House of the Dragon’s first season flew in with all the drama, shocking moments, and, of course, dragons that fans expect from this universe. Season one took us back many decades before Daenerys Targaryen’s birth to show us the events leading to the decline of the mighty House Targaryen. Now, we are fully locked into the fury that Rhaenyra will rain upon her former BFF Alicent and her supporters after Jace’s death. What does the future hold for these warring factions? We shall see what happens in this upcoming season.

One thing we know is that everyone looks super intense yet hella fly in these first-look photos for season two.

Click To View Gallery

Here’s everything we know about House of the Dragon season two so far. 

House of the Dragon Season Two’s Plot 

The show is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, so book fans have a general sense of where this show will go. Of course, there will be some creative liberties taken, but the obvious “Dance of the Dragons” between Team Rhaenyra (the Black Queen) and Team Alicent will happen. Rhaenyra and her uncle-husband Daemon will wage war against Aegon II, Alicent’s son and the newly crowned king.

House Velaryon stands with the “Blacks” along with their massive navy. On the other side is the “Greens” with Alicent, her father Otto Hightower, Ser Criston Cole, and her son Aemond, the rider of Vhagar, the largest dragon in the world. There is no longer a chance at mediation as Rhaenyra’s rage takes over. 

The battle between the Greens and Blacks is further set up with these gorgeous posters featuring Alicent and Rhaenyra.

George R.R. Martin himself has seen the first two episodes and said on his blog that they were “very dark.” Now, we all know you literally can’t see things sometimes on this show. But we are sure he means the tone and action are not pleasant. He also said the episodes are “powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending” and “may make you cry.” Let’s prepare out hearts for heartbreak.

Behind the Scenes 

House of the Dragon co-creator and executive producer Ryan Condal will continue on as a showrunner; however, his season one co-showunner Miguel Sapochnik will not return for season two. George R.R. Martin will continue his involvement as an executive producer. This time, fans will get eight episodes, which is two fewer than the first season.

House of the Dragon Season Two’s Cast

After many time jumps and casting changes in season one, House of the Dragon’s second season will stick with the faces we know now. And boy are there a lot of characters in this show. Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy will return as Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen. Olivia Cooke (Alicent), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon), Fabien Frankel (Ser Criston Cole), Ewan Mitchell (Aemond Targaryen), Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon Targaryen), Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria), Matthew Needham (Larys Strong) and Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower) are also set to round out the main cast. 

Simon Russell Beale, Freddie Fox, Gayle Rankin, and Abubakar Salim have joined the series as well, according to Deadline. Beale plays Ser Simon Strong, Castellan of Harrenhal. Fox is Ser Gwayne Hightower. Rankin is Alys Rivers, and Salim is Alyn of Hull.

The series revealed new cast members at CCXP 2023, including Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne.

House of the Dragon Season Two’s Release Date 

There is currently no release date for House of the Dragon season two. However, the series is slated to release in the summer of 2024.

Originally published on May 8, 2023.

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It’s never easy to choose just one favorite character from among the many we meet in our travels through fictional worlds. Even when we narrow the scope to just one year of television, movies, and more, defining what makes for a favorite or “best” character seems like a herculean task. And though we say this every year, this year, we truly were spoiled for choice when it came to nerdy offerings that graced our screens. From fantastical realms to multiverse shenanigans to spectacular season twos, spinoffs, and original stories, we received a veritable buffet of characters to love (or to love hating) in 2023. And so, despite the difficulty, the Nerdist team has set out to narrow down the greatest of them all. Here are Nerdist‘s picks for the best characters of 2023.

Monkey D. Luffy From Netflix’s Live-Action One Piece

Selected by Rotem Rusak

I went into the live-action One Piece series as cold as possible for a franchise that’s been around for so long. And though I had no prior love or loyalty to the series, Iñaki Godoy’s Luffy immediately had me signing on to become a Straw Hat Pirate. How could anyone resist when Luffy just wants you to treasure your dreams and be the best you that you can be?

Having now watched some of the anime, I can confidently assess that Iñaki Godoy’s rendition captures all the hallmarks of the original Luffy: his unbounded joy, his intent enthusiasm, his determined love of his crew, and his sometimes overly excited tendencies. But above and beyond that, Godoy injects Luffy with a tremendous heart and warmth that is all his own, which deepens, rounds out, and evolves the character, taking him to new heights and pulling us all along for the ride. 

With Iñaki Godoy’s Luffy as captain, it makes total sense that everyone he meets falls in love with him and decides to follow him to the ends of the earth, fans included. And that makes live-action One Piece‘s Monkey D. Luffy one of our best characters of 2023. 

Egwene al’Vere From The Wheel of Time

Selected by Amy Ratcliffe

We had to wait a couple of years, but The Wheel of Time season two finally happened. The adaptation of Robert Jordan’s books of the same name leveled up in a number of ways from season one, including character development. Egwene al’Vere was one of the MVPs, standing out as one of the best characters not just in The Wheel of Time, but in all the television I watched this year. Performed by Madeleine Madden, Egwene found herself pulled out of the White Tower in the worst way possible: betrayed by a member of the Black Ajah and given to the Seanchan to take as damane. Collared and enslaved by the Seanchan, Egwene faced horrors unknown to most Aes Sedai. The Seanchan controlled Egwene’s ability to use the One Power and used her as a weapon. They broke her.

But Egwene, powerful in every way that matters, fought back. She made a difficult choice, one that will impact her for years to come. But she made it. No one decided her fate for her. In season two, Egwene rose above pain. She showed her mettle and protected her friends. It was a moving, terrible, important step on her journey.

M3GAN From M3GAN

Selected by Eric Diaz

True horror icons come two, maybe three for decade. In 2023, it came in the form of a killer robot doll with a judgmental glare—and who has no time for your crap—going by the name of M3GAN. From the moment we saw M3GAN’s pre-murderbot rampage dance in the trailer for her big-screen debut, she was poised for star status. When Gerard Johnstone’s film was finally released in January of 2023, she earned that status. Screenwriter Akela Cooper created a true icon in M3GAN, and not one of us will ever hear the song “Titanium” the same way again. M3GAN is definitely one of 2023’s best characters.

Marie Moreau From Gen V

Selected by Tai Gooden

A world full of superheroes seeped in debauchery, lies, and murder leads to a lot of blood. For Gen V’s Marie Moreau (played by the brilliant Jaz Sinclair), the constant spilling of this bodily fluid works to the advantage of her ever-expanding hemokinetic powers. Marie’s enthralling and tumultuous journey throughout season one spans from an orphan grieving her parents’ accidental demise to a self-assured young woman who confronts internal and external shaming and bravely redefines what it means to be a hero.

As she further steps into her personal power, her abilities expand and allow her to rewrite her destiny. Marie Moreau has heart, but she won’t completely sacrifice herself for the sake of others. She’s broken and resilient, passionate and terrified, and socially awkward yet keenly aware of her place and space within society on multiple levels as a Black woman. Watching her conjure blood from the soaked grassy quad and shoot it like daggers was perhaps the most empowering moment in this universe so far. She’s a true gem in a mine of new TV characters.

Roderick Usher From The Fall of the House of Usher

Selected by Mikey Walsh

The full depth of Bruce Greenwood’s incredible performance on The Fall of the House of Usher couldn’t be totally appreciated until it was over. Long before his final moments, we knew the pharmaceutical CEO was responsible for a massacre of untold millions. Roderick Usher’s body count had few equals in history. Worse, he amassed his empire by sacrificing his kids’ future to a supernatural entity. And yet, even knowing all of that, Greenwood made Roderick compelling by making it hard to fully hate him. Hadn’t Roderick started out with good intentions? Didn’t he want to end suffering rather than inflict more? And wasn’t his punishment more than anyone deserved? Didn’t his mistakes and remorse make his story a tragedy because he was a flawed person rather than a real monster?

No. His final confession wasn’t about the murders he’d committed or the deal he’d accepted. It was about the greatest lie he’d told. He’d always known exactly what Ligodone was and what it would do to the world. It was only then we knew the truth—he really was the Devil, and he had tricked us into thinking he’s not. That’s why Roderick Usher is among 2023’s best new characters.

Caine From John Wick: Chapter 4

Selected by Kyle Anderson

The John Wick series has always offered action movie fans a cadre of wild underworld characters and hardened assassins to go up against our favorite gun-fu fighter. John Wick: Chapter 4 is easily the best of the bunch in this field, and while offering a number of cool new characters, none were as great as Caine, played by Donnie Yen. The sightless assassin with a sword in his walking stick and a pocket full of sound grenades gives John his toughest battle yet, and the fact that Caine is a reluctant combatant, an anti-villain trapped in a tough spot, endears us to him all the more. And yes, he kicks the most amount of butt; it’s Donnie Yen! Why wouldn’t he?!

O.B. From Loki Season 2

Selected by Mikey Walsh

This year proved it doesn’t matter which multiverse you find yourself watching, Ke Huy Quan is an absolute joy in all of them. The recent Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar-winner joined Loki in season two and promptly stole all of his scenes. (No small feat considering his costars.) His brilliant, way-too-literal, wonderfully straightforward O.B. was a constant source of both humor and information. What really made Ouroboros one of 2023’s best new characters, though, was the way Quan was able to also convey the inherent sadness of the O.B.’s life, even if the engineer himself wasn’t fully aware of his plight. That gave the TVA employee a depth that easily could have been lost with a lesser performance. We wanted to hang out and listen to Ouroboros while also giving him a big hug. Just like we’d love to do with Ke Huy Quan himself in every universe everywhere.

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There have been many Spider-Man cartoons over the decades. The original 1967 is iconic thanks to that theme song, and many a Millennial Marvel fan loves the ’90s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. But one of the best Spidey toons of all time was the 2008 Spectacular Spider-Man series. It only ran for two seasons, but many view it as one of the best interpretations of Peter Parker outside of comics. Now, via The Direct, we’ve learned that after its Disney+ debut in October 2022, Spectacular Spider-Man is now mysteriously gone from the platform. Spidey didn’t even stick around long enough on Disney+ to make any new amazing friends.

So why is it gone, and where can fans watch it? As to why it’s no longer on Disney+, we can only guess. Sony produced the show, so it’s likely to do with some kind of licensing deal. Non-MCU Marvel properties tend to vanish and then reappear on the platform all the time. The many Fox X-Men films are a perfect example of this. As to where fans can now watch it? Well, it’s still not available on its previous home on Netflix. However, you can still buy individual episodes on Amazon Prime. And, of course, fans can always just buy the complete series set on Blu-ray. Physical media will never suddenly disappear without warning.

Hopefully, one of these days, they will sort out all the various licensing issues, and Disney+ can be the permanent home to all Marvel Comics-based media, especially Spider-Man. With the Spectacular Spider-Man version of Peter Parker appearing (briefly) in Across the Spider-Verse, more fans have become curious about him, and having it vanish from the platform now after a mere few months is rather unfortunate. Having said that, we have a feeling this is not the permanent end of the Spectacular Spider-Man on Disney+. The real question is “When will it return?”

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The world of The Boys continues to expand. After the first live-action spinoff series Gen V arrived to much fan and critical acclaim, now yet another spinoff is on the way from Amazon. Only this will be a Spanish language series, set in Mexico City. According to Deadline, The Boys: Mexico will be written by Blue Beetle’s Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, and produced by Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, who may both take on minor acting roles in the series.

In a Variety interview, Banal confirmed the series as well as his involvement. He couldn’t go into details, obviously, but did offer a brief statement saying, “I’m very excited about what we can do, because we can do something very interesting in Latin America.” Flagship series creators Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg will executive produce for Sony/Prime Video.

So what would The Boys: Mexico even be about? Right now, we don’t have details. We’re not even sure that title is sticking. The name “The Boys” is about the underground group trying to bring down Vought and The Seven. Unless Mexico has its own set of Vought heroes and its own underground group of “boys,” would that title even make sense? So much of the adaptation of the Garth Ennis comic book series parodies famous tropes from Marvel and DC Comics. But both universes have superhero groups all over the world. Groups like DC’s Global Guardians and Marvel’s Canadian heroes, Alpha Flight. We may see a more unhinged version of this concept for this new show.

Gen V tied directly into the events of the previous season of The Boys, even though it was very much its own show. We even had an appearance by Homelander himself at the end. It will be interesting to see how many of the cast of the main series will appear, as they will shoot in Latin America. The show is only in development as of right now, and has not landed a greenlight yet. But given how hugely popular The Boys is, we expect this one to go through.

Originally published on November 28, 2023.

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As we know, there are so, so many Spideys out in the world. It was a delight to see a few of them together in Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, including Spider-Man Noir. The older and frankly worn out monochromatic hero from the 1930s is certainly an interesting take on the character. Now, Spider-Man Noir is getting his own live-action series at Prime Video. It could be yet another win for Amazon’s streaming service.

As Variety reports, Steve Lightfoot will be the co-showrunner alongside creator/writer Oren Uziel. Lightfoot is no stranger to the Marvel Universe, as he was the showrunner for The Punisher Netflix series starring Jon Bernthal.

The show will be set in its own universe and will not center around Peter Parker. The show will, however, take place in the 1930s and will presumably stick with the character’s black and white format. We can’t wait to see how a Spider-Man Noir series plays out. Right now, there’s no casting news nor a release window because things are in the very early stages. It will likely take a while before we learn anything else about this venture, but in the meantime fans can begin all the speculation. 

Originally published on February 9, 2023.

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The next few years are going to bring about many exciting Star Wars series to Disney+, including Ahsoka and further adventures for The Mandalorian and Andor. But one, in particular, announced in 2020, is The Acolyte. Here’s everything we know about this mysterious new live-action Star Wars series, set a century before the events of the Skywalker Saga. Here’s everything we know about The Acolyte.

Title

The official title for the upcoming Lucasfilm Star Wars series is The Acolyte. Its official title may or may not wind up as Star Wars: The Acolyte.

The Acolyte’s Plot

When Disney officially announced the series back in December 2020, we got this official synopsis:

The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated. 

Since that time, we’ve learned that the drama unfolds about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, during a time when the Sith were still in hiding, getting ready to make their move to take over the galaxy. Aside from canon novels, the High Republic is an era totally unexplored in any live-action or animated Star Wars projects.

Behind the Scenes

Leslye Headland is on board as writer and producer.

The Acolyte’s Cast

The Acolyte‘s cast is turning out better than we could have imagined. Playing the lead role in the show is Amandla Stenberg, recently seen in Bodies Bodies Bodies. Joining Stenberg are Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Margarita Levieva, and Joonas Suotamo. Suotamo is playing a Wookiee and Henderson will portray Vernestra Rwoh. This High Republic character was one of the youngest ever to become Jedi Knight. Of course, we’ll see her much older in this Star Wars series.

The Acolyte‘s Release Date

There is no release date yet for The Acolyte, but Disney+ has confirmed that the series will release in 2024.

Originally published on May 10, 2023.

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Lucasfilm revealed a new live-action Star Wars television series at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in spring 2022. The show from MCU Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts and writer Chris Ford sounds like a Goonies-style adventure set in a galaxy far, far away. Here’s what we know about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Title

The title of the upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s Plot

We know a few details about the plot of Skeleton Crew. The story will take place in the New Republic era. That’s the same timeline as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. It centers on a group of children lost in space.

A synopsis for the series shares:

“Skeleton Crew” follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined. 

Behind the Scenes

Jon Watts directs Skeleton Crew and Chris Ford is writing on the series. The duo created the show. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau provide producing support. Skeleton Crew was production since at least September 2022, as the creatives shared an image from the set at D23 Expo during that time. The series is now done with production.

Directors include Watts, Ford, David Lowery, the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Lee Isaac Chung. 

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s Cast

The first cast member Lucasfilm confirmed for Skeleton Crew was Jude Law. Joining Law on the journey are Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Tunde Adebimpe, and Kerry Condon. 

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s Release Date

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew doesn’t have a release date yet. However, Disney+ has confirmed that this Star Wars series will arrive in 2024.

Originally published on September 22, 2022.

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There’s only one sound to describe the current state of streaming. Ooof. And the latest news reveals that streaming shenanigans don’t stop at the traditional streaming platforms that first come to mind when we think of streaming our favorite shows. No, the most recent, unfortunate streaming news has to do with streaming via PlayStation. PlayStation users were recently informed that Discovery content they purchased via the PlayStation Store would no longer be accessible to users and would be removed from their libraries. To be clear, PlayStation and Sony are talking about TV shows that users spent money to specifically access and now that content will vanish. We see titles come and go on streaming all of the time, but usually, not titles that come from a store-based interface. PlayStation did not indicate that users would receive a refund for the lost content.

The message to users is short and not so sweet. Playstation/Sony notes, “As of 31 December 2023, due to our content licensing arrangements with content providers, you will no longer be able to watch any of your previously purchased Discovery content and the content will be removed from your video library.”

You can find the full list of Discovery titles that PlayStation will remove from users’ accounts here. Among other titles, purchased versions of Cake Boss, Deadliest Catch, Dirtiest Jobs, Mythbusters, and more will vanish… Alongside the money users spent on purchasing them. Forbes notes that PlayStation will delete over 1,200 titles in total. As mentioned, there’s no discussion of a refund or a way to download Discovery content purchased for PlayStation.

There’s also no clear word on what exactly is driving this sudden removal. But, of course, Discovery recently merged with Warner Bros. and is no longer a stand-alone channel, so that could have something to do with the change in access. But regardless of the source, it doesn’t really matter. The takeaway that matters goes something like this. Not even streaming media that is specifically purchased is really “owned” anymore. We already knew that, of course. But we really know it now. At the same time, it’s becoming more and more difficult to purchase and play physical media versions of shows and movies. So consumers are truly in a pickle.

We say it every time, but we really and truly do not like this trend. Fingers crossed that PlayStation, Sony, and Warner Bros. Discovery can find some way to grant renewed access to titles, or, at the very least, reimburse users for their purchased TV shows.

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It’s been 30 years since Jodie Foster won her second Oscar for playing young investigator Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. Now, she’s playing a detective again in the fourth season of HBO’s True Detective alongside Kali Reis, completing the traditional True Detective duo. According to TVLine, True Detective: Night Country will premiere on January 14. We also finally have a full trailer for this season.

Jodie Foster is also an executive producer for this season and will play Detective Liz Danvers in the series. Kali Reis meanwhile, will play Detective Evangeline Navarro. The creative force behind this newest iteration of True Detective is writer and director Issa López. The trailer for True Detective: Night Country honestly looks amazing, eerie, and incredibly well-acted as it plunges us deep into the plot of the season. As always with True Detective, murder is happening, but there’s something deeper at play, and more themes to explore than your average true crime series. The trailer for True Detective: Night Country offers us something truly dense and has us at the edge of our seats.

The Series Official Synopsis and More

The Night Country trailer lays out the plot of this season for us pretty well. Scientists are being found frozen, but they were killed before the ice got to them. And there’s a greater darkness at work.

But, to help what we see make even more sense, you can read True Detective: Night Country‘s official description right here:

The series is centered around Detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro who are looking to solve the case of six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanishing without a trace, when the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska. The pair will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.

This already sounds spooky and intriguing—and in the vein of the celebrated first season of True Detective. While many big film actors transitioned to TV over the years, this marks the first time Foster has done television work since childhood. At least in front of the camera that is. In recent years, she directed episodes of Orange Is the New Black, Black Mirror, and Tales from the Loop.

Reis, meanwhile, recently debuted in Catch the Fair One, an indie movie whose story she also helped to develop. According to Deadline, she is the first Indigenous American female world champion in boxing, as well as an Indigenous rights advocate. She’ll soon appear in Black Flies alongside Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan.

True Detective: Night Country also stars Finn Bennett, Fiona Shaw, with Christopher Eccleston, Isabella Star LaBlanc, and John Hawkes.

True Detective: Night Country‘s Premiere Date

The last season of True Detective came in 2019 and, as stated previously, this new season will come our way on January 14, 2024. Here’s hoping that Foster can channel some of those Clarice Starling vibes, and give fans a new classic character in Night Country. We love Jodie Foster best when she’s the smartest sleuth in the room. And we can’t wait to see what she and Reis have in store for us.

Originally published on June 28, 2022.

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Doctor Who is back, y’all! The first of three 60th anniversary specials, “The Star Beast,” kicked off a set of adventures with Fourteen and Donna Noble. We had the pleasure of meeting Doctor Who comic and audio characters Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors. And, here at Nerdist, we also had the fun challenge of searching for Doctor Who Easter eggs, callbacks, and references to previous events in this episode. While some are expressly pointed out, others are not quite so obvious. Let’s take a look at what we have spotted so far.

Jump to: “The Star Beast” // “Wild Blue Yonder”

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special “The Star Beast” Easter Eggs and References

Once Upon a Time Lord 

“The Star Beast” starts with the Doctor and Donna Noble addressing us directly. The Doctor begins his story about traveling with Donna, saying “once upon a Time Lord.” It’s more than just a clever phrase. It is the name of a recent Doctor Who graphic novel by writer Dan Slott and artist Christopher Jones starring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. In this story, the Pyromeths capture Martha. She distracts them by telling epic tales of the Tenth Doctor facing off against foes like the Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, and more. 

The Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble’s Greatest Hits, Recapped

At this point, Donna can’t recall her travels with the Doctor. And, to be honest, some fans have forgotten them too. It has been 15 years, after all. (We can help you with remembering Donna’s ending.) Thankfully, Doctor Who uses her opening dialogue to take us down memory lane with plenty of flashbacks. We see several images from their journey, including the Empress (a.k.a. the arachnid lady) from when they first met in 2006’s “The Runaway Bride.” 

We also get glimpses of a Sontaran from “The Sontaran Stratagem,” a skull in a spacesuit from “Silence in the Library,” the evil wasp from “The Unicorn and the Wasp,” the Pyrovile villain from “The Fires of Pompeii,” and the Adipose spaceship from “Partners in Crime.” But that’s not all! We see the eye of a Dalek from “The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End” and the planet Midnight from the episode of the same name. And of course we see a glimpse of the metacrisis event that led to the Tenth Doctor’s controversial decision to wipe Donna’s mind.

CyberDog 

The Doctor lands in the Camden Town section of London and begins to wander the streets. We see a place called CyberDog in the background. It doesn’t draw the attention of the Doctor but some fans would assume its an in-universe reference to the Cybermen. In actuality, CyberDog is a real clothing store in that area. As far as Easter eggs go, there’s a Doctor Who short story involving this store called “Dummy Massacre.” In it, a blogger was inside CyberDog in March 2005 when the Autons attacked. This is the same event we witnessed through Rose and the Ninth Doctor in “Rose.” The mysterious blogger took over the conspiracy theory website, Who Is Doctor Who?, from Clive Davis (RIP) and wrote about his harrowing experience.

Every Era Begins with a Rose… Sort Of

Rose Noble’s name is an obvious nod to Rose Tyler, the first companion of the modern era. We learn a lot about Rose in this episode, including why she chose that name and her connection to the Doctor. But, there’s more to this reference. We now have three different eras of Doctor Who: classic, modern, and the new Russell T Davies era that we are calling Bad Wolf for now. And each of those eras begin with a Rose… sort of.

The show’s first companion went by Susan Foreman; however, her real first name is apparently Arkytior, which means Rose in Gallifreyan. This is established in the 1994 Doctor Who short story “Roses.” (No, it did not inspire Rose Tyler’s name. Davies got that from his TV drama Bob & Rose.) Is it totally canon? Not really, considering it hasn’t come up on the show yet. But it’s fun anyway. Now, Rose Noble is ushering in yet another chapter in Doctor Who’s story. 

Donna Noble’s Theme Rises

As Donna and Rose leave the Doctor at the Camden Market, we can hear Donna’s theme music in the background. Remember when companions each had their own theme songs? It was truly an iconic time in Doctor Who history. 

