News

Rumor has it that there's a new villain being cast in the next standalone entry in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars: Starfighter has a scheduled release date of May 28, 2027. The upcoming movie stars Ryan Gosling and is directed by Shawn Levy. The film takes place five to six years after The Rise of Skywalker and now looks to be adding a new villain to the mix.

A New Star Wars Adventure

Director Shawn Levy directed the recently heralded Deadpool & Wolverine and the lesser known but no less entertaining The Adam Project. Writer Jonathan Tropper (who also worked on The Adam Project) joins him at the helm of Star Wars: Starfighter.

“We’re fans too,” Levy said to an exuberant crowd at the Star Wars Celebration. “There’s obviously a relationship between these stories and the audience, but we’ve spent our lives in that audience. We know how meaningful it is.

The ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘Doctor Who’ star, Matt Smith, has officially joined the cast of ‘Star Wars: Starfighter,’ the upcoming standalone feature from director Shawn Levy for Lucasfilm.

Sources close to the actor confirm that Smith will portray a key villain in the film, taking on a major role opposite previously announced stars Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth.

‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ is set to begin filming this fall, with a theatrical release date scheduled for May 28, 2027.

Also in news – ‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight to pen Denis Villeneuve’s James Bond Movie

Scripted by Jonathan Tropper, the new instalment in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise is set approximately five years after the events of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,’ and will introduce a slate of new characters to the beloved universe. While specific plot details remain under wraps, the film is said to expand the mythology beyond the Skywalker saga,...

Production on "Star Wars: Starfighter" is set to begin this fall. "Deadpool & Wolverine" director Shawn Levy will direct the film from a script written by Jonathan Tropper. Academy Award-nominee Ryan Gosling will headline the film, with Mia Goth also set to star. This film will be set five years after the events of "The Rise of Skywalker," and will be the next film in Lucasfilm's marquee franchise following Jon Favreau's "The Mandalorian and Grogu," which will hit theaters on May 22, 2026.

As principal photography nears, more actors are being cast in what appears to be a much-needed new direction for big-screen "Star Wars" adventures, given that the franchise has mainly been a television fixture thanks to its several shows on Disney+. Now, Emmy-nominated actor Matt Smith has joined the cast of "Starfighter," and fascinatingly enough, he was originally cast in the Sequel Trilogy, but his role was ultimately axed.

Matt Smith joins the Star Wars universe as a villain in ‘Starfighter’, starring alongside Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth.

Lucasfilm has confirmed one of the most anticipated castings among fans of the saga: Matt Smith will be part of the main cast of ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’, playing one of the film’s villains. This ambitious production, directed by Shawn Levy and set for release on 28 May 2027, will also feature Ryan Gosling in the lead role and Mia Goth in another antagonistic part.

Set five years after the events of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, the film is positioned as a standalone story within the galactic universe, introducing a completely new narrative approach. The script, penned by Jonathan Tropper, revolves around a starfighter pilot whose mission brings him face-to-face with powerful dark forces. According to sources close to the production, Gosling will portray the titular pilot, while Smith and Goth form a...

Matt Smith is finally heading to a galaxy far, far away. According to Deadline, the Doctor Who and The Crown star has been cast as the main villain in the upcoming Star Wars movie Starfighter. He will be joining Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth in the new film.

This marks Smith’s second time being connected to the Star Wars universe. He was once attached to The Rise of Skywalker but never made it into the final film. Back in 2021, Smith explained on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that “We were close to being in it, but it never quite happened. Eventually, the part became obsolete and they didn’t need it. So, I never got to be in Star Wars.”

He didn’t reveal exactly who he was supposed to play, but many fans speculated it was a major role tied to Emperor Palpatine.

Remember those reports that Matt...

Matt Smith is officially joining the Star Wars galaxy, this time for real. According to Deadline, the Doctor Who star has been cast as the main villain in Star Wars: Starfighter, the upcoming film from director Shawn Levy. He’ll star alongside Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth.

This isn’t Smith’s first brush with the franchise. Back when The Rise of Skywalker was in development, he was attached to a mystery role. However, that never came to be. “We were close to being in it, but it never quite happened,” Smith told the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2021.

Remember those reports that Matt Smith was going to be in The Rise Of Skywalker? He told me his role was a big deal, representing “a big shift in the history of the [Star Wars] franchise.”

Who Was He Going To Play?!

Full video chat at https://t.co/e84WokCDhq pic.twitter.

Matt Smith will play the villain in Star Wars: Starfighter.The House of the Dragon star has signed up to appear alongside Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth in the upcoming film after director Shawn Levy met with a number of actors about the key role in the movie, and executives opted for the former Doctor Who lead, Deadline reports.Exact details on Matt's role in the film are being kept vague, but sources told the outlet it will be one of the villains.Star Wars: Starfighter - which will begin shooting later this year ahead of a May 2027 release - will act as a standalone movie within the space opera franchise and will be set five years after 2019's The Rise of Skywalker,Shawn, 56, recently teased the film will be a whole "new adventure" for fans. He said: “There are many rumours, some true, some not. … This is not a prequel,...

