Vin Diesel Says ‘Fast Forever’ Starts Shooting in December

US actor Vin Diesel arrives for the special screening of "The Fast and the Furious" in honor of its 25th anniversary at the Westwood Theater in Los Angeles, on August 17, 2026.

(Photo by Frederic J.Brown / AFP via Getty Images)  

AFP via Getty Images  

Vin Diesel says filming for “Fast Forever” has a start date.

“We start shooting in December, if I can make good on the request from the studio,” Diesel told Variety Monday night at the 25th anniversary screening of “The Fast and the Furious.” “I’m in a good place, though.

I had to go through four sets of writers, four years of development, to get to something that I felt would be worthy of a finale.And when I read the script a couple of weeks ago, [I cried].”  

Inside the screening, Diesel addressed the audience before the lights dimmed and shared more details about how the “Fast Forever” script brought him to tears.

™m going to tell you something personal,” he said.

“It was after four different writers, four years of development, and after I read the script, halfway through, one tear.By the end of the script that we crafted and worked so hard to make right for you after four years, I was crying.I couldn’t hold it back, and I had to tell everyone.And my sister said, ‘No more crying, bro.’ So I just want to say that sometimes, even the toughest guys in the world need to cry.”  

Michelle Rodriguez, Meadow Walker, Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster  

Getty Images for Universal Pictu  

“Fast Forever,” the 11th and final mainline film in the series, hits theaters on March 17, 2028.

“Fast & Furious” is Universal’s longest-running franchise and its most profitable, with a combined worldwide gross of $7.3 billion.

Tyrese Gibson  

Variety via Getty Images  

While Diesel is all in on the latest “Fast Forever” draft, director Louis Leterrier recently told Polygon that he’s yet to read the script.

“I’d love to tell you the full truth, but I can’t,” Leterrier said.

“There will be an ending, and it’s great.I was very, very lucky to be part of the franchise, and I love Vin and I love Universal.They’re great to work with.So yeah.We’ll see, hopefully.”

Casting News: Industry Adds 7 To Final Season, Scrubs Casts SNL Vet As New Chief Resident, And More

HBO's "Industry" has shared the last group of new cast members before its fifth and final season starts.

Dianna Agron, who played in "Glee," Sam Riley from "Mint," Cary Elwes from "M.I.A.," Jessica Brown Findlay from "Downton Abbey," Luke Manley from "Marty Supreme," Bally Gill from "Slow Horses," and Eduard Poliakov from "On Drive" have joined the show.

They are joining Zosia Mamet, who was already announced as part of the cast, from "Girls."

According to Deadline, Dianna Agron will play Skip Binksy, who is the CFO of a wellness tech business.

Cary Elwes will be playing Padgett Stillman, an investor.Sam Riley will appear as Solomon Kerr, a hard-to-find British businessman.Jessica Brown Findlay will play Marina St.Clair, a family friend of Sir Henry Muck.Bally Gill will play Nikesh Shah, a charming left-wing politician.Luke Manley and Eduard Poliakov will be playing Stevie Delmonte and Olexij Kovalchuk, two traders, respectively.

No official date has been shared for when Season 5 will begin.

In other casting news, 

ABC's "Scrubs" revival has brought in John Higgins, from the "Saturday Night Live" group Please Don't Destroy, to appear in Season 2.

Season 2 starts on Wednesday, September 30.He plays Grant, the hospital's top doctor who is a challenge for J.D.

Stephanie Koenig, who was in "English Teacher," has been added to Season 3 of Apple TV's comedy "Platonic," which is created by Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne.

She will play Alex, a new employee at Charlie's law firm.

Witney Carson, a Season 34 winner of "Mirrorball" and expecting her third child, will be teaming up with "Jimmy Kimmel Live" co-host Guillermo Rodriguez for "Dancing With the Stars" Season 35.

It will air on Tuesday, September 15 at 8 p.m.on ABC and Disney+.The full list of stars and dancers will be announced on Wednesday, September 2 during "Good Morning America."