Allons-y!

It’s been a long time since we’ve heard that catchphrase. The Doctor says it to Donna’s husband Shaun Temple as they prepare to drive off towards the spaceship crash landing site. 

Who the Hell Is Nerys?

While in the car with Shaun, the Doctor says he’s a friend of Donna’s old frenemy Nerys. We met her during “The Runaway Bride” as the jealous friend who tried to make a move on Donna’s then-fiancé Lance. We never learn a lot about her, but Donna and Nerys remained friends despite Nerys being shady. She is in attendance at Donna’s wedding to Shaun, which we witness from afar. But apparently things have gone south with their relationship. Later in “The Star Beast,” Donna calls Nerys a viper who can’t keep her mouth shut. We never see her in this episode, but we get the feeling she’s still lurking in the grass nearby. 

Donna and That Lottery Money

Despite Donna having her memories wiped by the Doctor, she ultimately ended up with a great life. In “The End of Time Part 2,” the Doctor left the Noble family a huge lottery ticket and she married the love of her life. However, we discover that Donna gave away all of her money because she was under the veil of memory suppression. Therefore, the “Doctory” parts of her pushed her to want to help the world versus helping herself. We appreciate the goodwill but girl, that was millions of pounds. 

Additional Doctor Who Easter egg: Shaun mentions that the ticket was a “triple rollover,” which references what Donna notes about the ticket when she receives it.

UNIT’s First Scientific Advisor 

During his investigation of the “crash” (technically landing) site, the Doctor encounters Shirley Anne Bingham. She certainly recognizes this version of him, even though he cleverly recalls when he was wearing a bowtie and, later on, a woman. The most interesting part of this is the Doctor saying he was UNIT’s first scientific advisor. This is a reference to the early days of the Third Doctor era when got into trouble with the Time Lords. They disabled his TARDIS and left him stuck on Earth. He took a job with UNIT and begrudgingly became their scientific advisor. 

Shirley Anne Honors Shirley Coward

Speaking of the fantastic Shirley Anne, her name itself is a fun Doctor Who Easter egg. It’s a nod to Shirley Coward, a vision mixer on the show during its first lead actor transition. The term/concept of regeneration wasn’t used on the show quite yet, but that’s exactly what happened when William Hartnell passed the torch to Second Doctor actor Patrick Troughton. Shirley expertly laid shots of both actors on top of each other and created a distortion effect that made this transition seamless, eerie, and iconic.

Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors

This episode’s monsters and big villain both come from ‘80s era Doctor Who comics. If you’d like to read up more on their history, check out this post. Basically, the show closely sticks to their origin story, honoring a part of Who that some fans didn’t know about until now. 

The Shadow Proclamation Is Still Alive and Well, We Guess

Fourteen is completely over the shenanigans between Beep and the Wrarth Warriors. So he brings them together in a dingy garage, invoking a few sections of the Shadow Proclamation to stop the ongoing violence. He particularly calls out section 15, which Rose Tyler clumsily (and incorrectly) used in “The Christmas Invasion.” She was trying to take on the role of the Doctor while Ten was recovering from regeneration, but her words did not scare the Sycorax. Gotta love a fun Doctor Who callback, right? This rule means that murder is not a rule of war. And what does Beep do shortly after? Murder. 

Binary. Binary. Binary. 

With Donna’s permission, the Doctor unravels the failsafe and Donna regains her memories. She begins to say “binary” repeatedly, which was what she previously said when the Time Lord knowledge began to overwhelm her brain and cause her to stutter. 

Rose Noble’s Workshed and Villain Creatures

We discover that the metacrisis split itself between Donna and her daughter Rose. It was housed within Rose’s DNA all along. This explains why Rose chose her name along with the specific types of furry toys she made. The teen’s workshop shed door resembles the door of the TARDIS. And each of her creatures loosely resemble monsters that Ten and Donna encountered in the past. We see a stuffed Dalek, Judoon, Adipose, Cyberman, and Ood. There is a furry, brown doglike creature that could represent Cybershade, which were animal-like versions of Cybermen. Interestingly, the latter creature is from a Doctor-only story, “The Next Doctor.” Rose is basically a walking Doctor Who Easter egg and we love her.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special “Wild Blue Yonder” Easter Eggs and References

The Doctor Meets Isaac Newton… Again 

At the beginning of “Wild Blue Yonder,” the TARDIS materializes and spins into an apple tree. It just so happens to be the tree that Isaac Newton is sitting under. No, he does not have the title “Sir” quite yet. The Doctor and Donna humorously introduces him to the word gravity, which he mishears as “mavity.” This interaction changes the future and we hear Fourteen and Donna use the word mavity instead. 

But this isn’t the first time that the Doctor has encountered Mr. Newton. In “The Pirate Planet,” the Fourth Doctor claimed that he dropped apples on Newton’s head and later explained gravity to him. 

The TARDIS Plays Wild Blue Yonder 

As the TARDIS arrives on that ill-fated spaceship, it plays a song called “Wild Blue Yonder.” This inspiration for the episode’s title is the colloquial title for the US Air Force’s theme song. As Donna notes in the episode, the song is actually a war cry, which means something wicked is coming their way. It’s a strange choice for a spaceship shaped like a British police box but the TARDIS is blue. 

HADS Saves the TARDIS

The Fourteenth Doctor explains why the TARDIS made a quick exit with his sonic screwdriver. He references the ship’s defense mechanism, known as the Hostile Action Displacement System (HADS). It is not the first time the series has referred to this system. HADS has been around since the Second Doctor’s era, although it didn’t use that specific name. In “The Krotons” the TARDIS exterior was under attack, so it dematerialized and rematerialized in a different (but nearby) location to remain safe. 

The HADS comes into play in “The Cold War” when the Eleventh Doctor enables it so the TARDIS can leave safely. It is supposed to land in a good spot at the North Pole but it goes to the South Pole instead. The Twelfth Doctor story “The Magician’s Apprentice” includes HADS activating to fool the Daleks into thinking the TARDIS was destroyed. Twelve rematerializes the ship with his sleek sonic shades. Interestingly, he calls it the Hostile Action Dispersal System, which is pretty much the same thing. 

The Fourteenth Doctor deactivated HADS after apparently getting stuck in orbit for three years. But Donna’s coffee spill and the Doctor’s fix activated the system once again. It is both useful and a pain in the butt, basically.

Licking Random Things to Discover the Truth

The Doctor tastes some weird goo to discover what it could be. This is very similar to how the Tenth Doctor tasted the pool of liquid (that was actually) blood in “The Christmas Invasion.”

Venom and Mass

After being chased by the not-thing versions of themselves, the Doctor and Donna try to figure out what’s going on. When they begin talking about the entities impossible mass, Donna makes a reference to how her husband complained about Venom getting much bigger than his human counterpart. He would wonder where the extra mass was coming from, which is a legit question. Of course, this refers to Tom Hardy’s Venom films.

The Flux Events Are Bothering the Doctor

Russell T Davies previously said that he would not change events of the past despite setting up his new era. He stood on this in “Wild Blue Yonder,” by referencing the events of the Flux. (Ahh the destruction of half the universe.) The (not real) Donna said she saw what happened in the Doctor’s last few years. And this is all the very recent past. Fourteen gets visibly upset by all of this, even punching a wall and screaming in frustration. The Doctor often runs forward and doesn’t look back too much, so it is interesting to see this character reconciling with the past. It’s not clear how the Flux could factor into the Fourteenth Doctor’s last foray nor if it will affect Fifteen in any way.

Salt Blocks Demons and Evil Entities 

The Doctor wasn’t just biding his time and trying to be funny when he said salt blocks demons, vamps, and other entities. Salt has been used to ward off evil spirits and negativity in many different religious practices for thousands of years. The episode suggests that it is all talk but many people swear by it. 

We Meet Again, Wilf

After 15 years, we finally see the Doctor and Wilf come together again. Wilf never gave up hope that he (and maybe Donna) would see the Doctor again. Why was Wilf randomly at that market by himself? Who knows. But the world is in complete disarray and Wilf is now in the TARDIS. Sadly, this is Bernard Cribbins last time on the show. He died in 2022 at the age of 93.

We can’t wait to see what other Doctor Who Easter eggs, references, and callbacks will come up in the next two specials. Happy 60th Anniversary to the greatest sci-fi series of all-time.

Originally published on November 25, 2023.

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Video game fans have been safely enjoying the excitement/terror of a post-nuclear wasteland since 1997. That’s when Fallout and its ’50s-era Cold War aesthetic first came to stores. Since then countless sequels and spinoffs have turned the game into one of genre’s most successful franchises. Now Fallout is ready to conquer another medium entirely. It’s getting its very own show from Amazon. What kind of story can gamers expect from the Prime Video Fallout adaptation? Who’s behind it, and who will star in it? And when will we get a chance to see it?

Recently, we got some answers to these questions when Prime Video released a trailer for the Fallout series. But most importantly, we learned a very key fact about this adaptation. There will be an adorable animal involved. In the Fallout games, a dog called Dogmeat exists as an NPC companion character that accompanies players on their adventures. According to a blog post from Amazon, the live-action Fallout series’ cute canine isn’t called Dogmeat, but instead is named CX404. But this pup, too, will serve “as a companion navigating the post-apocalyptic world.” Maybe this dog is Dogmeat’s distant cousin. After all, it would be pretty cool to see a Dogmeat Easter egg in the show. Regardless, we’re sure CX404 is a very good boy.

Interestingly enough, it looks like this Fallout dog belongs to Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul on the Prime Video series. That character is definitely shaping up to be our anti-hero, so giving The Ghoul the best relationship with Fallout‘s cutest creature will likely go some way to help balance out his more nefarious tendencies. We’re excited to see how the story unfolds for our new dog friend and all the other characters in Fallout.

Here’s everything we know about Prime Video’s Fallout series so far.

Title

Prime Video’s adaptation will share the same name as the original game, Fallout.

Fallout‘s Plot

We officially have our first full look at the Fallout series. Prime Video released the first trailer for the show and it teases a dangerous wasteland of a world. But it’s clear the show understands its dark humor as well.

Prime Video has shared an official Fallout series synopsis, setting us up for what’s to come. It reveals, “Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.“

Additionally, we know that the series is “set in the future post-apocalyptic Los Angeles.” It will also tell an “original story based on Fallout that will be part of the canon of the games.” 

The first image from the show featured a glimpse at the franchise’s all-new Vault 33. And more recent looks have revealed Fallout‘s main characters including Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul, Ella Purnell’s Lucy, Aaron Moten’s Maximus, and Kyle MacLachlan’s Overseer Hank.

Click To View Gallery

Behind the Scenes

Fallout comes from Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks, and Kilter Films. The latter is the production company of executive producers Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, creators of HBO’s Westworld.

Writers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner will also serve Fallout co-showrunners and executive producers. Nolan directs the first three episodes.

Fallout‘s Cast

The show stars: Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight), Aaron Moten (Emancipation), Moisés Arias (The King of Staten Island), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Sarita Choudhury (Homeland), Michael Emerson (Person of Interest), Leslie Uggams (Deadpool), Frances Turner (The Boys), Dave Register (Heightened), Zach Cherry (Severance), Johnny Pemberton (Ant-Man), Rodrigo Luzzi (Dead Ringers), Annabel O’Hagan (Law & Order: SVU), and Xelia Mendes-Jones (The Wheel of Time). 

Fallout‘s Release Date

Prime Video celebrated the 26th “Fallout Day” by announcing when the series will premiere via a Pip-Boy-style message. The show begins its post-apocalyptic adventure on April 12, 2024.

That’s a lot closer than it sounds, which means we should start getting trailers and more information soon, too. When we do you’ll find everything you need to know about Prime Video’s Fallout right here.

Originally published on October 23, 2023.

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Believe it or not, the end of 2023 is almost here. This year kept the same energy as 2022 in terms of general chaos on Earth, a massive rock that we inexplicably pay to live on. But sometimes, keeping the same energy is a good thing. Such is the case when it comes to this year’s television lineup. New and returning shows kept us busy at Nerdist in the best way with a solid slate celebrating various arenas of the genre landscape. From wars across the stars to bloody superhero shenanigans, here are Nerdist’s picks for the best TV shows of 2023. 

Gen V Season 1 (Streaming on Prime Video)

The Boys universe expanded its reach to Godolkin University, which isn’t a safe space for superpowered students to thrive after all. Gen V takes all the elements that makes The Boys damn near perfect television and infuses them with all the angst, uncertainty, and insecurities that one would expect from burgeoning heroes. The show boasts a sublime ensemble cast, pitch perfect tonal shifts, compelling storytelling, peppy pacing, and all the blood and shocking moments one would expect from a spinoff. It has great connective tissue with the flagship series yet is wholly unique enough to stand on its own. We cannot wait to see what season two of Gen V holds. 

The Last of Us Season 1 (Streaming on Max)

Sometimes, video game adaptations don’t translate to television well. Thankfully, this isn’t the case with The Last of Us. The series starring Pedro Pascal as Joel, a grizzled post-apocalypse survivor tasked with guiding and protecting a young girl towards safety, kicked 2023 off in style. The Last of Us delivers heartbreak, adventure, intensity, and introspective moments in equal doses. Bella Ramsey brings glorious life to the ever-popular character Ellie for a story that, at times, will literally take your breath away. 

The Wheel of Time Season 2 (Streaming on Prime Video)

The Wheel of Time’s second season gave us peak fantasy entertainment in its second season. The show’s first season laid a solid foundation of world building that this season brilliantly expands on. Several character driven arcs pack an emotional wallop for fans with a brilliantly penned and engaging season that is worthy of a marathon watch. 

Ahsoka Season 1 (Streaming on Disney+)

Is it really a Nerdist “Best of TV” list without a Star Wars entry? Ahsoka took its titular ex-Jedi, played by Rosario Dawson, on a far, far away journey as she battles some serious iconic villains. The late, great Ray Stevenson’s stunning portrayal of Baylan Skoll, ample Easter eggs, and a bevy of new revelations made this adventure one worth following. It’s truly a live-action turn that is made for hardcore Star Wars fans.  

The Mandalorian Season 3 (Streaming on Disney+)

Was the third season of The Mandalorian a bit chaotic? Sure. But it was also supremely entertaining. The amazing Bo-Katan Kryze steps into the spotlight alongside Mando and Grogu on a quest that includes more Moff Gideon and galactic pirates, among many other things. This is the time when a series could begin to lose its steam. But The Mandalorian holds strong as it balances diving into Star Wars lore alongside pure adventurous fun with an unlikely dad-child duo. 

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1 (Available on AMC/Streaming on AMC+)

The Walking Dead’s long-running TV franchise took an OG character on a quest full of adventure, snark, and discovery. Daryl Dixon unearths new layers to Carol’s crossbow-carrying best friend, setting him on a journey across France to usher a special child to safety. The juxtaposition of a man known for his belief in self versus a higher power alongside many people of faith makes for a thought-provoking and intriguing saga. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon takes the bones of original series and revitalizes them with a shift in tone and a cinematic scope for an enjoyable story.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 (Streaming on Paramount+)

Some of us here at Nerdist weren’t totally into the Paramount+ Star Trek universe until other members of this parish said that Strange New Worlds was worth a shot. And they were right. The first season is one of the best Trek offerings in a long time. It was just delightful, life-affirming, and thoughtful science fiction. Positive and upbeat, while not shying away from darker themes and adult stories. Season two continued that apace with explorations into Spock and Chapel’s relationship, La’an’s time travel escapades, and Number One’s court martial. The characters are also some of the best in the franchise. What other shows can have a musical episode followed by a gritty Gorn war episode? Boldly going, indeed.

American Born Chinese (Streaming on Disney+)

Gene Luen Yang’s popular graphic novel American Born Chinese (2006) got the live-action treatment in this comedic fantasy series. It’s a family-friendly series packed with life lessons, epic fight scenes, and all the heart one expects in a coming-of-age story. In a year full of big-time offerings, this show may have fallen under the radar for those who aren’t familiar with its source material. But it is not too late to dive in and make American Born Chinese your next big watch. From its incredible cast lineup featuring Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan to its many odes to Chinese mythology, this series stands in a unique space of its own.

Reservation Dogs Season 3 (Streaming on Hulu)

This series is a bit out our normal purview, but there’s a reason why it is among our picks the best TV shows of 2023. Reservation Dogs follows the lives of Indigenous teens living in a rural part of Oklahoma as they grapple with loss and the possibility of leaving their ancestral roots. The third and final season brings this story full circle by diving into their elders’ lives, uncovering choices and pivotal events that shaped this community. We love a completed arc.

Poker Face (Streaming on Peacock)

Natasha Lyonne starring as a human lie detector in a stylish Colombo-inspired crime dramedy? There was really no way this could go wrong. Poker Face isn’t your typical Nerdist-style series but who among us doesn’t love a mystery or five? Unraveling the twisted strings that each case-of-the-week tangles up through the eyes of Charlie Cale was one of the best—and most fun!—TV ventures of the 2023. 

The Fall of the House of Usher (Streaming on Netflix)

Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher was a huge hit at Nerdist this year. Mike Flanagan said prior to the release of the series, “My favorite way to describe it to people is like ‘Hill House’ is kind of a string quartet, and ‘Bly Manor’ is this delicate, kind of beautiful piece of classical piano music, and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ is heavy metal. It’s rock ‘n’ roll.” And rock ‘n’ roll is exactly what it felt like. The Fall of the House of Usher hit hard from episode one and never stopped slamming on the strings.

The series was full of blood, tragedy, and trauma but always kept Flanagan’s gorgeous aesthetic sensibilities alive. And, more than ever, a dark humor was embedded into the bones of the show, giving a comedic slant to even its darkest moments in wholly clever ways. Of course, as a Poe adaptation, it crushed the assignment. The remix of stories came together to successfully weave one compelling show. Quoth the Raven, “Hell yeah!”

Loki Season 2 (Streaming on Disney+)

Marvel Studios Disney+ MCU series have been famously hit or miss. But Loki season two achieved the one thing more or less no other series so far has managed: character development. Although many multiversal shenanigans and time convolutions happened in Loki season two, they almost didn’t really matter in the face of exploring the relationships between the series’ main players. Loki season two let these friendships and deep intimacies breathe and deepened them, bringing together a motley crew that was easy to invest in.

And so, by the time Loki realized what his inevitable final sacrifice had to be, the tragedy really hurt because viewers could feel that he loved so hard those he was leaving behind and, indeed, was finally loved by them in return. It’s hard to stick the landing, but the ending of Loki season two was the natural conclusion of everything that had come before it. And so often, it just doesn’t happen like that. This year, the god of stories told one heck of a tale and ended up creating one of our best shows of 2023.

One Piece (Streaming on Netflix)

One Piece had a lot of weight on its shoulders. Not only was it trying to deliver a compelling live-action adaptation of an anime, it was trying to deliver a compelling live-action version of the anime. But happily, Netflix’s live-action One Piece blew it out of the water. The series strikes an almost impossible-seeming balance by keeping the fun and surreality of its original anime and manga series but grounding and evolving the characters and plot to better suit a live-action. Viewers can still feel the deep anime-ness of it, but at once, know they’re watching a show that very much stands on its own feet.

One Piece is ultimately an earnestly joyful series that has a deep heart. But it also doesn’t shy away from the idea that one can be earnestly joyful and still face darkness and pain. In fact, One Piece‘s greatest strength is its very resonant portrayal of how the positives and negatives within us and around us come together to help form who we are. And, of course, it reminds us, always, to dream. Not only is One Piece an exceptional adaptation, but it is truly one of the best TV series of 2023.

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In 2022 Paramount+ delivered the Halo adaptation fans of the video game franchise had long waited for. The war with the Covenant is far from over, though. The show is returning for a second season, and now we know exactly when it will arrive. The streaming site announced the Halo series will return with two episodes of season two on Thursday, February 8, 2024. And Paramount+ made that announcement in style during a panel at CCXP23 in São Paolo, Brazil. That’s where the streamer shared a brand new trailer that shows humanity is in more danger than ever before.

It won’t be hard to “remember” this trailer. It’s an intense and ominous tease at the horrors that await Earth’s fiercest warriors. What exactly is going on? Here’s Halo season two’s official synopsis:

In season two, Master Chief John-117 leads his team of elite Spartans against the alien threat known as the Covenant. In the wake of a shocking event on a desolate planet, John cannot shake the feeling that his war is about to change and risks everything to prove what no one else will believe – that the Covenant are preparing to attack humanity’s greatest stronghold. With the galaxy on the brink, John embarks on a journey to find the key to humankind’s salvation, or its extinction — the Halo.

The new season will see the return of stars Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Spartan-117, and Natascha McElhone as Dr. Halsey. Joining them once again are Jen Taylor as Cortana, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy, and Danny Sapani.

Season two of Halo will also mark the debut of new cast members. Joseph Morgan (Vampire Diaries) will play James Ackerson. He’s “a formidable intelligence operative who has spent his career climbing the ranks of the UNSC’s secretive Office of Naval Intelligence.” Cristina Rodlo (No One Gets Out of Here Alive) will also join the show as Talia Perez. Talia is “a corporal specializing in linguistics for a UNSC Marine Corps communications unit and a relatively new recruit who has yet to see any real combat.” 

New episodes of season two will follow every week after the two-episode Halo premiere on February 8. Assuming humanity lasts that long.

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The Boys hit Prime Video back in 2019 and TV hasn’t been quite the same since. Over the past three seasons we’ve watched a band of morally corrupt supes maim, kill, and completely destroy lives without remorse. And, no matter how much the Boys try to mitigate the Seven’s impact, it seems that nothing can stop the worst of them all—Homelander—from becoming an increasing threat. So, what does the future hold for these characters? That remains to be fully seen next season. Here’s everything we know about The Boys season four so far. 

The Boys Season Four’s Plot 

Here’s a quick synopsis for The Boys season four:

In Season Four, the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.

We also have our first trailer and it is very on brand. Homelander has some new friends and they are as twisted as he is.

Showrunner Eric Kripke’s previously told Deadline that the Gen V college spinoff would affect the events of The Boys season four. Now that Gen V has come to an end—after featuring multiple cameos from the original show—we have a better idea how it might. Gen V featured the creation of a deadly supe-killing virus which Victoria Neuman now possesses. The Boys know about it, though, and Billy Butcher personally inspected The Woods, the experimental Vought lab facility beneath Godolkin University. Homelander also locked up some truly heroic young supes, who might now be ready to take on Vought if they can escape from the company.

There are also these fun posters with Butcher and Homelander being their glorious selves. Kripke also notes that this season is the craziest one yet. That’s intriguing and also terrifying.

Read more about the connections between both shows and what they mean for The Boys’ fourth season.

• What Gen V’s Season 1 Finale Means For The Boys
• Here’s How The Boys Characters Showed Up On Gen V’s First Season
• Every New Gen V Hero And Their Powers On The Boys’ Spinoff

In the meantime, we have the title of episode one for The Boys upcoming fourth season.

Behind the Scenes 

Eric Kripke will continue to be the showrunner for The Boys season four. The season began filming in August 2022.

The Boys Season Four’s Cast

The titular crew is coming back for another round with Karl Urban (Billy Butcher), Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell), Tomer Capone (Frenchie), Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Laz Alonso (Mother’s Milk), and Erin Moriarty (Starlight) reprising their roles. From the evil supes (and those who support them) side, Antony Starr (Homelander), Jessie T. Usher (A-Train), Chace Crawford (The Deep), Colby Minifie (Ashley Barrett), and Claudia Doumit (Victoria Neuman) will return. Giancarlo Esposito will also make his way back onto the show. It’s not clear if Dominique McElligott will return as Queen Maeve. But we do know that Black Noir actor Nathan Mitchell will return as a new person in that infamous suit. 

