The Luna Syndicate

The Luna Syndicate is a 2023 TV movie directed by Kevin Smith. It follows the gang as they must join up with a shady organization to get things right.

Cast

 * Jackson Kelley as Calvin
 * Taika Waititi as Hobbes
 * Kevin Smith as Socrates
 * Griffin Gluck as Andy
 * Ty Burrell as Sherman
 * Ben Schwartz as MTM
 * Elizabeth Banks as Mom
 * Bill Hader as Dad
 * Kiernan Shipka as Jessica
 * Charlie Heaton as Chris
 * Margot Robbie as the High Priestess
 * Tom Cruise as Dr. Brainstorm
 * Mark Hoppus as Jack
 * Steve Zahn as Steven Vaughn
 * Robert Sheehan as Shack
 * Donald Glover as Shade
 * Annette Bening as Mother Brainstorm
 * Zoey Deutch as Sheila Brainstorm
 * Naomi Watts as Jacqueline
 * Matt Damon as Jackal
 * Jeremy Irons as Doctor
 * Wyatt Russell as Imposter
 * Pedro Pascal as Puppeteer

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost cameo as Galaxoid and Nebular while Bryan Cranston and Seth Rogen cameo as Rupert and Earl. Alan Cumming and David Tennant cameo at the beginning of the film as two Scottish men delivering a package.

Plot
Two Scottish men are delivering a mysterious package. Meanwhile, Calvin and Hobbes are alerted by the MTM about a new babysitter approaching. Fearing it's Rosalyn, Calvin runs downstairs to see a new babysitter named Jessica. She leaves Calvin alone for the night, and as he, Hobbes, and MTM hide under the bed, MTM is able to get into Jessica's phone to see what is going on, as she is texting her boyfriend Chris. Chris invites her to come camping, and she asks Calvin if he wants to go. The film cuts to Calvin sitting in the woods, bored, as Jessica and Chris flirt with each other. Hobbes chickened out and disappeared before they went. The two teenagers take a walk in the woods, but when they don't return, Calvin and MTM set off to find them, inadvertenly finding a woman in the woods who says Jessica and Chris have become part of a ritual. MTM believes that there is summoning demons involved and when Calvin tries to intervene, the woman and her sisters attack Calvin when a rift opens. Believing their father has risen, out of the portal comes Dr. Brainstorm and Jack. Jack looks around and asks if he and Brainstorm are interrupting anything, to which Calvin denies it.

Two days prior, Brainstorm shows Jack another one of his inventions where he can tap into the power of the sun and make a force field. He tests it out and to Jack's surprise, it works well until Jack throws a recliner at it, breaking the field. He finds that it ran out of power already and Brainstorm figures out that there isn't any suitable energy in their universe, so they decide to go into other universes to find an energy to harness the power, despite Jack's protests. Brainstorm uncovers an old device and discovers star crystals in another dimension, thinking this is the power source he needs. Meanwhile, a man named Steven Vaughn starts his new job at a top secret government facility, where he meets his odd supervisors, Shack and Shade. They send Steven off to do some work as Shack and Shade reveal themselves as interdimensional travellers. As they do some research, they see an alternate universe called Luna. Brainstorm and Jack arrive in Luna in search of star crystals. They run into Shack and Shade and have a brief conversation about how they are both from other worlds. When Brainstorm says he is going to take over the world Shade attacks him. Shade and Shack make their escape as Brainstorm and Jack realize the city is abandoned. Suddenly, they see several wolf like creatures surrounding them.