Matt Smith will play the villain in Star Wars: Starfighter.The House of the Dragon star has signed up to appear alongside Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth in the upcoming film after director Shawn Levy met with a number of actors about the key role in the movie, and executives opted for the former Doctor Who lead, Deadline reports.Exact details on Matt's role in the film are being kept vague, but sources told the outlet it will be one of the villains.Star Wars: Starfighter - which will begin shooting later this year ahead of a May 2027 release - will act as a standalone movie within the space opera franchise and will be set five years after 2019's The Rise of Skywalker,Shawn, 56, recently teased the film will be a whole "new adventure" for fans. He said: “There are many rumours, some true, some not. … This is not a prequel,...

Matt Smith is about to trade a dragon for a Starfighter. The House of the Dragon star has reportedly signed on to play a villain in the upcoming Star Wars feature film, which will star Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth, be helmed by Shawn Levy, and which had its coming-out party at Star Wars Celebration in April 2025.

Here's everything we know so far about Star Wars: Starfighter.

What's the story?

The are scant details about the plot, other than it is a one-off installment that involves Ryan Gosling's character and his young companion being pursued by villainous forces. Levy says that Starfighter will cover new territory in franchise storytelling and won't feature any of the major characters from prior releases. “This is a standalone. It’s not a prequel, not sequel. It’s a new adventure. It’s set in a period of time that we haven’t seen explored yet,...

Matt Smith's Infinity Gauntlet of nerdy IP is about to add another stone — and this one's coming from a galaxy far, far away. Yes, having made bow ties cool with his stint as Doctor Who's Eleventh Doctor, donned the blonde as Daemon Targaryen in House Of The Dragon, thrown some shapes as bloodsucker Milo in Spumc's Morbius, and been a T-5000 in Terminator Genisys, Smith is getting ready to make the jump to lightspeed for Shawn Levy's upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter. Per Deadline's reporting, Smith has landed a villainous role opposite Ryan Gosling's heroic lead in the Deadpool & Wolverine filmmaker's first Star Wars feature.

As we learned at this year's Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo, Starfighter — described specifically and repeatedly by Levy as "a standalone adventure with all-new characters" — is the first Star Wars film set after the events of The Rise Of Skywalker, with...

Matt Smith is headed to a galaxy far, far away.

The “House of the Dragon” star has joined the cast of Shawn Levy’s “Star Wars: Starfighter” for Lucasfilm, sources close to the actor confirm. He will appear in a villain role, opposite previously announced cast members Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth. Lucasfilm could not be reached for comment.

This isn’t Smith’s first brush with the “Star Wars” franchise. The “Doctor Who” alum was previously cast in “The Rise of Skywalker,” but ultimately didn’t appear in the film. “We were close to being in it, but it never quite happened. I think the thing they were thinking of before. Eventually, the part became obsolete and they didn’t need it. So, I never got to be in ‘Star Wars,'” he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2021. He declined to elaborate on the role he would...

Actor Matt Smith is heading to the galaxy far, far away, joining director Shawn Levy’s standalone feature Star Wars: Starfighter as one of the film’s chief antagonists opposite lead star Ryan Gosling.

Sources close to the production state that Smith’s character will partner—though not necessarily align—with the previously announced villain role played by Mia Goth, giving Gosling’s unnamed hero a “duo of pursuers.” Script duties fall to Jonathan Tropper, while Lucasfilm has fixed a theatrical launch date of May 28 2027, positioning the project as the next big-screen chapter after The Mandalorian & Grogu lands in 2026.

Levy, speaking to People in April, described pairing Gosling’s “uniquely cool ethos” with Star Wars as “a recipe that makes the galaxy better and cooler,” adding that the story sits a few years after the Battle of Exegol yet is “neither prequel nor sequel.” Gosling echoed that enthusiasm at Star Wars Celebration Japan,...

“Doctor Who” alum Matt Smith is set to join the galaxy far, far away in “Star Wars: Starfighter,” starring Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth and hitting theaters Memorial Day Weekend 2027.

Details are light on Smith’s role and the plot of the film, which will be directed by Shawn Levy (“Deadpool & Wolverine”) from a script by Jonathan Tropper. But Smith is reported to play a villain in the film, which will be set five years after the events of Disney/Lucasfilm’s sequel trilogy, which ended with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019.

