In the multiverse anything is possible right? We’ve seen countless variants of heroes in the MCU over the last few years, sometimes we even get little nods to fan castings like John Krasinski in Multiverse of Madness. Well one fan casting involving Ryan Gosling might be deemed too controversial for the MCU, but is it actually being considered?

We’re talking about the Gosling – Black Panther casting of course. A fan casting which has been a bit of a meme for a while now. But now rumors are circulating about a new Black Panther and some think that The Fall Guy star could be in the running to play the Protector of Wakanda from another universe. 

So is there any truth to this whatsoever? And why has this rumor resurfaced now? Well to answer both of those questions we’re going to have to do a deep dive on the original meme as well as look at what’s going on in the Marvel Comics right now.

The original of the Ryan Gosling fan cast

The meme featuring Gosling as Black Panther has been around for a number of years now. An image with Gosling’s face photoshopped over Chadwick Boseman’s first appeared online in 2018 and subsequently became popular in the early 2020’s. The picture often features in discussions about race-swapping characters in movies.

In December 2023 it was reported that Gosling was in talks to play a character in the MCU which prompted a return of the meme. Many jokingly speculated we were really going to see Gosling take on the role, at least I hope these people were joking.

Why are people talking about this casting again?

Recently the speculation surrounding Gosling and the MCU has started up again. Numerous outlets seem to be reporting on the rumor that the Drive star could potentially be a multiversal Black Panther variant. The reason for this particular fan casting being the subject of conversation once again is thanks to a recent Marvel Comics story.

According to Superherohype.com, Marvel Comics recently revealed the new Black Panther, a man by the name of Ketema. Marvel Knights: The World To Come #1 saw Ketema unmask himself and reveal to all that he is a white man with blonde hair, sound familiar? The revelation saw some backlash and naturally people instantly drew a connection to Ketema and the Gosling meme.

So now that white Black Panther is technically canon, all those controversial memes depicting Gosling as the King of Wakanda suddenly seem a bit more plausible. On X people responded to the news with a mixture of amusement and puzzlement. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s likely to happen really. The people in charge of the MCU nowadays have made plenty of awful decisions over the years, but I don’t think even they would be foolish enough to go anywhere near this casting choice.

The Star Wars Celebration 2025 is in full swing in Japan, taking place in the Makuhari Messe Convention Center near Tokyo as we speak. There was no 2024 event, so Lucasfilm and Disney have a lot to unveil: new movies, new TV shows, updates on projects in development, and other announcements across other media.

So, let’s get down to exactly what’s been confirmed.

New information on ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu‘

The Mandalorian and Grogu comes to theaters May 22, 2026. #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/Z7DRuvkG7M

— Star Wars (@starwars) April 18, 2025

Everyone’s favorite terse helmeted bounty hunter and his adorable green kid are coming to the big screen on May 22, 2026. Series mastermind Jon Favreau will direct and it appears there’s a chance this will effectively function as a feature-length fourth season of the TV show, potentially wrapping up the story (for now).

Exclusive footage shows Pedro Pascal as a maskless Mando and Grogu wielding the Force, together with confirmation that Sigourney Weaver will appear in a mysterious role and The Bear star Jeremy Strong will play Rotta, the buff gladiator son of Jabba the Hutt. Sure, sign me up.

New movie ‘Star Wars: Starfighter‘

Shawn Levy. Ryan Gosling. A new standalone story coming from a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars: Starfighter is coming to theaters Memorial Day 2027. pic.twitter.com/uiTLfRA0fz

— Star Wars (@starwars) April 18, 2025

We’d known Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling were teaming up for a Star Wars film for some time. Now we know what it is: Star Wars: Starfighter will be the first movie set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and is billed as an “entirely new adventure” with “all-new characters”.

Gosling appeared on stage and said:

“Being here and seeing all of you [makes it] more inspiring to do it. There’s so much creativity and imagination in this room and there’s so much love. It’s such a great reminder of how much movies can mean to us, specifically how much these movies mean to us. ‘The force is a mysterious thing, but, as I’m here, the force is the fans. All we can hope for is, ‘May the fans be with us.’”

