Fans are eagerly awaiting WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss to make her in-ring return, but she’s been keeping busy during her time away from the ring, and now fans can stream her latest project on Netflix. Bliss (who is credited under her real name Lexi Cabrera) is part of the English Dub cast for Netflix’s latest manga adaptation Sakamoto Days, where she plays the role of Obiguro (via Anime News Network). The best part is that the first episodes of the series are streaming now on Netflix, and you can watch the full trailer in the video above.

Sakamoto Days is based on Yuuto Suzuki’s original manga, which is based around a man named Taro Sakamoto. These days Sakamoto runs a popular store in the neighborhood and is well known as someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly, but it turns out that he’s actually a former legendary assassin who retired from that life to raise a family. When his family and new life is threatened, Sakamoto has to go back into action to defend it, but as his wife makes clear, he needs to do it without actually killing anyone or face divorce.

Bliss plays the role of Obiguro, who alongside her partner Boiled are two of the Dondenkai agency’s deadliest assassins. Obiguro is all about the thrill of the fight, which causes her to make some rather unexpected decisions from time to time and is also known for her mid-fight banter. The only person that has a habit of shaking her up is actually Boiled whenever he raises his voice, and their dynamic has led to incredible (and lethal) success within the agency.

As those who have watched Bliss in WWE know, she’s actually a perfect fit for a character like this, as she’s embodied all of those traits at one time during her WWE career. Whether it’s as the Goddess, the haunting ally of Bray Wyatt, or the more playfully disturbing supernatural character she played most recently, she can do it all.

[RELATED: Absent Former WWE Women’s Champion Begins Training 17 Months After Last Match: Watch]

Bliss is part of a loaded cast as well, which includes Matthew Mercer (Taro Sakamoto), Dallas Liu (Shin Asakura), Xolo Mariduena (Heisuke Mashimo), Rosalie Chiang (Lu Shaotang), Rosie Okumura (Aoi Sakamoto), Aleks Le (Nagumo), SungWon Cho (Boiled), Du-Shaunt Fik-Shun Stegall (Son Hee), and Toru Uchikado (Bacho).

The series is directed by TMS Entertainment’s Masaki Watanabe (Kado – The Right Answer), while Taku Kishimoto (Blue Lock) is in charge of the series’ scripts, and Yō Moriyama (Lupin the Third: Goemon’s Blood Spray) is at the helm of character designs. The series is being split into two parts. Part 1 will contain 11 weekly episodes and is now streaming, releasing its first episode on January 11th. Part 2’s exact release date isn’t known just yet, but it is slated to release in July. You can find the official description below.

“Taro Sakamoto was the ultimate assassin, feared by villains and admired by hitmen. But one day…he fell in love! Retirement, marriage, fatherhood and then… Sakamoto gained weight! the chubby guy who runs the neighborhood store is actually a former legendary hitman! Can he protect his family from danger? Get ready to experience a new kind of action comedy series!”

Are you excited for the new show, and when do you think Bliss will return to WWE? You can talk all things wrestling and TV with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!

The post WWE’s Alexa Bliss Stars in New Netflix Anime Series appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WWE NXT saved its biggest surprise for last, revealing a new feud for two top Superstars that should be fantastic, but no one actually saw it fully play out thanks to The CW cutting off the show’s ending. After Roxanne Perez addressed the crowd and her loss to Giulia, she was surprised by none other than the Role Model Bayley, and the two would exchange words before things ended up in a brawl between the two stars. Unfortunately, the CW cut the feed right as the fight started, but thankfully WWE posted the rest of the footage after the fact, and you can watch it in the video below.

While there wasn’t a ton more to the fight, no one actually knew what happened until the video got posted in its entirety. Bayley pulls Roxanne’s feet from under her and starts unleashing strikes. Perez is able to turn the tables a bit and get the upper hand as she delivers strikes of her own, but Bayley keeps fighting as the video fades to black.

This is not the first time NXT has been cut off early, and hopefully that’s something that gets addressed at some point. It’s especially frustrating for moments like this, but at least we got to see the majority of the segment between the two stars in the ring. The potential for this feud is huge, and a match between Bayley and Perez could easily be the main event of NXT’s next Premium Live Event if they choose to book it that way.

This whole thing started when Perez came out to address the crowd, and at first it seemed like she was leaning into a babyface promo. Perez said, “When I first won the NXT Women’s Championship at Stand & Deliver, no one thought I would hold it for 276 days. 9 Title defenses, and with every defense, the Title would continue to impress. All I ever wanted to do was make that Title special. All I ever wanted to do was make a Women’s Division that you could be proud of and I think we did that.”

[RELATED: WWE Just Revealed 3 Top Stars for the Royal Rumble, And John Cena Is In Trouble]

“We attracted the best women all around thew world, because this is the best Women’s’ Division in wrestling today. But, here I stand without my Title, because unfortunately last week, Giulia was the better woman. So, congratulations Giulia, and congrats to all of you guys, because as sad as it makes me, it’s what you guys wanted,” Perez said.

“But you want to know what’s even sadder? The state of the Women’s Division without me as Champion. You guys really think that Giulia is going to take it to the heights that I took it too? No one is going to love this division more than me, and that feeling you get when women’s wrestling is changing? Women’s wrestling is the focus, well you can kiss that all goodbye, because without me this division is going to be lost. NXT doesn’t deserve me. You guys don’t deserve me. And I know how much you guys love to live in nostalgia, because it’s not going to be the same. At one time you needed the four horsewomen, but you guys only needed one,” Perez said.

That’s when Bayley surprised everyone and came out to chants of welcome back. Bayley stood face to face with Perez and then said she should be growing from this, but Perez didn’t want to hear it, saying, “I didn’t ask for your advice.”

“You’ve been asking for advice since we met, when you were just a little shorter than you are now, which is crazy,” Bayley said to a huge reaction from the crowd. “I’ve believed in you since day one. but sister, the division is going to be fine. They will be fine without you. It doesn’t mean what you did wasn’t important, it just means we’re bigger than that.”

“You’re just like Natalya, you’re just like CM Punk. You know what it shows? You’re just like everyone I used to look up to. Why are you even here Bayley? You think NXT owes you something? You set records, but you know what, I broke them. Let’s face it Bayley, you were my role model. I think I could be yours now,” Perez said.

Bayley had enough of Roxy’s shots, saying, “You know what Rox, the biggest difference between me and you, is you’re stuck here, while I’m at going on to WrestleMania after I win the Title this Friday from Tiffany Stratton.” Perez then slapped Bayley in the face, which prompted the response from Bayley, ending NXT in a full-on brawl.

What did you think of Bayley returning to NXT? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!

The post WWE NXT’s Broadcast Ends Early: Watch Cut Off Brawl Between Bayley and Roxanne Perez appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars series has officially wrapped on Disney+ and the ending of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has fans wondering about one major question: Is Skeleton Crew getting a season 2? It’s a logical one to ponder for sure, not only because it’s no guarantee that a Star Wars TV series returns for more episodes, but anything is possible in that galaxy far, far away. Up until this point there’s been no official confirmation about more episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, but ahead of the show’s premiere on Disney+, the future for this corner of the galaxy started to look brighter.

Before the first episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew even aired, the rumor mill and assumptions lead many fans to think that the series would be a limited one, wrapping up as a one-and-done show on Disney+. At first this seemed like the right move to fans, considering the heartbreak of cancellations like The Acolyte, but the creators appeared to be open to the idea of telling more stories with the characters as premiere time loomed. In an interview last year, series co-creator Jon Watts noted that a season two of Skeleton Crew would have to avoid a major problem of another hit series in order to work.

RELATED: What’s Next for Star Wars After the Skeleton Crew Finale

“It would be something like [a three to four-year time jump] to make sense,” Watts told Collider. “But we wouldn’t do like a Stranger Things thing where we’re like ‘It’s the next day,’ because it won’t be.” Watts’ co-creator Christopher Ford added another wrinkle, noting: “It’s built into it that it would be a bigger time jump forward because it does take so long to get things moving. There are so many repercussions. It’s like, you kind of want to catch up later.”

As noted above however, there has still been no movement one way or the other one if Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will be renewed for season two. Of note however is that even if Skeleton Crew doesn’t get renewed, a new rumor has teased that the characters may be showing up down the line anyway.

A report earlier this month revealed that plans may be in motion for characters from the series to appear on the big screen, showing up in Dave Filoni’s planned “crossover” movie. Since that film is set to merge storylines from The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and other critical Star Wars moments from Disney+ into one, it would make a lot of sense for some familiar Skeleton Crew faces to appear. Until then we’ll have to wait and see, but right now Skeleton Crew season two has not been confirmed, nor has it even been hinted at.

The post Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Season 2: Will the Disney+ Series Return? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Lumon employees are taking a retreat into the outie world. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Apple TV+’s hit thriller Severance back in the mainstream after its first season wrapped up three years ago. With the positive reviews for the latest season rolling in, fans are excited to dig deep into the minds of their favorite characters (both innie and outie). On the heels of the highly-anticipated season 2 premiere, the marketing team over at Apple has put together an unusual but interesting way of getting the word out to the masses about Severance season 2.

In a viral social media post from series director Ben Stiller, Grand Central Station bypassers got a glimpse inside the world of an innie, as a pop-up event took place right in the middle of the busiest stations in New York. The video showcases Lumon employees going about their work while not paying attention to the world outside of them. Though the pop-up was originally filled with unknown actors, series stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, and Tramell Tillman later appeared and started working inside the tiny, public cubicle. While everyone else is chatting, including Stiller, the cast inside is quiet and focused solely on the tasks in front of them.

Severance Cast Promotes Season 2 in Grand Central Station

Severance follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott), an employee of Lumon Industries who agrees to a “severance” program, which separates his non-work memories from his work memories, meaning the two sides of his life have no knowledge of the other. Two of Mark’s colleagues and Lumon, and fellow severed employees, include Helly (Lower) and Dylan (Cherry), both of whom can be seen in the video. The absence of John Turturro’s Irving is a bit concerning for fans, considering the end of season 1 left his return to Lumon still unknown. However, seeing Mr. Milchick as head supervisor of the team is an eerie sign that the season 1 ending might not have gone the way viewers hoped it would.

RELATED: 10 Things Severance Fans Need to Remember Before Season 2

Severance’s return to Apple TV+ is one that fans have been waiting on for years, literally, as the first season ended on a cliffhanger back in 2022. Season 2 will see the return of Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), Ricken Hale (Michael Chernus), Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), Burt Goodman (Christopher Walken), and Devon Scout-Hale (Jen Tullock). New additions to the Severance cast include Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development), Bob Balaban (Best in Show), Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), and John Noble (The Lord of the Rings). 

While fans don’t know what to really expect from the new episodes of Severance, we can already suspect that the revealing information from the season finale will creep its way into the limelight in a major way. As noted in the official description by Apple TV+, “In season two, Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe.”

Severance season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, January 17.

The post Severance Cast Promote Season 2 in One of the Strangest Ways appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Tonight’s episode of NXT got things started with the new NXT Champion Oba Femi, but there was one very conspicuous absence from the set, and it may be tied to some recent critical comments. That missing presence was WWE commentator Corey Graves, who was supposed to initially be part of the three man crew for NXT but did not make an appearance tonight, even though he previously teased he had some things to say during the episode.

WWE recently switched things up regarding its commentary teams, with Michael Cole and Pat McAfee taking over Monday Night Raw and Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett taking over SmackDown. Corey Graves then joined the team of Vic Joseph and Booker T for NXT’s New Year’s Evil, but it was thought of as a one-off. That didn’t turn out to be the case though, as it was later said that Graves would be on NXT’s commentary team moving forward, and that clearly didn’t sit well with Graves.

On X, Graves seemingly addressed the shake-up, writing, “Imagine chasing your dream. Then being TOLD (not deciding) that you’re no longer physically able to pursue your dream. Then you dedicate your life to something “dream adjacent” and being pretty f awesome at it. And then, when it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor, being told you’re not famous enough for your own job. Just in case you’ve wondered where I’ve been.”

Then 11 hours ago Graves tweeted, “I’ve got a lot to say. Don’t miss #WWENXT tonight on @TheCW TONIGHT.” That would then lead to another surprising development, as it was reported that Graves wouldn’t be on NXT’s new episode after all, and only two chairs were present at the commentary desk during setup.

[RELATED: A WWE Supergroup Just Left Raw for SmackDown]

This is where things get a bit complicated. A new report from Fightful Select has provided some insight into the whole situation, but as of now they can’t confirm whether this is part of a work storyline or a shoot. What they have heard is that those close to Graves claim it’s real, and Fightful heard last week that Graves wasn’t happy and was frustrated with the move to NXT.

A report from PWInsider also claimed that Graves wasn’t just off camera or backstage either, as he was evidently seen at TSA leaving the Orlando area. Graves doesn’t live in that area (he lives in Pittsburgh), and as of 3:45 PM EST he was not at NXT rehearsals.

Among talent and production sources in NXT that were asked about the situation, none of them were aware that Graves would be moving to NXT, and many were surprised to see him at New Year’s Evil. One source assumed he was there because he was in town for the event and not part of any permanent move.

There have been some theories that this is part of a storyline that could see him make a return to in-ring action sometime soon. That would tie into the history he brought up in his tweet. This could also be genuine frustration with not being part of the Raw or SmackDown commentary teams, but for now we’ll have to wait and see, as it’s not known when he will show back up on TV again, and if he does show up, it’s not known which that will take place on.

You can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA.

The post A WWE Favorite No-Showed on NXT After Critical Comments on Social Media appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Nearly two decades after Faran Tahir terrorized Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in 2008’s Iron Man as Raza, leader of the Afghanistan-based sect of the Ten Rings, the actor is set to reprise his role in Marvel Studios’ Vision series at Disney+. The Iron Man and Star Trek alum is the latest actor to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Paul Bettany-led WandaVision spinoff series, which has reportedly cast James Spader as the A.I. villain he played in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Deadline first reported the news.

Tahir appeared just once in the MCU, although he was mentioned by Wenwu (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a.k.a. the Mandarin, in a deleted scene from 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In Iron Man, Raza kidnapped Stark to force him to build a Jericho missile — setting the industrialist on the path to becoming an armored avenger — before he was dispatched, albeit off-screen, by Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).

RELATED: MCU Schedule: Every Marvel Studios Movie and TV Show Release Date in 2025 and Beyond

Terry Matalas (Star Trek: Picard) is head writer and showrunner of the as-yet-untitled Vision series, the latest from a post-Endgame corner of the MCU that has expanded with 2021’s WandaVision and 2024’s Agatha All Along.

Bettany voiced Stark’s A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Iron Man trilogy before Spader’s rogue robot Ultron built him his synthezoid body in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Powered by the Mind Stone, Vision joined the Avengers and served with Earth’s mightiest heroes in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War until his death at the hands of Thanos in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War.

A resurrected Vision returned in WandaVision, brought back by his grieving wife Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) magic after S.W.O.R.D. dismantled and rebuilt the “most sophisticated, sentient weapon ever made.” As the all-white Vision, the new version had a programming directive to destroy the “true Vision,” only for his memories to be restored before flying away from Westview.

What Is Marvel’s Vision Quest?

Plot details remain under wraps, but the series is expected to pull from Vision Quest, a story line spanning issues of West Coast Avengers in the 1980s. After the Vision tapped into every computer system on the planet and seized control of America’s nuclear arsenal, the world’s government security agencies formed Vigilance: a multi-national venture to keep a “watchful eye” on the synthetic android.

The Scarlet Witch learned that Vigilance scientists dismantled her robot husband and wiped his memory to erase data he might have uncovered from the world’s security networks, leaving him an all-white blank slate. (This was adapted into the MCU after the events of Avengers: Endgame.) The Avengers sought the help of Vision’s “grandfather,” Hank Pym, to restore the Vision, only to learn that Vigilance erased Vision’s back-up memory on file. Pym eventually uploaded data tapes into the synthezoid’s memory to reprogram the rebooted Vision, but without the emotional connection to that information.

Marvel Studios’ Vision series is expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2026.

The post Marvel’s Vision TV Series Bringing Back an MCU Villain No One Expected appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One of the most popular sitcoms was The Big Bang Theory, which first aired in 2007, ran for 12 seasons, and even had a spinoff (with another one on the way), all while getting great ratings on CBS. Over the years, the show racked up more than fifty Emmy nominations and won several awards for the cast. But to make that happen, it wasn’t just about having a good story for each episode and a solid main cast. The characters also needed their backstories and key relationships to make the plot come together perfectly. This is where not just the secondary cast, but also those one-episode cameo appearances, come into play.

Many of the characters who appeared in The Big Bang Theory only for a cameo helped add depth to key details that were crucial in the broader context. How could Leonard and Penny become a couple without a little nudge from another character? How do you help Sheldon and Leonard reconcile after a fight and prevent their friendship from falling apart? These are just a few of the reasons why major guest appearances played a key role in the overall development of the show. But among all the cameos, which ones had the biggest impact?

Theodore (Christopher Lloyd)

In the episode “The Property Division Collision” from Season 10, the legendary Christopher Lloyd makes an appearance as Theodore, a drifter who ends up renting Sheldon’s old room after he moves in with his girlfriend Amy. This happens because Sheldon and Leonard can’t agree on who gets to keep the shared items in the apartment, which is now Leonard and Penny’s. Their disagreement escalates, leading to a fight between the two best friends, and that’s when Theodore settles in – much to the displeasure of Leonard and Penny. However, it’s Theodore who ultimately helps resolve the conflict and get them back on track.

[RELATED: 7 Big Bang Theory Episodes That Have Not Aged Well]

Theodore, with his strange and mysterious demeanor, quickly points out that the fight between Sheldon and Leonard is happening because of the love and affection they have for each other. What makes him so memorable is that, despite his oddities, he carries the wisdom of an older man. His unique perspective helps the two friends understand the root of their conflict, leading to their reconciliation.

David Underhill (Michael Trucco)

In Season 2’s “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”, Michael Trucco plays David Underhill, an award-winning physicist who seeks Leonard’s help with a research project. However, David quickly becomes a complication in Leonard’s romance with Penny. She is drawn to David’s “bad boy” charm and more outgoing personality compared to the other scientists she knows. She ends up agreeing to all of his requests, even though she refuses the same ones when they come from Leonard.

David proves to be a key figure by acting as a catalyst for the development of Leonard and Penny’s romance. His presence brings out Leonard’s insecurities and creates tension between the couple. Also, David helps Penny realize that “perfect” guys like him aren’t necessarily ideal in the long run.

Mark Hamill (Himself)

In “The Bow Tie Asymmetry” from Season 11, Mark Hamill delivers one of the most unforgettable appearances on The Big Bang Theory. From the start, it’s clear how much the main group of friends adores Star Wars and his iconic character, Luke Skywalker. Hamill appears as himself on the eve of Sheldon and Amy’s wedding, after Howard finds a lost dog that turns out to belong to the actor. When he shows up at Howard’s house to retrieve his pet, Howard manages to convince him to officiate his friend’s wedding, much to the excitement of the group.

In this case, the cameo is not only a gift for the characters of the show but for the fans. It also marks a significant milestone in Sheldon’s life, as his wedding to Amy is a major turning point in his character’s development.

Dr. Robert Wolcott (Peter MacNicol)

In “The Reclusive Potential” from season 11, Peter MacNicol plays Dr. Robert Wolcott, a scientist and Sheldon’s pen pal. Sheldon, along with Leonard, Howard, and Raj, heads to his cabin in the mountains to get his help with one of their research projects. Robert is a highly accomplished guy, but he’s also super paranoid and has some weird habits, which makes Sheldon think that he could achieve great things in life by being just like him.

The cameo is a perfect example of the lunatic genius stereotype, but with a funny twist. Of course, Sheldon is the most eccentric character on The Big Bang Theory, and it’s his quirky personality that makes him a fan favorite. However, when you compare him to someone even more bizarre, it takes the humor to a whole new level, making the episode even more hilarious.

Stan Lee (Himself)

In Season 3’s “The Excelsior Acquisition”, the spotlight is on Stan Lee, a legendary figure for the geek audience and a respected icon for the characters of the sitcom. In the episode, he is in town to sign comic books at Stuart’s comic book store. The problem arises when Sheldon can’t make it because he has to attend court for a traffic ticket he got while with Penny. He blames her for the situation, but to make it up to him, Penny tracks down Lee’s address and takes Sheldon to his house.

