Titus Welliver is making his long-awaited return to crime drama after his time as Harry Bosch came to an end on Prime Video. Welliver’s newest series, The Westies, will premiere on MGM+ next month, and the first trailer has just been released for the show. The eight-episode crime drama is set in the early 1980s, as the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center threatens to bring a huge financial windfall to Hell’s Kitchen, where the Westies, an Irish-American organized crime gang, are trying to hold their ground.

The cast of The Westies includes J.K. Simmons as Eamon Sweeney, Welliver as Glenn Keenan, Jessica Frances Dukes as Birdie Polk, Tom Brittney as James “Jimmy” Roarke, Stanley Morgan as Mickey Flanagan, Sarah Bolger​​​​​​​ as Bridget Walsh, Allen Leech asBrendan Cahill, Hamish Allan-Headley as John Gotti, Vincent Walsh as Eddie Breen, and Hilary McCormack as Erin Malone.

What Can We Expect from ‘The Westies’?

Co-creator Chris Brancato, who created the series with Michael Panes, said the trailer shows “J.K. and Titus” alongside the rest of the cast in a world where the Irish gang is tied to the Gambinos while also facing problems from within. “It also teases the fact that within the Westies, there’s going to be drama and conflicts to come,” Brancato said.

That internal conflict will be driven partly by the younger Westies’ interest in cocaine trafficking, which the older generation fears could bring more heat, more prison time, and more informants. Brancato also teased the gang’s conflict with John Gotti and the Gambino crime family.

“The series as a whole depicts the Westies’ internal divisions, which really came as a result of the younger Westies decision to traffic in a drug that was very big in the 80s, which was cocaine. The older Westies are against it, for fear that it might land people in jail or cause them to rat on others. That’s a side plot that occurs throughout the season, as well as the Westies conflict with John Gotti [Hamish Allan-Headley] and the Gambino crime family, which at the time was led by a guy named Paul Castellano. Eventually, John Gotti took over the Gambino crime family, but that’s stuff for Season 2.”

Welliver also told Collider last year that his character was bent, and was the opposite of Harry Bosch. “[Keenan’s] a beat cop. He still walks the streets, but he’s corrupt. His moral compass has been completely compromised. He’s a very, very complex and deeply nuanced character.”

The Westies premieres July 12 on MGM+.

Stephen Baldwin is opening up about a Hollywood setback that he claims cost him a major movie role. 

The actor recently revealed that he was originally cast opposite Jennifer Aniston in the 1998 romantic comedy “The Object of My Affection” before being unexpectedly dismissed just days into filming. 

According to Baldwin, the reason had nothing to do with professionalism or performance issues. Instead, he says he was told his comedic delivery was creating an unexpected problem on set.

Speaking on his podcast “One Bad Movie,” Stephen Baldwin recalled landing the role of Aniston’s boyfriend in “The Object of My Affection,” which also starred Paul Rudd.

The actor said everything appeared to be going smoothly until the second day of production when a producer paid an unexpected visit to his trailer.

“After the second day of shooting, after lunch this producer comes to my trailer and goes, ‘There’s a problem,’” Baldwin recalled.

What came next caught him completely off guard. “He goes, ‘You can’t be funnier than Jennifer.’ I go, ‘Is this a joke? This is a comedy movie!’” the 60-year-old shared. 

Baldwin said he was stunned by the criticism, especially given the project’s genre. He also made it clear that he wasn’t attempting to embarrass anyone by sharing the story years later.

Baldwin Says He Was Asked To Change His Performance

According to Stephen Baldwin, he never learned exactly where the directive originated.

The “Bio-Dome” actor explained that he was instructed to tone down his performance and stop delivering scenes that generated so many laughs. He compared the experience to being “castrated comedically.”

Despite his reservations, Baldwin returned to work the following day and attempted to adjust his approach. 

He said he went back to set and “tried not to be me,” hoping the changes would resolve the issue.

Ultimately, however, the effort wasn’t enough. Baldwin revealed that he was eventually “let go” from the production altogether, ending what could have been one of the most significant opportunities of his career.

