The Empire Film Podcast

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is the latest MCU show to hit Disney+, and introduces us to Bruce Banner's cousin, Jennifer Walters, a high-flying lawyer who also happens to be a Hulk. The show launches on August 18 on Disney+, and in this episode Chris Hewitt (who is crazy about the show) sits down across Zoom for chats with Jessica Gao, the show's head writer/creator; Kat Coiro, the show's lead director; and the brilliant Tatiana Maslany, who plays both Jen and She-Hulk. Don't worry, this isn't a spoiler special but a preview of the show, but some mild spoilers for the first episode lurk within, so it's your call if you want to listen now, or wait until episode one has aired. Either way, the interviews are fun dives into the show, which feels fresh and different and unlike anything we've seen in the MCU, and the character (ditto), and we hope you enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees Chris Hewitt have two fascinating natters with two very different directors: first, Jordan Peele talks about his mysterious third movie, Nope (which gets a big Yep from us), and anoints Chris as the new Oprah Winfrey (you'll have to listen for it to make some kind of sense), and then Ari Folman, the director of Waltz With Bashir and new animated movie Where Is Anne Frank, talks about the state of animation, why it took him eight years to make it, and Liverpool Football Club. Yes, fair warning to non-Reds, but this time it wasn't Chris' fault! Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, and Neel Bhatt, making his pod-debut proper and marking the occasion with a box of freshly-baked cookies. Together, our intrepid quartet discuss a freshly-baked listener question about the DCEU, discuss the week's movie news, and review Nope, Eiffel, and Where Is Anne Frank. Enjoy!

We've got Predator on our minds this week on the Empire Podcast. Which makes a change. Not only do we review Dan Trachtenberg's Prey, his prequel to John McTiernan's 1987 action classic, but Chris Hewitt sits down with that film's star, Amber Midthunder, for a fun interview in which they discuss how Amber, whose parents are an actor and a casting director, wasn't necessarily fated to become an actor, about Prey's commitment to Comanche traditions, going to craft services with a Predator, and using Brazilian jiu jitsu to take out a bunch of feral children. Chris also has a sit-down with the legendary John McTiernan, who came into London last week for The London Action Fest, and while they only talk about Predator a bit, there's plenty of Die Hard and The Hunt For Red October chat to keep you action aficionados happy. Back in the pod booth, Helen O'Hara hosts this week, due to Chris being locked in mortal combat with an alien hunter (or in LA for a set visit; one of the two), and she's joined by James Dyer an

Next week sees the release of David Leitch's latest action movie, Bullet Train, which we're confidently told is not a sequel to The Railway Children Return. Instead, it stars Brad Pitt as an assassin on board a Japanese bullet train, who gets mixed up with a colourful cast of fellow hitpeople, not all of whom have his best interests at heart. Two of those are Tangerine and Lemon, two Cockney killers played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry, both of whom join Chris Hewitt this week for a fun dive into how they cultivated co-star chemistry, how Henry tackled a tricksy accent, and they each give us the scoop on each other's upcoming Spider-Man-adjacent projects. Elsewhere, Chris is joined by old pod-chum Robert B. 'Bob' Weide, making his first appearance on the pod in a while to talk about his new documentary, Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time, how it took him 40 years to finish and became unexpectedly personal along the way, and about how he's probably the most famous director in the world, thanks to

Nature is healing. How do we know? Because Saturday saw Kevin Feige and some of his amazing friends return to Hall H at the San Diego Comic-Con to announce a ton of exciting news about the future of the MCU, including the first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, an 18-episode Disney+ series for Charlie Cox's Daredevil and not one, but two Avengers movies, due to be released just six months apart in 2025. And while Team Empire wasn't at Comic-Con this year (we were busy picking up a gong at the British Podcast Awards!), we decided that this news was too big to wait until later in the week before discussing it on the pod. (It also spares those who couldn't give a The Tinker's cuss about the MCU) And so, in this very special episode, Chris Hewitt is joined by Helen O'Hara, James Dyer, Amon Warmann, and Ben Travis for a deep dive into all the titles and dates confirmed by Feige. There is speculation aplenty, hot takes galore, and the debut of a new prediction phrase that will take the world by storm. And