The big twist is that Lee doesn’t come across as a particularly happy person, especially when he unexpectedly runs into a fan at his doorstep. However, in the end, Sheldon is far from disappointed – in fact, he’s thrilled to receive a signed restraining order from the legendary Marvel icon. Despite his grumpy persona, Stan Lee still manages to shine in his cameo, making the episode one of the most memorable in the show’s history.

Alicia (Valerie Azlynn)

In the episode “The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition” from Season 2, Valerie Azlynn plays Alicia, a more successful aspiring actress who has a falling out with Penny, her neighbor. Alicia essentially becomes a kind of rival to Penny, not only because she has the career Penny has always dreamed of but also because she uses her charm to get the attention of Leonard, Howard, and Raj. This leads to a nasty confrontation between the two women.

Alicia’s role, however, is crucial because throughout the episode, she serves as a catalyst for Penny to stand up for herself and her friends. By challenging Penny’s position as the center of attention, Alicia helps push her personal development, since at the beginning of the sitcom, she was the only consistent female figure.

Mrs. Latham (Jessica Walter)

In Season 4’s “The Benefactor Factor”, Jessica Walter plays Mrs. Latham, one of the major donors at a Caltech fundraiser. She develops a huge crush on Leonard, which makes him uncomfortable. However, he believes that by reciprocating, he can help with the fundraising, so he reluctantly gets involved with her. In the end, Leonard finds out that she will still donate the money, regardless of whether they continue their involvement or not.

In general, Mrs. Latham’s actions have a ripple effect on everyone, as her behavior is petty and authoritarian. Even Howard steps out of his comfort zone because of her. She stands out as one of the most memorable cameo characters due to her role and development in the storyline. It’s no surprise that this episode earned Johnny Galecki an Emmy nomination.

The Big Bang Theory is available to stream on Max.

The post 7 Best Big Bang Theory Characters That Only Appear in One Episode appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Game of Thrones is not even in the same league as the book series it is based on, A Song of Ice and Fire, in terms of quality. However, the show obviously became a global sensation for a reason, and it’s the nature of adaptation that some moments simply played better on screen than on the page. Read on for seven of the isolated moments that landed better in Game of Thrones than they did in George R.R. Martin’s books.

To get one obvious choice out of the way, I’m not going to give Game of Thrones credit for having an ending as compared to A Song of Ice and Fire, which still has two long-awaited books to go. That’s because I still keep faith that Martin will finish his series and we’ll see the finale that this song truly deserves, and also because I still believe no ending is better than the ending Thrones gave us, frankly. You won’t be surprised to see all the victories below come from the early seasons of Game of Thrones. Read on for the show’s high points.

King Robert and Queen Cersei

In Season 1 and book one, King Robert Baratheon rules over Westeros thanks in part to his marriage to Queen Cersei Lannister, which sealed his alliance with the wealthiest House in the realm. The two characters obviously dislike each other, but seeing their disdain played out rather than reading it in descriptions makes it so much more human. There’s one particular scene that drives all this home — a private conversation between the king and queen in Season 1, Episode 5 that did not appear in the books at all.

[RELATED: The 7 Game of Thrones Episodes That Traumatized Everyone]

The two discuss Ned Stark’s resignation as Hand of the King and the issue that set it off — the planned assassination of Daenerys Targaryen. They speak with obvious dislike of each other, but also familiarity, almost as if they’ve tried to make this relationship work. They even seem wistful and reflective. Musing on Westeros’ chances in a war against the Dothraki, Robert says: “We haven’t had a proper fight in nine years. Backstabbing doesn’t prepare you for a fight, and that’s all the realm is now — backstabbing and scheming… Sometimes I don’t know what holds it together.”

“Our marriage, Cersei says sarcastically, and Robert lets out a genuine laugh. She matches it, then grabs a cup to drink wine along with him. The whole scene is so genuine, and it’s even more impactful in the context of the story where Cersei goes on to have Robert killed.

Time with Robb Stark

Game of Thrones gave us more time with King in the North Robb Stark than the books did because Martin did not want any of the kings in his series to be direct point-of-view characters. This meant we mostly saw Robb through the eyes of his mother Catelyn, and nearly as often we heard about Robb’s deeds through rumors spread all across the Seven Kingdoms. The show got to focus more on Robb in a way that even Martin praised.

Many fans point to Robb’s wife specifically as a point where the show got to do better. Robb pledges to marry a daughter of House Frey in order to secure them as allies, but he fails to live up to this promise. In the books, Robb is wounded in Westerlands — Lannister territory — and is nursed back to health in a conquered castle by the daughter of the local lord. He falls in love with her and feels honor-bound to marry her, due in part to his half-brother Jon Snow’s experience of bastardy. The books go on to imply that Robb may have been ensorcelled by some kind of love potion, and/or that House Westerling had intentionally set him up with the daughter under orders from Tywin Lannister in order to weaken his alliance with the Freys.

On the other hand, the show finds Robb simply falling in love with a healer because of her bold nature and practical skills. It’s easy to see why some fans like this better — especially in the context of the show where Robb is a more fleshed-out character. Personally, I actually prefer the version in the books, with more layers to examine and possibly even some mystical elements at play.

Tyrion and Shae

Again, Martin himself has said that he likes the show’s take on Tyrion and Shae much more than the version in the books. The books portray Shae as a materialistic, immature young woman with no concept of the danger she is in. In the end, she turns on Tyrion in earnest. The show adds a lot more nuance to their love story — and tragedy, in the end. It’s never clear if Shae really turned on Tyrion in the end, or whether she was forced into Tywin’s bed in her final scene.

However, many critics have pointed out that the show did not reckon with the ripple effects of this change. Tyrion murders Shae in both versions, but in the books this crime takes him down a dark path and he becomes far closer to a villain in many ways. The show went out of its way to keep Tyrion likable, and did not make him grapple with his crimes nearly as much. This compounded until the end, when Tyrion was hardly recognizable.

Varys and Littlefinger

This is a great example of how the show improved on the books simply by being a show rather than a book. The snide conversations between Varys and Littlefinger had no place in the novels, but they are so much fun on TV. These two schemers are constantly sizing each other up and undercutting each other, and to see how they speak in private is a joy.

Tyrion’s Trial

Returning to our favorite Lannister, his trial for the murder of King Joffrey is excellent both in the books and in Season 4, Episode 6, “The Laws of Gods and Men.” Again, this can only be called “better” than the book version because it is performed so spectacularly by the cast. Peter Dinklage delivers nearly the exact same lines as his book counterpart — “I wish I was the monster you think I am. I wish I had enough poison for the whole pack of you. I would gladly give my life to watch you all swallow it.” His performance is simply so great that it exceeds my imagination as a reader.

Tywin and Arya

During her long journey north through war-ravaged Westeros, Arya is held at Harrenhal for a time and put to work as a cup-bearer for a great lord. In the books, it’s Roose Bolton, but in the TV show it’s Tywin Lannister himself. Both choices have their merits, but overall her time with Tywin seems to do more for the story.

Putting Arya with Roose is interesting because she knows he is ostensibly her brother’s ally. However, she chooses not to reveal her identity to Roose because she still doesn’t trust him fully — an incredibly shrewd decision that shows Arya’s growth. Arya learns a lot about how evil men think by spending time with Roose, but this lesson hits even harder with Tywin.

Pairing Arya with Tywin during this time is like putting her in the eye of a storm — she is actually in less danger by sticking close to her family’s chief enemy. The two even have some interesting conversations and find some common ground, which is tense and fascinating in this generally brutal conflict. The show had plenty of other chances to show us the atrocities of House Bolton, but it took full advantage of this chance to humanize Tywin Lannister.

Brienne vs. The Hound

Finally, the showdown between Brienne of Tarth and Sandor “The Hound” Clegane might be the single best change the show made from the books. In Martin’s version, The Hound takes a mundane wound in a bar fight that slowly weakens him over over the course of days, until finally Arya is able to escape from him and get escape on a ship. Here, Brienne actually finds them and has a brutal duel for possession of the young Stark. It devolves into a gruesome fist fight that seems to leave Sandor nearly dead, while Arya slips away — unwilling to trust any strangers at this point.

One thing about this fight that is often overlooked is what it replaces for Brienne. Yes, it spares Sandor from going down over a mild infection, but it also spares Brienne from her gruesome fight against Rorge, Biter and the Brave Companions. That moment is all about Brienne facing the grisly truth of war and what it does to the men who fight in it, and the futility of knights’ oaths and honor against all that despair. However, The Hound is at least as good an avatar for those things as the Brave Companions are, and he’s a character that means more to the audience in this moment.

Game of Thrones is streaming now on Max, along with the prequel House of the Dragon. Another prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, premieres sometime this year. Martin’s books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.

The post 7 Game of Thrones Moments That Were Better Than the Books appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Castlevania: Nocturne will be making its highly anticipated return of Season 2 on Netflix later this week, and the series has dropped a special new poster to help hype up the new episodes. Castlevania has been one of the standout successes with Netflix in the last few years as Powerhouse Animation and producer Adi Shankar have been working to bring the Konami video game franchise to screen. Following the first four seasons of the original Castlevania TV series, the franchise has continued with a brand new sequel series that moves the Belmont timeline hundreds of years into the future with new allies, enemies and more.

Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 will be making its premiere with Netflix on Thursday, January 16th, and Netflix is getting ready for the series with the debut of a brand new trailer and poster for the new episodes. The new trailer shows off the best look at the new season yet (which you can check out in the video above), and the new poster for the season shows off an intense look at the returning cast as they head into a new season filled with battles. Check out the new poster for Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 below.

When Does Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 Come Out?

Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 will be officially making its premiere with Netflix on January 16th. The new season will be running for eight episodes total at 25 minutes each with a returning staff and voice cast from the first season. Kevin Kolde and Clive Bradley will be serving as showrunners (with Bradley also handling writing duties), Samuel and Adam Deats are serving as directors, and Project 51 Productions and Powerhouse Animation are producing the new season for Netflix. The end of the first season ended on a massive cliffhanger, so things are picking up right from where it all left off.

As for what to expect from the new season of episodes, Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 is teased by Netflix as such, “Now joined by the legendary Alucard, Richter Belmont and his band of vampire hunters are in a desperate race against time. Erzsebet Báthory, the Vampire Messiah, who already seems invincible, seeks the full power of the goddess Sekhmet so she can plunge the world into endless darkness and terror.” Now is the perfect time to catch up with the first season streaming with Netflix as well.

RELATED: Sakamoto Days’ Twist-Filled Opening is The Perfect Introduction to The Series

Is Castlevania: Nocturne Getting a Season 3?

With Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 now making its way to Netflix, it’s time to look ahead to a potential future. As of the time of this publication, Netflix has yet to announce any interest in a potential third season for the series. Those behind the scenes are unaware of a potential continuation either as director Samuel Deats revealed to fans on social media last Fall that production would be going on hiatus with the second season nearly being wrapped up.

“For those of you wondering, now that Castlevania: Nocturne S2 is mostly wrapped, we’re going on hiatus until release and we find out if we’re getting renewed,” Deats stated to fans on X. “It goes without saying, but if you want to see more shows of Castlevania quality, please support S2 when it releases!” If nothing behind the scenes has changed since Deats revealed this last Fall, then it might be a much longer wait for a new season than expected. So if fans want the best chance at seeing a new season, they will need to see Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 as soon as it hits Netflix to show there’s interest in a continuation.

The post Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 Hypes Netflix Premiere With New Promo appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One of the most exciting and unique aspects of the newly launched DC Universe from DC Studios is the fact that actors will cross over between animated and live-action projects. With Creature Commandos launching the franchise, a lot of fans are wondering if and when the characters from that show will pop up in live-action formats, hoping to see those actors transition their voice roles into on-screen performances. Unfortunately for some of the show’s stars, there were characters who didn’t make it through the first season of Creature Commandos, leaving their potential DCU futures a little murky. WARNING: Spoilers for Creature Commandos ahead…

One example is Maria Bakalova, who is starting to become one of James Gunn’s frequent collaborators. After voicing Cosmo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Bakalova was cast in Creature Commandos as Princess Ilana, a character created just for the series. In a surprising twist, Ilana was killed at the very end of the Creature Commandos season finale, after being revealed as the true villain behind the show’s events.

So does that mean Bakalova is done with the DCU for good? There’s a lot of backstory to explore with the Princess, given that she’s a new character, not to mention the fact that Bakalova could always take on another role in the franchise moving forward (Sean Gunn is already playing three characters). Ahead of the Creature Commandos finale, ComicBook spoke with Bakalova about her future with the budding franchise.

“I’m trying to take it one step at a time, because you never know what’s going to happen at the end,” Bakalova told us. “My dream is to be able to work with James again and again and again, do the rest of my life. I do want to be a part of this new DC universe, because knowing that he is behind it. I just have incredibly big hopes for it, and Creature Commandos is evidence of that.

“I mean, if I’m able to play this character in the future, I will definitely do it. If I’m able to play something else with James in charge, I will definitely do it. It’s really my dream to just be a part of this team.”

[RELATED: Everything Creature Commandos Taught Us About the New DCU]

It sounds like, if it were up to her, there would be no end to Bakalova’s time with the DCU. Given how much James Gunn likes to work with his repeat cast members, it seems like the chances are high for Bakalova to return at some point down the line. Just don’t bet on Princess Ilana coming back with her.

The entire first season of Creature Commandos is now streaming on Max.

The post Creature Commandos Star Addresses DCU Future After Character’s Surprising Demise appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Common Side Effects will be making its debut with Adult Swim in just a couple of weeks, and the new animated series is showcasing more of its best duo with a new early preview clip from the premiere. Common Side Effects is Adult Swim’s first original animated series to be making its debut this year, and there is quite a lot of excitement over what to expect from this new project. Not only does the series not look like anything else that has been launched with Adult Swim before, but it doesn’t sound like anything that has been seen on the block before either.

This is especially true when it comes to the central duo Copano and Harrington. They’re two DEA agents who get tasked with keeping an eye on the ever evolving situation with the main character, Marshall Cuso, who seems to be at the center of a huge conspiracy. But these two have really struck a chord with fans as the early promotional materials have shown off their dynamic with one another, and now a new preview clip showcases more of that great work in action. You can check it out in the video above as shared by Adult Swim.

When Does Common Side Effects Come Out?

Copano is voiced by Joseph Lee Anderson, and Harrington is voiced by Martha Kelly in the new series, and it won’t be too much longer before Adult Swim fans get to check out more of them as Common Side Effects will be premiering on Sunday, February 2nd at 11:30PM EST with Adult Swim. The new episodes will then be made available for streaming with Max the next day, and kick off with a special two episode premiere with one episode then airing on a weekly basis after. These two will be joined in the voice cast by Dave King, Emily Pendergast, Mike Judge, and more.

Originally created by Joe Bennett (who also co-created Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely (Veep, American Dad!, The Office), and produced by Bandera and Green Street Pictures, this will be a half-hour serialized story that also features King of the Hill creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels as executive producers. As this preview clip showcases, Common Side Effects is going to have a much different vibe than Adult Swim fans might be used to. But at the same time, that’s going to make it a perfect fit for the block.

What Is Common Side Effects?

As teased by its title, Common Side Effects sees a wider mystery unfolding around the pharmaceutical industry. When Marshall spots a new kind of mushroom that could serve as a miracle drug that can heal almost any injury, he could end up disrupting the drug world as whole. Adult Swim teases what to expect from the new animated series as such, “The half-hour series follows Marshall and Frances, two former high school lab partners who share a secret: Marshall has discovered the world’s greatest medicine, a mushroom that can heal almost anything. But getting it out into the world won’t be easy – the DEA, big pharma, and international businessmen are all on the chase to stop them.”

Copano and Harrington play a key role in the animayed series as the greater mystery unfolds, and the two of them are trying to figure out their place in it all while just working another day at their jobs. It’s a fun dynamic that fans will get to see more of when the series premieres next month, and even more of that wider conspiracy reveal itself in the near future as well.

The post Common Side Effects Highlights Its Best Duo in Special Preview Clip appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Fans of Invincible have come up with some new theories tied to one of the show’s biggest unanswered questions. At this point in time, Invincible is nearing its return to Prime Video as Season 3 is set to debut in only a few short weeks. Prior to that arrival, Invincible fans have continued to discuss the previous seasons of the series, which recently led to a discussion tied to one of its most popular villains.

In a thread on the Invincible subreddit, user Battle_beast6789 posed a very straightforward question: “What exactly are the Mauler Twins?” Having been in Invincible since the show’s first episode, the Mauler Twins are Invincible’s most recurring baddies and are set to once again play a big part in Season 3. Despite this, Invincible has never once explained who or what the Mauler Twins are. Given their appearance, they could be anything from aliens to genetically altered humans that have somehow turned blue and gained super strength.

In the estimation of many Invincible viewers, it’s this latter option that is most likely the correct one. A number of users on Reddit said that they believe the Mauler Twins began as a single scientist who performed tests on himself that led to him gaining powers. In the wake of this, the scientist then eventually cloned himself, which led to the birth (and continued rebirth) of the Mauler Twins as we’ve come to know them.

“Presumably, a Human scientist who was a master of bioengineering,” said user Maleficent-Month2950 with the thread’s most popular answer. “[He] gave himself physical superpowers, made a clone to help him in his endeavors, was killed by said clone, and eventually it just became a cycle of clones creating each other to serve as assistants.”

Related: New Invincible Comic Series Announced by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley

For those who haven’t read the Invincible comics, the origin story of the Mauler Twins is surprisingly never touched on in great detail either. While some additional light is shed on their roots, it’s never known exactly how they got their powers or what their original name was. This ongoing mystery is part of the allure of the character and makes the Mauler Twins that more more unique when compared to the other villains in Invincible’s rogues’ gallery.

As mentioned, the Invincible TV series is set to return for Season 3 shortly and will hit Prime Video on February 6th with its first three episodes. Season 3 will last eight episodes in total and will continue running until the middle of March.

The post Invincible Fans Have New Theories for One of the Show’s Biggest Mysteries appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Creatures Commandos has given DC fans their first look at the DCU and what a look it was. Many people questioned the wisdom of starting with such an unknown concept, but Creature Commandos‘ cast of monsters has proven to be a very interesting doorway into the all-new cinematic universe based on DC Comics. The show was packed with clues about the shape of the new DCU, revealing many familiar aspects. Now that the first season is over, it’s time to look at everything the show set up and see just what might be in store for the future. All of it points to it being an exciting future for DC fans.

The DCU Already Has Films In Its Canon

So, we’ll start with the easy stuff. The very existence of Task Force M shows that much of James Gunn’s previous DC work is canon to the DCU. The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker happened, down to that story about Superman getting shot. This is to be expected; since Gunn is in charge of things, it makes sense for those projects to be canon. John Economos and Amanda Waller are the same characters, and the death of Rick Flag Jr. at Peacemaker’s hands had been established by Waller and Rick Flag Sr. Flag probably doesn’t know all the details, but that’s just how Waller rolls.

Amazons Are A Controversial World Discovery

The show went into greater detail about the DCU as the season progressed. Its first phase concentrated on Circe and the Sons of Themyscira, establishing that Themyscira is not only known to the world but also rather controversial with the chuds of the manosphere. There are even university classes taught about it, as evidenced by Professor McPherson, who Clayface killed and impersonated in an attempt to trick the Creature Commandos in going back and killing Princess Illana Rostovic in Pokolistan. An interesting little wrinkle about Pokolistan is that the Princess’s knights are vaguely reminiscent of the Atomic Knights, survivors of a nuclear holocaust on either a future or alternate Earth, depending on the DC continuity in question. This fits Grodd’s plans for the world – he may have created that nuclear Earth if he got his way.

DC’s WWII Heroes

G.I. Robot made fans of DC’s Golden and Silver Age very excited. The robot’s origin episode establishes that Sgt. Rock and his Happy Company exist in the DCU. This opens DC’s entire slate of WWII war heroes – including the Losers, who are Flag family-relations – and also could open the door for the Justice Society of America to exist at some point. G.I. Robot’s meeting with scientist Will Magnus also opens things up for the Metal Men, a group of robots with different personalities and element-based capabilities made by the roboticist.