The role later went to actor John Pankow, best known for his work on “Mad About You.”

Stephen Baldwin Missed Out On A Film That Developed A Loyal Following

Released in 1998, “The Object of My Affection” follows a social worker played by Jennifer Aniston who becomes pregnant and develops romantic feelings for her gay roommate, portrayed by Rudd.

While the film achieved only modest box office success at the time, it later found a dedicated audience and developed a cult following.

In recent years, publications such as Parade and InStyle have ranked it among the best breakup movies ever made. The project also came at an important time in Aniston’s career. 

Following the film, she gradually expanded beyond romantic comedies by taking on more dramatic and unconventional roles, including “Office Space” and “The Good Girl.”

Aniston would later reunite with Rudd on “Friends” before the pair shared the screen again in the 2012 comedy “Wanderlust.” Today, she is best known for starring in Apple TV+’s hit drama “The Morning Show.”

Baldwin’s Career Took A Different Path After The 1990s

While Jennifer Aniston’s star continued to rise, Stephen Baldwin’s career evolved in a different direction. 

During the 1990s, he appeared in films including “The Usual Suspects,” “Threesome,” and “Bio-Dome.” As the years progressed, he became increasingly involved in reality television.

His credits eventually included “The Mole,” “Celebrity Big Brother,” “The Celebrity Apprentice,” “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!,” and “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.”

More recently, Baldwin made headlines for comments unrelated to acting. In March, he posted a message on Instagram that appeared to reference aliens and the future of America following the Academy Awards.

“After aliens come it’ll be a whole new different America and the leadership as I type these words is counting on you buying this movie ticket while they receive the box office Marty Supreme,” he wrote.

Stephen Baldwin And His Brother Alec Walk Away Unhurt After Dramatic Hamptons Crash

Months before the message, Baldwin and his brother Alec were involved in a frightening car accident in the Hamptons after the latter’s Range Rover crashed into a tree while the pair were traveling together. 

According to a report from The Blast, Alec was behind the wheel when the vehicle swerved off the road and struck a tree. 

Authorities later determined that wet road conditions and a turning commercial garbage truck contributed to the incident. 

Fortunately, neither of the brothers suffered any injuries. After the crash made headlines, Alec addressed the situation on social media, claiming a garbage truck he described as being “the size of a whale” cut in front of him, forcing him to react quickly. 

He also joked that he had damaged his wife’s vehicle. Police confirmed that no one was hurt and no citations were issued.

Mystikal has reportedly been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to a 2022 sexual assault.

RELATED: Victim Claims Mystikal Forced Her To Pray With Him To Rid Her Body Of “Bad Spirits” Before Allegedly Raping Her

Mystikal Reportedly Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For 2022 Sexual Assault Case

According to NBC News, Mystikal, whose government name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, was sentenced on Tuesday, June 16. Per the outlet, the victim in his case reportedly spoke to the court ahead of his sentencing and asked the judge to give him the maximum time allowed.

Social Media Reacts

Social media users entered TSR’s comment section with reactions to Mystikal being sentenced to 20 years.

More On Mystikal Reportedly Pleading Guilty To 2022 Sexual Assault

As The Shade Room previously reported, the incident reportedly occurred in July 2022 at Mystikal’s home in Louisiana. A woman reportedly accused the artist of forcing her to pray with him before he allegedly raped her. Subsequently, Mystikal was arrested and charged with first-degree rape, false imprisonment, and domestic abuse. Per NBC News, the victim also accused Mystikal of “punch[ing] her, chok[ing] her, pull[ing] out her braids, and forcibly rap[ing] her.”

To note, the artist’s first-degree charge was ultimately downgraded to third degree after an apparent plea deal.

Per NBC News, days before his sentencing, Mystikal reportedly tried to withdraw his guilty plea, citing he “did not have sufficient opportunity to fully consider the consequences.”

Nonetheless, he reportedly told the victim, “If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence,” ahead of his sentencing being read. Per the outlet, Mystikal previously pled guilty to sexual battery and was sentenced to six years in prison in 2003. In 2016, “first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping charges” were brought up against the rapper. However, they were reportedly dismissed, per AP News.

