The Easter holidays threw out our weekly news recap slightly. So here’s two weeks of announcements, trailer reveals and other useful info relating to our favourite forms of popular culture.
Film
Before we jump into a glut of trailer drops, in local movie news, South Africa got its first IMAX With Laser theatre in South Africa. It joins the Ster Kinekor offering at The Zone @ Rosebank, which already includes an Xperience area (think Nerf guns, axe throwing and a smash room), Prestige cinema, and Kids’ theatre.
So what sets IMAX With Laser apart from the traditional IMAX ultra-big screen experience?
IMAX® with Laser technology, IMAX’s most advanced entertainment experience, offers a next generation laser projection and enhanced multi-channel sound system exclusive to IMAX theatres. Immersive by design, the technology is developed from the ground up to deliver crystal clear, lifelike images and precision audio for a moviegoing experience unlike any other. The experience is set apart by a ground-breaking 4k laser projection system that features a new optical engine, custom designed lenses, and a suite of proprietary technology that delivers brighter images with increased resolution, deeper contrast, and the widest range of colours exclusively to IMAX screens.
The new advanced IMAX opened in Johannesburg on Friday, 10 April.
The past fortnight included new full trailers for several movies only teased before. These include the next DC superhero movie Supergirl (releasing 26 June, including for IMAX), toyline-linked franchise revival Masters of the Universe (out 5 June), and social-born horror phenomenon Backrooms (29 May).
On the fresh trailer front, here are two intriguing new movies for your consideration.
Released by A24, sharp comedy The Invite is based on Spanish film The People Upstairs. Booksmart and Don’t Worry Darling’s Olivia Wilde is in front of, and behind, the camera for this tale of a couple (Seth Rogan plays the other part of the pair) whose marriage is fracturing. Then they invite their neighbours (Edward Norton, Penelope Cruz) over for dinner party, and an unexpected proposition leads to places that could make or break their relationship.
The Invite comes to cinemas this July.
Technically the second trailer for psychological thriller Mother Mary debuted this past week, but it led us to the first clip (below), which provides a better idea of what to expect. The Green Knight’s David Lowery directs this tale of a pop icon (Anne Hathaway) who turns to her estranged best friend (Michaela Coel), a costume designer, for a look to accompany her comeback performance. With it, old wounds open. Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX provide the original songs for the movie, with FKA Twigs heavily involved in the project as well.
Mother Mary releases in cinemas from this Friday, 17 April.
Finally, here’s something to keep on your radar. Coming to Netflix at some point in 2026 is animated genre mash-up Ray Gunn, made by Skydance Animation. What makes this one stand out is that it’s written and directed by The Incredibles, Ratatouille and The Iron Giant’s Brad Bird.
Combining science fiction and crime noir, the film is set in an alternate future as seen from 1939. Private eye Raymond Gunn (voiced by Sam Rockwell), the last human private detective, is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a scandal-dogged multimedia star named Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson), whose life is at risk. No trailer yet, but Netflix released the following image set.
Series
The Punisher is all over the place these days. Marvel’s unhinged ex-cop turned vigilante not only appeared in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, once more played by Jon Bernthal, but the character will feature in the next Spider-Man film as well. Before that, though, Frank Castle takes centre stage in R-rated one-off special The Punisher: One Last Kill – co-written by Bernthal. Plot details are under wraps, but from the trailer we can assume Castle, still struggling with brain damage that muddles memory and hallucination, is drawn into violent conflict once more.
The Punisher: One Last Kill premieres on 12 May on Disney+.
Speaking of MCU series, it looks like Season 3 of Daredevil: Born Again will see the street-level hero ensemble of Defenders return. Krysten Ritter (as Jessica Jones), Finn Jones (Iron Fist) and Mike Colter (Luke Cage) have all been spotted on set.
Finally for this section, a new version of horror thriller Cape Fear is coming to Apple TV, in series form. Martin Scorsese (who directed the 1991 film with Robert De Niro) and Steven Spielberg executive produce this ten-part show, which goes back to original novel The Executioners as its source material. Married attorneys Anna (Amy Adams) and Tom Bowden (Patrick Wilson) realise their family is at risk when convicted killer Max Cady (Javier Bardem) is released, and seeks revenge for putting him behind bars.
Cape Fear premieres on 5 June on Apple TV, and will run through to 31 July.
Books and comics
We hate ending these news recaps on a low note, but long-time Kindle owners need to know that Amazon is discontinuing support for some of its earliest readers.
From 20 May 2026, you won’t be able to purchase, borrow, or download additional books for Kindle devices released in 2012 or earlier. This includes Kindle 1st and 2nd Generation, Kindle DX and DX Graphite, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4, Kindle Touch, Kindle 5, and Kindle Paperwhite 1st Generation. Additionally, if you deregister or factory reset these devices, you’re essentially bricking them.
You can find more information on the support depreciation here. Out of interest, Amazon is offering affected customers 20% off select new Kindle devices along with a $20 eBook credit post new device purchase.