Since that film, Disney has not released a “Star Wars” movie in theaters, opting for a series of Disney+ shows that have ranged in reception from the critically acclaimed “Andor” to the fan-maligned “The Acolyte.” The first of those streaming series, “The Mandalorian,” will get a theatrical film follow-up with “The Mandalorian & Grogu” in...

Deadline reports that Matt Smith has joined the cast of Star Wars: Starfighter, with the actor set to play one of the villain roles in the movie. Ryan Gosling is already attached to star in the film, with Mia Goth also on board.

The film, which will be directed by Shawn Levy from a script by Jonathan Tropper, is a new standalone adventure set five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. It will feature all-new characters and explore a period of time that has not yet been explored on screen. Production is expected to kick off this fall. The film will hit theaters on May 28, 2027.

Related Sony releases a new poster for Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing

You may recall that Matt Smith was supposed to appear in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. He joined the cast in what was supposed to be a “key role,...

Exclusive: After fighting battles for House Targaryen, Matt Smith is ready to take his next fight to a galaxy far, far, away. Sources tell Deadline that the House of the Dragon star is on board to join Ryan Gosling in Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Starfighter. Mia Goth is also on board, with Shawn Levy directing the pic. Jonathan Tropper penned the script.

Lucasfilm and reps for Smith could not be reached for comment.

The film will shoot this fall and is set to bow on May 28, 2027. While exact details are vague on who Smith will be playing, sources say it will be one of the villain roles. Casting has been gearing up on the project over the past couple of weeks, with Levy meeting with a number of actors for this key role; sources say execs made the decision to go with Smith to play the next great villain in the Star Wars universe.

Ryan Gosling lit the world ablaze two years ago with his performance opposite Margot Robbie in Barbie, but 10 years before he ever ventured to Barbieland for Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-winner, he met his wife filming a heist thriller that just got a devastating streaming update. Gosling stars alongside Eva Mendes and Bradley Cooper in The Place Beyond the Pines, the tragic crime drama following a stunt rider who turns into a robber to lead a happy life with his child and lover, only to catch the eyes of a dedicated police officer. The Place Beyond the Pines is currently streaming on Netflix, but not for much longer. The streamer has confirmed that it will depart the service at the end of this month, with the last day to watch the film being July 31.

The Place Beyond the Pines earned a “Certified Fresh” 79% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a solid 75% on the audience-driven Popcornmeter.

If you have Apple TV+, you will soon be in luck: the streaming service, along with production company Hello Sunshine, has announced that production on its upcoming drama series Luckyhas wrapped. The show, which stars an ensemble led by Anya Taylor-Joy, doesn't have a release date yet, but given that filming is now complete, we should get some more news sooner rather than later.

The cast of Lucky celebrated the news in a post on Instagram, including Taylor-Joy alongside a slew of her co-stars: Drew Starkey, Timothy Olyphant, Annette Bening, Eric Lange, Mo McRae, Clifton Collins Jr., and William Fichtner. The series will be based on the book of the same name by Marissa Stapley. It will follow Lucky (Taylor-Joy), a young woman who recently abandoned a life of crime. But when a series of mishaps involving a lottery ticket and a million-dollar heist occur, Lucky is forced to dive back down a dark path.

Your Friends & Neighbors wrapped up its first season on May 30, 2025, and wasted no time jumping into production for Season 2. The Apple TV+ dramedy, led by Jon Hamm, follows a hedge fund manager who, after losing his job and wealth, turns to stealing from his ultra-rich social circle. With a failed marriage, moral decay, and high-end crime at its core, the show struck a chord with fans looking for sharp writing and dark humor.

It quickly climbed Apple TV+’s charts and became a surprise breakout hit. What’s even more exciting is that Season 2 was already filming before the Season 1 finale aired. So what’s next for our favorite white-collar thief? Here’s everything we know so far about Your Friends & Neighbors Season 2.

Is Your Friends & Neighbors Season 2 Under Production? A still from Your Friends & Neighbors | Credits: Apple TV+

The series, unlike many others, didn’t end on a dramatic cliffhanger.

Your Friends & Neighborsstarring Jon Hamm is officially a streaming powerhouse on one top platform.

Per FlixPatrol, Your Friends & Neighbors continues to hold strong in the top ten streaming series list for Apple TV+. On the chart for Jul. 15, Your Friends & Neighbors currently holds the sixth place spot on the list, sitting just below Ted Lasso in fifth place, while the recently released golf comedy Stick has maintained its place at the very top of the chart.

Created by Jonathan Tropper, best known as the creator and showrunner of both 2013's Banshee and 2019's Warrior, Your Friends & Neighbors stars Hamm as Andrew "Coop" Cooper, a wealthy financier who loses his job but is unwilling to make any material changes in his life because of it. Rather than cutting back on his expenses in any meaningful way, Coop instead turns towards stealing from his similarly affluent neighbors in order to keep up appearances.