RELATED: Mystikal Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison After Pleading Guilty To Third-Degree Rape Following 2022 Arrest (VIDEO)

The idea of a Family Guy movie has been floating around for years, and according to creator Seth MacFarlane, the project remains very much on his mind, even if fans may have to wait for the perfect moment before it becomes a reality.

During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane was asked about the long-rumored feature film adaptation of the hit animated series. While he stopped short of announcing any concrete plans, he revealed that he has had the concept mapped out for quite some time.

“The Family Guy feature film is something that’s still always in the back of my head. I’ve always had a pretty clear idea of what it’s going to be. It’s that arrow in the quiver that I keep for when everything else goes to shit.”

When asked whether a movie could happen while Family Guy is still actively airing on television, MacFarlane made it clear that the show’s continued success wouldn’t prevent a film from happening.

“Oh, yeah. I always kind of assume that if I have a really dismal professional failure, like I produce a movie or a show that just fails so badly, the only thing that can cleanse the palette of the audience is the Family Guy movie. That’s when I’ll do it.”

While MacFarlane’s comments were delivered with his trademark humor, they also offer another reminder that a Family Guy movie isn’t off the table. In fact, the creator’s remarks suggest he has maintained a specific vision for the project for years and is simply waiting for the right opportunity to bring it to life.

Peter Griffin [credit: Hot Ones]

The prospect of a theatrical Family Guy film has been discussed for nearly two decades. Fans have long wondered what a feature-length adventure starring Peter Griffin, Stewie, Brian, and the rest of Quahog would look like on the big screen. Although the franchise released Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story in 2005, it was ultimately a direct-to-video project rather than a true theatrical movie.

With Family Guy continuing to attract audiences and remaining one of television’s most recognizable animated comedies, there is certainly no shortage of interest in seeing the franchise make the jump to theaters. Whether MacFarlane’s “arrow in the quiver” is unleashed sooner or later remains to be seen, but fans can take comfort in knowing that the idea is still alive.

For now, the long-awaited Family Guy movie remains one of the most intriguing projects that has yet to leave development limbo.

Lindsay Hubbard had a harsh wake-up call for Amanda Batula that didn’t air on Summer House: The Aftermath.

Lindsay, 39, confronted Amanda, 34, about her controversial relationship with West Wilson during the Summer House season 10 bonus episode, which aired Tuesday, June 16, on Bravo.

After the episode aired, Lindsay wrote via Threads, “Not seen/didn’t make the edit: I told Amanda at the end of that convo, in order to be friends with me, I need my friends to show ‘integrity, character, and better decision-making skills. And until that happens… unfortunately, there’s no place for people like that in my life.’”

Lindsay and Amanda filmed their scenes for Tuesday’s bonus episode on May 13, after the Summer House season 10 reunion, which filmed a month earlier.

In March, Amanda and West, 31, revealed that they were dating after weeks of speculation, much to the surprise of their castmates and Bravo fans alike. Amanda separated from estranged husband Kyle Cooke in January, while West previously dated Amanda’s friend, Ciara Miller.

“You and West made a very adult decision and now you have to deal with the very adult consequences that come with that. You can’t just be the ostrich who puts their head in the sand,” Lindsay told Amanda during the conversation.

“I am going through it and I feel it every day,” said Amanda. “I made some poor decisions.”

During the conversation, Lindsay also accused West of cheating.

“West, he’s already out there embarrassing you. You know who he was on the phone with this morning? Meija [Moreno],” Lindsay claimed, referring to West’s ex.

Lindsay alleged, “He f***ed Meija in March. He cheated on you and cheated on her.”

“This man is f***ing you up,” Lindsay continued.

“Yeah. Which I’m now realizing,” Amanda responded. “I wake up with the most anxiety about how I’ve f***ed up my entire life every single day.”