The Long History of DCU’s Monterverse

The stories of The Bride and Eric Frankenstein show that the monster side of the DC Universe is in full effect. Both of them have been long-time DC characters, and their existence also means that perhaps the Patchwork Man – a Swamp Thing-related monster that is created similarly – potentially exists. Monsters are a very important part of the show, and this fits in with the name given to the first story arc of the DCU: “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters”. Monsters have always been special in the DC Universe; while many of them are frightening enemies, just as many are heroes. Task Force M could play a major role in the future dealing with the monsters of this world.

RELATED: Creature Commandos: DC Studios Logo Pays Homage to a Classic Superman Story

The DCU Batman Universe

The biggest reveals from Creature Commandos are all Batman-related. The show’s inclusion of Doctor Phosphorous let us know that Gotham exist (something reinforced by the appearance of Clayface), but the season’s penultimate episode showed that Gotham is pretty much exactly the way it is in all other media. Well, Rupert Thorne is dead, but other than that, it’s Gotham. Viewers even got a glimpse of the Caped Crusader himself. James Gunn clarified that Batman has existed for some time in the DCU, meaning that we’re not jumping in at the exact beginning of the heroic age. This is a universe that has been in motion for a very long time, which is extremely exciting for fans of DC Comics. Also, Marvel Comics exists in the DCU – the Bride called Doctor Phosphorous “Ghost Rider.” So that’s interesting and does fit something that DC and Marvel have done in previous years, with comics often showing aspects of the other fictional universe of superheroes.

More Hero & Villain Teases

Star City and Metropolis are things as well. The latter is obvious because of Superman (2025), while Nina’s origin episode revealed Star City, which opens the door for heroes like Green Arrow to eventually show up. Gorilla Grodd has been established as a major potential threat in the DCU, using his telepathic powers to move people like pieces on a game board, all in the pursuit of the destruction of humanity, a familiar role for the simian tyrant.

This is actually perfect for Grodd; while he’s often portrayed as a brutal monster – which again plays into the title “Gods and Monsters” – he’s also a cunning evil super genius, who can manipulate events from the shadows. Grodd’s existence means that Gorilla City exists (fingers crossed we get to Solivar and maybe even the Ultra-Humanite in the albino gorilla body), which also opens the door to the Flash and the DCU version of twin cities of Central City and Keystone City. That last one depends on whether the DCU is going to do a classic Earth-Two, which is the original home of Keystone and the Justice Society; after all, multiverses are all the rage).

The DCU Is More Fully Formed Than We Guessed

Creature Commandos turned out to be the perfect way to introduce fans to the DCU. For years, everyone thought that the only way to be successful was the MCU’s method – a slow rollout at the beginning of the universe, holding fans’ hands and showing them everything as it builds and progresses. However, Creature Commandos went in a different direction: Gunn used what fans already knew about DC – The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, Batman, Gotham City, Themyscira – to widen the foundation of his universe. He used each member of Task Force M to expand upon a variety of things, opening doors for a lot of DC characters and concepts to come.

Creature Commandos was a perfect starting roadmap for the DCU, building excitement for what’s to come. It’s the most entertaining extended trailer for a franchise universe ever – a seven-episode run that teased the breadth of this new DC cinematic endeavor. In Gunn we trust.

You can stream Creature Commandos on Max.

The post Everything Creature Commandos Taught Us About the New DCU appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Squid Game Season 2 has been taking over Netflix ever since it launched last December, and now the season has officially become one of the most watched seasons on Netflix ever. Squid Game was one of the biggest successes for Netflix in the 2020s as the Korean drama really took the world by storm. It was a surprise seeing a non-English series succeed to such an extent that it became a fully fleshed out franchise for Netflix that resulted in a brand new, completely real game show and two more seasons to help bring it all to an end. And Netflix viewers have been locked in.

Squid Game Season 2 went on to have one of the biggest premieres in Netflix history as it broke records previously held by its own first season and Wednesday. Now as the numbers continue to roll in through to the new year, Squid Game Season 2 has cemented itself as the third most-watched TV season on Netflix with 152.5 million total views worldwide. This series is still just as big as it was the first time around.

Squid Game Season 2 Continues to Dominate Netflix

As revealed on Netflix’s Top 10 lists for the week of January 6th, Squid Game Season 2 is now in its third week at the top of the Non-English TV shows chart globally with 26.3 million views. It seems the success of the new season has brought back the first season too as Squid Game Season 1 has entered the Top 10 list at third place with 8.7 million views as well. With these latest numbers, Squid Game Season 2 has gone from its 68 million view debut to its current total of 152.5 million views worldwide, and as Variety points out, this means the season has picked up 126.2 million views across 11 days.

This is a huge feat for any Netflix series as no other show has seen that kind of growth, and Squid Game Season 2 is in pretty hilarious company when it comes to the most watched seasons on Netflix overall. The current title holder is Squid Game Season 1 with 265 million views, and Wednesday comes in second with 252 million views. There’s an over 100 million view difference in between these and Squid Game Season 2’s current view count, but it’s a huge accomplishment for a follow up to a massively popular series.

RELATED: Squid Game Creator Explains Why Season 2’s Most Controversial Player Shares Name With Marvel Villain

When Does Squid Game Season 3 Come Out?

Squid Game Season 3 is currently scheduled for a release some time later this year, but a more concrete release date or window has yet to be announced by Netflix as of the time of this publication. Squid Game Season 3 will be officially bringing the series to an end, and when previously asked about a potential release for the final episodes, series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk teased,  “At this point, anything I might say is going to be a spoiler, so I want to be cautious. But what I can say is, after Season 2 launches, I believe we will be announcing the launch date for Season 3 soon. I probably expect that to launch around summer or fall next year.”

A potential leak for Squid Game Season 3 teases that the final episodes will be available for streaming this June, and that would perfectly line up with what the creator had noted about its release. But as of this time, Netflix fans can only hope to catch up with the first two seasons of the series in the meantime while we all wait to see how it all comes to an end.

HT – Variety

The post Squid Game Season 2 Is One of Netflix’s Most Watched Seasons Ever appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Prepare to see Wakanda through new eyes. Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda, an animated Black Panther spinoff series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is a globe-trotting, centuries-spanning adventure about the Hatut Zeraze: “Like Wakanda’s CIA,” says producer Brad Winderbaum, Head of Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, in a Marvel Animation 2025 Preview. While the series is executive produced by Ryan Coogler, director of 2018’s Black Panther and 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the series (premiering Aug. 6) is a story that could be told only in the medium of animation.

“Animation is the ultimate equalizer of locations,” series creator and showrunner Todd Harris explained. “Egypt costs just as much as New York City, and the moon costs just as much as Ohio. Filming around the globe has inherent limitations that we just don’t have in animation. That freedom allowed us to reimagine an idealized version of an era that’’s unaffected by human history.”

RELATED: Marvel’s Gold Tiger: New Wakandan Superhero Is Based on Unused Black Panther Design

The four-episode event series recounts the epic adventures of brave Wakandan warriors throughout history who carried out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. Warriors like the gold-adorned Lion (voiced by Black Lightning‘s Cress Williams).

The Hatut Zeraze “often have to venture out to regain stolen Vibranium, but they also have to keep secrets well-hidden so that Wakanda can ward off invaders and stay safe,” Winderbaum said. “The Hatut Zaraze are challenged in different ways to stay loyal to Wakanda as they discover the rest of the world around them.”

Harris, a storyboard artist whose credits include both Black Panther films and Marvel Animation’s What If…?, directs and serves as executive producer with Winderbaum (X-Men ’97), Kevin Feige (Deadpool & Wolverine), Louis D’Esposito (Agatha All Along), and Proximity Media’s Zinzi Coogler (Judas and the Black Messiah), Sev Ohanian (Anthem), Kalia King (Sheba), and Coogler (Ironheart).

“This has been a long time coming,” Harris said. “The story has been stewing for a long time in my head. I’m a big believer in what Wakanda represents to mankind as a place that’s untethered by expansion. It has drawn a line — a line it won’t cross and it won’t let anybody else cross.”

Eyes of Wakanda — featuring the voices of Winnie Harlow (Grown-ish), Patricia Belcher (The Villains of Valley View), Larry Herron (Marvel’s Spider-Man 2), Adam Gold (Hogwarts Legacy), Lynn Whitfield (The Chi), Jacques Colimon (Fright Krewe), Jona Xiao (The Flash), Isaac Robinson-Smith (X-Men ’97), Gary Anthony Williams (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur), Zeke Alton (Batman: Arkham Shadow), Steve Toussaint (House of the Dragon), and Anika Noni Rose (Mufasa: The Lion King) — is streaming August 6 on Disney+.

The post Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda Showrunner Explains Why the Black Panther Prequel Series Is Animated appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Bad Bunny wants to step inside of WWE’s squared circle again.

The multi-time Grammy Award-winning Latin artist first entered the ring in 2021 at WrestleMania 37. He’s not the first celebrity to take a crack at wrestling, but he’s one of the most impressive. Teaming with Damian Priest against The Miz and John Morrison, he immediately blew fans away with his performance. Not only is he fearless, flinging himself around the ring like his body is merely an object, but he’s also good at wrestling. He impressed WWE higher-ups too, because they welcomed him back with open arms.

He competed in the 2022 Royal Rumble and then in 2023, in his home country of Puerto Rico, he went one-on-one with Priest. To date that was his last match with WWE, but in a social media post for his 30th birthday last year, Triple H said he’d “always have a home” with WWE.

When Will Bad Bunny Return to WWE?

Benito didn’t hesitate to say he’d do it all again in his recent Rolling Stone interview. However, he does have a condition regarding his next match. “I want to do it one more time. I want to put my life at risk in the ring. I felt like I didn’t risk it enough in the ring, and I want to do it,” he said. “Sometimes, I say, ‘I’m going to quit everything and just do wrestling full time.’ I feel like in wrestling, I just go sporadically as a celebrity. I’m going to go full-time and be a heel. That’s what I’d love.”

[RELATED: WWE Superstar Pitches Tag Team With Rapper Lil Uzi Vert]

Bad Bunny just released his sixth studio album Debí Tirar Más Fotos last week and he’s got an upcoming Puerto Rico residency to prepare for. It might be a while until we see him in the ring again. No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí (I Don’t Want to Leave Here) is a 21-show run kicking off July 11 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.

“There are places I for sure will return to like Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia. And some I’ve never been to but would like to visit, like Brazil and Japan,” he said in an Instagram post announcing the residency. “And there are places I haven’t been to in a long time, like Italy, London, Spain. I know — and I promise before the year ends, I’ll tell you the date and time I will be visiting. But for now, I’m in Puerto Rico. I’m home, having fun and, to be honest, I don’t want to leave.”

Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates on WWE.

The post Bad Bunny Would Wrestle in WWE Again (Under One Condition) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has been a real adventure. The coming-of-age story from series creators Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Christopher Ford (Chaos Walking) — which sees the enigmatic Force user Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) chaperone lost kids Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) on a spacefaring adventure seeking home and pirate’s treasure — finishes its eight-episode first season Tuesday on Disney+. Now fans are asking: Is Skeleton Crew renewed for season 2?

To quote Yoda: “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”

The Dec. 2 two-episode series premiere failed to enter the Nielsen top 10 — a first for a live-action Star Wars series — despite strong reviews. (At 95 percent approval from critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Skeleton Crew was better critically received than every live-action Star Wars show except for Andor.) To compare, the June series premiere of The Acolyte charted on Nielsen with 488 million minutes viewed from its two-episode premiere, only for that series to be canceled in August 2024.

RELATED: Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie, From The Mandalorian & Grogu to Star Wars Episode X

Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman told Vulture on Dec. 19 that Acolyte‘s performance “wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title,” which went over budget at a reported cost of $230 million. Meanwhile, Disney+ has “seen some growth” on Skeleton Crew and “the reviews have been excellent,” Bergman said, “so we’ll have to see how that all plays out as it moves forward.”

As Lucasfilm readies its return to theaters with the Jon Favreau-directed The Mandalorian & Grogu film in 2026 — the first Star Wars feature since The Rise of Skywalker capped off the nine-movie Skywalker Saga in 2019 — the studio will also continue to expand the Star Wars galaxy on Disney+. The second and final season of Andor, the prequel leading up to the events of Rogue One, arrives in April, and Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni is penning Ahsoka season 2 ahead of his forthcoming New Republic film set during the post-Return of the Jedi timeline of The Mandalorian.

Filoni’s as-yet-untitled film, which will close out the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, was one of three new Star Wars movies announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023. James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) is directing a film set at the dawn of the Jedi, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel, Saving Face) is helming a film set after the events of the Star Wars sequel trilogy that follows Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) as she builds a new Jedi Order.

So far, only The Mandalorian movie has a theatrical release date: May 22, 2026. A fourth season of the flagship Star Wars series about helmeted bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and the Force-trained Mandalorian Grogu is in development at Disney+, although Lucasfilm has yet to announce anything beyond Andor season 2 and Ahsoka season 2.

“We have Andor season two, which we’re really excited about. It is excellent. I’ve watched all the episodes, and it is a fantastic season. And then we have Ahsoka season two, which Dave Filoni is leading,” Bergman told Vulture. “And then we’re looking at a number of additional series that are in development. We’ll see what we decide to do.”

“They have to be great, and when we’re in the position where we think we have what we want, we’re going to move forward,” he continued. “In terms of the films, at this point we have Mandalorian, which is coming out Memorial Day of ‘26, and we’ve got a number of films that we are developing. When we’re ready, we’ll be making announcements as to what those are.”

Bergman went on to say that Disney is looking to make some streaming titles “as economical as possible” but that “the whole goal, in whatever we do, is quality.”

“It’s the most important thing, and we won’t do anything that we don’t think is quality,” he said. “So I think what you’re going to see is a mix of those series that have more visual effects and will certainly be more expensive. And then you’re going to see some titles that are less expensive because they have less visual effects. But what they’ll both have are great stories.”

The Star Wars: Skeleton Crew finale premieres Jan. 14 on Disney+.

The post What’s Next for Star Wars After the Skeleton Crew Finale appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Severance Season 2 is one of the first highly-anticipated TV premieres of 2025 – but also one of the most bittersweet. It’s been three years since Season 1 premiered on Apple TV+, which might as well be an eternity in the modern TV/streaming marketplace and culture. As such, the deeper developments and subplots of Severance have likely been forgotten by many viewers. Here are 10 quick FAQs about the deeper lore and reveals of Severance Season 1 you need to remember before Season 2 arrives and starts to build on them.

Obviously, SPOILERS FOLLOW!

10 Things to Remember About Severance Before Season 2

10. There’s A Cure For Severance (Sort Of…)

Dr. Regabhi (Karen Aldridge) was a former Lumon Industries scientist who worked on the severance process. She eventually became opposed to the process and left Lumon; however, she had secretly developed a process called “reintegration” and used it on Mark Scout’s (Adam Scott) work friend Peter “Petey” Kilmer (Yul Vazquez) to re-merge the two halves of his personality. The process isn’t perfected: the strain of reintegration eventually led Petey to experience a painful and ultimately fatal cognitive decline. In the show’s premiere episode, Mark was promoted to take Petey’s place as department chief of the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) division.

9. Dr. Reghabi Killed Doug Graner

It speaks to the unique nature of a show like Severance that a murder is only a minor detail in the seasonal storyline. Dr. Regabhi eventually reached out to Mark through Petey’s phone (S1E6) and set up a meeting at her new college lab. Lumon’s severed floor head security officer Doug Graner (Michael Cumpsty) followed Mark to the meeting, where he was taken out by Regabhi (S1E7). She was last seen working to get rid of Graner’s body.

8. Bert Had to Go

One of Severance Season 1’s best character arcs saw MDR team member Irving Bailiff (John Turturro) spark a workplace romance with severed Optics and Design division head Burt Goodman (Christopher Walken). When Irving and Burt’s growing intimacy got noticed, the latter was retired from Lumon. Season 1 ended with Irving’s “Innie” finally making it out of work and finding Burt, only to discover his new flame is already happily married. It’s uncertain if Burt’s storyline will continue from there, or if Irving’s storyline gets refocused.

[WATCH: First 8 Minutes of Severance Season 2]

7. Dylan is FATHER

Dylan G. (Zach Cherry) got the least bit of solo character focus in Season 1, but what we did learn about him hit hard. The competitive and diligent Dylan was revealed to be a loving father of three. Expect to see that story arc expand in Season 2.

6. Rogue Harmony

Lumon’s severed floor manager Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) kept the reigns by controlling everyone’s perspective. However, Harmony’s fixation on Mark (both at work and outside, posing as his neighbor Mrs. Selvig) ultimately cost her her job. If that wasn’t enough, Mark managed to get word to his sister Devon (Jen Tullock) that Harmony and Selvig were the same person during his “innie’s” escape from Lumon. Harmony now has a big target on her back, as someone whose secret is out, and knows too much.

5. Senator & The Severed Wife

Two recurring characters in Severance Season 1 were Senator Angelo Arteta (Ethan Flower) and his wife Gabby (Nora Dale). Senator Arteta was getting funding from Lumon, and subsequently backed political policies that favored severance. Devon befriended Gabby and learned that she had been severed so that she would not remember the pains of pregnancy and childbirth with her third baby. Though they only had a minor presence in Season 1, the Artetas represent some pivotal elements of the larger storyline that will probably come into greater focus – as hinted by their appearance in the finale, where Gabby introduced “Helena” to her husband Angelo.

4. The Face of Lumon

Natalie (Sydney Cole Alexander) is the “Board Liasion” for the severed floor of Lumon – in other words, she’s the main PR spokesperson for the program, as well as the mouthpiece for Lumon’s shadowy board. Natalie appeared sporadically throughout Season 1 in TV talk show clips and in person. Now that we know Helly is really the mastermind of a mission to prove severance to the world, it stands to reason that she’ll be needing more of Natalie’s help, soon.

3. The Terror of the Testing Floor

Irving B. has one main hobby on the outside: painting. However, Irving B. is revealed to have a dark fixation with his artwork: painting and re-painting the testing floor at Lumon as a dark, nightmarish hallway of doom. Getting to the bottom of why this image is so important to Irving seems like it should be on the Season 2 agenda.

2. Gemma Is Being Tested

One of the biggest reveals of Severance Season 1 was that Mark’s wife Gemma Scout (Dichen Lachman) was not only still alive but had been right in front of Mark’s (and our) face the entire time!

Gemma had been severed into the full-time identity of “Ms. Casey,” Lumon’s Wellness Counselor. In one pivotal scene late in the season, Harmony Cobel puts Mark and Gemma in a wellness session together, hoping to expose Mark as possibly being reintegrated like Petey. When Mark and Gemma don’t remember each other, Harmony has Ms. Casey sent down to the dreaded Testing Floor. Why Gemma is part of Lumon’s full-time severed division is a big mystery (against her will, or….?), as is the question of what’s happening on that Testing Floor.

1. “Overtime” Isn’t the Only Contingency Option

The “Overtime Contingency” was an option the MDR team discovered and activated, which allowed their severed work personas to be activated in the outside world. However, Overtime Contingency wasn’t the only option on the list the team discovered at Lumon – maybe in Season 2 we’ll find out more about what those brainchips can really do.

Severance Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on January 17th.

The post 10 Things Severance Fans Need to Remember Before Season 2 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One of the most popular children’s programs in the world is coming to Netflix. Ms. Rachel, the YouTube channel created by Rachel Accurso & Aron Accurso, has been a sensation for parents and kids for the last few years, focusing on research-based education and songs for little ones of different ages and development stages. The channel generates more than 400 million views each month, and now Ms. Rachel’s videos are coming to the biggest streaming service around.

On Tuesday morning, Netflix and Ms. Rachel announced a partnership that will see some of the popular educational videos make their way to the streamer in the very near future. January 27th will see a four-episode season of Ms. Rachel compilation videos added to the service, each running between 30 and 60 minutes. More episodes will follow later in 2025.

The announcement doesn’t reveal which Ms. Rachel videos will become part of the Netflix episodes. It does appear, though, that they will be made up of existing Ms. Rachel videos from the YouTube channel.

