Movies

Star Wars to Release ‘Underworld’ Series For May the 4th

BBG News

In the year 2025, on May 4th (May the Fourth be with you), Star Wars will debut a new installment of its animated anthology series, previously titled “Tales of the Empire”. This time around, it’s called “Tales of the Underworld” and will premiere on Disney+. The focus of this year’s Tales will be on two notorious members of the Star Wars galaxy’s criminal underworld: Bounty hunter Cad Bane from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Book of Boba Fett, and Nightsister Asajj Ventress from The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch. Additionally, it will delve into various Star Wars novels and video games.

Disney unveiled their new set of Tales, accompanied by a short trailer, which can be seen here:

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Disney released a fresh series of stories, and here’s a quick glimpse into this year’s shorts:

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Bane will be voiced once again by Corey Burton; Ventress is played by Nika Futterman.

Here is the series’ official synopsis:

In 2022, the highly acclaimed series titled “Tales of the Jedi” kicked off, followed by “Tales of the Empire” in 2024. This time around, the narrative delves into the darker corners of the Star Wars universe, exploring the lives of two legendary villains. Asajj Ventress, a former assassin and bounty hunter, is granted a fresh start and finds herself on the run with an unforeseen new companion, while Cad Bane encounters his past as he squares off against an old friend turned Marshall enforcing the law on the other side.

Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld is set to premiere on Disney+ on May the 4th Be With You.

Sign up for Disney+ here.

10 Actors Who Played Distractingly Bad Doubles in Movies

Tom Hanks in Cloud Atlas

The unique appeal of “Cloud Atlas” (a movie remarkably fresh even with its complexities) lies in its cast playing various characters throughout different time periods. This narrative weaves together the concept of reborn souls experiencing recurring happiness and hardship. In an era nearly forgotten, 2015, studios were still inclined to support a diverse ensemble, where actors took on roles not traditionally associated with their ethnicity (an aspect that seems impossible today). The movie showcases some extraordinary makeup artistry, particularly on Tom Hanks, who assumes the roles of a hotel manager, an actor, and a native inhabitant residing in post-apocalyptic Hawaii. While every performer could have been included in this list, it’s important to note that Korean Jim Sturgess is fictional and harmless. The most striking transformation Hanks undergoes is as “Dermot Hoggins,” a brutal author characterized by baldness, a goatee, gold jewelry, and a violent act of throwing a critic who criticized his book off a balcony to his grisly demise.

Jean Claude Van Damme in Double Impact

In my opinion, it’s not that Jean-Claude Van Damme lacks the ability to play multiple roles – he’s demonstrated this in three films thus far. However, in the movie “Double Impact”, his dual characters, Alex and Chad Wagner, are remarkably similar, making it challenging to distinguish between them. Given his unique appearance, it’s hard to envision another person resembling him so closely. When portraying these twin brothers, two muscular, impulsive individuals who must unite to defeat a ruthless businessman, Van Damme seems to be playing a single character throughout the film.

Will Smith in Gemini Man

The film “Gemini Man” was more about demonstrating advanced technology than being a truly successful movie, primarily due to its high frame rate and cutting-edge digital de-aging technique applied to Will Smith. In this film, Smith portrays a retired assassin who is pursued by his clone, with both roles featuring de-aged Smith through motion-capture and CGI. After years of development limbo, the movie finally materialized when the technology was considered ready. Despite personal opinions about the movie, it boasts impressive visuals – until it doesn’t. The high-definition high frame rate exposes any flaws in the representation of a partially digital character, creating an unsettling uncanny valley effect over a standard action-thriller plotline. It almost brings back memories of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s facial prosthetics in “Looper.

Tom Hollander in The King’s Man

In many films, actors have taken on the role of their doppelgangers, but only a few have pushed this to the extent of portraying triplets. This was the case for Tom Hollander in the prequel to the movie “Kingsman,” titled “The King’s Man.” He played three distinct characters: King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm, and Tsar Nicholas. To differentiate these roles, he wore various costumes and sported slightly altered facial hair for each character. Hollander put a lot of effort into the voices, giving King George a refined quietness that was echoed only by Kaiser Wilhelm’s stereotypical loud German accent. The humor lies in the fact that these three monarchs were actually cousins, grandchildren of Queen Victoria, demonstrating how the royal families of distant countries shared common ancestry.

