Universal Destinations & Experiences – which, like Sky, is owned by US company Comcast – said it had acquired land in Bedford and was “at the early stages of exploring its feasibility for a potential park and resort at this site”.
Let’s have a look at what could be in the works.
Why would Universal come to the UK?
The UK can certainly put on a good summer, but its theme parks mostly stay shut during the autumn and winter as nights grow long and the weather takes a turn.
But the likes of Legoland, Thorpe Park, Chessington, and Alton Towers are still popular, drawing millions of visitors every year and giving Brits the perfect opportunity to enjoy one of our favourite past times: standing in queues.
Add in the success of similar attractions like the Harry Potter studio tour in Hertfordshire, and it’s easy to see why Universal would be eyeing up the UK.
More than half of the country’s population live within two hours of the Bedford site, which is 45 minutes from London and easily accessible from Luton airport.
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Universal has been expanding aggressively since the pandemic, with fresh attractions at its long-popular US and Japanese destinations, a whole new park in Beijing in 2021, and another in Florida in 2025.
What should we expect based on its other parks?
Given this would be its first park in the UK, it would likely be a full-scale Universal.
They typically host a mix of high-speed outdoor rollercoasters and more immersive dark rides.
Beijing may be a good point of reference, as more of the attractions are indoors due to weather concerns.
That park and Japan’s also show how Universal looks to cater to specific markets with its ride choices. The former heavily features the Kung-Fu Panda films, while the latter has a large Nintendo area.
It begs the question as to what franchises and characters might be picked for a British audience.
Well, what might we get?
Harry Potter seems an obvious choice given its British roots and popularity at Universal’s Hollywood, Florida, and Japan parks, though the Hertfordshire tour may make things more complicated.
The outlet that broke news of the UK park, Orlando Park Stop, suggests Paddingtonand James Bond may get their own attractions (Universal did distribute the last 007 film, No Time To Die).
There have also been long-standing rumours in the industry that Universal wants – and may already have – the theme park rights for Lord Of The Rings.
It could make the UK a fitting home, given season two of Amazon’s TV show is being filmed here.
That was being billed as the UK’s answer to Universal and Disneyland, boasting rides based on UK pop culture like Doctor Who and Wallace And Gromit. Maybe Universal could pick up the pieces?
When will it arrive?
Universal has said “it will be many months before we are ready to make a decision to proceed”, let alone get permission and start work.
The studio also has several irons in the fire already.
The 2025 Florida project, dubbed Epic Universe, is set to be its largest theme park yet. It’s also working on smaller locations for Texas and Las Vegas for beyond that date.
Should the UK park happen, its likely scale means we probably won’t see anything built until the late 2020s or 2030.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
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Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man and other 1960s hits in the legendary Sam & Dave duo, has died aged 89.
Moore, who influenced musicians including Michael Jackson, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen, died on Friday in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications while recovering from surgery, his publicist Jeremy Westby said.
No additional details were immediately available.
Moore was inducted with Dave Prater into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”