Ryan Gosling has already played a teacher (“Half Nelson”) and an astronaut (“First Man”), but with “Project Hail Mary,” he’s both. That’s right: Gosling is leading the feature as a middle school biology teacher who travels to space to save the universe.

The film, which is based on the bestselling book by “The Martian” author Andy Weir, centers on Ryland Grace (Gosling) who wakes up from a coma with amnesia. He gradually remembers that he was sent to the Tau Ceti solar system, 12 lightyears from Earth, to find a means of reversing a solar dimming event that could cause the extinction of humanity. Ryland has to travel through space to keep the Sun and every other star in the galaxy from dying.

The official synopsis reads: “Science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there.

The success of Barbie in 2023 sent a ripple throughout Hollywood that resulted in some interesting choices regarding future projects based on established IPs. Although the Matchbox movie was announced in 2022 before Barbie’s release, the film’s success likely put Matchbox on the fast track after seeing the potential for box office returns. Matchbox recruited WWE legend John Cena to star in the lead role, with Sam Hargrave hopping into the director’s chair. Hargrave is a veteran stunt coordinator who also directed both of Chris Hemsworth’s Extraction movies. Collider’s Steve Weintraub recently sat down for an interview with John Cena to talk about his new Prime Video movie,Heads of State (Idris Elba), and he asked if there was anything he could say about the film, and he teased how it differs from his previous work on Extraction:

"The thing I love about Matchbox is Sam also...

The Star Wars franchise is bustling with new films, though not all are progressing smoothly. Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu is locked in for a May 22, 2026, theatrical release, leading the charge.

Meanwhile, projects from directors like Shawn Levy, James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Taika Waititi are in various stages of development, keeping fans eager for updates.

Shawn Levy’s Star Wars film, currently titled Starfighter, is gaining traction. Levy, known for Deadpool & Wolverine, began talks to direct in 2022, per Deadline. Development paused during the 2023 writers’ strike but picked up again afterward.

Related: Fans Rank the Top 10 Greatest Star Wars Characters of All Time

In July 2024, Jonathan Tropper, who worked with Levy on The Adam Project, was confirmed as the screenwriter. Early 2025 brought news that Ryan Gosling is in discussions to star, boosting the project’s priority. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the film takes place “five to six...

This week, Apple's acclaimed new series, Your Friends and Neighbors, crossed over with one of the most popular shows on TV. It wasn't one of its streaming compatriots, like Severance or Ted Lasso, however; it was syndicated game-show juggernaut Jeopardy!, which featured a special Your Friends and Neighbors-themed category presented by the cast of the show. In Thursday's episode, which pitted returning two-day champion Matt Massie against challengers Josh Prohofsky and Sean Addie, star Jon Hamm introduced the Your Friends and Neighbors category, promising that "just like in our show, we'll have clues about friends and neighbors people didn't know as well as they thought."

Hamm presented one of the clues, as well, while castmates Olivia Munn and Amanda Peet presented two each. The category was a wide-ranging one. Some of the clues touched on pop culture, including the secretly treacherous Peter Pettigrew from the Harry Potter franchise,...

This article contains a discussion of suicide.

Put that Rolex back where it came from. Spoilers for season 1 of "Friends and Neighbors" lie ahead!

Legendary horror writer Stephen King has many delightful qualities as a public figure, but perhaps his best is that he genuinely enjoys pop culture and consumes it just like the rest of us. On the social media platform Bluesky, King weighed in on a recent Apple TV+ series with a pretty positive verdict: "Deliriously nasty. It's like a John D. MacDonald novel from 1962 with a lot more sex and no good guy. Enjoyable."

The series in question is "Your Friends and Neighbors," which premiered on the streamer in April 2025 and stars "Mad Men" veteran Jon Hamm as Andrew Cooper, a finance guy usually called "Coop" who, in the first episode, gets fired over a fling with a subordinate employee and doesn't know how to keep his expensive life afloat.

As Mia Goth's star continues to rise, the highly in-demand actress - who just recently wrapped on Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey - has booked a trip to the galaxy far, far away.

First reported by Jeff Sneider and since backed up by THR, Goth has been cast as the main villain in Deadpool and Wolverine director Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter. Details on her character are scant, but we do know that she'll play one of the people pursuing Ryan Gosling's unnamed hero and his teenage nephew.

THR also confirms that this is the part Anora star Mikey Madison was attached to before deciding to pass due to a money issue.

“The reality is that this script is just so good. It has such a great story with great and original characters,” Gosling said during Star Wars Celebration Japan earlier this year. “It’s filled with so much heart and adventure,...

The Star Wars franchise finally got a huge star in its kitty after Ryan Gosling was confirmed to headline a new movie in the sci-fi franchise. Directed by Shawn Levy, the upcoming movie is titled Starfighter and is set to release in 2027, after next year’s The Mandalorian and Grogu movie with Pedro Pascal.

