Those of us missing the John Wick universe can take heart, because Chad Stahelski—who created that franchise—is coming back early next year with a new dystopian action film. It's called Karōshi (a Japanese term that means "death overwork"), and Lionsgate released a killer trailer that puts this film at the top of my list of "must see" movies of 2027.

Dying from working too hard is a very real phenomenon, not just in Japan and much of Asia, but also in Sweden. The physical cause is usually stress-related heart attacks or strokes, as well as suicide (karōjisatsu in Japan). Writer/director Takashi Doscher has transported that concept to a grim, futuristic corporate Manhattan, specifically a company called Ikigai Technologies. Per the official premise:

Karōshi is an action-thriller set in a near-future Manhattan, where corporate loyalty and cultural tradition have reshaped everyday life. When a mysterious outsider infiltrates a powerful company after a worker’s death, he exposes the violent system hidden beneath its polished surface.

Teo Yoo (Past Lives) stars as the aptly named Hiro, who is clearly out for vengeance against the offending corporation. The cast also includes Takehiro Hira, so memorable in the 2024 miniseries Shōgun, as well as Giancarlo Esposito, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, Richard Harmon, Isabel May, and Show Kasamatsu.

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Let's face it, the mid-December box office will be dominated by Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three, but for those seeking fun holiday family fare, Jumanji: Open World opens the very next week on Christmas Day. Sony Pictures just released a new trailer for director Jake Kasdan’s sequel to his 2019 hit, Jumanji: The Next Level, teasing the usual wacky hijinks with a twist that calls back to the original 1995 film.

As previously reported, Kasdan gave the franchise a welcome major overhaul with the release of 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, updating the original board game into a vintage video game and giving us a hugely entertaining action-adventure. Welcome to the Jungle racked up over $960 million at the global box office and spawned the equally successful 2019 sequel Jumanji: The Next Level.

A third film was always in the cards: The Next Level featured a tantalizing mid-credits scene in which a heater repairman (Lamorne Morris) visits Spencer Gilpin’s (Alex Wolff's) house, sees the broken video game console, and inadvertently triggers the game. The COVID-19 pandemic paused the third film’s development, but things picked up again in 2024, and here we are. Per the official synopsis:

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The end of the year is fast approaching and with it, the pre-Christmas release of Dune: Part Three, the final installment in Denis Villeneuve's acclaimed adaptation of sci-fi author Frank Herbert's novel(s). Warner Bros. gave us a broody and haunting extended teaser in March and a July trailer jam-packed with tantalizing hints of what to expect, along with plenty of Easter eggs to delight avid book fans. Now we've got one last action-packed trailer setting up the final act for iconic anti-hero Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet).

(Spoilers for first two films in the franchise below.)

Previously, 2021’s Dune culminated in the brutal defeat of House Atreides by rival House Harkonnen, with Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), fleeing to the desert and taking refuge among the Fremen. Among them is Chani (Zendaya), whom Paul has been seeing in visions all along.

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Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns next month for its third season. Prime Video unveiled a teaser earlier this year at San Diego Comic-Con, but we haven't heard much about the new season otherwise. We now have the official full trailer, and it's jam-packed with a rising Sauron, who is intent on conquering Middle-Earth with his army of Orcs—with the fractured opposition of elves, dwarves, and men scrambling to figure out how best to stop him. We also meet the human men who will become the Ringwraiths; the showrunners have dubbed them the Nazgnagol ("Rings-servant").

(Some spoilers for the first two seasons below.)

Prime Video made a major investment in The Rings of Power when it acquired the rights to the source material from the Tolkien estate, even committing to multiple seasons upfront. S3 is set seven years after the events of S2 and opens when the war between the elves and Sauron is at its height. Per the official synopsis:

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