The return to the Wizarding World highlights a packed Easter weekend of new film releases

By Sean Blanford

In Theaters
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore- Returning to J.K. Rowling’s world of magic for the first time since 2018’s The Crimes of Grindelwald, the focus of the film turns away from Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander to focus on the on-going saga between Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen). Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, and Callum Turner co-star.

Dual: The latest from writer-director Riley Stearns (The Art of Self-Defense), Dual stars Karen Gillan playing two roles as a young woman diagnosed with a terminal illness and the clone created to take her place once she passes. When it is discovered that the original’s illness is no longer life-threatening, she is forced to battle her clone to the death because there can be only one. Dual had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and co-stars Aaron Paul and Theo James.

Father Stu: Released on Wednesday the 13th, Father Stu stars Mark Wahlberg as a boxer-turned-priest and the effects he has on the lives of the people he meets along the way. This is the feature directorial debut of writer-director Rosalind Ross, and the film co-stars Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, and Malcolm McDowell.

Netflix
Choose or Die: In a year that has seen a slew of good-to-great original horror films, the first coming out this weekend is the Netflix original starring Asa Butterfield as a young student who tries to claim a larger cash prize in a survival video game, only to unwitting unleash a curse on society. This is the feature debut of cowriter-director Toby Meakins.

Shudder
The Cellar: The horror streaming services month of new debuts continues with the latest from writer-director Brendan Muldowney. The films stars Elisha Cuthbert as a woman who loses her daughter in the cellar of their family home, only to discover there is a greater evil taking control.