Other specifics are unknown, though it was underlined that this isn’t a sequel to The Rise of Skywalker but its own thing. Given the title Starfighter, we can probably assume a focus on space dogfights, but who knows? The movie will begin shooting in early 2026 for a May 28, 2027 release.

Maul: Shadow Lord announcement

The fandom for the Shadow Lord has already begun. Maul – Shadow Lord, a new animated series is coming to @disneyplus in 2026. pic.twitter.com/rxzk0E53jH

— Star Wars (@starwars) April 18, 2025

Coming in the final moments of the Lucasfilm Animation showcase, this animated Disney Plus show focuses on The Phantom Menace villain Darth Maul and will show him training an apprentice. Star Wars animation mastermind Dave Filoni is behind the show, with longtime Maul voice actor Sam Witwer reprising the role. Further details are unknown, though it will premiere in 2026.

Disney Plus show updates

Dave Filoni confirms that he “is still working with” Mortis and the World Between Worlds in AHSOKA pic.twitter.com/podcR8ePCw

— Star Wars Holocron @ SWCJ (@sw_holocron) April 18, 2025

Andor season 2 arrives on Disney Plus next week, with creator Tony Gilroy and star Diego Luna showing a sneak peek of some key events and how the show will tie into Rogue One. We also got some information on Ahsoka season 2, which will begin filming later this year. Star Wars Visions‘ third season is also on the way, with nine new shorts from various animated studios. The first episode of animated show Tales from the Underworld was also shown, focusing on Asajj Ventress.

Books

The new Darth Vader novel MASTER OF EVIL is set very shortly after the events of REVENGE OF THE SITH.

“This period is covered very well in Charles Soule’s Marvel comic…except there are gaps in the comics. And there is a particular gap in the comic that I don’t think Charles or… pic.twitter.com/dx9z4i8Acn

— Star Wars Holocron @ SWCJ (@sw_holocron) April 18, 2025

The Lucasfilm Publishing: Manga Mania! , revealed new manga adaptations and The High Republic stories. Notable releases include Star Wars: Master of Evil, a Darth Vader novel by Adam Christopher (Nov. 2025), and an updated Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy featuring characters like Avar Kriss (April 2025). A deluxe Doug Chiang art collection was also announced for December 2025.

The Celebration runs over the weekend, so if there’s anything else unveiled we’ll be sure to let you know.

Eva Mendes has held no bars in a recent interview, reflecting on everything from her acting career to her beauty treatments and her plans for the future. 

Mendes delivered multiple revelations as part of a profile piece for The Sunday Times, one of few interviews the actress has given since taking a hiatus from Hollywood back in 2014. 

Looking back on the cause of her break from acting — spurred by her desire to be a fulltime mom to her kids with her heartthrob partner Ryan Gosling — Mendes got candid about her career, itting that she “was never in love with acting.” The star went on to say that, at times, she didn’t think she was good at the job, but clarified that the ission was “self-deprecating.”

“I don’t mean this in a self-deprecating way, but I wasn’t a great actress,” Mendes said, “[but] I had my moments when I worked with really great people.” Naturally, the moments she’s referring to are the two films she starred in alongside Gosling, including 2012’s The Place Beyond The Pines. “[Gosling] gets something out of me that’s never been accessible before,” Mendes said. 

Apart from that, Mendes said her 16-year acting career was mostly defined by being typecast, told she looked “took ethnic,” or offered “some pretty sh***y roles.” That experience was off-putting to the point where now, Mendes would only consider a return to acting if it was alongside her partner. “That’s the one thing I would love to do,” Mendes said of sharing a project with the Barbie star.

Elsewhere in the profile, Mendes reflected on turning 50 earlier this year, and the various routines she undergoes to “sexy” and maintain one-half of Hollywood’s hottest coupling. “I feel really f***ing sexy at times,” Mendes said, adding that “so much of how I feel is a reflection of what [Gosling is] giving me.”

