By James Whittington, 30th November 2025
It's seasonal thrills all the way as LEGEND unwraps nine channel premieres this December, including three 90's cult classics - Mike Hewell's classic crime drama DONNIE BRASCO, starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp, Paul Verhoeven's futuristic alien invasion thriller STARSHIP TROOPERS, and Robert Rodriguez's action-packed DESPARADO, with Antonio Banderas, Quentin Tarantino and Salma Hayak.
Favourite LEGEND action heroes showcased this month are Steven Seagal in crime vengeance thriller THE ASIAN CONNECTION, Jason Statham in gangster actioner WILD CARD, and Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in boxing drama THE FIGHTER.
Other crackers include Gerard Bulter in heroic fantasy GODS OF EGYPT, Clive Owen and Naomi Watts in high-stakes espionage thriller THE INTERNATIONAL, and Chris O'Connell in survival thriller VERTICAL LIMIT.
Plus, CHARLIE'S ANGELS continues its popular run with the premiere of Season Four, weeknights at 6pm from Thursday, 4th December.
Let's start on the 4th with THE ASIAN CONNECTION where two American expatriates, Jack and Sam, unwittingly steal a drug lord's money when they rob a series of banks in Southeast Asia and become the target of the gang's vengeance. When Sam is killed, Jack turns to the love of his life, Pom, and the couple becomes a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde that takes the fight to the gang. This action-packed flick stars the legendary Steven Seagal. Then on the 6th another action here swings back onto LEGEND in WILD CARD. Nick Wild (Jason Statham), a recovering gambling addict, tries to find and punish the men who assaulted his friend. However, things take a turn for the worse when the main culprit turns out to be a high-ranking gangster. Historical thrills on the 13th where we meet the GODS OF EGYPT. Gods walk among mortals and rule the land. When they divine that a new king shall rule Egypt, a mythical tragedy unfolds that pits a young god and a mortal against his uncle in a battle for all creation. Starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites and Gerard Butler.
A star-studded ensemble drama on the 14th, Hollywood royalty star DONNIE BRASCO. Undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp), infiltrates the mob as the "jewel man" Donnie Brasco, manoeuvring his way into the confidence of Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), an aging hitman. But as Donnie moves deeper into the Mafia, he realises he's not only crossing the line between federal agent and criminal but also leading his friend to an almost certain death sentence. A thrille which will keep you on the edge of your seats on the 18th, THE INTERNATIONAL. Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant DA Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) are determined to bring to justice one of the world's most powerful banks. Finding themselves in a high stakes chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk as their targets will stop at nothing to continue financing terror and war. VERTICAL LIMIT on the 20th concerns Peter Garrett (Chris O’Donnell) must launch a rescue effort up K2 to save his sister, Annie (Robin Tunney), and her summit team (Bill Paxton and Nicholas Lea), who are trapped at 26,000 above the vertical limit of endurance. Every second counts as Peter and a crew of climbers ascend the heights of the world’s most feared peak to save her.
We search for a King of the Ring on 21st in THE FIGHTER. Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale star in this inspirational and powerful true story of two brothers who against all odds come together to train for a historic boxing title fight that has the power to unite their fractured family and give their run-down town what it’s been waiting for: pride. But the explosive relationship of these brothers threatens to take them both down. Far out sci-fi action on the 27th, Paul Verhoeven's STARSHIP TROOPERS. Johnny Rico volunteers for the mobile infantry to do his federal service. Far from having patriotic motives, Johnny has joined to win the heart of his girlfriend, Carmen, who has signed up to become a starship pilot. When a tragic training accident occurs while on his watch, Johnny realises that he joined up for the wrong reasons. He is about to resign when the earth is attacked by an intelligent race of alien bugs. We end 2025 with an explosive channel premiere, DESPERADO. In this much-anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed El Mariachi, Antonio Banderas stars as the mariachi without a name, who returns to a small Mexican town seeking revenge against an evil drug kingpin. Salma Hayek, Steve Buscemi, and Quentin Tarantino co-star.
Related show tags: CHARLIE'S ANGELS, DONNIE BRASCO, STARSHIP TROOPERS, DESPARADO, THE ASIAN CONNECTION, WILD CARD, THE FIGHTER, GODS OF EGYPT, THE INTERNATIONAL, VERTICAL LIMIT MORE FEATURES LEGEND brings out Hackman, Stallone and Willis for August channel premieres Posted on 27th July 2026
Watch out for a sizzling summer line-up on LEGEND this August, headed up the Channel premiere of David Mamet's neo-noir crime thriller HEIST. Starring Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito it remains the highest-grossing film of the writer-director's career in the US. Another stand-out director, Renny Harlin has two Channel premieres – breezy action-heist film THE MISFITS, starring Pierce Brosnan, and DRIVEN, an action sports film set in the world of cart open-wheel racing, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone.
Other Channel premieres include action-thriller TEARS OF THE SUN, starring Bruce Willis and Monica Bellucci, John Lyde's B-movie prison thriller RIOT, st...
Interview with Terry Stone star of Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins Posted on 15th July 2026
Brutal Brit flick RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER: ORIGINS has its channel premiere on Friday at 11:10pm so we chatted to Terry Stone about the challenges of playing Tony Tucker and why he thinks this is the best film in the franchise.
LC: In RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER: ORIGINS, Tucker returns home from the Falklands War with severe PTSD. What was that like to emotionally explore?