Jack looks around at the creatures and notices Brainstorm is falling into a trance. Jack injects him with an adrenaline filled needle which snaps him back to reality. The wolves begin howling as Brainstorm and Jack try to get away, but the lead wolf makes a swipe at them. Suddenly, everything freezes and Jack's emergency temporal suspension activates, calculating how he can survive. After the calculations finish, Jack takes a frozen Brainstorm into an alley and time starts back up. Brainstorm and Jack have a comical argument about Jack not knowing that feature was in him when a vampire corners them. It snatches Jack and takes a bite out of his neck, but fails as Jack is made of metal. They also see zombies coming towards them and attempt to scale the wall, but fail. A mysterious figure approaches them with the dimension hopper, fending off the zombies. Brainstorm and Jack activate the dimension hopper and then fall right into the woods where Calvin is, catching up to where the film started. As the cult members corner Calvin, Brainstorm, and Jack, MTM is able to teleport over the entire gang and Brainstorm accidentally drops the star crystal, which scares away the cult members. Shack and Shade observe this, and Shade wonders how Brainstorm got a star crystal, also coming to the conclusion Calvin is part of the threat as well due to MTM. Calvin decides to follow the cult, as they still have Jessica and Chris. Meanwhile, Mother Brainstorm calls Brainstorm through Jack and deposits Sheila and Jacqueline with him, starting an argument between the siblings. Calvin and the gang chases after the cult, and while waiting for Andy, who has fallen behind, MTM gets a new reading of two others as a blinding light hits them. Andy and Sherman do get hit with the light as well, and Brainstorm and Jack, after running into Shack and Shade again, get hit with the light as well.

Everyone awakens in the same parallel universe Brainstorm and Jack just escaped from. When it's revealed they can't get back, Andy suggests they team up again, to which Brainstorm angrily declines and leaves with Jack. The gang decides to explore the town further, splitting up to search for answers about what the place is. After a while, Andy and Sherman get some answers, with a woman telling them they're on an island called Luna, and she accidentally reveals a curse, and Socrates gets information about the curse as well, with monsters coming out in the dark thanks to a red star, which also rains star crystals and blood crystals. An old man explains star crystals and blood crystals to Calvin and Hobbes before climbing into his box. They look at a lamppost and instead of seeing a lightbulb they see a crystal which MTM teleports over. When the gang meets up again, they try to find shelter but are distracted by a little girl, lost from home wondering where her father is, saying he went to search for star crystals. They offer to search for her father but then Sherman notes that she knew which direction she went in, and the girl suddenly disappears. They are suddenly attacked by elk creatures and after making a getaway, they notice a man curled up in a ball, telling them to not look at him. However, it follows them and when Socrates turns around, the man reveals himself to have no face, shrieks "I SAID DON'T LOOK AT ME!" and pounces.

In their shelter, Brainstorm prepares to see if his machine is ready to activate, but their trials are interrupted when a mysterious man holding a scythe outside, calls out the name "Eric" several times. After a while, Brainstorm goes to confront it but they are scared back into the shelter. The man approaches the two, preparing to strike his scythe, but stops when he sees the light from Brainstorm's machine. Meanwhile, the gang is hiding from the faceless man in a dumpster and when the faceless man is nowhere in sight, the gang sets off for shelter when the area begins to flood. Brainstorm and Jack face a monstrous teddy bear stalking the star crystal's light, eventually attracting some elk creatures. Jack swallows the star crystal which inserts it into his power supply, scaring the elk creatures away, but they are then attacked by a chainsaw wielding assassin and a seven foot tall man with a hammer. They make an escape but the giant and assassin follow. Calvin and the gang are attacked by a werewolf trying to get to a tower for shelter. Calvin and Hobbes get Andy, Sherman, and Socrates out and try to face the werewolf, but are faced with a gunslinger that kills the werewolf and then tries to kill Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin activates a force field and as the gunslinger fires shots, Calvin is able to teleport out of the way just in time. They exchange banter throughout and the gunslinger introduces himself as Jackal. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang, hiding behind a stone fountain, encounter a man in a dark trench coat, who introduces himself as Doctor. Doctor offers the three to meet his team.

Back in the woods, Jacqueline and Sheila awaken to find Jessica and Chris. Jacqueline does find Jessica and Chris as Sheila is taken by the cult. Meanwhile, on Luna, Jackal is defeated thanks to a pounce from Hobbes and Calvin explains the situation. Doctor shows up with Andy, Sherman, and Socrates. Jackal explains he and Doctor are part of a syndicate used to carry out larger jobs. They teleport over Brainstorm and Jack, who also bring over the giant and assassin, revealed as Puppeteer and Imposter, respectively. Imposter makes a point to show off his skills with his chainsaws and using magic, suggesting that the gang comes along with them on their mission, but Doctor says it's too dangerous, despite Jackal and Puppeteer agreeing with Imposter. Calvin shuts Doctor up with the Transmogrifier Gun as the others reveal their mission, taking out a hive of vampires near their hideout. The two groups agree to team up and set off for their mission.

