Justin Lin on Tuesday announced that he was stepping down as director of the latest Fast & Furious film, Fast X. A reason for the sudden departure was not given. “With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of Fast X, while remaining with the project as a producer,” Lin said in a statement posted to the franchise’s official Twitter account. “Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases. On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history.” Lin, who returned to the franchise with 2021’s F9: The Fast Saga, was set to direct both the franchise’s 10th and 11th installments, the latter of which is set to be its last…

(NOTE LANGUAGE) HBO Max’s critically acclaimed series Hacks returns for its second season May 12, and the streaming service dropped the first full trailer on Tuesday. The clip, which opens to Elton John‘s “the B**** Is Back,” finds Deborah Vance and writer Ava, played respectively by Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, taking the legendary comedian’s standup routine on the road for a cross-country tour. Smart and Einbinder are joined by new season-two additions Laurie Metcalf, Ming-Na Wen and Euphoria’s Martha Kelly, along with returning cast members Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Paul W. Downs, Christopher McDonald, Kaitlin Olson, Poppy Liu, Mark Indelicato, Meg Stalter, Angela E. Gibbs, Johnny Sibilly and Lorenza Izzo

BravoCon, the fan event launched in 2019, returns to New York City’s Javits Center October 14-16 after getting sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. “BravoCon emerged as a first-of-its-kind interactive event where ten thousand fans got to experience the massive Bravosphere come to life,” Ellen Stone, EVP, Consumer Engagement & Brand Strategy, NBCUniversal, said in a statement on Tuesday. “After the last few years, we are especially excited to bring our biggest BravoCon ever to our loyal fans for an even more memorable year.” BravoCon’s debut outing attracted close to 10,000 fans…

The Harder They Fall and Station 11 actress Danielle Deadwyler has been tapped to star in HBO’s upcoming sci-fi drama series Demimonde, written, executive-produced and directed by J.J. Abrams, according to Deadline. Demimonde follows Olive Reed — played by Deadwyler — “torn away from her husband and daughter in a brutal scientific accident [and] forced to unravel a conspiracy to reunite with her family, now lost to a dark, distant other world.” Deadwyler will next be seen starring as Mamie Till in the MGM/Orion Pictures feature Till, and starring opposite Zoe Saldana in the Netflix limited series From Scratch…

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