Mailbag for April 4, 2025
Thirsty for 'Fourth Wing', are the Kardashians 'over', what else can Jason Statham do, countdown to the return of Bangtan, the future of streaming, and a White Lotus live chat!
Dear Squawkers,
A couple of months ago, literally the day before I was leaving on a trip and was looking for something to read, Kathleen texted me: “I need you to start reading Fourth Wing [by Rebecca Yarros]”. At the time, I’d never heard of it. She and I have similar taste in books, though, in that we are all in on romance and actively throw ourselves into obsession over fictional relationships. Kathleen was insistent, and selfishly motivated. She had no one to talk to about the book and was basically recruiting me so that she would have someone to sound off on.
The timing was right, I had a few days ahead to lose myself in a story, and I obviously trust her, so I went out and bought the hard copy, not knowing anything about how popular it is. Not even knowing it’s actually a series. Of course it hooked me right away. And it wasn’t just the setup for the romance at that point. For me, when it comes to books like this, it’s the academy, the school, the training. I won’t get deep into the details because I know not everyone has read it, but Fourth Wing is concerned with our heroine, Violet Sorrengail, overcoming all kinds of obstacles to become a dragon rider. Not unlike Harry Potter going to Hogwarts to become a wizard. Or Tris Prior learning how to become Dauntless in Divergent – I fucked hard with the first book in that series specifically because the initiation process is the most interesting (and then it fell off spectacularly in subsequent books by solving every problem with a serum). Violet’s experience at Basgiath War College is compelling because through her, a student, we, too, are being educated on how this world works.
Naturally, I ripped through Fourth Wing (and became Kathleen by hounding Sarah to read it – she refuses), immediately downloaded the next book in the series, Iron Flame, and finished the third book Onyx Storm within a week of starting the first. All the while texting Kathleen, practically chapter by chapter. There was a lot of “FUCK DAIN” and “my baby Andarna, I love her so much!” Those messages eventually turned rageful because I was not aware that there are supposed to be five books in the series and only three have been released and Rebecca Yarros has apparently not even started on the final installments. “Kathleen, why the FUCK did you tell me to read something that isn’t finished, I hate it here, I will never forgive you!”
That was late January, early February, and I’ve chilled out since then. But my algorithm keeps serving me Fourth Wing content. Much of it has to do with casting the series – because Amazon MGM has optioned the rights for a television adaptation to be produced by Michael B Jordan’s company, Outlier Society. Moira Walley-Beckett (Breaking Bad) will be the showrunner. The project is currently still in development, early development. Back in January, when Onyx Storm was released, Rebecca Yarros said that she’d read two versions of the script which is certainly progress, though it still doesn’t sound like they’re anywhere near production.
But fans remain fixated with casting the two leads, Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson. So, to put it in Twilight terms, they’re looking for Bella and Edward. And to keep with the Twilight comparisons, if you consider what happened to Robert Pattinson, whoever is going to play Xaden is going to be carrying some heavy expectations because Fourth Wing internet is batshit over this character. One of the people that some fans have been pushing for is an actor called Josh Heuston who is currently in Dune: Prophecy and just this week was at the Australian launch of MAX and premiere of The Last of Us.
Josh is aware, aware AF, about the online discourse over him playing Xaden. He’s not just aware, actually, he’s almost fueling it. He’s been photographed reading Onyx Storm, and he keeps dropping references to it on social media.
Josh was asked about it on the carpet the other day, and he was coy with his answer.
He wouldn’t be the first actor to publicly campaign for a role. What made me laugh is that it used to be considered too thirsty, too desperate. The most famous example of this – time for gossip nostalgia – was Sean Young who wanted to be Catwoman so bad in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns that she dressed up as Catwoman for an appearance on Joan Rivers’ talk show (tap/click for video).
As noted in the caption, this was after she tried and failed several times to meet with Burton, and of course the part eventually went to Michelle Pfeiffer (which… I mean… nobody complains about this choice). Honestly, I still cringe when I watch this back, but I also think in hindsight that it was cruel how relentlessly she was ridiculed for it. Can you imagine if someone did that today, though? How viral it would be? And how today’s culture would react to it? Would they get the part? Like is Josh Heuston’s thirst hurting him or helping him?
Let us know in the comments, and now to the mailbag.
Question from Nada T:
I’d like to get your thoughts on whether the Kardashians are ‘over’? It feels like their time in the sun is done - even with Kylie and Timothee coupling up. Their TV show is too sanitised and lacks the authenticity of their earlier seasons, they are still associated with Kanye…they seem to be culturally on the wane although some of their business brands are doing very well.
