The film brings a sense of familiarity between Jack Ryan and Mike November. The joyous relationship between Krasinski and Kelly off the screen helped add to their on-screen chemistry.

“The more you get to know Michael Kelly, you have to just embrace what you got, which is a wild horse,” Krasinski tells Nerd Reactor. “He’s the nicest, funniest, most generous person who also makes me laugh incredibly hard. It’s no coincidence that his character went from being a buttoned-up CIA guy to a complete wild man.”

Kelly reiterates the sentiment, focusing on the same energy on set.

“Personally, I’m in tears every single day of filming,” Kelly added. “We laugh that hard every day, even through a lot of difficult days on set. Somehow, we always find a way to get through it by making each other laugh.”

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War is now available to stream on Prime Video.

You can watch the full interview via the video above.

About Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War

Synopsis: In this new film, Jack Ryan is reluctantly thrust back into the world of espionage when an international covert mission unravels a deadly conspiracy, forcing him to confront a rogue black-ops unit, and the clock is ticking. Operating in real time with lives on the line and the threat escalating at every turn, Jack reunites with battle-tested CIA operative Mike November (Michael Kelly) and former CIA boss James Greer (Wendell Pierce), their combined experience the only edge they have against an enemy who knows their every move. Backed by an unlikely new partner – razor-sharp MI6 officer Emma Marlowe (Sienna Miller) – Jack and the team navigate a treacherous web of betrayal, facing a past they thought was long put to rest – making this the most personal, high-stakes mission any of them have ever faced.

The post John Krasinski Calls Michael Kelly a ‘Wild Horse’ in Jack Ryan: Ghost War Interview appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Jake Johnson is known for voicing Peter B. Parker in the Spider-Verse animated films. In Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, he portrays Karl, Paula’s ex-husband, who does not see her as a fit mother.

“I don’t think Peter B. Parker would like Karl at all,” Johnson tells Nerd Reactor. “I don’t think he would be interested in him. I think Karl is so in his little battle for Hazel and doing what he thinks is right that Karl’s not able to see anything else besides his reality and his truth.

“And I think he is 100% convinced he’s right. And I don’t think that’s something that Peter B. Parker finds attractive in people.”

Jake’s character believes what he’s doing is right; however, Bartlett’s character is a whole other beast. One of the most talked-about episodes in HBO’s The Last of Us series featured Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman. It showed viewers that love can bloom even in a post-apocalyptic world. In Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Bartlett portrays an antagonist who would become an obstacle for Tatiana’s Paula.

“I think he’d be awesome because I think he’s a sociopath,” Bartlett said about his Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed character if he were in The Last of Us. “I think he can distance himself from emotion, or just naturally, he just doesn’t have a lot of it. He has a very small spectrum of emotions. So I think he could get it done, and not be worried about consequences.”

David J. Rosen is the creator, executive producer and writer of the series, whose credits include Us & Them, Invasion, Sugar, and Hunters. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is a series with dark and comedic elements, and it’s a balancing act throughout the series.

“I think trying to make them laugh is weirdly hard,” Rosen said. “That’s kind of how we attacked the series, actually. We can write the thriller moves, and we have to execute them. But we could know intellectually that these should line up and be good. But you can’t really intellectually know whether or not something funny will land. It’s just a whole different thing. Because of that, let’s write a bulletproof thriller, as bulletproof as we can make it. And then the humor will come from the characters and how they respond to those thriller moments.”

About Maximum Pleasure Guarantteed

Synopsis: From creator and showrunner David J. Rosen, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed follows newly divorced mom Paula (Maslany) as she falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder and youth soccer. Convinced she witnessed a crime – while simultaneously struggling through a custody battle and an identity crisis – Paula begins her own investigation, one that could unravel a greater conspiracy while also holding the keys to rebuilding her family and sense of self.

Brandon Flynn (“13 Reasons Why”) and Murray Bartlett (“The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus”) also join the ensemble cast, which includes Jessy Hodges (“Barry”), Jon Michael Hill (“Elementary”), Charlie Hall (“The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”), Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg (“Charmed,” “Invasion”), Nola Wallace (The Strangers: Chapter 2, The Strangers: Chapter 3) and Dolly De Leon (“Nine Perfect Strangers,” “Triangle of Sadness”).

