Lucky puts its cards on the table too early.

The new Apple TV limited series, starring and executive produced by Anya Taylor-Joy, kicks off with its titular protagonist (Taylor-Joy) on the run from an FBI agent. Sporting a bleached bob and a Caesars Palace jacket, she scrambles through a maze of parked trucks, desperately crawling under wheels and slamming around corners until her fate finally catches up with her. It’s a fairly thrilling action sequence, but soon, all too predictably, Lucky flashes back to the fateful hours leading up to this high-octane chase.

The move is an all-too common one in film and TV, meant to give viewers a tantalizing taste of what’s to come. Often, though, it feels like titles that use this tactic aren’t confident that viewers will buy into their story without the promise of action. With Lucky, that unfortunately proves to be the case. A crime drama bursting with clichés, Lucky works best when its characters are getting out of serious scrapes, and less so when they’re actually talking.

What’s Lucky about?

Anya Taylor-Joy in “Lucky.”
Credit: Apple TV

As we learn in the first of Lucky‘s many flashbacks, the woman on the run in the show’s opening is Lucky Armstrong, con woman extraordinaire. Together with her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey), she’s just pulled off a $10 million heist that should have her set for life. The pair spend a sweet night celebrating in Las Vegas, but by the morning, Lucky wakes to find herself alone, penniless, and at the top of the FBI’s most-wanted list.

So begins one of Lucky‘s most tense sequences. As the FBI descends on Caesars Palace, she must use all her wiles to escape from a seemingly impossible trap. It’s an electrifying cat-and-mouse game, following an increasingly desperate Lucky through crowded casino floors and winding hotel rooms.

The Caesars Hotel sequence is just the first of many thrilling set pieces throughout Lucky‘s run, including shoot-outs, car chases, and one desert-set escape that sees Taylor-Joy channeling the same fierce drive to survive she weaponized so well in 2024’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. In all these scenes, Lucky is operating at her most desperate, which means we get to see her full bag of tricks, learned from her imprisoned father, John (Timothy Olyphant), at work. As she manipulates mark after mark, Taylor-Joy brings an effortless cool to Lucky. Sometimes, though, that cool can be overpowering, and we lose the fear and anger that’s driving Lucky in her quest to set things right. (It doesn’t help that, even after going through hell, Lucky’s bob remains chic as ever, making it hard to buy into the character’s gritty struggles.)

Outside of these sequences though, Lucky loses its steam. Its overreliance on flashbacks leads to some extremely on-the-nose moments, like when Lucky pulls a con at a birthday party, all while remembering a conveniently similar job she and her father pulled years ago. Elsewhere, story beats feel oddly familiar. At one point, Lucky pretends to be drunk while meeting a man at a bar, leading to a scene eerily reminiscent of one in Promising Young Woman.

Annette Bening is an ice-cold scene stealer in Lucky.

Annette Bening in “Lucky.”
Credit: Apple TV

Lucky weaves a larger web of crime and shady syndicates that pales in comparison to the more immediate drama of Lucky’s smaller cons. However, there’s one huge saving grace to that more overarching crime tale, and that’s Annette Bening as fearsome mobster Priscilla Masterson.

Always rocking the coolest glasses and coats the show has to offer, Bening’s Priscilla takes over every scene she’s in with an icy power. At times, she’s calculatedly nonchalant, with even her most casual comments oozing with threats. At others, she’s a laugh riot thanks to her dry disdain for everyone around her. She makes a great foil for Taylor-Joy’s often-harried Lucky, as she’s almost always in control. When she’s not, it’s because she’s under the thumb of the menacing Wayne Whittaker (William Fichtner). You can imagine that as Lucky grows older, she could find herself in a similar troubling situation: still living a life of crime, still expected to take the fall.

Lucky hopes to examine how Lucky could get off that path, the one her father set her on when she was a child. Its conclusions and twists along the way are fairly predictable, but it offers up some slick summer fun in the meantime. When you’re done, though, Lucky‘s impact is like that of a good con man: gone before you even know it.

The first two episodes of Lucky premiere July 15 on Apple TV, with a new episode every Wednesday.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

From the very beginning, the strongest aspect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was its casting. Without the talent of performers like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, the public would never have embraced characters like Iron Man and Captain America. MCU guru Kevin Feige is well aware of this, and he often takes a personal hand in casting. That’s especially true with films like Spider-Man: Homecoming, which involve some of Marvel’s most popular comic characters. In that film, Tom Holland made for the perfect onscreen hero; the challenge was finding someone suitable to be an equally perfect onscreen villain.

Michael Keaton got the job, and he absolutely nailed the role of the Vulture by channeling his experiences as both Batman and (fittingly enough) Birdman. As it turns out, though, this former Caped Crusader wasn’t Marvel’s first choice for this character. Feige personally offered the role to the last person you’d expect: Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of the insanely popular musical Hamilton. Had he squared off with Spidey back in Homecoming, it’s fair to say the MCU would never have been the same.