Lainey’s Answer:
There’s already been some talk over the last year that the Kulture is waning. Nobody’s really talking about the show, right? And I feel like I can actually go a couple of days, maybe even longer, without seeing a headline. That said, I also don’t know if we can ever count them out, or “over”. I know a lot of you don’t want to hear this, but I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to underestimating this family. Not to sound like a conceited asshole but the Kardashians are one of the few times I’ve actually been wrong with gossip forecasting. Longtime readers of LaineyGossip will recall that when the Kardashians first started hitting, I refused to cover them. Because I was clinging to a definition of celebrity that was becoming outdated. Because I didn’t take them seriously, and I won’t say that I regret not covering them since I definitely don’t regret losing so much of my life to watching their shows etc etc, but I definitely have to take the L on how I grossly lowballed what their influence would be.
Like it or not, and you probably hate it, the Kardashians simply can’t be over, and may never be over, because they are already legends. They are a huge reason for how celebrity has evolved. They have had a serious impact on how celebrities behave. They completely disrupted the celebrity ecosystem and, in the process, redefined celebrity. Sorry, but it’s true. And even if you hate them, hating them contributed to it.
The Kardashians are like what I said about Gwyneth Paltrow in my newsletter last week. Gwyneth has figured out how to benefit from people disliking her, criticising her, bitching about her. She may have learned this from Kris Jenner and her spawn. Because few celebrities have capitalised from criticism better than the Kardashians. They thrived on controversy – the more controversies, the more famous they became. Like Trump and Gwyneth, these people are basically uncancellable. And like Gwyneth, as annoying as this is to acknowledge, they’ve turned being unliked into a superpower.
But when you get to their level of power, and wealth, just like any level in a hierarchical system, do you really have to keep doing so much? Is it really that their time in the sun is done or is it that they’ve intentionally moved (slightly) out of it because they’ve already achieved what they wanted? For over a decade they used us, the public, to grow their empire. They plundered the pop culture terrain, sucking up the attention, whether it was admiration or hate, it didn’t matter, they alchemised it into fuel and grew into their own solar system, big enough and rich enough to be self-sustaining. Look at the success of all their business and their connections. The Kardashians are now, undeniably, A List.
If we’re talking about A List, then, and how fame works, the Kardashian retreat isn’t necessarily something that’s been forced on them, but rather a familiar and natural progression. An artist, for example, will make appearances and take on jobs and engage in certain activities at the beginning of their careers that they would never once they’ve reached a certain level of success. Like, Beyoncé was the INTERVIEWER at the MTV Movie Awards in 2001! Remember this?!
As IF this would ever, ever, ever happen again.
The Kardashians were doing the most for a long time. And now…they don’t have to. They’ve reached a level of fame where being less candid, less accessible, and more elusive (in comparison to how they were before, like by their standards) tracks with their status. The way I see it, the Kardashians are currently in their “quiet luxury” era, LOL. Frankly, it’s smart. There’s a whole new generation of influencers and desperados who look to them as the godmothers of the game. So their retreat only creates more distance between themselves and the new jacks. The Kardashians are legacy celebrities now.
Question from Jill:
Question for Sarah, which I’ve kinda been thinking about since your January article on Jason Statham. The gist was that he plays working class heroes in a particular kind of movie that is silly but fun and he’s very good at it. He probably gets paid really well too! I agree with all of this. What I’m wondering is if you think there are other kinds of movies or characters he’d like to play, or if this is exactly the career he wants. Is he secretly hoping to be cast in a romcom? What would you like to see him in that would be a big departure?
Sarah’s answer:
For reference, this is the piece Jill is talking about. The obvious answer is where is our Spy sequel? Comedy sequels are fraught, but Spy is an espionage franchise just waiting to happen. Jason Statham seemed like he was having the time of his life lampooning his own cinematic tough-guy persona in that film. We demand Spy 2!
Other than that, I think it would be fun if he popped up in The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie’s TV series adaptation of his own film, also called The Gentlemen. The show is ludicrous, it’s the cozy version of London gangland drama (that Ritchie does so well). But I think Statham would be a fun drop-in, especially since he’s an OG Ritchie guy from day one, as he appeared in Ritchie’s first feature film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
As for seeing Jason Statham in a rom-com…I’m good. He does what he does very well, but I’ve never seen anything from him to suggest much range. He’s not Jon Bernthal, who absolutely SHOULD be in a rom-com. That said, thanks to Spy, we know Statham can do comedy, at least within his own action guy wheelhouse, so someone should take advantage of that sometime, preferably by making Spy 2!
