In brief: Pedro Pascal joins Todd Haynes’ film ‘De Noche’ and more
Pedro Pascal saves the day. The actor has joined Todd Haynes‘ upcoming film De Noche. Pascal joins the cast of the movie in the role that Joaquin Phoenix exited last year. The love story will also star Danny Ramirez as Pascal’s detective character’s younger lover. Pascal took to Instagram to share the news of his casting. “De nada. #DeNoche #ToddHaynes,” Pascal captioned a photo carousel filled with stills from other Haynes films …
Joshua Jackson is set to star in a new series on HBO Max. Deadline reports that the actor will lead the cast of How To Survive Without Me alongside Ray Romano. The drama pilot follows what happens when a family’s matriarch passes away …
Chiwetel Ejiofor has joined director Mike Flanagan‘s upcoming The Exorcist film adaptation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ejiofor joins Scarlett Johansson, Jacobi Jupe and Diane Lane in the new movie, which is promised to be a “fresh and bold” take on the classic material …
Zoe Saldaña stars as Neytiri in ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash.’ (20th Century Studios)
We see you, Avatar: Fire and Ash, at the top of the box office.
The third film in James Cameron‘s epic sci-fi series opens at #1 with an $88 million haul in its debut weekend, Box Office Mojo reports.
While certainly a good start, Avatar: Fire and Ash has a ways to go if it hopes to catch up to its predecessors. The 20th Century Studios franchise has spawned the highest and third-highest grossing films of all time in the original 2009 movie and its 2022 sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, respectively.
Coming in second at the weekend box office is the animated Bible adaptation David, which brought in just over $22 million. It was followed by two other new releases: The Housemaid, starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, took #3 with $18.95 million, and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, notched #4 with $16 million.
The Disney sequel Zootopia 2 added an extra $14.5 million to round out the top five.
Here are the top 10 films at the box office:
1. Avatar: Fire and Ash — $88 million 2. David — $22.017 million 3. The Housemaid — $18.95 million 4. The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants — $16 million 5. Zootopia 2 — $14.5 million 6. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 — $7.25 million 7. Wicked: For Good — $4.3 million 8. Marty Supreme — $875,000 9. Hamnet — $850,000 10. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t — $600,000
Disney is the parent company of 20th Century Studiosand ABC News.
Clockwise from top left: Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy and Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris in “Buffy The Vampire Slayer.” (Getty Images, FILE)
Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars are mourning the loss of actor Nicholas Brendon, who died at 54.
Brendon, who portrayed Xander Harris on the long-running supernatural drama, was a central figure in the series’ original cast and remained closely connected to fans of the show in the years that followed.
Alyson Hannigan, who starred alongside Brendon for years on the series, shared a heartfelt note on Instagram on Friday, reflecting on their friendship.
“My Sweet Nicky, thank you for years of laughter, love and Dodgers,” she wrote. “I will think of you every time I see a rocking chair. I love you. RIP.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Buffy, also honored Brendon with a deeply personal post, referencing a poignant line tied to the show’s themes of identity and belonging.
“They’ll never know how tough it is to be the one who isn’t chosen. To live so near to the spotlight, and never step in it,” Gellar wrote. “But I know. I see more than anybody realizes, because nobody’s watching me.”
She added, “I saw you Nicky. I know you are at peace, in that big rocking chair in the sky.”
Other Buffy stars to pay tribute to Brendon include David Boreanaz, who played Angel on the show before moving to his own spinoff; Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia, a love interest of Brendon’s character; and Emma Caulfield, who played former demon Anya, who also became a love interest for Brendon’s character.
The news of Brendon’s death was confirmed in a statement shared on his official Facebook page, revealing he passed away in his sleep from natural causes. The message described him as “passionate, sensitive, and endlessly driven to create,” noting that in recent years he had turned his focus to painting and art, which he often shared with loved ones and fans.
His death marks another loss for the Buffy community. In 2025, Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s younger sister, Dawn Summers, also passed away.
Cast of ‘Tyler Perry’s Where There’s Smoke’ begins production in Atlanta (Courtesy of Netflix)
Step aside Chicago Fire and 9-1-1, there’s a new firefighter drama series on the way. Netflix has announced Tyler Perry’s Where There’s Smoke, his latest project as part of his going partnership with the streamer.
Where There’s Smoke will follow the personal and professional lives of a group of firefighters in 16 hourlong episodes, all of which Perry wrote, directed and produced. Helping to bring the story to life are stars Tyler Lepley, Da’Vinci, Mike Merrill, Eltony Williams, Brittany S. Hall, Brock O’Hurn and Karen Obilom, who have all worked on previous Tyler Perry projects, as well as real-life fire captain Joe Hunter, Mariah Goodie, Jordan Rodriguez and Judi Moon.
Angi Bones and Tony Strickland of Tyler Perry Studios also lend their hand, serving as producers for Where There’s Smoke, which has officially kicked off production in Atlanta.
In the meantime, part 2 of the second season of Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black is set to make its premiere on March 19.