So to be clear, nothing about this announcement indicates that Ms. Rachel is moving exclusively behind Netflix’s subscription paywall. The free YouTube channel will continue, allowing everyone access to Ms. Rachel’s lessons. This simply seems like a curated collection that will exist on Netflix, which does have the added benefit of keeping away unwanted YouTube ads or suggestions.

As part of the announcement, the official Ms. Rachel and Netflix Instagram accounts shared a video of Ms. Rachel doing a “letter of the day” segment that resulted in the Netflix N logo.

“HUGE news for parents (and littles) everywhere,” the post reads. “Some of your favorite [Ms. Rachel] songs and lessons are coming to Netflix January 27!”

[RELATED: The Magicians Lands a New Streaming Home After Netflix Exit]

“Rachel is a passionate educator who creates research-based videos to help toddlers and their families learn, bond, and thrive,” reads Netflix’s press release. “Her videos infuse songs, games and nursery rhymes with strategies from experts to help children reach important milestones in the crucial early years of learning. Rachel believes all children are capable, brilliant and important. She loves learning from them and being around their contagious joy and wonder. Rachel has two master’s degrees: one in early childhood development, and one in music education. She is an advocate for children’s rights and works to ensure that all children have access to high quality early childhood education. She is an ambassador for Save the Children and Room to Grow. She is married to the amazing Mr. Aron, aka Herbie, who is her co-creator in all things! Today, her wildly popular YouTube channel @MsRachel generates over 400 million views per month.”

The post Ms. Rachel Is Officially Coming to Netflix appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Severance series creator Dan Erickson just opened up about the infamous “waffle party” scene in an interview with ComicBook. He didn’t reveal whether we’d learn more about that ritual in Season 2, but he did give some insights on what it meant for the characters and for Lumon Industries. Fair warning: there are spoilers for Severance Season 1 ahead!

“It’s funny — a lot of people are very mad because they say I’ve ruined waffles for them, which I do feel kind of bad about,” Erickson joked. The scene is in Season 1, Episode 8, “What’s for Dinner?” In it, Dylan (Zach Cherry) is given a “waffle party” as a reward for his department meeting its quota. He is brought to the Perpetuity Wing and seated in a replica of Kier Eagan’s childhood bedroom. He is served waffles and then adorned with an Eagan mask, and he sits alone while people in other masks perform ritualistic seductive dances in front of him.

The scene perplexed fans, and Erickson pointed out that Lumon would want its severed employees to feel that way about sex. He said: “To me, it ties into the fact that every element of life at Lumon is incentivized and thus kind of perverted. We see that around the time in the season that the waffle party happens, you have this kind of sweet blossoming romance between Mark and Helly, which is happening very organically, and then the same of course with Burt and Irving. There’s love that is popping up in the way that it naturally would between people, and Lumon, of course, wants to snuff that out.”

[RELATED: Severance Star Adam Scott “Not Sure” If He Wants Another Comic Book Role After Madame Web]

“With the waffle party, part of the reason for that is that they want to own that — things like sex and love — they want to be in charge of when you can have that and when you can’t, because it can be used as an incentive,” Erickson went on. “We see everything from, like, pencil erasers to melon parties and everything being used as an incentive to keep people doing their job. In a way, why would sexuality not be used in that same way in a place like that? But you see it presented in this really strange and alarming way.”

Erickson’s insights shed a lot of light on this cryptic scene, but it’s notable that he didn’t tell us if we’d learn more in future episodes. We’ll have to see for ourselves when Severance Season 2 premieres on Friday, January 17th on Apple TV+ and airs week-to-week through Friday, March 21st. Season 1 is streaming there now.

The post Severance Creator Teases What the “Waffle Party” Really Means in the Series appeared first on ComicBook.com.

With The Last of Us Season 2 starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey only a few months away, you can revisit the first season with a limited edition Steelbook of the 4K Blu-ray that features absolutely stellar artwork on the cover. Pre-orders are available here at Universal Pictures’ new GRUV site for as little as $27.99 when you use the code SIGNUP20 (20% off) at checkout. A listing is also available here on Amazon. It’s expected to arrive on March 18th. The standard 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD editions are also available. Info on special features can be found below.

• NEW The Last of Us: Stranger Than Fiction – Series cast and filmmakers are joined by experts in survival, microbiology, and parasitology for a chilling discussion on the realities of the invasive fungus and subsequent apocalypse in The Last of Us.
• NEW Controllers Down: Adapting The Last of Us – Follow the journey of The Last of Us from console to screen as cast and filmmakers take us inside the process of expanding the world and breathing new life into the game’s beloved characters.
• NEW From Levels to Live Action – Discover how The Last of Us incorporated and expanded fan-favorite game moments in the series
• Getting to Know Me (4 Featurettes)
• The Last Debrief with Troy Baker (2 Featurettes)
• Inside the Episode (9 Featurettes)
• Is This A The Last of Us Line? (2 Featurettes)
• Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French s8ubtitles for the main feature

Synopsis: “The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival. Season one stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star.”

You can check out a teaser for The Last of Us Season 2 right here. It is expected to begin streaming on Max in April, 2025.

The post The Last Of Us First Season 4K Blu-ray Gets An Amazing Steelbook appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Big Bang Theory franchise keeps expanding as a new spinoff series takes shape at Max, with former star Mayim Bialik expressing strong interest in returning to the beloved sitcom universe. During a recent interview for TV Line about her guest appearance on NBC’s Night Court, where she reunites with former co-star Melissa Rauch, Bialik addressed the possibility of reprising her role as Amy Farrah Fowler. The actress, who portrayed the brilliant neurobiologist for nine seasons, didn’t hesitate to voice her enthusiasm for potentially returning to the character that earned her four Emmy nominations.

“I would 100% reprise Amy,” Bialik explained, highlighting the special attachment fans have to these characters. “I have no qualms about that. I think it would be fantastic.” While she noted that she learned about the spinoff “on Deadline like everybody else,” she enthusiastically added that she “would love to get a call” about participating in the project. This openness to return comes fresh off her recent appearance in Young Sheldon‘s May 2024 series finale, where she briefly reprised her role alongside Jim Parsons.

[RELATED: Big Bang Theory Fans Still Upset Over Penny and Howard Scene 16 Years Later]

The new spinoff series, currently in development for MAX, has already confirmed several returning cast members from the original show’s ensemble. Kevin Sussman will return as comic book store owner Stuart Bloom, alongside Lauren Lapkus as his girlfriend Denise, and Brian Posehn as Caltech geology professor Bert Kibbler. While Bialik’s Amy isn’t currently attached to the project, her enthusiasm suggests the possibility of future appearances that could expand the show’s connection to its predecessor.

The Big Bang Theory‘s Lasting Impact on Television

The Big Bang Theory‘s influence on television culture cannot be overstated. The series, which began as a modest comedy about four socially awkward scientists in 2007, evolved into one of television’s most successful sitcoms, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show broke numerous records during its run, consistently ranking as television’s most-watched comedy series. Its finale in 2019 drew an astounding 18 million viewers, marking the end of an era in network television.

Throughout its run, the series accumulated an impressive collection of accolades, including ten Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Jim Parsons’ portrayal of Sheldon Cooper. The show’s impact extended beyond awards, influencing popular culture by celebrating geek culture and making complex scientific concepts accessible to mainstream audiences. This cultural resonance led to the successful Young Sheldon spinoff, which recently concluded after seven seasons, and now this new series is in development at Max.

Bialik’s potential return would bring additional prestige to the spinoff, as her portrayal of Amy Farrah Fowler earned critical acclaim and helped evolve the show beyond its initial premise. Her character’s relationship with Sheldon became one of the series’ most beloved storylines, culminating in a wedding that drew 15 million viewers. Her chemistry with the ensemble cast and her character’s development from a female version of Sheldon to a fully realized individual with her own quirks and ambitions demonstrated the show’s ability to grow beyond its original concept.

The Big Bang Theory is currently available for streaming on MAX. Fans can catch Mayim Bialik’s guest appearance on Night Court, airing Tuesdays on NBC.

The post Mayim Bialik Addresses Potential for The Big Bang Theory Return in New Spinoff appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The transfer window has been a regular part of the last few episodes of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown, as some superstars are teasing jumping from one brand to the other. We have at this point had a few moves rumored, with others teased on TV, but tonight one of WWE’s most popular supergroups officially left Monday Night Raw and headed to SmackDown, and that would be the supernatural phenomenal known as the Wyatt Sicks.

During tonight’s episode, there was a backstage segment featuring Karrion Kross and The Miz, and Kross was clearly frustrated at what he had just learned. Kross confronted Miz and told him that he just learned the Wyatt Sicks had moved to SmackDown, asking Miz if he had anything to do with it.

The Miz promised he hadn’t before Sami Zayn walked by and ended up in a confrontation with Miz. After some back and forth, Zayn said he had other business to go over with Adam Pearce, but he was also going to talk to him about a match between the two later that night, and he would eventually win that match too.

As for the Wyatt Sicks, this is a big move for the group and a big potential get for SmackDown. The group has been one of the more captivating stories for Raw ahead of the move to Netflix, but so far they haven’t’ been seen in either of the two Netflix episodes.

[RELATED: WWE Crowns First Ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion on Raw]

Now we know why, as it appears they are being moved to the USA Network to be one of SmackDown’s big attractions moving forward, and the blue brand is likely planning a big roll out sooner than later. SmackDown recently shifted from 2 hours to 3 hours, and while it’s not a permanent move, having a group like the Wyatt Sicks and all their promo and vignette potential will only help SmackDown fill that 3-hour runtime with more compelling content.

There’s also some interesting match-ups for the group on the blue brand, with the biggest potential target being the Bloodline. Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline is likely not disbanding anytime soon, and they will need some new opponents now that Roman Reigns has won back the Ula Fala and restored his legacy. A battle against the Wyatt Sicks would certainly be a departure, but perhaps that’s not a bad thing.

There’s also groups like Legado Del Fantasma that could tussle with the Wyatt Sicks, though with American Made also teased as making a move to SmackDown, the group could also pick up that feud from where they left off on Raw previously.

We’ll have to wait and see, but don’t expect too much time to pass before we see the supergroup on WWE TV once more, though this time they will set up on Friday nights.

What do you think of the move? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!

The post A WWE Supergroup Just Left Raw for SmackDown appeared first on ComicBook.com.

After a thrilling tournament full of surprises, it was finally time to crown WWE’s first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion on Monday Night Raw, and the two superstars left standing were Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai and Lyra Valkyria. Both Superstars have fought hard to get to this momentous occasion, and they left everything in the ring, delivering a hard hitting battle that definitely took its toll as the match went on. Both superstars scored near falls as the match’s final moments played out, but it was Valkyria who was able to evade a pin from Kai and then hit the Nightwing to get the victory, and now Valkyria is your WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion.

The two superstars traded offense but neither one could get the edge, fighting to a standstill. Kai got the first strike but couldn’t capitalize much after, as Valkyria drove her into the ring apron, only to get caught by Kai and slammed face first onto the apron. Valkyria came right back and slammed Kai’s face onto the apron, and then Valkyria then hit a nasty slam that sent both to the floor.

During the break Valkyria was in control of the match, wearing down Kai with attacks on her lower back. Valkyria threw Kai to the mat but Kai came back with a series of kicks tot he side of Valkyria’s head, and then Kai countered a move that knocked Valkyria into the corner.

Kai followed up with a big kick to the head and then she knocked Valkyria to the mat hard but Lyra was able to kick out. Valkyria reversed a move and then hit the huge power bomb into a pin, but Kai kicked out in time. Valkyria went up top and hit the leg drop into a pin, but Kai kicked out again.

[RELATED: WWE’s Lyra Valkyria Wants to Bring a Beloved Lord of the Rings Couple to Life]

Kai was back up and stomped on the back of Valkyria’s head from the ropes, and then she hit the GTK, but Valkyria rolled out of the ring to avoid a pin attempt. Kai went for the kick again but Valkyria countered and then set up Kai for the Nightwing and got the win, becoming the first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion.

What did you think of the match, and who do you want to see Valkyria face first in her Intercontinental Championship reign? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!

The post WWE Crowns First Ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion on Raw appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WWE delivered a series of heavy hitting moments throughout the Netflix premiere of Monday Night Raw, but the beginning of WWE’s second week on Netflix was not looking to be outshined. The opening of this week’s Monday Night Raw would get things started with CM Punk, following the Best in the World with Seth Rollins and then Drew McIntyre, and the all-star segment saw some major developments for the Royal Rumble as well. Not only did Punk declare for the Rumble, but so did Rollins, and so did McIntyre, complicating the Rumble picture even more thanks to John Cena and Roman Reigns also being involved.

Punk started things off by saying, “CM Punk has a lot on his plate, but something no longer on my plate is Seth Rollins.” Then Punk said, “To win the Rumble is one of my dreams, and that caused me to see in the distance what I thought was my career fading away. My dreams that were so scary and couldn’t see.” Then Punk added the Cena trademark while saying “I couldn’t see.”

Punk then addressed Cena directly, saying, “John Cena, I see you, and I always have my friend. And I see that John Cena has declared himself for the Royal Rumble, and I’m here to tell you so have I. CM Punk in 2025 is going to throw 29 other people over the top rope. And you’re going to hear my music, cult of personality, play my song!”

That’s when Rollins came out, much to Punk’s chagrin. Rollins was sporting an injured eye and then told Punk that he was showing up just as he said he was going to before they had their match. “A man of my word, if I wasn’t a man of my word, if I didn’t show up when times got hard, it wouldn’t be me. it would in fact be you,” Rollins said, to which Punk responded, “But I’d be the winner still right?”

[RELATED: AEW Star Finally Makes WWE Raw Netflix Debut]

Rollins said, “I would rather be the worst version of myself than be any version of you. I’ve lost a lot of matches man. I’ve lost main events, title matches, I’ve lost at WrestleMania, but last week was the worst loss of my career.” Punk said, “Good” before Rollins continued, saying “I’ve never been more disappointed in myself. I underestimated you on the biggest stage of my life, and there’s only one way I can seek redemption, and that’s take your WrestleMania dreams and flush them down the toilet. You’re not going to win the Royal Rumble, because I am going to win the Rumble.”

Drew McIntyre then came out and took a shot at Rollins, though Punk thought it was directed at him. Rollins challenged him to a match and Punk was down for one too, but McIntyre wasn’t going to do that on just any show. What McIntyre did say was that he was also going to be in the Rumble, and now there are five main event level superstars already involved, including McIntyre, Rollins, Punk, Reigns, and Cena.

That makes a winner difficult to nail down, as it could be any of them or none of them if they take each other out. McIntyre could take out Punk or Rollins, and Rollins could do the same to Punk or McIntyre. Reigns could cost Cena and Cena could cost Reigns, but more than likely Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline will be the cause of a Reigns loss. That leaves Cena as someone who could end up the winner, but this is only 5 out of a 30-man field, so it will only get more complicated from here.

What did you think of the segment, and who do you think will win the men’s Rumble match? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!

The post WWE Just Revealed 3 Top Stars for the Royal Rumble, And John Cena Is In Trouble appeared first on ComicBook.com.

After weeks of teases, the star known as Penta finally made his WWE debut, and it was electric. The former AEW star has been teased with Penta logos and symbols, and at one point seemed poised to make his debut last week, but it was pushed to this week. That set up a match between Penta and American Made’s Chad Gable, and it was a big-time premiere for the newest WWE Superstar. Penta delivered an eye-popping debut for the San Jose crowd and showcased his insane skillset in a huge first win. Then Penta hyped up everyone with a promo that declared this not just the new era, but Penta’s new era.

Penta impressed early, throwing Gable around and not allowing him to gain any momentum. Gable got back on track and focused on grounding the Luchador, targeting Penta’s knee and leg. The strategy was working, as Gable kept punishing Penta’s knee and hobbling him, and then Gable hit a monster suplex but still couldn’t get the pin.

Gable missed a splash and then Penta came back and looked poised for a comeback, but then a charge forward ended up getting Penta flipped over and thrown into the turnbuckle rather painfully. The two superstars then exchanged ferocious chops and Penta was able to hit a sling blade despite being hobbled.

Penta knocked Gable over the ropes to the floor and looked to get some feeling back into his leg, and he soared over the ropes and slammed into Gable on the floor. Penta went up top and then hit the big crossbody and kicked the back of Gable’s knee before hitting a backstabber that left Gable vulnerable for a pin, but Gable still kicked out before the 3 count.

[RELATED: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Coincides with AEW’s Biggest Event of the Year]

A loud kick rocked Gable but Gable came back with a German Suplex and a near cover. Penta took out Gable and then spiked Gable on the mat with a Mexican Destroyer and went for a cover, but Gable kicked out. Penta rocked Gable with another kick and then just about dislocated Gable’s shoulder before hitting the Penta Driver for the pin and the win.

Penta celebrated in the ring and the crowd was on board for the big debut. He was asked what the moment means to him, and he said “Thank you, but I want to say something first. Thank you San Jose! I want to say something. The real truth is I’ve been waiting for this moment!”

What did you think of Penta’s WWE debut? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!

The post AEW Star Finally Makes WWE Raw Netflix Debut appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Walking Dead Universe lives on Netflix. The Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira-fronted spinoff The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live was added to the streaming service on Jan. 13, nearly a year after the limited series first aired on AMC and AMC+, joining a library that includes all 11 seasons of the mothership series that splintered into new shows.

Dead City tracked Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan to New York City, Daryl Dixon followed Norman Reedus’ Daryl and Melissa McBride’s Carol overseas to France, and The Ones Who Live reunited Gurira’s Michonne and Lincoln’s Rick Grimes at the Civic Republic in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, AMC expanded the wider universe with spinoffs Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, which are mostly standalone except for a few crossovers. (Fear imported Lennie James’ Morgan, Austin Amelio’s Dwight, and Christine Evangelista’s Sherry from The Walking Dead, while Pollyanna McIntosh’s Jadis bridged The Walking Dead and World Beyond as a member of the organization linking the shows together: the Civic Republic Military.)

While it’s all connected in TWD Universe, you won’t find all seven series in one place. You’ll need subscriptions for multiple streaming services to watch every Walking Dead series in release order, which we’ve listed below.

The Walking Dead (Seasons 1-11)

The original series follows Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group of survivors in the walker apocalypse — Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and Michonne (Danai Gurira) among them — as they fight the dead and fear the living, like the Governor (David Morrissey) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

Where to watch: Netflix

Fear the Walking Dead (Seasons 1-8)

Originally set in Los Angeles during the early days of the apocalypse, Fear followed the dysfunctional family of Madison Clark (Kim Dickens), her children Nick (Frank Dillane) and daughter Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), partner Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis), and his son, Chris (Lorenzo Henrie). Later seasons saw The Walking Dead‘s Morgan Jones (Lennie James) join the ensemble cast in a crossover with the flagship.

Where to watch: Netflix and AMC+

The Walking Dead: World Beyond (Seasons 1-2)

Ten years after society fell, a group of teenagers sheltered from the dangers of the post-apocalyptic world receive a message that inspires them to leave the safety of the only home they have ever known and embark on a cross-country journey. Along the way, sisters Iris (Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour), joined by friends Elton (Nicholas Cantu) and Silas (Hal Cumpston), uncover the secrets of the shadowy Civic Republic Military in the two-season limited series.

Where to watch: AMC+

Tales of the Walking Dead (Season 1)

Anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead features a star-studded cast with new stories set throughout the Walking Dead timeline. Besides an origin story for Alpha (Samantha Morton) of the Whisperers, the genre-bending six-episode series introduces Joe (Terry Crews), Evie (Olivia Munn), Blair (Parker Posey), Gina (Jillian Bell), Amy (Poppy Liu), Dr. Everett (Anthony Edwards), Davon (Jessie T. Usher), Idalia (Daniella Pineda) and Eric (Danny Ramirez).

Where to watch: AMC+

The Walking Dead: Dead City (Season 1)

Picking up years after the events of The Walking Dead‘s final season, the spinoff follows enemies Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they travel to post-apocalyptic Manhattan – a crumbling city filled with the dead and denizens who have made it a world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror — on a mission to rescue Maggie’s son, Hershel (Logan Kim), from The Croat (Željko Ivanek).