Mendes continued: “there’s so many things that can make me feel sexy and I’d say that I feel more sexy than not I guess because I’ve never considered myself beautiful, but I’ve always felt very sexy.”

The actress went on to reveal that she is considering getting her “funky” jawline lasered with the latest technology, and that while she has “the worst attitude about it,” she reluctantly exercises with a few cardio and weightlifting gym sessions every week. 

On the surgery front, Mendes said she’s not afraid to try treatments “that are safe” and “reversible” like Botox, and itted to “times where I’ve regretted” a certain procedure and was forced to “wait it out.”

Other tidbits found throughout the profile include Mendes serving as an informal acting coach for Gosling while he was working on Barbie, which would go on to land him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor (in defiance of all the other snubs). “I would just simplify everything,” Mendes said of the notes she gave Gosling. “I’m like, ‘Just make Barbie notice you, that’s what Ken is all about.’”

Mendes’ final film before exiting Hollywood was The Place Beyond The Pines, but her broader credits list makes it hard to believe she thinks of herself as a bad actress. She stole the show and delivered comedy chops opposite Will Ferrell in The Other Guys, and served as the perfect love interest in iconic romantic comedy, Hitch. Hopefully, Mendes will soon get her wish and work alongside Gosling in an project, and I’ll be first in line with a bucket of popcorn in tow.  

In the year 1975, Steven Spielberg — in what we now understand to be very typical Spielberg fashion — let Jaws loose upon the world, and the cinematic landscape changed forever.

Hollywood had full-sent the tentpole psychology that would drive the success of Jaws and countless other films that came after it. 124 minutes and a timeless John Williams score later, the blockbuster was born. Of course, blockbusters, as we understand them, are mostly defined by their glitzy prominence in both star power and scope, and the promise of a hefty box office haul. It must be understood, however, that a film can radiate blockbuster energy without actually ticking all of these blockbuster boxes.

The Fall Guy, an action comedy that swam in this year’s sea of blockbuster films, was one such movie. Despite Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt shoring up the leading roles, a $180 million haul against a roughly $130 million budget meant it was no financial darling in the eyes of Universal Pictures. But that doesn’t mean its event-worthy swagger went unnoticed.

Per FlixPatrol, Oct. 8 saw The Fall Guy nestle itself neatly in the #2 spot of Prime Video’s most-watched films in Canada — Gosling’s country of origin. And while its Oscar-nominated leads make The Fall Guy an easy film to press play on, it’s the carbs — not the glucose — that cause people to stick around for its 126-minute runtime.

Indeed, the joy and sincerity that The Fall Guy carries itself with is the undrainable battery that powers its emotional core, humor, and unabashed creativity with which it celebrates the true heroes of the film industry. Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a stunt man who’s forced to leave his job behind when an accident results in him breaking his back. He resurfaces later on when Tom Ryder, a movie star portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who’s meant to star in the directorial debut of Colt’s ex-girlfriend Jody Moreno, played by Blunt) goes missing, and he becomes tasked with finding him. Driven by his desire to make sure Jody — the love of his life whose heart he broke — gets to finish her movie, Colt goes on a rollicking adventure that eventually unfolds into a grisly conspiracy.

Beyond the fact that Gosling hits fly ball after fly ball with his comedic timing — to say nothing of the film’s deeply funny dialogue just as it’s written — The Fall Guy‘s watchability is rooted in how it never allows the things it loves to come secondary to the things it takes aim at. The antagonists are written to be creatively bankrupt, but the focus is never on how creatively bankrupt they are. Instead, The Fall Guy focuses on painting itself with endearing emotion, laugh-out-loud dynamics, and none-too-subtle applause for the plight of the stunt performer, who risks life and limb every single day to bring us the blockbuster movies that have wowed us for generations.

The Fall Guy understands that tearing down others — regardless of how much they deserve to be torn down — does not bolster its own worth, and that every story worth telling is born from the heart. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the sexy bacon that Hollywood would be wise to heed with all its might going forward.