Related: Summer House’s Lindsay Is ‘Still Upset’ With Amanda, Not Speaking to West

The fallout from Amanda Batula and West Wilson’s romance is continuing to plague the Summer House cast — and Lindsay Hubbard is still trying to navigate her friendships after the scandal. “Lindsay is not talking to West or Amanda,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly, noting that West, 31, did “reach out to her” after […]

Amanda continued, “What’s so hard to stomach and process is I just want to be [loved]. I fought so hard for that with Kyle and I felt it so much from West. I just feel really f***ing stupid.”

Lindsay then warned Amanda, “The only way to save yourself in this moment is to separate yourself from the sinking ship that West Wilson is. Be the Rose on the Titanic. Let go of the hand.”

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Us Weekly confirmed on Monday, June 15, that West will not be returning for Summer House season 11.

“It was a mutual decision between the network and West,” a source exclusively told Us, adding that West went into the season 10 reunion “already feeling like his time on the show was coming to an end.”

“It became even clearer that there wasn’t a long-term fit anymore,” the insider added. “He is at peace with the decision and is focusing on his podcast and other business ventures.”

Former “The Bachelor” star Colton Underwood is getting candid about his sexuality. In a new interview, the reality TV star and father of one admitted to previously having sexual encounters with married, straight men, noting that he believed their hook-up sessions would stay private because they both had a lot at stake. Elsewhere, in the interview, Underwood, who recently finished his stint on Peacock’s “The Traitors,” discussed being labeled “The Virgin Bachelor,” revealing that he was nervous people would look into his personal life as a result.

On the Tuesday, June 16, episode of “We Need to Talk,” Underwood opened up about navigating his life prior to coming out as gay in 2021. Speaking with the podcast host, Underwood admitted to “experimenting” with guys, hoping to better understand what he was feeling.

“I was careful on how I did everything,” he said.

In order to protect himself, Underwood said that he only hooked up with “married men.” He added, “[Married] ‘straight’ men.”

According to Underwood, while he was in the closet, he followed this one rule. “… that would be the only time I would ever hook up with men was if they were married… because they had more to lose than I did,” he said.

Colton Underwood Looks Back On Being Labeled ‘The Virgin Bachelor’ During His Run On Reality TV

Before becoming one of the most-talked-about reality stars of the last decade, Underwood played football at Illinois State before joining the practice squad of several NFL teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders.

After hanging up his cleats for good, Underwood joined the world of unscripted television, landing a spot on Becca Kufrin’s season of “The Bachelorette.” A year later, he was leading season 23 of “The Bachelor” in 2019.

On the “We Need to Talk” podcast, Underwood said that he wished he were more “vulnerable” and open about his struggles with his sexuality while filming the iconic dating series. “I think there could have been something just interesting in that conversation,” he said.

Underwood wasn’t exactly thrilled about his storyline on “The Bachelor” being about his virginity. However, that’s what the producers rolled with. “… I hated it ’cause I didn’t want that pressure, and then I also didn’t want people digging in because at that time I had hooked up with men,” he said.

Colton Underwood Said There Were ‘Many Reasons’ Why He Was Still A Virgin

Underwood’s struggle with his sexuality wasn’t the only reason he was a virgin at the time. According to him, his faith played a big role in that. Additionally, the reality star didn’t want to share more details about his personal life because he was still trying to learn about himself, revealing that he believed that if he slept with a woman, he’d become straight.

“I just was so good at convincing myself that the next step I will become straight. I need to get engaged. I need to get married. I need to lose my virginity. All of these different things were sort of steps to becoming straight,” he said.

Underwood Came Out As Gay To Robin Roberts In 2021

Underwood revealed that he was a gay man during an emotional sit-down interview with “Good Morning America” mainstay Robin Roberts in 2021.

“I’ve ran from myself for a long time. I’ve hated myself for a long time,” he said. “And I’m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it. And the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know.”

Another Celebrity Recently Came Out As Gay After Years Of Living In The Closet

According to a previous report from The Blast, rock singer Caleb Shomo recently opened up about the journey he underwent to accept himself as a “proudly gay man.”

While speaking with “Vanderpump Rules” alum Katie Maloney on her podcast, “Disrespectfully,” Shomo also recalled the moment he told his wife of 14-years that he was part of the LGBTQ+ community.