In August 2022, Variety revealed that Cameron Crovetti—who plays Ryan—will be upped to a series regular. Newcomers Valorie Curry and Susan Hayward will portray Firecracker and Sister Sage. They are not comic book characters, so fans will have to wait and see how they fit into the season’s puzzle. Jeffrey Dean Morgan will join the cast, too. We still don’t know anything about his character but he doesn’t seem to be a supe.

The Boys Season Four’s Release Date 

The Boys season four will hit Prime Video in 2024.

Originally published on October 10, 2022.

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The world of The Boys is on the cusp of all-out chaos. The show left us in a lurch at the end of season three with way too much s**t going on. Homelander’s supporters are straight-up worshipping him as he guides his son Ryan down a path of pure evil. Annie rejects being Starlight and joins The Boys collective. Butcher’s Compound V24 gives him a grim diagnosis. And Victoria Neuman’s Vice Presidential bid is the cherry on top of an impending disaster. Speaking of the latter, she popped up (pun intended) in Gen V, took a formula that kills supes, and is prepared to turn the world upside down. We see a glimpse of the diabolical action to come in the first trailer for The Boys season four, which premiered at CCXP. 

This The Boys season four teaser gives us a lot of love… and fear. We get to see a better glimpse of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s still-unnamed character, and it seems he will be working directly with Butcher. The teaser mentions several different parts of the world, so perhaps Morgan’s character is the leader of another Boys-like organization somewhere else. Or maybe he’s from a part of Butcher’s past that we aren’t quite familiar with. Either way, the man knows how to wear a suit.

We also see some new season four supes in play alongside Homelander in this The Boys trailer, including Susan Heyward’s scary Sister Sage and Valorie Curry’s Queen Maeve-coded Firecracker. MM’s T-shirt game is still amazing, the Starlight vs. Homelander dissension is destroying the streets, and there is a mention of a taint. The Boys season four trailer is very on-brand, indeed. 

In addition to the trailer, here’s a brief synopsis of this next season of The Boys to really get you prepared. 

In Season Four, the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.

What Is the Release Date for The Boys Season Four?

We still don’t have a release date for The Boys season four, but it is coming sometime in 2024.

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“There is no war so hateful to the gods than a war between kin.” We’re not sure how much the gods will be involved in House of the Dragon‘s sophomore outing, but the new trailer for the show’s second season features a whole lot of hate and war. Rhaenyra Targaryen is coming for both vengeance and the Iron Throne. And everyone, on both sides, who splintered House Targaryen is now preparing for the blood that will surely follow all that fire. HBO has finally debuted its highly anticipated first trailer for House of the Dragon season two. It premiered at this year’s CCXP23 panel in São Paulo, Brazil. This promo more than delivers on the promise of rage and death teased during the first season’s final moments.

Rhaenyra’s son is gone and she’s determined to make those responsible for his death answer. They know what’s coming, too. This House of the Dragon season two trailer has an underlying sense of regret, as the members of House Hightower who stole Rhaenyra’s crown must face the grim reality of having succeeded. Death is coming for all involved. And with both sides having dragons it’s coming in the form of fire. Bad for them, but it should make for a great season of television for us.

The show also announced some new cast members. Some will end up playing major roles on the show. (We won’t spoil which ones for you.) The new stars include: Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne. Previously announced new season two cast includes Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull, Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers, Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, and Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong.

The show will also feature a number of returning stars. Back for more chaos in the Realm are: Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Additional returning cast includes Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.

What Is the Release Date for House of the Dragon Season 2?

The eight-episode second season debuts at HBO next summer in 2024.

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The time has come for Lucy to leave Vault 33 and see what has transpired since an apocalypse left Los Angeles in tatters. While Vault Dwellers don’t live in the lap of luxury, they have enjoyed a sheltered existence compared to those who’ve tried to survive in the wasteland. We’ll see how the Vault Dweller Lucy does when she leaves her home in Prime Video’s Fallout TV series adaptation. We recently saw first-look images for Fallout, and now it’s time for the first trailer. It has plenty of nods to the video game and hints at the mutated dangers lurking around every corner. The footage even shows Walton Goggins’ face instead of his Ghoul form.

Prime Video shared the trailer at the fan and comic book convention CCXP. Series stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Walton Goggins appeared alongside executive producer and director Jonathan Nolan, executive producer and co-showrunner Graham Wagner and discussed the series. As the trailer demonstrates, the Fallout TV series is going to have the same tone as the game. That means things are a little tongue-in-cheek—like Dog snacking on flash. The music in the trailer is reminiscent of the game, too.

Fallout’s synopsis states:

Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. Two-hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind—and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.

The Fallout TV series will premiere on Prime Video on April 12, 2024.

The post First FALLOUT TV Series Trailer Shows the Dangers of the Wasteland appeared first on Nerdist.

From tantalizing The Last of Us season two teases to incredibly orange Cheez-It nail polishes, here are some of our favorite pop-culture news odds & ends from this week.

• Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu Reveals First-Look Images and Release Date
• Iman Vellani Reveals Kamala Khan Will Be “Frodo” of Marvel Zombies, Returns to Voice Character and Pen New Comic
• The Last of Us Season 2 Will Feature Content From Lost Levels
• Chris Pine Feels Confident a Dungeons & Dragons 2 Movie Will Happen
• Cheez-It Nail Polish Is coming!
• Hazbin Hotel Sets Release Date
• Twilight Director Would Cast Jenna Ortega and Jacob Elordi as Leads in Movie Today
• Margot Robbie Reveals No Barbie Sequel Is Heading Our Way
• You Can Now Watch the Halo Live-Action Series Free on YouTube

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu Reveals First-Look Images and Release Date

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu has been brewing for a while. But we finally have our first looks at the movie and a release date. Nosferatu will officially release on December 25, 2024. That’s one delicious Christmas gift for goths. The vampiric tale stars Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe.

Learn more about the influence of the original Nosferatu with our article, here.

Iman Vellani Reveals Kamala Khan Will Be “Frodo” of Marvel Zombies, Returns to Voice Character and Pen New Comic

Iman Vellani has emerged as one of the MCU’s truest heroes. So we couldn’t be more thrilled that she’ll soon be back to voice Ms. Marvel in the Disney+ series Marvel Zombies. In an interview with The Direct Vellani reveals, “We’ve done the whole thing. It was amazing. It was so much fun. And I love—there are a lot of cool characters in the ‘Marvel Zombies‘ show. And Kamala is kind of the center of the show. They described it to me, it’s like, ‘She’s basically the Frodo of the story.’ And I was like, ‘That’s amazing.'” It’s what Ms. Marvel deserves.

Vellani will also be back to pen another Ms. Marvel comic. She and co-writer Sabir Pirzada will write the Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace series, a follow-up to Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant. According to GamesRadar, the pair will be joined by artist Scott Godlewski. The series is set to release in March.

The Last of Us Season 2 Will Feature Content From “Lost Levels“

If you’re looking for hints about The Last of Us season two than look no further than the remastered “Lost Levels.” These Lost Levels are playable sequences that were cut from The Last of Us Part II. But they’ll be back in the remastered version of the game that is releasing on January 19, 2024. And Neil Druckmann is teasing that they hold some insights for the HBO series. He notes to Entertainment Weekly, “As a tease, I will say there is at least one element from a cut level that is planned [for] the show… I say that with the caveat that we haven’t started filming the show yet, and all things are subject to change based on what we ultimately feel will be best for the show.”

The Last of Us Part II Remastered and its mysterious Lost Levels will be available to pre-order on December 5.

The Last of Us season two is already off to an ominous start.

Chris Pine Feels Confident a Dungeons & Dragons 2 Movie Will Happen

Although it was bad news for Star Trek 4, Chris Pine recently gave a positive update about the future of the Dungeons & Dragons movie franchise. He shared the following with GamesRadar about a potential Dungeons & Dragons 2, “I’ve heard some rumors about it… But I don’t know anything yet. But I feel pretty confident that it may happen.” He also added that he’d be “absolutely” happy to return to the universe. And we too would be absolutely happy to see it happen. Roll for Dungeons & Dragons 2.

Unfortunately, Chris Pine wasn’t so optimistic about Star Trek 4.

Cheez-It Nail Polish Is coming!

Enough said, no? Cheez-It and Nails Inc. Polish are collaborating on two cheesy colors, “Orange You Feelin’ the Cheeziest” and “Flexin’ in the Red Zone.” And who doesn’t want their nails to look like a little cheesy? This polish, perfect for mani/cheddiz, will be available for pre-order on Dec. 29 at CheezIt.com.

Hazbin Hotel Sets Release Date

Who doesn’t want an animated musical series about the princess of Hell trying to rehabilitate demons? Hazbin Hotel is created by Vivienne Medrano and is based on “her popular animated pilot released on YouTube in 2019.” Additionally a release shares, “The series blends adult humor, unforgettable characters, and catchy musical numbers creating a wholly original and unique world.” It certainly looks good in its preview. And now it has a release date. Hazbin Hotel will release on January 19, 2024. The series stars Erika Henningsen, Stephanie Beatriz, Alex Brightman, Keith David, Kimiko Glenn, Blake Roman, Amir Talai, Christian Borle, and Joel Perez. And it will feature exciting guest stars such as Darren Criss (Saint Peter), Jeremy Jordan (Lucifer Morningstar), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Carmilla Carmine), Patina Miller (Sera), and Jessica Vosk (Lute).

We can’t wait to check in to this hotel.

Twilight Director Would Cast Jenna Ortega and Jacob Elordi as Leads in Movie Today

Twilight just wouldn’t be Twilight without the incredible performances of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. But who doesn’t love a fan-cast for today’s day and age? Speaking to the Watch-a-long podcast, Twilight‘s director Catherine Hardwicke shared her picks for Bella and Edward, should a reboot of the series happen. Her selections? Jenna Ortega and Jacob Elordi. We accept these choices. Ortega could definitely help give Twilight a more horror-focused lean and Elordi really does give off strong vampire vibes.

There is a Twilight series brewing, after all…

Margot Robbie Reveals No Barbie Sequel Is Heading Our Way

Alas, it’s unlikely we’ll say “Hi, Barbie 2.” But that’s most likely for the best. Not everything needs a sequel. Of course, this could all change in a moment, especially since Barbie was so immensely popular. But for now, Margot Robbie shares, “I think we put everything into this one. We didn’t build it to be a trilogy or something… Greta put everything into this movie, so I can’t imagine what would be next.”

We bet Warner Bros. could… But we’ll cross our fingers Barbie gets to stand on her own.

Barbie is now available to stream at home.

You Can Now Watch the Halo Live-Action Series Free on YouTube

In case you’ve been waiting for a sign to watch the live-action adaptation of Halo, here it is. The Halo series is now available on YouTube in its entirety via Paramount+’s official channel. And it’s totally free. So now nothing is stopping you from watching Pablo Schreiber’s hunky Master Chief in all his sci-fi/action glory. We know we’re pressing play.

You can find the Halo playlist here.

We’re also getting a live-action series adaptation of Fallout.

The post NOSFERATU Shares Release Date, Chris Pine Optimistic About DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 2, and Other News Odds & Ends appeared first on Nerdist.

Sometimes, a character enters into a show, and it’s game over for all other characters. In Ahsoka‘s case, Sabine Wren’s Loth-cat totally stole everyone’s hearts. Even though the Star Wars series introduced other new adorable aliens, it was the Loth-cat that stayed with us. Sadly, Sabine’s pet didn’t get too much time to shine. We only saw our favorite Loth-cat for a few scenes in episodes one and two of Ahsoka. But even worse than that, we never learned what happened to our favorite creature after the rest of our heroes took off to galaxies unknown! The entire season fans were asking, is anyone watching Sabine’s Loth-cat? Is it okay? In the season finale of Ahsoka, we didn’t exactly get answers about the creature, but in a fashion, we learned the Loth-cat’s name and who is watching it. Plot twist, it’s you. We just hope the Star Wars universe remembers to bring the Loth-cat’s fate onto our screens sooner rather than later.

Sabine Wren’s Loth-cat Is Named Murley

In the Star Wars universe, Loth-cats came onto the scene in Star Wars Rebels. They’re a feline creature that’s native to the planet of Lothal. Star Wars’ official description shares that “while at times they can be friendly—and indeed, make affectionate pets when domesticated—Loth-cats are able hunters with sharp teeth and claws.” On Ahsoka, the first live-action appearance of a Loth-cat, we saw both aspects of the Star Wars species at play. Sabine’s Loth-cat was happy to snuggle and purr against her, but was the first to squawk at signs of trouble. And honestly, the Loth-cat crucially gave both Sabine Wren and Ahsoka an important heads-up when the enemy was near.

But one thing we did not get from Ahsoka, was the Loth-cat’s name. Happily, Star Wars‘ official accounts have arrived to fill in that blank for us. Sabine Wren’s Loth-cat is named Murley. There doesn’t seem to be any particular Star Wars Easter egg or reference embedded in the name, but we’ll take it.

Who Is Watching the Loth-cat During the Events of Ahsoka?

Although a Loth-cat can probably fend for itself to some degree, it shouldn’t have to! Over the course of Ahsoka‘s episodes, fans conveyed a great deal of worry about the fate of Sabine’s pet. We see Sabine feed the Loth-cat in Ahsoka‘s first episode, so Murely is probably used to food coming several times a day. Ultimately, Ahsoka never revisited the Loth-cat’s fate throughout the season, but we assume that Sabine asked someone to look after Murley at some juncture. Between Hera Syndulla and the people of Lothal, surely someone was around to check on the Loth-cat.

Recently, Dave Filoni shed some light on this important issue. He shared with Entertainment Weekly about what Sabine’s Loth-cat is getting up to. Filoni noted, “With the cat, obviously, there’s a couple things at play… First, I think Sabine would leave the door cracked open. Second of all, I think Murley’s smart enough to be able to move through the ventilation ducts and up and down that tower. I don’t think he needs to operate the elevator. I wouldn’t question if he could, but I think he can move up and down the ductwork to get out there to the ground level. Maybe there are other Loth-cats around. He’s not the only one.”

Additionally, Filoni does point out what we already mentioned, Ahsoka‘s Loth-cat is pretty capable. He adds, “I don’t think Murley is what I would call a domestic cat… I think it’s a wild cat that lives with Sabine, and she likes that fact and feeds it. Murley knows it’s a good situation, so it hangs out. Murley’s an opportunist and probably a bit of a pain in the butt.” That said, Filoni thinks, “There could be a whole documentary on what happens to the Loth-cat.” We totally agree.

Don’t Forget, Murley the Loth-Cat Has YOU

Of course, Star Wars reminds us, there’s you. You have always been a part of the Rebellion and now you’re a part of the Loth-cat sitter’s club. Congratulations. To drive the point home, the official Star Wars team created a LoFi video of the snoozing creature. You can watch Murley dream happy dreams for 11 hours straight and content yourself with the thought that you are watching the Loth-cat. And that the creature is both safe and happy, phew.

As for the future of Ahsoka‘s Loth-cat? Well, now that Ezra Bridger has returned to his home galaxy, he’ll probably also return to his home where Sabine Wren had been staying. We’d put a little money on the fact that he’ll discover a Loth-cat waiting for him when he enters into LothalNet comm tower E-272.

Ahsoka‘s Loth-cat Is an Animatronic, Just Like Grogu

For those who want to know more about how this cute creature came to life, Murley the Loth-cat is actually an animatronic from the Legacy Effects team. This very same team created Grogu. Before Murley’s Ahsoka debut, Loth-cats featured in The Mandalorian were purely CGI.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who plays Sabine Wren, shared with Empire earlier in the year, “That was my little buddy!… That cat, the complexity of the design… I mean, it has a real skeleton under there, because that’s how they control such intense facial expressions and everything.” The actress also added, “Move over, Grogu!”

Star Wars‘ complex animatronic puppets continue to wow us and melt our hearts. So much so that for seven weeks fans have been asking after the health of this animatronic. We honestly hope Grogu doesn’t end up moving over, but that these paid of adorable puppets one day get to meet in the galaxy, far, far away.

Originally published on October 4, 2023.

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Sixty years after its TV debut, Doctor Who is still going strong and heading into yet another era. The show’s Christmas 2023 special will be the first adventure for Ncuti Gatwa, who will portray the Fifteenth Doctor. Then, he will take over the TARDIS with Russell T Davies leading the way once again as a showrunner in the near future.  This era doesn’t have an official name yet—we are calling it the Bad Wolf era for now—but Davies is setting it apart from the modern era’s 13 seasons by dubbing it season one. (It will not reboot nor ignore previous events.) What can we expect from this fresh slate of stories across time and space? Here’s what we know about Doctor Who season one, which is not season 14 after all.

Doctor Who Season One’s Plot 

Doctor Who always teeters between a season-long arc and weekly adventures. Who knows what will happen in Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Doctor?! We know there will be lots of villains, time-traveling, and tough decisions made by The Doctor. This season will have eight episodes and, for now, the titles are unknown. Right now, the main focus is on the 60th anniversary specials with Fourteen and Donna Noble. 

We do know that the Christmas special—which technically counts as a part of season one—is called “The Church on Ruby Road.” And we do have some new information about it! Here’s what Doctor Who‘s website had to say:

The episode sees the Doctor come face-to-face with the mythical and mysterious goblins as his life collides with Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson.

Little is known about Ruby Sunday as she was abandoned on Christmas Eve as a baby. Now living with her mum, Carla and grandmother, Cherry her world is about to be turned upside when she encounters the Doctor and the two set off on their first adventure together…

Davies himself said in an SFX interview that this special will reset the series, which isn’t shocking. “It’s completely a reinvention. Reinvention of the show, brand new, but not a reboot, it’s the same old show, everything starts again, everything’s seen through the eyes of Ruby Sunday and it’s that lovely feeling of here we go, a new era beginning,” said Davies. We wonder what new territory the show will traverse.

It seems that the show is in its cute villain era. We just got Beep the (Homicidal) Meep and now we are getting a goblin creature. Check out his photo along with a few others from the episode.

Click To View Gallery

We haven’t see substantial footage yet but we should be getting it soon.

Behind the Scenes

As previously stated, Russell T Davies is back as the showrunner for Doctor Who. The list of directors include Dylan Holmes Williams, Mark Tonderai, Julie Anne Robinson, Ben Chessell, and Jamie Donoghue. Composer Murray Gold also returns to the show as a composer. Bad Wolf Studios (named after the Rose/Nine story arc) is now a co-producer of the series. Doctor Who season one wrapped filming in July 2023 and is already working on season two.

Doctor Who Season One’s Cast 

Millie Gibson will co-star alongside Gatwa’s Doctor as Ruby Sunday. It will be exciting to see their relationship unfold because they make quite the stylish pair. The Christmas special cast includes Davina McCall, a popular British TV personality who will be playing herself. Michelle Greenidge will play Ruby’s mother Carla, Angela Wynter is Ruby’s grandmother Cherry, and Anita Dobson portrays Mrs. Flood.

Now, for the remainder of the season. Bonnie Langford will reprise her role as Sixth/Seventh Doctor companion Mel Bush and Jemma Redgrave is coming back as UNIT boss Kate Stewart. There are quite a few new faces coming to Doctor Who, including Lenny Rush as Morris, Aneurin Barnard as Roger ap Gwilliam, and Indira Varma as the Duchess. Jonathan Groff and Jinx Monsoon are also joining the cast in roles that have yet to be fully defined. Monsoon will portray “the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet,” while Groff will appear in a historical episode. 

Doctor Who Season One’s Release Date

Doctor Who season one will hit BBC and Disney+ sometime in 2024. The Christmas special will air on Christmas Day 2023.

Originally published November 28, 2023.

The post Everything We Know About DOCTOR WHO Season 1 (No, It’s Not Season 14) appeared first on Nerdist.

Pokémon fans have long imagined what Pokémon would look like if they existed in our world. And that only makes sense because it’s a fascinating thought. The world of Pokémon is a fantastical one, certainly, but it has just enough realism embedded into it that it inspires viewers to try to bring some science into it. Realistic Pokémon reimaginations have come in many excellent forms. Still, the latest one, a series of “wildlife” videos starring various Pokémon in their natural habitats, is one of the most delightful yet. These short videos take on the form of a David Attenborough-style documentary and are titled PokéNational Geographic. Not only is this series gorgeously animated, but these Pokémon x National Geographic videos are also truly hilarious. Let’s take a look.

These PokéNational Geographic come from creator Elious Entertainment. A note on each video in the series notes, “Our wonderful Professor Ginkgo has curated lots of information on individual Pokémon that is then read by our very own Michael Michaelson.” And we have to give all the kudos to Michaelson. The National Geographic-like scripts compile information from Pokémon‘s Pokédex. The Pokédex is, of course, known for containing some outlandish details about the Pokémon it tracks. But the reading of the incisive insights really takes it over the top. Something about the dry, objective tone crushing Magikarp into absolute pieces registers as absolute hilarity.

Poor Magikarp. We love all of these Pokémon/National Geographic videos, but the Magikarp one is so deliciously vicious and yet so gorgeously realistic that it may be our favorite. But in all seriousness, Elious Entertainment weaves an incredible animation together. Seeing the Pokémon appear so embedded in their environments, for instance, Magikarp being obscured by deep water, is a neat thing. These National Geographic shorts take the idea of realistic Pokémon and give it depth and dimension. We give PokéNational Geographic a standing ovation.

We also very much appreciate the touch of lore added into the world. It’s all about attention to detail, after all. Could National Geographic’s latest correspondent be a distant cousin of Pokémon‘s Professor Oak? We must know more about Professor Ginkgo and how he fits into the world. But we suppose for that we’ll have to wait for the camera to turn around.

Hopefully, we’ll see more PokéNational Geographic videos surface shortly. After all, we can never have enough realistic Pokémon in our lives. Our vote would be to visit the skies with Dragonite, or to witness an Eevee transforming in the wild. But we’ll be happy with whatever wanders in the frame. Nature cannot be controlled, after all.

In the meanwhile, you can take a look at the full series of the National Geographic x Pokémon shorts by visiting this playlist. We know we’ll be rewatching for a while.

The post POKÉMON Meets National Geographic in Incredibly Realistic Short Videos appeared first on Nerdist.

Recently, we heard discussions about the original Avengers returning to the MCU, saw a Mean Girls sequel (kind of), and learned the secrets of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 post-credits scenes and Easter eggs. But in the mix of all of that, there have been some truly exciting announcements and reveals we wouldn’t want you to miss out on.

Here are some of our favorite pop-culture news odds & ends from this week.

This Week’s Odds & Ends in News

Jump to:

• Horror Sequels Galore! The Black Phone 2 Will See Return of Original Cast, Terrifier 3 Sets Release Date and Shares Teaser, and It Follows 2 Is On the Way
• Another John Wick Spinoff Show and an Anime Series Are Apparently In Development
• Poltergeist TV Series Is in Development at Amazon MGM Studios 
• Disney+’s Cancelled Captain Nemo TV Series Nautilus Saved By AMC
• The Fall of the House of Usher Prop Auction Invites You to Purchase Something Haunted and Stylish
• Bratz Dressed Up as Barbie for Halloween, and Rick and Morty Dressed as Five Nights at Freddy’s
• The Boys Will Likely Have More Seasons Than Originally Planned
• Sesame Street Is Changing Its Format to Include “More Peril”
• Fourth Wing TV Series in the Works From Amazon and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society
• Jurassic World LEGO Sets Are Roaring to Life in January 2024

Horror Sequels Galore! The Black Phone 2 Will See Return of Original Cast, Terrifier 3 Sets Release Date and Shares Teaser, and It Follows 2 Is On the Way

Fall may be drawing to a close, but Halloween season never is. And it’s a good thing, too, because a ton of horror sequels are coming our way.

The truly terrifying Universal and Blumhouse movie, The Black Phone, is set for a sequel. The Black Phone 2 will release on June 27, 2025 and, per Variety, it will be the “launch of a sinister new franchise.”

