We’re smack in the middle of July, in the summeriest part of summer. Blockbuster movie season is in full force, and with it comes exciting movie news and huge box office projections. This week brings some huge casting news for a few interesting projects, Thor’s opening weekend box office, more exciting Marvel news, and more.

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

Alden Ehrenreich Joins Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’

It appears Alden Ehrenreich is returning to the House of Mouse. The Solo: A Star Wars Story star is reportedly set for a key role in Marvel’s upcoming Ironheart series. Deadline broke the news. He joins a cast led by Dominique Thorne in the titular role, as well as Anthony Ramos and Manny Montana. Ironheart tells the story of Riri Williams, a genius inventor who creates the most advanced armor prototype since Tony Stark. It’s unknown who Ehrenreich will be playing in the series, but we’ll get to see Ironheart soon enough – Thorne is slated to appear in this November’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

‘Captain America 4’ Lands A Director

After months of development, Marvel’s Captain America 4 has landed its director. THR reports Nigerian filmmaker Julius Onah, best known for his work on The Cloverfield Paradox, has been tapped to direct the MCU movie. This time, it will find longtime Avenger Sam Wilson taking up the Captain America mantle, which he officially accepted in the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It’s not yet known what the story will involve. However, seeing as how Malcolm Spellman, the creator and head writer on Falcon and Winter Soldier, and staff writer Dalan Musson are tackling the script, it’s likely set to be thought-provoking. The Disney+ series tackled multiple themes of what it means to be Black in America, the terrible legacy of the U.S. military, and more.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Box Office Updates

To the surprise of no one, Thor: Love and Thunder had a monster opening weekend. It rounded out its first weekend with a solid total of $143 million domestically, and a global total of $302 million. At the time of this writing, it currently holds $329 million globally. This is the best opening for a Thor movie yet, and good enough for the 12th-biggest opening of any MCU movie. Whether it has the legs to make it to a billion remains to be seen, but it will certainly end with a respectable haul.

Meanwhile, in other fun box office news, Top Gun: Maverick just broke another specific box office record. It has now beaten Titanic for Paramount’s best opening run for a movie of all time. The latter movie finished its opening run with $600.7 million domestically. Currently, Top Gun: Maverick stands at $601.9 million domestic. It has already crossed the billion-dollar threshold, the first movie in Tom Cruise’s career to do so.

We Could Be Getting ‘Top Gun 3’

Considering the above news, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Maverick co-star Miles Teller has revealed he’s in talks with Tom Cruise for a potential Top Gun 3. Teller plays Rooster, the son of Maverick’s late best friend, Goose, in Top Gun: Maverick. Speaking to ET, he said, “I’ve been having some conversations with him [Tom Cruise] about it. We’ll see.” But he stressed that it would all hinge on Cruise. “That would be great, but that’s all up to TC. It’s all up to Tom,” he said. Clearly, there’s a need there for more speed, but whether or not a Top Gun 3 happens will inevitably come down to whether or not there’s a strong story to tell.

Ana de Armas’ ‘John Wick’ Spinoff Finds The Perfect Writer

Ana de Armas, one of Hollywood’s fastest rising stars, has long been set to star in the John Wick spinoff, Ballerina. Now, she reveals the project has found the perfect writer in Promising Young Woman‘s Emerald Fennell. Speaking to Elle, de Armas explained how important it was for her to bring a woman on board the project:

“It was really important for me to hire a female writer, because to that point when I got involved in the project, it was only the director, Len Wiseman, and another guy. And I was like, ‘That’s not going to work.’ So I interviewed, like, five or six female writers. We hired Emerald Fennell, which I was so proud of.”

Fennell is a great pick to pen the script. She received accolades for 2020’s Promising Young Woman, garnering Best Picture and Best Director Oscar nominations, as well as winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. She also has extensive work writing on the acclaimed thriller series Killing Eve. With Ballerina set to tell the story of a female assassin, there’s no one better to write the story.

Trailers & Clips of the Week

And now, your trailers and clips of the week.

The Munsters – Official Trailer

It definitely has a unique look.

Orphan: First Kill – Official Trailer

The prequel to the shocking horror hit comes alive.

Day Shift – Official Trailer

Yeah, okay. This looks fun.

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