Culture Crave newsletter — #6 🕷

Happy Friday, readers! Loads of film news to breakdown this week.

Tom Holland is booked and busy

Tom Holland is set for a packed schedule next year, with commitments to filming two Marvel projects alongside a role in Christopher Nolan's upcoming mystery film. In a surprising announcement, Sony has slated Spider-Man 4 for release on July 24, 2026, positioning it just a week after Nolan’s anticipated project 🕸

Netflix reveals plan for their films going forward: Make better movies

Their reported goals:

• Make 25-30 movies a year
• Prioritize certain genres
• Stop overspending just to be in business with big stars
• Use original ideas for most of their films
• Keep budgets under $100M

Based on the above graphic, you can see their most popular films lagged behind other studios, especially with fans 📺

Sony is still looking for a critical hit in their Marvel universe

Haven’t caught the latest installment, though I’d go to bat for the first two Venom films — they’re goofy fun. But critics are not digging Venom 3. The franchise has now become one of the worst-rated comic book trilogies ever. Next up for Sony is Kraven the Hunter this December 🍿

What’s happening with cinematographer Greig Fraser?

Oscar winner Greig Fraser is currently shooting the sci-fi Hail Mary starring Ryan Gosling, and the internet is very curious about what’s next after he previously shot The Batman and both the Dune films.

Here’s what we know about the upcoming timeline:

• Matt Reeves says The Batman 2 will start gearing up to film at the beginning of 2025, with the goal to be filming before mid-2025

• Dune 3 reportedly starts filming Summer 2025 and is expected to be a long shoot

This creates a potential scheduling conflict if The Batman 2 doesn’t begin production soon. Warner Bros. will likely aim to accommodate both projects, and if necessary, Fraser may prioritize Dune 3, given his Oscar-winning work on the franchise and a likely nomination for Dune 2. Additionally, the Batman universe has already brought in a different cinematographer for The Penguin series, which Fraser offered guidance on. I could see the same thing happening for The Batman 2 if he’s not able to complete a whole shoot 🎥

Over 20 projects are in development for James Gunn’s DCU 💥

Mainline DCU

Everything here listed has been confirmed besides Teen Titans and Bane and Deathstroke, which were both reported by major trade outlets. A report from Deadline said the latter will feature those villains and may not center on them 🦸‍♂️

Matt Reeves’ The Batman Epic Crime Saga

Reeves recently reiterated his plan for a trilogy, and we know at least one additional spinoff show is in the works, with discussions underway for more 🦇

Elseworlds / Unclear

James Gunn confirmed JJ. Abrams’ black-led Superman film is still in the works and takes place in a different universe, aka Elseworlds. Meanwhile, Constantine 2, starring Keanu Reeves, recently finished its script. Gunn is reportedly developing a Jurassic League animated film and collaborating with Matt Reeves on a Robin duo project that will blend animation, puppetry, and CGI — though it’s unclear what universe it takes place in 🤔

That’s all for this week. Hit the subscribe button if you enjoyed it 🤝

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