We don’t yet know much about what The Black Phone 2 will entail, but in a fascinating turn of events, The Black Phone‘s original cast will all return for more scary calls. Yes, Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and Miguel Mora will all return for the sequel terror.  Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill will also return to write The Black Phone 2. We have chills already.

Terrifier 3 and its terrifying slasher Art the Clown will arrive in theaters on October 25, 2024, for another round of Christmas horror. We can’t wait to see what terrifying naughty-list mayhem will transpire.

To get us into the holiday spirit, Terrifier 3 has shared its first teaser trailer, and it’s certainly festive. Santa who? A release further shares of Terrifier 3, “The upcoming installment will be Christmas-themed, adding an extra layer of anticipation for horror enthusiasts. In the third installment of Damien Leone’s breakout horror film, Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.” We’ll be seeing this Saint Nick in our dreams tonight.

It Follows will also receive a sequel titled They Follow. The writer and director of It Follows, David Robert Mitchell, will return for the sequel alongside star Maika Monroe. It Follows was a movie that encapsulated the terrifying feeling of someone always lurking behind you, and we bet its sequel will double the sensation.

In case you were curious, we’ve broken down the horoscopes of 12 iconic horror villains.

Another John Wick Spinoff TV and an Anime Series Are Apparently In Development

Surprise! Another John Wick spinoff series is apparently in development, according to John Wick director Chad Stahelski. And that’s not all, a John Wick anime is in the works as well. Stahelski noted to Collider, “We’re doing a John Wick TV show, which, again, keeps my head going.” And added, “I would love to do a couple of episodes of the TV show just because I think I’d have fun trying things that we didn’t get to try in the films. I mean, absolutely. There’s some great ideas. And to work with a different cast and a different story structure without John Wick, it would be a fun challenge.”

He also shared with The Discourse podcast, which we saw via IGN, that “Lionsgate is having us develop the John Wick TV show, so we thought we could explore The High Table in that a little bit.” But confirmed this was separate to The Continental. Stahelski noted, “Yeah, I love Donnie [Yen], I love Rina [Sawayama], love the Tracker (Shamier Anderson), and the TV show and the ancillaries will give us a chance to expand the kind of fun world we’ve created… It doesn’t have to be John Wick, the character specific, you know what I mean, so that we can explore all that stuff.” Of course, which, if any of these characters would stare in a new John Wick TV series has not yet been confirmed.

On top of that, Stahelski broke the news that a John Wick anime is also in development. He shared, “We’re doing that and a Japanese anime because I love Japanese anime so much… So to create all the cool stories that anime could achieve better than we could and the TV show to expand our world, we’ll still get our fix, you know what I mean? And we’ll still have all the fun.” We guess we’ll stay tuned to see what develops.

As if that weren’t enough John Wick, John Wick 5 is still on the table.

Poltergeist TV Series Is in Development at Amazon MGM Studios 

You can never be free of some ghosts. Variety reports a series adaptation of the classic ’80s movie Poltergeist is in the works at Amazon MGM Studios. Currently, no plot details or writers are attached to the series. However, we know “Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will executive produce on behalf of Amblin Television.” In 1999, Showtime released a four-season series adaptation set in Poltergiest‘s world—but television has come a long way since.

For more horror-based TV, check out what we know about Max’s The Conjuring show.

Disney+’s Cancelled Captain Nemo TV Series Nautilus Saved By AMC

In a worrying streaming trend, shows are being ordered and completed only to be canceled before release. But sometimes, there is good news. Deadline reports that although Disney+ canceled its Nautilus series, a 10-episode TV show based on Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, AMC has now saved the series. Nautilus will air on AMC and AMC+ in 2024 and tell the origin story of the iconic Captain Nemo.

To see what we learned about Nautilus initially, check out our write-up here:

The Fall of the House of Usher Prop Auction Invites You to Purchase Something Haunted and Stylish

Mike Flanagan’s final show with Netflix, The Fall of the House of Usher, was filled with horrifying yet beautiful visuals. If you loved the show’s aesthetic, you can now take a part of it home with a special prop auction.

The Fall of the House of Usher auction will take place from November 15-29 with 100% of its proceeds going to charity. Among other items, you can bid on “Verna’s (Carla Gugino) Rave Costume with Red Cloak,” “Napoleon ‘Leo’ Usher’s (Rahul Kohli) Drywall-Covered ‘Thor’ Hammer Replica,” and “Arthur Pym’s (Mark Hamill) Briefcase with Files and Accessories.”

For more about The Fall of the House of Usher‘s aesthetic, take a look at what its use of color really means.

Bratz Dressed Up as Barbie for Halloween, and Rick and Morty Dressed as Five Nights at Freddy’s

Happy Halloween from our favorite franchises. In a bit of a shady move, some Bratz dolls dressed as the unimpressed teens looking at Barbie for Halloween—a truly hilarious spin on a Barbie movie costume which was, admittedly, very popular this year.

Meanwhile, Rick and Morty‘s characters disguised themselves as Five Nights at Freddy’s animatronics, homaging the popular game series that just released its movie adaptation. We love series dressing as series!

If you enjoyed Five Nights at Freddy‘s, you may be wondering what that sound at the end of the credits means.

The Boys Will Likely Have More Seasons Than Originally Planned

The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke originally planned for the series to have a five-season run. But it looks like that number is now defunct, and The Boys will likely have more seasons than that. Kripke shared with Inverse, “I have since realized that literally, no one in history is worse at predicting the amount of seasons of a show, like literally. I have learned my lesson, and I’ve stopped predicting how many seasons these shows go. You will find out in hindsight.” With the popularity of The Boys and its spinoff Gen V, that seems like a fair assessment to us.

Catch up with Gen V‘s most gory and shocking moments, here:

Sesame Street Is Changing Its Format to Include “More Peril”

Sesame Street wants you to know you can reinvent yourself at any age. Recently, The Hollywood Reporter revealed Sesame Street‘s format would be “reimagined” for season 56. The show will drop its “magazine style” format, which has been around for decades, in favor of “two longer, more narrative-driven segments, which will be paired with a new animated series, Tales From 123.”

Wilson Stallings, the executive VP and chief creative development and production officer for Sesame Workshop shared, “Kids love a little bit of peril, they love having emotional stakes, and in nine minutes, it’s kind of hard to really dive into those areas really effectively.” The show hopes to be able to tell a more compelling tale with these changes.

Be that as it may, we have to wonder, does Sesame Street really need more peril?

All we have to say is that Sesame Street had better keep gems like this.

Fourth Wing TV Series in the Works From Amazon and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society

Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society will be bringing to life a TV series based on Rebecca Yarros’ popular fantasy series, Fourth Wing. This overall deal includes all the books from the Fourth Wing universe titled The Empyrean, including its sequel Iron Flame, releasing on November 7, and the three books slated to follow.

Per Variety, the logline for the TV series shares:

Enter the brutal world of Basgiath War College where there is only one rule: Graduate or Die. Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail expected to live a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general― her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. If the fire-breathing beasts don’t kill her, one of her fellow riders just might. Suspense, action, romance, and dragons blend together in a propulsive fantasy adventure from NYT bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

In other fantasy novel adaptation news, House of the Dragon season two will release in the summer of 2024.

Jurassic World LEGO Sets Are Roaring to Life in January 2024

Show off your dino love with these two new Jurassic World LEGO sets. First up is a Dinosaur Fossils: T. rex Skull LEGO set, which turns LEGOs into bones. The official description of the set shares, “The first Jurassic World set made for display features a skull with an opening jaw, a stand with an information plaque, a hidden ‘amber’ piece at the back of the model and a ‘fossilized’ footprint.” Honestly, building a T. rex skull out of LEGOS, teeth and all, is pretty cool.

Also available is the “Baby Dinosaur Rescue Center” LEGO set and it comes complete with a bunch of, you guessed it, baby dinos. D’aww. Both Jurrasic World LEGO sets will release on January 1, 2024.

Click To View Gallery

For more creative and nature-focused LEGO fun, check out LEGO’s insect collection.

The post THE BLACK PHONE 2: Ethan Hawke and Original Cast Set to Return appeared first on Nerdist.

A lot has changed in the last 30 years, like how Jurassic Park turned into Jurassic World. Plus I’m sure some other things are different since then, too. But one thing that hasn’t changed, even during the streaming era, are television mini-series events. And since a certain magical talking bear was technically alive in 1993, he’s a perfect candidate to get one in 2023. Seth MacFarlane’s Ted is getting a special prequel mini-series at Peacock, and you can check out the trailer and first-look images for it below.

The talking teddy bear who sounds a lot like Peter Griffin is back. Only this time we’re going back to a much earlier time in his life. Here’s the prequel series’ official synopsis from Peacock:

In this comedic prequel event series to the Ted films, it’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s (Seth MacFarlane) moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Framingham, Massachusetts with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder), along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach) and cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham). Ted may be a lousy influence on John, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.

Not the most informative synopsis ever, but in a press release Seth MacFarlane shared some insight into the inspiration behind the show. Despite the silly nature of Ted, the series is very personal to him. And also silly.

Each generation develops its own unique artistic style, its own way of seeing the world. In the twenties, it was the subversive musical phrasings of jazz. In the fifties, it was the bold brushwork of the abstract expressionists. Our generation’s unique art is streaming content based on previously successful intellectual property. In that proud tradition, we humbly give you Ted.   

Our series is a prequel to the Ted movies. It takes place in the nineties but is based on the timeless truth that being sixteen sucks. The only thing that makes it tolerable is going through it with a friend, even if that friend is a has-been magical teddy bear with a foul mouth and a proclivity for drug use.  

The three of us were teenagers in the nineties and grew up in and around Boston, where the show takes place, so many of these stories are personal for us. We were able to put the characters through some of the same indignities and milestones we experienced back then. Also, we made stuff up (it’s a lot of pages to fill and real life is mostly boring).  

The streamer also provided three images from the seven-episode “event.” They look very much like a throwback ’90s series. One where a teddy bear gets high with a teenager, which would have technically made for a “special event” episode in the ’90s.

All seven episodes of the Ted series will debut on Peacock on January 11, 2024, so we won’t have to wait for a new one every week. And that is very different from how things worked 30 years ago.

Originally published on November 16, 2023.

The post TED Returns in Full Trailer for Peacock Prequel Series appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s getting closer to the time to come out of the vault. Prime Video’s TV series adaptation of Fallout will premiere next year, bringing the post-nuclear wasteland of the popular video game to television. The series from executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy and Kilter Films will tell a story set hundreds of years after the apocalypse. Those who weathered the storm in fallout shelters are returning to the world. And that means, things are going to get interesting. The first images from the Fallout TV series show the stark difference between the Vault Dwellers and those on the outside. We see Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul, Kyle MacLachlan’s Overseer Hank, power armor suits, and more.

We would not want to meet The Ghoul. Goggins’ character “survives the wasteland as a Bounty Hunter. He is pragmatic, ruthless, and hides a mysterious past.” In the game, ghouls are around the wasteland. Intense radiation has transformed their skin and given them longer lifespans—all at a cost.

The world of Fallout is not a gentle one. As the series synopsis states:

Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird and highly violent universe waiting for them.

Additional first-look photos show some of that world, revealing Ella Purnell’s Lucy, Aaron Moten’s Maximus, and MacLachlan’s Hank.

Click To View Gallery

We still have a while to wait until Fallout‘s release on April 12, 2024, but these images are helping to get us through. Here’s hoping we get a trailer soon.

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A moment of understandable unhappiness circulated through the wider internet sphere when Max sent out a recent release noting which titles were leaving and coming to its platform in December. Listed among the titles leaving Max on December 31 were the Looney Tunes shorts, The Looney Tunes Show, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action. But happily, whether in actual error or in “oops, we angered the internet” error, it seems that Max listed most of the Looney Tunes titles in error. Seasons 1-15 of Looney Tunes will remain available on Max for now, as will The Looney Tunes Show.

In an updated release, Max shared, “Looney Tunes was included in error as a title leaving the platform. This is not the case, and the show will continue streaming on Max.” Still, the response to the perceived loss of Looney Tunes on the streamer speaks to a greater wound at the moment. Of course, this specific news struck a nerve because Max already removed seasons 16-31 of the iconic shorts series in 2022. That includes material first released in the 1950s.

Max, did, at the time, keep its current offerings of Looney Tunes‘ first 15 seasons. But it feels hard not to consider their existence as tenuous at best. The first season of Looney Tunes released in the 1930s, and the show has incredible historic weight. It would be a huge shame for it to fade from the world. We feel glad that will not happen today. It does seem worth noting that Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) will still leave Max in December.

Separate from Looney Tunes and even from Max as a streamer, the growing trend of simply disappearing properties from streaming channels is an alarming one. From iconic shows we love from the past to completed modern works we may never see, all media seems to exist in a fragile place. It feels hard to say what will happen going forward. But, for now, if you really love something, consider buying it on physical media.

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We’ve known since Disney’s Investor Day presentation in December 2020 that the House of Mouse has big plans for the Alien franchise as a streaming series for FX. The studio even tapped Fargo’s Noah Hawley to develop it. Though it took a while to learn more about the show, the latest developments have been big ones. According to Deadline, the Alien series has cast Timothy Olyphant in a major role. The site reports he players Kirsh, a synth. Additionally, Hawley recently shared a bit of insight about what we can expect from the series, including when we might see it finally release.

When Will Noah Hawley’s Alien TV Series Release?

There’s no firm date yet for Noah Hawley’s Alien TV series to arrive on FX and our screens. However, speaking to The Wrap, Hawley offered a little bit more of a timeline for the release of this anticipated show.

He offered, “We’re all just waiting for the strike, and it will end… The plan right now is to go back in January and be shooting in February, and looks like shoot until July or so, which puts the air date somewhere in the in the first half of ’25.” Hawley further noted to Deadline, “We’re getting back into production as quickly as possible.”

There you have it, the Alien series will most likely release somewhere in early 2025. That’s not too long to wait.

The Cast of FX’s Alien TV Series

As mentioned, Sydney Chandler will play one of the leads in Noah Hawley’s Alien TV series, reportedly named Wendy. Chandler is joined by The End of the F*cking World‘s Alex Lawther who will play the male lead, a soldier named CJ, and Samuel Blenkin, who is named as another main character, a mysterious CEO called Boy Kavalier. Essie Davis and Adarsh Gourav also join the series as Dame Silvia and Slightly.

According to Deadline, Shadow and Bone‘s Kit Young has also come aboard the FX Alien series and will play a character named Tootles. And, as mentioned, Timothy Olyphant will reportedly play “Kirsh, a synth who acts as a mentor and trainer for Chandler’s Wendy, who is a hybrid, a meta-human who has the brain and consciousness of a child but the body of an adult.” Fargo‘s David Rysdahl has also joined the cast in an unknown role.

Finally, Babou Ceesay, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Diêm Camille, and Adrian Edmondson will all play a role on the series.

The Setting, Plot, and Timeline of Noah Hawley’s Alien TV Series

While speaking to Esquire about his novel Anthem, Hawley spilled a little more tea about the series. And he gave fans of the Xenomorph some things to ponder. Here’s what Hawley had to say about his Alien TV series:

“It’s set on Earth of the future. At this moment, I describe that as Edison versus Westinghouse versus Tesla. Someone’s going to monopolize electricity. We just don’t know which one it is. In the movies, we have this Weyland-Yutani Corporation, which is clearly also developing artificial intelligence. But what if there are other companies trying to look at immortality in a different way? With cyborg enhancements or transhuman downloads? Which of those technologies is going to win? It’s ultimately a classic science fiction question: does humanity deserve to survive?”

Additionally, according to Slash Film, Hawley offered that the show was inspired by a specific moment from Alien. He noted, “There’s that moment you realize Ian Holm [who plays Ash] is an android where you go, ‘Oh, this is really interesting now, because this is humanity trapped between the primordial past and the AI future, and they’re both trying to kill us.'”

As we guessed before, the Weyland-Yutani Corp., otherwise known simply as “the Company,” are likely the new Alien series’ “Big Bads.” But we’re still unclear about a lot of things. For starters, how will all this tie into the ongoing Xenomorph saga? After all, they call this show Alien, not “Android.” So we’re going to have to see the acid-blooded bad boys at some point. Otherwise, it will disappoint a great deal of very disappointed fans out there.

The Series’ Plot

Speaking to this, Hawley recently commented on the presence of the aliens in the new series. He offered that the movies “always [mimic] the life cycle of the creature, right? Which is egg, slow, Facehugger, starts to get faster — you know what I mean? And, of course, that’s great for a horror movie to build that way. So I found a way to kind of innovate around that structure and play with it.” He didn’t add more detail about how the structure of the Facehuggers’ life would come into play or be updated, but it’s good to know the Xenomorphs are on Hawley’s mind.

Additionally, Hawley noted more about the difference between the new Alien FX series and the movies that originated it, offering, “Look, a two-hour movie, you can set it up, and then it’s just about, ‘Are they going to survive?’ But if you’re making a series, ‘Are they going to survive?’, you can’t sustain it. Even if you have 60% of the best action-horror on television, you still have 40% of ‘What are we talking about?'”

That makes sense to us, and we can’t wait to see how the Alien series manages all these different expectations.

The Series’ Timeline

Another big question is when does the Alien TV series happen with respect to the movies? Prometheus takes place in 2089, while Alien: Covenant takes place in 2104. The original Alien takes place exactly 100 years from now, in 2122. The events of Aliens occur some 57 years later in 2179, with Alien Resurrection finishing things a whopping two hundred years later. And Weyland-Yutani exists in all these eras.

But happily, we now know a little bit more about where the show will land in the timeline. FX Chief John Landgraf shared an update on the Alien series at a TCA winter panel for the network.

He said, “Alien takes place before Ripley. It’s the first story that takes place in the Alien franchise on Earth. So, it takes place on our planet. Right near the end of this century, we’re in — so 70-odd years from now. Ripley won’t be a part of it or any of the other characters of Alien other than the alien itself.” That’s right folks, no Sigourney Weaver. We’re sad, on the one hand, but excited for more specificity on the other.

Really though, all we want is one good chestburster scene. Is that too much to ask? The Alien series does not yet have a release date.

Originally published on January 5, 2022. 

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Rick Riordan released the first book in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians fantasy series in 2005. The five-book fantasy novel series focuses on Percy Jackson, a young demigod. He learns about his special history and then gets thrown into stopping the Titans from destroying everything. We did get movie adaptations of the first two books in 2010, but they were not well received. (Rick Riordan himself wasn’t a big fan). But now, Percy Jackson gets another chance at an on-screen adaptation, this time on Disney+.

This time, it seems like the adherence to the source material will be at an all-time high. For one thing, the titles of the Percy Jackson Disney+ series come right from the book version of the story. Episode one’s title, “I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher,” for instance, is also the first chapter of Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ The Lightening Thief. And “The Prophecy Comes True” is the book’s final chapter as well as the title of the last episode of the Disney+ series. Other chapters are not one-to-one in numbering, but all of them come from the novel. We love this touch.

Here’s everything we know about the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series.

Title

This adaptation of Rick Riordan’s book is called Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This matches the title of Riordan’s overall book series centered on Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian‘s Plot

Percy Jackson and the Olympians‘ teaser trailer gives us our first real taste of the series. The gods are gathering and everything in Percy’s life is about to change.

In a release, Disney+ shared that Percy Jackson and the Olympians…

…tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.

So, first season is focusing on the first book, The Lightning Thief. In the book, Percy discovers the truth about himself and his background: he’s a demigod. He goes to Camp Half-Blood for the first time and meets others like him. Then, he goes on a quest with his closest friends Annabeth and Grover. Percy must find a thief who stole Zeus’ master bolt, all while reckoning with the identity of his father (I’m not sharing who, because spoilers) and his new life.

Behind the Scenes

Rick Riordan and Jon Steinberg wrote the pilot for Percy Jackson and the Olympians. James Bobin is directing the pilot. Steinberg will oversee the series with his producing partner Dan Shotz. Steinberg and Shotz serve as executive producers alongside Bobin, Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe and Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, and D.J. Goldberg.

Season one of Percy Jackson and the Olympians will have eight episodes.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian‘s Cast

The cast for the Percy Jackson series is age appropriate for the series, which is a good start. Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) plays Percy Jackson. Aryan Simhadri plays Grover Underwood and Leah Sava Jeffries plays Annabeth Chase.

We also have:

• Virginia Kull as Sally
• Glynn Turman as Mr. Brunner, a.k.a. Chiron
• Jason Mantzoukas as Mr D.
• Megan Mullally as Mrs. Dodds
• Timm Sharp as Gabe
• Adam Copeland as Ares
• Suzanne Cryer as Echidna
• Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa
• Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes
• Jay Duplass as Hades
• Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus
• Lance Reddick as Zeus
• Toby Stephens as Poseidon

Riordan noted that these are all the main characters who will appear in season one.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian‘s Release Date

The Percy Jackson series will officially release on December 20, 2023. It will debut with a two-episode premiere and new episodes will follow weekly.

Originally published on August 3, 2022.

The post PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS’ Episode Titles Come Right From the Book appeared first on Nerdist.

In WandaVision, it was Agatha all along. And now it really will be all about Agatha Harkness. Kathryn Hahn’s MCU witch will soon star in her own Disney+ Marvel series, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. While we don’t have too many details yet about what this series will entail, we can already tell it will serve up some delightfully magical fun.

Although it’ll likely still be a while before we see too much from the show, we officially have our first looks and footage from the Agatha-centric series. Set to be released on the WandaVision Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD editions, a special “Agatha Bonus Clip” takes us behind-the-scenes of Darkhold Diaries.

In the featurette, we can see Agatha and her coven of witches come together for the first time. Among other teases, the footage reveals Agatha Harkness donning several new outfits and our first glimpses of Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Ali Ahn, Sasheer Zamata, and Debra Jo Rupp in Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. Agatha, the first-look clips promise, is still as dangerous and delightful as ever.

Here’s everything we know about Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.

Title

Although the first title we heard for Agatha’s MCU series was Agatha: House of Harkness, and the second was Agatha: Coven of Chaos, the series will actually be called Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries‘ Plot

Marvel Studios has kept plot details for Agatha: Darkhold Diaries under wraps. But the last time we got to see Agatha, the witch lost in a fight to Wanda Maximoff. And then Agatha ended up trapped in her Agnes persona.

We imagine the show will reveal to us how Agatha breaks out of the spell she’s under and then follow her along on some exciting shenanigans. And it seems like we’ll get to meet a number of witches from the pages of Marvel Comics. And we do love a witch.

Whatever helps happens, we hope that Agatha gets yet another catchy jingle to her name. “Agatha All Along” needs a successor.

Behind the Scenes

WandaVison‘s Jac Schaeffer returns as executive producer and head writer on Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. Additionally, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Schaeffer, alongside Wednesday‘s Gandja Monteiro and Resident Evil‘s Rachel Goldberg, will direct different episodes of the show.

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries‘ Cast

We’ve learned about quite a number of potential coven members cast so far. Of course, Kathryn Hahn returns to play the titular MCU witch Agatha Harkness. Joining her is Emma Caulfield Ford, who will reprise her role as Dottie for the Disney+ show. Dottie was one of the women Wanda trapped in her Westview fantasies. Could Dottie be another secret witch? Only time will tell. Variety also reports Heartstopper‘s Joe Locke has joined the cast in an undisclosed role. However, many fans speculate Locke will play the role of  Billy Kaplan, a.k.a. Wiccan, the son of Scarlet Witch and Vision. Mashable further notes that Miles Gutierrez-Riley will play “Billy’s boyfriend, Hulkling.”