“I was just bawling my f-cking eyes out, trying so hard to verbalize,” he said. “And I really struggle to verbalize things, and this is obviously such an intense thing, and I’m feeling so nervous and so scared in the situation that it was really, really difficult to verbalize, and I didn’t verbalize it very well.”

Season 8 of ‘Love Island USA’ has been full of twists and turns. As new bonds form and connections continue to be tested, the drama has been brewing in the villa. The internet has been tuned in daily, sharing its thoughts on certain Islanders. Well, amid the ongoing criticism, former Season 7 Islander Charlie Georgiou has entered the chat to defend his brother and current cast member, Zach Georgiou.

RELATED: Prayers Up! ‘Love Island USA’ Executive Producer Passes Away During Season 8 Production In Fiji

Charlie Georgiou Shares A Few Jokes While Reacting To The New Season Of ‘Love Island USA’

Since the new season of ‘Love Island USA’ aired, Charlie Georgiou has been tuned in and sharing his commentary on Threads. While he’s excited for the season, he’s especially hyped to see his brother Zach step into the villa. When the cast was first revealed, Charlie joked about Zach’s promo photo, writing, “Bro, he’s gonna freak when he sees they gave him that one D intro.”

Charlie also playfully shot his shot at Kenzie, who was coupled up with Zach at the time. However, after Kenzie became upset when Zach chose to pursue a connection with a bombshell, she shared that Charlie was the better-looking brother. Charlie then replied, “DW Kenzie, big bro will take care of you.” The official Love Island USA account responded with eye emojis, and Charlie replied, “She had me from the intro dance.” 

Charlie Hops Into Big Brother Mode As He Responds To Criticism Surrounding Zach

While Charlie shared a few jokes about the season, he quickly switched into big brother mode to defend Zach. Many viewers have been questioning whether Zach was planting seeds of doubt in couples like Bryce and Trinity or KC and Aniya, so his connection with Kayda could make it to the end. As the conversation continued online, Charlie stepped in to share his perspective and defend his brother against the criticism. Charlie later took to his Instagram Story and addressed the criticism surrounding Zach’s conversation with Bryce and Trinity. Speaking in a video, he stated:

“I’m going to touch on this Bryce, Trinity, and Zach situation. Listen, as far as I’m aware, it was Bryce that came to Zach throughout the day, expressing his doubts and insecurities within his relationship with Trinity, and Zach simply gave him his opinion. So, to all the people talking about Zach needs to mind his own business respectfully, it was Bryce who brought his and Trinity’s business to Zach. So of course you’re gonna get an opinion back.”

Charlie also appeared to address criticism surrounding Zach’s comments about KC and Aniya during a villa challenge. At the time, Zach suggested that KC may have been playing it safe with Aniya rather than fully exploring other connections.

Responding to viewers on Threads, Charlie wrote, “Also anyone annoyed by Zach keeping it truthful in that challenge must be new to Love Island, what do you want them to do? Lie and sugarcoat their answers?”

Social Media Reacts 

Folks quickly gathered under The Shade Room Teens to react to Charlie’s video. Some agreed with Charlie and said they appreciated Zach’s honesty in the villa. Others called Charlie a hypocrite, pointing out that he previously took issue with similar behavior during his own season.

Instagram user @_maverickk wrote, “idk i love zach he hasn’t done anything wrong imo

Instagram user @oralesundaymotivation wrote, “The house would be boring in Zach wasn’t there. Protect Charlie’s bloodline at all costs 😍😂”

While Instagram user @literallyy.k wrote, “charlie boo i still like you keep it cute”

Instagram user @sashacheyennex3_ wrote, “Oh please Zach is doing exactly what we know he’s doing he wants to win in order to do that you gotta eliminate strong couples HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE IS DOING 🤷🏾‍♀️ 🤷🏾‍♀️ “

Instagram user @spwmdntply added, “Wasn’t Charlie the same one complaining when Ace did it? It’s cool ur gonna be seeing ya brother soon”

While Instagram user @semajeejames wrote, “Charlie why is your brother flirting with Bryce when he’s in a couple with kayda?”