The post The Cast of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed on Sociopaths, Manipulation and Dark Comedy appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Nerd Reactor had the chance to chat with Valorie Curry, who portrayed Firecracker, a member of The Seven who uses her show to manipulate the masses. She talks about fans’ reactions to her shocking episode.

“It’s been pleasantly surprising because it seems to have sparked a lot of conversation about the crisis of faith that [Firecracker] goes through,” Curry tells Nerd Reactor. “It’s such a humanizing story and a relatable sort of story for a lot of people. It’s meant so much to me to hear from people who saw themselves in that. I was so happy watching it to see that it doesn’t talk down to anybody. It’s not making fun of anybody. It’s not actually making a joke of people who are having a crisis of faith, leaving a high-control religion, or leaving a political perspective. That existential crisis is treated in a very empathetic way. And that’s why I think it has resonated with so many people.”

Season 5, Episode 5 features Firecracker manipulating the public again on TV, but this time, the viewers understand what she is going through. Will she throw her former pastor under the bus, or will she try to defend her past church?

“The tear thing is interesting,” she said. “Because other than this scene, almost every time she cries, she can turn the water works on like that. They’re crocodile tears, right? She knows how to use her instrument, and none of those tears are coming from some real place. It’s like she’s choking on what she has to say, and that’s the one way that it comes out. It comes through that crack in the mask. That scene was by far the most painful scene to shoot. It was excruciating, and I think the reason it’s so painful is that she hasn’t actually decided yet. She still hasn’t decided when the camera starts rolling, and you just watch her vomit up that lie, and she hates herself.”

The finale episode of The Boys airs on May 20, 2026.

The post Valorie Curry on Firecracker’s Crisis of Faith and Emotional Breakdown in The Boys appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Kawamori has a new film, Labyrinth, which hits U.S. theaters on May 10th and 11th. If you have seen his previous works, music and technology have been important. With Labyrinth, a high school girl named Shiori (voiced by Atarashii Gakko!’s Suzuka) dreams of becoming an online sensation. After being in a viral but embarrassing video, she is trapped inside her smartphone and replaced by a doppelganger who becomes famous.

“When I think about my past work like Macross, or the Valkyrie, or even Transformers, they have a lot of physical power because they’re giant robots,” Kawamori tells Nerd Reactor. “But a smartphone, even though it’s so much smaller, I think it can have an equivalent or maybe even more power, because you can really affect someone on the other side of the world. So I think technology is very alluring, but also that is the part of the danger that most people don’t realize.”

Kawamori is influenced by growing up in a rural area like Toyama and the modern city of Yokohama. Fans can see the inspiration in his work.

“I was born in traditional arts, and nature was the core of our lives,” the director said. “Then I came to this technology-filled city. I don’t think one is better than the other. I think both are important, and both are very interesting to me. I wanted to always come up with ways where that duality could coexist, and also combine them to create something more interesting and fun. I think that journey of exploring that is really my more than 40 years of work, and it continues into Labyrinth.”

About Labyrinth

Synopsis: Shiori is a typical high school student who dreams of online stardom, but struggles to capture attention. After an embarrassing video of her goes viral, she gets trapped in her smartphone and replaced by a charismatic alter ego. As the doppelganger charms the internet and devises a nefarious plot to replace mankind with brainrot, Shiori must partner with other online outcasts to stop her digital counterpart and reclaim her life in the real world.

The post Shoji Kawamori on Smartphones, Giant Robots, and the Hidden Power of the Digital Age appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

The film follows a group of animals who rebelled against the humans to escape captivity and to prevent themselves from ending up in a slaughterhouse. Lucky, voiced by Gaten Matarazzo (Netflix’s Stranger Things), is a piglet who is torn between following Napoleon, a rebellious boar voiced by Seth Rogen, and Snowball, a sow voiced by Laverne Cox. With the animals running their own animal farm, following one leader blindly could lead to a disastrous end.

“We ultimately wanted to have young people sit with their parents and grandparents and then have a debate,” Serkis tells Nerd Reactor. “[George] Orwell wrote this innocent story to be able to talk about darker themes, but also to have a discussion about it. We have not made this for an algorithm. It’s not to hit from a marketing perspective. We’re not aiming at anything other than trying to tell a tale that will engage young inquiring minds to have a conversation with their adult parents and grandparents.