Aubrey Plaza will also star in the series, potentially as a more villainous character on the Agatha show. Ali Ahn and Maria Dizzia have reportedly joined the cast as well, as has Patti LuPone. LuPone revealed she will play the role of Marvel Comics’ Lilia Calderu. Debra Jo Rupp is reportedly in the cast, too, presumably reprising her role of Mrs. Hart from WandaVision. Sasheer Zamata, meanwhile, is confirmed to play the role of sorceress Jennifer Kale.

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries‘ Release Date

For now, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries will be a part of the MCU’s Phase Five. According to Mashable, it will be nine episodes long, a bit longer than the typical Disney+ Marvel show. Agatha: Darkhold Diaries will release on Disney+ in 2024.

Originally published on November 4, 2022.

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It is a historic time in Hollywood! After Writers Guild of America (WGA) members fought to receive an incredible deal for their union, many hoped it would not be long until Hollywood’s actors were also offered a fair deal from the studios. This SAG-AFTRA strike is a historic one; it is the longest strike that actors have ever participated in, and it lasted 118 days. But finally, the AMPTP offered SAG-AFTRA a deal that it could accept. As of 12:01 am on November 9, 2023, actors are free to return to work. Of course, we are excited to see some of our favorite productions begin to live again, but the most important part is that those creating them will be working under fair and respectful terms.

Here’s what the SAG-AFTRA contract looks like.

SAG-AFTRA Strike Ending Deal Is “of Extraordinary Scope”

A release from SAG-AFTRA further shared:

In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes “above-pattern” minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension & Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.

Most importantly, SAG notes, “We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.” Truly, this marks a historic achievement for the actors and one we feel very glad to see come to pass.

As the strike draws to a close, the details of SAG-AFTRA’s agreement with the studios are now available, including a draft of the full TV/Theatricals Contracts Memorandum of Agreement for those wanting to peruse all the details. Of course, no deal is ever perfect, and areas of concern over aspects such as the threat of AI to the industry remain.

However, SAG-AFTRA’s leadership stresses the gains won in areas such as wage increases, pension and health caps, protections for the casting process, and more.

It also views the AI agreements as “the most progressive AI protections ever written.” You can take a look at the specific AI regulations in the current contract below.

The entertainment industry offers joy and relief to so many with its offerings. It is only fair that those working to make our favorite series and movies also be allowed to have sustainable and safe existence. We are glad to see the SAG-AFTRA strike culminate in exactly these results.

The Actors’ Strike Is Over, What’s Next?

While the SAG-AFTRA strike is over and a tentative agreement has been reached with the AMPTP, there are still steps that must be taken to finalize the deal. The agreement went to SAG-AFTRA’s national board for approval and passed with 86% of the vote. Now, SAG-AFTRA has released details of the contract, and all union members will get to vote on the agreement. And then, if members ratify the deal, then SAG-AFTRA will have a new contract for the next three years. The ratification vote will be open until December 5.

We look forward to learning more about the deal itself and seeing the final resolution of the SAG-AFTRA strike. But for now, wish only to offer SAG-AFTRA members and supporters a hearty congratulations on this achievement!

The post The SAG-AFTRA Strike Is Over! Full Details of Tentative Agreement Now Released appeared first on Nerdist.

Doctor Who’s new era is giving us a lot of awesome changes. We are getting yet another clean slate with Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday, a new companion. And, of course, there’s a new (but not new!) showrunner taking the reins for this next chapter. Fans are already loving Russell T Davies’ return as the leader of this classic sci-fi series. Future episodes will also be available on Disney+ for US fans to enjoy. With all of these changes, it is not surprising that Doctor Who is delivering a new opening title sequence as well as a fresh upgrade to the interior of the TARDIS.

The first of three Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials revealed these fun updates to the TARDIS and more. First, let’s talk about that new Doctor Who opening sequence. The time vortex looks like a colorful and daring realm of its own as the TARDIS sweeps through it in dramatic fashion. We hear the familiar theme song with yet another twist, thanks to the genius of composer Murray Gold. It’s a vibrant homage to opening title sequences from Doctor Who’s past, indeed. 

If this wasn’t enough to make you squee with delight, then surely you jumped for joy when the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna entered the TARDIS. A new Doctor typically results in a new TARDIS interior on Doctor Who, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It still has the tenets of a typical console room, complete with lots of round lights. At first, it seemed a bit too bright and lacking excitement. But, after watching David Tennant run around its ramps like a kid on Christmas, we got to see this TARDIS interior come to life with some beautiful colors. It looks like a proper spaceship with its otherworldly aura. Check out all the photos of the upgrade below.

Click To View Gallery

It remains to be seen if Ncuti’s Doctor will keep this new TARDIS interior or not. I’d personally love for this design to stick around for more than three episodes. But perhaps the creative minds behind Doctor Who have something even more splendid in store for Fifteen’s TARDIS. It does seem likely that Doctor Who will keep the new opening sequence for a while. There could be a slight variation in the theme song to differentiate between Doctors, but outside of that change, this title sequence is probably tied to this new “Bad Wolf” era. Doctor Who is back on TV, and we appreciate all of its wonderful gifts. 

The post DOCTOR WHO Debuts New TARDIS Interior and Opening Title Sequence appeared first on Nerdist.

Doctor Who is celebrating 60 years of time and space adventures in style with a slate of anniversary specials with David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble. The pair reunited in “The Star Beast,” as the Doctor went up against a very furry antagonist being chased by scary looking bug-like creatures. The adorable yet angry Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors are brand new to many fans of the TV show. However, these characters are far from new to the overall Doctor Who universe. Here’s what you should know about the Big Finish and Doctor Who comics history of Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors and how they appear in “The Star Beast.” 

The Doctor Who Comics and Big Finish Audios History of Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors

Beep the Meep made his debut in the black-and-white comic story Doctor Who and the Star Beast (1980), written by Pat Mills and John Wagner with illustrations by Dave Gibbons. In the comics, Beep the Meep is big, furry, and white, much like the character appears in the TV show. Beep is the leader of the Meeps, a peaceful race who lived joyfully until their planet orbited near a Black Sun. The rays mutated them, making them an angry collective hellbent on conquering other planets. The Meeps were stopped by the Wrarth Warriors, a group of genetically engineered law enforcers with red eyes and a detachable claw for their left arm. The Star Council designed them specifically to deal with the Meeps, which they mostly succeeded at. However, Beep managed to escape death.

Beep’s ship crash landed into Earth, specifically the city of Blackcastle. The Meep leader put on a sweet front and befriended two kids named Sharon and Fudge. The innocent duo gave Beep shelter and the Fourth Doctor soon came along to help the fuzzy creature out. However, Beep the Meep’s true nature came to light. The Doctor teamed up with the Wrarth Warriors to defeat him. Following this story, Sharon became the Fourth Doctor’s next comic companion. 

Beep the Meep later made a brief cameo in Doctor Who Magazine #173’s Party Animals in 1991. This time, he appeared at a party that the Seventh Doctor and Ace attended. Here, Beep was colorized as a blue creature with yellow eyes. But we don’t see more action from him until 1996’s The Star Beast II. In that story, he got out on parole and wanted sadistic revenge. Once again, the Fourth Doctor got the upper hand, using black star energy to trap Beep inside For the Love of Lassie, a kids’ movie.

The most hilarious Beep the Meep comic appearance is Doctor Who Magazine #283’s TV Action! (1999). Beep tried to take over BBC’s TV hub to turn everyone in the UK evil, until the actor Tom Baker distracted him from his evil plan. You see, Beep the Meep thought Tom Baker was the Fourth Doctor (can’t imagine why…) and focused on destroying his longtime nemesis. The Eighth Doctor and Izzy came together to defeat Beep. 

Beep the Meep made the leap to audio stories with Big Finish’s The Ratings War, which was a CD that came with Doctor Who Magazine #313 (2002). Toby Longworth gave Beep the Meep a voice as the character faced the Sixth Doctor. Again, Beep tried to use TV to control the masses but he did not succeed. Once again, Beep ended up back in the hands of the Wrarth Warriors. In March 2019, Beep the Meep was in a Big Finish audio adaptation of Doctor Who and the Star Beast, with Bethan Dixon Bate providing the leader’s voice.

For the most part, the Wrarth Warriors only made comic and audio appearances to stop Beep the Meep. However, the Wrarth Warriors do briefly face the Slitheen family in the Russell T Davies’ story “Raxacoricofallapatorius,” which was in the book Monsters and Villains. In this adventure, they are still star police who deal with the Slitheen family’s illegal deeds. 

Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors in Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary Special Episode “The Star Beast” 

In the episode, Rose Noble, the Doctor, and pretty much everyone else in London except Donna Noble see a spaceship that appears to crash land in London. The ship lands in a steelworks mill; however, a separate vessel ends up near the Noble family home. Rose walks in an alleyway and runs into Beep the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes). Who can resist a furry white creature with big brown eyes?! Beep is undeniably cute and Rose immediately tries to befriend this new alien creature. Meanwhile, large bug-like creatures are dead set on hunting him down.

The Doctor arrives at the Noble home, with Donna’s mum Sylvia trying to prevent Donna from remembering her TARDIS travels. Beep the Meep tells them that the bug creatures, known as Wrarth Warriors, cultivated Meepkind for their fur until the galaxy said that was no longer acceptable. So the Wrarth Warriors slaughtered them and said that they will hunt down Beep. We also learn Beep has two hearts like the Doctor. 

Things predictably go awry when the Wrarth Warriors and UNIT soldiers, who are under a mind spell of sorts, get into battle. They destroy poor Donna’s home as the Doctor works to get them and Beep the Meep out alive. The Doctor soon realizes the Wrarth Warriors are perhaps not the villains after all. He brings Donna and her family along with Beep to an abandoned garage. Fourteen then summons the two main Wrarth Warriors via teleportation. 

One warrior gives them the real story. He says the Meeps’ planet once basked in the light of the living sun. One day the sun went mad and became psychedelic, its radiation mutating all of Meep-kind into cruel beasts who live for conquest. Basically they all went mad and they can transfer this psychosis through their eyes. The Meep army captured the Galactic Council, beheaded them, and ate them. So, the Wrarth Warriors were summoned to stop them. They eliminated majority of Meepkind and now Beep the Meep, the cruelest of them all and the leader, is the only one left. Beep finally reveals his true nature and kills the two Wrarth Warrior leaders. This story largely lines up with the comic origins for Beep and the Wrarth Warriors. 

Beep the Meep’s ship did not crash at all. He purposely landed on Earth to use its dagger drive to gain energy by stabbing into the ground and burning everything within a five-mile radius for fuel. Yep, that means Beep the Meep would destroy the entirety of London to give his ship some more juice. Of course, the Doctor and the DoctorDonna (!!!) come together once again to save the day. They work together in the engine control room to disable the dagger drive system and render his ship useless.

The Doctor ejects Beep out of the capsule and into the custody of the Wrarth Warriors. Beep the Meep gets 10,000 years in prison but, before he goes, he says he will tell “the Boss.” We can assume this is the Celestial Toymaker, whom the Doctor and Donna will face in the upcoming specials. For more about him, check out our explainer about his Doctor Who history. 

It’s unclear if we will see Beep the Meep or the Wrarth Warriors in the next two Doctor Who anniversary specials. We doubt it considering the Toymaker is on the way. But it was fun to see deep-cut Doctor Who comic characters come to life to celebrate the show’s enduring legacy.

The post DOCTOR WHO’s Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors Comic and Big Finish Origins, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s been a long time since Donna Noble ran (and verbally sparred) with the Doctor. She’s back and honestly better than ever in “The Star Beast,” the first of three specials celebrating Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary. There have been a lot of questions about how the Doctor and Donna would link up again considering Donna’s mind would “burn” if she remembered her TARDIS life. We get answers to that question and much more. Let’s get into what happens to Donna Noble (not Temple) in Doctor Who’s anniversary special.

How Does Donna Noble Reunite with the Doctor?

Donna and the Doctor’s reunion is actually rather chill. Fourteen arrives at a market and briefly wanders around before he sees someone carrying far too many boxes. He runs over to help and takes a couple of boxes only to reveal Donna’s face. Humorously, the Doctor stacks the boxes up and attempts to run away but Donna pulls him back in. To be fair, it was a rude move on the skinny man’s part. She says the boxes belong to Rose, which initially freaks the Doctor out until he discovers Rose is her daughter. 

As if on cue, a spaceship lands and everyone sees it except a briefly distracted Donna. That lady truly misses every damn thing. She doesn’t have a clue who the Doctor is at this point and no reason to be suspicious of his presence. 

Does the DoctorDonna Show Up in Doctor Who’s Anniversary Special? 

The issue of Donna Noble having to forget the Doctor and all her time travels has been a sore point for fans for many years. The Doctor may have thought he was doing what was best for Donna but he never gave her a choice. In “The Star Beast,” Donna’s mom Sylvia and Fourteen try to keep Donna from remembering anything but it is to no avail. As the Doctor keeps showing up, Donna becomes more suspicious about why he cares for her and her family. She finds herself doing things automatically, like holding his sonic screwdriver while he mans a protective shield. It all comes to a head at the steel factory when Donna makes the choice to go help the Doctor versus running towards safety with her family. 

We are thankful she made that choice. The Doctor needed the DoctorDonna’s help with shutting down Beep the Meep’s operation. He’s resistant but Donna makes the choice to allow him to unlock her memories and resurrect the DoctorDonna. The energy is so great that it manifests in her as well as her daughter Rose, which saves her life. The trio come together to thwart Beep’s plan to use London as a fuel source. But the Doctor knows that Donna and Rose cannot keep such vast knowledge in their heads. This time, Donna and Rose call him out, saying that they know what a male-presenting Time Lord could never understand: that you can simply choose to release that power. This gives Donna the agency that she didn’t get years ago. 

What’s Up with Donna Noble’s Daughter Rose and Her Husband Shaun Temple?

In the final episodes of the Tenth Doctor’s era, we “met” her husband Shaun Temple. The Doctor never interacts with him but he does watch Donna with Shaun, including on their wedding day, from afar. Fifteen years later, Shaun Temple is still married to Donna, who hilariously didn’t take his last name because Noble Temple sounded weird together. Shaun and Donna have a daughter named Rose. At first, it seems this name is from Donna’s subconscious that still remembers Rose Tyler. And this is sort of true, except the metacrisis was passed down to Rose. Donna’s daughter is trans and chose the name Rose to better fit her identity! But she’s also a Noble, which Shaun doesn’t mind because he loves his girls. So sweet.

Rose also unknowingly made stuffed animals in the likeness of villains her mom faced with the Doctor in a shed that mimics the TARDIS. And, because she doesn’t fit neatly into a binary, she was able to embrace that Time Lord energy and make a choice to let it go. Rose once felt strange and lost but now she’s fully aware of who she is as a person. Love to see it.

Sooo, Is Donna Noble Still Rich From Her Winning Lottery Ticket?

Donna Noble is rich in love and family support but not with money. This is wild considering the Doctor gave her a winning lottery ticket so she would have a good life. But Donna, still heavily influenced by the Doctor unbeknownst to her, gave the money away to help others in the world. Outside of slick remarks by Sylvia, no one seems to blame her for her choice. The Doctor may not give her another lottery ticket but he is trying to get her a job with UNIT. Her interview will have to wait because, well, she spilled coffee on the TARDIS console and now they are in flux somewhere. Good times. 

Does Donna Noble Die in the Doctor Who Anniversary Special?

No, Donna doesn’t die in the first special. But that doesn’t mean the Doctor can keep her safe from the Celestial Toymaker. Russell T Davies does hint that things won’t be very pleasant for Donna in this round. Time will tell what ultimately happens to Donna and the Fourteenth Doctor. Our bet is that he saves her life and regenerates as a result, like he did with her grandfather Wilf years prior.

The post What Happens to Donna Noble in the DOCTOR WHO Anniversary Special? appeared first on Nerdist.

In an age where shows are getting canceled left and right, it seems a really good anthology might be the best way to crack the code. At least, Black Mirror‘s renewal for a season seven at Netflix seems to indicate that may be true. The sci-fi dystopian show has captivated audiences for as long as its been around, and certainly for its six seasons on Netflix. Of course, that could be because every day it feels more like Black Mirror‘s universe and our reality are one and the same. We don’t love that, we do love Netflix renewing Black Mirror for another outing.

So far, there isn’t that much information available about the seventh season of Black Mirror, aside from confirmation of its renewal, which we first saw on Variety. We don’t know how many episodes the season will have or who will bring to life the stories they tell. Prior seasons have been a variety of lengths and episode numbers, so it’s hard to predict what we’ll see. Of course, all past Black Mirror seasons have delivered star-studded casts and incredible line-ups of writers and directors, so we feel pretty sure that this one will not be any different. We guess we will have to wait and see for more details. And all the while, we should probably cross our fingers that whatever apocalyptic tales take place in Black Mirror season seven, we don’t see them happening outside our window first.

Black Mirror is currently available to stream on Netflix as we wait for more news of its season seven. Its first six seasons feature many harrowing tales, including a particularly prescient one about AI from season six. We also think you should give the Miley Cyrus episode a try. We wouldn’t say it’s the best show to watch during the holiday season, but hey, season two does have a Christmas episode.

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The Monsterverse has given us a plethora of enormous creatures of all stripes since it began in 2014. Not only Godzilla, Kong, and Mothra, but brand new and memorable ones, like the MUTOs and Skullcrawlers. The Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters not only expands the lore of the Monsterverse with mysteries behind the organization’s creation, but has also shown us a number of awesome new Titans in only a few episodes.

We spoke to Sean Konrad, the show’s visual effects supervisor, about some of these new creatures, and revisiting the Golden Gate Bridge scene from ’14’s Godzilla.

“That sequence,” Konrad explained, “the way that Gareth [Edwards] had shot it was very much meant to be from the human point of view. That was one of the really cool things he did. You’re able to get a sense of movement and build the scale of Godzilla by moving through the environment from that point of view of the bus. We definitely wanted to stay true to that when we approached the scene [for Monarch].

The scene in the show, which depicts Cate Randa (Anna Sawai) looking up at the enormous visage of Godzilla while her bus of school children rests precariously next to her, is an iconic moment in the first episode. It was also an iconic moment in the movie, which Konrad explains was almost going to just be what we saw. “There was early talks,” he said, “like, should we just reuse some of the footage from the movie? And ultimately, we came down on the side of that would feel really cheap, and we wanted to do something that really allowed Cate to have an emotional moment.”

But simply showing Godzilla, or the Titans, is not going to ensure they work on-screen. Konrad told us, “It’s a lot of the same problems that existed in the feature films where you have to build up scale. The way you do that is you take atmospherics—rain—and that helps us give some sense of reference to the size of a thing. Explosions then sort of dot in and give you that scale.”

But that’s only part of it. Konrad explained so much of the believability of the monsters comes down to practical filming. “You’re not going to put kids on a bus rig that will tilt back,” he said. “So we had a kid physically in a bus and he was okay to fall backwards onto a mat. But we couldn’t actually have him tip and go over the edge, so we had to digitally take over the bus in a lot of shots in order to make it do that, and then to keep it rocking and rolling on the edge as it’s precariously perched there. Fortunately, we had a lot of stuff in the scene, like rain and smoke that could help us hide details when we were concerned about showing too much of the interior of the bus and making that not work with the exterior.”

Konrad also let us in on a major trick for these Titans that seems obvious in retrospect. It’s all about location. Where is the creature? What would the environment have to say about how the creatures look, move, and behave? “The crab [a.k.a. Mantleclaw] you see in the first scene in episode one, we were standing on this wonderful peninsula made of lava rock and we’re like, ‘Well, this is a cool material. Let’s make a crab made of this!’ So it’s looking at your environment and trying to make them feel like they seamlessly fit in.”

For the Ion Dragon, the creature we meet at the end of episode two, Konrad and team had to go a different direction. “With this one, we wanted it to be incongruent. We want it to be like, why the heck is that thing here? So we took the mouth of an angler fish—which belongs in the bottom of the ocean, where it should stay—and you put that into the middle of the jungle and then we give it wings. Then you’re like, ‘Why the hell does this fish have wings?'”

This explains the rest of its distinctive physique. “[We gave] it this almost gargoyle-ish body with this big, spiny tail,” Konrad said. “Really what you’re trying to do is do the same philosophical ideas of, okay, we’re going to use the natural world as inspiration for our creatures for the initial concept. We want to tie it to these concepts. But ultimately, what we want to do is make it really weird and crazy and tie into mythological creatures and the forms and silhouettes that they have.”

“We wanted a dragon,” he continued, “and so we’re kind of going into that direction. But we didn’t want to make it a dragon that has already been seen on TV a million times. And so finding that unique carve-out is hugely challenging, because you don’t want to step on the features’ toes or the comics’ toes or any of those kinds of things. So you find something that feels unique to your universe.”

Another such critter made its first appearance in episode three. The “Frost-Vark” is a giant mole-like creature that lives underground in Alaska. It can emit freezing energy. This is very unlike anything in our world. That proved quite difficult to for the teams of designers. “That was a creature where we had a design that we loved and we put it into the shots and we were like, this is just fundamentally not working,” Konrad explained. “We went back to the drawing board, literally, and our concept artists at Wētā re-concepted. And then the Framestore team kind of picked up on that and added more detail. And even as we were finishing it, we were like, ‘There’s still things missing.'”

“One of our Apple executives had made a couple of suggestions of, ‘Okay. Well, let’s add a little bit more like snow and blood on it and make it look like it’s just been through a little bit more.’ And that sort of ended up being the sweetening thing that made it feel a lot more realistic.” It paid off for Konrad, who cites the Frost-Vark as his favorite on the show.

“I really love the ice mole creature that we’ve got in there,” he said. “We really get to linger on the ice creature a little bit more. He’s in two episodes back to back, and you get a whole Jaws-like chase scene with it. And that’s kind of the fun of it. I really love being able to explore it and get that personality.”

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters drops episode three Wednesday, November 22, on Apple TV+.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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It’s always a wild ride in the world of entertainment. This week, Nerdist had the pleasure of speaking to The Marvels‘ Iman Vellani, we saw some potential Fantastic Four casting news, and we got our first good look at Madame Web. But that’s not all that took place.

Here are some of our favorite pop-culture news odds & ends from this week.

This Week’s Odds & Ends in News

Jump to:

• Harley Quinn Renewed for Season Five on Max
• Yes, Frozen 4 Is in the Works Even Though Frozen 3 Has Not Released Yet
• Completed Coyote vs. Acme Movie Canceled and then Uncanceled By Warner Bros.
• It’s Ranch Time: Ranch Popcorn Arrives at AMC, and a Double-Headed Ranch Bottle Can Soon Be Yours
• Welcome to Wrexham Renewed for Season Three
• Blumhouse’s Imaginary Brings Us a Killer Teddy Bear
• Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection Will Launch on Digital
• Critical Role Prequel Novel for Bells Hells Campaign to Release in 2024
• Dr Pepper Reveals Spicy New Flavor, Dr Pepper Hot Take
• Central Perk Coffeehouse, a Modern Take on Friends Location, Now Open in Boston

Harley Quinn Renewed for Season Five on Max

A show renewal, especially on Max, is cause for great celebration these days. And we’re definitely cheering on Harley Quinn, which will receive a season five on Max. Five seasons is no easy feat for any series, but this fabulously queer show definitely deserves them. As a release from Max shares, Harley Quinn is full of “hilarious, heartwarming, and deranged stories with our lovable group of DC misfits.”

Harley Quinn is also heading to the Joker sequel, Folie á Deux

Yes, Frozen 4 Is in the Works Even Though Frozen 3 Has Not Released Yet

“Let it go, let it go!” These lyrics made Frozen‘s Elsa famous. But it seems like Disney is certainly not ready to let go of Frozen, Anna, or Elsa. Although Frozen 3 has not even begun to become a reality, it turns out Frozen 4 is already in the works. Per Variety, Disney’s CEO recently shared, “Frozen 3 is in the works, and there might be a Frozen 4 in the works too… [Director] Jenn Lee, who created the original Frozen and Frozen 2, is hard at work with her team at Disney animation on not one but actually two stories.”