Where to watch: AMC+

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (Season 1)

After The Walking Dead season 11, Daryl (Norman Reedus) finds himself transported overseas and stranded in France in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. To get home, he agrees to escort Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) to safety at The Nest on the French coast, a dangerous mission that makes them a target of Marion Genet (Anne Charrier) and her paramilitary group, Pouvoir des Vivants.

Where to watch: Netflix and AMC+

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (Season 1)

Years after Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) disappearance in The Walking Dead season 9 — when Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) secretly shuttled him away from his loved ones aboard a CRM helicopter — he’s been conscripted into the Civic Republic Military, a fate from which he’s unable to escape. Meanwhile, Rick’s wife Michonne (Danai Gurira) embarks on her own mission to find Rick and bring him home after learning he was alive in The Walking Dead season 10.

Where to watch: Netflix and AMC+

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol (Season 2)

Carol (Melissa McBride) departs for France after learning that best friend Daryl (Norman Reedus) was transported overseas in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 1. The six-episode second season, titled The Book of Carol, sees Daryl and Carol struggle to reunite as they come under threat from Madame Genet (Anne Charrier) and an army of amped-up walkers.

Where to watch: AMC+

The post How to Watch All The Walking Dead Shows in Order in 2025 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Squid Game Season 2 might have broken records previously held by Season 1 of the series with Netflix, but one star has addressed the divisive reaction fans have had to the new episodes. Squid Game Season 2 premiered last December and quickly broke records as one of the highest streaming premieres in Netflix’s history, and the new wave of episodes introduced fans to a new set of games and wild characters staking their lives on them. As the series ran through its run of seven episodes before it came to its cliffhanger ending, fans have not had as overwhelmingly positive response as they did for the first season.

It’s likely due to its cliffhanger ending that fans had a more negative response to Squid Game Season 2, and the fact it had less games than the first season as it aims to tell a completely different kind of story. But as star Lee Byung-hun, who plays the Front Man in the series, noted in a recent interview with Star News Korea, “I personally found it fun.” Explaining that no series can be truly free of criticism, it seems the star is confident in the new episodes and the creator behind them all.

Squid Game Star Addresses Season 2 Backlash

“I respect those opinions,” Byung-hun stated. “In fact, no work can be free of criticism. I personally found it fun. I thought that director Hwang Dong-hyuk is a very smart person.” It’s a very stoic reaction that seems to be aware of how fans might have approached the new season much differently than the first time around. It makes a lot of sense as the first season of the series is a real lightning in a bottle kind of success that even Squid Game series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk was aware of as he didn’t immediately have plans to follow up the series when that first season initially released.

It’s also why Squid Game will be ending its story with a final season of episodes coming later this year. As Dong-hyuk explained about when creating the story for the new season, it was initially one much longer story arc, “When I first wrote the story of Seasons 2 and 3 it was one long story arc. And I was originally planning to write this story across a span of about eight to nine episodes, but once I finished the story, it came to over 10 episodes, which I thought was too long to contain in a single season.” 

RELATED: Squid Game Creator Explains Why Season 2’s Most Controversial Player Shares Name With Marvel Villain

When Does Squid Game Season 3 Come Out?

Squid Game Season 3 is currently slated for a release some time later this year, but has yet to confirm a release date as of the time of this publication. Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk teased that the final episodes would be coming to Netflix sooner than fans might have expected, and teased a potential Summer release for the final season. But as of the time of this writing, Netflix themselves have yet to comment on the matter.

While Squid Game Season 2 ended on a cliffhanger that absolutely rocked Seung Gi-Hun heading into the finale, the first look at Season 3 teased that the series would be returning to its games in the final season. It’s yet to be revealed what to expect from these games, or who could be making it to the end, but fans are going to be locked in for when the final episodes of the series make their debut.

via Star News Korea [HT – ScreenRant]

The post Squid Game Star Addresses Season 2’s Divisive Reaction: “I Personally Found It Fun” appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WWE’s Chelsea Green has a genius idea for her U.S. Championship reign. Green is an outspoken fan of the WWE Divas era which made her fall in love with wrestling. In interviews, she actively discusses how she once believed she’d be the next “Nikki or Brie Bella.” Now that she’s got her first WWE Championship, she’s looking at ways to maximize her screen time.

When asked if she’d like to see Nikki and Brie have another return and possibly eliminate them from the Royal Rumble, Green pitched a Divas open challenge for her title.

“Of course [about a Bella Twins return]. “I mean, I would love to be like the Diva killer. I mean, I would love an open challenge Divas only,” Green told Witty Whittier (H/T WrestleZone). “I’ll invite Maryse. I already put it out there into the universe. I will invite Nikki, I will invite Brie, I will invite any Diva that wants to come and attempt to take my beautiful, shiny piece of jewelry away from me.”

The idea of a Divas-related story with Green is nothing new. Fans have been fantasy booking her carrying the Divas Championship for a year now. Although it’s long retired and something WWE seems keen on forgetting, Green’s idea is the perfect way to honor the past.

[RELATED: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Coincides with AEW’s Biggest Event of the Year]

Green returned to WWE nearly two years ago in the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble. A lot has changed since then. She won the Tag Team Championships with Sonya Deville (whose injury forced her to vacate). Still, Green persevered and became tag partners with Piper Niven. They’ve been inseparable since and Niven is an integral piece of Green’s story. She nearly won the Women’s Money in the Bank briefcase last year. However, Tiffany Stratton thwarted her efforts. Still, at that moment, it was clear that Green’s time was coming sooner than later.

“I wish I had stopped and looked around and smelled the roses and everything else because that is what makes me special now being in WWE,” Green reflected to ComicBook last year. “Everyone can be a wrestler. Everyone can try to do that. Everyone can try to go in the indies or try to make a name for themselves, whatever, but it’s those stops that I made along the way, all the other companies to get to WWE that now makes me unique, makes me special, makes my fan base come along for the ride and support me now that I am thriving in WWE. But I mean, when you’re in it, [it’s] easier said than done. Because when you’re in it, you’re in it. And you just have one goal in mind.”

Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates on WWE.

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John Turturro has an easy time withholding Severance spoilers because he simply hasn’t watched the show. In an interview with ComicBook, Turturro’s co-stars explained how they approach conversations about this series without giving anything away. Turturro said it comes easier for him because he genuinely doesn’t know what’s coming from week to week.

“I haven’t seen the show, so I’m really an innocent here,” Turturro admitted. It sounds like the actor was referring to the entire series, although he might have meant Season 2 specifically since that’s what he is promoting. Severance Season 2 premieres on Friday, January 17th, and it will air week-to-week going forward on Apple TV+, with new episodes available every Friday through March 21. Turturro did not say if he will be watching along with the rest of us or not.

Turturro was in a group interview with his co-stars Britt Lower and Zach Cherry. On the subject of spoilers, Lower said: “It’s an obstacle course that we’re going through on our press tour,” while Cherry said: “I just play dumb. ‘I don’t even know, I don’t remember.'” Lower chuckled at how appropriate this is for the series, joking: “We don’t remember anything we did at work, we were severed.”

[RELATED: Severance Star Adam Scott “Not Sure” If He Wants Another Comic Book Role After Madame Web]

Severance is a sci-fi series about a biotechnology corporation that has created a procedure called severance, which splits the minds of employees so that their work personality and their civilian personality are completely separate. Cherry, Lower and Turturro all play employees who have had this procedure. Turturro’s performance has been particularly lauded — he was nominated for the Golden Globe and Emmy for best supporting actor after Season 1 aired. Lower and Cherry were both nominated for several award for the series as well.

It’s not uncommon for actors to avoid watching their own work for one reason or another, as Turturro seems to have done here. Turturro has never stated a personal preference on this topic, but many actors have one way or another. Turturro has given a lot of interviews about his performance in Severance, however. His character is attracted to Christopher Walken’s character, though he doesn’t even know the sexual orientation of his persona in the outside world. This has led to a lot of interesting discourse, but now that the new season is airing, Turturro is keeping quiet.

Severance Season 2 premieres this Friday on Apple TV+. You can find the first season streaming there now.

The post Severance Star John Turturro Reveals He’s Never Even Watched the Show appeared first on ComicBook.com.

John Turturro helped secure Christopher Walken’s place on Severance purely for the joy of working with him again. In an interview with ComicBook ahead of the premiere of Severance Season 2, Turturro confirmed that he suggested Walken for the role of Burt Goodman. He said he finds it fun and easy to work with Walken, and that he cares about Walken enough to make their on-screen relationship work.

“I suggested Chris because I’ve worked with him, I think, five times before,” Turturro said. “I’ve directed him in three movies, we’re in two other movies together, and I’ve known him for a really long time, and I love working with him. When you have to play someone that you fall in love with, it’s great to have someone that you really care about and have a lot of fun with. I think when you have fun with people, you can go to different places, and there’s all these built-in obstacles that make the story quite evocative.”

For those interested, the movies Turturro directed Walken in are The Jesus Rolls, Romance & Cigarettes and Illuminata. The two movies they appeared in together were Gods Behaving Badly and Search & Destroy. Turturro continued to sing Walken’s praises, saying: “I love working with him because he’s kind of like a jazz player — you never know how he’s going to spin the ball, how he’s going to blow his horn. It’s a delight to work with him.”

[RELATED: Severance Star Adam Scott “Not Sure” If He Wants Another Comic Book Role After Madame Web]

In reference to the show’s terms for the characters’ split personalities, Turturro said: “He’s someone who — we talk about ‘innie/outie,’ the child and the outside world — Chris is very much in touch with his inner child. There’s something really delightful about watching him, A man with all this experience, still have that childish joy. It’s really a great pleasure to work with him.”

Severance is a sci-fi thriller about a biotech company that has developed a procedure which can divide a person’s psyche, so that they don’t remember any of the time they spent at work and they can’t bring any sensitive information home with them. Turturro plays Irving Bailiff, a severed character who is attracted to Walken’s character Burt. The two don’t even know the sexual orientations of their personas on the outside, and any fraternization is forbidden during their conscious time as “innies.”

Severance Season 2 premieres on Friday, January 17th on Apple TV+. Season 1 is streaming there now.

The post Severance: John Turturro Reveals Why Christopher Walken Is a Perfect Scene Partner appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Netflix subscribers have been disappointed to learn that a couple of long-running TV shows will be leaving the service this week, potentially leaving them stranded in the middle of a binge. Tuesday marks the last day on the service for all eight seasons of USA’s Monk and all five seasons of the fan-favorite Syfy hit The Magicians, while all five seasons of New Amsterdam are exiting on Wednesday. Fans will be excited to know that all three of those shows have (or will have) another streaming home, but only one of them is totally free.

Both Monk and New Amsterdam are available to stream on Peacock, which is a cheaper subscription than Netflix, but still comes with a financial cost. The Magicians, however, is going to be added to Tubi’s lineup once it exits Netflix, and that means you can keep watching the show without paying for any more subscription services.

The final day on Netflix for The Magicians is Tuesday, January 14th. One day later, on January 15th, the entire series will be added to Tubi’s streaming lineup. If you’re not familiar, Tubi is a completely free service that doesn’t even require you to sign up for an account. The only cost is the time it takes to watch a few ads throughout the TV shows and movies.

Leaving Netflix in January

The shows mentioned above are sadly only a few of many titles exiting Netflix this month. Films like Jigsaw, 65, and Focus have already left the streamer’s lineup, but a lot more are set to disappear at the end of January. 21 Jump Street, We’re the Millers, and Zero Dark Thirty are among the films leaving on January 31st.

You can check out the complete list of Netflix’s January losses below.

Leaving 1/1/25
Jigsaw

Leaving 1/3/25
A.X.L.

Leaving 1/7/25
65

Leaving 1/9/25
Focus
The Wedding Year

Leaving 1/11/25
Last Tango in Halifax: Seasons 1-4

Leaving 1/14/25
The Magicians: Seasons 1-5
Monk: Seasons 1-8

Leaving 1/15/25
Cats
New Amsterdam: Seasons 1-5
Selma

Leaving 1/20/25
The Gift

Leaving 1/25/25
The Babadook
The Rental

Leaving 1/26/25
FullMetal Alchemist
Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Leaving 1/31/25
21 Jump Street
22 Jump Street
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
The Next Karate Kid
Not Another Teen Movie
Project X
White Chicks
White House Down
Whitney
We’re the Millers
Zero Dark Thirty

The post Fan-Favorite Series Gets New Streaming Home After Leaving Netflix (And This Time It’s Free) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WWE’s revived Saturday Night’s Main Event will go head-to-head with AEW All In.

In December WWE and NBC unveiled the first SNME under a multi-year deal. It was the first show in 15 years. The event, headlined by Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens, averaged 1,590,000 viewers and posted a 0.42 in the 18-49 demographic. This is on par with WWE Monday Night Raw and SmackDown which average about 1.5 million viewers. They posted a great rating for a Saturday night while up against ESPN, the NBA Cup semi-final on ABC, and AEW Collision.

WWE Reveals Major Head-to-Head with AEW

Peacock has shared the 2025 schedule for Saturday Night’s Main Event and it poses some problems for wrestling fans. One upcoming show includes May 24, 2025, Memorial Day weekend. Typically, AEW hosts their staple pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, that weekend. That’s not all — On July 12, 2025, the same day as AEW All In, another SNME is happening. They’ll air at 8 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBC.

The first SNME was booked as a “mini PLE,” at least in terms of match quality. Chelsea Green became the inaugural United States Champion, Gunther defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Finn Balor and Damian Priest and Liv Morgan defeated IYO SKY. Booking yourself against potentially two of AEW’s core PPVs — one being their biggest of the year — takes serious confidence.

John Cena previously confirmed he has roughly 30 dates this year before he officially retires. If they’re looking for an easy ratings spike, his televised return match will put butts in seats.

[RELATED: WWE Just Put John Cena’s Royal Rumble Win in Huge Jeopardy]

Not only is AEW All In a hallmark for AEW, it’s the first one to take place within the United States since the company was founded. The first two were at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London, England. It’s happening in Arlington, Texas, and the state is home to wrestling legend Dustin Rhodes. Kevin Von Erich’s two sons Ross and Marshall recently shared they’ve joined AEW and are Six-Man Champions with Rhodes. They’ll almost certainly be along for the ride, too.

The next SNME is on January 25th from the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. Matches have yet to be announced but considering that’s next week, the card will probably start taking shape on the red and blue brands this week. Jey Uso is also a core piece of the marketing material, so he’ll likely be involved too.

Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates on WWE and AEW.

The post WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Coincides with AEW’s Biggest Event of the Year appeared first on ComicBook.com.

When Squid Game premiered in 2021, nobody could predict that the show would become a worldwide hit and Netflix’s most popular TV show of all time. After racking up over two billion hours viewed, the twisted and ruthless thriller has cemented itself as one of the most influential and addictive TV shows in recent memory. With that kind of success, it was pretty obvious that Netflix was going to do whatever it took to ensure that Squid Game wasn’t just a one-and-done series. There was just one problem: although Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had ideas for additional seasons of his show, he had nothing concrete in place.

Unfortunately for fans, they had to wait an excruciating three years before they were able to get their death-game fix again. Lucky for us, the wait time for Season 3 of Squid Game won’t be nearly as long, with an estimated release date of Summer 2025. That premiere date is still more than six months away – so what are we supposed to watch to pass the time until Season 3 of Squid Game? While there isn’t another show exactly like Squid Game, there are plenty of thrilling TV shows that just might scratch the itch.

Squid Game: The Challenge

While none of the contestants in this reality show will meet an untimely and gruesome death if they fail any of the challenges, Squid Game: The Challenge has enough of the charm and sheer desperation of Squid Game to make it work. Like its fictional counterpart, this show throws 456 contestants into a closed arena and puts them to the test. The reality series even duplicates many of the games seen in Squid Game, just without the blood and guts strewn about.

RELATED: English Squid Game Remake Happening and an Amazing Director Is in Talks

Created in 2023 by executive producer Stephen Lambert, Squid Game: The Challenge doesn’t have a secret society of the wealthy elite pulling the strings behind the scenes, but there is a hefty payday involved for the winner. With a jackpot of $4.56 million, you can bet that each one of the 456 contestants participated in the show as if their lives really were on the line.

Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

Dong-hyuk cited Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor as one of the main inspirations behind Squid Game, and it’s pretty easy to see why. The anime series tells the story of a gambler who is in massive debt. Desperate to find a way to erase his money troubles, he signs up for a mysterious challenge filled with games that require both skill and luck. But there’s a catch: if you fail any of the games, you die. Sounds pretty familiar, right?

While the premise of Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor might make Squid Game seem like a ripoff, each show is done in its own unique way that makes them both worthy of their praise. Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is as much about finding a way to get into the mind of your opponent as it is about playing the game.

Alice in Borderland

Based on the manga created by Haro Aso, Alice in Borderland follows a group of video game fanatics who are somehow transported into a sparsely populated alternate reality. The group is forced to walk the streets of a desolate Tokyo City where they come across a series of instructions to death games that they must compete in. Similar to Squid Game, the show is rich in mystery and an overarching sense of dread.

The series often plays out more like a video game than a television show, equipped with the occasional betrayal and even puzzles that the characters must solve in order to continue on their journey. Like many of the other entries in this list, it might be smart to not get too attached to any one character, because heartbreak and tragedy will show their ugly head when you least expect it.

Hellbound

Hellbound isn’t like any of the other shows on this list, and that’s certainly meant as a compliment. In an alternate universe, angels visit Earth and offer a warning to people who have been deemed as sinners. But unlike more wholesome programs, these sinners are not offered a chance at redemption: instead, they are told that their time on Earth will be coming to an end and that they will be killed. But they won’t be killed in any old way. No, they will be met by a small group of mysterious and powerful smoke creatures who will pummel them senseless before sending them to hell.

RELATED: Squid Game: I Need These 7 Crazy Kids Games to Be in the Remake

Hellbound was created by Yeon Sang-ho, who rose to fame after the success of his film Train to Busan. With two seasons comprised of six episodes each, Hellbound is the perfect show to binge during a single weekend with enough mystery and intrigue to keep you invested.

All of Us Are Dead

What do you get when you take a highly infectious zombie virus and throw it inside a jam-packed high school? You get an entertaining thriller that is loaded with about as much spicy drama as you could ask for. Oh, and zombies – it has plenty of flesh-eating zombies that are almost as dangerous as a teenage love triangle.

All of Us Are Dead has some extremely high stakes that make it a worthy watch. Just like Squid Game, this show offers a critique of the power struggles and political games that occur in just about every facet of everyday life. With the added thrill of a zombie-related death lurking behind every corner, All of Us Are Dead offers up a decent amount of entertaining drama to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Snowpiercer

If power struggles and class wars are your cup of tea, then Snowpiercer should be on your must-watch list. The show works as a reboot of the 2013 film of the same name. It follows the story of a post-apocalyptic Earth that has transformed the planet into a world covered in ice and snow. In order to keep people alive, a massive train is constructed and filled with train cars that work as a class system. The more powerful of a person you are, the closer you’re situated to the front of the train.

Similar to Squid Game, the show is wrapped in a larger mystery that hides the origins of the flawed class system. Starring Sean Bean, Jennifer Connelly, and Daveed Diggs, Snowpiercer is packed with interesting characters and juicy drama. With four seasons and 40 episodes to work through, this show just might buy you some time until Season 3 of Squid Game is released.

Silo

Similar to Snowpiercer, the Apple TV+ series Silo is also set in a post-apocalyptic world. The biggest difference is that the characters in Silo live inside a massive underground structure called the Silo. The Silo is made up of over 100 levels, each serving different purposes, from agriculture to mechanical maintenance. But not everything is as simple as it seems, with the people of the Silo forced to live under strict rules, believing the surface world is toxic and uninhabitable.

If you enjoy character-driven mysteries set in richly imagined worlds, Silo is worth checking out. It has a layered narrative that keeps viewers guessing, and the underground setting adds a sense of claustrophobia. The show also features some very strong production values as well as compelling performances, particularly from Rebecca Ferguson in the lead role.

