BAFTA Rising Star nominees, Armie Hammer books lead role in comeback, and more of today’s top stories

Gold Derby’s top news stories for Jan. 7, 2025.

BAFTA Rising Star Award nominees announced

Marisa Abela (Back to Black), Jharrel Jerome (Unstoppable), David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus), Mikey Madison (Anora), and Nabhaan Rizwan (In Camera) are the 2025 BAFTA Rising Star Award nominees. Now in its 20th year, the Rising Star Award is the only BAFTA honor voted on by the British public. The award has historically gone to Brits, which bodes well for Abela, Jonsson, and Rizwan (all of whom have also been on Industry). Last year’s winner was How to Have Sex star Mia McKenna-Bruce. Past winners include Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Will Poulter, John Boyega, Tom Holland, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, and Lashana Lynch. The last American champ was Kristen Stewart in 2010.

Abela and Madison could find themselves with two nominations as both were longlisted last week in Best Actress for their respective performances. BAFTA nominations will be announced Wednesday, Jan. 15. The BAFTA Awards will take place Sunday, Feb. 16.

Armie Hammer lands lead role

Armie Hammer‘s comeback is going full steam ahead with a starring role in Uwe Boll‘s The Dark Knight, our sister site Variety reports. No, it’s not a Batman reboot, but the film is a vigilante thriller, and Hammer’s title character is a crime-fighter. The actor has been slowly mounting a comeback after facing allegations of sexual misconduct and sharing cannibalism fantasies with women in 2021. He was investigated for sexual assault but ultimately not charged. Hammer shared on the Your Mom’s House podcast last week that his “dance card” is now getting full to the point that he had to turn down a job. “That first job that I turned down after four years of this sh–, I mean, it was the best feeling I’ve ever had,” he said.

Jacob Elordi in talks to replace Paul Mescal in Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars

Variety reports that Jacob Elordi is in early negotiations to replace Paul Mescal in Ridley Scott‘s thriller The Dog Stars. Mescal had to drop out of his Gladiator II director’s new film due to scheduling conflicts with Sam Mendes‘ upcoming Beatles film anthology. Based on Peter Heller‘s 2012 novel set in a post-apocalyptic Colorado, The Dog Stars follows a pilot named Hig who befriends a curmudgeonly gunman. When a random transmission comes through Hig’s Cessna radio one day, they search for the sound.

Squid Game Season 2 shatters viewership records

Squid Game Season 2 brought in 126.2 million views total across 11 days — faster than any series in Netflix history in that timespan. The season dropped on Dec. 26 and topped Netflix’s chart last week with 68 million views in its first four days of streaming. It added another  58.2 million views in its first full week. The new total has also lifted the season into the No. 2 spot on Netflix’s list of its most popular non-English language shows. Season 1 of Squid Game is in first place with 265.2 million views in its first 91 days of availability, but Season 2 is on track to eclipse that.

Holes TV series scores pilot order at Disney+

Disney+ has given a pilot order for a Holes TV series, Variety reports. Alina Mankin will serve as writer and executive producer with Liz Phang as showrunner and executive producer on the project that is based on Louis Sachar‘s 1998 novel of the same name. The book follows Stanley Yelnats, a teen who is sent to a juvie detention camp after being falsely accused of theft. At Camp Green Lake, he is forced to spend his days digging holes in a dry lake bed. Holes was previously adapted into a beloved 2003 film starring Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, and Patricia Arquette. The potential show will gender-swap the lead. The logline states: “In this reimagining of the beloved 1998 book from Louis Sachar, a teenage girl is sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.”

Sundance adds two more documentaries to lineup

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival has added documentaries from Andrew Jarecki and Bao Nguyen to its lineup. Jarecki’s The Alabama Solution, per the logline, is about incarcerated men who “defy the odds to expose a cover-up in one of America’s deadliest prison systems.” Nguyen’s The Stinger follows a two-year investigation that uncovered a scandal behind the making of one of the most recognized photographs of the 20th century. “Five decades of secrets are unraveled in the search for justice for a man known only as ‘the stinger,’ according to the logline. The Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2. Click here for the lineup.

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary dies at 86

Peter Yarrow, one-third of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, has died. He was 86. The singer-songwriter died Tuesday in New York. He had battled bladder cancer for the past four years. Yarrow won five Grammys with Peter, Paul and Mary. The group also scored six Billboard top 10 singles and two No. 1 albums during their heyday in the 1960s. He co-wrote its signature hit “Puff, the Magic Dragon.”

“Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life. The world knows Peter Yarrow the iconic folk activist, but the human being behind the legend is every bit as generous, creative, passionate, playful, and wise as his lyrics suggest,” his daughter Bethany said.

SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night trailer is here

Peacock dropped the trailer for SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, a four-part docuseries about Saturday Night Live, which is currently airing its landmark 50th season. Per the logline, the series honors “the legacy of SNL, with over 60 contributors, including SNL alumni, and covering decades of SNL history. Spotlighting some of the show’s most iconic elements, each episode delves into the rich history of SNL and pulls back the curtain on the audition process, the writers’ room, the fan-favorite ‘More Cowbell’ sketch, and the pivotal Season 11.” SNL alums featured in the trailer include Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Dana Carvey, Tracy Morgan, Pete Davidson, and Andy Samberg.

SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, executive-produced by Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville, premieres on Thursday, Jan. 16.