Remember when Disney sequels went direct to VHS?

In the meantime, check out our review of Disney’s latest animated film.

Completed Coyote vs. Acme Movie Canceled and then Uncanceled By Warner Bros. Discovery

It’s a messy time in the entertainment industry. Fully completed movies and series are being unceremoniously canceled for tax break purposes, and that should be illegal, literally. The latest finished movie to almost get canceled is Coyote vs. Acme, starring Will Forte, John Cena, and Lana Condor. Warner Bros. Discovery even announced its cancellation but was met with great public outcry from fans and creators alike. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has since reversed course and will now allow director Dave Green to try to sell the movie instead. Potential buyers include Amazon. It’s still not a great situation, but it’s better.

Unfortunately, more and more streamers are canceling finished products. But happily, some of them, like The Spiderwick Chronicles, are getting saved.

It’s Ranch Time: Ranch Popcorn Arrives at AMC, and a Double-Headed Ranch Bottle Can Soon Be Yours

‘Tis the season, it turns out, for ranch. First up, Hidden Valley Ranch is bringing ranch dressing to AMC theaters with a brand-new Hidden Valley Ranch gourmet popcorn flavor. A release shares this movie theater treat will offer the “right balance of tangy Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning with AMC’s perfectly popped popcorn.” Yum! Hidden Valley Ranch movie theater popcorn is now available at select AMC theaters.

Additionally, for the top ranch aficionados, Hidden Valley Ranch has created “Double Ranch, the ranchiest ranch yet. Double the herbs. Double the spices. Double the flavor. Double the bottles.” You have our attention.

This double-headed Ranch bottle will “be available nationwide through a Snapchat lens on Saturday, November 18, while supplies last. The custom Snapchat lens will recognize any “X” that users come across, prompting the Double Ranch bottle to appear on the screen and providing a Swipe Up feature to purchase.” 222 bottles of this double-headed ranch monster will be available.

This isn’t the weirdest ranch has gotten; it once turned into a diamond ring.

Welcome to Wrexham Renewed for Season Three

Our favorite feel-good docuseries will return once again. Welcome to Wrexham has been renewed for a third season by FX, and it will arrive in spring 2024. That means Rob McElhenney, Ryan Reynolds, and the Wrexham AFC team will all be back for more football fun before we know it. We expect season three will make us cry and then laugh, and we can’t wait. In the meantime, we’ll enjoy watching back through Welcome to Wrexham‘s now-completed first couple of seasons.

If you haven’t yet, check out all the fun of Welcome to Wrexham season two.

Blumhouse’s Imaginary Brings Us a Killer Teddy Bear

Obviously, one thing missing from our lives is a new horror movie about a killer teddy bear. So thank god that Blumhouse’s Imaginary trailer is here to bring us what we need. This movie offers a dark take on the notion of imaginary friends.

You don’t want to cross these angry spirits, and you certainly don’t want to ever leave them behind. Or else, they’ll possess stuffed animals and come for you. Better watch out for how you treat your teddy bears.

We don’t know how this movie will turn out yet, but these are our favorite final scenes from horror movies.

Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection Will Launch on Digital

Want to relive the magic of a whole trove of classing Jurassic Park video games? Well, you’re in luck because a collection of them is launching on digital on November 22.

A release shares, “The 8-and 16-bit era of Jurassic Park games has returned. This nostalgic release includes a lineup of classic titles and adds new features, including save states for each game, new in-game maps, and various quality-of-life fixes that bring these titles into the modern era of gaming.”

The Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection includes seven games that were originally released across NES, Game Boy, SNES, and the SEGA Genesis:

• Jurassic Park (NES)
• Jurassic Park (SNES)
• Jurassic Park (Game Boy)
• Jurassic Park (Genesis)
• Jurassic Park: The Chaos Continues (SNES)
• Jurassic Park: The Chaos Continues (Game Boy)
• Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (Genesis)

You can pre-order the collection now.

Did you know dinosaurs may have been cuddly?

Critical Role Prequel Novel for Bells Hells Campaign to Release in 2024

Critical Role‘s current campaign Bells Hells is getting a prequel novel titled Critical Role: Bells Hells—What Doesn’t Break. This new book will “[chronicle] the unexplored years before fan-favorite character Laudna joins up with the crew of Bells Hells, following her departure from Whitestone and her solo adventures on the road toward Jrusar.” Sounds like it will be an epic adventure! This Critical Role novel will be written by Cassandra Khaw and release on July 24, 2024.

Experience more Bells Hells with this animated opening sequence from the campaign.

Dr Pepper Reveals Spicy New Flavor Dr Pepper Hot Take

Get ready for a spicy new flavor of Dr Pepper, Dr Pepper Hot Take. A release shares, “Dr Pepper has harnessed the bold and blistering flavor of spicy peppers to create the limited-edition flavor. It’s the iconic Dr Pepper taste fans know and love, but with a zesty, fiery kick.” That’s hot. The flavor is available exclusively through “Pepper Perks” and can either be won in a game of scratch-and-win or purchased for 3,000 points. We must admit, we feel very curious about it.

You think that’s hot? Check out this IRL lightsaber.

Central Perk Coffeehouse, a Modern Take on Friends Location, Now Open in Boston

Our favorite Friends location is coming to life with a modern twist. Central Perk Coffeehouse opened in Boston on November 14. According to People, the “2,600-square-foot venue, a collaboration between Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment and CenPer, is filled with Friends-inspired memorabilia and subtle nods to the show’s characters and plot lines. And of course, it features an oversized orange couch. There are also coffee cup sleeves featuring iconic quotes from each of the six Friends.”

This location will be permanent. On its opening day, the cafe honored the late Matthew Perry.

We’ll never forget Chandler Bing or his impact on the TV world.

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The 1978 The Star Wars Holiday Special is one the cringiest things to ever come from the galaxy far, far away. It was so bad, in fact, that it aired only once, despite the involvement of almost the entire main Star Wars cast. It has never seen an official home video release, and don’t even bother looking on Disney+ for it. Now, we’ve learned that a documentary about how this special ever came to be is on the way, and it will release on digital early this December. You can watch the trailer for A Disturbance in the Force below:

Set on the Wookiee home planet, the TV special was a variety “comedy” hour. (Comedy in quotes for a reason.) It focused on Chewbacca’s family celebrating Life Day, with celebrity guests galore. The special circulated for years on bootleg VHS tapes at conventions. Then, it became available in an unofficial capacity online. One YouTuber even remastered it. Lucasfilm has never done anything to crack down on this. Maybe they realized that the genie was long out of the bottle, and there’s no use. Hopefully, in this new documentary, we will finally learn how this train wreck of a cash-in ever went on the air.

Among the folks interviewed are Seth Green, “Weird Al” Yankovic, the late Gilbert Gottfried, Paul Scheer, and writer Bruce Vilanch. In the trailer, Vilanch explains that they even tried to get Cher to be in the special. To her credit, she was wise enough to turn it down. (Although that would have been a sight to see). What other secrets about the making of this infamous pop culture artifact might we learn?

In a weird way, the “bootleg” reputation of the The Star Wars Holiday Special has only made it more popular with fans. And elements of it have survived into official Star Wars canon. The animated short that was part of the special introduced Boba Fett. His unique phase pulse blaster, which looked like a tuning fork, saw use on The Mandalorian. And the planet of Kashyyyk was a major location in Revenge of the Sith. And these days, they honor the Wookiee celebration of Life Day with merch all over Galaxy’s Edge. Even the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special probably wouldn’t be a thing if Star Wars hadn’t gone there first. So it’s about time it got its props, even if everyone involved is embarrassed by it today.

A Disturbance in the Force will arrive on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 5. You can pre-order it today and take it home just in time for the holidays.

Originally published on January 12, 2023.

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Godolkin University is a place where you can thrive, cause chaos, and apparently run head first into murder. The Boys‘ spinoff Gen V draws from a bizarre The Boys comic arc with a wild roster of new characters who boast a bevy of powers. Compound V is one hell of a drug, right? And, as the show transpires, we will learn even more about each supe’s power and how it plays into all the bloody action.

Here is every new Gen V hero and what you need to know about their powers. 

Gen V’s Godolkin University Student Hero Lineup and Their Powers

Marie Moreau (Power: Hemokinesis/Blood Manipulation)

Our main girl Marie Moreau is an 18-year-old superhero with the power of hemokinesis, which is the ability to control and weaponize her own blood. We saw her use her power in the Gen V trailer as she uses blood tentacles of sorts to whip around and destroy things. The first episode of Gen V reveals that Marie’s powers activated when she began her menstrual cycle at around 10, even though she was injected with Compound V as a baby. She panics in the bathroom and accidentally ends up killing her parents because she doesn’t know how to control her weaponized blood. We also learn that she frequently uses her powers by cutting her hands and manipulating the blood.

Unlike most kids who end up at Red River Institute and later go to Elmira Adult Rehabilitation Center where they are either locked up or presumably killed, Marie gets into Godolkin University. But she still grapples with her past and how people view her presently. That is, until Golden Boy’s death and some PR foolery by Godolkin and Vought leads her to become ranked in the top ten. Her newfound fame goes over well with everyone except Jordan Li (obvious reasons) and Polarity, who wants his son to be the sole star and finds Marie’s powers “unsanitary.”

Marie doesn’t seem to regret her powers but she is soon disillusioned with being the diversity showpony for God U. She moves up in the rankings to #2 in episode four; however, she’s now fully into exposing the nefarious woods. We get to see a different side of her powers when she explodes a fellow student’s penis after he tries to sexually assault her. Marie isn’t sure how she did it but being able to control blood within another person’s body is a new part of her abilities.

In episode five, Marie humorously reveals that she can sense when a person is about to start their menstrual cycle. More importantly, Marie is able to sense when there’s something obstructing blood flow, which is how she discovers the tracking device implanted in her neck. She can also sense Compound V in a person’s blood, which happens when she meets Victoria Neuman in episode seven. Honestly, her powers are the coolest. We see them really blossom in the season one finale when she is able to manipulate blood from dead bodies without even cutting her own palms. She creates deadly blood daggers and can even find the invisible Maverick by focusing on his heart and bloodstream. What a boss.

Andre Anderson (Power: Metal Manipulation and Superhuman Strength)

Andre is a junior at Godolkin University with magnetic powers and, of course, superhuman strength. We assume his powers are like his father Polarity considering he’s set to take his place after retirement. And if being charming and handsome are superpowers, then he has those too. He not only draws a metal bottle straight to his hand but also causes two trucks to smash together and capture a fleeing man. But that doesn’t mean his powers are dangerous. He nearly kills a woman after doing a “magic trick” with a piece of metal but Marie saves her, thankfully. Andre’s father pushes him even harder after Golden Boy’s death when he becomes the top-ranked student.

As Andre begins to investigate Golden Boy’s death, his powers come into play quite often. Unfortunately, the soldiers protecting the “woods” secrets have a device that can subdue his powers. But when that device isn’t in play, Andre can be a dangerous guy. He launches a refrigerator at Sam to subdue him and, in episode five, Andre uses gardening tools to pin (and nearly decapitate) Rufus in a moment of anger.

Andre discovers that his powers have a detrimental effect on his brain. His father, Polarity, goes into a seizure and nearly dies on national TV. The doctors reveal that their power set causes brain damage over time, so Andre must decide if he wants to continue to use his powers.

Emma Myer/Little Cricket (Power: Size Manipulation/Reduction)

Emma’s supe moniker Little Cricket is due to her ability to get super small. She’s much like Termite on The Boys, except she’s a YouTuber who makes fight videos with her rodent pet David Caruso. Her power also shines in the Gen V trailer when she crawls out of a dead man’s ear. Fantastic. In the show’s first episode, we discover that Emma sadly has to force herself to vomit in order to get small. People are either cruel to her online, fetishize her in real life, or use her to forward their own agendas. Justine is a terrible person. Emma’s own mother wants to use her to create a TV show. Things are rocky between her and Marie for a bit but they become friends, which brings some light to her sad story.

She also gets close to Golden Boy’s brother Sam. This relationship causes Little Cricket to use her powers in a different way in episode four. Sam is having a mental breakdown and all the blood and metal moving powers in the world won’t stop him. Little Cricket is at her regular size and gorges on food to get super big. She’s able to subdue him and also shocks everyone with her new (to them and us) ability. Emma’s new power reveal (and a video of her getting loose) increases her popularity and makes her rise up the student rankings.

Unfortunately, Emma and Sam break up, which is how we discover that Emma can end up really, really small if her heart is broken.

Cate Dunlap (Power: Mind Control)

Cate can make people do anything she asks by simply touching them with her hands. Of course, she uses this to her advantage, like sliding her way into a packed nightclub, and is super popular. She can also use them for revenge or to save someone in a tight spot. Like Marie, her powers accidentally destroyed her family after she told her brother to leave and never return. Her powers do have side effects from severe headaches to seizures if she takes things too far.

Unfortunately, Dean Shetty is using Cate’s power to her advantage. Cate is able to wipe people’s memories, which she did to the group to make them forget The Woods. She was also responsible for mind-wiping Golden Boy to make him keep forgetting his brother Sam. When Cate is not under strong meds, she’s able to hear everyone’s thoughts around her. She breaks free from these meds and goes completely rogue, killing Dean Shetty and liberating The Woods in a morally questionable way. Marie explodes one of Cate’s hands but she still has the other one to use. This new Guardian of Godolkin will certainly be an antagonist in Gen V‘s second season.

Jordan Li (Power: Gender/Body Transformation, Superhuman Strength and Durability, Energy Blasts)

They can change between male and female forms. Depending on their form, this hero has access to different power sets that we see in Gen V. The man is dense and indestructible, while the woman can use energy blasts and appears to be quick. They put up a formidable fight against Golden Boy towards the end of the first episode. Jordan doesn’t fit the social bill to be the hero of Godolkin so we will see how that affects their future.

Thankfully, Jordan can kick down doors, which helps save Marie from a campus creep. This, along with their obvious tension with Marie, leads to the pair hooking up. Love to see it.

Luke Riordan/Golden Boy (Power: Pyrokinesis/Fire Manipulation and Superhuman Strength)

Luke Riordan can light his entire body on fire and apparently use it as a shield. It seems he is this universe’s version of the Human Torch. But there’s a lot more to this pretty boy than meets the eye. Sure he’s all charms and smiles with Marie; however, Luke is dealing with something heavy. He keeps seeing visions of the mysterious “woods” and discovered the truth about what happened to his younger brother Sam. The visions cause him to go on a rampage, killing his supposed buddy Brink before he flies in the sky and explodes himself.

His story and the ongoing mystery about The Woods unfolds throughout the season but we really don’t learn much more about his powers.

Other Gen V Characters Who Have Powers

When Marie Moreau arrives at Godolkin University, we see a lot of ancillary students with a bevy of powers. It remains to be seen if we will get to know any of them in the season but there are some other Gen V characters who play a role and have powers.

Maverick (Power: Invisibility)

Maverick is Marie’s RA who makes an appearance a couple of times. He’s pretty witty but we don’t get a ton of him this season until closer to the finale. He can fight and is quick on his feet; however, he’s no match for Marie Moreau.

Polarity (Power: Metal Manipulation and Superhuman Strength)

Like we mentioned earlier, Polarity is Andre’s father and has the same powers. He is also well-aware of the secrets of the woods and, after falling into some serious illness in episode seven, ends up in a hospital bed. We still aren’t sure what his fate is at this time.

Sam (Power: Superhuman Strength and Invulnerability)

Sam is a troubled supe (and Golden Boy’s brother) who is trying to escape his unfortunate circumstances. He is a former resident at Sage Grove psychiatric hospital and a part of the sinister secrets of the woods facility, trapped in a lab where he is subject to torture. He’s extremely powerful with super strength and invulnerability but he also has to deal with hallucinations that blur the lines between reality and fiction. Luke was told his brother is schizophrenic but we aren’t sure if that is his true diagnosis or not.

Sam is perhaps the most powerful supe in this series but he’s also been through a lot of physical and mental trauma. But his powers, inside knowledge of the woods, and his brother’s tragic death all lead to him taking Cate’s side and using his powers to kill anyone in his path. Oh Sam.

Originally published September 29, 2023.

The post Every New GEN V Hero and Their Powers on THE BOYS’ Spinoff appeared first on Nerdist.

Ncuti Gatwa’s upcoming role as the Fifteenth Doctor on Doctor Who along with the future episodes heading to Disney+ is further expanding the show’s massive US and Canadian fanbase. There are a ton of newbies who want to understand “that blue phone box show.” The show’s modern era (2005-present) is a common entry point for newer fans. However, many want to go back to the very, very beginning, a.k.a. the Classic era (1963-1989). There are also longtime fans who 1) grew up watching Classic Who and love to see it and 2) became fans via the modern era but want to explore the Classic Doctors. Thankfully, Tubi is providing a free gateway into Classic Doctor Who, bringing all of the available episodes to its platform. 

Until now, the Classic era episodes were only available to UK and US fans via BritBox, a paid streaming service courtesy of the BBC and ITV. We can presume Classic episodes will remain there for now. But with a zillion streaming services in the universe, some people simply don’t want to pay for another one. That is totally understandable. So the Classic era episodes of Doctor Who on Tubi are a good thing, indeed. In addition to the show’s episodes, there is also Classic Doctor Who: The Animated Lost Stories, which includes animated reenactments of live-action episodes lost to time. (Many of them are from the Second Doctor’s era.) All episodes will run on a dedicated FAST channel and are available on-demand. 

Tubi will also offer a “New to Who” collection to help new fans board the TARDIS with relative ease. Now is the time to expand our recruiting efforts, Doctor Who fans. We need more people to become one of us because, well, we are an awesome collective. The Classic Doctor Who episodes are free on Tubi right now, so stream away my friends.

The post Classic DOCTOR WHO Is Streaming on Tubi for Free appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s a tough day for fans of the Grishaverse. Recently, it was revealed that the Netflix two-season curse struck the fantasy series Shadow and Bone, but this time, it also took out a planned expansion of the world. Yes, Netflix has canceled Shadow and Bone after two seasons and also shelved Six of Crows, a spinoff series that would have focused on series-favorites, the Crows of Ketterdam. Although Shadow and Bone‘s second season received mixed reviews, the news still feels somewhat shocking. The Grishaverse has many ardent fans who would have loved to see season three come to life, and the series, at one time, seemed to be a top hit for Netflix.

Deadline was the first to share the news and cited “series’ performance vs. cost” as playing a major role in the cancellation of Shadow and Bone before its third season. The publication mentions that the second season of the series did not have quite the same impact as the first. Deadline also notes that the pauses in production and the delay in the timing of a potential Shadow and Bone season three also contributed to the decision to cancel the series. Of course, this delay was due to Netflix and the other studios refusing to compensate the actors and writers they work with fairly. Ultimately, it’s impossible for us to know exactly why Netflix canceled Shadow and Bone, but we do know that we’re sad to see it go.

The author of the series, Leigh Bardugo, confirmed the cancellation of both Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows in an Instagram post. Among other things, Bardugo notes, “Most authors never get to see their work adapted. Many who do end up regretting the experience. I’m one of the lucky few who can look at an adaptation with pride and tremendous joy. I am so grateful to our writers, our crew, and our extraordinary cast who are not just wildly talented, but genuinely good people.” She concludes with the the Crows’ iconic motto, “No mourners.” It feels bittersweetly fitting here.

In the meanwhile, despite cancellation, Shadow and Bone‘s two released seasons remain available on Netflix. The show stars Jessie Mei Li (Alina Starkov), Archie Renaux (Malyen Oretsev), Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), Amita Suman (Inej Ghafa), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), Ben Barnes (General Kirigan), and more.

The post Netflix Cancels SHADOW AND BONE, Axes SIX OF CROWS Spinoff Series appeared first on Nerdist.

Gen V’s seventh episode was a complete doozy with tons of new revelations and The Boys’ character cameos. And boy did that episode’s ending set up the season finale well. It’s enough to make your head want to, ahem, explode. There has been lots of small connective tissue between The Boys and Gen V, from Queen Maeve posters to Adam Bourke showing up as a professor. However, things between these series are a lot more intertwined than we originally thought. Gen V reveals that Victoria Neuman and Marie Moreau are more alike than we thought and Dean Shetty harbors a personal vendetta against all supes, specifically Homelander, which explains why she is creating a supe-killing virus. Let’s get into how Gen V is perfectly setting up The Boys season four through season one’s final two episodes.

Dean Shetty’s Motivations in Gen V and Her Ties to Homelander’s Cruelty in The Boys

At the end of episode six, we discovered that Dean Shetty wants to use Dr. Edison Cardosa’s virus to infect all supes. Of course, this is in direct conflict with Dr. Cardosa’s intentions, which aren’t totally clear but apparently are not this nefarious. We knew we’d get an explanation behind her motivations at some point. It did seem odd to want to kill supes considering she is the dean of a university for supes. Now, we know that Dean Shetty hates supes because her husband and daughter died in the Crash of Transoceanic Flight 37.

In case you forgot, this is the plane crash from The Boys’ season one, episode four where Homelander and Queen Maeve attempt to stop hijackers on a commercial flight. They kill three of the hijackers but when Homelander discovers a fourth in the cockpit, he recklessly kills him with his laser eye powers. This destroys the plane, causing it to start crashing. Despite Maeve’s pleas to save the passengers, Homelander doesn’t want any witnesses. So, he leaves with Maeve and they watch everyone crash and die.

Indira Shetty is very well connected and a smart human. So it is not shocking that she knows the truth about this flight. It also seems that she hasn’t been the dean at the school for very long. She previously told Marie that she was previously a behavioral therapist and reminded Ashley that Vought hired her because she’s a “problem solver,” hinting that she came along in recent years. We’d bet his happened three years ago and she came into this sham of a school to continue studying supes. But unlike her predecessors, she’s taking her experiments to a dangerous new level.

In episode seven, Shetty goes to Grace Mallory, the former CIA Deputy Director and the founder of The Boys. Or, as Soldier Boy calls her, Captain Lesbo. Shetty tries to convince her that they can work together. Grace obviously declines this offer and makes a phone call to a mysterious person. She asks if they “got that” and hinting that “they” are on to her.

We don’t hear the voice on the phone, but it seems to be Butcher on the other end. Dean Shetty’s goals threaten every supe in this universe—both good and terrible. The Boys are not on that wavelength, especially with Starlight on their team. They will have to deal with this virus threat next season among other things. Vought is aware of The Woods and experiments, they don’t know that Shetty wants to kill all supes. Godolkin University is a front to study supes to craft new abilities and keep their business going. 

Any hopes of Dean Shetty appearing on The Boys are gone before the end of the episode. Cate controls Dean Shetty’s mind and makes her admit the truth to her friends. Then, she exacts her revenge by making her former mom figure slit her throat. Cate also prevents Marie from saving her, sending the God U crew into shock. Loyalties become divided with Sam believing that Cate delivered righteous justice while Emma, Marie, and Jordan believing she made a terrible choice.

In episode 8, we get confirmation that Butcher was on the phone, thanks to his appearance in a brief mid-credits scene. He walks through the now-dark hallways of The Woods before calling everyone a cunt. Perfection. We know The Boys will take place very shortly after Gen V‘s events, so we will see them looking into the events at God U.

The Boys‘ Victoria Neuman Comes to Gen V and Changes the Game

Now, it’s time for the Victoria Neuman drama. The former (??) anti-supe (but actually a supe) activist turned Vice Presidential candidate is at God U hoping to win over its students. Predictably, things go awry and Victoria has to leave the stage. Meanwhile, Marie sneaks in to speak with her directly, hoping that Neuman can use her political power to expose The Woods. She’s shocked when Victoria willingly invites her into a room for a conversation. Marie gets more than what she bargained for after Victoria Neuman invites her to analyze her blood. She realizes that the political powerhouse is herself a Supe and Victoria reveals that she also has blood manipulation powers. This makes a lot of sense considering she blows up folks’ heads on the regular.