Money Heist

Like many of the other shows on this list, Money Heist is a show that explores the themes of class struggles. Created by filmmaker Alex Pina, Money Heist tells the story of a brilliant criminal mastermind who forms a small team of desperate criminals in order to pull off a massive heist that promises to make them all extremely wealthy. As might be expected from a series that revolves around a heist, things don’t exactly go according to plan, making for some entertaining drama.

Just in case you have a desire to watch a show with similar aesthetics as Squid Game, the characters in Money Heist also sport some slick pink jumpsuits. The show is also packed with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and glued to your seat. Money Heist might not be as brutal as Squid Game, but that doesn’t make it any less compelling.

The Purge

If you are looking for a TV show that is just as brutal as Squid Game, then look no further than The Purge. Based on the popular film franchise, The Purge takes place a few years into the future. With the country governed by the authoritarian New Founding Fathers of America in 2027, a yearly Purge is instituted that allows all crimes to be legal for a single 12-hour period. This is done with the hopes of quelling the most sadistic urges of Americans and bringing peace to the country. But of course, things get a little out of control.

Once again, the theme of power and class struggles is prevalent throughout the show. The Purge follows the adventures of several key characters who find themselves in various nightmares during Purge Night. Like Squid Game, this violent thriller examines the extreme lengths that humans might go to, in order to survive.

LOST

One of the most popular shows of the new millennium, Lost was an immediate smash-hit when it premiered in 2004. The show follows the trials and tribulations of a band of people who survive a plane crash on a seemingly deserted island. However, it becomes clear to the survivors that the island is holding onto some dark secrets that just might pose an even greater threat than an exploding plane.

Created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof, Lost is the quintessential mystery thriller. While some of these twists don’t always work and many of the questions about the island are left to the viewer’s imagination, Lost has earned its rightful place as one of the most influential shows ever created. With 121 episodes to work through, it’ll definitely make that wait for Season 3 of Squid Game a little more bearable.

All of these series are available on various streaming platforms.

The post 10 Shows to Watch While You Wait for Squid Game Season 3 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Batman Epic Crime Saga spans a feature film (2022’s The Batman), a prequel comic book (The Riddler: Year One), and a spinoff television series (2024’s The Penguin), with a sequel (2027’s The Batman: Part II) in development at DC Studios. Connecting them all is Matt Reeves, who oversees this expanding corner of the DC universe that is — at least for now — standalone, existing separately from the interconnected DCU under the purview of DC Studios co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Now that The Penguin has wrapped up its Golden Globe-winning first season on HBO and Reeves’ Batman sequel has been pushed from 2026 to 2027, the filmmaker has one priority: the Dark Knight’s return.

“I would love to do more [spinoff series],” Reeves told MTV News, adding that “the thing we’re really focused on” is The Batman 2.

“We’re talking about doing the second season of The Penguin, but my big priority is to get The Batman 2 shooting and going,” Reeves said. “And then it’ll be exciting where we’ll go from there.”

RELATED: The Batman 2 Director Teases Sequel’s Unexpected Villain and Story: “It’s Going to Show Different Sides” of Robert Pattinson

Reeves also confirmed that production is scheduled to begin this year on the sequel, which will come five years after Robert Pattinson suited up as a year-two Batman in the 2022 film. “Our plan, and our hope, is absolutely to do another season [of The Penguin],” Reeves said. “We just have to come up with the idea that we think is the right idea, which is what we’re working on.”

While development on The Batman 2 is “taking longer than I would have wanted,” Reeves said, “I’m super excited about what we’re doing, so I really can’t wait to share that with everybody.”

In 2020, it was announced that Reeves was developing a streaming series set in the world of The Batman for HBO Max (later Max). Described as an “examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City,” the GCPD series from Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter was to launch “a new Batman universe across multiple platforms.” But Winter eventually exited the since-scrapped series, elements of which were folded into The Penguin (about Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb and his rise to power as Gotham City kingpin).

Reeves was also developing an Arkham Asylum series that was allegedly being reworked into a spinoff series focused on Barry Keoghan’s Joker, although Gunn dispelled those rumors. One thing Reeves isn’t ruling out, however, is a Penguin-style spinoff following Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), half-sister of the currently incarcerated Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti).

As series producer Dylan Clark previously told ComicBook, HBO is interested in Batman spinoffs for “marquee characters” like Farrell’s Penguin, who is confirmed to return opposite Pattinson in Batman 2.

“The streaming-cable space was was a no-brainer for some of the bigger characters. Casey [Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content] was the first person that said, ‘I need a marquee character,’” Clark said. “And Matt said, ‘You know, I have this really good idea for Colin for the second movie.’ And Casey said, ‘I want that. You can’t just have these characters be in the movie space.’”

Clark continued, “It was a natural transition that way, and I think we have some great ideas to explore more characters from our movie space to do this same thing with Casey and Sarah [Aubrey, Max original programming chief].”

All episodes of The Penguin are available to stream now on Max. Warner Bros. has dated The Batman 2 for Oct. 1, 2027.

The post Matt Reeves Teases The Penguin Season 2 and More Spinoffs After The Batman 2 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Severance is a show that has layers within layers, and even with the three years between Season 1 and Season 2, there are still new things for viewers to discover! Case in point: As Apple TV+ builds the hype for the imminent premiere of Severance Season 2, the first season is getting more eyes on it, and one Easter egg detail of the show is popping out and going viral. If you caught it during your Severance viewing or in the original chat threads, congrats, but it’s a fun detail to spot if it’s new to you:

As you can see on this Reddit thread, viewers are fascinated by the keyboards that Lumon’s Macrodata Refinement Division employees use during their work shifts. That’s because their keyboards are seen to be missing the pivotal keys of “Ctrl” and “Esc,” or “control” and “escape.”

Now this isn’t just a fun Easter egg detail of Severance‘s production design: it’s a detail that reflects the show’s plot and themes. Lumon’s Severance program has its employees using carefully compartmentalized portions of their minds while working – that mental programming is something the company never wants to upset, so removing any potentially triggering words from their workspace makes total sense. Moreover, that one small detail provides some deeper insight into the overall strange architecture and design aesthetic of the Lumon facility, with its labyrinthine hallways, isolated pods of work teams and empty white walls, and general lack of any dynamic coloring or decoration. It’s just another fun way of getting immersed in the world of the show and its unique sci-fi-drama-mystery blend.

What Is Severance Season 2 About?

Severance follows four employees of the Lumon Corporation Mark (Adam Scott), Dylan (Zach Cherry), Helly (Britt Lower), and Irving (John Turturro), who have agreed to a revolutionary procedure: having their consciousnesses split into two halves: one identity that’s conscious and active at work, with their original personality only allowed to surface once they leave the workplace. Season 1 examined the growing doubts Mark experienced about his “severed” persona and the relationship to his life outside work – doubts that became shocking revelations as Mark and each member of his team began to discover that their work lives and the kinds of personalities and relationships being fostered there were very different – at times very much at odds – with who they “really were” outside of work.

WARNING: SEASON 1 SPOILERS FOLLOW!

In the Season 1 Finale, Mark’s severed persona “woke up” long enough outside of work to try and inform his sister Devon (Jen Tullock) that he remembered his supposedly “dead” wife Gemma is actually serving as Lumon’s workplace wellness counselor Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman). Mark’s teammates each had to deal with their own rude awakenings: Irving Bailiff (John Turturro) discovered his workplace crush Burt (Christopher Walken) is no fellow lonely soul, but is actually a married man. New team member Helly Riggs (Britt Lower) turned out to be “Helena Eagan,” the daughter of Lumon’s CEO and the main proponent of the severance process, who is proving the concept by undergoing it herself. “Helly” tried to fight back against “Helena” by exposing the truth about severance during a Lumon executive gala event.

However, a preview of the first 8 minutes of Severance Season 2 has already shown that Mark finds himself right back Lumon and the MR department, with a stretch of time missing after his little rebellion. The cover story he’s given is that after a public backlash to severance, his team all quit but he volunteered to be re-instated in the program. Of course, Mark immediately discerns that this story isn’t as true as he’s led to believe it is.

Severance Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on January 17th.

The post Severance Detail Will Change the Way You Watch the Show appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Goosebumps is back for its second season on Disney+ and Hulu, but fans who might have been expecting to see the same characters pick up where they left off were met with quite a surprise when they turned on the Season 2 premiere. As revealed when the show was renewed for its second installment, Goosebumps has taken on an anthology format similar to American Horror Story, where each season follows different characters on a new frightening adventure (inspired by R.L. Stine’s iconic books).

The new season, titled Goosebumps: The Vanishing, kicks off with a new take on Stine’s Stay Out of the Basement and is set thousands of miles from the events of Season 1. This time around, David Schwimmer plays the adult lead, following Justin Long’s starring turn in the first installment. Everything looks different in The Vanishing, but it is still inherently a Goosebumps tale.

Ahead of the season launch this weekend, ComicBook spoke with executive producers Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston about the choice to pivot to a new story, especially when the first season had such a wide open ending. According to Letterman, who also co-created the TV series, it was all about recreating the feeling of the original Goosebumps books.

“It took us a while to grow into the idea,” Letterman explained. “And the way we thought about it is Goosebumps is an anthology series by nature. So each book is its own thing. And they don’t end tied up in a perfect little bow. They actually all end with a door opening with a twist or whatever. So it just felt natural to the canon of Goosebumps. It allowed us to explore a whole new set of books, where we could start fresh, explore different genres, and be scared again.”

[RELATED: R.L. Stine Reveals the Goosebumps Book He Wants to See Adapted]

Letterman went on to add that pivoting to an anthology format for Goosebumps also helps to sell the story as the years go on. Putting the same characters into scary scenarios season after season makes it less believable for the audience, as those characters would either become jaded by the horrors they’ve faced, or they’d simply leave their situation.

“We joke about this but there’s some truth to it: How often and how many years can a character experience horror without it just becoming totally jaded by the next monster? Like if an abominable snowman showed up on Season 3 with the same set of characters, not the same reaction,” Letterman told us. “So I think, for all those reasons, it just felt like a natural thing to do.”

All 10 episodes of Goosebumps: The Vanishing are streaming on both Disney+ and Hulu.

The post Goosebumps Creator Explains Why Season 2 Follows a Completely Different Story appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel fans are going to have to wait a little longer to see what Daredevil: Born Again has in store. The MCU’s follow-up to the wildly popular Netflix series is going to launch in March, bringing Matt Murdock, Wilson Fisk, and many other beloved characters back to the small screen. The official trailer for the show had apparently been set to arrive online in recent days, but its launch has been delayed due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.

The fires that have been consuming multiple neighborhoods in and around L.A. have disrupted not only countless lives, but also numerous industries, entertainment included. Premieres have been cancelled or postponed, productions have been halted, and things like trailer releases have been pushed.

A Marvel fan on social media asked Daredevil: Born Again star Vincent D’Onofrio about the status of the full trailer for the series. D’Onofrio replied that the debut of the footage had indeed been delayed, but that it would still be arriving in the near future.

“Postponed because of L.A. fires,” D’Onofrio wrote in his response. “It’s coming.”

There’s a ton of excitement surrounding not only the Daredevil: Born Again series, but even the launch of the trailer. Fans have been so curious about the tone of the show since it was announced, specifically because the original Daredevil series on Netflix is so much darker and more mature than the majority of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[RELATED: New Post Hints at Daredevil’s Role in Avengers: Doomsday]

Fortunately, the Daredevil team knew how important it was to keep the hard-hitting, street-level vibe of the original series in Born Again. In fact, according to star Charlie Cox, this new series is even darker than its predecessor.

“The thing that we kept talking about was, this show has had the success that it’s had and has appealed to a very specific demographic because it’s one of the few superhero shows that is so dark and sinister at times,” Cox told EW late last year. “Vincent and I both felt like if you lose that, you are at risk of losing the identity of our show. So we really pushed for the show to remain geared towards an older audience and not dumbed down to kind of capture a wider net of people. I think in some ways it’s even darker than a lot of the stuff we’ve done in the past.”

There’s no word as to when exactly the trailer will arrive, but it shouldn’t be long now. Daredevil: Born Again debuts on Disney+ March 4th.

The post Daredevil: Born Again Trailer Release Postponed appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Looking back to the early days of serialized television, it seems like every other show had a western theme to it as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and The Lone Ranger were some of the most popular titles around. While western TV shows haven’t exactly had the same staying power as medical dramas or police procedurals, they’ve always been around in one way or another throughout the decades. However, the western has seen something of a reemergence on TV in recent years, with many shows quickly amassing widespread popularity. The latest headlining western is Netflix’s American Primeval, which has quickly vaulted to the top of the streaming giant’s trending TV shows and movies list.

After premiering on January 9th, American Primeval found an immediate audience that has flocked to the gritty frontier drama. This is in spite of the show receiving a majority of underwhelming reviews from critics, with a current critic score of 59% on Rotten Tomatoes. American Primeval tells the story of a mother and son fleeing from their past as they attempt to create a blossoming family, all while confronting a brutal and unforgiving landscape of freedom and cruelty in the American West. Created by Mark A. Smith, the drama stars Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, and Dane DeHaan.

RELATED: Territory: Is This New Netflix Series the Next Yellowstone?

If watching American Primeval has left you wanting to binge more gritty dramas that are rich with the America frontier aesthetic, then you’re in luck. There are a handful of shows that not only have the look and feel of American Primeval, but excel in crafting compelling narratives that’ll be sure to keep you glued to the TV.

Deadwood

As one of HBO’s most iconic TV shows, Deadwood is a star-studded spectacle that manages to never feel out of date. Created by David Milch, the show takes place in the historical town of Deadwood, South Dakota in the 1870s. With a focus on the town’s deep-seeded corruption and rampant crime, the show follows an ensemble cast of colorful characters as they attempt to not only survive life in the town, but thrive as best they can. Among the most memorable inhabitants of Deadwood is the forever-foulmouthed Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), a pimp and power-hungry entrepreneur who is always good for an ear-burning quote or two. He is joined by Madam Joanie Stubbs (Kim Dickens), business proprietor Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) and the gun-slinging folk hero “Wild Bill” Hickox (Keith Carradine).

Deadwood ran for three seasons before airing its final episode in 2006, and was cancelled before being able to properly wrap up several of the long-running plotlines. But after over a decade-long hiatus, Deadwood: The Movie was released in 2019 in an attempt to give fans one final sendoff. Like American Primeval, the grittiness of Deadwood and the depiction of how brutal life in the Wild West was at times is a major aspect to the show. If you enjoy massive amounts of expletives thrown around, stylish cinematography, and the occasional thrilling gun fight, then Deadwood is worth a watch.

Godless

Written and directed by Scott Frank, Godless follows the story of Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell), former outlaw on the run from his vengeful mentor and gang leader, Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels). Roy ventures to the small town of La Belle in order to seek refuge after betraying Griffin. The town of La Belle has become an oddity in the Old West after most of its male population was killed in a mining accident. Guided by the town’s strong-willed leader, Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), the citizens of La Belle take charge and decide to help Roy as well as defending the town as Griffin’s gang approaches looking for retribution for Roy’s betrayal.

RELATED: This Kevin Costner Film Is a Surprising Streaming Success Despite Box Office Flop

Like most modern westerns, Godless doesn’t shy away from its rustic setting and puts its brutality on full display. The show is grim and can oftentimes feel like a gut punch. But the story is told in such an engrossing way that it’s worth the despair. Originally envisioned as a stand-alone feature length film, Godless greatly benefited from being able to focus on its large and impressive cast. Each of the primary characters has a compelling story to tell and it’s almost impossible to look away as the story races towards its explosive conclusion.

Hell on Wheels

In 2011, Hell on Wheels premiered on AMC in an effort to expand the network’s catalog of shows beyond its three-headed monster of Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Walking Dead. While Hell on Wheels never quite reached the heights of those other shows, the series offered a fresh take on the genre and delivered a compelling narrative. This oftentimes gripping western drama chronicles the turbulent construction of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States, highlighting themes of ambition, vengeance, and the challenges of trying to keep your clothes from constantly getting muddy. Created by Joe Gayton and Tony Gayton, Hell on Wheels was never the greatest show on TV, but it is one of those shows that is easy to binge a season or two in a single day.

With a cast headlined by Anson Mount, Common, Dominique McElligott, and Colm Meaney, Hell on Wheels does a great job of creating a wide range of characters and allowing the opportunity for viewers to truly understand who they are and why they fit into the story. The sense of desperation is always in stock with Hell on Wheels. With its constant exploration of the morality of people, the series portrays life in the 1800s with brutal honesty. Similar to American Primeval, the characters of Hell on Wheels may have been troubled by their own distinct and often troubled pasts, but they keep their eyes on laying down the foundation for their own success.

The post 3 Shows to Watch After Netflix’s American Primeval appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Dexter: Resurrection is officially filming but it has yet to confirm the return of an iconic character from the original show. Dexter is a series that is known for a lot of things. It’s incredibly violent and follows a killer of serial killers, only taking the lives of those that fit a certain moral code. As a result, we see some of the most heinous things that can even be put on television from people being chainsawed to women being hunted down in the wilderness for sport. However, at the center of all the violence and thrills is a really strong, lovable ensemble cast. Dexter may be titled after its lead, but the show would be lacking without its supporting cast.

The show manages to utilize this ensemble to create levity in its very heavy subject matter, but also inject other forms of drama away from all the bloodshed. It’s one of the strongest elements of the show. Dexter: New Blood moved away from the original ensemble in favor of creating a new one, largely because Dexter faked his death and therefore those previous characters couldn’t play a larger role. However, at the end of the show, Dexter’s secret was revealed. Now, the world and his former co-workers know he’s a serial killer and it seems like it’s going to create some interesting conflicts in a new sequel series starring Michael C. Hall known as Dexter: Resurrection, releasing in June 2025.

As of right now, not much is known about the show besides the fact Dexter will start the series in the hospital, recovering from the near-fatal gunshot wound he took at the end of New Blood. Showtime has confirmed that Angel Batista, Harry Morgan, and Harrison Morgan will all return in Dexter: Resurrection, ensuring that we will get even more fan-favorite charcters from the original series than we did in New Blood. Harry was absent from the previous show and Angel had a brief cameo that suggested we may get a confrontation between him and Dexter. However, one key character needs to appear in Dexter: Resurrection.

Dexter: Resurrection Needs to Feature Joey Quinn

Dexter: Resurrection should absolutely bring back Joey Quinn, one of the most beloved characters from the original show. Played by Desmond Harrington, Quinn was introduced in season 3 as a replacement to Doakes and quickly became a fan-favorite character for his charm. Quinn was a bit sleazier than the rest of the department, which made him a bit more interesting as he was willing to get his hands dirty both selfishly and to find some justice. Like Doakes, Quinn was suspicious of Dexter and had him privately investigated and thought he may have had involvement in Rita’s death.

Ultimately, he didn’t come as close as Doakes to finding out the truth and largely backed off, but some fans have suspected that Quinn was aware of Dexter’s dark secret and let it slide because he respected it. However, the more likely reason for easing up is that Quinn began dating Deb, Dexter’s sister, and wanted to marry her. Although the two broke up, there was still romantic tension between them up to the very end of the series, and Quinn was devastated when Deb died.

After the police took Deb’s killer, Oliver Saxon, into custody, Dexter snuck in to his cell under the guise of doing forensic work and killed him in front of surveillance cameras. Quinn and Batista both watched the footage with Quinn ultimately claiming it was “self defense,” seemingly fully knowing Dexter went in to get his revenge. Quinn, likely wanting the same thing, let Dexter go without hesitation.

With Dexter’s secret now out in the open and Batista on the case, now is the perfect time to bring back Quinn. Not only is he just a very entertaining character with lots of wit, but the drama that would come from him knowing the truth about Dexter would make for some incredibly compelling storytelling. Having both Quinn and Batista joining a manhunt in New York City, the expected setting for Dexter: Resurrection, would create incredible stakes for Dexter. It could put him in a position where he may have to consider hurting two friends and make him face the reality of his actions.

Beyond just working together, both Quinn and Batista have extremely good motivations for going after Dexter. For Quinn, he may blame Dexter for Deb’s death if he finds out Dexter was directly connected to Saxon. Dexter is also largely responsible for LaGuerta’s death, despite not being the one to pull the trigger on the gun that killed her. Batista, having been married to her, will likely feel a great deal of pain and anger if he learns the truth of her death. A confrontation between Angel and Dexter was already set up in Dexter: New Blood.