Instagram user @sademaariee wrote, “How can I vote Charlie out the villa for a second time ?????”

Instagram user @queennicky_ added, “Ya dragging it Zach keep it real”

While Instagram user  @thecharnaemonique wrote, “he aint telling the truth CHARLIE! he aint explored either while he sitting up drinking tea in everyone else business!”

RELATED: Lizzo’s ‘Love Island USA’ Elimination Take Sparks Debate As Fans Rally Behind Melanie (VIDEO)

We need to say something disloyal about Steve Carell, a man we would defend in almost any court. The Four Seasons is better without him. At the end of Season 1, Nick (Carell) dies in a car accident just as he was starting his shiny new midlife crisis with Ginny (Erika Henningsen). On paper, this seemed like an insane decision by Tina Fey and company. You don’t cast the most recognizable face in the TV comedy pantheon and then write him out after eight episodes.

Except Fey and co-creators Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield did exactly that. With Season 2, there might’ve been some second-guessing. A finale without your biggest star is one thing; a whole season is another beast entirely. And yet the show’s sophomore outing, which hit Netflix on May 28, doesn’t slump; it soars, making comedic work of grief in a way few shows would dare.

‘The Four Seasons’ Season 2 Builds Its Best Vacations Around Nick’s Death

Season 1 of the Four Seasons was a pleasant, low-stakes hang. Three couples, four trips, one divorce bomb. As far as comedy premises go, it’s a goldmine. But Season 2 came with baggage, and not the kind you can tip a bellhop to carry. The first episode opens with the surviving friends hiking up a mountain to scatter Nick’s ashes. (As if we could forget this hedge-fund executive died doing DoorDash duty for a roomful of millennials he was trying to impress.) Every quarterly trip now has a ghost on the itinerary, and that turns out to be exactly what this ensemble needed.

Somehow, grief doesn’t suck the air out of the funny moments; it pressurizes them. Kate (Fey) and Jack (Will Forte) keep failing to comfort each other because they’re mourning at completely different speeds. Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani) handle their grief the way plenty of couples do: by floating the baby question. The debate is hilarious and a little heartbreaking because we all know a baby has never once fixed an existential crisis, and on some level, so do they. When they bail on the idea and move to Claude’s hometown of Trento, Italy, instead, you get it. Sometimes the only answer to death is a dramatic change of address. And then there’s the odd couple nobody asked for: Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), the ex-wife, and Ginny, the girlfriend, stuck haggling over Nick’s estate before baby Gino turns them into reluctant co-parents. It’s the season’s strangest, sweetest pairing, and the show is smart enough to know it shouldn’t last.

‘The Four Seasons’ Season 2 Belongs to Will Forte and Kerri Kenney-Silver

Forte has spent his career being the weirdest guy in the room, so watching him play the season’s most grounded tragedy is a small revelation. Jack copes with Nick’s death the way a lot of mild-mannered men cope with anything: by holding everyone else together while privately falling apart, with a little help from a robust personal weed regimen and a newly-picked-up marathon hobby. Episode 8 is his season-best, and on paper it’s pure sitcom: Kate strong-arms a clearly not-okay Jack into running an Italian marathon to “turn this year around.” It’s two people having the fight they’ve been dodging for seven episodes, except now they’re having it mid-race, sweaty and furious, while strangers in foil blankets cheer them on. And Forte sells every second of it as a guy who can’t pinpoint when he stopped being okay. If we complain too much about fragile masculinity and men who can’t express their feelings, his Jack is the answer to that. But he’s not the only supporting player who finally gets their due in Season 2.

The Four Seasons’ first outing mostly used Anne as the wronged woman, the wife Nick discarded on the way to his new life. Season 2 hands Kenney-Silver the keys. Anne and Ginny start by squabbling over Nick’s estate and end up co-parenting baby Gino. Then, in the move that gives the finale its spine, Anne does the last thing anyone expects from her: she stays. While the rest of the group flies home from Italy, Anne volunteers to housesit Danny and Claude’s place in Trento… alone, in a country where she knows nobody. Then David Tennant strolls in as a charming local stranger, and the show closes on Anne flirting in broken Italian with the energy of a woman who has finally remembered she exists. It’s the most satisfying cliffhanger Netflix has produced in ages, and it belongs entirely to a character who spent her first season as collateral damage in someone else’s storyline.

