Motion Picture: ‘Obsession’ Star Inde Navarette Joins The X-Men As Rogue, Oscar Winner Ke Huy Quan Reprises His Role In ‘Zootopia 3’
Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Rising stars Indie Navarette and Maya Boyd have just been announced as the next Storm and Rogue in the upcoming X-Men movie from Marvel Studios. The announcement was made at Disney Entertainment’s D23 showcase. Rogue will be Navarette's first major role since her breakout in the box office hit Obsession. Maya Boyd, best known for her work on Broadway, will take on the role of Storm; this will be her feature-film debut. Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear co-creator Joanna Calo are penning the script. This will be Disney’s first tangle with the famous mutant squad since acquiring the rights from 21st Century Fox in 2019. Other confirmed names are Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) as Jean Grey and Kit Connor (Heartstopper) as “Cyclops," also known as Scott Summers. The Marvel Studios project is currently in pre-production and slated for May 2028.
Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: Final Destination: Bloodlines star Kaitlyn Santa Juana is set to lead a road trip dramedy titled The Jam Van. Maclean Fish (Little House On The Prairie) and Nikki Roumel (Ginny & Georgia) will also star. Santa Juana got her big break while starring in the latest installment of the Final Destination franchise, which grossed over $318M globally. The Jam Van is her first feature role since that film. The film follows “a dysfunctional pop punk band who navigate long roads, longer silences, and messy relationships on their way to what could be their big break or their last show for good.”
This will also be the directorial debut of Alec Carlos. Carlos penned the screenplay with producer Peter Roumeliotis. Along with Carlos and Roumeliotis, the film is produced by Jordan Connor (Riverdale) and Kyle Guerrero from Inventive Entertainment, with Helen Roumeliotis and Santa Juana also serving as producers. Filming is slated to begin in Winnipeg, Manitoba, at the end of August. Madison MacIsaac (My Secret Santa), Cassandra Potenza (Clown in a Cornfield), and Dom Bergeron (High School) round out the rest of the cast. This will be the fifth feature film produced under the Popternative Pictures banner, joining The Cure, starring David Dastmalchian; the Bigfoot thriller Sawtooth Mountain; and the upcoming drama Sometimes I Believe in Ghosts, starring Brenna D’Amico.
Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan (Love Hurts) is confirmed to reprise his role as Gary De’Snake in the third installment of the Zootopia franchise for Walt Disney Studios alongside Ginnifer Goodwin (Judy Hopps). Following the massive success of Zootopia 2, which became the highest-grossing Hollywood animated film of all time, bringing in $1.8 billion at the global box office, Disney is moving forward with a third film. Quan and Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) went on stage at Disney’s D23 event to make the announcement. The third film will reportedly focus on birds. There is no other casting information or plot details available at this time. The original franchise began with the first film over a decade ago, which introduced fans to rabbit police officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and con artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). The two started as enemies as Judy joined the Zootopia Police Department but then put aside their differences to solve a mystery in the animal city. The first film was a hit at the box office, crossed $1 billion globally, and spawned a spinoff TV series called Zootopia+ on Disney+.”
A sequel to Disney’s Coco is reportedly in the works, with Benjamin Bratt returning as Ernesto De La Cruz. Coco 2 will follow Miguel as a teenager and is slated to release in November of 2029. “He’s a little menace who ruined a career and destroyed a legend,” said Bratt as he took the stage at D23 to make the announcement. “Ernesto de la Cruz is back for revenge…proving that fate has twists.” The first Coco hit theaters in 2017 and grossed $822.4 million worldwide, including $210.5 million domestically. It’s the No. 27 animated film of all time globally. Casting information and plot details are being kept under wraps.
Industry: Streamer and specialty distributor Cineverse has announced massive layoffs hitting a workforce of 375 employees. In its report of fiscal first-quarter earnings on Thursday, the company said it completed a “reduction in force” after the June 30, 2026, end of the quarter. The move will result in $1.8 million in annual cost savings, the company said. In addition to the job cuts, Cineverse claims it has identified $4.8 million in cost reductions and synergies, bringing the target number to $13 million in “annualized cost reductions and synergies.” These efficiencies are said to be realized by the end of September 2026. Cineverse reports its workforce consists of 291 full-time employees and nine others classified as part-time, on leave, or temporary. Of the total, the company’s annual report states that 159 work in operations, 50 in sales and marketing, and 91 in executive, finance, technology, and administrative roles. There are 145 employees based in the U.S. and 155 based in India. Shares in Cineverse rose nearly 5% in early trading Friday to hit $3. They have risen more than 30% in 2026 to date. Top brass at the company have yet to comment on the impending layoffs.
Oscar nominee Colman Domingo has been named a 2026 Academy Museum of Motion Pictures annual fundraising gala honoree. Domingo will attend the annual Academy fundraising gala on October 17, 2026, alongside fellow nominees Charlize Theron and John Carpenter. Domingo will receive the Vantage Award honoring an artist who is helping to challenge dominant narratives around cinema. “The Academy Museum Gala is a celebration of the artists and storytellers whose work continues to shape the cultural impact of cinema around the world,” said Academy Museum Director and President Amy Homma. “For our sixth annual Gala, we are honored to recognize John Carpenter, Colman Domingo, and Charlize Theron, whose extraordinary careers exemplify the creativity, innovation, and excellence that continues to move the industry forward.”
