1. Will Smith might grant our wish and play the Genie

Disney really want a piece of that Big Willie style. According to Deadline, the studio is eager for Will Smith to play the Genie in the upcoming live-action Aladdin remake. Smith already bailed on Tim Burton’s Dumbo adaptation but it’s thought there is a good chance the two sides can work out a deal. However, Deadline stress that talks are still in the early stages. Perhaps working in favour of a deal is the fact that, as with the $1 billion-grossing Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin will be a musical – giving Will a chance to rap to his heart’s content. Working against it is that the shoot is set to take around six months and starts this July in the UK. Will Disney will Willie to sign? We’ll keep you posted.

2. Cannes plan doesn’t scan—for French cinema owners

The Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF) is in conflict with the Cannes Film Festival over the inclusion of two Netflix-exclusive films in the festival. French law dictates that video-on-demand services must wait three years(!) before streaming films shown in theatres. Accordingly, the planned screenings of Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories are illegal and detrimental to the industry. They’re also at the mercy of poor buffering speeds.

The Hollywood Reporter has it that Jean Labadie, president of distributor Le Pacte, is particularly critical of Netflix and likened the company to Uber for its lack of negotiation – a particularly sick burn, even in French. According to Labadie, Netflix is promoting “the death of theaters [sic]”. In response, Cannes Film Festival head Thierry Frémaux has hinted that Netflix head Ted Sarandos will make a related announcement during the event aimed at settling matters. We shall see.

3. So, the Kingsman: The Golden Circle teaser is value for money

It may only be 15 seconds long, but the teaser trailer for Kingsman: The Golden Circle sure packs in a lot ahead of the film’s UK release on September 29. The quickfire offering shows off cheeseburgers, Julianne Moore, the words “Proper Spy Movie”, Channing Tatum in a cowboy hat and partial nudity! This time out, Ansel Elgort’s newbie agent Eggsy, and Mark Strong’s reliable overseer Merlin, are going stateside to tackle Moore’s criminal mastermind. Halle Berry, Channing Tatum and Jeff Bridges will all show up, as will Elton John and Vinnie Jones. Sure, you could watch the trailer at x0.25 speed but why not keep the mystery alive a little longer?

4. Fast & Furious 8 sure is making a lot of money, you guys

It should come as no surprise that Fast & Furious 8 is making a whole lot of money. I mean, it is a surprise—this is a Vin Diesel franchise ostensibly about fast cars and bald people—but Furious 7 reached $1.5billion at the end of its run. As of Tuesday, the eighth instalment had made it to the $600m mark without losing much steam. Industry projections put the flick on course to make about $1.2bn in total which (again) surprising, right? While 8’s box office is $300m down on Furious 7, Universal are still trumpeting record success; the newest offering’s opening weekend was to the tune of a stonking $535.9m. That’s the biggest opening of all time. [via Deadline]

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has five post-credit scenes

The post-credit sequence is generally observed to have began with the James Bond franchise. The infamous “James Bond will return” spiel provided a reason for audiences to stay in their 1960s seats before they got to point out funny names on the crew. Fast-forward 50 years and post-credit sequences, tags or stingers are everywhere, especially in comic book movies that use the few seconds available to hint, reveal and set up future instalments. Though occasionally they just involve shawarma.

Now it seems we have reached peak post-credits. James Gunn, the writer-director behind Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, this week tweeted that audiences will be treated to five post-credits sequences. Apparently its 147-minute runtime just isn’t enough. Either that or Gunn is seriously into Howard The Duck.

6. The Little Hours gets a little trailer

Fans of nun-based tomfoolery have generally had to content themselves with rewatching Sister Act and Nuns on the Run. Sure, Black Narcissus might get a run-out every now and again but generally the former two bear most of the weight. Thankfully The Little Hours is here to bolster the genre’s nuntingent. Starring Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, Kate Micucci, Dave Franco, John C. Reilly, Nick Offerman and a whole load of other funny people, the film is an adaptation of The Decameron, a 14th century collection of novellas by Giovanni Boccaccio. We’re pretty sure Boccaccio didn’t write dialogue where nuns call a farmer’s turnips “shit”, but we don’t speak Italian. Mi Dispiace. The Catholic Church has already looked nun too kindly on the film, labelling it “pure trash”, so it should be a laugh.

7. Captain Marvel gets two directors, such is the modern world

Variety reports that Marvel have made a big decision for the upcoming Brie Larson-led Captain Marvel picture. And, Marvel being Marvel, the decision is slightly left-field à la Kenny Branagh for Thor and James Gunn for Guardians. Mississippi Grind and Half Nelson directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden are the appointed directors. According to Variety, the duo’s television experience – they’ve recently worked on Billions and The Affair – counted significantly in their favour.

The studio met with numerous contenders over the course of the last year and it’s thought that the pair’s vision for the character won the day. Considering Fleck and Boden’s usual work is slice-of-life fare, we’d be happy just seeing what a super-powered Brie Larson gets up to day-to-day. Well done, Marvel.

8. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is getting a sequel because you tell me why not

You likely didn’t see The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in the cinema. You may have, but a $110 million global box office says you didn’t. However, if you have seen it since, you’ll know Guy Ritchie’s Cold War caper was a rollickingly stylish good time, and could likely make converts of anyone who views Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill as Bland Hollywood 101. Plus Alicia Vikander’s in it! Unfortunately, that aforementioned box office made it all-but-certain that we wouldn’t get future instalments. Or so we thought…

In an interview with /Film, Hammer, who played Russian agent Illya Kuryakin, admits that he’s spoken to producer and co-writer Lionel Wigram, and basically forced him into writing a sequel. Says Hammer, “I was like ’Dude, what’s the deal?… Can you just write a sequel?’ [and] he was like ‘You know what? Yeah.’” So you know what? Yeah.