Blumhouse has been having a rough go of things lately. Oct. 6 of 2023 was the last time the production house birthed a good film in Totally Killer; a release date that also happened to coincide with stomach-churningly bad The Exorcist: Believer.

Since then, Five Nights at Freddy‘s, Night Swim, Imaginary, and AfrAId have delivered miss after miss after miss for the production company, so it’s hard to blame anyone who’s abandoned all hope. Now, imagine being in such a position and then stumbling upon this promo for Blumhouse’s Wolf Man film:

Look, cynicism is tired, it really is. But if you’re a production company known for your horror flicks and are finding yourself on a hot streak of stinkers, you should have some foresight on how people might react when the titular Wolf Man would better belong in a film called Man Who’s Having a Pretty Rough Go of Things Right Now.

Indeed, if this costume ends up being true to form in the final cut of the film, then who’s to say this won’t feel like a Wolf Man film in name alone?

It makes much more sense why Ryan Gosling‘s pitch to remake and star in a Wolf Man movie never manifested with him in the lead role. If this is Blumhouse’s idea for a Wolf Man, then Gosling’s handsome mug would offset this creative vision by several orders of magnitude.

With the ittedly justified reactions out of the way, let’s play a bit of devil’s advocate. The above tweet raises an interesting point: why show off the monster design this early? Would that reveal not best be kept for the film itself?

Exactly, so it’s entirely possible that the figure we’re seeing here isn’t the complete transformation, or perhaps this is just one of the phases of the Wolf Man’s transformation, with different forms serving a different narrative purpose. A Wolf Man film, after all, needs to be interested in humanity’s relationship to their mammalian impulses, and having multiple forms would go a long way in examining that idea.

“Needs,” of course, implies that this Wolf Man film has any intention of trying to be good. And like we’ve been saying, Blumhouse’s slate for the last year or so suggests that making a good movie is one of the more negotiable aspects of getting Blumhouse on board for production.

But here’s the thing: Wolf Man is being spearheaded by Leigh Whannell, whose last two writer-director efforts included Upgrade and The Invisible Man; both of which were excellent. The presence of three other screenwriters on the project isn’t ideal, but a tried-and-true creative like Whannell at the helm means the Wolf Man could very well surprise us.

At the very least, we can expect an entirely competent, honest effort at making a Wolf Man movie, and we’ll see how well the whole thing meets our expectations when it hits theaters on Jan. 17, 2025.

Glen Powell has captured our hearts (once again) following a post on X in which he modestly refutes claims that he has more star power than Ryan Gosling.  Powell was reacting to a recent interview he did for The Wrap, in which an “unnamed producer” described the actor as “the biggest up-and-coming movie star.” 

The article, ‘Glen Powell Is a 21st Century Movie Star Charting His Own Path’, claims Powell’s A-list status sures Gosling’s, since The Notebook actor’s “appeal is mostly limited to female audiences.” Powell, meanwhile, “appeals to both females and males.”

While the argument that Gosling only appeals to female audiences is somewhat refutable (he has starred in a whole heap of male-geared action films from Fall Guy to Blade Runner 2049), the article makes a pretty convincing case as to why Powell is best poised to be crowned Hollywood’s new It-guy. 

It cites the actor’s decision to turn down a role in the Chris Pratt-starring, blockbuster franchise Jurassic World as evidence of how he is “setting up his longevity.” It also points to the mammoth success of Powell’s most recent movies, from the rom-com revival that is Anyone But You to the surprise box office smash, Twisters. 

Taking the compliment in his stride (like a true movie star), Powell responded to The Wrap pull quote on X. “Gosling is a legend,” he wrote, seemingly shrugging off the comparison. “I’m just Glen.” Of course, he’s referring to the Mark Ronson-produced song “I’m Just Ken”, which featured in Barbie and was performed by Gosling as Ken. 

For what it’s worth, Barbie itself was a sign of Gosling’s own star power, breaking box office records and basically turning the world pastel pink for the better part of last year. While it didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, Gosling did perform “I’m Just Ken” at the Oscars. However, perhaps we don’t even need to compare the two actors, as many social media s quickly pointed out. 