Tom Hardy in Legend

In the gritty world of 1960s London, the British crime drama “Legend” unfolds with an intriguing twist: it features twin brothers, both portrayed by Tom Hardy, who portray the notorious Kray twins, infamous criminals who held sway over the city. As Ronnie and Reggie Kray, Hardy skillfully blends charm and brutality – a smooth talker with a captivating appearance and his rough-edged brother with an eccentric voice and peculiar way of speaking that resembles Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone if he hailed from the East End. However, despite Hardy’s acting prowess, he doesn’t fully embody either role, resulting in the film being more of a curious spectacle showcasing two identical actors in various scenes, rather than a convincing biopic.

Hilary Duff in The Lizzie McGuire Movie

In the first scene where Hilary Duff portrays Isabella Parigi, an Italian pop star doppelganger of Lizzie McGuire in “The Lizzie McGuire Movie,” there’s an endearing quality to her questionable Italian accent. Duff skillfully plays both characters through digital doubling, creating a nearly flawless duality that the movie showcases frequently, even if one shot of them holding hands strangely omits their hands. Duff delivers a versatile performance as both characters, with Isabella serving as a bold celebrity counterpart to Lizzie’s shy small-town persona. While it may not be entirely believable, the portrayal is consistent with the overall unrealistic nature of the film’s plot.

Leo DiCaprio in The Man in the Iron Mask

In “The Man in the Iron Mask,” the filmmakers broke away from Hollywood’s tradition of having foreign characters speak English with a British accent by allowing most actors to speak in their native tongues, creating a striking contrast when Leonardo DiCaprio appears as King Louis XIV and his twin brother Philippe. This unusual choice stands out, especially since both characters share many similarities, such as identical hairstyles. Amidst the grandeur of Alexandre Dumas’s storytelling, it feels unexpected to hear one of the main characters speaking like a typical American, and in this film, there are not one but two of them.

Rory Kinnear in Men

The chilling effect produced by Rory Kinnear’s diverse characters in Alex Garland’s film “Men” was indeed intentional, as having one actor portray various characters heightened the eerie atmosphere. Kinnear delivers an impressive performance as a town full of residents, who seem determined to sabotage a widow’s peaceful vacation. It is uncertain whether all these characters are distinct entities or mere manifestations of a mysterious and unsettling force. However, repeatedly seeing one man’s face can be quite unnerving. There are instances where the acting falters, particularly in the role of the boy in the churchyard, but the thrilling climax compensates for any minor flaws. The makeup, wigs, and digital de-aging techniques used throughout the production prove to be worthwhile in the end.

Vanessa Hudgens in The Princess Switch

Similar to Hilary Duff, Vanessa Hudgens struggles with the accents required in the “The Princess Switch” series, which includes three films as of now, but this shouldn’t discourage anyone from enjoying these low-budget Christmas romance comedies. In the initial movie, Hudgens portrays two characters: Stacy De Novo, an Italian-American baker from Chicago, and Lady Margaret Delacourt, the duchess of the fictional nation of Montenaro who is unwillingly engaged to the prince of the imaginary country of Belgravia. As Lady Margaret, Hudgens attempts a somewhat British accent that’s quite poor, but it improves significantly in the sequel. Here, a third Vanessa Hudgens character emerges as Lady Fiona Pembroke, a blend between Lady Gaga and Cruella de Vil, causing one to ponder whether they truly understand what a British accent should sound like.

Nicholas Braun in Saturday Night

In the extensive cast of the movie “Saturday Night” based on the origins of “Saturday Night Live”, one might assume that an actor wouldn’t have the opportunity to portray multiple characters. However, this assumption would be incorrect, as Nicholas Braun did just that by starring in the film not once, but twice – as Jim Henson, the puppet master, and Andy Kaufman, the comedian. Interestingly, Braun stepped into the role of Kaufman when Benny Safdie had to withdraw from the production, and it’s evident in his performance – his lanky physique is more fitting for the character of Henson, and his recurring appearances in the film as different characters become a distraction rather than adding humor.

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2025-04-02 19:56

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