Castium Revelio: The Christmas Day Spectacular

We've got news from the world of awards for you first! Belfast, which is directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart) and stars Ciarán Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore), leads the nominations at the 2022 AACTA International Awards! It's been nominated for seven awards, including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for both Hinds and fellow Belfast actor Jamie Dornan. Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) also has a project at the awards, with his role in Netflix's Sex Education certainly contributing to the show's Best Comedy nomination. You can check out the ceremony on January 27, and we wish all of those involved good luck!

We've also got the lineup for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival! Three films are premiering at the festival featuring Wizarding World alums: Living, starring Bill Nighy (Rufus Scrimgeour), Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, starring Dame Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney), and Call Jane, which features Fantastic Beasts' s Wunmi Mosaku (Beryl). Keeping with the Fantastic Beasts cast, Colin Farrell (Percival Graves) will also be included at the event; he is featured in After Yang, which will be shown as part of the Spotlight category. Neptune Frost, which is produced by Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone), is also part of this category, as is Three Minutes – A Lengthening, which is narrated by Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange). The festival will run both online and in person beginning January 20. Tickets for the whole event are available now, while single film tickets will be available from January 6. 

Unfortunately, we do also have some bad news. The Palm Springs Film Festival has had to cancel its awards gala due to the surge in coronavirus cases. Belfast was set to receive more awards at the ceremony, but for the second consecutive year, the gala can't go ahead. The screening section of the festival will still go ahead, although you will need proof of vaccination to attend.

Speaking of unfortunate COVID-19 cancellations, we've heard reports that filming for the fifth season of The Crown – in which Imelda Staunton (Professor Umbridge) will take on the role of Queen Elizabeth II – has had to pause. Eight members of the crew have tested positive for the virus, therefore meaning that filming had to wrap a day early for Christmas. We wish those who have been infected a quick recovery!

Next up, we have some very exciting news from the DC universe. New Peacemaker posters have been released showcasing the show's main characters, including Freddie Stroma's (Cormac McLaggen) Vigilante, John Cena's Peacemaker, and Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo. There's even more exciting news from the show: Filmmaker James Gunn has confirmed that the show will consist of eight episodes, three of which will be released on January 13. After this initial release date, one episode per week will be released on HBO Max. Have a look at the posters below!

Wanna meet the team? @freddiestroma, @thedanieb, @jennlholland, and @steveagee join the mission in @DCpeacemaker, streaming January 13 on @hbomax 🔥 #Peacemaker pic.twitter.com/GZedQK1l9H

— DC (@DCComics) December 16, 2021

Have you ever wanted to be on TV? Well, for those in the UK, you have the chance! Warwick Davis's (Professor Flitwick) quiz show, Tenable, is looking for contestants for its next season. Applications are open until January 21, and applicants must be over the age of 18. You must apply with a team of five for the show, but you might have the chance to win £125,000! Will you be applying for the show?

Next up, we've got a new trailer for a project featuring Ralph Ineson (Amycus Carrow) and Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson (Gunnar Grimmson, Fantastic Beasts). The Northman is a historic thriller focussing on the life of a tenth-century Icelandic prince who goes on a bloody revenge mission after watching the murder of his father as a child. The film is set to come out next April. Have a look at the trailer below!

If you'd rather watch something at home than in cinemas, the next announcement may be more for you. Jim Broadbent's (Professor Slughorn) horror film Fallen will be released on digital, DVD, and on demand on February 22! The film focuses on a priest as he tries to save the world one exorcism at a time, until a tragedy occurs that leaves him living on a remote farm, haunted by those he couldn't save.

There's another trailer to share with you next. Over a year after the first teaser, we finally have more footage of Sir Kenneth Branagh's (Gilderoy Lockhart) latest directorial endeavor. Death on the Nile is an adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel and stars Branagh as the famous detective Hercule Poirot. Other cast members include Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) and Letitia Wright (Black Panther). Check out the trailer below!

We've got another directorial project for Branagh next, this time one that also features appearances from John Cleese and Helena Bonham Carter (Nearly Headless Nick and Bellatrix Lestrange, respectively). It was recently announced that their adaptation of Frankenstein – entitled Mary Shelley's Frankenstein – will receive a 4K re-release. It will be released on March 29 and will also feature new commentaries and interviews alongside the remastered film. 

We spoke about Ciarán Hinds at the beginning of this update, but we've got yet more reports about him to share next. He's involved in a project with Liam Neeson (The Marksman) titled The Land of Saints and Sinners. The movie will begin filming in Donegal in March 2022 and will tell the tale of a retired assassin who finds himself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with three terrorists. Keep checking back for more updates on the film's upcoming trailers, posters, and other announcements!

Last week, we showed you first-look photos from the next season of The Witcher, but this week, we've got a teaser trailer for the show's prequel, The Witcher: Blood Origin. This is the first footage we have seen of the show, in which Hebe Beardsall (Ariana Dumbledore) will play Catrin. Netflix has announced that the show will be released at some point in 2022, although we don't yet have a more exact date than that. You can watch the trailer below!

Last but most certainly not least in this section of this Casting update is a teaser for the fourth and final season of Killing Eve. Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley) stars in the show alongside Jodie Comer (Free Guy) and Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy). The teaser doesn't actually have any footage of the characters but does show some of the costumes from last season, as well as other dark and mysterious clips. The final season will be available on February 27 for those in America, but we're still waiting on a UK release date. Watch the teaser below, and let us know what you think of it in the comments!

Do you remember when we told you about Zoe Kravitz's (Leta Lestrange) upcoming thriller Kimi? Now we've finally got a release date! It will stream exclusively on HBO Max on March 10. The story follows a tech worker who suffers from agoraphobia who must face her fears and leave her apartment when she discovers evidence of a gruesome crime. 

Speaking of Kravitz, she's also been pictured in a new poster for The Batman. Although Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory, Harry Potter) stars as Batman in the film, this new poster features only Kravitz. She's seen in full costume as Catwoman, doing what Catwoman does best: picking locks and breaking into houses. Take a peek at the poster below!

Zoë Kravitz studied cats and lions fighting to become Catwoman in Matt Reeves' #TheBatman.

Read more and see the exclusive new image: https://t.co/PoGnko6br7 pic.twitter.com/jGYeKodBYW

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) December 20, 2021

Last up this week is a new audiobook narration from Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander). He's taken on Clemency Burton-Hill's Another Year of  Wonder. The book is designed to make the world of classical music more accessible by suggesting one piece of music for every day. Redmayne described the opportunity to narrate the book as an honor, stating that Burton-Hill "writes about each piece of music with such energy and passion that you can’t help but immediately want to stop what you’re doing and seek it out. It’s a fascinating book which I hope many will enjoy."