“We love both of them,” one person wrote, “and they should be in a buddy cop movie together.” Another clarified that “two great people can coexist.” In any case, it seems Powell’s star power will only continue to grow. It has been reported that the actor will appear in the adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man, directed and written by Edgar Wright. 

Who knows, maybe someday Powell will also be performing at the Oscars (or at least attending). 

Author Andy Weir has had previous success with his books hitting the big screen. The writer previously gained significant popularity for penning the source material for Ridley Scott’s The Martian.

The heavily detailed and researched book was originally self-published on his b a serialized format before its popularity earned it distribution. The film follows astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon), who, through tragic circumstances, is stranded on Mars and has to find a way to survive in time for his crew to return and save him. Both the book and the film felt so steeped in reality that it seemed it really could be a true story. 

Weir has kept his track record with sci-fi fare, and soon, his book Project Hail Mary will be adapted for the big screen.

Release date and cast for Project Hail Mary

Weir’s book throws its protagonist into not only an unfamiliar world, but one in space. Ryland Grace is a former school teacher who becomes an astronaut, only to wake up from a coma on a desolate space station. He has no memory of how he arrived in this predicament and must piece together his new reality. As his memories return in pieces, he comes to learn his mission and discover who he is as a person. Similar to Watney in The Martian, Grace must rely on his self-preservation and intelligence to get him through this scenario. 

While in its early stages, one actor has already been confirmed for the lead role. Fresh off of his nomination for his role in Barbie, Ryan Gosling will play Grace in the film. While the characters in the film appear sparse, Gosling will be ed by Anatomy of a Fall performer Sandra Hüller in an unspecified role. Hollywood scribe Drew Goddard adapted the screenplay with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller set to direct. The two filmmakers have ed forces in many projects, including Clone High and the 21 Jump Street comedy films. 

This fact may point in the direction of what the tone of Project Hail Mary will be. Weir’s debut novel dealt with serious subjects but still found levity in its pages. The Martian adaptation kept with the trend and made Watney unabashedly funny, even in the face of death. With directors well-practiced in the comedy sphere, Project Hail Mary may head in the same direction. Gosling is equally as practiced with his comedy chops, even if a sequel to The Nice Guys is unlikely. His talent with both dramatic and comedic roles is beyond reproach. Details are still incoming, but per Deadline, viewers can expect Project Hail Mary to hit screens on March 20, 2026.

Let’s get something straight here, folks; it is okay to be wrong. In any healthy relationship, most of all the one you have with yourself, there is a bountiful margin in which making mistakes is a safe thing to do.

Stephen King is, by all reasonable observations, not a man of many mistakes; his novels have laid the groundwork for some timeless big-screen classics, and his Netflix recommendations have a tendency to be—and I’m speaking in scientific here—pretty awesome.

But we all have our misfires, and Stephen King is only human after all. As such, we should at least consider forgiving him for suggesting that The Fall Guy—a recent David Leitch action-comedy blockbuster led by one Ryan Gosling—isn’t actually as good as the world is rightfully making it out to be.

Now, the celebrated horror author didn’t outrightly say The Fall Guy wasn’t a good movie; he acknowledges in the tweet above that it’s a fun movie, with the caveat that it just isn’t “great fun,” as his colleague Linwood Barclay characterized it.

Still, you have to consider the fact that King felt compelled to point out that The Fall Guy wasn’t “great fun,” but just average fun, which suggests that he felt strongest about not praising The Fall Guy out of whatever emotional responses he may or may not have had to it. That is a relatively peculiar emotion to give the lead to, but to direct it towards The Fall Guy is an outright infraction.

To King’s credit, the movie is absolutely not the cup of tea you’d associate with the novelist, whose interests chiefly lie in his bread-and-butter genre of horror and other thrillers ranging from dark to psychological. The Fall Guy is none of these things; indeed, Leitch’s film plays in the way that plenty of movies play, but also in ways that most movies don’t (and when they do, they do a poor job of it). It has the most fun with itself first and foremost, and that translates superbly to our own fun.