Steven is filing some paperwork when a woman comes up to him with a release form. While filling it out, Steven asks the woman about Shack and Shade, and the woman says they may seem odd but they have the most brilliant minds she's ever seen. In a secret room, Shack and Shade prepare to put their plan into motion. Meanwhile, the gang enters a place where the vampires are hiding and Jackal lets off some gunshots. When the vampires attack, Jackal, Imposter, and Doctor leap into action, with Puppeteer smashing the ground with his hammer. Calvin and the gang watch as the syndicate defeats the vampires with ease. After they are defeated, MTM absorbs some vampire DNA and says there are more in the facility. Jackal brings along Puppeteer, Imposter, Calvin, and Brainstorm to fight vampires. They all use their various weapons to fight them off and when finished, the syndicate takes the gang to their apartment. Once there, the gang decides to try and find a way home. MTM finds a rift that just opened and Calvin and Hobbes go to investigate. However, it is a farce, as they come face to face with Shade and Shack.

Calvin and Hobbes have a fight with Shade and Shack that has Calvin shooting lasers at the two but Shade uses a force field in his teeth to fend it off. After a while, Shade and Shack retreat but Shack throws a device on the ground. After scanning it, the device attracts monsters to them. When Calvin and Hobbes are cornered, Jackal shows up and fends off the monsters. Back at the apartment, Socrates shows Imposter his pranks as Calvin, Hobbes, and Jackal return and inform them about Shack and Shade, to which Brainstorm says he knows a bit about them. Calvin says they need to track him down to find out his motives and asks the syndicate for help. Doctor declines due to the lack of pay, but Calvin convinces him he can pay with star crystals but after they help, and they all prepare to make plans.

Sheila tries desperately to escape the cult as Jacqueline, Jessica, and Chris all observe what's going on. Chris decides to jump into action to distract the cult, throwing a rock at them, and bolting in the other direction, Jessica giving pursuit. Calvin lists off some of MTM's features they can use against Shade and Shack. Sherman asks MTM of some star crystal locations and he says that there are some on the other side of the island. They set off and separate Socrates and Imposter who are chatting about Socrates' pranks. When they are halfway there, Calvin catches a glimpse of a billboard advertising Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs that seems to be from their universe. Shrugging it off, they arrive at a creepy funhouse where the crystals are. They decide to set up camp outside the shop as the sun is setting and they take turns staying up to fend for monsters.

Hobbes takes the first shift and then the sky begins to rain star crystals. Calvin uses MTM to suck them up and they get as many as they can, but the crystals grow in size and the gang takes shelter in MTM's force field. After the crystal rain stops, werewolves begin chase and the gang splits up, running across town. They find a gargoyle which captures Hobbes, and MTM uses the star crystals to defeat it. Despite Calvin's disappointment they wasted the star crystals they run into Shack. Hobbes pounces him and takes him hostage for interrogation, as he and Calvin set off to find everyone else. Socrates, in a house, thinks he hears Andy and Sherman but it's some elk creatures. Socrates runs off, running into the real Andy and Sherman, all going into hiding, but Socrates sneezes and gives away their hiding spot. Calvin and Hobbes arrive and use MTM to fire crystals at the creatures. Andy pulls out a football sized star crystal which should be enough to pay the syndicate. MTM teleports the gang out as the creatures charge at them.