TS: As an actor it was an interesting thing to play. It took me on a journey so when you see my character laughing a lot in the film it’s like a mask to hide all the shit that's going on in my head. It also explains how you can go from 1 - 10 in violence. Lots of Footsoldier fans didn’t know that Tony Tuck...
Fairbrass, Diesel and Stallone are ready for action this July on Legend Posted on 30th June 2026
In July LEGEND continues with its broadcast of the RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER franchise, this month covering the third, fourth and fifth films in the brutal British gangster saga that has been engaging its millions of fans since 2007.
First up is RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER 3: THE PAT TATE STORY, which charts the violent rise of ruthless Essex gangster Pat Tate (Craig Fairbass). Then comes RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER 4: MARBELLA, where we follow Pat Tate (Craig Fairbrass) to Spain with his henchmen, Tony (Terry Stone) and Craig (Ronald Manookian) to seek vengeance on those who double-crossed him. Finally, in RISE OF THE FOORSOLDIER: ORIGINS, we follow the story of how Pat, Tony and Craig unite to form their o...
Babylon 5 lands on LEGEND from Monday 8 June Posted on 2nd June 2026
LEGEND, the TV destination for fans of action, sci-fi, and thrillers, rides the nostalgia wave with the channel premiere of all five seasons of the classic '90s series BABYLON 5, which will air weeknights at 7pm from Monday 8 June.
The series will kick off with Babylon 5: The Gathering, the test pilot movie, before Season One launches on Tuesday 9 June. The Gathering covers events which take place roughly one year before those of the first-season episode, providing a framework of backstories and personal relationships for some of the series' major characters, which include Captain John Sheridan, (Bruce Boxleitner), Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian), Security Chief M...
Legend brings the heat this June Posted on 27th May 2026
There are ten thrilling channel premieres in June as LEGEND continue to offer a popular mix of nostalgic favourites and modern, star-studded premieres, including Joel Schumacher's gripping legal drama A TIME TO KILL, Jon Amiel's psychological thriller COPYCAT and both RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER and RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER: PART II - the first two films in the brutal British gangster saga that has been engaging its millions of fans since 2007.
Then there is Ted Kotcheff's gritty action-drama UNCOMMON VALOR, starring Gene Hackman, Robert Benton's much-praised revisionist Western BAD COMPANY, starring Jeff Bridges and Barry Brown, an...
A line-up not to be missed this May on LEGEND Posted on 28th April 2026
May on LEGEND sees an action-packed mix of classic and contemporary thrillers, headed by Sergio Leone's brilliant ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, starring Robert De Niro and James Woods on top form, Joel Schumacher's tense legal drama THE CLIENT, starring Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones, Spike Lee's Neo-noir remake of Park Chan-wook's 2003 South Korean cult masterpiece OLD BOY, and Sydney Pollack's political spy thriller THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, widely regarded as a quintessential example of the 1970s "paranoia" cinema.
Then there is IMMORTALS, Tarsem Singh's epic, visceral retelling of Greek mythology, starring Henry Cavell and Mickey O'Rourke, Andrew Nicol's IN TIME, a dystopian science ficti...
Connery, Caine and Curry are starring in Channel Premieres this April on LEGEND Posted on 29th March 2026
It's action, suspense and high-stakes drama all the way as LEGEND presents eleven star-studded Channel premieres in April, spearheaded by Brian De Palma's brutal crime classic CARLITO'S WAY, starring Al Paciino, high octane action comedy MR. AND MRS. SMITH, starring Bratt Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Spike Lee's critically acclaimed heist thriller INSIDE MAN, and Timor Bekmambetov's all guns-blazing WANTED, starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Terence Stamp.
Then there is the cold war spy thriller BULLET TO BEIJING, starring Michael Caine as a retired Harry Palmer, buddy-cop film MONEY TRAIN, starring Wesley Snipes, and Jennifer Lopez, and two murderous action thrille...
Reynolds, Washington and Schwarzenegger join the LEGEND line-up for March Posted on 25th February 2026
An action-packed mix of cult classics, popular remakes and contemporary thrillers headline LEGEND's selection of eleven Channel premieres in March, spearheaded by Kathryn Bigelow's gripping, suspenseful, and brilliantly crafted, ZERO DARK THIRTY, which dramatises the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Then there is the 2005 action-packed remake of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne, Clint Eastwood's high-stakes assassination thriller THE EIGER SANCTION. and Frank Mitchell's survival drama ALIVE, the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team forced to eat the flesh of their dead companions following a plane crash.
Further Channel premieres include grindhouse-inspired exploitatio...
De Niro, Pacino and Eastwood are starring on LEGEND in February Posted on 27th January 2026
De Niro, Pacino and Eastwood give us powerhouse performances as LEGEND celebrates the work of legendary directors this month, spearheaded by the Channel premieres of such cult classics as Brian De Palma's SCARFACE, Martin Scorcese's CAPE FEAR, Donald Seigel's THE BEGUILED, and John Frankenheimer's BLACK SUNDAY.
Other notable Channel premieres this February include Keanu Reeves' directorial debut, MAN OF TAI CHI. Leigh Wannel's tech horror thriller UPGRADE, Doug Liman's action comedy, AMERICAN MADE, starring Tom Cruise, Gary Fieder's quirky crime drama THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD, which stars Andy Garcia, Christopher Walken and Steve Buscemi, and Kevin McDonald's blistering politi...
PICK OF THE WEEK
