Empire October 2022

“AS THIS YEAR’S brain-meltingly hot summer fades away (was it just me or did it feel like we’d been beamed into the climax of Sunshine?), winter approaches, and with it all its cosy seasonal joys. Mugs of hot chocolate, scarf-wrapped walks in the park, and films where people get horribly slaughtered in the first act. Yes, nothing says “the holidays are coming” quite like a murder-mystery, that classic genre that mixes up sparkling dialogue with guns, poisons and assorted stabby objects. Which is why we’re very excited indeed to take you to the scene of the crime for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. AS THIS YEAR’S brain-meltingly hot summer fades away (was it just me or did it feel like we’d been beamed into the climax of What exactly…

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is our cover feature, and writer-director Rian Johnson spoke to Empire contributor Hanna Flint over Zoom about Benoit Blanc’s latest case. This is indeed a twisted web — to finish untangling it, skip ahead and read the feature. THE NOW AWARD-WINNING EMPIRE PODCAST Chris Hewitt, James Dyer and Helen O’Hara took home the gold (or rather, red) at this year’s British Podcast Awards, winning Best Live Podcast for our 500th episode spectacular. Listen to the winning episode wherever podcasts are found. HEADING BACK TO JURASSIC WORLD Deputy Online Editor Ben Travis headed to Isla Nublar (aka Malta) to get chased by raptors, and in the process found time to chat with Jurassic World Dominion stars Bryce Dallas Howard and DeWanda Wise. Listen out for…

TO BOLDLY GO… The news that Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols passed away was so sad. She played an important role in the 1960s and was praised by Martin Luther King. We all know about the kiss with Kirk, but Nichelle was much more than that. I was so pleased when I got to meet her on a visit to this country some years ago — and I managed to turn her into a Walsall FC supporter just for a moment! MARK DABBS, GREAT WYRLEY Thank you, Mark. For your heartfelt tribute — and the surprising revelation that one of sci-fi’s biggest stars was an unlikely League Two football fan — have a Picturehouse membership on us. Empire’s star letter wins a Picturehouse Membership, plus one for a friend! Valid for…

THIS MONTH’S FILM MOMENTS THAT MATTER KEATON. AFFLECK. PATTINSON. Reeves (Matt). Reeves (Keanu). It’s a demanding time to be a Batman fan — to keep track of everything going on requires a regularly updated Bat-planner. These days, including TV and big-screen animation, there are a possible six Batmen in play (not to mention a Batdog). Adding to the potential confusion is the recent merger of Warner Bros. with reality-based streaming giant Discovery, prompting a slew of cancelled projects and the announcement of a new ten-year plan for the DC Universe. So what exactly is going on? We attempt to unravel this Riddler-level mystery… BATGIRL IS CANCELLED The 95-per-cent finished film starring Leslie Grace, DC’s first Afro-Latina lead, as vigilante Barbara Gordon, and directed by Ms. Marvel favourites Bilall Fallah and…

THERE’S NO POINT asking David Gordon Green how Halloween Ends ends, because even he doesn’t know. “It changes every day,” he says from his office in LA. “In theory, the picture is locked, but this morning I called the editor and said, ‘What if we do this one thing…’” It’s understandable that the writer-director is fussing over how to close his trilogy. It’s not just the ending of his story; it’s also the conclusion to the story John Carpenter began in 1978, and of Jamie Lee Curtis’ time playing Laurie Strode. “I speak with John and Jamie Lee Curtis regularly about it,” says Green. “It’s exciting, uncertain, satisfying and sad. I’ve enjoyed the ride but it’s probably time to get off. I think we’re gonna go out with a bang.”…

IDRIS ELBA IS HAVING HIS MOST ELECTRIC, ECLECTIC YEAR YET THERE’S AN OLD Idris Elba clip that recirculates online every now and then that I always enjoy watching. It sees the then-23-year-old Brit, who was just starting out, reacting to Pierce Brosnan’s performance in GoldenEye: “He’s really good. He’s got all the charm. He’s got all the looks... He’s alright.” Despite being on many fans’ wishlists, an Elba-starring Bond hasn’t yet materialised. But given the year this East London-born movie star is having, who needs 007 credentials? Whether he’s a widower fighting a lion with his bare hands in Beast, playing a pointy-eared djinn in Three Thousand Years Of Longing, or returning to his roots in a Luther movie potentially later this year, 2022 has shown his versatility knows no…