News of the Week: Avatar: The Way of Water Drops Stunning First Official Trailer

November has arrived, which means Thanksgiving is just around the corner. We’ve charged through spooky movie season and come out on the other side, and now, Hollywood is gearing up for the big holiday movie season. This week brings one beautiful first trailer, some exciting Marvel casting news, updates on the Venom 3 front, and more.

As always, Atom Insider brings you a few hand-picked stories we think you’ll like. Ready? Let’s dive in.

Avatar: The Way Of Water Releases Its First Official Trailer

After enticing us with a quick teaser for the upcoming sequel, the first official, full-length trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water has been released and it’s a stunner.

As expected of James Cameron, the trailer looks incredible. Jake Sully and Neytiri are now partners raising their children together. However, when a new threat emerges, it’s up to them to once again fight to protect Pandora.

Add Avatar: The Way of Water to your Watch List. We’ll let you know when tickets go on sale.

Marvel Has Found Its Wonder Man In Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

With the first wave of its Disney+ shows completed and having proven hugely successful, Marvel is gearing up for the next round of TV shows to put into development. One of those that has been rumored for a while is Wonder Man, and it appears Marvel has found its lead. ScreenGeek was the first to report that Yahya Abdul Mateen-II has landed the role. In the comics, Simon Williams, a.k.a. Wonder Man, is a failed actor and stuntman. However, he’s also the heir to a family industry, which is soon threatened to be put out of business by Stark Industries. In desperation, he strikes a deal with Baron Zemo, who gives him superpowers with the agreement that Williams will infiltrate the Avengers and bring them down. However, he soon finds that he likes being a hero and becomes one in earnest, eventually branching off to be one of the founding members of the West Coast Avengers.

While Abdul-Mateen II appeared in HBO’s Watchmen and the Aquaman movies, his talent was sorely underutilized in each. He’s one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood right now, and Wonder Man should give him the proper leading comic book role he deserves. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is helping Marvel to develop Wonder Man with Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Community) as head writer. Considering Guest’s background, and the fact that Ben Kingsley will be back as the oblivious actor Trevor Slattery, it seems that Wonder Man may lean toward a more comedic vibe.

Tom Hardy’s Longtime Creative Partner Kelly Marcel Finally To Direct Venom 3

After years of creative collaboration with Tom Hardy, as well as writing and producing the first two Venom movies, Kelly Marcel is finally set to make the jump to directing. Deadline reports that she’s been finalized to direct Venom 3. Once again, she’ll also produce and write the script off a story she and Hardy developed together.

Plot details for Venom 3 are up in the air, but Marcel is clearly the right choice. The first two Venom movies, directed, respectively, by Ruben Fleischer and Andy Serkis, have generated $1.36 billion at the worldwide box office. From the start, Marcel and Hardy have been in lockstep, always on the same page about how they wanted to develop the character of Venom/Eddie Brock and where they want the third movie to go. Marcel stepping into the director role is a natural evolution of the work she’s put into the previous movies. Currently, Venom 3 doesn’t have a release date.

Rihanna Releases First Single From Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Rihanna hasn’t released music in quite a while, being engaged in other ventures like her Fenty lines. That recently changed, with the songstress dropping her first song in years, the first track off the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack titled “Lift Me Up.” The song is meant as a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther actor who succumbed to cancer at just age 43. Check it out below:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters Friday, November 11. Get tickets here.

Jeff Goldblum Circling Role Of The Wizard In Universal’s Wicked Adaptation

Talk about no-brainer castings: Variety reports that Jeff Goldblum is in talks to play the Wizard in Universal’s adaptation of Wicked. That’s a role practically tailor-made for the eccentric Goldblum, who joins an already talented cast. Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey was cast as Fiyero last month, with Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, who eventually becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Jon M. Chu is directing the adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical based on Gregory Maguire’s book of the same name. The Wicked adaptation is planned as a two-parter, with the two parts being released on Christmas 2024 and 2025.