Victoria also reveals that she went to the Red River Institute and played a small role in helping Marie get into Godolkin. (RED. FLAG.) Marie divulges all the information to her and Victoria tells her that she will “handle” it. She also tells Marie to go back to being a student, lest she want to cause trouble that will end with Vought shipping her to an adult facility. Victoria says the first Black woman in the Seven would have real power politically and culturally. She tells Marie to choose a path and that they will “keep in touch.”

This complicates things greatly for Marie because she could risk ruining her entire life behind exposing The Woods. At the end, Victoria takes the virus and kills Dr. Cardosa, so she will likely take off with the virus vials and use them to her advantage in The Boys season four. So while Dean Shetty is gone, Victoria Neuman is taking up the mantle of stirring up drama in the supe world. 

We know that Gen V will get another season that will build on whatever goes down in The Boys season four. What will Victoria do with the supe killing virus? How will Marie, Andre, Emma, and Jordan get out of their all-white prison? What will Cate and Sam do next? The plot thickens, indeed. Bring on The Boys season four.

Originally published October 27, 2023.

The post How GEN V Expertly Sets Up THE BOYS Season 4 appeared first on Nerdist.

The Boys is known for its bloody and oft-gross world full of deceptive supes and shady corporate shenanigans. So it’s fitting that Gen V, the show’s spinoff series, is delivering that same energy in a college setting. Class is in session and there’s a lot of gross, shocking, and plain old weird moments in Gen V that are prime fodder for GIFs and memes. 

Here are all the scenes that will never leave your mind (and timeline).

Jump To: Episode 1 // Episode 2 // Episode 3 // Episode 4 // Episode 5 // Episode 6 // Episode 7 // Episode 8

Gen V Episode One’s Most Gross, Shocking, and Weird Moments  – “God U”

Marie’s Bloody Supe Origin Story

Gen V wastes no time getting into some dark and bloody s**t. At first, things seem normal with a preteen Marie starting her first menstrual cycle. She’s understandably unnerved by her bleeding but she becomes terrified when her blood starts to float towards her face. Her screams lead her mom to break down the bathroom door.

Marie isn’t able to control her newfound powers and a stream of her blood slits her mother’s throat. Her dad comes in to help but Marie’s panicking causes her blood to also kill him in a brutal fashion. Her sister comes in to see their parents dead and Marie on the floor in shock. 

Not Suitable for School Sex Videos

A now-teenage Marie is at Red River Institute, an orphanage for young supes, and simply wants to use a computer. But one of her housemates is using it to watch sex videos. Weirdly, he’s watching it with no headphones in a room with others around. Marie rightfully calls him a perv and tells him to move. She also has to, um, clean the keyboard before she can use it. 

Little Cricket Vs. David Caruso the Gerbil 

This is tame for Gen V and The Boys’ universe but it is still very weird. We meet Little Cricket a.k.a. Emma, who shrinks down and makes fighting videos with her pet gerbil. It’s strange and fun and I’m okay with it. 

Golden Boy’s Arm-Ripping Techniques 

Golden Boy is the man at God U. So of course he has to battle his fellow classmates in a gladiator-style battle, right? He turns on the flames and quickly takes out an opponent. The fight ends with him ripping the other guy’s arms off for a burst of bright red. Thankfully this supe has healing powers and his arms are reconnected to his body. 

Hella Strong Supe on the Loose 

Marie and Andre both discover a supe running across campus as armed guards chase him. They use their powers to apprehend him but not before he’s able to toss some vehicles and people around. This sets up a big mystery and goes against the picture perfect image that God U maintains. 

A Night Out and a Throat Slashing (Again)

As a freshman, Marie is living the dream. Andre invites Marie to hang out with him, Golden Boy, Jordan Li, and Golden Boy’s girlfriend Cate. Are they supposed to leave campus? No. But college life is all about breaking the rules. Things are going well until Andre gets drunk and decides to manipulate a coin into a bird to impress a girl at the bar. Someone bumps into him and the coin slices a woman’s neck. Marie is able to save her life but it begins a downward spiral that nearly gets her booted from school.

Little Cricket’s Goes on a Wild and Woeful Ride

Little Cricket didn’t get a chance to hang out with Golden Boy. Instead, she hooks up with a random guy who is a fan of her online videos. Predictably, he only cares about her getting small so she can, um, take a ride on his private part. She isn’t thrilled about it but in the midst of her sadness she does it anyway. We also discover that Little Cricket has to force herself to vomit in order to get small. It really brings her story and powers into a sad focus. 

Golden Boy’s Killer Rampage and Explosive Ending

Marie decides to fight back against Professor Brink’s decision to expel her in order to protect Golden Boy and company. What she didn’t bargain for was seeing Golden Boy burning Brink alive before turning his attention to her. Jordan saves the day (even though they barely survived) but Golden Boy makes it outside. In the end, Golden Boy says goodbye to his bestie Andre before floating up in the sky and exploding himself. His blood and guts rain down on everyone below as they stand in a state of shock. An explosive ending to an episode, indeed. 

Gen V Episode Two’s Most Gross, Shocking, and Weird Moments  – “First Day”

Guts Cleanup on Godolkin Campus

The first scene of the episode shows the gory aftermath of Golden Boy’s death. Chunks of his flesh and blood are all over the place and it is terrible.

Nancy Reagan That S**t

Justine will do anything to get views, including telling others that Emma purges to get small. While that is gross and shocking from a moral perspective, Justine is also a creep. She convinces a supe to suck her tail on camera, telling her to “Nancy Reagan that s**t” in a calm voice. Yuck.

A Dive Into Polarity’s Private Parts

Andre finally pieces together what Golden Boy said moments before his death. “Your dad has it” wasn’t meant to be taken literally after all. It turns out Luke/Golden Boy hid a secret phone in the crotch of the Polarity statue, which Andre opens and retrieves.

Cate Saves the Day with Dirty Mind Control

Andre’s mission to find out about Luke and Sam goes awry when guards catch him. Cate comes in and uses her mind manipulation powers to convince one guard to suck on the others flashlight before it goes, well, where the sun doesn’t shine. Cate is so creative and clutch.

Gen V Episode Three’s Most Gross, Shocking, and Weird Moments  – “#ThinkBrink”

The Fist Up the Throat

Sage Grove doesn’t seem like a fun place to be. In a flashback, Luke and Cate go to visit Sam. Besides seeing a very long “love sausage” they discover that Sam is quite upset after learning the truth about Compound V. Luke calms him down but an officer shoots him, which leads to Sam punching an officer so hard in the chest that his fist comes out of his mouth. Delightful.

Well, That’s One Way to Grieve

Cate and Andre are both mourning Luke’s death and trying to piece together this mystery. In the midst of it all, college hormones take over and they have sex. Somehow, we don’t think Luke would be pleased.

Jordan Li’s Little Romp

This show changes scenery and tone at the drop of a hat. One moment we are grieving with Golden Boy and the next one Jordan Li is having a tryst in their room with a lot showing in broad daylight. Gen V really does embody the spirit of The Boys well when it comes to random shocking moments!

A Little Cricket Ear Adventure

Little Cricket meets Sam and they actually get along quite well. Soldiers come in and hit Sam with a taser. She chooses to defend him by crawling into a man’s ear and going all the way through to the other side. It’s bloody, weird, and a moment that no one will forget.

Gen V Episode Four’s Most Gross, Shocking, and Weird Moments  – “The Whole Truth”

Sam’s Trail of Carnage Candy

Sam is on the loose and he leaves a lot of carnage candy in his wake. Dean Shetty discovers a gruesome scene with most of her soldiers’ bodies twisted and bloody in a hallway. It’s not the first time we have seen Sam deliver blood to the screen and it certainly won’t be the last. 

I Exploded His D**k

Yes, Marie is a supe and currently #2 at God U. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t still a naive freshman who doesn’t know what’s going on sometimes. Marie is desperate to find Emma, so she seeks out Rufus, an upperclassman with psychic and telepathy powers. She wants him to use his abilities to locate Emma and he agrees, coercing Marie to sit close to him.

However, he somehow portals them to his dorm room after knocking her out with some sort of pheromones. Marie is confused and horrified when she discovers that he’s wearing a robe and fully exposing himself to her. Jordan shows up and creates a distraction. Marie holds her hands up and it causes the blood to rush to his penis. It explodes and that situation is a wrap. 

Marie and Jordan Hook Up

There’s been a ton of tension between these two and not in a sexual way. However, Marie finally telling the truth and Jordan coming to her aid sparks a flame between the pair. They share their first kiss before Emma barges in and end up having sex later in the episode. It’s not the graphic fare we’d expect in Gen V, but this moment is still shocking nonetheless. 

Tek Knight Is Humpin’ Around

Tek Knight’s extracurricular activities become his downfall in this episode. Dean Shetty discovers that his brain tumor leads him to engaging with inanimate objects in a sexual way. We actually get to see a few, including a donut, traffic cone, hand dryer, and even a tree. What a swell guy!

Emma Goes Giant

This episode reveals more about Emma’s abilities. Apparently, she can consume large amounts of food while regular sized and turn into a super-sized version of herself. This comes in handy when the God U crew tracks down Sam and tries to subdue him. Emma eats spaghetti and gets very big (and naked), holding Sam down and talking to him gently until he calms down. 

Gen V Episode Five’s Most Gross, Shocking, and Weird Moments  – “Welcome to the Monster Club”

The Dolphin Blowhole Sex Scene

The God U crew wakes up at a house party and doesn’t remember anything from the night before nor the woods. Andre and Cate walk through the house, where all sorts of wild things have happened. But nothing is like what they see in one room. A guy who can move his hand really fast sticks it inside of a girl with a blowhole. And um… she has her climax and shoots fluid out of the hole.

Who the Hell Is Sam?!

Things take a complete turn when Sam shows up. Emma and Marie have no idea who he is and remember nothing about The Woods. This is when we know something truly terrible has happened to our crew.

The Violent Puppet Scene

Dean Shetty’s guards/soldiers descend on Sam’s hiding spot. He takes them out in extremely brutal fashion but it seems less horrific because the fight is seen through his eyes. Everyone, including Sam, appears as a puppet. It’s only in the end where we see the true carnage that Sam left behind. The more you think about his puppet connection, the sadder it becomes.

Cate’s Deception

Marie discovers a tracking device in her neck and goes to Cate to see what to do next. Unfortunately, Cate reveals herself to be the one wiping their minds. Is she a horrible person? No. But it still makes everyone angry, especially Andre.

Gen V Episode Six’s Most Gross, Shocking, and Weird Moments  – “Jumanji”

Hello Soldier Boy

Everything about Marie, Jordan, and Andre’s encounter with Soldier Boy in Cate’s mind is weird and gross. He reveals that he is her childhood crush as well as all the ways she would masturbate to his image. We get great terms like “flick the bean” and “diddle that skittle” to describe it all. What a fun and wild cameo that ends explosively.

A Little Sex and an Emma Puppet

Is there anything else to say? After getting her memories back, Emma finds Sam and shows him the way to Pleasure Town. During their interaction, Sam briefly sees Emma as a puppet before she becomes herself again.

The Dean Shetty and Cate Connection

Well, well, wellll. It turns out Dean Shetty preyed on Cate at a young age after she’d been ostracized for nine years. Now we have a better understanding of why Cate would betray her friends and help Shetty in her dangerous mission.

Andre and Jordan Are Full of Sordid Secrets

Cate’s mind tells everyone’s personal business. While the revelation about Marie’s dark past made everyone feel empathy for her, Jordan and Andre’s secrets were of the anger-inducing variety. It turns out Golden Boy knew that Andre and Cate were sleeping together before he died. Spicy. And Jordan saw a confrontation between Golden Boy and Brink, but chose to stay quiet about it in exchange for their TA position.

Gen V Episode Seven’s Most Gross, Shocking, and Weird Moments  – “Sick”

Infected Andy Enters The Woods

Sam is out of The Woods but the horrors continue for the other supes there. We see the full scope of Dean Shetty and Dr. Cardosa’s nasty virus thanks to infected Andy. He looks like something from a zombie series in the grossest way possible. 

Dean’s Shetty’s Shocking Truth 

Marie and Jordan do a little snooping around in Shetty’s office and make a big discovery. It turns out Shetty’s family died in the flight that Homelander and Queen Maeve crashed in The Boys season one. This is why she’s dead set on killing all supes. For more about that crash and what this connection could mean, check this post out. 

Sam Explores Emma’s Underwear 

Sam is left to his own devices while Emma does a supply run. While it seems like a terrible idea to leave someone like Sam alone, Emma also knows he’s a wanted man. Sam explores Emma’s room and discovers her underwear drawer. Interestingly, she has underwear in all sizes and he takes a liking to her tiny ones. In fact, he begins to act out a weird scene with them to entertain himself. How can you not love him?

Polarity’s Onscreen Breakdown and Crushing Ride to the Hospital 

Polarity is back in Gen V and preparing to interview Victoria Neuman at a God U Town Hall. Things quickly go awry when Polarity goes into some sort of shock on live TV. Andre is watching and rushes to see about his estranged father. Polarity’s powers go off the rails, causing metal to fly all around and his ambulance to start crushing in on itself. Thankfully, Andre contains everything but it raises some unanswered questions about what happened to him. Is it connected to The Woods? 

Victoria Neuman’s Power Reveal

After a terrible Town Hall, Victoria Neuman and Marie Moreau sit down for a little chat. Victoria confirms that she also has blood manipulation powers, which makes sense because she pops people’s heads for fun. Maybe we will see a bloody battle between the two in the future.

Dean Shetty Dies Under Cate’s Control

The frankly awful relationship between Dean Shetty and Cate Dunlap comes to a tragic end. After years of feeding Cate meds to control her powers and coercing her to protect The Woods’ secrets, Cate is over Shetty. She gains mind control over her, making her confess all her sins before forcing Shetty to slit her own throat. This action causes some division among the group and sets Cate up to be a new antihero.

Popping the Doctor

Oh Marie. She tells Victoria Neuman all about what’s going on with The Woods and it immediately leads to mess. Victoria tracks down Dr. Cardosa, gets all the virus vials, and promptly pops his head before heading off to parts unknown.

Gen V Episode Eight’s Most Gross, Shocking, and Weird Moments  – “Guardians of Godolkin”

Sam’s Punch to the Skull

Sam and Cate go off on a mission to liberate The Woods and it quickly gets bloody. Sam punches clear through the helmet and head of a guard to set things into chaotic motion. He’s an awesome kid but Cate is certainly not the greatest influence on him.

Head Frying, Body Exploding, and Fear-Inducing Revenge

An escapee from The Woods gets out in the quad and immediately begins to exact his revenge against humans. The first non-supe professor gets her head promptly fried in front of a crowd and, well, its only the beginning of the havoc. There’s a full on war going on at Godolkin and the experiment supes have the upper hand for a bit.

Emma and Sam’s Official Breakup

Emma tries to stop Sam from continuing to kill. But he replies that he wants to make his own decision and that she will do anything to try to get people to like her. Sam is not totally wrong with his statement but Emma is right about them killing innocent people. Unfortunately, Sam decides to go along with Cate’s plan and allows her to deaden his emotions so he can be a killing machine. Poor Sam just wants to escape the pain and has pushed away the best person in his life.

Maverick Beats Up Marie… While Naked

This moment is more hilarious and enlightening than anything. Maverick (under Cate’s mind control) beats up Marie for a bit before she tunes deeply into her powers. She can suss out his bloodstream and uses that to knock him out. Also, Maverick is naked for no reason at all. Weird.

Marie Explodes Cate’s Arm and Faces Homelander’s Wrath

Speaking of Marie’s powers, she learns how to wield them in some mighty ways. Without even cutting her palm, Marie takes the blood of dead beings around her, forms daggers, and completely destroys a supe threatening Ashley Barrett, Adam Bourke, and others in a helicopter. Moments later, she explodes Cate’s arm (mostly by accident) to prevent Jordan from being mind controlled.

This move is seen by none other than Homelander, who puts Marie, Jordan, Emma, and Andre into some kind of weird holding chamber for their “crimes.” What a way to end a season.

We can’t wait to see what gross, shocking, and weird moments will happen in Gen V season two.

Originally published on September 29, 2023.

The post The Most Shocking, Gross, and Plain Weird Moments of GEN V Season 1 appeared first on Nerdist.

Disney+’s new Percy Jackson and the Olympians series will arrive just in time for the holidays this year. And what a gift it will be for all the Percy Jackson fans out there. So far, the Disney+ series looks like it will be incredibly faithful to the book series that inspires it. And that makes sense because Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan has been heavily involved with the series since its inception. The full trailer for Percy Jackson and the Olympians gives us our best look yet at the mythological world of the show. Gods, monsters, and vicious demigod frenemies, oh my! We’ll definitely want to bring a sword along.

This trailer for Percy Jackson and the Olympians puts the spotlight on some of the monsters Percy will brave along the way. The Minotaur arrives in all his glory in this Percy Jackson trailer. Medusa’s snakes are ready to slither. Hades’ three-headed dog Cerberus just wants a treat. And who doesn’t love a Chimera strolling toward them… especially when its starts to spew fire? We also get to see glimpses of more of the series’ gods, including Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hermes.

Of course, Percy won’t have to go on this quest alone. This Percy Jackson trailer stresses that a quest is for three. We love seeing the trio of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover come together before our eyes. And even though Percy doesn’t know where he fits into the mix yet, we bet this journey will help him find where he belongs. Not to mention, we’ll be going on this adventure with him, too.

The description for Percy Jackson and the Olympians‘ trailer shares, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.“

The Percy Jackson series will release on Disney+ on December 20. It will premiere with two episodes and release weekly episodes after that. Get in demigods, we’re going questing!

The post PERCY JACKSON Series Trailer Promises Gods, Monsters, and a Journey to Belong appeared first on Nerdist.

Remember when Marvel Studios explored the multiverse in animated form before Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Season one of What If…? imagined characters and stories from the MCU going slightly differently. T’Challa was Star-Lord and Peggy Carter became the first Super Soldier. The series introduced those promising ideas and more, though season one didn’t deliver in the way fans hoped. Now, Marvel Studios is back with What If…? season two. The trailer shows that the twists in the Multiverse have become more tangled. Plus, some Christmas hijinks ensue!

The poster for season two is leaning into the holidays aspect, which we’re guessing will be a single episode. So is the show’s marketing. What If…? season two will premiere on Disney+ on December 22. Fans can “unwrap” one episode every day for nine consecutive days. That means the season will end before the new year and that you can watch a new episode on Christmas. If nothing else, we can’t wait to see the Christmas episode and find out who has the nerve to invade Avengers Tower on the holiday.

Besides the holiday cheer, the trailer shows the return of Captain Carter and Strange Supreme. Thanos even appears. One of the episodes is set in medieval times, another brings back characters from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It seems like wild and weird times are ahead.

Featured Image: Marvel Studios

The post Marvel’s WHAT IF…? Season 2 Trailer Takes on Christmas appeared first on Nerdist.

Sometimes the perfect holiday gift is an item you’ve been eyeing all year. Other times the perfect holiday gift is an actual holiday-themed item. If you’re looking for the former this season we already have you covered whether you’re a pop culture lover or a tabletop enthusiast. But if you’re on the lookout for the latter, we’re also here to help. We’ve put together a massive list of great seasonal merchandise celebrating our favorite TV shows, films, video games, and more. From advent calendars and home goods, to comfort wear and ornaments, to so much more, we have plenty of present options for every wish list this December.

Advent Calendars – Elf: The Official Advent Calendar ($29.99)

We’re living in the golden age of advent calendars. They aren’t merely daily chocolate delivery systems anymore. You can now get just about any kind, offering whatever kind of treats you like. Those many options include advent calendars inspired by pop culture favorites, including this obviously perfect Elf option from Insight Editions. All month long you can open up gifts like stickers, tin buttons, key chains, Christmas decorations, and more based on the Will Ferrell holiday classic.

Looking for more pop culture advent calendars?

• Sonic the Hedgehog Advent Calendar ($49.99)
• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Advent Calendar ($49.99)
• The Office Funko Advent Calendar ($59.95)
• Jurassic World 30th Anniversary Holiday Advent Calendar Mini Figure Set ($32.99)
• Stranger Things 4 Advent Calendar ($48.99)

Glassware – Joy Jolt Star Wars Ugly Christmas Sweater Glasses Set ($29.95)

Joy Jolt’s Disney and Star Wars collections have enough fantastic items for fans of the Mouse House and galaxy far, far away that you could knock off most of your 2023 gift shopping list at the site. But if you’re looking for a Christmas-specific set of glasses you’ll want Joy Jolt’s delightful Star Wars Ugly Christmas Sweater collection. These four glasses are fun, practical, and, despite their inspiration, strangely stylish. They would even make Palpatine smile on Christmas morning.

Looking for more pop culture holiday glassware?

• Batman: The Animated Series Joker Christmas Pint Glass ($12.99) – Yeah, we’re using this glass, based on one of the show’s best episodes, year round.
• Saturday Night Live Schweddy Ball White Mug ($12.95) – As the kids say, “If you know, you know.” And anyone who does will love this mug celebrating a truly iconic SNL sketch.

Ornaments – Rick and Morty Ornaments ($19.99)

What duo says “Christmas” more than Rick and Morty? Uh… literally any other pair? I mean, there’s probably some couple in the infinite multiverse who captures the holiday spirit less, but who cares! We want to decorate our tree with television’s most absurd cartoons, and this double Hallmark set will let us do just that. If we’re celebrating TV and Christmas at the same time this is :burp: how we’re going to squanch it. The fact they’ll both look terrified of our tree makes it even better.

Looking for more pop culture holiday ornaments?

• Elf: Buddy The Elf Singing Ornament ($9.99)
• Roy Kent Ted Lasso Christmas Ceramic Ornament ($9.95)
• Dungeons & Dragons: Forged Monstrous Merrymakers Mimic Ornaments($36.99)
• Squid Game – Dalgona Candy Ornament Set ($35)
• Magic the Gathering 3-Piece Christmas Ornament Set ($12)
• Hand Painted “Eye Of Sauron” Lord of the Rings Ornaments ($12/15)
• Nicolas “Picolas” Cage Christmas Ornament ($14.99) – Please please please click this link to see this pickle-themed option. We love it oh so much.

Ugly Holiday Sweaters – Loki: The Christmas Variant Ugly Christmas Sweater ($59.99)

Merchoid has so many fantastic pop culture Christmas sweaters to choose from it’s almost impossible to settle on just one. It’s a massive collection covering film, TV, literature, video games, and more. So we opted for a piece of clothing that truly captures what’s great about all of them. The MCU’s Loki is now the God of Stories. He’s responsible for every reality, which means he’s responsible for every ugly Christmas sweater. Talk about a glorious holiday purpose.

Looking for more pop culture ugly holiday sweaters?

• House Of The Dragon Holiday Sweater ($51.95)
• The Lord Of The Rings Ugly Christmas Sweater ($39.95)
• Ted Lasso Ugly Christmas Sweater ($34.95 – $37.95)
• Doug Nickelodeon Ugly Christmas Sweater ($54)
• Fallout Gary Ugly Christmas Sweater ($54)
• Rugrats Tommy Pickles Maccababy Holiday Sweater ($59.90)
• Stranger Things Hellfire Club Ugly Christmas Sweater ($48)

Home Goods and Decor – Lenox “Grinchmas” Collection

You could easily put together an entire holiday-themed gift guide made up entirely of Lenox’s pop culture options. The company offers ornaments, frames, decorations, kitchenware, and more from The Peanuts, Star Wars, and Disney. But our Christmas movie-loving hearts are partial to Lenox’s The Grinch Who Stole Christmas “Grinchmas” collection. From mugs, plates, salt and pepper shakers, trays, mugs, and more, you can turn your home into a big celebration of the holiday’s iconic green villain-turned-softy

Looking for more pop culture holiday home goods and decor?