The sci-fi franchise has been concentrating on its streaming offerings for the past few years after Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm seems to be focusing on the big screen again after a series of Disney+ shows that did not do as well as expected. With Ryan Gosling at the center, Starfighter is sure to be an interesting project.

1. Ryan Gosling will be playing a protector in Star Wars: Starfighter Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy | Credits: Universal Pictures

Ryan Gosling was a surprise announcement at this year’s Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo.

Since making her major big screen breakthrough in Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria back in 2018, Mia Goth has marked herself out as one of the most otherworldly talents in Hollywood today, putting in singular performances in everything from High Life to Emma to Infinity Pool to Ti West's X trilogy. Now, per THR's reporting, it looks like Goth is set to go from the otherworldly to the quite-literally-out-of-this-worldly with her first blockbuster booking. The movie? Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter. The role? Lead villain.

Yes, despite recent whisperings that Mikey Madison had been offered the villainous lead opposite star Ryan Gosling in Levy's new Star War, it is Goth — next to be seen in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein this November — who has found herself with a ticket to that galaxy far, far away. And while plot details for Levy's movie, scripted by The Adam Project's Jonathan Tropper,...

Mia Goth is set to join the cast of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Starfighter starring Ryan Gosling. Shawn Levy is directing the pic. Jonathan Tropper penned the script.

The film will shoot this fall and is set to bow on May 28, 2027.

Details were unveiled in April at the Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo. The film is set five years after the events of Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, which concluded the Skywalker saga and currently stands as the final feature chronologically on the Star Wars timeline.

Goth can be seen next in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein alongside Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac. She also can be seen in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey with Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson.

She is repped by WME, Curtis Brown and attorney Michael Auerbach.

The InSneider was first to report Goth’s casting.

Mia Goth is joining Ryan Gosling in a galaxy far, far away.

The actress, perhaps best known for A24’s “X” trilogy, will join the star in “Star Wars: Starfighter,” a new standalone feature from “Deadpool & Wolverine” director Shawn Levy, according to media reports. The movie starts production this fall for a May 28, 2027 theatrical release.

It’s unclear who Goth is playing, but it was recently revealed that Oscar-winning “Anora” actress Mikey Madison turned down a role in the movie, reportedly as a villain.

“Star Wars: Starfighter,” officially revealed at this year’s Star Wars Celebration event (which was held in Japan), is set five years after the events of 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” with new characters (including those played by Gosling and Goth) taking the spotlight.

“There are many rumors, some true, some not … This is not a prequel, this is not a sequel. It’s a new adventure,...

Goth, meet Hoth. Scream queen Mia Goth is the latest addition to Shawn Levy's mysterious new Star Wars movie, Starfighter. She'll star alongside Ryan Gosling, who is playing the film's lead. Variety reports that Goth's role is being kept under wraps for now.

Previously, the role had reportedly been offered to reigning Best Actress Oscar-winner Mikey Madison, who turned it down. The space opera role will be one of the highest-profile roles for Goth to date. Her current resume is notably horror-heavy, with roles in Suspiria, A Cure for Wellness, Infinity Pool, and all three films of Ti West's X Trilogy. Later this year, she's set to star in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, and has also landed a role in Christopher Nolan's star-studded adaptation of The Odyssey. This will be Goth's first venture into big-budget studio franchise filmmaking, although she is also slated to star in the McU's Bladereboot,...

A popular Scream Queen is heading to a galaxy far, far away. The first new cast member for Ryan Gosling's Star Wars movie has been found.

Following an initial casting report by trusted insider Jeff Sneider, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Mia Goth has been cast in Star Wars: Starfighter. Goth's casting also comes with the first story details for Starfighter, which is set to be the second new Star Wars movie released in theaters following the franchise's seven-year hiatus from the big screen. Gosling's unnamed character will reportedly be protecting his young nephew against evil pursuers, with Goth playing one of them. THR also confirmed that Goth's role is the same one that Oscar winner Mikey Madison (Anora) had been circling before reportedly walking away due to a pay dispute.

Goth has quickly emerged as a rising star in the horror genre thanks to her breakout...

Mia Goth is headed to a galaxy far, far away. The “Pearl” actor has joined the cast of Shawn Levy’s “Star Wars: Starfighter,” which also stars Ryan Gosling. Details of her role are currently being kept under wraps.

The film is eyeing a fall production start and Disney has set a theatrical release date of May 28, 2027. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and chief creative officer Dave Filoni officially unveiled plans for “Starfighter” at the annual Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo this April.

The standalone, which focuses on new characters in the “Star Wars” universe, is set roughly five years after the events of “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker,” which concluded the Skywalker saga and currently stands as the final feature chronologically on the “Star Wars” timeline.

