Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Cements His Place on Hollywood's New A-List

►On the cover. Fresh off his Emmy win for Watchmen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has a string of high-profile roles lined up, including fronting two of this year’s most anticipated films in MGM/Universal’s Jordan Peele-produced Candyman reboot on Aug. 27 and on Dec. 22, Warner Bros.' Matrix 4, with the magnetic actor starring alongside original cast Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith.

THR's Tatiana Siegel speaks to the actor who got his big break in Baz Luhrman's canceled-too-soon Netflix series The Get Down. Despite that early setback, in three short years and a flurry of scene stealing performances, Abdul-Mateen has secured his place in Hollywood's A-list. The cover story. 

—The new Hollywood A-list. Like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Majors, Anya Taylor-Joy, Florence Pugh, Anthony Ramos and Regé-Jean Page are only just becoming household names outside of Hollywood, but these five actors are already at the top of every casting director’s wish list. The new A-list. 

—Robbie's heading to Spain. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Margot Robbie joining Wes Anderson's next film. The Aussie actress joins fellow Anderson newbie Tom Hanks on the roster of the acclaimed auteur’s latest project, an untitled feature that will begin shooting in Spain this month. The story. 

—Spanner in the works? The labor coalition the Strategic Organizing Center, which includes the Teamsters and CWA, is lobbying the FTC to kill Amazon's $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM, saying it would create "harmful vertical integration in the film industry at large." The story. 

—New cast, new location. HBO is booking a return trip to The White Lotus after handing out a second-season renewal for Mike White's the satirical limited series. The sophomore season will, however, will leave Hawaii behind and follow a different group of vacationers at a different White Lotus hotel property. The story. 

CNN’s Next Chris Cuomo Headache May Depend On Testimony to N.Y.’s AG

►Larger role in the matter. CNN was lucky that Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned during his brother Chris' week off from his show Cuomo Prime Time because of his birthday. But if the CNN host's testimony to New York's Attorney General contained anything that painted himself, or the network, in a particularly negative light, it could be a cause for alarm. The story. 

—"Evidently, he gave himself two weeks' notice." Tuesday night’s episode of The Late Show opened with a re-edited version of Andrew Cuomo’s resignation speech, in which words were pieced together to express that the now former Governor of New York harassed a series of women. The story.  

—Take the lead. Fresh from demanding the cast and crew are vaccinated on the set of Showtime's Gaslit, Sean Penn says that he believes all businesses, including Hollywood, should take the lead in encouraging vaccination through mandates. The story. 

—Early Steph magic. A24 has greenlit the doc Underrated about NBA superstar Steph Curry and his historic 2008 run to March Madness greatness. The film, also from Curry’s Unanimous Media, will recall the star basketball player’s improbable rise with the Davidson Wildcats at the NCAA tournament. The story. 

—DNA test needed. Chet Hanks, the sometime rapper son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, posted a video on Instagram in which he claimed that he lied about having COVID-19, that he was tired of wearing masks despite the surging pandemic and also downplayed the virus as "the flu." The story. 

Sports Rights' Streaming Wave May Finally End Pay-TV Bundle

►Sport is war by other means. As every major entertainment and media company goes all in on streaming in a bid to dethrone Netflix, they are seeking exclusive content that can drive new subscriptions and make their services a must-have. 

THR's Alex Weprin writes that sports is increasingly the battleground as the likes of NBCUniversal, Disney and ViacomCBS, along with tech giants like Amazon, are shifting resources to snap up live programming from major leagues in a new arms race to fuel direct-to-consumer services. The story. 

—HIMYF all set. Hulu has rounded out the cast of its highly anticipated How I Met Your Mother update, How I Met Your Father. The 10-episode comedy counts original HIMYM creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays among its exec producers stars Hilary Duff as Sophie, who is telling her son the story of how she met his father. The full cast. 

—By royal appointment. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Productions has found its head of scripted television in Nishika Kumble, who will serve as senior vp scripted television for their Netflix-based production company. The story. 

—COVID concerns. Stevie Nicks has canceled five forthcoming performances at music festivals, citing coronavirus concerns. Nicks had been scheduled to play BottleRock Napa Valley, Jazz Aspen Festival, Austin City Limits Music Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in the coming months. The story. 

Behind the $935M 'South Park' Deal  

►Likely lads. THR's Lesley Goldberg looks at how South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were able to score an overall deal worth more than the combined pacts signed by the likes of Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy and Greg Berlanti recently and it all rests on a very smart inclusion in their 2007 deal with Comedy Central. The story. 

—New chapter in animation. With the debut of What If...? on Disney+, Marvel's Brad Winderbaum, the newly promoted head of streaming, television and animation at the studio, talks the potential of live-action crossover: "It was a completely different muscle we were flexing." The story. 

—"I think I want that." Robin has come out as bisexual in the latest Batman comic. Tim Drake, a.k.a. the third Robin, realizes he’s bi in the newly released issue Batman: Urban Legends #6. The story. 

—Not standing still. Hot off The Suicide Squad, Idris Elba is speeding into another franchise with the Brit actor voicing fan-favorite character Knuckles in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The story.

—Lineup and vaccines. The New York Film Festival has unveiled its main slate and will require proof of vaccination for all audiences, filmmakers and staff members at venues for the annual fall event. The story. 

In other news...

—Australian YouTuber Lachlan Power signs with CAA.

—Melbourne Film Festival cancels in-person screenings as the city enters sixth COVID-19 lockdown.

—Dominion sues pro-Trump networks Newsmax, One America News over election fraud claims.

—Television Academy scales back Emmy invitees by limiting nominees who can attend.

—Alex Cord, actor in Airwolf, dies at 88.

—Producer Peter A. Lees dies at 51.

—Jack Couffer, Oscar-nominated cinematographer on Jonathan Livingston Seagull, dies at 96.

—Don Jones, writer-director of Schoolgirls in Chains and The Forest, dies at 83.

—Walter Yetnikoff, former CBS Records president and industry titan, dies at 87.

—Sunni Welles, actress, singer and Bill Cosby accuser, dies at 72.

—Transformers: The Movie at 35: Why Optimus Prime's death still resonates.

—Cinelounge launches outdoor theater to exhibit first-run titles in Los Angeles.

—Rowan Blanchard, Auli’i Cravalho to lead Hulu coming-of-age romance feature.

—Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge VR sequel Last Call trailer teases new characters.

What else we're reading...

—"Top Execs At Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Reveal Growth Plans Post-Blackstone Deal" [Insider]

—"Dune And Godzilla Vs. Kong Studio Legendary Stages A Comeback. Will It Fetch A Buyer?" [Los Angeles Times]

—"Salesforce Enters the Streaming Wars" [Axios]

—"Inside Grindr’s First Original TV Series Bridesman" [Daily Beast]

—"We’ve Dumped Blood On Her And Made Her Cry Until Her Mascara Runs. But, Oh, How We Still Love Our Prom Queens" [Washington Post]

Today... 

Today's birthdays: Ian McDiarmid (77), Chris Hemsworth (38), Viola Davis (56), Embeth Davidtz (56), Úrsula Corberó (32), Anna Gunn (53), Merritt Wever (41), Chris Messina (47), Alyson Stoner (28), Sophie Okonedo (53), Rob Minkoff (59), Hulk Hogan (68), Jacqueline Fernandez (36), Jemima West (34), Sunil Shetty (60)