For a while now, Netflix has been positioning The Four Seasons as its cozier answer to The White Lotus, but Season 1 never had the stakes to back that up. Season 2 does, and it gets there without a single murder mystery. Even when Carell returns for a flashback episode, the show resists the urge to build a shrine. Nick shows up as he actually was: charming, selfish, beloved, and, in a way, already gone. By killing him off and sticking to that choice, The Four Seasons didn’t lose its biggest star; it let him go and found its best self on the other side.

Though he first got some attention with Following, and then quite a bit more with Memento, Christopher Nolan is best known nowadays for making films on a massive scale. Those two early films of his weren’t really epics, by any means, and neither were Insomnia nor The Prestige, even if they got a bit bigger in scale, and had larger budgets. It wasn’t until Nolan started making some superhero films that he began leaning more towards crafting epics, and it’s that zone he’s generally stayed in for almost two decades now.

The Odyssey is about a month away, at the time of writing, and looks set to continue this trend of making epic movies, what with its runtime that comes in at just eight minutes shy of three hours, and a budget of approximately $250 million used to bring the whole thing to the big screen (hopefully, the biggest screen you can possibly see it on). The only fairly recent movie of Nolan’s that’s not being considered here is Dunkirk, which is almost an epic, but isn’t long enough to count in the traditional sense. It’s under two hours, whereas all the movies here hover around the 2.5-hour mark, and one is even right on three hours. This is a ranking of all Christopher Nolan’s epic movies to date, starting with the flawed yet interesting and ending with a couple of films that are pretty darn close to perfect overall.

6

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012)

Image via Warner Bros.

Concluding what ended up being a pretty massive blockbuster trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is certainly flawed, though it would be a stretch to call it an outright terrible comic book/superhero movie. Batman Begins wasn’t quite an epic, while the second movie in the trilogy does count (and will be talked about more later on), but for better or worse, The Dark Knight Rises feels the most in line with what you usually find in the epic genre. It’s the closest to three hours long out of all the Nolan Batman movies, it feels like it juggles the most moving pieces narratively, and it also seems to cover a decently long period of time.

Bane is the main villain here, though there’s also some stuff relating to a past foe of Batman’s that’s a little silly, yet does at least kind of tie the events of Batman Begins to the events of The Dark Knight Rises, with an almost full-circle sort of thing achieved. There are parts of this trilogy-capper that are thrilling and successful at capturing some kind of spectacle, and then there are other sequences that feel hammy and goofy in ways the other two movies in the trilogy mostly avoided. At the end of the day – and at the end of this trilogy – The Dark Knight Rises is a bit messy, and definitely inconsistent, but still has enough to offer, as an epic, to keep it from being outright bad. It’s probably more the case that it’s just disappointing by the rather high standards of Christopher Nolan’s filmography.

5

‘Tenet’ (2020)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

There’s also a messiness to Tenet, yet it’s an admirable movie, too. Christopher Nolan clearly had a weird vision here, and a desire to top some of his previous psychological thrillers, action movies, and sci-fi films, doing all that while also making the most spy/espionage-heavy flick he’s done to date. To try to summarize what’s going on here, Tenet is about a man known only as “the protagonist,” and he gets tangled up in a complex plot that involves objects that are able to travel backward in time. In time (ha), it also turns out that people can go backwards, like the objects, and then things get progressively wilder.

Tenet has a lot of fun with set pieces that feature things going backwards and forwards simultaneously, and it’s also not really a movie that cares about whether you’re keeping up and having fun alongside it. You get what you can get out of Tenet, and hopefully, that’s a pretty decent amount. It’s always there to be rewatched, if you think it’s the sort of puzzle that might well come a little closer to being solved on repeat viewings, but there’s never any real guarantee of clarity. It’s a mind-bender, to put it mildly, and comes close to feeling like a parody of a Christopher Nolan movie at times. For the stuff that works, though, and the parts that are thrillingly strange rather than outright confusing (probably not as many parts cause confusion as you might fear), Tenet is still very much worthy of your attention.