Goth will next appear in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” alongside Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac, as well as...

When Jon Hamm finally won that much-deserved Emmy for lead actor in a drama for Mad Men back in 2015, he humbly declared it a "terrible mistake." Hardly.

But it's taken him 10 years to return to the top of the call sheet, choosing instead to build out a lengthy IMDb page with memorable character turns, cameos, hosting gigs, and voice overs.

He's finally reclaimed his leading man status with Apple TV+'s Your Friends and Neighbors, as the morally questionable Andy "Coop" Cooper, who turns to stealing from his wealthy neighbors to keep up appearances when he loses his high-paying hedge fund job.

Here, he tells Gold Derby what persuaded him to step back into the spotlight, what motivated Coop's decisions in the finale (spoilers below), and what it all means for Season 2.

Gold Derby: You’ve kept pretty busy in the years since Mad Men. What was your strategy in choosing your roles,...

Your Friends & Neighbors is without a doubt everyone’s current favorite Apple TV+ dark comedy, and we just can’t wait for more Jon Hamm. The highly loved series debuted on the platform on Friday, April 11, 2025, with its first two episodes: "This Is What Happens" and "Deuce." In no time, it was renewed for a second season, but without a return date announced. Nevertheless, Apple TV+ has fantastic news as they’ve confirmed via their social media page that Season 2 of Your Friends & Neighbors is now in production, promising "more Hamm on the way."

Although the dramedy shares the same name and genre as the 1998 film of the same name, they’re in no way related. Led by Hamm, Your Friends & Neighbors follows his character Andrew “Coop” Cooper, a New York hedge fund manager, recently divorced and fired in disgrace. Because of his unemployment, he resorts to...

Jon Hamm’s role in Your Friends & Neighbors has everyone buzzing, and it’s not just because of the razor-sharp writing and the way it presents serious matters with a darkly comedic tone. Fans can’t help but draw parallels between Hamm’s disgraced hedge fund manager, Coop, and Bryan Cranston’s Walter White from Breaking Bad.

But is Coop truly going to follow in Heisenberg’s footsteps, or will the show carve its own path? Let’s look at both the characters, the similarities between the two, and what the creator has to say about this comparison ahead of season 2!

Your Friends & Neighbors’ Coop vs. Breaking Bad’s Walter White A still from Breaking Bad | Credits: Netflix

At first glance, you can’t deny the similarities between Andrew “Coop” Cooper and Walter White. They are both men who once held respectable positions. Walter was a chemistry teacher, and...

After wrapping up its gripping first season in late May, Your Friends & Neighbors has firmly cemented itself as one of Apple TV+’s most addictive and stylish crime dramas of the year. Created by Jonathan Tropper, the show stars Jon Hamm as Andrew “Coop” Cooper, a disgraced hedge fund manager-turned-thief navigating the murky waters of morality and suburban hypocrisy. Blending sharp writing with morally ambiguous characters and a sleek noir tone, the show quickly built a loyal following. The Season 1 finale left fans on edge with major revelations—including a faked murder and Coop’s continued descent into criminality—making the case for a second season not only inevitable but deeply exciting. Thankfully, Apple TV+ has officially renewed the series, and with production for Season 2 of ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ already underway, the Westmont Village saga is far from over. Here’s everything we know so far about what’s next.

The creator of Your Friends & Neighbors, Jonathan Tropper, has secured a multi-year deal with Apple TV+. This is an important move that underlines Apple TV+’s commitment to high-quality storytelling and the showrunner’s commitment to bringing new and interesting content to the audience.

With the series wrap for season 1 of Your Friends & Neighbors, such a resounding success, people are eager to know what happens in the life of Andrew Cooper and can’t wait to watch what’s next. The disgraced hedge fund manager who grapples with his life on a downward spiral and turns to a life of crime had a brilliant season 1 end recently, and the audience can’t wait to watch what happens next.

Jonathan Tropper’s role in expanding the content universe on Apple TV+

Jonathan Tropper first collaborated with Apple TV in 2019, where he started as the executive producer and showrunner for See.

Iconic actor Jon Hamm had been trying and trying to get better roles in shows for several years, but it didn’t do him any good. That was until the actor starred in the lead role as Don Draper in the iconic show Mad Men.

With skyrocketed fame, Jon Hamm continued to get better projects until he landed in the affluent Westmont Village in the show Your Friends & Neighbors. Always playing the anti-hero, Hamm’s role in this show is a negative person as well. However, it will not follow a Breaking Bad-like arc for season 2.

Jon Hamm will not go down the Walter White road

We all know that Bryan Cranston’s Walter White was a chemistry teacher who (to cure his cancer) became a meth cook and eventually created a whole drug empire alongside Aaron Paul’s Jessse Pinkman.