“Some people will love it, and some people will hate this film, and that’s great. That’s what we want. We want to encourage that, that being able to talk about something, rather than these are very subtle, nuanced discussions that we’re having through an entertaining, animated, young, innocent film.”

Iman Vellani voices two characters, Puff and Tammy, who are piglets and friends of Lucky.

“Teenagers notoriously don’t have a strong sense of self, and younger kids too,” Vellani explained. “They’re literally blindly following what their adults and parents are doing around them, and thinking that that’s the way to do it, because that’s how I’ve been taught and seen… So I think this movie gives younger audiences the tools to actually recognize these injustices and apply them to their own lives, too.”

The interview was edited for length and clarity.

About Animal Farm

Synopsis: A satirical allegory of revolution and power traces how a movement for equality is systematically corrupted. As the pigs consolidate control, truth is erased, dissent is crushed, and the farm descends into a ruthless dictatorship – fulfilling Orwell’s warning about the dangers of communism.

The film is directed by Andy Serkis and features the voice of Serkis, Seth Rogen, Woody Harrelson, Glenn Close, Gaten Matarazzo, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, Kieran Culkin, Steve Buscemi, Laverne Cox, and Iman Vellani.

Animal Farm was released in the U.S. and Canada on May 1, 2026.

The post Andy Serkis & Iman Vellani on Animal Farm: Sacrifice, Power, and Questioning Authority appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

“The most important thing for a producer, and I’m one of a few, you’ve got to take care of business in the background to support everything a director does,” Simmons tells Nerd Reactor. “Because the actors depend on him, the scenic designers, the cinematographers, and everything. So he’s got to put all the pieces together and get a performance that you care about.”

This is in stark contrast to how Simmons works in the music industry.

“Being in a band, it’s your show,” the musician/producer said. “You’re in front of the stage. You control a lot of stuff.”

Deep Water follows survivors of a crashed plane as they try to survive in shark-infested waters.

“The key to any movie is that you care about the characters,” Harlin explained. “You can blow up the planes, you can crash them, and you can have sharks attack from left and right. But if you don’t really root for the characters and care about them, then you don’t have anything.”

Renny Harlin’s life has changed now that he is married and has children.

“I feel that I was more equipped to do this now that my life has changed so much in just the last few years,” he added. “I got married. I have three kids. I think I’m a better person than I was before, and I know that I care more deeply than I ever did. I would like to think that’s reflected in how I handle the characters, how I directed the actors. We have little kids in the story. We have a grandmother in the story. And I think that I paid attention to those things more than I’ve ever done before in my life.”

About Deep Water

Synopsis: A flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai goes down in the middle of the Pacific. After surviving the crash, the survivors soon discover they’re not alone and they must survive the shark infested waters.

The film is directed by Renny Harlin and written by Pete Bridges and John Kim. Producers are Gene Simmons, Ying Ye, Neal Kingston, Grant Bradley, Dale Bradley, Adrián Guerra, Xavier Parache, and Bob Yari.

It stars Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Molly Belle Wright, Angus Sampson, Kelly Gale, and Li Wenhan.

Deep Water releases in theaters nationwide on May 1, 2026.

The post Gene Simmons on Film Producing, Music, and Why Directors Lead the Set appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Starring in the role of young Michael is Juliano Valdi, who has the talent to bring the voice and energy of Michael to the biopic.

“My mom told me that I got the role being young [Michael],” Valdi tells Nerd Reactor. “I was at my grandmother’s house again, and she told me, ‘Hey, you’re going to be young Michael Jackson.’ And I was like, ‘What, really?’ She was like, ‘Yeah.’ I was really excited, but I knew that it was a big responsibility, so I had to focus and work hard on my craft. I started practicing my Michael Jackson voice.”

Michael Jackson is known for his singing and dancing, and Valdi talks about which talent was the hardest.

“Well, I would say dancing, but it’s also his mannerisms,” the actor said.

Portraying Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson, is Nia Long (Friday, Are We There Yet?), who serves as the glue to the family.

