ScreamWire Daily

Li Jun Li has been cast as Miriam—Lev and Yara’s mother—in The Last of Us Season 3; Craig Mazin will run solo as showrunner after Neil Druckmann’s exit, production is expected to begin this summer and the HBO/Sony co-production continues building its expanded ensemble.

Headline metrics piece: Phoebe Dynevor's hurricane-shark film Thrash has become Netflix's top English-language film worldwide shortly after release, signaling strong streamer viewership despite mixed critical reception.

Lee Cronin is developing an Irish folk-horror TV series titled Spiral (set in 1980s Ireland, co-created with Glenn Montgomery) and a supernatural feature Box of Bones, marking a return to folkloric roots following The Mummy and signaling multi-format expansion for the filmmaker.

Lee Cronin’s horror reimagining The Mummy opens across 550 UK/Ireland sites this weekend — a franchise reboot produced by James Wan and starring Jack Reynor and Laia Costa, following Cronin’s box-office success with Evil Dead Rise.

This streaming/VOD roundup highlights multiple horror releases: Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny (dark fairy-tale, Mads Mikkelsen), Chris Stuckmann's Shelby Oaks (supernatural/YouTuber disappearance), Ian Tuason's Undertone (creepy podcastors), plus Ryan Prows' Night Patrol and other genre titles now available across services.

King Features is developing a live-action TV series adaptation of The Phantom with Reginald Hudlin attached to direct and produce; Mad Cave Comics also launched a new Phantom comic line in 2025.

Tubi's horror film Hive is streaming now — directed by Felipe Vargas and starring Xochitl Gomez and Aaron Dominguez as siblings fighting a dark presence that spreads among children; Gomez reports having creative input on character beats.

Brady Corbet is developing an untitled follow-up to The Brutalist focused on American mysticism and the history of the occult — revealed at Dublin's Storyhouse screenwriting festival and reported via Deadline; project appears early-stage.

Steve Zahn has joined the deep-space sci-fi thriller Sentinel (directed by Rick Gomez), which is the first project from newly launched genre-focused InTension Industries (Brigham Taylor, Ian Puente, Dave Hunter, Tom Goodall); production slated to begin later this year aiming for a 2027 release.

Reviewer praises Kylie Lee Baker’s Japanese Gothic as a singular, sumptuous ghost story that leans into time and memory, reinforcing contemporary interest in literary Gothic horror.

Laemmle Theaters repurchased the NoHo 7 indie cinema, removing demolition/redevelopment threats and restoring the venue’s ability to program indies, festivals and special screenings — a notable preservation win for L.A.’s indie theatrical ecosystem.

Reese Witherspoon is publicly urging women in Hollywood to learn AI tools via her Hello Sunshine platform, framing adoption as essential amid broader industry debates and noting SAG‑AFTRA’s endorsement of federal AI policy guidance — signaling increased exec-level advocacy for AI literacy among content creators.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking Nexstar from integrating Tegna’s 64 stations after DirecTV and multiple state AGs argued consolidation would harm competition and local news; Nexstar vows to appeal even as the FCC and DOJ had approved the deal.

At the 22nd BAFTA Games Awards, Sandfall/Kepler Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Game of the Year (also Debut Game and a leading-performer prize), while Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yōtei, No Man’s Sky and others took key craft and genre categories.

Analysis of TV reboot economics shows legacy catalog revenue is driving streamer strategy: Buffy and Malcolm have each generated roughly $100M on Disney platforms since 2020, Scrubs about $60M (rising to $83M across platforms), and Disney shelved a Buffy revival partly because a reported $12M pilot cost undercuts ROI.

Netflix’s four-part documentary Trust Me: The False Prophet spotlights Samuel Bateman’s abuses inside an FLDS offshoot and credits undercover footage by Christine Marie and Tolga Katas that led to arrests and lengthy sentences; Marie remains active in Short Creek and says the series is prompting survivors to come forward.

The Duffer Brothers signed a four-year exclusive deal with Paramount across film, TV and streaming; Paramount showcased them in a high-profile CinemaCon tribute directed by Jon M. Chu and narrated by Tom Cruise — deal emphasizes Paramount’s theatrical push but financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Hulu is developing Everflame, a TV adaptation of Penn Cole’s romantasy Spark of the Everflame with Heidi Cole McAdams as writer/EP and 20th Television producing; author Penn Cole will produce — signals streamer investment in high‑end fantasy IP and continued appetite for romance‑fantasy adaptations.

Zach Cregger has an official sci‑fi thriller in the works with a release scheduled one month after his Weapons prequel — trade coverage notes the back‑to‑back timing tying two genre releases to his name.

Don Mancini will write and direct the new Chucky feature, marking his first time directing a theatrical Chucky film since 2017’s Cult of Chucky, and the plan is to keep the movie in continuity with the prior films and the recent TV series.

An animated Stranger Things spinoff has been announced/covered, promising to invert the original show's aesthetic and expand the franchise into animation for Netflix (coverage in The Washington Post).

Marlon and Shawn Wayans say a White Chicks sequel could move forward if Scary Movie 6 (due June 5) performs well at the box office; the brothers co-wrote and are returning to Scary Movie 6 alongside Anna Faris and Regina Hall.

Canada’s Super Channel has commissioned the true‑crime series Don't Open the Door as a Fuse channel original; the series is produced by Cineflix Media’s Montreal-based C3 Media and will debut on the premium network.

Polish‑Australian producer Nancy Paton — founder of Desert Rose Films in Abu Dhabi — evacuated the region amid war-related escalation, postponing an April feature and other locally focused productions and warning the conflict risks derailing momentum built by recent regional funding and tourism.