News of the Week: Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning's Epic Train Scene Revealed

We’re past Independence Day in the U.S. and the start of July for the rest of the world, and summer movie season is chugging along. Even with the writers’ strike, Hollywood news isn’t slowing down. This week finds the upcoming Barney movie getting weird, Tom Cruise doing Tom Cruise things, Dune: Part Two updates, and more.

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

Mattel’s Barney Movie Is Going To Be An Adult-Oriented A24 Venture

Remember a while back when it was reported that Daniel Kaluuya will be starring in a movie centered on Barney? Yes, the giant, purple dinosaur of children’s dreams and nightmares. We finally have an update, and it sounds like it’s going to be…not what we were expecting. When speaking to The New Yorker, exec Kevin McKeon said it would be much more of an adult-oriented, “A24-type” project. He went on:

“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids. It’s really a play for adults. Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being thirtysomething, growing up with Barney—just the level of disenchantment within the generation.”

If Mattel is just here to make weird, unexpected stuff like Barbie and what Barney sounds like it’s shaping up to be, sign me up.

Rebecca Ferguson Says Dune: Part Two Will Blow Dune Away In Scope & Scale

Dune: Part Two is in post-production right now, and from the looks of it, it will be even more spectacular and visually stunning than the first. Sure, we’ve seen that from the trailers and set pics, but the people involved are building hype for it even more than the visual promo campaign itself. Star Rebecca Ferguson raved about it while talking to Collider the other day, saying it’s even bigger than the original movie. Read her gushing it out:

“I’m smiling so much right now. It’s so f***ing good. I get emotional talking about it because I love Denny [Villeneuve] and I love Greig and I love the team,” Ferguson told Collider in an interview. “But dude, number one is phenomenal and big and grandiose, and then you go close-ups and the imagery and the acting. Yeah, it’s all great. It’s f***ing nothing compared to number two. Number two, it’s like a f***ing gut punch. It’s unreal.

I haven’t seen the film. I’ve read the script. I’ve seen the footage. I’ve come onto set when I’m not filming, which by the way I don’t do because I’m too busy, tired, and I don’t really care. I’m done. I wanted to see the setups. I wanted to see Austin Butler do what he was doing. It’s unbelievable. There are no words. The costumes, [Jacqueline West’s] costumes, what Austin’s bringing to that character, what Christopher Walken does. I mean, it’s unreal.”

Those are some pretty serious words from a well-respected actress. It doesn’t just read like someone going through the motions of hollowly promoting a project as they’re contractually obligated, but someone who is truly in love with the entire project from start to finish. Considering how good the first Dune was, consider us even more excited for the sequel.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Train Sequence Broken Down

Tom Cruise is known for one thing, and it’s pushing stunts to the limit. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is no different, with the scope being even bigger than before. Paramount released a behind-the-scenes look at how they filmed the train fight sequence, and it is predictably as wild as you’d expect. Take a look:

In case you missed the first featurette of Tom Cruise doing what Tom Cruise does – in this case, something called “speedflying,” here it is:

Kind of starting to think he might be immortal. Or at the very least indestructible. Scientists are investigating.

Get Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One tickets now.

Benedict Cumberbatch Hints Doctor Strange Could Be Back As Early As Next Year

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: Christine Palmer, Doctor Strange, America Chavez

While the ending of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness certainly left the door open for Doctor Strange to return, it’s not clear if there will be a Doctor Strange 3, or if the sorcerer would return at all. However, a brief but promising update from Benedict Cumberbatch himself indicates that no only will the good doctor be back, but he’ll be back sooner than we anticipated. Speaking at the JW3 Speaker Series, he gave an intriguing update. “There are some Marvel capers in the making next year,” he revealed.

Whether that’s him coming in a standalone adventure, joining in on another superhero’s project, or something else entirely is unclear. With the MCU fully in its multiverse era, however, it’s impossible to think Doctor Strange wouldn’t be involved in some way – the multiverse would almost certainly be doomed without him.

You can see the full interview below:

Tron: Ares Is Still Happening & Just Added A Few Cast Newcomers

News has been somewhat quiet on the Tron: Ares front in recent months, with creatives quietly working behind the scenes in pre-production. But the project just got an exciting update in the form of casting: Jodie Turner-Smith and Greta Lee will both be joining in new roles. While Jodie Turner-Smith’s role is being kept under wraps, Lee will reportedly be playing a video game mogul and tech programmer who is determined to protect her proprietary technology. They join a cast that already includes Jared Leto and Evan Peters. Joachim Rønning is directing the threequel off a script penned by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne. The story will follow Leto as the character Ares, who crosses over from the video game world to the human world. Depending on how things go with the pending SAG-AFTRA strike, the production is eyeing a start date of August.