me, what I wanted to do instead is wait, where I can sustain that sense of dread, sustain that feeling of danger so you don't get those jump scare release moments. 'I might move you into another part of the plot, but I haven't let you let go of that feeling yet.' Fans' rediscovery of the movie comes as lead actor Dan's old Downton Abbey co-stars team up one final time for the beloved series' last spin-off film. Dan's character Matthew made a shock departure from the show in 2012, during the Christmas Day special - to viewer outrage. The Downton Abbey franchise, which began in 2010, has gone on to produce two spin-off films about the beloved Crawley family and their Yorkshire estate Set in the 1930s, the third and final film (pictured, the trailer) will see the return of beloved stars like Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan His tragic death in a car crash came only in series three - just halfway through the show's total six series. He was killed off because the actor wanted to pursue other opportunities. And Dan has since starred in X-Men spin-off series Legion and Disney's live action Beauty And The Beast remake in 2017. The Downton Abbey franchise, which began in 2010, has gone on to produce two spin-off films about the beloved Crawley family and their Yorkshire estate. And now, the story is set to come to a close, with the third and final movie Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, which will be released on September 12. Set in the 1930s, it will see the return of beloved stars like Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan. Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox and Raquel Cassidy will also feature. It also stars new additions, Paul Giamatti, Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola and Simon Russell Beale.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who Let Al Pacino Star in This Terrible Exorcism Movie?
The Ritual claims to be 'based on a true story' about the most documented and publicized exorcism in American history. That the movies are still trying to pass off demonic possession as plausibly realistic rather than horror-movie make-believe has grown wearisome, although it's not improbability that dooms this Al Pacino-headlined genre throwaway—in theaters June 6—but a crushing lack of originality and a form that makes its clichés even harder to swallow. Confronted with the unholy, Dan Stevens' priest may exclaim that this is a 'profoundly new and strange situation for all of us,' yet only the youngest and least horror-experienced moviegoers will feel likewise. In 1928 Earling, Iowa, Father Joseph Steiger (Stevens) acknowledges to his flock that he's continuing to grieve the recent death of his brother, thereby foreshadowing the preordained moment when an underworld imp mocks him about this tragedy. When he playfully steals a cracker from a tray carried by Sister Rose (Ashley Greene), The Ritual establishes their quasi-romantic feelings for each other and, in doing so, suggests that perhaps this man of the cloth's faith isn't rock solid. His belief is soon put to the test when he's told by Bishop Edwards (Patrick Fabian) that his church will be the site of the forthcoming exorcism of Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen), a young woman who's undergoing this ceremonial purging after having exhausted all other Western medical options. Handling the exorcism is Father Theophilus Riesinger (Pacino), who arrives in Iowa wearing a friar's robe that's cinched with a thick rope, and with a thick German accent that Pacino milks for all its worth. Theophilus is convinced that Emma is at the mercy of one of Satan's minions, and upon meeting with Joseph and Patricia Heaton's Mother Superior, he explains that they must all stay united in the face of the 'enemy' and its 'ancient' methods. Director David Midell's script wastes no time getting down to business, and as it turns out, the ritual he intends to perform is a multi-evening affair. Night one goes slowly, with Theophilus merely reading from his Bible while two attending nuns chime in when necessary and Joseph takes notes—a process that concludes with a sprinkling of holy water that knocks Emma out. Midell employs shaky handheld cinematography marked by sudden herky-jerky zooms throughout The Ritual, giving the material an aesthetic instability that fails to generate a sense of verité authenticity or dreadful unease. Shot in dark, muted hues, the film comes up with not a single enticing camera movement or image, and its tale proves similarly uninspired. In no time flat, Joseph starts voicing doubts about Theophilus's approach, whining repeatedly about his desire to have Emma seen by a professional doctor because her symptoms—such as a terrible seizure that causes her to foam at the mouth—resemble those associated with epilepsy. Theophilus pooh-poohs such concerns, arguing that Joseph's reservations are the tricks the Devil plays on the devout to weaken them in their divine battle. The Ritual embraces the narrative formula pioneered