Fox has announced five themed nights for "Celebrity Weakest Link" Season 2, which starts on Monday, September 21.

The themes are:

- Reality Villains: Big Ed, Bob the Drag Queen, Monica Garcia, Richard Hatch, Omarosa, Tiffany Pollard, Christine Quinn, Tom Sandoval

- 8 More Degrees of Jane: Yvette Nicole Brown, Kate Flannery, Billy Gardell, Loni Love, Kevin McHale, Melissa Peterman, Paul Scheer, Scott Wolf

- Ballers: Tiki Barber, Brandi Chastain, Michael Irvin, Jonathan Papelbon, Jalen Rose, Nick Swisher, Sheryl Swoopes, Nick Young

- Fright Night: Linda Blair, Kimberly J.

Brown, Kane Hodder, Heather Langenkamp, Heather Matarazzo, Cassandra Peterson, Mekhi Phifer, Mena Suvari

- Power Couples: RGIII & Grete Griffin, Ashley Iaconetti & Jared Haibon, Boris Kodjoe & Nicole Ari Parker, Alexa PenaVega & Carlos PenaVega

PBS has shared the list of celebrities for "Finding Your Roots" Season 13, which is set to premiere on Tuesday, January 12, 2027.

It includes actors Elizabeth Banks, Carrie Coon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ilana Glazer, Nikki Glazer, David Alan Grier, Ashley Judd, Randall Park, Wendell Pierce, Danny Ramirez, Natasha Rothwell, Allison Williams, and Noah Wyle.It also features entrepreneur Mark Cuban, musician Melissa Etheridge, artist Kerry James Marshall, and entertainment legends Bette Midler and Rita Moreno.

Ryan Gosling’s ‘Ghost Rider’ Sets Release Date; Third Marvel Movie on 2028 Calendar

Disney has scheduled Ryan Gosling's "Ghost Rider" movie for July 28, 2028, making it the third Marvel film coming out in 2028."Black Panther 3" is set for December 15, 2028, and the untitled "X-Men" movie will be released on May 5, 2028.

These release dates were shared after Disney's fan event D23, which happened over the weekend.

Gosling's involvement in the movie was announced at Comic-Con in July.

Another untitled Marvel film is planned for November 9, 2029.

It was initially just called an untitled Disney movie.

"Ghost Rider" is directed by Shawn Levy and written by Jonathan Tropper, who also worked on "Star Wars: Starfighter." Gosling is stepping into the role of the Spirit of Vengeance, which was previously played by Nicholas Cage in two Sony movies.

Pixar's "Ghost Market" will come out on March 10, 2028.

The animated film is based on Asian myths about stores where both the living and the dead can meet.It was originally planned as a streaming series but has now been set for a theatrical release.

"Coco 2" is set for November 21, 2029.

At D23, fans saw a preview of the film's main character, Miguel, now a teenager.Benjamin Bratt returns as Ernesto de la Cruz.

A live-action version of "Tangled" is scheduled for March 31, 2028, while the animated movie "Clay" will be released on November 22, 2028.

Other new dates include "Monitor," a Searchlight horror film that was originally set for April 30, 2027, but has moved up to April 16.

The movie is directed by Matt Black and Ryan Polly and follows the story of a demonic entity that follows message board moderators.

John Oliver Brutally Mocks Trump for Sacrificing Staff in Airplane-Swap Incident

 On Sunday night, the summer's biggest soap opera star, John Oliver, started the newest episode of his Emmy-winning HBO show, "Last Week Tonight," by talking about Trump's controversial airplane switcheroo during his trip back from a NATO summit in Turkey.

He said, "The Iran War has been going on with a lot of embarrassing news stories, including this new story about Trump's trip home from last month's NATO summit."

Yes, Trump's plane was secretly switched out on his way back from Turkey because of intelligence suggesting an Iranian plan to attack his Qatari-gifted Air Force One.