He Threw Away His Shot

This shocking revelation comes to us straight from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Recently, the Hamilton star appeared on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. According to the musical legend, Kevin Feige personally offered him the role, so no audition was required. Had he said “yes,” Miranda would have gotten a healthy payday and very likely have become a mainstay of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, he declined the offer, and he did so for a reason many who are reading this can understand: he wanted to keep his wife happy!

In speaking with Horowitz, Miranda admitted he “would have been so miscast.” He made up his mind about the offer, asking when filming for Spider-Man: Homecoming would begin. Feige’s answer was, “Basically, the moment you step offstage in Hamilton.” Miranda replied, ‘Well, I love these movies, but I would really like to stay married, so I cannot do this.’” He is married to Vanessa Nadal, and they have two children together. Miranda had been looking forward to spending more time with his family once he stopped playing Hamilton, but playing the Vulture in Homecoming would mean being insanely busy for another year while being contractually tied down to future Marvel appearances.

Yes, Father. I Shall Become A Vulture

Looking back, Miranda has no regrets about his decision. He told Horowitz that he “needed a vacation so badly” after Hamilton and reiterated that “I would’ve been deeply miscast.” It’s hard not to disagree with this assessment. Part of why Michael Keaton was so great in the role is that his Vulture practically oozed menace whenever he was onscreen. By contrast, Miranda has spent a lifetime positioning himself as an affably goofy music guy. His Vulture would likely be a comedic character, and that wouldn’t work; since Spidey himself is so silly, it’s important for him to have a genuinely scary villain to bounce off of.

Lin-Manuel Miranda became a household name thanks to the success of Hamilton. He could have pivoted and become a Marvel icon, but he was very happy to “throw away his shot” at starring in Spider-Man: Homecoming. In retrospect, this was the right decision, and Miranda is the first to admit that he would’ve made a terrible villain. At least, a terrible onscreen villain. To everyone who ever got sick of their family blaring the Hamilton soundtrack at all hours of the day and on every single road trip, this guy will always be an archenemy for life! 

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 11 seconds ago

For better or for worse, the DCU has been taking the time to give secondary characters their own projects. That’s how Supergirl and Clayface got their own films, and James Gunn recently greenlit a TV show featuring Jimmy Olsen and Gorilla Grodd. That’s a very different approach from the MCU, whose success has historically been built on primary characters like Iron Man and Captain America. However, to combat superhero fatigue, Marvel has been trying new things lately, including giving a movie to The Thunderbolts, a kind of in-universe B-team. Now, it seems, they are going a step further and giving a very obscure character his own feature film. 

That character is Nova; he’s part of the Nova Corps, which first appeared onscreen in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. Many Marvel fans thought we’d get a solo Nova movie soon afterward, but over a decade later, there has been no film. That’s all about to change, however: Deadline reports that Marvel Studios is working on a solo Nova movie. Even more exciting, the film will be written and possibly directed by Michael Waldrop, who is arguably best known for creating the fan-favorite Loki series.

A Secret Comic Icon

This news comes to us courtesy of Deadline, whose insiders claim that Michael Waldron is currently working on a Nova feature film for Marvel Studios. The insiders claim that this project is in its very earliest stages and has not yet gotten an official green light from the studio. However, should the project get the go-ahead, Waldron will write the script and preferably direct the film. Interestingly, this is a shift in direction for Marvel, which had originally intended to turn Nova into a television show on Disney+.

Originally, Marvel wanted to have Sabir Pirzada write a Nova TV series, but they quietly canceled those plans back in 2025. It’s possible that they canceled this project to avoid any comparisons to the upcoming DCU show Lanterns. The Nova Corps are basically Marvel’s version of the Green Lanterns; thanks to powers from the Nova Force, these space cops can fly, absorb energy, and move fast, and they are more durable than most. The Nova movie will presumably focus on Richard Rider, the warrior who, in the comics, has had many solo adventures and team-ups with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

No Evil Shall Escape His Sight

Michael Waldron is a great choice to write and direct the Nova movie. He has major Marvel experience, including writing Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and serving as showrunner for Loki. Outside the world of tights-and-flights, he is best known as the creator of Chad Powers, a popular Hulu TV show featuring Glen Powell. Done well, Nova could be the next Guardians of the Galaxy: a movie that embraces the cosmic weirdness of this cinematic universe with both humor and style. Speaking of Gunn’s beloved movie, there’s a significant chance that the Nova character will play a major part in future GOTG films. 

While all of this is exciting, it’s worth stressing once again that Nova hasn’t had an official greenlight, much less a release date. Should this movie get the go-ahead from Kevin Feige, it will likely be after Avengers: Secret Wars reboots the MCU at the end of 2027. That reboot is meant to give new life to Marvel, making way for new characters and new adventures. Considering what a major role the Nova Corps played in Guardians of the Galaxy and how important these characters have been in the comics for over half a century, here’s hoping we get to see a big-screen outing that does this underappreciated character justice!