• Nintendo Super Mario Super Star Light-Up Tree Topper ($35.99) – Mamma mia! What a perfect pop culture tree topper!
• Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk Nutcracker ($64.99) – This is an amazing decoration and not a functioning nutcracker, but that’s for the best. We don’t want our nuts crushed, not smashed.
• Mickey Mouse Hanukkah Salad Plate Set ($44.99) – You’ll want to use these elegant plates more than eight nights a year.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation “Make It Snow” Pillow ($32.95) – Make this charming gift so for the Captain Picard fan in your life.

Comfort Wear – Pokémon Holiday Long John Pajama Set ($25-$39)

Some families like to wear matching clothes in their holiday photos. It’s a playful way to celebrate Christmas, and you can do that while also celebrating your favorite game with Hanna Andersson’s Pokémon long john collection. Thanks to the color of a Poké ball they don’t even look out of place as holiday-themed comfort ware. And there are PJs for everyone in your herd, no matter their age or size.

Looking for more pop culture holiday comfort wear ideas?

• Star Wars Han Solo “Han In Hanukkah” Sweatshirt ($44.90) – Needless to say this Han Solo Hanukkah sweatshirt is “not too shabby.”
• Elf Crocs ($64.99/$74.99) – Young or old, wearing Elf-themed Crocs on Christmas morning sounds so perfect it makes us think Santa is real. (And that we know him.)
• Studio Ghibli My Neighbor Totoro Forest Spirits Holiday Sweater ($59.90) – Why wasn’t this Box Lunch My Neighbor Totoro exclusive included in our ugly sweater section? Because it’s gorgeous!

Toys – LEGO Ideas Home Alone McAllister House Set ($299.99)

We’ve been obsessed with LEGO’s Home Alone McAllister House set since it was merely a LEGO Ideas submission, but can you blame us? The most expensive item on our list is a toy, a collectible, and a Christmas decoration all in one. It’s everything you could want from a holiday-themed item, one that celebrates so many things we love. And any time we can honor a holiday classic while also having some fun we will

Looking for more pop culture holiday toys?

• Star Wars The Black Series Holiday Figures ($27.99 each) – Every year Hasbro brings Christmas to the galaxy far, far away and every year we love every holiday-themed collectible.
• Mickey Mouse and Friends Disney Parks Holiday Train Set ($141.99) – Another toy that also doubles as Christmas decor? Oh boy!

Pet Toys – BARK Season’s Treatings Advent Calendar for Dogs ($49.99)

Advent calendars aren’t just for humans any more than Christmas gifts are. And since we know you’re definitely going to get your pup some presents this year, we had to highlight BARK’s holiday box for dogs. It will let you give your very good furry best friend something every day for 24 days. This Costco-exclusive dog advent calendar box comes with eight Christmas-themes toys and sixteen treats from their

Looking for more pop culture pet holiday gift ideas?

• ZippyPaws Holiday Burrow – Reindeer Pen ($16.99) – We won’t say how cute we think this little Rudolph toy is, but you can probably guess.
• Frisco Holiday 8 Days of Hanukkah Cardboard Calendar with Toys for Cats ($19.99) – Did you really think we’d forget about cats? Zero chance. We love them almost as much as we fear their wrath.

Board Games – Asmodee’s The Nightmare Before Christmas ($35)

It was another big year for Asmodee, one of our favorite tabletop publishers. You can easily fill up all the space below the board game fan in your life’s tree this holiday season with award-winning games like Challengers!, Unlock!, Star Wars: Shatterpoint, Marvel D.A.G.G.E.R., and more. But if you’re looking for a Christmas-themed game option this December we suggest Asmodee’s new The Nightmare Before Christmas card game, which lets you play as your favorite characters from the film

Looking for more holiday-themed board games?

• Betrayal at House on the Hill with Betrayal Evil Reigns in the Wynter’s Pale the Yuletide Tale Expansion ($21.99 for Expansion) – We know, this is not a board game you expected to see for a Christmas guide. But this horror classic from Avalon Hill is ready for December thanks to an all-new spooky Yuletide expansion.
• A Christmas Karen ($9.99) – If you want something light for your extended family to play this Christmas, Asmodee also has a game perfect for everyone except your actual Aunt Karen.

The post A Holiday-Themed Gift Guide for Film, TV, and Video Game Fans appeared first on Nerdist.

We all have our own traditions when it comes to Thanksgiving week here in the United States. Maybe it’s to hang up holiday decorations, or to gorge yourself on various pies, or even just watch your grandpa fall asleep watching football. Those are all well and good, but wouldn’t you rather add some giant monsters and transforming heroes to that? This year, TokuSHOUTsu is hoping you’ll do exactly that. From Monday November 20 through Monday, November 27, enjoy a marathon of tokusatsu programming handpicked by a variety of luminaries and fans of the genre. Hey, one of those is me!

That’s right, I am one of the privileged few who got to pour through the massive TokuSHOUTsu archives to choose our ideal lineup. Episodes of TV and feature films will dot each of the eight days. Dozens of seasons of the Ultra series, several of Super Sentai, four seasons of Kamen Rider, plus loads of Godzilla and Gamera movies are all up for grabs. Each of us got to program a whole day’s worth of programming. And who are the good folks making the choices? Check out the schedule below!

TokuSHOUTsu is coming home next week for Thanksgiving with a fiery feast of curated action and adventure! Enjoy a week+ of schedules chosen by an array of special guests that have been given full kitchen access to everything on TokuSHOUTsu. Look for your favorite transforming heroes, giant monsters, and all the rock quarry explosions you can handle! The takeover is happening Monday – Monday! Here is the full list of guest programmers:

Monday 11/20 – Jeff Gomez (Ultraman Connection)

Tuesday 11/21 – Monster Island Buddies

Wednesday 11/22 – Phil Szostak (Lucasfilm)

Thursday 11/23 – Kyle Anderson (Nerdist) i.e. ME

Friday 11/24 – RangerBoard

Saturday – Toku Chris (Toku Nation)

Sunday – Daniel Van Thomas (voice of Ultraman Zero!)

Monday 11/27 – Mach Dent

TokuSHOUTsu will announce the complete schedules in the coming days, but I’m excited to share what episodes and movies you’ll find on Thursday, November 23, the day I programmed. That’s right! It’s Thanksgiving Day. You have it off of work, so why not see what I have in store? I’ll tell ya now, it has a lot of Ultra. Specifically, Ultra Q, Ultraseven, and Ultraman Mebius, three of my favorite series in the franchise. But I share the wealth, too. Godzilla vs. Hedorah, the weirdest and most underrated Showa-era movie, episodes of Kamen Rider (1971) and Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000), plus Chojin Sentai Jetman (my favorite Sentai season) are here too.

Here’s the whole of my day below:

The whole kit and kaboodle starts on Monday, November 20. And be sure to watch my picks along with me in between bites of stuffing on Turkey Day.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

The post TokuSHOUTsu Announces Week of Special Guest Programmers appeared first on Nerdist.

Netflix’s Wednesday series resonated with viewers in a way that many didn’t expect. The series, starring Jenna Ortega as the infamous Addams family daughter, hit the streaming service right before Thanksgiving weekend for a story about mayhem and murder. Very appropriate timing, to be honest. And that long weekend along with eight episodes of fantastic action, verbal slices, and mystery paid off. Netflix gave us the renewal announcement that we’ve been wanting, revealing that Wednesday will return for season two. Let the ongoing shenanigans at Nevermore Academy continue. 

Here’s what producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar told Tudum.com about this great news:

It’s been incredible to create a show that has connected with people across the world.  Thrilled to continue Wednesday’s tortuous journey into season two. We can’t wait to dive head first into another season and explore the kooky spooky world of Nevermore. Just need to make sure Wednesday hasn’t emptied the pool first.

The Wednesday season two renewal announcement shouldn’t shock anyone. Wednesday nabbed the record for most hours viewed in a week for an English-language series on Netflix with a whopping 341.2 million hours. And it became #1 in 83 countries, tying the record set by Stranger Things 4. We all know that Stranger Things is Netflix’s darling, so anything that can rival that is worth keeping around. And, to be honest, Wednesday Addams is a true legend with a legion of fans. Add in the fact that Jenna Ortega is coming into her full star power with yet another Scream movie on the way, and, well, the smell of success is stronger than Thing’s hand cream. 

Most recently, Variety reported that Wednesday season two was tentatively scheduled to begin production in April 2024. Good news for all excited fans.

Wednesday season two will presumably pick up when the students return to Nevermore. We will get to discover who is watching Wednesday and if she decided to go visit Enid during their impromptu break. Recently, Ortega also shared that in season two, Wednesday would lean into its more horror-filled aspects and ditch a romantic story. Oretega offered, “We’ve decided we want to lean into the horror aspect of the show a little bit more. Because it is so lighthearted, and a show like this with vampires and werewolves and superpowers, you don’t want to take yourself too seriously.” She added, “We’re ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday, which is really great,”

And, of course, everyone wants to know if Christina Ricci will return to Wednesday as Laurel Gates. Either way, we hope we get those new episodes quicker than we can snap twice.

Originally published on January 6, 2023.

The post WEDNESDAY Will Return for Season Two in Two Snaps appeared first on Nerdist.

Even ghosts need a day job. That’s where we find the pair of British boy spirits at the heart of Netflix’s new series, Dead Boy Detectives. Comic book characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner in the pages of The Sandman, the duo eventually appeared in several DC and Vertigo titles before headlining their own 12-issue series plus a number of other short spurts. As part of Geeked Week, the streaming giant has released the first trailer for Dead Boy Detectives, which finds ghost gumshoes Charles and Edwin up against loads of supernatural problems, and death itself.

Steve Yockey, creator of Max’s The Flight Attendant, developed Dead Boy Detectives for Max originally. Given that streaming service’s rampant offloading, we’re lucky Netflix decided to pick it up. This also means this series can officially exist within Netflix’s Sandman universe. Good news for you, Gaimanites out there. The two dead boys had previously appeared on Doom Patrol, but those were different versions of the characters and won’t related to this show.

The official synopsis for the Dead Boy Detectives series is as follows:

Do you have a pesky ghost haunting you? Has a demon stolen your core memories? You may want to ring the Dead Boy Detectives. Meet Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), “the brains” and “the brawn” behind the Dead Boy Detectives agency. Teenagers born decades apart who find each other only in death, Edwin and Charles are best friends and ghosts… who solve mysteries. They will do anything to stick together – including escaping evil witches, Hell and Death herself. With the help of a clairvoyant named Crystal (Kassius Nelson) and her friend Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), they are able to crack some of the mortal realm’s most mystifying paranormal cases.

No release date as yet for the Dead Boy Detectives, but the trailer looks fun, and we’re hoping that translates to the full series.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

The post Netflix Unveils First DEAD BOY DETECTIVES Teaser appeared first on Nerdist.

You can stab Geralt of Rivia. You can destroy his home and kill most of his brothers. And you can even replace him with a totally different actor. But what you can’t do is stop his story from being told. The ever-growing universe of Netflix’s The Witcher is expanding yet again. It will soon head below the Continent’s waves, to an earlier time in the White Wolf’s life. As part of the latest Geeked Week event, the streamer announced a new anime spinoff series, The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. Netflix also shared two intense teaser trailers that feature Geralt and a race of beings not yet seen on any Witcher show or film before. Sirens of the Deep will follow a young Geralt as he tries to avoid getting caught up in an old and deadly feud between humans and merpeople.

Like The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf film before it, Netflix is going to explore Geralt’s early years with an anime spinoff. This time the site is doing so with a series that will introduce a group not yet seen on screen. It’s one fans of author Andrzej Sapkowski’s world know all about. Here’s the show’s official synopsis:

Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter, is hired to investigate a series of attacks in a seaside village and finds himself drawn into a centuries-old conflict between humans and merpeople. He must count on friends — old and new — to solve the mystery before the hostilities between the two kingdoms escalate into all-out war.

See! No need to worry. The show will feature a shirtless Geralt in water. (I think it legally has to. At least in Europe.) Just as important, though, is that Sirens of the Deep seems poised to bring the bard Essi Daven to life.

Considering her connections to Jaskier in the books, we expect ties between Netflix’s versions even if time separates them.

Time will also keep us away from the show. It won’t premiere until “late 2024.” Turns out you can’t stop Geralt’s story from being told. But you can make us wait for it.

The post Netflix Announces THE WITCHER: SIRENS OF THE DEEP Prequel Anime Series with Two Teaser Trailers appeared first on Nerdist.

From The Marvels‘ release to Loki season two’s finale, it’s been a big week in big names. But a whole lot of other important and interesting news has been brewing as well. And we don’t want you to miss out on things like upcoming movie announcements, cool merch, epic trailers, and other generally fun internet shenanigans.

Here are some of our favorite pop-culture news odds & ends from this week.

This Week’s Odds & Ends in News

Jump to:

• Here are the Movie and TV Productions Heading Back to Work
• RSVLTS Invites You to Stylishly Celebrate the Holidays with Marvel
• A New Original Peanuts Movie Is on the Way
• Check Out the Trailer for Netflix’s Epic Heist Movie Lift, Starring Kevin Hart
• Stranger Things Returns to Dead by Daylight
• The Marvels‘ Goose Takes Over Las Vegas’ Sphere and Offers You Soothing ASMR YouTube Video
• Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster Will Release Exactly 29 Years After Its Original Version
• Make Your Food Taste Like Beer with Blue Moon Spices
• TV News: The Bear Renewed for Season 3, OFMD Season 3 Updates, Prison Break spinoff Series in Development

Here are the Movie and TV Productions Heading Back to Work

Since the studios have finally agreed to offer fair deals to their writers and actors, productions on our favorite shows and movies can now resume. Huzzah! According to Deadline, these productions are wasting no time in getting back to work and will be heading back to work as soon as this week. As far as movies go, Deadpool 3, Gladiator 2, Beetlejuice 2, and Venom 3 are all off to the races. In TV show land, meanwhile, the first to return to set and other production areas include Netflix’s Stranger Things, Max’s The Penguin and Welcome To Derry, and Prime Video’s The Boys.

Get ready for The Boys by checking out what Gen V set up for season four.

RSVLTS Invites You to Stylishly Celebrate the Holidays with Marvel

Click To View Gallery

‘Tis the season! And we’re excited to celebrate in many different ways, including dressing up in nerdy holiday style. To help us out, one of our favorite brands RSVLTS has shared a new line of Marvel holiday shirts. We know from experience that RSVLTS shirts are top-notch, and now that they’ve gone festive, how can we resist? Celebrate with a “Heroic Holiday” button-up (also in a short-sleeve version), or get ready to belt out your favorite Christmas song while wearing a “Spider-Man Is Coming to Town” shirt. Both options fulfill all your geeky and Christmas dreams. Gingerbread Groot and Spidey-Santa, yes, please.

For more cool merch from RSVLTS, check out their recent Star Wars collection.

A New Original Peanuts Movie Is on the Way

Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the gang are taking over the big city in a brand-new, original Peanuts feature coming to Apple TV+. According to a release, this Peanuts movie will be a “new family film [that] will see the Peanuts gang go on an epic adventure to the Big City, learning the true meaning of friendship, while meeting some surprising new friends along the way.” Sounds like another heartwarming adventure. The CG-animated movie is slated to begin production in 2024.

In the meanwhile, celebrate Thanksgiving with Charlie Brown.

Check Out the Trailer for Netflix’s Epic Heist Movie Lift, Starring Kevin Hart

It’s time for the ultimate heist—one that takes place 40,000 feet in the air. Netflix’s latest action-packed movie Lift promises a ton of action, but also a lot of laughs if its trailer is anything to go by. We’re totally hooked. Not to mention, Lift is rocking an amazing cast. To pull off the ultimate job, Kevin Hart teams with Loki‘s Gugu Mbatha-Raw as well as Vincent D’Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Viveik Kalra, Yun Jee Kim, and Sam Worthington. We could think of no better team and can’t wait to see more of this movie as soon as we can.

A synopsis shares, “An international heist crew, led by Cyrus Whitaker (Kevin Hart), race to lift $500 million in gold from a passenger plane at 40,000 feet.” Lift releases on Netflix on January 12, 2024.

Netflix is on fire lately—we can’t get enough of the trailer for its Avatar: The Last Airbender series.

Stranger Things Returns to Dead by Daylight

Get ready, survivors, Stranger Things has returned to the world of Dead by Daylight. The beloved Netflix show had a DLC on Dead by Daylight before, but it was removed due to licensing issues. Thankfully, Steve, Nancy, and the Demogorgon are all back in the world, alongside a Hawkins lab map. A release from Netflix shares, “The Stranger Things Chapter for Dead by Daylight is returning!

Starting today, players can once again hunt and be hunted in the Underground Complex Map from Hawkins National Laboratory as The Demogorgon, Nancy Wheeler, and Steve Harrington.

All Stranger Things cosmetics are also coming back to the in-game store, including iconic looks like the Scoops Ahoy Outfit for Steve.”

Scoops Ahoy Steve? Say no more.

If you want more Stranger Things fun, check out these cute sets from Fisher-Price’s Little People collection.

Goose Takes Over Las Vegas’ Sphere and Offers You Soothing ASMR YouTube Video

It’s a big week for Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau, but also for everyone’s favorite Flerken, Goose. This cat-shaped alien is making the most of it by taking over the Las Vegas sphere and YouTube. First, enjoy a super-sized Goose glowing over the Vegas strip.

Then, tune in for eight hours of cat/Flerken ASMR. It’s the only way to really live.

The Marvels movie has landed. Here’s our review:

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster Will Release Exactly 29 Years After Its Original Version

Everything that’s old is new again. And sometimes it’s new again exactly 29 years after it was first new. A remaster for the first-ever Star Wars shooter game Star Wars: Dark Forces has been in the works for a little while, but we finally know when it will be released. This classic turned modern Star Wars game will arrive on February 28, 2024, exactly 29 years to the day after its original release. 1995 is back, baby. According to GameSpot, “The new remaster will support up to 4K resolutions and 120FPS on PC and all consoles except Nintendo Switch. The game will offer modern controller features like rumble and motion controls, as well as trophy and achievement support on PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam.”

If you want to catch up on Star Wars during the holidays, here are some essential The Clone Wars arcs and episodes you can explore.

Make Your Food Taste Like Beer with Blue Moon Spices

No, seriously. Blue Moon wants you to have some deliciously beer-tasting dishes this holiday season. To that end, they’ve released two Blue Moon spices, one sweet and one savory, to help enhance your holiday meals. We at Nerdist got to taste these seasonings, and they do genuinely taste like Blue Moon beer. It’s uncanny.

A release shares more, noting:

Blue Moon Thanksgiving Seasonings are crafted to capture the bright essence of Blue Moon, creating a sweet and savory balance to enhance your Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving meal. The signature seasonings, sold in a 2-pack, include: 

Blue Moon Zesty Seasoning: Flavor inspired by Blue Moon, adding savory notes of coriander, zesty bursts of citrus saltiness, and a subtle hint of hops, perfect for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and more. 

Blue Moon Pie Pint Seasoning: Flavor captures the sweetest notes of Blue Moon, with bursting hints of orange citrus and coriander, it’s the perfect seasoning to add to your Pie Pint or to create your own BlueMoon-inspired pie filling. 

You can get your Blue Moon seasonings at BlueMoonSeasonings.com and try them for yourself. You can also snag a four-pack of Blue Moon Pie Pints, which are genuinely amazing.

You don’t want pie without ice cream, do you? Scoops Ahoy! Stranger Things ice cream is now available at Walmart.

TV News: The Bear Renewed for Season 3, OFMD Season 3 Updates, Prison Break spinoff Series in Development

We saw a whole smattering of TV news this week. Firstly, The Bear was renewed for season three by FX, and we could not be more excited.

Secondly, Our Flag Means Death season three got a small update at an HBO press event. Decider‘s Meghan O’Keefe shared, “The one thing I will tweet out from this Max 2024 Slate Preview I’m at is Casey Bloys was just asked about #OFMD S3 and said it’s too soon to say. They’re looking at how it performs in a longer window. Says it’s a ‘great show,’ figuring out if a greenlight ‘makes sense.'” Not quite the news fans wished to hear, but at least it’s an updated.

Finally, a Prison Break spinoff series is in the works because what can rise again will rise again. According to Deadline, Hulu is working with Elgin James on a show set in the Prison Break universe. The show is not expected to follow Michael Scofield, Lincoln Burrows, or any of their cadre. We’ll stay tuned to learn more.

If you haven’t explored Our Flag Means Death yet, it’s worth a watch.

The post These Productions Are Back, Marvel Holiday Shirts, a New PEANUTS Movie, and More News Odds & Ends appeared first on Nerdist.

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. These familiar elements are all preparing to assemble on our screens. But can they come together to create a harmonious live-action adaptation of the beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA)? Netflix sure hopes so. So far, we’ve only seen brief teases of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, but the looks we’ve received have been promising. But now, the first true test has arrived: real footage from the upcoming series, which aims to successfully bring one of the best-animated shows in history into the world of live-action. It’s always a monumental task. So, what do we think? Well, we think the trailer for Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender looks pretty damn harmonious to us. Not to mention, we’re excited Netflix finally revealed the official release date for the ATLA show.

An Epic Teaser Trailer for the Live-Action Avatar: The Last Airbender Has Arrived

Phew. Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series delivered one epic teaser trailer. It’s really just incredible to see Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Suki, Uncle Iroh, Azula, Fire Lord Ozai, and the rest come to life. Of course, hearing the musical cues of Avatar: The Last Airbender certainly does not hurt things. We are absolutely emotional.

Honestly, the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series looks just incredible. It seems to capture perfectly the spirit of the animated series, and the characters and settings do really look like they were plucked right out of the cartoon. From big moments to small, this trailer promises us we’ll get to relieve everything about ATLA that we love the most. Our minds are still blown from seeing the Agni Kai between Zuko and his father in live-action. We know this series will make us laugh, break our hearts, and much more.

It’s hard to believe how good Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender looks. But we’re happy to believe it. We’re ready to go on this nostalgic, and yet, all new adventure one more time.

What Is the Release Date for Netflix’s Live-Action Avatar: The Last Airbender Series?

We’ve known for a while that the new ATLA show would arrive in 2024. But now we know the official release date thanks to this Avatar trailer. Drumroll, please. Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series’ release date is February 22, 2024. That’s not a lot of time to master all the elements. But at least we can start counting down the days now.

More About Netflix’s ATLA Show

In addition to the trailer and Netflix release date, a synopsis for the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender shares that this show is:

A live-action reimagining of the beloved animated series following Aang, the young Avatar, as he learns to master the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) to restore balance to a world threatened by the terrifying Fire Nation.

Of course, this synopsis is about what you’d expect. But if we had to guess, we’d theorize that season one of the live-action series will cover similar ground to “Book One: Water” from the Avatar: The Last Airbender animated show. That means highlights will include the discovery of Aang, Aang’s mastery of water-bending, and an epic fight at the North Pole under the light of the moon. Specific castings for characters like General Zhao and Princess Yue seem to lend credence to this theory. But, we would imagine that the live-action show will also take advantage of knowing the full story to introduce characters such as Princess Azula into the mix a bit earlier than the animated series. And, honestly, we’d like for the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender to throw some curveballs at us and imagine new scenes and interactions.

That’s the whole point of an adaptation, isn’t it? We can’t wait to see where this one goes.

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