Jon Hamm as Andrew Cooper in a...

Disney is currently reportedly casting for an untitled film set to shoot in the UK this September. According to insider Daniel Richtman on his Patreon account, they’re looking for someone to play “Tommy,” a white teen between 13 and 16 years old, described as “a soulful teen with a sharp mind and a quick tongue.“

Many fans and Richtman believe this could be for Shawn Levy’s upcoming Star Wars movie, Starfighter, which is scheduled to begin filming in fall 2025. The film is set five years after The Rise of Skywalker and will feature new characters and a fresh storyline, separate from the Skywalker saga.

Ryan Gosling is, as far as we know, set to star in Starfighter, and the film is expected to bring a new adventure to the Star Wars universe. The casting of “Tommy” could indicate the introduction of a significant new character in this standalone film.

Related:...

Sam won't be staying down for long after the end of Your Friends & Neighbors Season 1. The finale, which was just released on Apple TV+ last week, sawOlivia Munn's character on the wrong side of the law after trying to frame Jon Hamm's financier-turned-petty-thief Coop for the murder of her husband, Paul. A bloody suicide note was enough to expose Sam's lies and send her away, but with no blood on her hands, her stay behind bars will be short-lived. Case in point, Munn is back and already filming Season 2 of the hit series in hopes of a quick turnaround for the dark dramedy. In a new conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, she also teased that Sam will waste no time clawing her way back to the high life when the series returns.

Your Friends & Neighbors Season 1 centered on Coop at a low in his life after...

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Your Friends & Neighbors season 1 finale.Your Friends & Neighbors' creator Jonathan Tropper breaks down Coop's choice in the season 1 finale, teasing what's next for Jon Hamm's titular character. The new Apple TV+ series was renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere. Led by the Mad Men actor, the series follows a disgraced hedge fund manager who turns to a life of crime after losing his job and starts robbing his wealthy neighbors. At the end of Your Friends & Neighbors season 1, Coop cleared his name and got his job back, but he chose to go back to stealing.

In an interview with Variety, Tropper shares some insight into what this means for Hamm's character going into season 2. Even though it seems that Your Friends & Neighbors is heading in the same direction as Breaking Bad, which sees Bryan Cranston's...

Your Friends and Neighbors ended its first season with a high-stakes finale episode. After a nine-episode season which detailed some difficult challenges and choices for Andrew “Coop” Cooper (Jon Hamm), the Apple TV+ series seems all set to continue down the path of complicating the lives of some of its key characters. Mel's (Amanda Peet) revelation that she’d gotten together with Coop's best friend, Nick (Mark Tallman), had sent Coop spiraling, resulting in a divorce and financial struggles for Coop, which ultimately morphed into a life of crime. Looking ahead to the new season, audiences might wonder what the future holds for a pair who still care for each other despite their troubled recent history.

Central to Mel and Coop's dynamic in recent times is his frequent booty call, Samantha Levitt (Olivia Munn). Sam's scheming, which has seen Coop being accused of her husband, Paul's death, has brought much...

[This story contains major spoilers from the season one finale of Your Friends & Neighbors.]

“You don’t deserve it,” Olivia Munn’s Sam says when confronted by Jon Hamm’s Coop in the Your Friends & Neighbors finale.

In the first episode of the Apple TV+ series, a death was revealed in the wealthy, fictional Westmont Village, leaving a mystery of who could be a murderer among these elites. Who killed Paul (Jordan Gelber)?

Sam’s husband was the victim, making Coop a prime suspect when the police later found out about Coop and Sam’s secret relationship. Coop ended up getting arrested when the murder weapon, a gun, was found in his car — a murder weapon that was planted there by Sam to frame Coop.

But in the season finale, which released Friday, viewers discovered that there was never a murder. Paul died by suicide — while on FaceTime with Sam — and she staged the scene to make it look like...

If you finished watching Your Friends and Neighbors season 1 episode 9 and are left wanting more, you're going to get more! Unfortunately, there isn't an episode 10 of season 1. There are only nine episodes featured in the first season of the most-watched new Apple TV+ original drama series, even though those of us who have been hooked since episode 1 definitely would have accepted another episode.

Your Friends and Neighbors ended season 1 on a high note, with the pitch-perfect season-ending episode answering all of our lingering questions. No spoilers here (but there are spoilers in our season finale recap!) revealed how Paul died, who was responsible for his death, and why Coop ended up being the prime suspect in his murder. We might have seen it coming, but not quite like that!

Although the ending of the season 1 finale could have doubled as an equally satisfying series finale, Apple TV+ renewed the Jon Hamm...