Trump reportedly sneaked out of the plane and onto a catering truck that took him to a smaller military jet for the return flight.

"Fantastic. The only problem I can see there is: Next time he needs to escape, he won't be able to use the catering truck trick again because everyone now knows about it," said Oliver."People are going to be suspicious from now on if they see a plane go one way, a catering truck go another, and a big man-sized cake get wheeled away by two suspiciously-jacked chefs."

"While it clearly doesn't look good for a president to be hiding in a catering truck, it looks even worse when you remember that a lot of other people were still on that plane he was taken off of," continued Oliver.

Yes, a number of journalists and White House staff, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, were left on Air Force One after Trump escaped.

"Not great!" exclaimed Oliver. "There were a lot of innocent people on that plane — and Marco Rubio."

Coincidentally — or not — Trump's White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, announced her resignation shortly after the airplane switch incident.

Hayden Panettiere, Actress on ‘Heroes’ and ‘Nashville,’ Dies at 36

 Hayden Panettiere, who played roles on shows like Heroes and Nashville, has passed away, her father told ABC News on Sunday.She was 36 years old.

Her father, Skip Panettiere, shared a statement with ABC News, saying, "We are deeply sad to share the tragic loss of our beloved Hayden.

She was an amazing person who brought so much love and happiness to everyone she met, both on and off screen." He also asked for privacy as the family handles this heartbreaking loss.

Details about how she died are not yet known. The Hollywood Reporter has contacted her representatives for more information.

Panettiere's acting career includes films like I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009), Scream 4 (2011), and Scream VI (2023).

She also played the lead role in the 2011 Lifetime movie Amanda Knox.

She had a relationship with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2018.

They had a daughter named Kaya in 2014.Her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died in February 2023 from complications with his aortic valve at the age of 28.

In May, Panettiere released her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, where she talked about growing up in the spotlight, her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression, and other personal challenges.

She spoke with THR’s Seija Rankin about her biggest revelations from the book, including whether she told people she would write about her personal stories.

"I was very careful with who I shared my stories with," she said.

"I felt strongly about telling my own stories in a way that was entertaining, without hurting others.I had people on my team I talked to about my ideas.My publicist is also a close friend, and I trusted her.I made sure that Vlad, my ex-fiancé and my daughter's father, wouldn't be upset.But beyond that, I just wanted to tell my truth — and it was mine alone."

Panettiere gained fame in 2006 with her role as Claire Bennet, an indestructible cheerleader, on the NBC show Heroes.

She stayed with the show for four seasons.

She became more well-known for playing Juliette Barnes on the ABC series Nashville from 2012 to 2018, and later as Kirby Reed in the Scream horror series.

In her memoir, she also shared how her character on Nashville started to feel like her own personal struggles, including her character's postpartum depression and alcoholism.

Her earlier work included roles in One Life to Live, Guiding Light, Malcolm in the Middle, The Object of My Affection, A Bug’s Life, and Message in a Bottle.

Born on August 21, 1989, Panettiere grew up in Palisades, New York, with her parents, actress-producer Lesley R.

Vogel, who helped manage her career, and Alan Lee "Skip" Panettiere, a retired New York City Fire Department captain.

She told Entertainment Tonight in 2023, "My first acting job was at 11 months old.

I did a commercial for Playskool Toy Train, but I’m not sure that counts as acting.I didn’t have lines, I was just playing." 

She also shared that her favorite role was playing Sheryl Yoast in Remember the Titans (2000).

"This movie was my favorite to film — what an amazing time in my life," she said.

"That’s just pure me.I was 10 years old.I had so many cute boys around me.Kate Bosworth was like my big sister and was close to everyone."

I mean, you have no idea how many times in my life I have wished and prayed — if I could go back to any time in my life, I would go back to Remember the Titans.

Panettiere was nominated for awards like the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Television Awards, Teen Choice Awards, and People’s Choice Awards for her role in Nashville.