Quinn also showed he’s an extremely determined detective, especially when things become personal. It’s likely he would operate a bit outside of the law to take Dexter down or do some morally questionable things to get to him. He’d be a great foil for Dexter in Dexter: Resurrection, but we’ll have to wait and see if Showtime decides to bring him back.

The post Dexter: Resurrection Needs to Feature This Original Series Character appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Amazing World of Gumball is currently in the works on a new season of episodes, and it turns out that they are finally coming our way some time later this year. The Amazing World of Gumball came to an end after six seasons of episodes in 2019, and then ended completely after two specials aired in 2021. It was shortly after this that the animated series then confirmed that a new series was in the works. First seeming to be a new reboot of the fan favorite franchise, it was then revealed to instead be a new season of the series.

The Amazing World of Gumball Season 7 was previously teased for a potential release some time in 2025 or 2026 as revealed by the last updates from the creative team last year, but a new update from Vice President, International Content Partnerships and Content Strategy at Warner Bros. Discovery, Sean Henry (as spotted by @RegularTweetsUK on X), revealed that the series will be returning for new episodes some time this year. While no concrete release date had yet to be announced as of the time of this publication, fans can relax easy knowing new episodes are on the way.

The Amazing World of Gumball Season 7 Release Window Revealed

As Henry revealed in an interview with C21Media teasing the year ahead for children’s content, The Amazing World of Gumball Season 7 will be hitting with its new episodes later this year. Demand for animation is still high in demand from children, but Cartoon Networks is concerned with competing for screen time with the likes of YouTube. This ties right into The Amazing World of Gumball in a perfect way as the animated series strikes a perfect balance of demographics. Not only has the series been a hit with children, but adults who support Cartoon Network’s various projects as well.

This is going to be especially important as while Cartoon Network and Max are going through a number of changes with their library and streaming offerings, The Amazing World of Gumball is a major 2010s franchise that lines up with some of the other revivals they now have in the works alongside Regular Show, Adventure Time, and more. And as Warner Bros. Discovery plans to attack the next year, The Amazing World of Gumball could serve as a big platform to help kick it all off.

What We Know About The Amazing World of Gumball Season 7 So Far

As teased during a special presentation for the series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival last year, The Amazing World of Gumball will be kicking off with the first episode titled “The Burger” and follows Gumball and Darwin as they try to eat healthy. It was also teased that the new season would be following up on the huge cliffhanger from the end of Season 6 that reintroduced Gumball’s biggest foe, Rob, and that this new season would be revealing more about the Void seen in the original series.

There was also a movie for The Amazing World of Gumball announced alongside the new season, but had thought to be cancelled. Series creator Ben Bocquelet alleviated these worries, however, as he stated that the film was changing from what it was originally intended to be, “It is not dead […] we still have a script I’m really working. We still kind of want to do it. But obviously it’s interesting because with time I’m now looking at like the movie where we’re trying to make back then differently. So it’s kinda like a good thing in a sense, but also bad, that I get sort of like revise the story and stuff and have a really new take on it. So it is not dead.” A release window or date for the film has not been announced either.

The post The Amazing World of Gumball Is Finally Coming Back With New Episodes Soon appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Adam Scott is unsure if another comic book movie is in his future. The Severance star played paramedic Ben Parker — the brother-in-law of the pregnant Mary Parker (Emma Roberts), a.k.a. Spider-Man’s mom — in 2024’s Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson as the titular clairvoyant. The Sony-made Marvel movie, which was panned by critics and audiences alike, bombed at the box office and grossed just $100 million worldwide. After playing Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben in the Spider-Man spinoff (and dressing up as Batman in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation), can Scott see himself making another comic book movie?

“I don’t know. Never say never,” Scott told ComicBook in an interview pegged to season 2 of his hit Apple TV+ series Severance. “I’m not sure. I think that it’s a genre that I, certainly, as an audience member, participate in. I like seeing all those movies, I watch them all.”

RELATED: Sony Pictures CEO Blames Critics for Spider-Man Spinoffs Bombing in Theaters: “These Are Not Terrible Films”

While promoting Madame Web, Scott described himself as a former “comic book nerd” who grew up buying comics from the Atlantis Fantasyworld comic book shop in California.

“I was really into comics as a kid. I actually grew up in Santa Cruz, California, where they shot Lost Boys. And the comic book store in [1987’s The Lost Boys] was the comic book store that I would go to just about every day to get all my latest comic books,” Scott revealed on The Jess Cagle Show. “And my next door neighbor owned it, Joe Ferrara, and so I would go in there every day, and he would have the latest comics that I was interested in.”

Although the S.J. Clarkson-directed film set up a potential sequel — with Johnson’s blind clairvoyant Cassandra Webb mentoring Spider-Women Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazón (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) — it’s a future that would never come to pass. The film performed so poorly that it reportedly dashed studio hopes for a franchise, and the studio isn’t actively developing other films set in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe after Venom: The Last Dance underperformed and Kraven the Hunter bombed with one of the worst-ever openings for a Marvel comic book adaptation. Palak Patel, Sony’s EVP of Production and Development who oversaw the SSU, recently exited the studio after 10 years, as did Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra.

“Madame Web underperformed in the theaters because the press just crucified it,” he told The Los Angeles Times before ending his seven-year tenure at Sony Pictures. “It was not a bad film, and it did great on Netflix. For some reason, the press decided that they didn’t want us making these films out of Kraven and Madame Web, and the critics just destroyed them. They also did it with Venom, but the audience loved Venom and made Venom a massive hit.”

“These are not terrible films,” Vinciquerra added. “They were just destroyed by the critics in the press, for some reason.”

Severance season 2 premieres Jan. 17 on Apple TV+.

The post Severance Star Adam Scott “Not Sure” If He Wants Another Comic Book Role After Madame Web appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Squid Game Season 2 has been taking over the world ever since it debuted with Netflix last year, and the creator behind it all opened up about why the new season’s most controversial new character is named after a Marvel villain. Squid Game Season 2 has been breaking records with the streaming service since its debut in December, and it’s no secret as to why as the season introduces fans to a whole new group of characters competing in deadly games to win a massive prize. But Thanos the rapper has been standing out from the pack for a number of different reasons.

Squid Game Season 2 fans introduces a rapper who has named himself Thanos. He’s not only inspired by the famous Marvel villain as he sports purple hair, but even painted his nails to boast his own version of the Infinity Stones. Speaking to Netflix, Squid Game series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk explained that Thanos being named after a Marvel villain was a way to help fans around the world be drawn to the character. He was specifically designed for for worldwide appeal.

Why Squid Game’s Thanos Is Named After a Marvel Villain

As Squid Game series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk points out about the character, “The reason I named the character Thanos… It doesn’t really suit a rapper as a name, was to design him to be a character fans worldwide could love. But I am so grateful he is getting this much love.” As for the response to the character, it seems this appeal has worked as Thanos has been hailed as one of the big standouts from the new season. He’s outwardly different from anything that was seen in the first season, and the offers a chaotic presence to make the second season that much more of a tumultuous experience overall.

Thanos plays a key role in the new season as a direct antagonist that creates some chaotic moments that shake up the other characters. It’s a personality type that fans had not seen in Squid Game before, and is one that leads towards a certain conclusion that we find at the end of the season. Heading into Squid Game Season 3 later this year without this chaotic presence means things are about to get a lot more serious before the Netflix series comes to an end completely.

RELATED: Squid Game Fans Will Love These Death Game Manhwa for Their Next Binge

Squid Game’s Thanos Has Been Facing a Backlash

There has been controversy for Thanos behind the scenes as well. Actor Choi Seung-hyun was arrested for marijuana use in 2017, and Squid Game’s creator opened up to People about Choi taking on such a big role after a lengthy hiatus from the entertainment industry, “As you may know, the actor Seung-hyun, about nine years ago got involved in a marijuana scandal in Korea and wasn’t able to do any projects for the past nine years in Korea,” the creator noted. “And so this is a comeback after quite a long hiatus, and particularly because he portrays a character that’s a rapper and also someone who is on drugs.”

In elaborating further, Hwang noted how it was brave for the Thanos star to take on such a role too, “I feel that it took him a lot of guts, in a way, to portray a character, especially someone who shares a lot of similarities that are quite negative to him as a person too,” Hwang stated. “So I think it took him a lot of courage to take on that role. Despite the long hiatus, I have to say, as a director, he performed very impressively and I’m very satisfied with what he did with the character.”

The post Squid Game Creator Explains Why Season 2’s Most Controversial Player Shares Name With Marvel Villain appeared first on ComicBook.com.

X-Men ’97 was a massive hit, which is something of a surprise. X-Men: The Animated Series was a classic ’90s cartoon, with millions of fans, but the fact that a sequel series could draw back in so many lapsed fans so well is impressive. X-Men ’97 succeeded because it remembered what the original show did so well — take stories from the X-Men comics and bring them to the screen in the best ways, creating adaptations that were both faithful and original at the same time.

X-Men ’97 captured some perfect ’90s X-Men moments, and longtime X-Men readers can see where the cartoon’s next few seasons could be going. There are several ’90s X-Men stories that X-Men ’97 should read, some because they are places the shows might go and some because they are just plain excellent stories. These five X-Men stories will scratch an itch for more retro X-Men goodness.

“Onslaught”

X-Men ’97 ended with Magneto pulling the adamantium out of Wolverine and Xavier hitting him with the mindwipe, which comes from the classic story known as “Fatal Attractions.” In the comics, this action saw a seed of Magneto’s evil take root in Xavier, leading to the creation of the beast known as Onslaught. Onslaught would wait in the shadows, finding allies and building its power, before attacking the X-Men and then the rest of the world in the summer crossover “Onslaught.“

Onslaught has always been a controversial character, and a big reason for that is the titular story starring the villain. A lot of fans find it emblematic of Marvel in the ’90s, a period that saw the publisher hit its lowest ebb creatively. However, this story does have its charm and is definitely a direction that X-Men ’97 could go. It’s definitely worth a read for fans of the show, an action-packed story that sees the entire Marvel Universe band together against a powerful villain.

“Children of the Atom”

After “Onslaught,” the X-Men had to labor on without Xavier, who was imprisoned by one of X-Men ’97‘s main Season 1 villains, Bastion. The X-Men would face off against Bastion in “Operation: Zero Tolerance,” but the end of the story would see them still Xavier-less. Eventually, their old mentor would appear, recruiting a new team of X-Men who would attack the X-Men in the two-issue story “Children of the Atom,” by Steve Seagle, Joe Kelly, Chris Bachalo, and Brandon Peterson, from Uncanny X-Men #360 and X-Men #80.

The story is a tight little tale that pruned down what was at the time a sprawling X-Men team down to seven members — Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, and Marrow. The enemy X-Men team, consisting of mutants that Xavier almost recruited over the years is full of cool characters, and the twist at the end of the story sets up the next story on this list. While the show might not go in this direction, it’s an excellent X-Men story that has callbacks to various moments in X-Men history, and will definitely tickle an X-Men ’97 fan’s fancy.

“The Hunt for Xavier”

The end of “Children of the Atom” revealed that Cerebro, which everyone thought was destroyed by Operation: Zero Tolerance, had gained sentience and was trying to find Xavier. After its first failure, it decided to look on its own, and its search and the X-Men’s overlapped, leading to the six-part “The Hunt for Xavier,” by Joe Kelly, Steve Seagle, Chris Bachalo, Adam Kubert, and Leinil Yu. The story saw the X-Men split up, each team going after a separate lead, coming back together to battle Cerebro for Xavier in an epic battle. This fight was made all the more dangerous by the fact that Cerebro had access to their Danger Room training sessions and the Xavier Protocols, which Xavier created to deal with the X-Men in case they went evil.

[RELATED: Marvel’s X-Men ‘97 Is the Best Animated TV Show of 2024 (Golden Issue Awards)]

This is an excellent story from one of the best periods of the ’90s X-Men comics. Kelly and Seagle’s run as X-Men writers was very short — barely over a year — but it was full of amazing stories. This story finally reunited the X-Men and Xavier after several years and had some amazing action. Cerebro as a villain was an amazing idea and it would be one that the show could do wonders with.

“The Twelve”

X-Men ’97‘s first season ended by laying out some major clues for the future, as the X-Men were thrown into the timestream. Some of them ended up in the ancient past and others in the future, but these two far-flung locales had one thing in common: Apocalypse. The past X-Men were thrown to is Apocalypse’s past in Egypt and the future is the time when Apocalypse has taken over the world. In the comics, this future had its origins in the present day when Apocalypse gained godlike power. All of this points to the show adapting the X-Men story that ended the ’90s — “The Twelve.”

“The Twelve” ran through all of the major X-Men books — X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, Cable, and X-Man — and saw Apocalypse trying to gather the Twelve, a group of mutants whose powers would combine to grant godhood to whoever brings them together. This story represents the culmination of all the ’90s X-Men plots, so not all of it will make sense to X-Men ’97 fans who aren’t well-versed in the comics, but it does a great job of explaining itself. The story isn’t as popular as some other big-time X-Men events and is somewhat hard to find, but it’s worth hunting down.

“Warriors of the Ebon Night”

This one is almost certainly not going to get adapted and made a part of X-Men ’97, however, it’s the perfect encapsulation of why the ’90s X-Men were so great. The story does need some set-up — in Uncanny X-Men #328, Sabretooth breaks free of his imprisonment in the X-Mansion and nearly kills Psylocke. In Uncanny X-Men #329-330, by Scott Lobdell, Jeph Loeb, and Joe Madureria, Wolverine and Archangel team up to get their hands on the Crimson Dawn, a magical elixir that is the only thing that can heal the dying Psylocke. They team up with Gomurr the Ancient and journey into the magical underbelly of New York City’s Chinatown, where they encounter a powerful enemy who holds what they need.

Titled “Warriors of the Ebon Night,” this story is all killer and no filler. Wolverine and Archangel are two characters that don’t spend a lot of time together, so it’s an interesting pairing, and it shows the breadth of what the X-Men deal with. Sure, they’re mostly out there dealing with the enemies of humanity and mutantkind, but sometimes, they also find themselves going on trips to find magical ways to save their friends. It’s a wonderful little snapshot of a long lost era of the X-Men and it’ll show X-Men ’97 fans why the X-Men comics were so popular in the 1990s.

The post 5 X-Men Stories X-Men ’97 Fans Need to Read appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Over its first season, Creature Commandos used its story of a quirky group of monsters to build the foundations of James Gunn’s and Peter Safran’s DC Universe. Even though the series has kept the focus on Task Force M’s operation in Pokolistan, each episode has cleverly placed nods to other characters, locations, and events that help flesh out the larger cinematic universe, underlining how metahumans and caped heroes are common in this world. It couldn’t be different with Episode 7 of Creature Commandos, which adds some unexpected references on top of everything we’ve seen so far.

Star City, Bludhaven, and Metropolis

The flashback scenes of Episode 7 of Creature Commandos unfold in Star City, the birthplace of Nina (voiced by Zoë Chao). That’s relatively easy to verify, given that Star City’s name is featured in newspapers and broadcast channels in the episode. If the name rings a bell, that’s because Star City is closely associated with Green Arrow, a fan-favorite character who became incredibly popular thanks to The CW’s Arrow, a TV show that spawned a beloved interconnected universe of live-action DC heroes.

Star City is not the only key DC location mentioned in Episode 7. As a news report explains, the hunt and capture of Nina after she’s found in Star City was conducted by animal experts from Metropolis and Bludhaven. Metropolis is the city of the Man of Steel, which will be prominently featured in the upcoming Superman. As for Bludhaven, the town is the base of operations of Nightwing, aka Dick Grayson, the first Robin. Since The Brave and the Bold is set to introduce Damian Wayne as Robin, Dick Grayson has probably already flown away from his Bat-nest and is acting in Bludhaven, which makes the Creature Commandos nod even more enticing.

Marvel Comics Exists in the DCU

When Task Force M breaks into Princess Ilana’s (voiced by Maria Bakalova) castle, The Bride (voiced by Indira Varma) pokes fun at Dr. Phosphorus (voiced by Alan Tudyk) by calling him “Ghost Rider.” That’s obviously a nod to the flaming-skull Marvel hero of the same name. That means Marvel Comics exists in the DCU, continuing a decades-old tradition of the two major superhero publishers fondly referencing each other. For instance, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Iron Man 3 namedrops the Super Friends DC animated series, while in Eternals, Ikaris (Richard Madden) is mistaken for Superman. It’s nice to see Gunn is keeping the trend alive, proving that the Marvel vs. DC rivalry has more to do with fans than the companies.

[RELATED – Creature Commandos Is Setting Up Frankenstein as DC’s Biggest Monster (and Not Just Physically)]

How Long Has Batman Been Active?

The most shocking detail of Creature Commandos Episode 7 is that the DCU’s Batman might be older than we all expected. By the end of the episode, Dr. Phosphorus tells the Bride he hasn’t been intimately touched in 15 years since transforming into a radioactive skeleton. Episode 6 of Creature Commandos establishes the fact that Dr. Phosphorus kills Rupert Throne and takes over his operation right after the incident that warped his body and mind. Following that, Dr. Phosphorus’ crimes attract the attention of Batman, who defeats the villain and sends him to Belle Reve. Even if Dr. Phosphorus enjoyed years of prolific criminal activities, that would mean the DCU’s Batman is active for at least a decade. That’s a surprising timeframe that would nevertheless explain how the Bat-family is already established.

All Hail the King (Shark)!

At the end of Episode 7, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) gives The Bride leadership of all future Task Force M operations to reward her for killing Princess Ilana and preventing World War III. In this scene, The Bride is introduced to her new team. Dr. Phosphorus and Weasel (voiced by Sean Gunn) remain active assets, while GI Robot (voiced by Sean Gunn) has been rebuilt into a hulking metal body. Since GI greets The Bride as if he doesn’t know her, it’s fair to assume he doesn’t preserve his memories, making his Episode 3 death more meaningful.

Among the new recruits are Nosferata and Khalis, two Creature Commandos members with cameos in Episode 4. Rounding up the team is King Shark, one of the prominent members of Task Force X in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Creature Commandos confirmed that Project Starfish and the operation in Corto Maltese happened in the DCU, making The Suicide Squad at least partially canon. King Shark’s presence is another piece of evidence that Gunn’s first DC movie is mostly still part of the new continuity.

All episodes of Creature Commandos are currently available for streaming on MAX.

The post Every DCU Character and Franchise That’s Referenced in Creature Commandos’ Episode 7 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A brand new week is upon us, and it is set to be another week filled with exciting new additions on Netflix. Six of the next seven days will see the streaming giant add titles to its ever-growing lineup in the United States, including the first season of a hit zombie series and the official comeback of one of Hollywood’s most popular stars.

Things will kick off on Monday, January 13th when Netflix continues its partnership with AMC. The streamer will be adding the entire first season of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live on that day. The Ones Who Live is a spinoff/sequel series that follows the story of Rick and Michonne after the conclusion of The Walking Dead.

On Friday, Netflix will be premiering the original film Back in Action, which stars Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. This will be the first on-screen role for Diaz since she and Foxx starred in the Annie remake back in 2014.

You can check out the full rundown of this week’s Netflix additions below!

Monday, January 13th

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: Season 1

Tuesday, January 14th

Ari Shaffir: America’s Sweetheart — NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL

Single’s Inferno: Season 4 (KR) — NETFLIX SERIES
A new batch of singles enter Inferno for a chance at love. With romance, competition and heartbreak on the line, who will succeed in finding the one?

[RELATED: 10 Video Games Being Adapted to Movies and TV]

Wednesday, January 15th

Hereditary
Krapopolis: Season 1

Public Disorder (IT) — NETFLIX SERIES
An incident sparks internal conflict as members of a riot squad juggle personal worries with the daily tension of police work on the streets.

Thursday, January 16th

XO, Kitty: Season 2 — NETFLIX SERIES
Kitty Song Covey is back in Seoul for a new semester at KISS, where she will learn that life, family and love are more complicated than she ever imagined.