We can't move for members of the Howard family on the Empire Podcast these days. Why, only the other week we had Bryce Dallas Howard, and now her dad, the great director Ron, is our special guest this episode, as he tells Chris Hewitt all about his latest movie, Thirteen Lives, the story of the near-impossible Thai cave diving rescue that captivated the world in 2018. Ron and Chris also talk about how proud Ron is of Bryce's new career as a director, and her Apollo 13 homage in an episode of The Mandalorian. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Ben Travis and the returning James Dyer and Helen O'Hara for a heat-addled episode filled with much talk of Predator, the greatest movies with one-word titles, shameless plugging for sundry live shows, discussion of the week's movie news (including the trailers for Michael Flatley's Blackbird and Rob Zombie's The Munsters), and reviews of Where The Crawdads Sing, Persuasion, Don't Make Me Go, and The Princess. Oh, and it's a truth universally acknowledged that Chr

Don't ever say that the Empire Podcast has a predictable roster of guests. For this week sees tennis legend John McEnroe sit down on Zoom with Chris Hewitt for a fun chat about his career, the new documentary McEnroe (which chronicles said career), and the numerous cameos he's made (usually as himself) in an array of films and TV shows. We cannot be serious? We can be serious. And don't call us Shirley. Chris is also joined by Elvis director Baz Luhrmann in an excerpt from our upcoming spoiler special on that fantastic fever dream of a movie. And, in the brand new podbooth (actually, the Jazz FM studio), Chris is joined by Ben Travis and Sophie Butcher for an episode in which they discuss the panels they want to see at next week's Comic-Con, the week's movie news, including the sad death of the legendary James Caan, and review The Gray Man -- the movie that sees the Russo Brothers reunite with Chris Evans -- McEnroe, The Sea Beast, and The Railway Children Return. The Railway Children have returned? YOU CANNO

This week's Empire Podcast sees someone new and noteworthy ease themselves into the fourth chair, as Eddie Hamilton, the brilliant editor of Top Gun: Maverick and the forthcoming double whammy of Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, joins the podteam — Chris Hewitt, James Dyer, and John Nugent — for the duration of the show. So, as well as picking Eddie's brains for tales of editing Maverick and getting the odd tip or ten, he joins us to tackle this week's listener question (about the best fourth instalments in film franchises), and discuss the week's movie news (this episode was recorded before news broke of James Caan's death; we'll discuss the legendary Mr. Caan next week), and we think you'll agree that he's a most welcome addition to the team. Elsewhere, the team review Thor: Love And Thunder, and Brian And Charles, and Chris has an audience with the wonderful Jenny Agutter, star of next week's sequel, The Railway Children Return. The two of them talk about that, and about some of the milestones in her incredibl

This week's episode of the Empire Podcast sees the podteam — Chris Hewitt, Helen O'Hara and James Dyer — recovering from their failure to win Podcast Of The Year at the BSME awards. In the process of doing so, they prove categorically why they didn't win, and in the process discuss the greatest movie pilots (who aren't Maverick), talk about the best way to beat Roger Deakins in a fight, chat about the week's movie news, prepare to bid farewell to the grey, depressing podbooth, review Nitram, Minions: The Rise Of Gru, and The Man From Toronto, and declare war on The Radio Times Podcast. This week's guest is the fantastic Australian director Justin Kurzel, who chats to Chris about his hard-hitting new drama, Nitram. Enjoy. NB: there is a brief discussion of the future of Bond, which includes some MAJOR spoilers for No Time To Die. So if you've somehow still not seen that film and wish to avoid any revelations, that starts around 29:48.00 and carries on for three minutes or so, until around 32:43:00 (timestamp

Elvis has entered the building. This week sees the release of Elvis, Baz Luhrmann's energetic biopic of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock'n'roll, and as a result our guest is Austin Butler, the young actor whose scintillating, swaggering performance as Elvis is set to make him a huge star. The charming Butler talks to Chris Hewitt about getting under Elvis' skin, and about the time he had a surprising encounter while shooting Once Upon A Time In Hollywood with Quentin Tarantino. That interview starts around 40:15.00. Then, in the virtual podbooth this week, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara, Ben Travis, and Amon Warmann for an episode in which they discuss their favourite movie parents (not just mums or dads), have a chat about the week's movie news (there was some, promise), and dive deep into both Elvis and Scott Derrickson's chilling new horror, The Black Phone, which introduces a cracking horror villain in the shape of Ethan Hawke's The Grabber. Oh, and Helen gets docked some Dune points. Find out why by gi