Sheila and Jacqueline prepare to fight the cult again and rescue Jessica and Chris, who got captured by the cult again. When they're freed, Jacqueline advises them to run. But this backfires as Sheila and Jacqueline end up captured again. The gang arrives back at the apartment, gives Doctor the star crystal, and then throw Shack inside. The rest of the syndicate admire the size of the star crystal while Shack annoys them. Shack is tied to the table for interrogation. Brainstorm begins asking questions but Shack says he has to guess a password to get answers which drives Brainstorm mad. Doctor begins to do an operation before Socrates and Imposter begin a good cop, bad cop route, and both methods fail. Finally, Jack, who Shack thinks is his friend, is able to get some answers. Shade is on an abandoned coal factory on the other side of the island and they prepare to set off. When inside, they see Shade working with a giant metal machine to merge the two worlds. And it's actually already begun, which explains the Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs billboard. Calvin flashes back to the cult and Socrates' mansion being haunted by ghosts, and it hits him the cult was from Luna.

The syndicate prepares to take the machine down but when Jackal's bullet hits a force field they realize it will be useless. Sherman tries telling Shade that merging the two universes would destroy the other. When Calvin observes the machines are working together, he compares him and Hobbes to the machines and they work together to break stuff. This inspires the syndicate to break the machinery to rile up Shade. However, Shade reveals his ability to teleport through shadows thanks to a blood crystal and incapacitates Jackal. Calvin shows that he stole a blood crystal to charge MTM and hits Shade with a laser, freeing Jackal. Shack reveals his ability of wind manipulation and the gang gets into a battle with the two. Jack is broken into pieces but he activates his auto repair system, while Jackal, Imposter, and Brainstorm are knocked unconscious. The gang faces Shade. Hobbes says Shade doesn't have to merge the universes, but it's too late. The merging has begun.

People in Luna observe the sky becoming orange. This is also witnessed by Galaxoid and Nebular as well as Rupert and Earl. Back on Luna, MTM formulates a plan to shut down the machine, pulling three levers to stop the process. After pulling one of them, elk creatures attack them but the syndicate takes them down. Doctor approaches the gang and says this is as far as they can help. The gang goes to find the levers to shut down the machine. However, Calvin experiences deja vu. MTM says everyone is experiencing flashbacks because the time vortex is unravelling. Inside the room with the levers, a werewolf is stationed. Socrates fights it and pulls one of the levers, telling the gang to go without him. The final lever is in the basement, but when they get there, they see the mysterious man with the scythe Brainstorm encountered. Brainstorm and Jack decide to fight it, allowing Calvin, Hobbes, Andy, and Sherman to fight their way to the final lever. They are faced with heavy wind trying to get to it, while they are hit with flashbacks from past movies. Suddenly, Andy and Sherman disappear into a void, only leaving Calvin, Hobbes, and MTM. Shack and Shade corner them and Shade says he is trying to improve the world. Hobbes pounces Shade and Shack stands to the side as those three are wiped into the void. But Calvin keeps pressing forward as his flashbacks go into scenes from the comic strip. Eventually, he reaches the lever and pulls the lever as hard as he can before reality fades to black.

Everyone awakens back in the woods and MTM explains that when Calvin shut the machine down, reality reset to before the merge began, but they are the only ones with memories of the events. Still realizing they have to defeat the cult, the gang defeats the High Priestess and Calvin sends the cult back to the Luna universe. Jessica and Chris are in complete shock, as Jack puts them to sleep. The gang prepares to teleport home and Brainstorm says their alliance is over. As the gang goes home, Socrates says he has some plans that he may be interested in. Back at Calvin's house, Jessica and Chris wake up and Chris realizes he has to leave, but then gets pranked by Socrates putting him in a mustard barrel. When Mom and Dad arrive home, Jessica frantically says everything is fine and then promptly leaves. Calvin and Hobbes wonder about how the syndicate is doing, and then fall right asleep.

In a post credits scene, the syndicate gets an offer for a simple delivery job. They take it and after fending off a bunch of monsters, they deliver the package to Shade. However, Shade, after refusing to pay for the job, gets caught in a tripwire and gets covered in mustard, something Imposter learned from Socrates. Jackal questions how Imposter got the prank set up in the area.

Spin-off
A spin-off film called The Syndicate was released on May 23, an origin story of the Luna Syndicate, with Damon, Irons, Russell, and Pascal all reprising their roles.