Friday, January 17th

Back in Action — NETFLIX FILM
Years after giving up life as CIA spies to start a family, Emily and Matt find themselves dragged back into the world of espionage when their cover is blown.

Love Is Blind: Germany (DE) — NETFLIX SERIES (new episodes)
The experiment comes to Germany as local singles seek true love and a commitment that lasts a lifetime, all before meeting each other face-to-face.

Young, Famous & African: Season 3 (ZA) — NETFLIX SERIES
Africa’s elite are back to the glitz, gossip, and cutting shade of their opulent inner circle, where luxury meets legacy — and drama rules the day.

Saturday, January 18th

SAKAMOTO DAYS (JP) — NETFLIX ANIME (new episodes)
Once the greatest hitman of all, Taro Sakamoto retired in the name of love. But when his past catches up, he must fight to protect his beloved family.

The post Everything Coming to Netflix This Week (January 13th) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Over the past decade, video games have become a source of entertainment for all audiences, whether or not they choose to pick up the controller. Many of the gaming industry’s popular titles have been making their way to the big screen, as Hollywood has been taking advantage of the rich stories created by indie to AAA studios. Video game adaptations have been around for some time but if there is anything we’ve learned in the past two years, these forms of transmedia are here to stay. With the success of The Last of Us (which will have its Season 2 debut in April), Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Fallout (in production for Season 2), and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the future of bringing these franchises to a new audience is looking bright.

Speaking of the future, many video game adaptations have yet to make their big (or small) screen debut. While the previously mentioned titles hold acclaim in more ways than one, these upcoming titles might be the next instance of striking gold in Hollywood. Some of the adaptations are further along than others, but in due time, all these projects will have their time in the spotlight. Whether they are done in live-action or animation, the following titles preview what’s next in Hollywood’s newest batch of video game adaptations.

Among Us

Based on the party game Mafia, Among Us follows a group of colorful Crewmates working to complete their assigned tasks while using social deduction to figure out which members are Impostors, alien shapeshifters in disguise. Many note the entertaining gameplay as a highlight of the game, spawning countless memes during 2020. Due to its overwhelming popularity and success, the game found a new land to conquer…Hollywood.

Announced in 2023 by CBS and Infinity Train creator Owen Dennis, the series will follow the same premise as the game but will feature a fully-voiced cast and animation by Titmouse. The murderous row of colorful talent sees the likes of Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us), Dan Stevens (Solar Opposites), Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille), Randall Park (Wandavision), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), and Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Ring series) taking their assigned roles. No release date for the series has been announced yet.

Watch Dogs

Ubisoft’s action-adventure franchise Watch Dogs has been an established series within the industry since 2013. Cited for its open-world gameplay, which mixes stealth, role-playing, and puzzle elements, the game follows different hacker protagonists within real-life cities as they find themselves involved in criminal underworlds. While the newest installment allowed players to recruit any NPC in the game, it seems that we will be seeing one or two protagonists in a new format.

Watch Dogs had a rough time getting off the ground in Hollywood, as the project was in development hell for over seven years. However, it was revealed in March 2024 that the movie was moving forward at New Regency, with acclaimed French director Mathieu Turi and Oxygen screenwriter Christie LeBlanc attached. As of now, Talk To Me breakout star Sophie Wilde and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes Tom Blyth are attached to star. No release date has been announced yet.

Tomb Raider

The famous British archaeologist Lara Croft will return to Hollywood once again. The franchise began in 1996 with the critically acclaimed action-adventure title Tomb Raider, which paved the way for 12 more mainline installments, the latest being 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The series has gone through multiple studios over the last few decades but the main focus on exploring dangerous tombs and ruins to find lost artifacts has stayed the same. On top of the video game series, the franchise has been developed into comics, novels, and three movie adaptations, with Academy Award-winning actresses Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander portraying the leading lady.

While we won’t see Lara Croft on the big screen anytime soon, it was confirmed in January 2023 that Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge was set to write a TV adaptation of Tomb Raider for Amazon. In November 2024, Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner was cast to portray Lara Croft in the upcoming series. No release date nor production date has been announced yet.

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch Productions’ Ghost of Tsushima was meant to become a movie/TV adaptation since its release in 2020. Centering around samurai Jin Sakai, the game journeys alongside him in his quest to protect Tsushima Island from the first Mongol invasion of Japan. Pairing the perfect match of intense melee combat amidst a picturesque landscape, the game received praise from critics for its story, performances, and artistic style. A sequel, Ghost of Yōtei, was announced last year and will be released in 2025.

For adaptations, the Ghost is set to spook the big and small screens, with two different adaptations in the works. In 2021, a year after its release, Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions announced a film adaptation directed by John Wick series director Chad Stahelski. While the film will take on the original game’s story, it was recently announced that an anime inspired by the multiplayer mode, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends was in development with Star Wars: Visions director Takanobu Mizuno, who is known for his work on the S1 E1 title The Duel in 2021. The film has no current release date but the anime will release in 2027 on Crunchyroll.

The Legend of Zelda

RELATED: The Legend of Zelda Movie Being Developed in “Closest Possible Collaboration” With Game Creator

Considered one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, The Legend of Zelda series has become a staple among Nintendo fans globally. Since the release of The Legend of Zelda in 1986, a critical and commercial success, the series has conjured 29 video games, the latest being The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom in 2024. The mainline series centers on Link and his task of rescuing Princess Zelda from Ganon. While the story sounds simplistic, Nintendo has built upon this basic structure to craft a unique experience for every iteration. From a 2D dungeon crawler to an open-world action adventure, the franchise has curated some of the best video games of all time, with over eight installments considered worthy of recognition from critics and fans alike.

In November 2023, Nintendo announced a live-action Legend of Zelda film with Sony Pictures. With series creator Shigeru Miyamoto producing the project alongside Avi Arad, the film will be directed by Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball. While there have been no details on which Zelda installment the film will focus on, Ball has stated his favorite game is Ocarina of Time and he envisions the movie as a “live-action Miyazaki”, which refers to the founder of the acclaimed Studio Ghibli. No release date has been announced yet but the project will be released before 2030.

Death Stranding

Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding is another title meant for the big screen. Set within the United States following a catastrophic event, Sam Porter Bridges is tasked with delivering supplies to isolated colonies and reconnecting them together. Within the confines of this title lies a gripping story boosted by its incredible cast, which features Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Mads Mikkelsen (Doctor Strange), Léa Seydoux (Spectre), Margaret Qualley (The Substance), and Troy Baker (The Last of Us). The title was praised for its performances, visuals, and soundtrack, and has a sequel, Death Stranding 2: One the Beach, set to release for PlayStation 5 in 2025.

After the announcement of the sequel, it was reported that Hideo Kojima partnered with Barbarian EP Alex Lebovici’s Hammerstone Studios to develop and produce a Death Stranding film. In December of 2023, Kojima Productions revealed that the A24, the studio behind the Academy Award-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once will adapt Death Stranding into a live-action film. There has been no word regarding if the original cast will return or when the project will begin production.

Bioshock 

Another huge game franchise will be making their screen debut in the future. The Bioshock series has been considered one of the greatest gaming franchises of all time, with each installment receiving acclaim from critics. Bioshock is set in the underwater society of Rapture, where we follow Jack, whose journey led him to the ruined city in search of something he never knew existed. Without giving too much away, the story dives into Jack’s past and why he was meant to be in Rapture instead of on the surface. Given the project’s success, two more titles were released, the latest being Bioshock: Infinite in 2013. 

There have been two previous attempts to bring this series to the surface, one was announced in 2008 with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski attached with Universal Pictures but was abandoned after large budget concerns became apparent. A second attempt was announced by Netflix in 2022, with Take-Two and Vertigo Entertainment attached along with The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence at the helm. At 2024’s San Diego Comic Con, producer Roy Lee reconfirmed that the project was still in development and would have a reduced budget for a more personal point of view. 

God of War

There is nothing quite like a brutal action game steeped within Greek and Norse mythology. The God of War franchise began in 2005 with God Of War, which was praised for its graphics, story, and gameplay. The series initially started within Greek mythology, where a Spartan warrior named Kratos followed a path of vengeance against the Olympian god, but later turned to Norse mythology and followed Kratos’ path of redemption. The latest title, God of War Ragnarök, has been cited as one of the greatest games of all time and became the fastest-selling first-party title in PlayStation history with 5.1 million units sold within the first week.

The franchise has been eyed to debut on the big screen before, as game creator David Jaffe confirmed the adaptation in 2005. The project was relatively far along in 2010, with an unspecified actor cast as Kratos and two writers attached. While the film was confirmed to not be in development in 2021, a live-action TV series was announced to be in development with Amazon Prime Video. It was reported in October that the original showrunner and writers left the project as the studio wanted to go in a different direction. Currently, Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore was hired as the series writer, showrunner, and executive producer.

It Takes Two

Hazelight Studios’ It Takes Two looks to split its success with a film and television series in the future. The 2021 cooperative game follows a mother and a father on the brink of divorce, who are transformed into their daughter’s living dolls, with the only way of escaping is by mending their relationship. The game garnered positive reviews from critics and multiple awards, with many citing its innovative approach to couch co-op gameplay as a major highlight.

While not much has been said about the TV series, the film adaptation officially began development in January 2022. Pat Casey and Josh Miller, known for the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films, are attached to write the movie. Amazon acquired the rights and will be a joint-venture production between Hazelight Studios, dj2 Entertainment, Amazon MGM Studios, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions. The film will be released on Amazon Prime Video and it is rumored that Johnson will star in the movie.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn is the latest gaming series to find itself moving to Hollywood. The critically acclaimed series follows a young hunter named Aloy as she explores a post-apocalyptic world overrun by machines, to uncover her past. The first installment was praised for its open-world concept, gameplay, visuals, story, and performances. Gaining the recognition of being one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 titles of all time, the series has had a sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, and a reinterpreted version of the debut title in Lego Horizon Adventures.

At CES 2025, Sony announced that a film adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn was in early development at PlayStation Productions and Columbia Pictures. The film will follow the events of the first game with the hopes of expanding into a film series later on. Many rumors have alluded to actresses Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Sophia Lillis (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) as potential candidates for portraying Aloy.

The post 10 Games Getting Adapted into TV Shows and Movies appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It’s been just over 12 years since Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars license from George Lucas. These 12 years have had some high points and low points, but it has become increasingly obvious that the franchise is in the best place it’s been since the original trilogy ended in 1983. While the quality of the sequel trilogy continues to inspire debate among the fandom, Disney has managed to right the ship over the last few years, expanding the idea of what Star Wars can be. From TV shows, to video games, to comics, and theme park attractions, Star Wars is delivering experiences that are superior to anything we’ve gotten since Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

The greatest case for the superiority of Disney Star Wars comes from Disney+. Over the last five years, the streaming service has been an absolute gift to Star Wars fans. Things started with The Mandalorian, a series that has not only brought in new fans, but has given us characters that are as popular and well-regarded as the biggest in the franchise. While Boba Fett’s popularity in the original trilogy hinged on the fact that he simply looked cool, Mando is beloved by fans in large part thanks to the depth of his character. Din Djarin has gained a well-earned reputation as the galaxy’s greatest dad, and his relationship with Grogu is unlike anything we had previously seen in the Star Wars canon. As a result, Din and Grogu are everywhere now, from action figures to holiday light displays. The two characters caught on in a way we never saw with Jar Jar Binks, Mace Windu, or any of the other prequel-era faces.

Not only are the Star Wars shows giving us new favorites to root for, they’re also expanding on the themes that George Lucas explored, while outdoing the creator’s works. In the prequel era, George Lucas set out to tell a tale about the growth of fascism, using the rise of Palpatine as a metaphor for the Iraq War. Subtlety has never been Lucas’s strong suit, though, and while the messaging of those movies has aged well, the films are brought down by their cheesier elements. In its debut season, Andor has given us a startlingly dark take on the war between the Rebellion and Empire. While the show still feels grounded in the Star Wars universe, it’s telling a grittier story, and it’s one that manages to feel frighteningly believable. Lucas also tried to push the idea of the Jedi being more flawed than we were led to believe by the original trilogy, but The Acolyte gave viewers a greater appreciation for the Jedi Council’s failures. Rather than highlight the bureaucratic redtape the Jedi found themselves trying to navigate, we actually got to see their mistakes and the failures that left an opening for Palpatine’s rise.

It’s a little too early to tell whether Skeleton Crew will have the same lasting appeal as Andor and The Mandalorian, but the show’s existence proves that Disney is willing to expand what creators can do with the Star Wars universe. There are still droids, lightsabers, and space battles, but the story channels ’80s movies like The Goonies, as opposed to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. One of the most common complaints about Star Wars is that the franchise has leaned too heavily on characters connected to the original trilogy. Skeleton Crew abandons all of our previous favorite characters for a brand-new cast. The largely warm reception to the series proves that strange and interesting things can be done with the franchise, and that’s been a common thread during Disney’s ownership of the brand. While Skeleton Crew is the most recent example, Star Wars: Visions has also given creators more liberty with the themes and concepts of Star Wars.

The superiority of Disney Star Wars isn’t just limited to TV shows. Video games are another perfect example of how things have improved in recent years. While the brand inspired lots of great games over the decades, when Disney acquired the license, it had been years since there had been a truly beloved Star Wars game. In the last five years, fans have been treated to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor. There’s still one entry left to go in the trilogy, but fans have become invested in the adventures of Cal Kestis in a big way. Disney hasn’t been afraid to take big swings in gaming, either. While reception to Star Wars: Outlaws was mixed, the game was fairly ambitious, and the same can be said for Quantic Dream’s Star Wars: Eclipse.

[RELATED: Star Wars Game Announced Three Years Ago Is Still MIA]

For many fans, Star Wars and Disney have been entwined since Star Tours first debuted in Disney Parks. While the ride was a fantastic take on the Star Wars universe at the time of its creation, Disney has far outdone its Imagineers with the creation of Galaxy’s Edge. The theme park section blows Star Tours out of the water, and a large part of that is due to Rise of the Resistance. Rise of the Resistance isn’t just better than the theme park ride many of us grew up with, it might be one of the best attractions ever in a Disney Park.

While the Star Wars TV shows have given creators greater room to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, the comics have also done just that. One of the biggest problems in the later days of George Lucas’ ownership of the brand is that the Expanded Universe had become bloated and overly dense. The Star Wars comics under Marvel have been a huge improvement, with clearly defined eras that are far less difficult to get into. Comics like Greg Pak’s Star Wars: Darth Vader run have given us a much deeper look at the motivations of the Dark Lord of the Sith, while Charles Soule’s Star Wars ongoing helped to flesh out the relationship between Lando and Lobot.

The Star Wars franchise is in a renaissance period right now. Fans might not realize just how good things are at the moment, but that’s par for the course when it comes to this franchise. Star Wars fans rarely realize how good they have it, which is the reason we’re now seeing a lot of revisionist history surrounding the prequels; many of the same people that were tormenting George Lucas and Ahmed Best 25 years ago are now waxing nostalgic about those same films. While many Star Wars fans are jaded about how things have played out under Disney, there’s a general quality that has extended to all aspects of the franchise. Some shows and products have been better than others, but it’s hard to ignore just how good it is to be a Star Wars fan right now.

Have you been enjoying the last few years of Star Wars content? What’s been your favorite thing to come out of the Disney era? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Skeleton Crew Further Proves Star Wars Is Better Under Disney appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel’s latest animated series is taking Peter Parker’s story in an unexpected direction by removing his most beloved friends from the equation. When Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man debuts on Disney+ January 29th, fans will notice the absence of familiar faces like MJ and Ned, who have been staples of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films. This dramatic departure stems from a key narrative decision that transforms what was originally planned as an MCU prequel into something far more ambitious: a multiverse-spanning adventure that asks what would happen if Norman Osborn, not Tony Stark, became Peter Parker’s mentor.

Executive producer Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt explained to The Official Marvel Podcast that while the series begins in the MCU’s sacred timeline around the events of Civil War, it quickly veers into new territory.

“We’re starting at a point in the MCU where Civil War has happened, so the Sokovia Accords have been ratified so it’s modern day and then Peter gets to his first day at Midtown…then a thing happens which I’m going to try and dance around and there goes our branch. It’s a world where he never met Ned, he never met MJ.”

Marvel Television chief Brad Winderbaum explained previously that the transformation point that is so different occurs at a pivotal moment mirroring Captain America: Civil War.

“Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the stark internship and take him to Berlin,” Winderbaum said. “But because of things that happen in the multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it’s not Tony Stark who’s waiting for him there. It’s Norman Osborn.”

[RELATED – Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Swings Into Action With First Trailer From Marvel Studios]

The series now features a fresh supporting cast, including Nico Minoru, whom Vasquez-Eberhardt described to The Official Marvel Podcast as “such a great fit for Peter. She’s very different from Ned, and they fit so well together.” The daughter of dark wizards, Nico brings her own magical abilities to Spider-Man’s world. The show’s reimagining also opened doors to include classic Spider-Man villains who wouldn’t have fit within strict MCU continuity.

“You’re going to see some familiar faces — and if you’re a fan of Chameleon, you’re going to see a few of his faces. You’re also going to see Scorpion, as well as Speed Demon or Butane,” head writer Jeff Trammell previously teased

The 10-episode series features an impressive voice cast, including Hudson Thames as Peter Parker and Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn. Charlie Cox will reprise his role as Daredevil, joining other Marvel characters like Doctor Strange in what Winderbaum described to the website as an “ensemble show” where “every character is well-defined and has amazing arcs.”

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man debuts January 29th on Disney+.

The post Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Producer Explains Why Fan-Favorite Characters Won’t Appear (And It Makes Sense) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

In an era dominated by digital effects, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s terrifying Mama Crab emerged from a distinctly old-school approach. The massive creature, which towers 30 feet tall compared to the show’s young protagonists, was brought to life through stop-motion animation at Tippett Studio, continuing the practical effects legacy of the original Star Wars trilogy. The project holds special significance as it was created under the guidance of Phil Tippett, the legendary animator behind The Empire Strikes Back‘s AT-ATs and tauntauns, marking a full-circle moment for the franchise’s practical effects tradition.

According to StarWars.com, the creature, nicknamed “Tet’niss” by its creators, became the heaviest stop-motion puppet ever produced by the studio. Visual effects supervisor Chris “CMo” Morley and art director Mark Dubeau collaborated with production designer Doug Chiang to craft a creature that balanced menace with accessibility.

“The original concept didn’t have much of a face,” Morley explains. “It was essentially a giant meatball with legs on it and a bunch of stuff sticking out of the back.” The team refined the design to include a snapping beak while maintaining what Dubeau describes as “a little bit of a Muppet quality,” ensuring the creature wouldn’t terrify younger viewers.

[RELATED – Star Wars’ Coolest New Alien Is Voiced by an Arrested Development Favorite]

The final puppet weighs approximately 15 pounds and features roughly 70 joints for animation. To support this unprecedented weight, the team developed a special harness system, one that required a little extra support.

“It’s definitely the heaviest stop motion puppet we’ve ever worked on,” Morley notes. “So heavy, in fact, that we had to build suspenders for it.”

Eagle-eyed fans might spot several Easter eggs hidden within the creature’s trash-covered shell. Dubeau reveals that miniature versions of familiar droids like R2-D2, K-2SO, and C-3PO are concealed among the debris, alongside fragments of the Millennium Falcon and Imperial walkers. However, Chiang insisted these references remain subtle, ensuring they didn’t distract from the overall design.

The creature also shares DNA with the original trilogy’s practical effects. Its gleaming eyestalks feature ball bearings treated with Sharpie marker, the same technique Tippett used for the rancor’s eyes in Return of the Jedi. The team even added digital slime effects to the creature’s mouth during roars to enhance its organic feel.

“It’s a dance because the intention of the animator can get lost in the reality of the puppet. The puppet will only want to do certain things, and as the animator, you have to lean into that,” stop-motion animation supervisor Tom “Gibby” Gibbons said.

The creation now stands proudly displayed at Tippett Studio, complete with a scientific name plate reading “Megapagurus detritiphorus” – essentially Latin for “big hermit crab carrying trash,” serving as both a tribute to practical effects craftsmanship and a continuation of Star Wars’ legendary practical effects tradition.

Skeleton Crew is now streaming on Disney+.

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