After an interesting season finale of Your Friends & Neighbors on Apple TV+, the show is now moving full steam, towards its second season. Season 2 of the show is expected to delve deeper into the evolving dynamics of Andrew Cooper’s personal and professional life.

While season 1 was the perfect chronicle of Coop’s fall from a hedge fund manager to a glorified thief, Season 2 will engage in deeper emotions of vengeance and betrayal. One potential character for a negative shade in the next season is Nick Brandes. Mark Tallman plays the character brilliantly, and there is potential for him to turn grey in the next season.

Nick’s journey from friend to foe in Your Friends & Neighbors

At the beginning of season 1 of Your Friends & Neighbors, Coop’s wife, Mel, cheats on him with Nick, who is one of Coop’s best friends. This, amongst other things,...

Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t watched the Season 1 finale of Apple TV+’s “Your Friends & Neighbors,” stop reading — because there is no way in a million years that you could’ve seen that storyline wrap-up coming and you must, you Must go watch it! On the flip side, if you have watched that shocking conclusion, read on, as we’ve got some great Season 2 teasers for you.

Heading into the finale, Coop (as brilliantly played by Jon Hamm) woke up in a pool of blood next to the lifeless body of his neighbor, Paul — who was also the estranged husband of Coop’s frequent booty call, Sam (Olivia Munn) — and was contemplating taking a plea deal even though he’d proclaimed his innocence. Heart-to-heart talks with his kids and his ex, Mel (Amanda Peet), kick up the tears and anxiety. Terrified of losing him, a shouting match erupts.

Spoiler Alert !!!This piece contains spoilers for Your Friends & Neighbors' finale episode.

Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm, Olivia Munn, Amanda Peet, and more, has concluded its successful season one run and has received a wonderful response from the audience throughout. The story by Jonathan Tropper was successful in keeping the audience hooked for nine episodes, and it’s already gearing up for season two.

The dark comedy-drama series is one of the most watched shows on the streaming channel, and no one’s surprised. The finale episode of Your Friends & Neighbors was one of the most anticipated episodes of season one, as it was going to answer one of the questions the show was circling, but the makers didn’t have to do dirty to this beloved character in this way.

Olivia Munn’s monologue in Your Friends & Neighbors episode 9 disappoints

Actress Olivia Munn’s Samantha Levitt...

Spoiler Alert !!!This piece contains spoilers for Your Friends & Neighbors' finale episode.

Apple TV+’s Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm, has finally concluded its season one run with one of the most shocking twists. It finally answered one of the major questions that had been lingering around the characters since the beginning. The show that is regarded as one of the most watched shows on Apple TV+ is going to be back for season two, hopefully with more twists and turns.

Upon release, Your Friends & Neighbors received a lot of love from the audience, especially because of Jon Hamm’s return to television. Critics and audiences have lauded his work on the show, and while his character had some flaws, the season finale finally provided a satisfying end to his misery. Or does it?

The ‘unexpected‘ truth about Paul Levitt’s murder in Your Friends & Neighbors...

Apple TV+ confirmed renewal for a second season of Your Friends and Neighbors before its April 2025 debut, a rare vote of confidence that reflects strong faith in the series’ blend of dark humor and suspense. Production on season 2 is underway across New York City and the Hudson Valley, with filming slated to conclude in late summer 2025. Although Apple has not set an exact release date, insiders anticipate new episodes will arrive in early spring 2026.

Jon Hamm returns as Andrew “Coop” Cooper, the disgraced hedge-fund manager turned burglar whose exploits in Westmont Village exposed hidden rivalries and personal betrayals. Amanda Peet reprises her role as Mel Cooper, whose complicated ties to Coop deepen in season 2 as she navigates the fallout from her own deceptions. Olivia Munn, Hoon Lee, Mark Tallman, Lena Hall, Aimee Carrero, Eunice Bae, Isabel Gravitt and Donovan Colan also return, ensuring that the ensemble dynamic at the series’ core remains intact.

[This story contains spoilers from “Everything Becomes Symbol and Irony,” the season one finale of Your Friends & Neighbors.]

Andrew “Coop” Cooper (Jon Hamm) can never exactly go back to his past life. For the entire first season of Apple TV+’s Your Friends & Neighbors, the former hedge fund manager has fought to keep his head above water after getting cheated on, divorced and then unceremoniously fired. In order to fund his lavish lifestyle, Coop resorted to secretly stealing from the homes of his neighbors in their affluent neighborhood and pawning those stolen goods off to a terrifying secondary market buyer — only to discover that he is the prime suspect in killing his on-again-off-again lover Samantha “Sam” Levitt’s (Olivia Munn) husband, Paul.

But in Friday’s season finale, Coop is able to not only acquit himself of murder and find the real culpable party, but is also given a chance to rejoin the professional ranks that had previously turned their backs on him. Sam,...