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is a fantastic new British movie that sees Dame Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack spend a lot of time together in a hotel room. So that's exactly what we made them do again this week, with Ella Kemp (making her Empire Podcast debut) talking to the stars of Sophie Hyde's movie about an ageing woman who, having had very few positive sexual experiences, hires a sex worker (McCormack), and complications ensue. The film is frank, funny, and insightful, and their chat with Ella is similarly so, featuring Dame Emma's reminiscences about The Tall Guy, and one of the best answers we've ever had on the podcast. Hint: it features an Oscar. Then, in the podbooth this week, Chris Hewitt is joined by James Dyer and, for the first time in ages, Helen O'Hara, and truth be told, being reunited makes them go a little doolally. So, in-between answering a listener question about the film sets they've accidentally stumbled upon in a non-professional capacity, they talk about Helen's Wikipedia page,

Udo Kier is one of cinema's greatest cult heroes. The German actor has been working steadily for almost sixty years, having become an actor after being discovered by chance while living in London as a young man. Since then, he's built one of the most eclectic filmographies around, appearing in over 200 films which have seen him work with some of the greatest directors around. Virtually all those appearances, though, have been cameos, which is why it's great to see Kier finally get his leading man due, at the age of 77, in Todd Stephens' poignant and funny Swan Song (in cinemas now), in which Kier plays Pat Pitsenbarger, a gay man who rediscovers his spark towards the end of his life. Kier was nominated for Best Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards for the role, and he attacks it with brio. As he does the interview process, as Chris Hewitt found when he sat down over Zoom with Kier to discuss Swan Song and more, and couldn't get a word in. Not that we're complaining -- Udo has anecdotes to spare, and in this

This week's Empire Podcast is an episode 65 million and 29 years in the making, as Jurassic World: Dominion star Bryce Dallas Howard pops in for a face-to-face chat with Chris Hewitt, in which she talks about growing up on set with her director dad, Ron Howard, and how he's rubbish at keeping secrets. There's plenty of dino-chat as well for you Parkheads. Then, in the virtual podbooth this week, Chris is joined by James Dyer and Amon Warmann for an episode in which they take advantage of Helen O'Hara's ongoing absence to have a mass debate over the hottest Chris Evans moments, discuss just what it takes for a film to get the Empire one-star treatment, have a natter about the week's movie news including the announcement of Joker 2 (which whips the podteam into a frenzy of excitement), and review Jurassic World: Dominion, Udo Kier in Swan Song, Karen Gillan and Karen Gillan in Dual, while Chris and Amon have a bit of a barney over Adam Sandler in Hustle. Enjoy!

With Ms. Marvel, the latest MCU TV show, set to debut on Disney+ this Wednesday (June 8), we've decided to bring you a special preview of the show, and what you can expect from Kamala Khan, the newest hero on the Marvel Cinematic Universe block. In this suitably embiggened episode of the Empire Podcast, Chris Hewitt chats with the show's key creatives — head directors Adil & Bilall, show creator and head writer Bisha K. Ali, and Kamala Khan co-creator and producer, Sana Amanat. These are largely spoiler-free chats, but they do touch upon certain things that happen in the first two episodes of the show, so be on the lookout should you wish to be remain spoiler-free. Or, you know, come back here after you've seen the first two episodes. Either way, it works for us. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS! (timings approx.) Intro/Boring Chris bit -- 0:00.00 - 3:39.00 Adil & Bilall -- 3:40.00 - 17:30.00 Bisha K. Ali -- 17:31.00 - 36:35.00 Sana Amanat -- 36:36.00 - 51:05.00 Another boring Chris bit/call for spoiler special sub

Britain may have shut down to mark the celebrations of the Queen's latest Jubilation Lee, but the Empire Podcast keeps on trucking, folks. In this week's episode, Chris Hewitt sits down on Zoom (luckily, with no demon present) to talk to director Rob Savage about DASHCAM, his follow-up to the sensational Host, and he brings his stars Annie Hardy and Amar Chadha-Patel along for an interview that is a wild ride in itself. Perhaps it's best to listen to this once you've seen the film, as they talk about the film's unique credit sequence, Annie's fears about playing a character who shares her name, the actors' multi-tasking as camera operators on the film, and whether producer Jason Blum could become a hitman. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by James Dyer and Amon Warmann to tackle listener questions about the greatest examples of royalty in the movies, and what franchises should do to negate toxic fanbases (in the wake of the abhorrent racist comments sent to Obi-Wan Kenobi star, Moses Ingram). They also