So, as far as blockbusters that are head-over-heels in love with being a movie—so much so that it evokes an energy that could best be described as the antithesis to cynicism—The Fall Guy is one of the best you can get, and even if it doesn’t win you over in the way that it didn’t win King over, it’s very hard to deny the sheer nutrition of the creative space that it occupies.

So by all means, King, sound the alarm on the Baby Reindeers of the world, but as far as action comedies go, watch your step.

The Fall Guy is now available on VOD.

It’s about time that Ryan Gosling starred in an action comedy. Not that he hasn’t before, but we’re hoping he does it again, and this time with SNL star Mikey Day along for the ride.

Day showed up in of Gosling at the Fall Guy premiere as part of a stunt (yes, that is a pun), and after Gosling walked the carpet as himself in a mint-green suit, he returned with Day, dressed up as live-action versions of Beavis and Butt-Head.

If you missed out on Gosling’s recent SNL hosting gig, then this likely feels like it’s coming out of left field. On the April 13 broadcast of the show, Gosling and Day dressed up as the characters for a sketch starring Heidi Gardner and Kenan Thompson as a news anchor and a professor specializing in AI, respectively. The two attempted to have a serious discussion about the perils of unregulated AI, but were distracted by Gosling and Day, who were unaware of how much they resembled Beavis and Butt-Head. Trust me, it’s more fun to watch it than to read about it, especially if you love when cast break character on SNL.

If there was any red carpet on which to dress up as Beavis, the premiere for a comedic film is probably your best bet ⏤ and The Fall Guy, starring Gosling alongside Emily Blunt, looks like a great watch. Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a professional stunt performer for action films who quits the business after a near-fatal accident. When he finds out his ex-girlfriend (Blunt) is directing her first film, he returns to the field to help save her movie, their relationship, and potentially, the world.

David Lietch, known for films like John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Hobbs & Shaw, directed the film, and with those other movies under his belt, I’m hopeful that this one cements Gosling as the action star he should be. Not that he needs it; one look at his filmography shows that Gosling has picked his share of great roles over the years. But if there’s any actor who can pull off basically every movie genre known to man, my bet’s on Gosling.

You can watch Gosling in The Fall Guy, playing in theaters May 3. Sadly, I don’t think you’ll see Beavis or Butt-Head ⏤ or anyone who resembles them ⏤ in the film. But if we get our way, both will be headed to the big screen at some point very soon.

There are innumerable ways to compliment The Fall Guy, be it Drew Pearce’s sportingly kinetic script, David Leitch’s snappy direction, the lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry between stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, or its ability to not only elevate the ideas it lifts from the 1980s television series of the same name, but to triumphantly bring its own, original toys to the playground, too.

But perhaps the single greatest compliment you could bestow upon The Fall Guy is that it could have just as easily been called Movie: The Movie, and the fact that The Fall Guy is capable of owning that distinction as a fantastic compliment, is a compliment in its own right.

Indeed, just as those first trailers cheekily telegraphed, The Fall Guy has everything; action, comedy, romance, cowboys, aliens, unicorns, morbid ice baths, lots of car chases, fewer but equally significant boat chases, and Jason Momoa as Jason Momoa. The kicker? It’s all that and, above all, charmingly intelligent, and Leitch and company can breathe easy knowing that they just made the blockbuster to beat this year.

The film stars Gosling as Colt Seavers, a professional stuntman who, after an accident puts him out of work for a year and half, is ed by film producer Gail Meyer (played by a terrifically devilish Hannah Waddingham; thank you, Ted Lasso, for shuffling her into the spotlight she’s deserved for so long) about a job opportunity in Sydney, Australia. That job is stuntwork on the set of Metalstorm, a sci-fi blockbuster directed by first-time gaffer Jody Moreno (Blunt), who also happens to be Colt’s ex-girlfriend (the “ex” is a result of Colt ghosting her after his accident, which Jody herself witnessed). Colt eagerly takes the job in hopes of making up with Jody, but finds that she’s still upset with him.