4

‘Oppenheimer’ (2023)

Image via Universal Pictures

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Oppenheimer is huge, standing as Christopher Nolan’s longest movie to date, and also being the only one to hit the three-hour mark (even The Odyssey is confirmed to fall a little short of that). That might make Oppenheimer the most traditional epic of Nolan’s, with the content of the film also supporting that idea. It’s got so many different characters, the narrative spans a great deal of time, and Oppenheimer is also attempting to do a lot as a character study and a historical film at the same time. It’s about J. Robert Oppenheimer, and there’s a particular focus on his involvement with developing the first atomic bomb.

This makes Oppenheimer a World War II movie of sorts, but not one with any scenes of combat, since it’s more about making a weapon that’s intended to bring about a close to the war. But… it’s also about the aftermath of making such a weapon, and the consequences that might not have been fully appreciated until it was too late. Oppenheimer jumps around in time a lot, and spends a good deal of its runtime on certain things that happened after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is almost too much movie, but also, so much of this too-much movie is great. It might seem low on this ranking, but it should be stressed that it’s quite a bit better than both The Dark Knight Rises and Tenet.

3

‘Inception’ (2010)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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While Oppenheimer might’ve felt the most like a traditional epic, out of any Christopher Nolan movie, Inception probably feels the least like one. Some of that comes down to the runtime, as it’s the only movie in this ranking that’s technically just short of 2.5 hours (by only two minutes, but still). Also, Inception races by in what feels like under two hours, since it is a phenomenally paced movie. You don’t really feel as though it has a runtime that could be considered epic, since everything is very finely crafted, there’s a generous amount of action, and the film never really stops being intriguing and/or surprising.

It is technically a heist movie, albeit in an unusual way, a bit like how Tenet was an unconventional spy movie. Inception has its main characters taking part in a heist that involves infiltrating someone’s subconscious, and there are a few different levels of dreaming that have to be traveled to, to carry out this plan. It’s a film that begins confidently, lays out exposition in an entertaining way, and then delivers some serious action and spectacle in its back half. Inception sees Nolan operating quite perfectly in blockbuster mode, so it also being something of an epic is really just icing on the (very, very layered) cake.

2

‘Interstellar’ (2014)

While it doesn’t span as much time as 2001: A Space Odyssey (which has the room to, since it’s a bit more abstract and mostly has different characters in each of its different segments), Interstellar spans about as much time as you could expect a sci-fi movie to, while focusing mostly on the same characters throughout. Admittedly, that’s partly because Interstellar involves different people experiencing time at a different rate, so maybe it doesn’t span a ton of time, depending on the perspective… but on Earth, decades and decades do pass.

This is a reliable source of drama for the film, and something that gives it a greater emotional punch than most other Christopher Nolan movies. On top of being moving, Interstellar is also spectacular to look at and listen to, all the while having a largely exciting story about going into deep space to ensure humanity can find a planet that’s not Earth to live on into the future. It begins with confidence, ends extremely well, and then, in between, distinguishes itself as one of the finest sci-fi epics of the century so far.

1

‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

You can’t really go wrong with The Dark Knight, since it’s an amazingly well-written comic book movie that does a lot more than just feel like another comic book/superhero movie. It’s the perfect filling between the two pieces of (fairly good quality) bread that are Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises. Within the trilogy, The Dark Knight does the most by way of interesting things, and it also has the most compelling conflict out of any of the three movies, thanks to a perfectly cast Heath Ledger as a particularly engaging version of the Joker.

You can also compare The Dark Knight to Inception in the sense that it’s a long movie, yet it passes by in what feels like a flash, being a movie that never really slows down. You probably knew all that already, because most people seem to love The Dark Knight, and it doesn’t feel controversial to call it pretty much a masterpiece, but there it is anyway; there it is, being said again. It kind of is just that good.