Only a group as seismic as The Sex Pistols could bring the Empire Podcast and the Pilot TV Podcast together once again. Yes, to mark the launch of Danny Boyle's brand-new six-part series, Pistol, on Disney+, Chris Hewitt, James Dyer, and Beth Webb put their collective noggins together and discuss the show, which debuts on Disney+ on May 31, and which charts the rapid rise and fall of the British punk band towards the tail end of the 1970s. In a fun episode, Chris, James and Beth talk about the cultural impact of Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Sid Vicious and the boys; their legacy; their weird link to the Spice Girls, and much, much more. Plus, Chris sits down with two of the stars of the show, Maisie Williams and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and asks one of them about nicking Andy Serkis' arancini at the Empire Awards. It doesn't get much more punk than that. Never mind the you-know-what, here's [Empire and Pilot talking about] the Sex Pistols.

"Carter! That's my name!" And Hodges! That's his name! Get Carter, the 1971 film that marked Mike Hodges' directorial debut on the big screen and which launched a career that would take in the likes of Flash Gordon and Croupier, has been re-released and remastered (in glorious 4K) by the BFI. It looks and sounds better than ever, so now you can bask in the bleakness of this revenge thriller, which sees Michael Caine go to Newcastle and wreak havoc. Hodges is now 89, and retired from filmmaking, but he took time out to have a chat with Chris Hewitt in which they talk about the enduring appeal of Get Carter, and run through some of the more eclectic entries in Hodges' career. It's a candid and insightful chat with one of Britain's greatest filmmakers, and we hope you enjoy.

In a world-first for a podcast, every single person on this week's episode of the Empire Podcast (sorry, newly award-nominated Empire Podcast) is played by Rory Kinnear. Probably. Actually, that's not true, but after witnessing his tour de force performance(s) in Alex Garland's MEN, which is out next week and which sees Kinnear play multiple roles opposite Jessie Buckley, we wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that he was also playing Amon Warmann, who talks to Kinnear about Men, his career, and knowing the biggest spoiler in Bond history ahead of time. (Don't listen to that interview if you haven't seen No Time To Die!) Our second guest is the excellent Miles Teller, who stars in Top Gun: Maverick as Rooster, aka Son Of Goose, and he talks to Chris Hewitt about his Tom Cruise experience, about flying for real, and about Whiplash (and whiplash, most likely). Then, in the podbooth (virtual this week), Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer for an episode in which they discuss great movie scenes set

Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now that's a name we've not heard in a long time. A long time. But we're delighted to hear it again, because that means that Ewan McGregor is returning to the role he played in George Lucas' Star Wars prequel trilogy (and which Alec Guinness originated, of course, in the original trilogy) in a six-part limited edition show which launches this week on Disney+. And to celebrate, we've put together a preview special in which Chris Hewitt sits down across Zoom with the show's director, Deborah Chow, and head writer Joby Harold, and asks them the big questions about bringing back Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Owen and Beru, and more. And yes, there's an Elan Sleazebaggano question in there somewhere too. Enjoy.

This week's Empire Podcast sees the great writer/producer/director Judd Apatow drop in for another appearance, this time with his documentarian hat on, as he tells Chris Hewitt all about why he made the excellent two-part documentary, George Carlin's American Dream, which tells the life story of the great American stand-up, who was famous for his legendary routine about the seven words you can't say on television. You can say them on a podcast, though, which is what Chris does, so be mindful of an unbleeped C-bomb, folks. Then, in the podbooth, Chris is joined by Helen O'Hara and James Dyer as they discuss the number of knights and dames they've interviewed, dig into the trailer for She-Hulk, talk about the new developments in the world of Star Wars, and ask if the only good Predator film is the first Predator film. In the reviews section, they discuss Terence Davies' Benediction, Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers, Emergency, and The Innocents. Oh, and Chris makes a shocking announcement. Enjoy. TIMESTAMPS! (