Later, Gail tells him that the real reason she brought Colt to Australia was because Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the star of the film, has gone missing, and she wants Colt to find him. Colt agrees to find him so that Jody can get her movie made, but as he plunges deeper and deeper into the case, it turns out to be a much more twisty and dangerous affair than it first seemed.

It is abundantly clear after watching The Fall Guy that the prestige of the Best ing Actor Oscar has increased, because Ryan Gosling was nominated for one after his turn in Barbie. Indeed, the Canadian leading man doesn’t miss a single beat throughout the film’s crackling 126-minute runtime, and even when he’s not making the gods of comedic timing smile down upon him, the simple fact that he gets to play in the shoes of a character that’s entirely as likeable as the actor himself is a privilege he runs, jumps, and flips with.

The very same can be said about his co-star and once-Barbenheimer rival Blunt, who’s done a similarly tremendous favor for the reputation of the Best ing Actress Oscar (Blunt, of course, was nominated for her performance in last year’s Oppenheimer). Even without the same wiggle room that Gosling’s protagonist gets, Blunt steals every scene she’s in with a delightfully mercurial energy, seeing Gosling’s timing and raising it some pristine wit, and generally embodying a firm, irable, and contextually mighty vulnerability that serves as the hearty engine to Colt’s more palpable monster truck in the derby that is The Fall Guy.

It’s here, at the world “palpable,” that we arrive at the crux of The Fall Guy‘s genius; the full-throttle-yet-dexterous manner in which it pays tribute to the criminally unsung heroes of the Hollywood blockbuster sphere; the stunt folk.

The television series that The Fall Guy is based on centers around a Hollywood stuntman who picks up extra work as a bounty hunter. It makes sense; when you spend all day taking hits, pulling off death-defying acrobatics, and getting willingly set on fire, the rough-and-tumble world of bounty hunting is no great deterrent to you.

This is the aforementioned idea that the film lifts from the television show. The aforementioned elevation, meanwhile, comes in the form of juxtaposing Colt’s status as a stuntman against Tom Ryder’s thoroughly detestable existence as a movie star. Throughout the film, Colt goes about fighting off assassins, jumping from moving vehicles, and getting mouthfuls of gasoline with a relatively nonchalant attitude (he’s driven to do good by Jody more than anything). It’s true that that’s par for the course for the heroes of action comedies, but Colt being a stuntman adds a whole other layer to that. As a stuntman, Colt is well and truly on the front lines of movie sets, literally risking life and limb for almost nothing in the way of recognition (and no, the film isn’t subtle about what it thinks about that reality). Nevertheless, he takes every event in stride, because he’s a stuntman, there’s a job to be done, and all of these explosions are just a Thursday for him anyway.

Ryder, meanwhile, is a superficial spoiled brat who wouldn’t even think about getting his hands dirty, but who is nevertheless revered by the industry and the public, complete with an expensive apartment and enough powerful friends to give him the illusion that he’s above the law. Indeed, all of those high-stakes hero moments that Ryder pretends to have in his movies? Colt actually does have them, except they’re just moments instead of hero moments.

Colt, then, exists in a fascinating liminal space within the movie, like a rugged donut hole whose awareness of the blockbuster excess around him exists separately from that of the audience and the other characters in the movie, and that alone makes him one of the most well-crafted and watchable action heroes to date. Combine that with the fact that The Fall Guy has an intense and unabashed love for pop culture (mostly shown through the animus of Winston Duke’s character Dan, who elicits some of the film’s greatest laughs), and it becomes the easiest task in the world to fall in love with the movieness of this movie. It’s entirely void of cynicism (which goes the longest way in making its more meta elements stick their tricky landings), and is packed to the brim with earnest soul; the very same earnest soul that stuntworkers everywhere bring to the sets of Hollywood, and without whom we would never have so many of the movies we love today.