by The Exorcist and duplicated by legions of inferior wannabes, with Joseph plagued by a spiritual crisis that he's destined to overcome during a finale in which triumph is achieved by praying really hard. Before that inevitability, however, the film partakes in a cornucopia of familiar sights. Initially treated without restraints (because Joseph thinks them cruel), Emma lifts Sister Rose up by the hair, pulling out a giant clump in the process. Once tied down, she thrashes about, roars, and curses in English, Latin and Spanish. She additionally pukes bloody goo into a bucket, develops horrible sores all over her body, and attacks her Christian compatriots by thrusting her bed at them—all maneuvers that are so de rigueur it hurts, and are staged with not a shred of suspenseful surprise. Midell's tactics are almost as old as his diabolical baddie, and they include Jason Lazarus and Joseph Trapanese's shrieky score, copious loud noises to accompany wan jolts, and indecipherable whispering that everyone hears late at night in their rooms or in empty church hallways. Doors mysteriously creak open, Emma's body crackles as it contorts, and Stevens looks harried as a small-town priest who finds himself 'haunted' by Emma and the not-very-nice things she has to say about him and both Rose and Theophilus—not to mention he's freaked out by a spot on his arm that Emma licks and, later, appears to monstrously bubble. Stevens' character overreacts to everything that takes place over the course of the multiple rituals. Fortunately, he has Theophilus to calm him down with stories about his flight from evil in Europe and his personal connection to Emma, whom he didn't save years earlier when he was a rookie exorcist. The sole honest (and therefore interesting) moment in The Ritual features Joseph asking Theophilus why, out of all the people in the world, Emma was chosen to be preyed upon by Beelzebub's minions. Alas, Pacino's protagonist proffers an answer of such vague gibberish—apparently, she's a rare human with 'profound sensitivity' that leaves her ideally susceptible to the 'otherworldly'—that he inadvertently reveals the endeavor's silliness. For five decades and counting, demonic possession has been one of horror's favorite subjects. However, aside from Friedkin's 1973 classic, it's rarely effective if the films in question ask us to buy it as a legitimate phenomenon; better to embrace the florid, fanciful outrageousness of the conceit instead of pretending, as Midell does, that this is super-serious business. By hewing to the (supposed) historical record, The Ritual handcuffs itself, forced to trade in occurrences that are both hackneyed and tepid. The proceedings culminate with a basement showdown that peaks with the sight of Emma hovering ever-so-slightly off the ground—a deflating capper to a film that hasn't a clue how to scare. As a sage exorcist who's desperate for redemption, Pacino chews the scenery with as much gusto as possible, yet the material is so inept that it doesn't even provide him with corny dialogue or insane incidents that might let him really go over-the-top. His Theophilus views himself as Heaven's conduit in an eternal war against Hell, but this misfire strands its legendary star in bland B-movie purgatory.
CBC
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
The Ritual is dreary, dumb and dangerous. And misogynistic. Also, it sucks
Two separate times in David Middel's horror film The Ritual, title cards pop up declaring that you are watching the most well-documented case of demonic possession in history. A final message then asserts that "debate persists" over whether this instance — the 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt — was a case of medical or spiritual malady. Having made it to the end of this offensive mess, I can only assume that "debate" is a reference to the fact that The Ritual believes you are an evil imbecile if you disagree with the practice of exorcism — a practice that has led to literal torture deaths across the world. Middel also seems to suggest that spirits and demons are not only real, but they only continue to exist because egghead authorities don't believe hard enough — even in the face of extraordinary and frightening evidence that you should be calling 911 for the bleeding, wailing, vomiting young woman instead of dousing her with holy water. This is not a knock against religiosity, or even Christianity itself; The Ritual 's central didactic instruction isn't to believe in a higher power. Instead, it's an absurdly specific, fearfully atavistic and almost despairingly cruel directive not to listen to the voice of reason in the face of fatal consequences. WATCH | The Ritual trailer: It's all strung around the neck of Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens), a faltering parish priest in the small town of Earling, Iowa. He's already struggling with conflicting responsibility and powerless leadership when a bishop bluntly informs him his church will soon be the site of an exorcism. It's Emma, you see: she's