The next trading day, Warner stock opened with a tiny rebound, then slid again and closed firmly in the $61 range.
Online, the comments were brutal.
A lot of people had bought shares at the top right after Cassius got pushed out of Nolan's project, hoping to cash in on the "race card." Now their money was disappearing day by day and they were cursing Warner nonstop.
Inside the Warner executive conference room, the mood was no longer relaxed.
The perfectly groomed VP looked like he hadn't slept in days. His voice was hoarse.
"The market clearly isn't buying the good news we've been pushing."
The strategy consultant pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up. "Announcing the title and Matt McConaughey was treated as routine progress. It didn't cancel out the earlier negative narrative. Investors seem to be waiting for a strategic signal that actually fixes the brand image."
"What bigger signal do they want?"
The VP's sudden outburst made the room go quiet for a second.
Another executive muttered, "Do they want us to hold a global press conference and apologize for a normal casting change?"
"Maybe we need one massive piece of news to drown out all the noise," the PR director said carefully. "Something that excites both fans and investors at the same time."
All eyes slowly turned toward Nolan, who had been quiet at the far end of the table, sketching in his notebook like none of this concerned him.
Only when he felt the stares did he look up, face blank.
"Movies need mystery. They also need the right moment to build anticipation."
His voice was steady. "We do still have one major cast member we haven't announced."
A few days later, Warner's official account dropped a short tweet at dusk.
"Explore the unknown. Cross the stars. Welcome Matt Damon to Interstellar."
Attached was a classic Nolan-style concept art: a lone astronaut silhouette against a starfield, with "Dr. Mann" handwritten beside it.
Matt Damon.
The Oscar-winning writer and star of Good Will Hunting, the soul of the Bourne franchise, one of Hollywood's most bankable and beloved leading men.
His addition took the cast from Nolan + Oscar winner straight to Nolan + Oscar winner + A-list superstar.
Fans lost their minds.
"Matt! My Bourne!"
"This lineup is stacked!"
"Nolan always saves the best for last!"
Finance outlets jumped in: "Can star power lift Warner's stock?"
"Matt Damon's arrival could be the shot in the arm Interstellar needs."
Even the meme lords who had been roasting Warner changed their tune. "Okay, I'll take this card."
"Matt Damon is an undeniable win."
"Warner finally did something smart. Using magic to beat magic."
The next morning, Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened and, for the first time in days, stopped its steady decline. It climbed a little and closed with a modest gain at $62.50.
The downward trend had been stopped cold.
London, Fast 6 set.
During a break, Jordana Brewster handed Cassius her phone. "Whoa. Matt Damon. Warner really paid up to save face."
Cassius looked at the headline. He wasn't surprised.
He'd trained with Matt in Iceland. Plus he already knew this from his previous life.
Paul clapped him on the shoulder. "They've stabilized for now. Still pretty ironic though. After all that, they had to bring in an even bigger star to fix the mess."
"Hollywood rules never change."
Vin Diesel walked over, still sweating from a solo scene. "They used a star to solve the problem a star created. But—"
He looked at Cassius. "This might actually be good for you. The shinier their new story gets, the stupider their original decision to drop you looks."
Justin Lin came over holding the next scene's storyboards. "What are we gossiping about? Forget them. Cassius, get ready. This afternoon's scene is important."
Cassius put his phone away and stood. "Understood, Director."
This was a big one.
Cassius's character had to drive a modified sports car through a tight urban alley set, pulling off high-speed dodges, powerslides, and emergency stops before finally blocking the target vehicle's escape route.
The stunt coordinator had already run it twice. The timing was brutal.
"Cass, you sure you don't want a double?"
The coordinator checked one last time before cameras rolled. "Those three consecutive drifts—miss the rhythm and you're hitting something."
Cassius buckled his helmet and checked his gloves. "Let me try it once. If it doesn't work, you guys can take over."
He slid into the driver's seat and took a deep breath.
The panel showed [Street Vehicle Offense & Defense Instinct] glowing softly.
"Action!"
The engine roared.
Cassius stomped the gas. The car shot forward.
First turn—he cranked the wheel and the car kissed the barrier by millimeters. Tires screamed.
Second and third turns—his movements got smoother, like the car had become an extension of his body, moving on pure instinct.
