Zendaya is joining Alex Garland’s next science-fiction film, the Prince Charles Cinema has secured its future, and Ralph Fiennes is heading to the racecourse. Today’s Screen Wrap brings together eleven stories across film and television, from Busan’s prize winners to the changing ways we watch and discover films.
The News That Matters
Zendaya joins Alex Garland’s next A24 sci-fi film
- Starring: Zendaya
- Writer/director: Alex Garland
- Studio: A24
- Production: Planned for 2027
Zendaya will star in an untitled science-fiction film written and directed by Alex Garland for A24. Filming is planned for next year, while the story remains under wraps.
That leaves plenty of room for speculation, but the pairing is already an intriguing one. Garland has a long relationship with A24, stretching back to Ex Machina; Zendaya’s work with the company includes The Drama. For now, the attraction is the collaboration itself. A title, synopsis and release date will have to wait.
Majid Majidi’s Midday Meal takes Busan’s top prize
- Director: Majid Majidi
- Award: Busan Award for best film
- Festival: Busan International Film Festival
- Lead: Mohammad Rahimi
Midday Meal has won the Busan Award for best film at this year’s festival. Majid Majidi’s drama follows a teacher trying to keep a school going after the death of its benefactor, with Mohammad Rahimi in the lead.
It is a story built around the everyday struggle to preserve an education, rather than a grand spectacle. The festival’s directing award went to Lee Yun-chan for To Be Ordinary, giving audiences another title to look out for as these films travel beyond Busan.
Sky’s ITV deal faces a possible government intervention
- Companies: Sky and ITV
- Business: ITV Media and Entertainment
- Deal value: Up to £1.6 billion
- Status: Intervention being considered
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is considering intervening in Sky’s proposed purchase of ITV’s Media and Entertainment business. Her concerns include the range of news voices and the breadth of broadcasting available to audiences.
This is not a final decision to intervene, and it should not be read as the deal being blocked. The parties have been given time to respond. The distinction matters: the proposed transaction concerns ITV’s broadcasting and related media business, rather than a sale of the whole company including ITV Studios.
Fox and Roku shareholders back the proposed combination
- Companies: Fox Corporation and Roku
- Announced enterprise value: About $22 billion
- Next stage: Regulatory review
- Expected completion: First half of 2027, subject to conditions
Shareholders have backed the proposed Fox–Roku transaction, moving the combination past an important approval stage. It has not closed: regulatory clearance and the remaining conditions still have to be met.
The agreement announced in June valued Roku at roughly $22 billion on an enterprise-value basis. Fox shareholders are expected to own about 73% of the combined company, with Roku founder Anthony Wood joining its board. Bringing a major broadcaster and a streaming platform together would reshape how the group reaches audiences, but viewers should not mistake the vote for an immediate change to their services.
Street Fighter heads into opening weekend with a $70 million forecast
- Director: Kitao Sakurai
- Cinema release: 16 October 2026
- Worldwide opening forecast: Around $70 million
- Figures: Projections, not ticket-sales results
Street Fighter reaches cinemas this week with reports pointing to a worldwide opening of around $70 million. That is a forecast for the coming weekend, not money the film has already earned.
Kitao Sakurai’s adaptation now faces the familiar test for a game-to-film release: turning recognition of the characters into a trip to the cinema. The opening numbers will give the first indication of that response; how the film holds in subsequent weeks will tell us more.
La Bola Negra opens a new box-office chapter for Netflix
- Filmmakers: Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi
- Cinema opening: 16 October 2026
- Netflix release: 2 December 2026
- Theatrical window: 47 days
Netflix’s La Bola Negra begins its cinema run on Friday, ahead of a 2 December streaming release. The 47-day gap gives Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s film a substantial period in theatres before subscribers can watch at home.
Netflix also plans to report box-office results for selected releases, starting with this film. That makes the run worth watching beyond the film itself: it offers a more visible measure of how one of the streamer’s theatrical releases performs.
The Prince Charles Cinema secures a 25-year lease
- Cinema: Prince Charles Cinema, London
- New lease: 25 years
- Break clause: None
- Campaign: More than 168,000 petition signatures
London’s Prince Charles Cinema has announced a new 25-year lease with no break clause, bringing welcome certainty after 21 months of negotiations. The cinema thanked the supporters behind a petition signed by more than 168,000 people.
The agreement follows a campaign involving the cinema’s audience, the Soho Society and Westminster City Council, which listed the venue as an Asset of Community Value. For regulars, the practical significance is simple: a much firmer future for a cinema whose distinctive programme has earned a devoted following.
Ralph Fiennes will play Henry Cecil in Unbeaten
- Starring: Ralph Fiennes
- Director: Nora Fingscheidt
- Writer: Bash Doran
- Production: Planned for 2027
Ralph Fiennes is set to play celebrated racehorse trainer Henry Cecil in Unbeaten. Nora Fingscheidt will direct from a script by Bash Doran, with filming planned for next year.
The film centres on Cecil’s later-life comeback and his bond with champion horse Frankel. It reunites Fiennes with Conclave producer Tessa Ross, while Studiocanal is financing the production. There is an obvious sporting story here, but the human relationship behind the victories is what could give the film its weight.
Kelsey Grammer’s Pops is in development at NBC
- Starring: Kelsey Grammer
- Writer: Danny Weiss
- Network: NBC
- Status: In development
Kelsey Grammer is attached to star in and executive produce Pops, an NBC drama in development from Chicago Med writer-producer Danny Weiss. Grammer would play a man who starts again in emergency medicine alongside colleagues much younger than himself.
The inspiration is Ed Levien, who became a volunteer EMT in his sixties after a career in advertising and went on to serve for 12 years. It is a promising change of setting for Grammer, but development is not a series order, and there is no broadcast date to mark in the diary yet.
Apple renews Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed for season two
- Stars: Tatiana Maslany and Jake Johnson
- Creator: David J. Rosen
- Platform: Apple TV
- Status: Renewed for season two
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed will return for a second season on Apple TV. Tatiana Maslany and Jake Johnson lead David J. Rosen’s dark comedy, which mixes a custody dispute and youth football with blackmail and murder.
The first season is available to watch, so newcomers can catch up while the next chapter takes shape. Apple’s renewal announcement does not set a season-two premiere date. The appeal remains that uneasy collision between an ordinary family life and events spiralling far beyond it.
Plex adds a route from film discovery to cinema tickets
- Services: Plex and Fandango
- Market: United States
- Feature: Cinema showtimes and ticket links
- Purchase: Through Fandango
Plex users in the United States can now move from discovering a film to checking cinema showtimes and buying tickets through Fandango. The integration links out to Fandango rather than making Plex itself the ticket seller.
It is a useful bridge between a home-viewing app and a night at the cinema. Plex says it reaches 42 million monthly active users worldwide, although this ticketing feature is for the US market. The convenience will depend on how naturally it appears when people are choosing what to watch.
Movieversalfilm Takeaway
The Prince Charles Cinema’s new lease is the day’s most tangible good news for filmgoers: it gives a much-loved venue room to plan ahead. Zendaya and Garland offer the most intriguing creative pairing, while the Netflix and Plex developments show different attempts to connect streaming audiences with cinemas. Several of today’s projects and deals still have a long way to go, but there is plenty here worth following.
Which story has your attention today: Zendaya and Alex Garland, Ralph Fiennes in Unbeaten, or the Prince Charles Cinema’s new lease?