been exhibiting all the telltale symptoms of mental illness. Ones that through time immemorial have led to countless women's ostracization, forced hospitalization and lobotomies — all of which, for example, were perpetrated against little-known Kennedy sister Rosemary when she didn't act presidential enough for the presidential family. Throughout history, such practices have forged a horrifying pattern of abhorrent, confused and counterproductive treatments to silence, control and kill women. Just Google where the word "hysteria" comes from (also, chillingly, its diagnosis). Instead of scientific tortures or burning at the stake, the men in Emma's life have opted for a more traditional method. Looking for all the world like a Jeremiah Johnson Jesuit, Father Theophilus Riesinger (Al Pacino) has apparently chosen to give up his day job hanging out beneath bridges to demand tolls from fairy tale travellers. Now, he'd like to excise the spirits from poor Emma's battered and bruised body. All Steiger needs to do is take notes, and keep the pesky nuns and Reverend Mother (Patricia Heaton) from complaining too much about the very loud atrocities being committed beneath their bedrooms. Dangerous message Unfortunately, that proves a bit too much for that meddling kid (i.e. non-psychopath). Instead, Steiger impudently questions the wisdom of treating a clearly suffering woman with assault instead of, say, literally anything else. Too bad he's an idiot, apparently. Because as Riesinger assures him, his fancy-dancy doctors can't save Emma, can't save him, can't save any of us. This is something far more "ancient" we're dealing with here. Any second-guessing or second opinions will invariably lead to everyone's doom. This is the film's supposed central message, allowed to bloom even as its supposed central character, Steiger, fades inauspiciously into the background, while Riesinger and Schmidt graduate to blood-spattered moralistic caricatures, which are bestowed with all the depth, accuracy and effectiveness of those anti-drug D.A.R.E. comics (which in some cases actually got kids to do drugs more). An equally trite and terrifying tone (in neither case intentional) drips through this sad affair. If it were made with even a modicum of artistry, the film may have run the risk of sparking a roaring prairie fire of collective madness. Something this insidious, made proficiently, could well have become another Michelle Remembers, the Canadian ritual-abuse memoir so incorrect and inflammatory it set off the Satanic panic. Luckily, The Ritual is garbage. But it's noxious, like a tire fire that, if ignored, could spark a human tragedy going on for years or even centuries. But instead of ignorance, let's be better: let's look the Devil right in the face, and deal with what makes The Ritual a steaming pile of belching trash, deserving of its own exclusion zone at least the size of Chernobyl's. It's not the awkward, stilted writing. It's not the Office -style handheld zooms, making this supernatural horror look not unlike a daytime TV sitcom. It's not even Pacino's bizarre accent, seemingly a low-effort homage to his years of terrible and forgettable roles taken to recover from Ponzi scheme-induced financial ruin. No, the truly repugnant point of this movie comes toward the end, where after 90 minutes of dancing around Steiger's milquetoast hemming and hawing, Midell gives up the pretence of evenhandedness. In a scene that hits you over the head so hard it could star in Concussion, The Ritual combines liturgy, a dropped bible and laughable CGI smoke straight out of Lost to make its case. The suggestion is that Steiger was a moron to ever doubt. You can deal with mental illness at home, the film proclaims. All you need is rope, a wrought-iron bed frame and the privacy of a securely locked cellar. It is an asinine lesson, but also a cruel and dangerous one. It comes after in-movie assurances that 1920s medicine was unable to find anything medically or "biologically" wrong, sure — as a smugly (and historically, and scientifically) ignorant pat on the back for our resident exorcists. It also ignores the fact that self-righteous belief in the face of these practices does result in death. It ignores that exorcists killed Anneliese Michel. That exorcists killed Tylee Ryan and Joshua Jaxon (JJ) Vallow. That, according to Vice, exorcists traumatized Canadian Marie McClellan and continue to prod others into demanding the treatment for themselves. Vile morals All in all, it's vile. It's as if someone made a new Bambi, except now his mother dies because she stupidly neglected to do enough whippets. Or a Stand By Me where, instead of relying on the power and fleeting beauty of boyhood friendship, Gordie tells a crying Chris of course the pain will go away. All he has to do is start drinking gin. Or if in Roots, Kunta Kinte gave in before even the first lashing. "Isn't it great being a slave?" he asks this time, smiling dopily at the camera. "I am Toby Obedientman." Cue credits. Happy ending. Did you learn something?