In closing, The Fall Guy has accomplished the impossible of task of having something for everyone while still being not only a good movie, but a genuinely great movie. It does this by being entirely, consciously committed to its identity of movie magic-meets-behind-the-scenes wisdom and heart, and bringing a confident artistic flair to its limitless playfulness. Indeed, The Fall Guy rises to the occasion, and affably so.

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s official trailer left us more convinced than ever than this film could have more cameos than an Avengers movie — but here’s one familiar face we really didn’t expect to see pop up. Check him out now, it’s just Ken.

It’s true, Ryan Gosling will appear in Deadpool 3 … kinda. Ahead of the trailer’s release, Ryan Reynolds shared a short teaser for it on his Instagram, and it contains one shot that we haven’t seen elsewhere. The moment captures a rare bit of downtime for Wade Wilson, as well as a nod to Reynolds’ fellow Hollywood Ryan. Take a close look at Wade’s shirt and you’ll notice it’s humorlessly patterned with snaps of the Barbie icon.

If you’re wondering about the old-fashioned adult novel Wade is reading, titled The Canadian Mounted, this is a much more deep-cut reference. This is the same book, cover, title, and all, that John Candy’s character is seen reading in classic 1980s movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Director Shawn Levy‘s movies and TV shows are often full of references to ’80s pop culture — see Stranger Things and The Adam Project — so the fact he’s carrying this trope over to DP3, but with a slightly more NSFW flavor, shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Seeing Gosling in any kind of Marvel context, however? Now, that is a surprise.

Could Ryan Gosling ever show up in the MCU for real?

As hilarious as this visual gag is, it’s only making us hungry to see Gosling in the MCU for real. Whether Kevin Feige has actually reached out to the La La Land star or not remains a mystery, but Gosling has certainly been frequently linked to various Marvel characters over the years — most recently, the role of Sentry in Thunderbolts (that ultimately went to Lewis Pullman).

Once upon a time, Gosling did say he’d love to play the part of Ghost Rider, but it seems this was just an example of the puckish sense of humor that we ended up seeing a lot more of during his Barbie era as his Fall Guy co-star Emily Blunt later itted that he was just kidding when he said this and he doesn’t really have any ambitions about being our next Johnny Blaze.

Having said all that, in a film that is finding room for everyone from Jennifer Garner’s Elektra to the most obscure X-Men from the Fox era to Taylor Swift (allegedly), we can’t entirely rule out the possibility that Ryan Gosling could make an actual cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. Still, we’re pretty sure his only appearance in the movie will be on Ryan Reynolds’ body. Wait, that’s not how it sounds.

Movie stars, like true movie stars, are rare these days. There’s too much noise, too much to do, too many fragmented segments of the population – and there are only a handful of actors who can headline a movie and put butts in seats. However, Ryan Gosling is just about as close as you can get. Plus, he’s hot and talented! So, what are Gosling’s hottest performances?

10. The Big Short

Rich hot. Maybe you’re thinking, “this is the least hot Gosling!” That would probably be Lars and the Real Girl to be honest. Is this the hottest Gosling? No. However, this is a list and something had to be number 10. What he lacks in looks he gains in pure unadulterated shameless money grabbing. He plays a smart, rich man. Ladies love wealth! What’s hotter, some young dude model who lives on a floor with 12 other dudes, or a man with millions of dollars at his disposal? Easy choice.

9. The Nice Guys

Gosling goes ’70s hot in this one. The open shirt, the gold chain, the goatee! The casual “IDGAF” attitude. The swagger. This is Gosling at cop hot, and there are few things better than ’70s cop hot. He’ll protect you but also make you scrambled eggs in the morning before chasing some perp down an alley after drinking 17 beers last night. Ah, the ’70s. Feels like ages ago! (That’s a joke, it was ages ago).

8. Half Nelson

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Are you surprised? Did you think it was going to be another role? He’s chiseled. Every muscle sparkles in the sun. The wardrobe is impeccable. Is he a douche? Maybe. But he’s also a product of his environment and only wants to be noticed by one woman. Is he Kenough? You’re G-Damn right he is!