[Driving Instinct +3]
[Spatial Awareness +5]
[Pressure to Focus Conversion +4]
He felt the orbs get absorbed the second they appeared, turning into steadier hands and a calmer mind.
On the final high-difficulty powerslide, he made a tiny angle adjustment right before the turn—riskier than the stunt driver's line, but it came out cleaner and stopped exactly on the mark.
"Cut! Holy shit—"
Justin's voice came over the walkie, stunned. "That was perfect. Cass, where did that micro-adjustment come from?"
Cassius pulled off his helmet, hair soaked with sweat, and grinned.
[Role Conviction +65]
[Role Conviction Upgraded]
When he looked at the camera again, the decisive energy of an international police captain—calm on the surface, pressure underneath—came out naturally.
Cassius was getting more comfortable by the day.
That afternoon they shot an emotional breakdown scene.
After learning a key informant had been killed because of a leak, Cassius's character was alone in a safe house. No dialogue—just face and body language showing the full arc from shock and guilt to white-hot rage, then forcing everything down until only cold professionalism remained.
The camera pushed in on his face.
"Action!"
His eyes went unfocused for a split second, like he hadn't processed the news.
Then his pupils tightened, jaw clenched—that was barely contained pain.
Veins pulsed at his temple. His eyes looked ready to spit fire. Fists shook. His whole body trembled with rage.
Cassius closed his eyes. When he opened them, only resolve remained.
He slowly uncurled his fingers, picked up the file on the table, and moved with terrifying control.
The entire set went dead silent.
Even the sound guy forgot to move the boom.
"Cut!"
Justin's voice was electric. "Holy shit! Cass, you ate that lens alive. The layers—God!"
Jordana and Sung Kang, standing close by, looked stunned.
Vin stood behind the monitor with his arms crossed and murmured to Paul, "Did you see that? Cassius completely disappeared into the character. Felt like he really was an international cop."
[Emotional Layer Control +8]
[Camera Presence +6]
[Role Belief +35]
Cassius slowly came out of the immersion, like he'd just finished a brutal mental marathon.
Exhausted, but deeply satisfied.
He took the water Gal handed him and drank half the bottle in one go.
"Cass, that last part gave me goosebumps."
Gal looked at him, eyes shining.
Cassius smiled but didn't answer.
He could feel it too—this take had been different from any before. Not just better technique from the system. It was deeper resonance with the role.
London filming wrapped in that same high-efficiency, high-quality rhythm.
Cassius had become the set's steady center. Any scene he was in usually got approved on the first or second take, sometimes better than planned.
Justin was thrilled.
Meanwhile, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire global roadshow had started on shaky ground.
Lionsgate had deliberately left Cassius off the premiere because they were worried his recent controversy would hurt North American family audiences.
Cassius was fine with that. He was happy to stay focused on Fast 6.
Roadshows didn't pay extra anyway, and the attribute orbs they dropped had gotten smaller. He really didn't want to go.
First stop: New York.
The theater wasn't even full.
The Q&A was dead.
Reporters kept asking the same questions about Cassius. "Jennifer, Cassius isn't here because his role got reduced, right?"
"Did they cut the Peeta-Gale romance line? Are you two broken up now?"
"We heard Lionsgate was scared Cassius's current image would hurt North American box office, so they sidelined him. True?"
Jennifer stood on stage with a professional smile that was starting to crack.
When Cassius had been on the first movie, they never needed this much damage control. A few warm-up jokes from him and his natural star power handled everything.
She glanced at the producer, who quickly jumped in. "Cassius is a very important member of our team. His performance in the film is excellent. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts with another major project in London, he can't join us on this tour. His role is exactly as written in the script—no cuts."
The answer was very corporate.
The reporters and fans weren't buying it.
Social media was already roasting them: "Without Cassius the roadshow feels soulless."
"Lionsgate's move is weird. Why ignore your own movie's hottest couple? What are they scared of?"
The European stops weren't much better.
In London, fans actually showed up with signs : "We need Cassius!"
The organizers were visibly uncomfortable.
Most fans skipped the event entirely and went straight to Cassius's Fast 6 set instead, leaving the official roadshow cold and awkward.
The few fans who did get picked to ask questions went straight for the jugular and nearly got the cast killed on stage.
The real nightmare was the premiere.
The team flew in nervously for the first stop in Shanghai.