“I think the feminine energy always has that responsibility, whether it’s conscious or subconscious,” Long said. “It is just part of the journey. But I absolutely had a kinship with my young man who played my child. And obviously, to my leading man, who played my husband. We took care of each other. It’s a reciprocal exchange of energy. And we have a responsibility to support each other to be the best in that moment.”

Colman Domingo plays the controversial father figure, Joe Jackson.

“There have been versions of Joe Jackson portrayed before,” Domingo explained. “If I know anything, I know that sometimes people will take an idea or a trope and let that run wild throughout an experience. And I don’t think that’s the truth for anyone… any human being. It is just not their truth. They act differently in different spaces when they’re conducting business, or they’re at home with their wife or with one of their kids, compared to when they’re with the rest of their kids. And so for me, I wanted to show the different Joe Jacksons in different spaces. You know what I mean?

“He has a bit more vulnerability when he’s with his wife. Even sometimes when he’s just with adult Michael, he can show a different part of himself that he probably wouldn’t show if he were in a stadium with other people around. He’s got to be the top dog. He’s got to be the businessman because other people are watching. I’ll find that humanity in every character. There is. What connects us? And so I feel like it was my job to really look through the lens of Joe Jackson and see how he sees the world and what his actions are and what he’s about.”

About Michael

Synopsis: Michael is the cinematic portrayal of the life and legacy of one of the most influential artists the world has ever known. The film tells the story of Michael Jackson’s life beyond the music, tracing his journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world. Highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career, the film gives audiences a front-row seat to Michael Jackson as never before. This is where his story begins.

The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by John Logan, and produced by Graham King, John Branca, and John McClain.

It stars Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long, Juliano Valdi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, special appearance by Mike Myers, with Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo.

Michael releases in U.S. theaters on April 24, 2026.

The post The Moment Juliano Valdi Found Out He Was Playing Michael Jackson appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Jessie T. Usher reprises his role as A-Train, who is seen on the run and trying to protect his family.

“I love that we find him in the only place that really makes sense,” Usher tells Nerd Reactor. “I love that he’s on the run, and it’s fitting for him. When you think about all of the stuff that he’s done up until this point, the only way out for him is to just stay on the move. He can’t really come back and face the mess that he made because it’s larger than him. There’s no way he can come back and tell the world what he did and have them just accept him. There’s no way that he can go back and say to Homelander what he wants to say without getting lasered.

“There’s just all these things. So the only thing that really makes sense is for him to be running. And I love that that’s where we see him. And I love that he hasn’t forgotten that and that the stakes are high, and at this point, where do we go next? With this character, it just feels like this ticking time bomb that’s just waiting to happen. And I love that he just takes control of his life for the first time.”

Susan Heyward portrays Sister Sage, a member of the Seven with superhuman intelligence.

“Things need resolution, stories need resolutions,” Heyward said about the show having a final season. “And as satirical as the show is, as inspired by real-life events as the show is, it is a story. So it does need to end. And kudos to Kripke and the writers for giving us a beginning, a middle, an end, and going out on a high, right? Instead of dragging it out and diluting the power.”

As part of The Seven, Firecracker is there to help out Homelander. Valorie Curry (Detroit: Become Human) is back as the Supes with the power of simple pyrokinetic sparks. However, she does have superhuman strength.

“It tells you that there was an intention behind the storytelling from the beginning,” Curry added. “And if it’s sort of just forever ongoing and open-ended, then to me, it sort of loses that sense of intention. And it’s always had a very strong point of view. And that is probably its greatest asset.”

The Boys Season Five will premiere on April 8, 2026, with two episodes, followed by a new episode each week, with the series finale on May 20, 2026. The season will stream exclusively on Prime Video.

Even though The Boys is ending soon, fans still have the upcoming Gen V Season 3 and the prequel series, Vought Rising.

The post A-Train on the Run: Jessie T. Usher on The Boys Season 5 appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Matarazzo portrays Jack, a misfit who isn’t afraid to shake the system.

“I like to think that Dustin would academically excel tremendously more than Jack would,” Matarazzo tells Nerd Reactor. “I doubt that was Jack’s primary reasoning for attending college in the first place. So I think that they would have very different goals. I think they’d fare well. I don’t know if Dustin would be willing to jump into an unpredictable drug-fueled nightmare the way that Jack would. So I would trust Dustin in a situation far more than Jack personally.”