Her performance in Heroes got her Teen Choice nominations and a Young Artist Award.She also won a Young Artist Award for her role in Remember the Titans.

Mike Barnes contributed to this report.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’ Trailer Leaks Online, Prompting Co-Writer Chris Miller to Speak Out: ‘Not a Fan of Leaks of Unfinished Footage’

"Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse" is the latest movie to face an unauthorized leak.

The trailer for the third Spider-Verse movie, set to be released in theaters on June 18, 2027, appeared online on Twitter/X this week.

Co-writer and producer Chris Miller criticized the leak on Friday, saying, "Not a fan of unfinished, not fully rendered footage."

"Beyond the Spider-Verse" is the latest big movie to be leaked.

In the past month, other major films, including "The Odyssey" and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," both leaked on X after their movie releases.This isn’t the first time a Spider-Man movie has been targeted.The trailer for 2021’s "Spider-Man: No Way Home" also leaked weeks before its official online debut.

Earlier this year, the full version of "Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender" leaked on X months before its Paramount+ release.

A 26-year-old man was arrested in Singapore for illegally accessing a media server and leaking the film.The "Avatar Aang" cast and original "Last Airbender" stars later spoke out against the leak and asked fans not to watch the unauthorized version.

Eric Nam, one of the stars, told Variety at Comic-Con after the leak, "There's something about respecting the intentions of the creators and many artists who poured years of their life into this.

To go about it the proper way is a very respectful way of showing appreciation to the art form and to the many, many, countless hours put into this.Thank you guys for waiting."

After several delays, "Beyond the Spider-Verse" will wrap up Miles Morales' story as Spider-Man.

The first footage was shown exclusively at CinemaCon earlier this year.

Latest X-Men Casting News: Who’s in the Marvel Reboot?

While most Marvel fans are excited about Avengers: Doomsday coming out this December, Disney is working hard to build up interest for its new X-Men movie.

The movie is being directed by Jake Schreier, who also directed Thunderbolts.The script is being written by Lee Sung Jin, who worked on the show Beef, and Joanna Calo, who worked on The Bear.The movie is still in the early planning stages and is expected to come out in mid-2028.

Here’s the latest information on the cast so far, with more to come:

Sadie Sink (Jean Grey)

Sadie Sink, who was in the show Stranger Things, is playing Jean Grey in this new movie.

Jean Grey is a classic X-Men character with the power to control her mind and move things with her thoughts.She has been played before by Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner in earlier X-Men films.

Kit Connor (Cyclops)

Kit Connor, known for his role in the graphic novel adaptation Heartstopper, is playing Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops.

Cyclops is one of the original X-Men.He was played by James Marsden in the first three X-Men movies and will also appear in Avengers: Doomsday.Other actors who have played Cyclops include Tye Sheridan and Tim Pocock.

Samara Weaving (Emma Frost)

Samara Weaving, who was in the movie Ready or Not, is taking on the role of Emma Frost.

Emma has the power to control her mind and can turn her body into diamond.She follows January Jones and Tahyna Tozzi, who have played Emma Frost in previous films.

Inde Navarrette (Rogue)

Inde Navarrette, the star of the horror movie Obsession, is joining the cast as Rogue.

Rogue is known for her ability to absorb the powers of others.She replaces Anna Paquin, who was the only other actress to play Rogue in live-action films.

Christopher Abbott (Charles Xavier)

Christopher Abbott, who has been in movies like Poor Things and It Comes At Night, is playing Professor Charles Xavier.

Xavier is the founder of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and is known for his powerful mind.This is his first role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Maya Boyd (Storm)

Maya Boyd, a new face in Hollywood, is joining the cast as Storm.

She will make her movie debut with the X-Men in 2028.

Adam Driver (Mister Sinister)

Adam Driver made a surprise appearance at Disney's D23 fan event, where he announced he would be playing Nathaniel Milbury, also known as Mister Sinister.

He said, "Kevin and I have been talking for years about maybe joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe.And I think we finally found the perfect film at the perfect time."