The airport was packed with fans, but at least half the light boards and chants were about Cassius.
At the theater press conference, the atmosphere turned strange fast.
The host tried to steer the conversation toward the movie and Jennifer's performance, but the first fan drawn to ask a question—a girl whose voice shook—said, "I want to know why Cassius can't come to the roadshow. A lot of us came to this movie because of him."
The crowd murmured in agreement.
The Lionsgate executive started sweating and quickly blamed scheduling.
The next fan picked was a young guy with a sharper question. "I understand scheduling conflicts, but I want to know—did Lionsgate deliberately downplay Cassius in the North American and other regional campaigns?"
"Because he's been treated unfairly in Hollywood lately, are you worried about getting dragged into it?"
The room filled with low murmurs.
A few scattered voices shouted, "Respect actors!"
"Treat Cassius fairly!"
The press conference ended early in awkward silence.
What Lionsgate hadn't expected was how fast the backlash exploded online.
On Weibo, #WhyIsCassiusMissingFromCatchingFire and #LionsgateDoubleStandards both hit trending.
Cassius's fan club released a statement questioning Lionsgate's selective promotion and demanding basic respect for their co-stars.
Some angry fans started calling for a boycott.
#BoycottCatchingFire
"If you don't respect actors, you don't deserve box office money!"
"Get the double-standard people out!"
Back in Los Angeles, Lionsgate headquarters called an emergency video meeting.
"The Shanghai situation is bad," the president said, face pale. "Fan anger is real. Negative topic views already broke a hundred million. If we don't handle this, it could tank the box office and trigger a wider boycott."
The North American marketing head frowned. "Our original thinking was that Cassius's recent controversy might hurt family audiences here, so focusing on Jennifer and the book nostalgia felt safer. We didn't expect to react this strongly."
"This isn't the time to analyze past decisions," the CEO said, rubbing his temples. "We need solutions."
The room went quiet.
The head of publicity spoke carefully. "Maybe we should urgently invite Cassius to join the remaining stops? Even just Beijing and Guangzhou—just a symbolic appearance—would calm the fans down. His box-office pull in has already been proven."
The idea got quick support from most people in the room.
The person who caused the problem should be the one to fix it.
Since the issue started because Cassius wasn't there, bring him back.
It looked like the cheapest crisis PR move available.
"Call his agent right now," the CEO ordered. "Show sincerity. Work out the schedule. Money's negotiable. Conditions are negotiable."
London, Fast 6 set.
Cassius had just wrapped a night scene, taken off his makeup, and was reading tomorrow's script in his trailer when his phone rang.
It was Rob.
"Lionsgate's on the line."
Rob got straight to it. "They're being very polite. Said there was a little misunderstanding on the roadshow and they'd love for you to join the Beijing and Guangzhou stops. Help set the record straight and give back to the fans. Money's good. Schedule's flexible—they'll work around you."
Cassius didn't answer right away.
He walked to the small window in the trailer and looked out at the crew lights still wrapping the night shoot.
"Rob, I remember the original Catching Fire global roadshow plan was locked in months ago, right?"
"Yeah. North America, Europe, Asia—full itinerary sent to every actor's team."
"So what stops was I originally invited to?"
Rob hesitated on the other end. "The first invite was all the major stops. After your Warner situation broke, they sent a revised version saying your schedule might be tight and suggested you only do some European dates. North America and Asia could be adjusted."
"What stops did they actually confirm me for in the end?"
"Zero."
Rob's voice turned serious. "They finally said after full evaluation they'd focus the tour on Jennifer as the core lead and didn't need your participation at this time—"
"So now they want me to fly over and let them harvest my fans? That's a little much."
Cassius laughed twice.
"Classic Hollywood calculation."
Rob snorted. "You take the risk, they want the reward. North America was scared you'd hurt box office so they left you out. China realizes they can't move tickets without you, so now they want you back. Bold."
"Tell them I'm very grateful for Lionsgate and the Hunger Games team's invitation, but—"
Cassius walked back to the couch and sat down, voice firm. "I'm currently in London, fully committed to filming Fast & Furious 6. Justin Lin and Universal have given me tremendous trust and support. The shooting schedule is extremely tight. As a professional actor, I have to honor my current crew. I can't leave."
"I'm not someone they can summon when convenient and dismiss when it's not. If they want respect, they need to learn how to give it first."