Question from Ginger via DM:
Lainey! Borahae! The countdown is on to the return of Bangtan – any predictions about what happens in June when they’re all done with the military?
Lainey’s Answer:
I can’t believe that Festa is in just over two months and that we are this close to their return. As for what that looks like, I mean obviously Festa in June is going to be something special. An OT7 live stream? Photo series? Whatever it is the internet will be pulverised, I’m actually both excited and terrified about how we’ll all be processing this.
As for what they have planned though, like new music and announcements and whatever…
I’m sure you’re aware of the recent HYBE shareholders meeting this week and CEO Lee Jae-sang seemed to be mitigating expectations with his comments about how it’ll take some time for the members to figure shit out. Given how organised they’ve been, even before they all started serving and during the last couple of years, there was the assumption that perhaps plans were already underway, and they’d come out like a cannon once their duty was complete. And the company would love nothing more since BTS is their biggest earner. But this statement seems to suggest that RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook aren’t interested in rushing into it. That they want to be thoughtful about who they are, as a collective, after this huge milestone. Not to mention, can you even imagine the pressure and the expectation? I don’t doubt their ability to meet it, but I want them to do it on their terms. And it sounds like they will.
Which makes me…SO happy. I know Jacek is rolling his eyes reading this because it’s so corny, but BTS has never been what the uninitiated labelled them to be. They are not manufactured, they don’t do anything without intention, without meaningful and personal involvement and this, clearly, won’t change in their next chapter. (Jacek: more dorky than corny)
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t have predictions, but I will be practising patience. I can’t wait just as much as the next ARMY for their return. But I will gratefully wait longer because I know that they’re not half-assing this comeback.
Question from Emily:
This may be too much in the realm of prediction, but what do you think will happen to streaming. The movie business is struggling, and the future is uncertain, but as Sarah has pointed out many times, it is not like streaming makes a lot of money for corporate, either. Will we continue to see Apple lose money for quality for some time, will Netflix be the last one standing, or is a pivot close to the horizon. Bundling is already a thing, what is the talk in the industry right now?
Sarah’s answer:
Bundling is already here. You can bundle Disney+, Hulu, and Max right now. And while I think Apple might lose money on Apple TV+ for the foreseeable future, they are taking steps to right that ship. They can take the hit, and reportedly Apple brass view TV+ as a loss leader for their gadgetry, but no one likes or wants to lose money, so eventually, they’re going to have to get that on an even keel.
I think streaming is going to go two ways. Netflix is the only major streamer that is objectively NOT in the theatrical business, but they’ve also (finally) become profitable, with over $8 billion in profit last year (and $39 billion in revenue). But they also have hundreds of millions of subscribers worldwide. If they can hang onto their subscriber base, they’re basically just a new cable company. I think there will be a set of streamers, led by Netflix, that just reinvent the cable wheel. And no, Netflix’s Narnia IMAX deal doesn’t change this. It’s still just a two-week theatrical run. IMAX or no, Netflix is NOT investing in theatrical distribution as a meaningful part of their strategy. They just do it to appease filmmakers so that they feel less bad working for a company that has materially harmed their industry.
As for streamers like Max, Disney+/Hulu, Peacock, etc, the ones that belong to traditional movie studios will eventually level out into a complimentary service, not unlike how studios gobbled up cable networks in the 80s and 90s. Thanks to the degraded reputation of “straight to streaming” movies—which is not unlike the reputation “straight to video” enjoyed back in the day—movies that have traditional theatrical releases do better on streaming. Even if the movie bombs in theaters, the fact that it was in theaters at all makes it seem like a “real” movie to people skimming queues for something to watch. So it will behoove studios to work out a model that feeds both theatrical distribution and streaming. I think part of that needs to be recommitting to a longer exclusive theatrical window, but ultimately, streaming and theaters should be able to coexist the same way home video and theaters coexisted.
That wraps up another week here at The Squawk and LaineyGossip. And we know it’s been fucking hard out there so we appreciate you taking the time to check in with this community for your gossip – and other! – needs. Chats, as always, will remain open!
And if you’re going to be watching the White Lotus Season 3 finale on Sunday night, come join us for a paid subscriber live chat on The Squawk starting right after the show (approx. 10:30 PM ET)!
Keep squawking and keep gossiping,
Lainey and Sarah
Y'all in here talking about reading books you know are bad. Life is short love yourself!
I like dragons but Lainey described Fourth Wing to me and it sounds like Divergent and no amount of dragons is going to get me to read Divergent. (Lainey saying she liked the first Divergent is not beating the accusations.)