Giambrone is Montgomery, the reserved one of the duo.

“I think that Adam would probably call his mom to handle [things],” Giambrone said. “I think that I could almost see Dustin figuring out some way to balance the drug, so it would cancel the effect or something. That’d be a wild duo.”

Lulu Wilson plays Lizzy, who used to be friends with Jack and Montgomery and is trying to be part of the cool kids. She has a horror background with movies and series such as The Haunting of Hill House, Annabelle: Creation, and Ouija: Origin of Evil.

“I do think there’s definitely some utter terror in this movie,” Wilson recalled. “We get pretty scared, so I think it does kind of cross over. But I also think that horror and comedy are very connected, just because of people like Jordan Peele or Zach Cregger. I think it definitely informed the practice that I’ve had. Doing all this horror definitely helped with this movie 100%.”

About Pizza Movie

Synopsis: A shy college student and his reckless roommate set out on a simple mission to grab pizza, but after a strange dose of a mind-bending experimental drug, they’re thrust into a chaotic night of absurd encounters, wild hallucinations, and unexpected revelations that could change their lives forever.

Starring in the film are Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone, Lulu Wilson, Jack Martin, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Marcus Scribner, Caleb Hearon, Sarah Sherman, Justin Cooley, Kevin Matthew Reyes, Adam Herschman, and Lucas Zelnick.

The film is written and directed by Brian McElhaney & Nick Kocher. It is produced by American High’s Jeremy Garelick and Will Phelps and All Things Comedy’s Billy Rosenberg. Jason Zaro, Molle DeBartolo and Max Butler are also producers. Gaten Matarazzo is an executive producer.

Pizza Movie releases on Friday, April 3rd, on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the US.

The post Gaten Matarazzo Says Dustin Would ‘Excel’ in College, Sean Giambrone Says Adam Would ‘Call His Mom’ appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

“He’s this larger-than-life, big ball of energy who comes in and shakes things up,” Marsden tells Nerd Reactor. “But I was excited to work with Olivia because we’ve known each other for a long time. Both went to the same high school in Oklahoma, and we’ve never actually worked together. So that was exciting.

Jon and I have been in a fantasy football league together for a long time. And so I’ve known, I’ve just known him through the business. And so it was like, get to work with people that you know are your pals. So yeah, first day shooting was like, this is gonna be fun. We have a good time with this. And the character for me really allowed me to go there.”

Olivia Munn portrays Samantha Levitt, who tried to frame Cooper in the first season. Life has been hell for her at the start of the season, as she is shunned by her former friends and neighbors, except for Ashe.

“It was really interesting to play someone who was feeling so many conflicting feelings at once,” Munn said. “Not one of them was bigger than the other one. Like she was feeling shame and regret. And she was feeling like she was also justified and feeling like everyone was treating her unfairly. And that a lot of them are hypocrites and they have all done something wrong in their lives. She’s feeling all of those things at once and is determined to make her way back into this social group.

“And then having to feel that embarrassment and sadness and exclusion when none of them can even stomach looking in my direction. And so it was really fun to go from someone who was in such control, even if her life was imploding and she wasn’t always getting what she wanted. She was in control, and she had a game plan. And this time around, she’s got to go with other people’s game plans and be able to be flexible, adjust, and change for the different opportunities that are coming her way.”

About Your Friends and Neighbors Season 2

In season two, Andrew Cooper (Jon Hamm) doubles down on his life as an unlikely suburban thief, until the arrival of a new neighbor threatens to expose his secrets and place his family at risk.

Emmy Award-nominee James Marsden joins the cast, alongside returning stars Hamm, Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn, Hoon Lee, Mark Tallman, Lena Hall, Aimee Carrero, Eunice Bae, Isabel Gravitt and Donovan Colan.

Hailing from Apple Studios, “Your Friends & Neighbors” is created by bestselling author Jonathan Tropper, who serves as showrunner, director and executive producer for Tropper Ink under his overall deal with Apple TV. Hamm executive produces alongside Connie Tavel, Craig Gillespie, Jamie Rosengard, Lori Keith Douglas and Stephanie Laing, who directs six episodes.

The post James Marsden and Olivia Munn Talk Season 2 Shakeups in Your Friends & Neighbors appeared first on Nerd Reactor.